Definition of a Weblog
A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. The term blog is a shortened form of weblog or web log. Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called "blogging". Individual articles on a blog are called "blog posts," "posts" or "entries". A person who posts these entries is called a "blogger". A blog comprises text, hypertext, images, and links (to other web pages and to video, audio and other files). Blogs use a conversational style of documentation. Often blogs focus on a particular "area of interest", such as Washington, D.C.'s political goings-on. Some blogs discuss personal experiences. Blogs can be hosted by dedicated blog hosting services, or they can be run using blog software on regular web hosting services. In the early 21st Century, blogging has quickly emerged as a popular and important means of communication, affecting public opinion and mass media around the world.
So far the Wikepedia definition of a weblog

What is it according to my definition?
I see a weblog as an extended forum with enhanced capabilities. Basically everyone can start their own website here, create their own pages with pictures etc. I can create a special Topic for members who contribute a lot of stories. You can then link from one story to another and build a personal weblog/website. My weblog is a place where people with the same interest share stories, travelogues, current issues, fun stuff etc as long as it has Islay as subject. Everything is allowed, you can use this weblog to add your links, stories, pictures, everything. You can comment on stories from others and start discussions on those stories or issues. Some use a weblog to purely tell the rest of the world who they are and what they do all day. That's great for them but that's not me. I don’t want to be on the foreground, I want likeminded people to be on the foreground. That is a weblog according to my definition and I would be very glad if members use it in this way

Overview of this Weblog
Header: This area contains items that appear on every page of the Weblog. Typical items include a site logo, a quick search form, navigational buttons and the time and date. Different styles may show or hide different elements in the header. For example, some styles do not use a logo while others do not provide a search form.

Content: The center area of the weblog is used to present content. In most cases, this content are articles or stories posted to the site. Other content, such as static pages and discussion forums may appear in the content area.

Left & Right Blocks: The left and right blocks provide a place for site controls such as administrative links as well as small contained spaces for adding items such as polls, about messages, site updates, upcoming events and more.

Footer: Like the header, the footer is shown on most pages on the site. Typically, the footer contains credit, copyright and contact information.

Who can join
This weblog is free for everyone who shares the same passion as the other members of this Weblog being Islay and related topics. Contributing is fun, here you can tell YOUR story, funny or serious, travel or otherwise. There is no point in registering if you like to talk about global politics or the price of bananas.

Registering
If you go to the user functions block on the left there is a link for new users. Click here and a new window opens. Here you can fill in a username and emailaddress and you will receive an email with a password. Then you can login using your username and the new received password. Basically thats it and after that you can submit stories. I recommend you however to change your password after your first login and that is possible by clicking Account Information under the same user functions block.

Adding Comments
Everyone, also non registered users, can comment on stories. It is however more polite to register and comment under a certain username. But if you like to stay anonymous it is up to you.

Contribute a story
If you think this weblog is the right place for your story than selecting contribute from the top menu is the thing to do. It will take you to a new window. Here you can fill in the appropriate fields such as Topic, show on frontpage and plain or HTML formatted. See the picture section below for adding pictures to your story.

Tip: Do not make up your story online but prepare it first in your wordprocessor or HTML editor. Then save it and copy the text into the form on the Weblog.

Moderation Unfortunately there are some weird people out there who like to mess up and disturb decent folks by posting pornographic or racist material on Weblogs like this one. That is why this weblog is moderated. This means that stories posted are sent to an administrator. After approval they will show on the Weblog. This normally takes from somewhere between 15 minutes to half a day.

Editing. Once a story is admitted for submission editing by the user is no longer possible. If you still think there is an error or you want to see another change, or maybe add pictures please send me an email and I will make the necessary modifications for you.

Adding pictures to your story
I encourage you to add pictures to your stories. It makes the story more alive and give the reader a better idea of what you want to express. The procedure for adding pictures is as follows:

The procedure and Pictures size
When you want to add an image to your story and you have formatted it in html use the following procedure: add an image by selecting the image dialog box at the bottom with a max size of: width=240 height=180 size=1Mb. When you are done selecting one or more images use the following commands in the story: [imageX_left] where X is the image number. So for the first image you have chosen use [image1_left] or [image1_right] depending on where you want the image to be placed. For the second image use [image2_left or right].

One more important thing: When you have added images don’t preview the story, it wont show the images and you have to reload them. Better use draft or just save and view/edit them online.

User Pictures
Registered Users can add a personal picture or logo into their profile which is visible to other members and visitors. This function can be reached at the User Function panel on the left. The maximum picture size here is 128x128 pix with a max size of 64Kb.

Topic Pictures
Every topic has its own picture or logo attached. If a new story is added to a certain topic than the picture from that particular topic will show next to the added story. If the picture of the topic changes the picture next to the story will change accordingly. The maximum size of this picture is 48x48 pix with a max size of 64Kb. Only the weblog admin is allowed to change a topic picture.

Islay Blog RSS/XML Feed

Ok, whats all this with RSS/XML feeds.
RSS is recognisable through the little orange icons you see mainly on news websites and weblog's. A little explanation wont hurt i guess so here we go... RSS is a protocol for transferring information from webservers to other webservers or Pc's that can be read with special software. So what is the purpose of all this? In stead of visiting weblogs's or news sites to check if there are updates, RSS feeds sends these updates to whomever is interested. All you need to have installed on your PC is a newsreader that can translate the jibberish to readable information. Once you have a newsreader installed you can copy the link from such a newsfeed icon (visible when you click on it) into your newsreader when adding a new channel. The newsreader in return will check every hour or so if there are updates and if there are it will send a signal (visible and/or audio) to the user notifying that there is an update. When clicking on the latest article, it is really like an email application, you can see the website within the newsreader or it will open a new browser window. Whatever you prefer of course. That is basically it, there is more to RSS of course but from a user point of view these are the basics.

I also provide a newsfeed for people to stay up to date with the Islay Blog. The link and icon are available in the Links section of this Weblog.

Here are links to 2 newsreaders. The first is Sharp Reader. This is a very basic and easy reader which does the job perfectly. If you want more fancy stuff and options try Awasu News Reader

Account Information and Preferences
Under user Functions (Left Block) are two links after you have logged in succesfully. They are Account information and Preferences.

Account information. Here you can change personal settings, such as email address, your picture, your password or the remember me time. The remember me time comes in handy if you dont like to re-login everytime you visit this weblog. The maximum time to remember you is one month.

Preferences. Here you can alter the weblog setting such as language or template (if others are available). There is support for most foreign languages such as French, German, Dutch, Spanish and Italian. English is the default language. Also layout and privacy setting can be made here.

Last Updated Wednesday, November 14 2007; 2,243 Hits