| Password:
It's probably a really smart idea to change your password from the default one sent to you. The default password is randomly generated by SoapBlox, so it'd probably be better to have a password you can remember. To change your password, follow these steps.
1. Click on "your username's page" link in the Menu Blox
2. Click on the "Profile" link
3. Click on "Email/Password"
You will now be at the screen where you can change your password. Enter in whatever password you want into the box provided, and re-type the same password again the box below. Then hit "Save". If everything is ok, you will see a message appear saying "Changes Saved. Password Changed!"
You have just changed your password!
Commenting:
When you've read a Post you feel like responding to, click the "Post a Comment" link.
You can also reply to a specific previous Comment by clicking the "Reply" link associated with that particular Comment.
Either link will take you to the Post A Comment page.
If you followed the "Post a Comment" link, the Post will be shown at the top of the page while if you clicked "Reply", the comment you are replying to will be displayed.
Subject - This is the title for your comment. Sometimes descriptive, oftentimes the start to the comment. Courtesy recommends adding "(n/t)" to signify no text if the Comment box is blank. Collapsed views show the Subject as the link to the comment so this courtesy saves loading time for dialup internet users.
Comment - This is the extended text of your comment. Same rules for these text boxes as for Publish Post apply .
Formatting - This controls what SoapBlox does when you "Preview" and eventually "Save" your diary to the server. There are currently two (2) choices for this option:
* Auto-Format - SoapBlox comes with some nifty little features to make your life easier. If you choose Auto-Format, SoapBlox will handle all the nitty-gritty HTML stuff to make your entry look the way you want for you. It will turn URLs you write in the diary entry into links. More on this later
* No Formatting - SoapBlox will directly copy whatever text you enter directly into the database.
* WYSIWYG - Use the TinyMCE JavaScript editor.
When you're ready, we suggest taking advantage of the SoapBlox "Preview" feature. Make sure your HTML comes out as you expect, check your spelling and take a deep breath. Comments, unlike Posts, are NOT EDITABLE so once you click "Post", there's no turning back.
When you're ready, click "Post" and SoapBlox will insert your Comment in the appropriate place and date/time stamp it for posterity's sake. Now others can read your Comment and Reply or Rate it.
Rating Comments
Rating comments here is entirely voluntary & really means nothing one way or the other.
You will notice there is NO "hide" rating. I do not believe in them. I think everyones words should be on display for all to see.
So why ratings?
They are a form of shorthand... & entirely for fun!
The numbers mean nothing except that this platform won't make ratings without numbers.
We had tried using random numbering but people from other blogs were put-off by brilliant being #2 and ewwww being #15
here are our ratings (with explanation as needed):
0- ewwwwwww! (something that grosses you out OR a horrible comment(give explanation please!)
1- i'm sorry/that sux
2- respectfully disagree
3- thank you/you're welcome
4- let me chew on it! (let me think about this OR that sounds yummy, i want some)
5- thought provoking
6- fuggedaboudit!
7- mmgrmphthahaha! (a snort-laugh; a laugh that takes you by surprise)
8- ROFLMAO (Rolling On (the) Floor Laughing My Ass Off)
9- gha! (this can be in a good or bad way; an all-round expression)
10- you make fireflys dance~
11- this makes my butt light up!
12- this changed my life
13- ICAWYMIISIM (I Couldn't Agree With You More If I Said It Myself)
14- fabulous
15- brilliant!!
16- i ♥ you!
Publishing a Post:
Now you are ready write your first diary. Make sure you are logged on, because if you are not, you will not be able to do this.
So, you're logged on. In the Menu Blox, you will see a link that says "New Post". Click on this link to get started.
Once you click on the "New Post" link, you will be at the New Post Page. You will see a bunch of spaces for you to fill in text. Here we will explain all the parts of Diary you see on the page.
Title - This is the Title of your Post entry. It will be the only thing that appears if your diary posts into the "Recent Post" Blox on the page (we'll explain that more). It will be displayed in big bold letters at the top of your Post for all to see. Note: You MUST fill in this value to save a Post. Also, diary titles cannot be longer than 255 characters
Main Text - This is the textbox directly underneath the title. Here is where you can start the meat and potatoes of your new diary. Different blogs have different rules and standards for how much information you can put in the "Main Text" area. SoapBlox does not put any limitation on this though. If your post gets promoted to the Front Page of the blog, what will show up is the Title of your Post and the Main Text.
