User blogs

[Oba Yozo]

I'm not sure how much bandwidth it'd take up, but I imagine not thaaat much.

*just realized something*

How funny would it be if you used the "Groups" as a blog?

[dm.su]

I like the idea for us members to have a blog page and the good news is that vbulletin has provided a blog feature to go with it: http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/blog_main

Features
Fast Start
vBulletin Blog makes it simple for community members to create their own space within the community. Getting started is as simple as posting the first message (using the same familiar vBulletin editor). There is no lengthy setup process - blog owners are free to personalise their blog at any time by defining a title and a description that will appear at the top of every blog post.
Fully Featured
It is a feature-rich blog application, with support for fully formatted WYSIWYG posts, attachments, comments, trackbacks and pingbacks, draft posts and categories, as well as seamless integration with the overall vBulletin system.
Blog Home Page
Available via a single click from any vBulletin page, the blog home page aggregates activity from all member blogs into a single page – with information about the most recent and highest rated blog posts, recent comments, a featured blog post (selected by the administrator or at random), full support for browsing posts by date and overall blogging statistics.
Syndication and Subscriptions
Site wide and per-blog RSS feeds allow syndication to external readers, and full support for vBulletin subscriptions enables users to join their favorite blogs and receive regular email updates.
Profile Support
Member blogs are integrated with the vBulletin profile system – profile information is displayed alongside blog posts, and existing profile pages are enhanced with information about blog activity.
Blog Control Panel
The Blog Control Panel empowers members to control every aspect of their blogs, from permission controls (who has access to view and comment on the blog), to full management of blog categories, draft posts, trackbacks/pingbacks and subscriptions. Blog owners also have the ability to moderate comments on their own blog.
Admin Features

* Full Control
Integration with the vBulletin usergroups permission system allows site owners to regulate which users are able to create blogs, and enhancements to the vBulletin admin control panel give administrators total control over the whole system.
* Painless Installation
vBulletin Blog is a plug-in product that can be installed into your existing vBulletin installation within minutes.
* Fully Customisable
Blog utilises the powerful vBulletin templating system, and will automatically inherit styles and color-schemes from the forums, for total out-the-box integration.
* Anti-Spam
Full support for the Akismet anti-spam service stamps out comment spam.

demo: http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/blog.php

But i'm not sure what the impact will be for the server if it runs it

[bl4ckm4lice]

Didn't mean to be a bugger, but in my personal opinion, I think it really isn't necessary ^^;

For me, forum is a place for well, forum. Blog should be left to... blogs. No matter how tempting it seemed to blend the two together. Because I think it would take up way too much space and all. And when the solution is to limit the space, then why bother in the first place? LJ is not that scary, neither does wordpress or blogspot or any other bloggings...

[Gizmo]

For me, forum is a place for well, forum. Blog should be left to... blogs. No matter how tempting it seemed to blend the two together. Because I think it would take up way too much space and all. And when the solution is to limit the space, then why bother in the first place? LJ is not that scary, neither does wordpress or blogspot or any other bloggings...

To repeat myself again: like I said, if anyone actually wants a legit blog with the full features that come with blogging, they should create their own on the sites I've mentioned previously.

What I am saying is the forum is also a community. Within a community are its members. Its members, in my opinion, should be given the opportunity to express themselves better -- people should be able to vocalize their thoughts to an AF audience beyond just a simple profile page that lists only interests. (I myself am more than just a list of my interests. So are you, and everyone here.) To have members who express themselves better creates a more fulfilling forum.

I think having a "AF user microblog" would enable them to express their individualness a lot better than what we have currently.

With the space issue problem, please read my suggestion in this comment.

I hope I've clarified the difference more between having an actual blog and an AF blog, and why having an AF blog would be more beneficial for everyone than not.

