blogging 102

Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes

In my quest to provide an every better experience for all my readers I have added a new feature in the way of the WP Link Directory. This handy plugin allows site owners to make use of the constant flow of internet traffic. Whether you are actively promoting your wordpress based site or not, this plugin also comes with some handy searchable identifiers. Like CommentLuv, NoFollow Free and KeywordLuv blogs using the WP Link Directory can seach out blogs using it by searching for “Powered by WP Link Directory“. If you don’t want potential spammers finding you that way their is the option of removing the text link. There is also the option of requiring a reciprocal link for sites of a designated page rank to increase your own backlinks and a nofollow option. Post Origin: Local News and Newspapers Click this link to get your own syndication code. Update:  Be advised Wordpress 2.7 beta 2 has problems displaying this plugin.  It works but the display is kind of screwy and it hangs up on the scripting a bit.

Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

There are a growing list of things that I already hate about WordPress 2.7.  Most of them are minor issues that can either be ignored or simply written off as quirks I don’t really need to worry about for my style of blogging.  The major issue is still the layout.

Wordpress 2.7 Write Screen. Click to open full size in new frame or window.

This is not some minor petty concern. This is flat out bad design.  Any blogger worthy of the name is using some plugins and other tools on the administration side of the blog.  This is as it should be, since customization has always been a prime feature of WordPress.  I sincerely hope someone soon comes up with an administration plugin to fix the layout flaws.

Here is the major problem with WordPress 2.7.  As you will notice in the full screen image all of the internal links for WordPress 2.7 have moved to the left hand side of the screen.  in western languages we read from left to right meaning the most important or most often used information should always be put at the top left of our viewing area.  Links to the dashboard and everything else on the administration side of things clutters your field of view while posting.  There is a good chance I will be using ScribeFire even more than I have previously, because of this layout flaw.

Getting to post through scribefire doesn’t make the problems all better with a soft kiss from the open source faeries.  Writing a proper post in requires more than you typing in a few lines of text putting in a picture and calling it good.  There are all sorts of things you need your write window for, that scribefire can’t do.  Second problem with having the internal linking on the far left of the screen is the scroll bars for most of us are on the far right of the screen.  This means mousing clear across the screen to get to the links and then mousing back to scroll down the new screen.  This is not only inefficient, it is ergonomically unsound.  it wouldn’t surprise me if this layout doesn’t cause some serious problems for people who already have hand and wrist problems. Read more »