We really like pictures/graphics here. We think they add a LOT to posts, work to draw people INto a post and make the Front Page beautiful. Please add a picture to at least this section of your post. Oftentimes if there is no picture a horde of fireflies will go through the entirety of the toobz searching for the perfect enhancement for your post & add it in.
Extended Text - This is the next textbox. You can continue your Post here. The extended text of your Post entry is only visible when a user clicks on your Post from the front page. Again, there is NO limit to how long this section can be in SoapBlox, but different blog owners might have different rules
Formatting - This controls what SoapBlox does when you "Preview" and eventually "Save" your diary to the server. There are currently two (2) choices for this option:
* Auto-Format - SoapBlox comes with some nifty little features to make your life easier. If you choose Auto-Format, SoapBlox will handle all the nitty-gritty HTML stuff to make your entry look the way you want for you. It will turn URLs you write in the diary entry into links. More on this later. I highly encourage using this option!
* No Formatting - SoapBlox will directly copy whatever text you enter directly into the database.
Post Subject - This is a drop-down menu that will give you options of where you'd like to categorize your Post entry in the blog.
(I have not yet found how to do these. Right now there are NO subjects.)
Other Options - There are a total of three (3) other options that you can have with a diary. However, some rules apply to when these options appear. We will go through them all here.
* Put Diary/Post on front page - If you are a member of the Powerful, this checkbox will appear. By checking it, when you save your Post, it will be come the first Post to appear on the front page. If you do not check this box, your Post will be listed in the "Recent Post" section. If you do not have this box, your Post will be listed in the "Recent Post" section.
* Do not allow others to comment - This feature is again only for The Powerful. If this option is checked when you save your Post no one will be able to post comments to this Post. This option is usually used when an Admin is creating a Post entry that will represent the "About" page of the SoapBlox, or an FAQ page, or some other reference page for the blog that the Admin doesn't want cluttered with comments. The Post you are now reading is an example of that!
* Delete Diary - This option is only present if you are editing a diary. If this box is checked when you hit save, SoapBlox with take you to a confirmation page asking "Are you sure you want to delete this diary?". If you click "Yes" on this page, SoapBlox will delete the post/diary entry, and all comments associated with it.
Poll Question - SoapBlox allows for you to attach polls to your Post. The value you fill into this field will be stored by SoapBlox as the question you are asking the readers of your Post to respond to.
Poll Answers - SoapBlox allows for up to 10 possible responses to a poll question. The values you want to be possible choices in your poll should be entered here. Remember, enter only one poll response option per textbox.
Poll Type - This is the final drop-down menu you will see on the page. Currently there are two options for this:
* Single vote Poll - This means respondents can only choose one option in your poll.
* Multi-Vote Poll - This feature allows you to give your poll respondents the option of choosing as many of the poll answers you entered as they want. This is also known as Approval Voting (I think).
A good example of how to use this would be to ask a question like "Which of the following colors do you like?" and give the colors of the rainbow as possible answers. Say I like blue, red, and orange. In a multi-vote poll, I can choose all three color and click vote. However, if it were a single-vote poll, I'd have to choose which of those 3 colors I really liked best.
That's all the options you will see on the Post page. When you first create a Post, there will be only one available button that says "preview". Once you are done typing up your first Post, click the preview button. Once the page loads, SoapBlox will show you a preview of what your Post will look like when it is finally saved. This option allows for you to make sure your Post looks the way you want it to.
Because of my desire for blue boxes on a black background the preview feature does NOT work exactly as planned. You will see beige letters on a black background, all blockquotes will be hard to read. THIS IS NORMAL. We are working to correct this problem
Now that you've hit Preview and see that your Post looks (somewhat) the way you want, a second button will have appeared on the Post page. This buttons says "Save", and as you can imagine, by clicking on the "Save" button, SoapBlox will store your Post and add it to the blog on the Recent list. |