[bl4ckm4lice]

Gizmo, yes I do understand your point ^^ I'm just expressing my thought about it. I also think if it ends up being applied, it might lead to further demands to make it more convenient and more like actual blogging feature, thus might get out of hand. I know we can try all we can to manage it, but I still think to better avoid the problem anyway ^^;

The point of the forum is sharing thoughts in the forum, right? When sharing your thoughts, you let other people know about it. Especially with so many 'personal polls' out there. It isn't that convenient and clustered, but again, that's forum. If you want people to know you better, place a link to your LJ/blog/website on your sig. And by 'you', of course I don't mean you specifically, but people in general ^^

[Artemis Moonsong]

I have to say, I sort of don't see the necessity of having blogs ^^ Of course that is just my opinion ... If you want to be able to express yourself more on your profile, then maybe you could say more about yourself in your "about me" section?

A blog is like for talking about your day-to-day life ... or posting fiction XD You can post fiction here, and talking about your day-to-day life, well, I don't know why you would to do that but still you could do it in the chit chat section XD

[schetenei]

:-K If I understood correctly, those microblogs should tell more about oneself, and has as function to voice momentary interests and reflections more directly and to a bigger crowd than the one you're interacting with. They're messages that are wished to be kept, so it's preferable not to be left on the visitor page, since no one likes to skim through someone else's messages. In a usual blog it's more for the general ppl, and not just for the aarinfantasy forummers, thus, in a blog, it's more "personal" and more in context with aarinfantasy. Whatever you write in the microblog, is for the eyes for forummers, and if they want to get to know the other better, they can go straight to that microblog.

While I'm not completely convinced of the microblog idea, I'm not too sure about those visions of doom of the forum going down if such a feature is included. Me thinks features like social groups and an own profile page take in more space, so a microblog should be no biggy (but I can be terribly wrong)
I do agree that the space in "About me" is too limited, and I wonder if it's possible to have under "Occupations" a few lines for your ramblings. I wouldn't mind if it isn't possible, but it'd be nice ^^ I don't know why I'm not completey convinced of the microblog, perhaps it's just like Artemis said, a blog is about daily lives, and if others to get to know another person, more space in "About me" should suffice.

[Demeter]

What I am saying is the forum is also a community. Within a community are its members. Its members, in my opinion, should be given the opportunity to express themselves better -- people should be able to vocalize their thoughts to an AF audience beyond just a simple profile page that lists only interests. (I myself am more than just a list of my interests. So are you, and everyone here.) To have members who express themselves better creates a more fulfilling forum.

I think having a "AF user microblog" would enable them to express their individualness a lot better than what we have currently.

Isn't the Chit Chat section also here for that? ^^;;

In my humble opinion, you're in a forum to interact with other people. There's not much interaction in a blog, isn't it?
Anyway, if you can have what you want, I'd be happy for you, but very personally, I wouldn't use this function very much, if not at all^^

[Gizmo]

Isn't the Chit Chat section also here for that? ^^;;

In my humble opinion, you're in a forum to interact with other people. There's not much interaction in a blog, isn't it?
Anyway, if you can have what you want, I'd be happy for you, but very personally, I wouldn't use this function very much, if not at all^^

Well, could you elaborate what you mean? The Chit Chat is for interacting with other people, isn't not? I don't see the similarity between the Chit Chat section and having your own blog. If you could connect the two, I may be convinced.

Your opinion is right about the forum being for interaction - a forum is for interacting with others. However, a forum is also for being able to create your own identity too. An AF user blog is a great way to do exactly that, and to do it within an AF community. It's building your identity within your community to a more fulfilling extent. The more of yourself you can express on a forum, the more fulfilling the community and the more you invest in it, don't you think? ;)

[Oba Yozo]

*kinda just wants to amuse himself by looking at people's lame blog entries and thinking that he's better than them*

I mean.... Blogs are totally a good thing, and I'm all for it. People should be given another outlet to express themselves. I mean, sometimes, there's only so much you can find out about someone due to their love of yaoi, or what have you.