Blog Guidelines (PDF)The idea of our organization’s blog is to inform the reader about the benefits, how-to, and politics of drying laundry outside. We hope to promote novel products and keep you up-to-date about all things related to green laundry practices in the news.
Project Laundry List uses Google’s Blogger for its blog. If you want to learn more about the features of this great tool, there is a well of knowledge available at http://help.blogger.com/.
Becoming a Clothes Pegger
Joining The Team
In order to make a top-level post at http://blog.laundrylist.org/, you will need to send a request to our Blogger-in-Chief using this email address: blogger@laundrylist.org. Team members can either be administrators or not, which is up to the Executive Director and the Blogger-in-Chief. Administrators can edit all posts (not just their own), add and remove team members (and grant admin access), and modify the blog's settings and template. Non-admins can only create and edit their own posts. We can have up to 100 people at any time as Clothes Peggers. Most people will be added as non-admins.
Making Comments on a Post
Comments that have already been published or rejected are removed from the moderation list. Rejected comments are deleted and cannot be recovered. Approved comments can be deleted in the usual way if you decide you no longer want them. Only blog administrators will be able to moderate comments. Team members without admin privileges will not have access.
Joining the Clothes Pegger Community
In order to join and communicate through a listserv with other Clothes Peggers, you will need to send a message to Project Laundry List using this email address: info@laundrylist.org. Once you have been added to the community, you will be able to send messages to all of your fellow bloggers at blog@laundrylist.org. When responding to a message that you receive from that list, your response will also go to everybody on that list.
The Clothes Peg Schedule
The Clothes Pegger Community maintains a Google Calendar. Usually blogs are spontaneous places for conversation and discourse, but we want to encourage people to periodically submit posts. You can sign-up to post on certain dates by subscribing to our calendar. If you would like to be added to our calendar, please email info@laundrylist.org.
Getting More Bang for Your Buck
Social Networking and Crossposting
Please consider posting your entry to other blogs, listservs, and newsgroups and make sure you refer back to your original post at The Clothes Peg (http://blog.laundrylist.org/).
Facebook allows you to quickly and easily import an external blog from another website.
- On the Notes page, select the "Import a blog" link on the right side of the page.
- Enter the URL of your blog into the text box, and check the box underneath that states that you agree to their Terms of Use.
- To complete the process, click on "Save Settings". Once you do this, your past posts will be in notes and any new posts you make will automatically display.
On rare occasions, you may want to join our Yahoo! Group and post your message there, as well. Abuse of this privilege will result in the revocation of blogging privileges.
Post messages by writing to ProjectLaundryList@yahoogroups.com.
Subscribe to the group by writing to ProjectLaundryList-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Unsubscribe by writing to ProjectLaundryList-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Some General Guidelines
- Be short. The average internet reader is captured by the first sentence and, if interested will read a paragraph or two. They have to be really interested in the topic to bother with scrolling down. This translates to about 150-300 words per block. Sometimes you will need to write 500 words, but less is more.
- Keep the topics simple and focused. Don’t try to do a broad survey of a topic. If a topic is too large to deal with at one time, then split it into several smaller parts and reference each sub topic to the preceding or next one.
- Keep the topic informative. Romantic images and reminiscences are fun but the bulk of any main post should be information that people can use such as laundry products, tips for hanging unusual items, or ways to work with/around homeowner's association regulations.
- Make the blogs positive and be particularly careful not to make generalizations about people who do not hang laundry. We do not want to alienate people, but welcome them to our growing movement.
- Respond to questions and comments about your blog posts, even if it is just to say thanks for reading the blog.
- Have fun! Blogs are a way to communicate the benefits that you find in a sometimes mundane chore, but that should not make the blog itself boring and mundane. Think of it as a conversation with someone, not a lecture.
- AVOID CAPITALIZATION FOR EMPHASIS. Use the AP Manual or some other acceptable guide for editing.
- As a general rule, please do not make more than one main post per day. Save your fire power and recruit others to blog. Try to avoid being the dominant blogger by recruiting others to join. On the other hand, you may comment as early and often as you like.
- If you want more guidance, read The Ten Commandments of Blog Etiquette.
Thank you. Blog early and blog often.
KT Copsey, Blogger-in-Chief
blogger@laundrylist.org
