F.A.Q.

About this F.A.Q.
This F.A.Q. is linked from the front page of StlBloggers.com. It is also be accessible via http://stlbloggers.com/faq. It should contain a list of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers by and for the StlBloggers community.

I expect to be constantly modifying this F.A.Q. to include new questions and answers as well as asking for feedback in the comments. As suggestions for questions are pulled out of the comments and put into the post itself I'll be deleting those comments about the particular question out of the comments.

Who do I contact for technical assistance?
support@bloghorn.com

What is a weblog/blog?
A weblog, or blog, is a web-site with content organized by date updated on a regular basis. The content is up to you. (bumr)

What is stlbloggers?
STLBloggers provides a central location for STL Metro area bloggers to keep track of events and issues relevant to the area and to have an indication of what area bloggers have updated recently. (rev_matt)

Where can I get a blog?
Bloghorn is an excellent service. It's run by the same people that run StlBloggers.com so we're biased. Other options include TypePad, BlogSpot, LiveJournal, and ModBlog. (Gavroche)

Can I bring up controversial topics of local interest?
Even the most innocuous topics have been known to become controversial. It's nothing personal. Usually. (christy)

What's up with the stlblogger of the week?
The "Blogger of the Week" has only twice ever lasted for only a week. It's usually 2-4 weeks. It's funny like that. (Cybrpunk)

Are babies cute?
Babies are cute. (Cybrpunk)

How about a singles section. You know, for those of us that are relationshiply challenged?
If you are relationshiply challenged, there's probably a good reason for it. STLBloggers will not take responsibility for unleashing you on unsuspecting citizens.

Where are my pants?
Ask bob. (bob)

Should I allow comments in my blog?
That depends on how thick your skin is. People online, as offline, can be pretty lame. If you can handle random people making insulting comments for no reason about what you post, then go for it. (rev_matt)

How do I get my blog to appear in the "Last 20 Blog Updates" list?
Manually, when you're logged in, you can click on the "ping!" link at the top of the page.(gavroche)

Is there a way for me to sign a comment with a name other than my username?
Yes, if you logoff, the Name box will become blank, and you'll be able to type anything in there that you wish.(gavroche)

What happend to my post? It's gone!
If it's been over X days since you posted it, it is possible it has just been moved off the page to the archives. Use the calendar that used to appear in the upper-right to find it again. Otherwise, administrators may have decided it was offensive, or perhaps more personal than community oriented. We're not trying to censor you, both of these things just belong on your own blog, not here. If you don't have a blog, see Where can I get a blog? (gavroche)

What's the URL I ping to notify STLBloggers.com that I've updated my blog?
The URL is http://stlbloggers.com/ping.aspx?username=X where X is your username. If you want to write an XML-RPC interface, that is at http://stlbloggers.com/ping.asmx (crackmonkey)

Why does every post on STLBloggers seem to get off topic?
I like Mexican food. (jimh)
Please help us build this F.A.Q. by contributing either Questions or Answers in the comments. Thank you.


Posted by bumr at 2/11/2004 10:18:05 AM, comments

Submitted by dc at 8/11/2004 7:10:47 PM
    Q: where do I post classifieds ?
Submitted by bill at 11/4/2004 2:18:38 AM
    Need oct 16 silo x photo's to find who our daughter is with, aprox ticket purchase time 9:30 pm.
    36 yrs, Long Blond, blue aprox 135lbs, wearing light creme or biege sweater with jeans if you have any photo's that will show who or what group she is with please email them to zz148@hotmail.com
    thank you and god bless
Submitted by Timotab at 3/9/2005 6:09:12 PM
    the rss feeds for the blog posts seem to be broken... did they move?
Submitted by ben at 3/10/2005 12:23:52 AM
Submitted by damaged_paperdoll at 4/27/2005 10:00:07 AM
    How do I get off stlbloggers.com??? I don't want to be listed here anymore.
Submitted by John at 4/27/2005 10:21:31 AM
    One creative method would be to sign on, go to your info box, and change the username and blog url. But there might be an actual way to delete your info too...
Submitted by kat at 4/27/2005 11:05:55 AM
    try emailing support@bloghorn.com. They will take care of you there.
Submitted by ben at 4/27/2005 11:46:19 AM
    damaged_paperdoll, I deleted your account.
Submitted by Erin at 6/10/2005 10:07:44 AM
    I am a member of stlbloggers and updated my blog but do not see it on the updated list. what have I done wrong?
Submitted by exceptio at 7/9/2005 9:04:35 AM
    I just signed up as a member of stlbloggers. After I submitted my info I did get some weird error mentioning politics_users. But I was able to log in, so my info is on your database.

