is it me?

[Horsetan]

Don't read my blog.

It's rubbish....

 

[Ian J.]

I got my blog cleared because I wasn't happy that it had become more about my failures in life than about railway modelling. I hope to return to it one day when my life is 'just a tad' more stable.

[Dave777]

Yay, yet another ‘I don’t like blogs’ thread, we’ve not had one for a few months

 

 

I'm just grateful that the other sites I am interested in have retained the old fashioned Yahoo Groups where it is possible to scan the content of a daily digest in moments, or even months using the view which shows the first couple of lines of every post. These IP type of site makes it incredibly easy to miss something, and the subjects die if there is no response within a few hours. I am signed up to some others, but never even look at them because they don't actively contact me with new content!. Fortunately SEMG had a vote on changing to a site similar to RMWeb and it was resoundingly voted down.

 

Interesting, isn’t it – I can’t stand the Yahoo Groups format, I think it’s terrible. I tried several times to get on with the N gauge Yahoo group but each time was put off. I can’t make head nor tail of it, it seems an uncluttered mess to me!

 

 

Add to that the tendency, at least as I perceive it, towards fairly inconsequential 'stream of conciousness' entries which might be better consolidated into a single entry...

 

Not sure if my entries fall into that category – if so, my entire blog needs to be removed

 

The ones that I don’t understand are the ones where people say ‘I’ve not done any work on the layout recently so there’s nothing to show’. Rightio… thanks for that, a non-update update then.

 

 

I entirely agree! The reverse chronology of most conventional blog software is not really appropriate for our needs where we often need to tell a story over several entries. The IP Board blog software almost abandons any inbuilt structure, leaving it to us to do the work.

 

I agree too. The only thing is, while I agree the software isn’t as good as it could be, I do also think it’s the applicability of the blog to a particular usage that I call into question. A lot of people jumped onto the blog bandwagon without stopping to think if their particular postings were best suited to the blog format. A very simple example – I don’t personally consider a layout build suitable for the blog format. Unless you’ve been following it from the start and are fully up to speed on what the current state of play is, the ‘traditional’ thread format, starting at the planning and going through to the finished article, seems way more suited to a layout build than a blog. I always thought short, quick projects (measured in days) or complete articles were better for blogs, not ones stretching into 6+ months or years. But... there we go.

 

I am starting to find the whole 'pros and cons of blogs' subject pretty dull these days, while at the same time seemingly being unable to stop myself adding to the discussion it would seem. I'm sure we've covered all this several times before...

[hmrspaul]

It is possible - but only the originator of the topic can do it.

Needs to edit the first entry (OP) in the topic using the "Full Editor" and there the topic title and subtitle can be edited.

 

Sometimes I wish this was available to everyone - I just might be tempted to go in and fix some of those glaringly awful misspellings!

Precisely! It should be possible to show an alteration to the title for YOUR OWN entry - not to everyone elses (or the original). Whereas on Yahoo Groups it is possible for anyone to show that they have taken a topic in a new direction - well they do if they are being polite.

 

Paul Bartlett

[hmrspaul]

 

Interesting, isn’t it – I can’t stand the Yahoo Groups format, I think it’s terrible. I tried several times to get on with the N gauge Yahoo group but each time was put off. I can’t make head nor tail of it, it seems an uncluttered mess to me!

 

 

Although the automatic grouping of topics can get confused, most of the time they are sensible and daily digests are easy to glance through - and they have all of the subject lines with authors at the beginning. Seeing all in a topic group is usually straightforward.

 

I am hoping I get a response as to how to see the first few lines of entries because it is having to turn on a full page - which can take time to load if it is photograph rich - to only find out someone has said "thank you" is a nuisance. Saying thank you is good and very welcome, but it shouldn't need a full page of entries to be downloaded to see it.

 

Paul Bartlett

[Kenton]

Yay, yet another ‘I don’t like blogs’ thread, we’ve not had one for a few months

...

I am starting to find the whole 'pros and cons of blogs' subject pretty dull these days, while at the same time seemingly being unable to stop myself adding to the discussion it would seem. I'm sure we've covered all this several times before...

Yes, but is that simply a reflection of the fact that nothing seems to improve or progress?

 

I had mixed feelings on blogs from the start but was quite prepared to "have a go". I think I was supporting the idea behind them and their development but I feel that the software has really badly let them down.

 

Now, from my perspective I get the feeling that the approach has simply been abandoned in favour of "Showcase" with no or little improvement in the supporting software and the imposition of a more controlled content.

 

The splits between the blogs and forum (and now showcase) just seems to result in more segregation and division of the "community" rather than building on what was already established. I do see the blogs as a natural progression for some subject material and the Showcase as being a highlight of the "better" content. However, for me at least, that is completely let down by the software, which for me barely functions in the Forum mode and doesn't work at all in blog mode. What is worse, is that I have seen no improvements in the software.

