: there's no place like home

[Guest guest]

I've been piddling with blogs. I have about 8 now. I don't maintain them, mostly I just design them. What I like about the potential of blogs for us, with our issues, is that each poster can choose from various categories to assign to their post. For example, in a group that was already about critters, I wouldn't need that category, but I might want to categorize this post as being about "Posting in General" or "Blogs" or "Web Resources."

In addition, each poster can choose or design a tiny square thumbnail avatar or "gravatar," which you can register for free at www.gravatar.com.

PAGES AND POSTS - Wordpress blogs, the ones I have used most (they are free unless you buy a domain), have Pages and Posts. Only the blog owner/moderators can set up a Page, reason being that Page titles (which should be limited in number and length), form a menu at the top or in a sidebar, and are named for that purpose. Blog subscribers can upload as many Posts as they like, anytime, with illustrations if they wish.

The owner or moderator can allow them to do so without joining or moderation, or can require one or both. In addition--

* They can set up the blog so that the Posts page is the blog's front page, or some other page is.

* They can decide whether the latest or oldest posts appear at the top of the Posts page.

* They can have a summary or whole posts appear on the main Posts page (that part is like a Group)

Where blogs jump way ahead is, like I mentioned, in the poster's ability to check the blocks of the preset Categories that he/she thinks describe his/her post.

Most blogs have the capability to have a Calendar so you can choose to review posts from April of whatever year; a Category drop-down menu so you can choose to see all posts in that category, and a site search that, I THINK, might work better than the one we have in our .

I have set up a blog (http://morjella.wordpress.com) just to let you see how they work. This might help you decide if you want to start blogging. And remember, it need not be about critters at all. It can be about your collection of whatsits.

And anyway, even with 's search issue, and the inability to find particular posts when we go looking for them, oh well. To me, bird mites will always be my "critter" home, and by that, I mean where I have the most people I care about, and learn the most. And, as you know, there is

"No place like home!"

kajay