    But while I can login, my blog doesn't appear with the 'newest members'.

Submitted by Exceptio at 7/9/2005 9:06:39 AM
    hee hee. didnt realize that would happen.
Submitted by Sandisaster at 7/28/2005 1:42:05 AM
    http://sandisaster.blogspot.com/
Submitted by dave62 at 9/16/2005 12:02:58 AM
    Hey, it's me, at 12:00 midnight. trying this out for the first time. So, What's New?
Submitted by dave62 at 9/17/2005 12:21:16 AM
    Submitted by dave62 at 9/17/2005 12:25:32 AM
      oops. Hello all. just another day in Ol. saint louis. Went to the grand opening of the Des peres pedestrian bridge. More ploiticians talking on and on, blah blah blah. Patting each other on the back. It is a nice bridge. If you bicycle, maybe I'll see you there sometime. ciao!!
    Submitted by dc at 11/27/2005 12:54:20 AM
      where did the classified and magazine sections go ?
      ps PowerBook G4 15" for sale,
      http://derfotohof.net/powerbook/
    Submitted by ben at 11/28/2005 10:32:42 AM
      no price listed
    Submitted by dc at 12/2/2005 11:21:09 PM
      $600.
    Submitted by Doja at 12/6/2005 7:39:40 AM
      What is the best NYE party in St. Louis?
    Submitted by Smart Aleck at 12/6/2005 9:46:37 AM
      The one I'm at.
      (I actually don't know much about public NYE parties. I do know some good private ones, but the problem is, you have to sort of be invited.)
    Submitted by Nobody at 1/5/2006 10:49:20 AM
      has the procedure to archive posts changed. it used to be something like this:

      http://blogname.stlbloggers.com/archive/year/2005

      But this now produces an error

      I was also trying to recall how to search archives
      something like blogname.stlbloggers.com/?search=searchterm but that doesn't work, so I know its not right.

      Thanks.
    Submitted by ben at 1/6/2006 10:23:56 AM
      Try /year/2005 without the "/archives".
    Submitted by Jeff at 3/15/2006 10:28:41 PM
      I've got a st. louis blog called Dividing By Zero Will Get You Nowhere, at http://nowherenothin.blogspot.com

      How do I get listed or otherwise involved with you guys. The FAQ didn't really address that, or maybe I'm just a moron...

      thanks,
      Jeff
    Submitted by Kevin at 3/16/2006 6:08:40 AM
      Jeff, If you want to have your site listed with the updates on the left, just create an account, then log in and ping.
    Submitted by John at 6/21/2007 2:26:55 PM
      One small thing one might do to make this a little more noob friendly is to link to this faq in a visible location (upper left corner maybe) Maybe it needs to be updated in places, but it was a good idea, in my opinion.
    Submitted by david at 8/8/2007 9:03:35 AM
      Blasting away at someone personally while hiding behind a handle is for snakes. Get a vertabrae.
    Submitted by John at 8/8/2007 11:57:08 AM
      David,

      I don't see anyone blasting anyone else above in this FAQ thread, nor do I see it elsewhere currently.

      There's another thread where people are discussing whether someone is famous enough to deserve a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame, but suggesting they're not, isn't really blasting them.

      You can tell me I'm not famous enough, and I'll readily agree with you. It's not an insult. Most people aren't. No one has attacked the individual beyond their lack-of-fame.

      Furthermore...many of the people in the conversation have blogs where they reveal their full identity. So, no, we're not hiding behind handles.
    Submitted by christy at 8/8/2007 12:08:54 PM
      I'm hiding behind a handle. You all didn't really believe my name is Christy, do you?

      Because it isn't. It's Michelle.
    Submitted by Dana from Mamalogues at 8/8/2007 1:16:12 PM
      I find that comment really insulting to people without vertebrae. And snakes.
    Submitted by cybrpunk at 8/8/2007 11:44:51 PM
      I'm confused.... David, I think you are too.