 

So I guess the topic will keep coming up again and again on a regular basis in the, perhaps vain, hope that new developments to make it integrate better are not too far away.

[chriswright03]

Am I alone in finding the implicit comment about RMweb blogs in posts like this offensive, even if that is not their authors' intention? The vast majority of blog entries on RMweb contain serious modelling content, and some of it is truly outstanding. They are not (well, rarely) about what the author had for breakfast or other such trivia. I also don't 'do' Twitbook but I do enjoy reading about the range of modelling represented on the blogs which covers much the same spectrum as that found in the more serious area of the forum.

 

Come on chaps, have a look before complaining. I know it is difficult to find your way around if blogs aren't well indexed (see above) but why not cast caution to the wind and be adventurous? There are links and buttons all over most RMweb pages. Just click on a few of them and see where they take you You could start by clicking on "Layout & Workbench Topics/Blogs" in the blue band at the top of each page.

 

Nick

 

Nick as you quite rightly say that is not my intention. So let me explain further as I 'thought' that this may do it for me.

 

but I do understand that others do and that many enjoy their content[/color]]

 

I have had a look at the Blogs both on here and on Showcase. To be perfectly honest on here there are some very good ones and some that are not. I accept that some of the problems encountered by some are down to software being unable to arrange it all into a format that we are used to. However good some of the content is that does not make any more time for me to go trawling through them on a daily/weekly basis and I can find more than enough on the main forum to keep my interest.

 

So I have had a look and I am not complaining about them. I am just saying that in my case I can find plenty without looking through the Blogs. If that means I am losing out on something then that is my decision. As regards my post being offensive whether intentional or not (it wasn't) well that is down to interpretation on the part of the reader which lets face it is another bi-product of electronic conversation.

 

As regards Blog bashing well I don't think that is what Dave was doing in the first place and it most certainly isn't what I am doing. So just to state clearly again for those in doubt. Blogs are great if they are your thing. They (some) contain excellent material and have a rightful place on the forum. If you like me can find sufficient on here without resorting to reading Blogs and there is plenty of excellent threads in all areas then surely you should be allowed to comment without being pilloried.

 

Andy and his team do fantastic work on here to provide ALL with what they seek. Lets not divide ourselves by prejudices.

 

Chris

 

 

 

[Andy Y]

Dear Andy

 

Please don't drag me into a discussion of using unexplained icons. But where, I can't see this. Not at the beginning (and some pages run to hundreds of pages) nor alongside the latest entry?

 

Help please.

 

Paul Bartlett

 

Hi Paul,

 

The topic preview can be found by mousing over the area shown in red, as an aside the second red box shows where the Jump to last post button can be found.

 

 

 

 

[Jamie]

I am hoping I get a response as to how to see the first few lines of entries because it is having to turn on a full page - which can take time to load if it is photograph rich - to only find out someone has said "thank you" is a nuisance. Saying thank you is good and very welcome, but it shouldn't need a full page of entries to be downloaded to see it.

Paul, it won't help you for that use. It only shows a taster section of the first post in any given thread.

[hmrspaul]

Paul, it won't help you for that use. It only shows a taster section of the first post in any given thread.

 

Andy, Thank you, at least I have now seen the hidden icon.

 

But, as Jamie explains, it is not the help I am looking for. What is interesting is that summaries do exist. If I post in thread then I can get a daily digest of content sent to my email - and this is without the photographs so they load very rapidly.

 

Paul Bartlett

[Kenton]

The topic preview can be found by mousing over the area shown in red, as an aside the second red box shows where the Jump to last post button can be found.

Andy, (I'm in learn something new mode) I didn't know that existed - and that's probably because, having tried "mousing over" the area, this cat just can't see it.

[buffalo]

...Andy and his team do fantastic work on here to provide ALL with what they seek. Lets not divide ourselves by prejudices.

 

Chris,

 

As you correctly interpreted, I was not getting at your post or, particularly, the OP. Instead, I was getting at all those posts that imply an association or similarity between RMweb blog content and that of other sites that many regard as vacuous and trivial. Similarly, every time this topic comes up, there is a long string of "Blogs don't do it for me" posts. Most of these are just bald statements with, unlike yours, no explanation of why or what the issues might be. Surely that is dividing by prejudice? I'm just trying to encourage folk to take a closer look at the blogs because there is plenty of (much more than "some") good content there that does not deserve to be dismissed in sneering and derisive terms.

 

Nick

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Just ignore the blog thing, that's strictly for the folks who think that the Segway is the future of personal transport

 

 

That comment is a bit unwarranted. Just because you find it difficult to go through some blogs, ...

