Ubuntero.org Admin :: Blog

Complete rewrite:
We know the spam has been a problem on the comment walls. We're working on a solution that will robustly and completely eradicate any need to change anything on your part (please follow our progress and make any comments, but in the meantime there are some steps below that outline how to restrict some comments from your comment wall. Public commenting is something we want to encourage in general (at least by default), but it's apparent that some extra mechanisms will need to be put in place.

The original post follows, in case you would like to change your comment wall settings.

Thanks!
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You all have probably noticed the increase in spam comments on your blogs and your comments walls (I know I have!).  Fight Back!

To help block spammers from your blog posts:

Go into your account settings (top right hand corner of the screen) and you should see this section:

Make comments public

Set this to 'yes' if you would like anyone to be able to comment on your resources (by default only logged-in users can). Note that this may make you vulnerable to spam.

Public comments:

<here's where you want to select "NO".>

Additionally, If you are getting comment spam on your wall, edit your widget to only allow logged in users to post on it.

Happy Blogging! 

Edit: Just to clarify, we are currently working on a solution that does not include changing these settings (this is just a temporary workaround for the meantime).  The details are included in Bug#155407.

Andrew, Ken, and I (along with fellow Ubuntero Sipes) made an appearance at this year's Ohio LinuxFest (www.ohiolinux.org) and had a blast!  You may have already read my blog post on the opening Keynote where the tone would be set for a great weekend.  We attended a BOF for Ubuntu users where we met one of my favorite Planet Ubuntu bloggers, Jorge and chatted away about the site, Gutsy, BlackBerries and iPods.  All in all it was a good time and we got even got our pic on the planet.  Additionally, he went on to create a Ubuntero profile.  Welcome to the community Jorge.

Read More | jorge's stompbox 

In this section, we wanted to cover how the "Your Resources" section works. 

I don't think it would be fair to talk about any of this without mentioning RSS (those of you professional RSS readers may want to skip this part).   But there are two sources which can explain them better than I can, One is Wikipedia:

RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a "feed", "web feed", or "channel", contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually.

RSS content can be read using software called a "feed reader" or an "aggregator." The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.

Then there's my favorite video that explains how this works from Common Craft: RSS in Plain English (video attached).

After watching that you get how RSS works.  So why go through this rant about RSS? Essentially, this is the core of the Your Resources section. I've broken down into the sections available when you click on the button (Feeds, Publish To Blog, View Aggregator, and Popular Feeds.

Feeds
Here's where you can add any feed you like. These are for YOU! You can choose to share them (more on that later) or just use them for yourself to read your favorite blog and news sites.  After you add a feed, you can choose to read that content by clicking View Content which will open up that feed immediately.  Add as many as you want, there's no limit.

Publish to Blog
When clicking here, you can now use those feeds you added to publish directly into your Ubuntero Blog.  Since your blog is viewable to the public (by default, but you can publish privately), you can post those stories directly to that one place.  Kind of handy if you want to share a post from another site (or another blog you have) with your fellow Ubunteros.

View aggregator
This is my favorite part of Your Resources.  Its where all your feeds are combined and displayed to you on a single web page.  So if you watched the RSS in plain English video, this is your "reader".  Only you can access your subscriptions here.

Popular Feeds
This is where you can see the feeds that have been subscribed to by other Ubunteros.  When your itching for something new to read or subscribe to, this is a great resource to find new and interesting blogs. Additionally, your feeds are added to this section.

Since we are on the topic of RSS - you can subscribe to your fellow Ubunteros' blogs by clicking on the RSS icon next to the Personal Blog link while you are viewing their profile.  Of course, you can just choose to read it by just clicking on Personal Blog as well.

So go on, fill up on feeds.  Use the feed widget to post feeds to your profile. Get to work, there's load of reading to be done.

Ubuntero.com can now official stand against the armies of Persia!

We hit the 300 user mark today!  It has been an absolutely exhilarating ride.  We hope you guys have liked what you have seen thus far.  Pat yourselves on the back for helping make Ubuntero.com an absolute success and stay tuned for more - we've got a few tricks up our sleeves yet. ;)

Profile customization is pretty simple here, if you know where to go.  We thought it would be a good idea to show you how to use some of the features that are currently set up so that you can get your profile looking nice.  This part will cover widgets.

The widgets on your profile are what really make your profile stand out in customization, making it pretty much the most important part when it comes to layout (we would argue that your picture may be the most important part of your profile). When you click "My Profile" in your navigation bar (at the top) it should take you directly to your profile.  When you're there click the "add widget" option underneath your display name.  Here you are presented with a few widgets to choose from:

Blog
This widget allows you to publish to your Ubuntero.com Blog.  The displays your blog by default.  However you can use this to show other a blog from another fellow Ubuntero (must be added as a friend).  Additionally, you can customize how many posts should be published on said widget.

Comment Wall
This feature allows others to post directly to your profile.  You can set up how many you want to display.

Video
Gather up your favorite video link here.  You'll want to use links with the <embed> tag here.  You can set up the video to display at a custom resolution as well.

Files
Here you can display files you upload. More on that in another part :)

Feed
This one allows you to display a feed you have set up in the "Your Resources" section. Basically, it publishes a non-ubuntero.com blog for others to see.

Profile
Here you can select a section of your profile. For example maybe you'll want to display your AIM name for everyone or your "Who am I?" section.

Friends
Allows you to display the last of your friends that were logged on.

Text Box
This one is pretty straight foward, you can place whatever text you'd like.  However, this one is special because this if probably the widget you want to paste that all important HTML code from another source.  Use this widget to paste code that would display that code.  Currently some popular uses have been for Last.Fm information, Xbox 360 Gamertags, and Facebook badges.

The important thing to remember here is that you can use the widgets multiple times.  So you can use a profile widget to display your AIM screename, and another for your interests, if you'd like.

What's also important to note is that you can make these widget public or private, so if you don't want others to see your uploaded files, but want to see it when you visit your profile, mark that File widget private. 

After a widget is added you can modify, delete or move it by going to your profile and clicking the icons under that widget.

Happy Profile Making 

Ubuntero.com has launched!

Check back here for updates and to stay current on what's happening at Ubuntero.com!