      Oh, and snakes have vertebrae....
    Submitted by rev_matt at 8/9/2007 10:51:49 AM
      And getting a single vertebrae wouldn't be particularly useful, they tend to work better as a whole string of them operating in tandem. Some call it a spine.
    Submitted by John at 8/9/2007 11:15:07 AM
      Wait. Worms are invertebrates, but books have a spine, so what about bookworms?
    Submitted by rev_matt at 8/9/2007 12:08:31 PM
      The have spines, but they crack easily :)
    Submitted by kathyp at 8/24/2007 9:23:54 AM
      Since this seems the most appropriate place to post this (if not you can all throw rocks at me), the pinger's updating like it should. This has been going on for a few months now. Also, I have never been able to post a new topic. I always get an error message when I try.
    Submitted by ben at 8/25/2007 2:47:06 PM
      I'll look into it today. I see other people pinging so there may just be a problem with your account.
    Submitted by kathyp at 8/26/2007 8:54:22 AM
      Actually, it happens with both accounts, and I don't see any of the recently updated sites until I've hit refresh a couple times. It's only been like that since about July. Seemed to be okay this morning.
    Submitted by KD at 8/26/2007 7:21:47 PM
      I had that problem earlier this week. I emailed you on the day it happened, Ben.
    Submitted by kathyp at 8/27/2007 9:28:40 AM
      And it's happening again. Is the problem only with the manual ping?
    Submitted by kathyp at 8/27/2007 9:48:30 AM
      I wish I could edit a comment instead of leaving a new one, but now Ben's site, which was at the top, has disappeared. It's official. We're haunted.

      Or voodoo'd (sp?) or something.
    Submitted by kat at 8/27/2007 9:33:37 PM
      we are not haunted, ben is probably just playing god. ok, blog-god.
    Submitted by ben at 8/28/2007 12:06:31 AM
      I did the manual ping as a test then manually removed myself from the ping-list after verifying that it worked.

      Once before there was a bug in the code that only affected select users that didn't allow them to ping. It turned out that their blog url had gone missing from their profile and adding it back fixed the problem. I recall fixing that bug but this may perhaps be something new doing something old. I'll poke around. In the meantime it wouldn't hurt to check your "manage account" (top menu) info.
    Submitted by bloyal at 12/3/2007 12:14:28 PM
      Submitted by Karen Goodman at 2/3/2008 9:14:06 PM
        I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I can't seem to log in, and I can't find a spot for the ping option. I just signed up with

        http://www.realestateinfostl.com/blogs/karen_goodman/default.aspx

        Any help you can offer would be great.

      Submitted by Karen Goodman at 2/3/2008 9:19:14 PM
        Nevermind...I had a typo in my login name (do I feel silly or what). I got logged in and found the ping button.
      Submitted by ai at 2/9/2008 10:09:57 AM
        I am unable to create a new account to become a part of this community. The website consistently says there is an error. I have tried on several different computers and different networks with the same error always appearing. How can I create an account?
      Submitted by ben at 2/9/2008 11:32:11 PM
        It's fixed now. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

        Is 'moethanme' you? If so, it appears as if the system created your account correctly before spewing the error message at you. Give it a try.
      Submitted by cybrpunk at 5/2/2008 9:33:31 AM
        This is still the best FAQ in the world.
      Submitted by bob at 8/10/2008 8:46:34 PM
        Lame - spam in the FAQ. Can that be deleted?
      Submitted by ben at 8/11/2008 9:39:15 AM
        Answer - Yes.
      Submitted by ChronicallyUncool at 8/11/2008 4:04:47 PM
        I get an "access denied" error when I try to do a new post. Is it a bug or am I a moron? Or perhaps both? =)
      Submitted by kathyp at 8/11/2008 5:13:25 PM
        I get the same thing.
      Submitted by ben at 8/11/2008 8:28:48 PM
        I just upgraded both of your accounts.

        Are there any other real non-spamming users who want to post here?
      Submitted by kathyp at 8/11/2008 8:42:47 PM
        Thanks Ben.
      Submitted by bob at 8/14/2008 12:38:35 PM
        Yeah -- I'll post again. :)

        Or maybe I'll just read the FAQ and e-mail my question to you.
      Submitted by ben at 8/14/2008 8:21:18 PM
        Bob you've already got 'editor' access. Make sure you're logged in with username 'bob'.
      blog comments powered by Disqus
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      Saint Louis Blogger
      Disqus Comments
      StayAwayFromBadDocs
      I heartily agree to Dr. No
      If you are looking for a medic with ethics, stay away from Mrs. Geismann!!!! She would always try to pull the patients and prolong treatments. Her husband is an attorney - hence comes the litigation part.
      Karen Goodman
      I can't figure out how to get a new post started...I'm getting an error message.