Did I write that?

 

Bottom line is, we don't all have to like the same thing, and there is no need to defend what you enjoy.

[S.A.C Martin]

Did I write that?

 

If not written, it was certainly implied.

 

I felt your segway comment was a put down on those of us who do work hard at our blogs, frankly.

 

Bottom line is, we don't all have to like the same thing, and there is no need to defend what you enjoy.

 

Then might I suggest it was unnecessary to tar all blog users with the same brush?

[S.A.C Martin]

Yes, but is that simply a reflection of the fact that nothing seems to improve or progress?

 

I had mixed feelings on blogs from the start but was quite prepared to "have a go". I think I was supporting the idea behind them and their development but I feel that the software has really badly let them down.

 

If people are prepared to have a go, I think you'll find the software is more than adequate for creating a decent blog. The question is whether or not the individual feels it is worth the time and effort to index his or her entries properly.

 

Now, from my perspective I get the feeling that the approach has simply been abandoned in favour of "Showcase" with no or little improvement in the supporting software and the imposition of a more controlled content.

 

I share that view. Showcase has to some extent in my view taken away some of the importance of the blogs. But to be frank, with so few people indexing their blogs, Showcase is a superior section by default.

 

I'm not saying this has been done deliberately or consciously, by any means.

 

The splits between the blogs and forum (and now showcase) just seems to result in more segregation and division of the "community" rather than building on what was already established. I do see the blogs as a natural progression for some subject material and the Showcase as being a highlight of the "better" content. However, for me at least, that is completely let down by the software, which for me barely functions in the Forum mode and doesn't work at all in blog mode. What is worse, is that I have seen no improvements in the software.

 

I still maintain, the blog software is more than acceptable. Once you work out the limits of the software (which I have found to be less restricting in some respects than my own external blogger account), it's just a matter of routine when making posts.

 

So I guess the topic will keep coming up again and again on a regular basis in the, perhaps vain, hope that new developments to make it integrate better are not too far away.

 

If it makes it easier for decently assembled blogs to be read and commented on, I'm all for it.

[Kenton]

If people are prepared to have a go, I think you'll find the software is more than adequate for creating a decent blog. The question is whether or not the individual feels it is worth the time and effort to index his or her entries properly.

I think you will find that I "had a go" at the blogs. This seemed to work better before we had some "so called upgrades"

 

My problem is with the software's inability to display anything presentable on my screen and the fact that unlike the with the forums (which also still have display issues) I do not receive nay email notifications on comments added. So someone might ask a question but I will never know and be able to respond (the same applies if I add a comment to someone's blog) That makes the blogs a very one sided and frustrating area to use. This makes absolutely no sense to me as the update emails still come through for the forums posts. I cannot see why the same program functionality cannot be reused .. other than bad software management by IPB. (and, slightly OT, why did they have to change the subject line of the emails so that they will no longer sort?)

 

I also have problems with the design and editing functions.

 

Some of this is to do with IP Board's use of javascript to do just about everything. My view of which is, there are suitable alternatives that work as well if not better for users who turn it off.

 

My issue with the content is more along the lines similar to why I believe Andy introduced Showcase - there is some superb content in the blogs (and in the Forums) that just requires a more magazine type showing/exposure - the forums/blogs being more of an ongoing activity - the showcase more of it has finished or reached a complete stage.

 

So my problem with the blogs is not a content issue - I would rather like to be able to see more of them and also take part more. But when the screen is a ghastly jumble of images and text, simply doesn't load correctly and means that it is difficult or obstructive to taking part - I might as well look elsewhere ... and I don't want to. I guess I do have little time for blogs with lots of waffling text and few images - but then I am equally turned off by Forum posts in that same format. There is only just so much time available.

[multiprinter]

Andy and his team do fantastic work on here to provide ALL with what they seek. Lets not divide ourselves by prejudices.

 

Chris

 

 

 

 

I agree wholeheartedly.

[S.A.C Martin]

I think you will find that I "had a go" at the blogs.

 

Kenton, my post wasn't directly aimed at you. I'm well aware of your efforts, and I thought they were very good, personally.

My problem is with the software's inability to display anything presentable on my screen and the fact that unlike the with the forums (which also still have display issues) I do not receive nay email notifications on comments added. So someone might ask a question but I will never know and be able to respond (the same applies if I add a comment to someone's blog) That makes the blogs a very one sided and frustrating area to use. This makes absolutely no sense to me as the update emails still come through for the forums posts. I cannot see why the same program functionality cannot be reused .. other than bad software management by IPB. (and, slightly OT, why did they have to change the subject line of the emails so that they will no longer sort?)

