Documentation on how to use WordPress is available from LIS Wiki > WordPress MU

Logging in

Middlebury users can log in to this blog by clicking on the “Log in” link (top right corner).  Log in with your Midd username (first part of your email address) and password.  For more information on logging into WordPress see: LIS Wiki > WordPress MU > Logging in

Commenting

Anyone can comment on posts made to this blog.  Commenting is an easy way to contribute to Blog discussions. For Middlebury users, it is recommended that you log in first.  If you see fields for your name and email address, you are NOT logged in.  For more information on commenting, see: LIS Wiki > WordPress MU > Commenting

Posting

Any LIS staff members can contribute posts to this blog; simply log in and write, then click “Publish.”  Advice on selecting categories and tags for your post is below.

If you’d like to suggest a topic for a post, use the Suggest a Topic form.

For more information on posting see: LIS Wiki > WordPress MU > Posting.

Subscribing

Anyone can subscribe to this blog via RSS.  Simple click on (or copy) the RSS feed link you want to subscribe to (usually top right corner) and chose to open in your favorite RSS reader.  For more information, see: LIS Wiki > WordPress MU > RSS and Subscribing
You can also visit our Subscribe page for more information.

Categories

Use a category to direct your posts to a certain audience. Categories are based on audience, and at least one is required per post.

• The default category for all posts is LIS Staff Interest
• The other two categories are: Middlebury Community Interest (for outward-facing content), and Post for MiddPoints (which generates a cross-posting of the content to the MiddPoints Weekly: News & Announcements Blog. Use these as needed.

A post is assigned to LIS Staff Interest if no categories are selected. If you want your post to appear in multiple categories, you must select each category before saving.

Categories are subject to change pending LIS Website team review and approval. The LIS Website team reserves the right to convert unapproved categories into Tags.

Tags

Use tags to tell your audience what a post is about. Tagging your posts makes it easier for readers to locate more specific pieces of content. Tags are unstructured, wide-ranging in subject matter, and descriptive.

What goes on a Blog, anyway?

Check out the WordPress article, Intro to Blogging

Among others, some good candidates for Blog content include:

• News, updates, tidbits, progress reports, etc.
• Information you want to be searchable
• Information about which you would like to receive feedback
• Information visible to everyone

Bad candidates for Blog content:

• Sensitive or secure information (passwords, confidential data, et al.) The Blog is public, so please don’t share this information on the Blog!

A few helpful tips:

1. When posting, click on the on link to “Choose from most used tags in Post Tags” and see if you can find an existing tag that describes your content before creating a new tag
2. Keep tags short, ideally single word if possible
3. Keep tags as general as possible so that they are more likely to be used in other posts
4. Use tags to provoke new thinking, to encourage others to think and tag in the same way
5. Use tags to complement, not duplicate categories