Adding Blogs

[deanwebb]

I know members here have networking blogs out there in Internetland. I want to be able to help other forum members to find and enjoy that content.

How best to do that?

1. Blogroll: just a bunch of links to blogs in a sidebar. It can be persistent, at the top of the page only, or on a menu page only.

2. Creating a "blog" part of the boards and allow each member with a blog to post a link to new entries in the blog. Discussion of blog posts would follow in that thread, most likely. 2a would be members posting the blog entry in the topic. Would need some BBCode massaging of any HTML in the post (like for images).

3. Members create a new topic in the appropriate forum and post blog link in the topic. Alternatively, 3a would be members posting the actual blog entry in the topic. Would need some BBCode massaging of any HTML in the post (like for images).

4. Go out and hack code pages to have SMF pull content from blogs and post it here. Drawback would be upgrading forum code could overwrite the hacks.

5. Search for a package that would do what #4 does, but with less risk of an upgrade breaking things.

(Numbers 6 and on up reserved for member suggestions)

Easiest for me is #3, since we can already do that. The one I like least is #4, but if everyone wants #5 and I can't find it, I'll do #4, instead.

#1 would mean just a few simple mods/links, not too tricky. #2 is just as easy, and I like it better than #1, since links are easily ignored, but new posts have more ways to be advertised to members.

#5 could be hard to find, but if I get something that works, we could have some real fun with it... the biggest risk with it (and add this risk to #4) would be in keeping up with both Wordpress and SMF code versions that could impact functionality. If the package authors stay on top of things, though, that should be a small risk to bear.

OK, everyone... discuss!

[deanwebb]

News flash:

6. Add blog content via RSS to SMF package. Benefit is it's as cool as 5, with less risk since it's RSS we're messing with, not a code bridge. I'm looking into that now...

[deanwebb]

Follow-up: I got a package that allows blogs to import into the forums via RSS. Tested it and it works like a champ.

[SimonV]

Where can we see the result? Or is it still in UAT? 

[deanwebb]

It's in the mods area. Reggle's recent post.

Since each blog entry comes in as a separate thread, I want to create a blog holding area in the forums where they can all import. Then, moderators are free to assign them to the appropriate category (IE, wireless, R&S, security, voice, guide/how-to).

If we see blogs that are cool, but not written by current members, I think that we could contact the author/owner of the blog and request permission to pipe the content into here, for reference and posterity. Most would say yes, but always best to ask.