 

I don't get any of those problems...! I did get email notifications for just about everything, until I switched them off...!

 

 

So my problem with the blogs is not a content issue - I would rather like to be able to see more of them and also take part more. But when the screen is a ghastly jumble of images and text, simply doesn't load correctly and means that it is difficult or obstructive to taking part - I might as well look elsewhere ... and I don't want to. I guess I do have little time for blogs with lots of waffling text and few images - but then I am equally turned off by Forum posts in that same format. There is only just so much time available.

 

But this is true of threads as well. It's not just limited to the blogs. Arguably you have to get users to be aware that a picture says a thousand words - simply describing or "waffling" isn't enough.

 

However I simply don't understand the "ghastly jumble" point about the images. Is this related to the images in the text, or those in the index?

 

For example, mine as is:

 

 

Images in the blog posts are centred, text is spaced and paragraphed normally. Images in the index are sized to the same width and height (minus the Copley Hill Header), and are small in file size.

 

I'm interested in the idea that the blogs take a while to load, and that there are problems viewing them - I haven't encountered anything of the sort since they were introduced, so much so I've worked out the problems with my blog structure to the point where I have indexed all the work I've done, project by project.

[Kenton]

Kenton, my post wasn't directly aimed at you. I'm well aware of your efforts, and I thought they were very good, personally.

But you did quote me and used that royal word "you'll" ... which sort of looks like the message was a little more directional.

 

The failure of emailing of comment updates has been raised with Andy but remains an unsolved mystery .. a bit like many other things. I understand Andy has more to do with his time than bother with what one individual appears to have as a problem ... though I quite often think it cannot just be me and more like I'm the only one who notices.

 

Surely if you turn off email notifications you too would be unaware of anything commented on your blog - unless you regularly visit every page within your blog and every page in every blog you have ever commented on?

[S.A.C Martin]

Kenton, there's a little box I added to mine - or it may have been there from the start, I forget which - called "recent comments". Put simply, I can forgo email notification and just check each day briefly.

[Kenton]

Kenton, there's a little box I added to mine - or it may have been there from the start, I forget which - called "recent comments". Put simply, I can forgo email notification and just check each day briefly.

Yes I see - I apparently have one too - but only the 5 most recent entries over all your blogs, so still easy to miss one.

[roger440]

Well i said earlier that i didn't understand it, not that the content isn't good. Which are 2 seperate issues.

 

However, given the discussion in this post, i thought id give it another go.

 

So i scrolled down the page to one entitled "experiments with C+L track" or similar. I click on read full entry, and what i get is something about american locos of some sort.

 

How does that work? Maybe im just a bit daft, but i simply dont understand? Where was the blog, call it what you will, on trackwork? I cant find it.

[buffalo]

...

So i scrolled down the page to one entitled "experiments with C+L track" or similar. I click on read full entry, and what i get is something about american locos of some sort...

Sounds like you scrolled down the page until you saw Mikkel's entry "Experiments with C+L track", then you continued scrolling down past the end of this and into another entry called "Part 13: Kitbashed steam engine for my railroad". You then clicked on "Read Full Entry" at the bottom of that entry.

 

Rather than scrolling down to the Read Full Entry link, it is much easier and more convenient just to click on the entry title. So go back, try again, but this time Click on the large bold title "Experiments with C+L track".

 

HTH

 

Nick

[roger440]

Sounds like you scrolled down the page until you saw Mikkel's entry "Experiments with C+L track", then you continued scrolling down past the end of this and into another entry called "Part 13: Kitbashed steam engine for my railroad". You then clicked on "Read Full Entry" at the bottom of that entry.

 

Rather than scrolling down to the Read Full Entry link, it is much easier and more convenient just to click on the entry title. So go back, try again, but this time Click on the large bold title "Experiments with C+L track".

 

HTH

 

Nick

 

Nick, i dont think im quite that stupid

 

I did revisit though. It came up differently this time. Last time there was text on top of the photo, which looking at it now is the text from the blog below on top of the picture for the track blog!

 

Maybe i am a bit daft but 2 blogs superimposed over one another isn't easy to use. Maybe this is the problem Kenton was referring to?

 

Sometimes it loads fine, sometimes not.

[buffalo]

You're right, they really shouldn't be superimposed. I do sometimes see text overlaid on photos, but not what you describe. Maybe it is related to Kenton's problems though I'd imagined them to be more a result of his one-man campaign to fight off the evils of JavaScript

 

Another approach that might work is to click on the "List all Blogs" link at the top left of the blog home page (the one where you get the overlap). This will give you a simple list of recent entries which looks more like the active or new content lists on the forum pages. Hopefully this should have fewer overlap problems (though I do get some overlap at top right where it tells you the total number of blogs, entries and comments).

 

Nick