      So I'll just put it here.

      For those of you that have previously visited my old website, St. Louis Real Estate Insights at RealEstateInfoSTL.com, I hope you will come check out my new site at www.ArchCityHomes.com.

      I set up the pinging about a week ago even though the site was locked down, so that's why the links didn't work from the ping list. Everything should work fine now.

      I've got a bunch of market report pages (a few still need to be uploaded and will be up within a few days). I'd love it if you will take a minute to check it out and give me your feedback. Happy Thanksgiving!
      Tammy
      Browne doesn't need to lease the space --the city paid for it, and he's just sitting pretty on a multi-million gold mine. Things will change, though, when SteinMart goes bankrupt. I imagine they'll file sometime after the holidays...
      Show Me the Money
      Rock Hill City Hall (Mayor, City Administrator, All the Aldermen, and Alderwomen) reminds me of "The Beverly Hillbillies" I'm not going to name, names, but I swear a couple of them have seen, Johnny Walker and Jim Bean, a few too many times. One of them looks like they just crawled out of the bottle. They can't seem to find occupants for "Market at Mcknight", however they state they are pushing forward with phase II....another Target!!!! I hear they (Novus) are wanting to much money per square foot, to lease those empty buildings. City Hall needs to go back behind closed doors, for their sessions, and stay there!
      cybrpunk
      Karen, Use the first URL that Ben posted. That's the one I use and it's always worked for my sites.
      Karen Goodman
      Ok, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with these. Which URL do I paste into the pinging section of my blog?

      And, I cleared my cookies and now can't logon. Can you send me my login info. My website is St. Louis Real Estate Insights and I've included my email address.
      xcud
      Thanks for that Kathy. The pinger is back online now. Everything has finally been moved to a more permanent server which will get plenty of attention when it goes down. I can start fixing these bugs -- stllboggers cookies, twitter bot, etc -- with the knowledge that any work I do won't be lost.
      Kathy G
      I'm sure you're aware that pinging hasn't worked for the last 24 hours!
      kperfetto
      I can log in, but not ping. I've always pinged (pung) manually. Does the automated pinger work with Blogger, too?

      Love the new commenting system, though.
      xcud
      test
      Comments
      ben
      The soap interface is here: http://thepinger.com/stlbloggers.soap

      The REST interface is here: http://stlbloggers.com/ping.aspx?username=[username]
      10/26/2008 8:09:58 AM
      amy b
      i assume you are aware that twitter has stopped showing pings. i really liked that feature, and i am hoping you are trying to fix it! :)
      10/23/2008 3:08:03 PM
      bob
      I'm also having a pinging issue -- when I ping (and I use firefox) I have to log in, ping, go to the main page, log in again, and ping again.
      10/19/2008 1:55:16 PM
      Sarahlynn
      Ah, that explains it. Thanks, Ben!
      10/4/2008 6:48:28 PM
      ben
      Stlbloggers is living on a temporary server which isn't honoring cookies for more than half an hour.

      I'll kick it this weekend.
      10/2/2008 11:35:09 PM
      builtlikesteele
      market at mcknight is mostly empty. don't imagine that's going to change anytime soon with the current economy. they should have left the neighborhood there.
      10/2/2008 1:04:35 PM
      Happily Ever After Jen
      I can log in, but when I ping, it tells me I have an invalid user name.
      10/1/2008 3:22:59 PM
      elitsirk
      Before the outage, I never had to re-login from the computers I use most often. I don't think I entered a password for months. Now I have to login everytime before I can ping. Maybe its a different symptom of the same issue?
      10/1/2008 12:22:12 PM
      Sarahlynn
      Ever since that "mostly dead" incident, I have to log out then log back in every time I want to ping. Is this happening to anyone else, or just me?
      9/29/2008 9:32:02 PM
      ben
      Stick a "http://" a the beginning of your URL.
      9/27/2008 12:13:40 AM




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