I haven’t been able to get CommentLuv to find the feed on my site since I started using this Wordpress theme, so my last posts never show up when I leave comments on other people’s blogs. I emailed CommentLuv support about it and they said:

you have not got an autofind feed url in your site header , commentluv needs to see where your feed is to be able to read it.

Does anyone know how to get this autofind feed URL thinger? I emailed my theme template designer but haven’t heard back. Surely it’s just some simple line of code in header.php, right?

Help, please.

Fixed it! With a little help from the folks at CommentLuv and a good old Google search, I’m set to go.

I added these lines after the meta tags in header.php:

<link rel=”alternate” type=”application/rss+xml” title=”<?php bloginfo(‘name’); ?> RSS Feed” href=”<?php bloginfo(‘rss2_url’); ?>” /><meta name=”distribution” content=”global” />

<link rel=”alternate” type=”application/atom+xml” title=”<?php bloginfo(‘name’); ?> Atom Feed” href=”<?php bloginfo(‘rss2_url’); ?>” /><meta name=”distribution” content=”global” />

And made sure that <?php wp_head(); ?> was right before the </head> command.

It works, everyone! Hurrah!

This is a post testing the WP2Tumblr plugin that’s supposed to be an option for putting some of my blog posts directly to my Tumblr.

Yes, I started a Tumblr.

My intention is to use it to post SOME of my stuff because my family always asks me about my blog and why they can’t read it – especially now that I’m being asked to do reviews and have parties because of my blog presence. They think I must be quasi-important (hah!) and I think that my unwillingness to let them read my blog in its entirety is making them feel a little left out. I just don’t want them futzing through all the back posts about E, about Tim… and I don’t want them reading about when I’m mad or depressed and whatnot. My family worries a lot. But I write about a lot of innocent things too, so why not share those? Or even slightly-edited versions of the mostly-innocent stuff, like Operation PANTS?

So I’m thinking that the Tumblr could be a sort of edited version of Swinging from the Chandelier. The WP2Tumblr plugin gives me a box on my “Write Post” screen that I can check if I want the post sent to my Tumblr, or uncheck if I don’t. And I can add little update-y bits on there too, just to keep them posted on things that I otherwise wouldn’t write an entire post about.

Could this be a good idea that allows me the opportunity to let the family in a LITTLE bit while not giving them access to all of the details?

What are your tumbly thoughts?

—————–

Update: WP2Tumblr WORKED!

(The Nintendo Girlfriends’ Guide to Gaming post will be up as soon as I get the photos from the girls at Brand About Town. I took very few of my own, as I was too busy gaming and chatting.)

I met a fellow blogger at my Nintendo party the other night! For the purposes of this particular post, she shall remain nameless. We got to talking about – what else? – blogging and the act of moving one’s blog, as I did recently. She confided that she’s moved her blog several times, and one of those times the move was prompted by some Mean People.

There’s a common conception in the blog world that when you start getting trolls, spammers, and the occasional negative “you suck” sort of comment on your blog, you’re on the right track to “making it.” People are noticing you. Your URL is getting hits from bots because it’s getting hits from people. They’re annoying, but in the grand scheme of things, the spammers and bots and trolls kind of mean that you’re moving on up. So we deal with them through Akismet and other filters.

But we should not have to deal with Mean People. Mean People attack us personally and use our comment sections as a place to spew venom and say hurtful things to the person behind the blog. Mean People don’t care if their comments are moderated, they just want to put their vile thoughts on the blogger’s screen so she has to read them before she can delete them.

Mean People need to go back to MySpace with the other rotten, immature teenagers. No blogger, whatever her stance on anything as a writer or as a person, deserves personal attack. Especially in her personal space.

New Blog Friend, I encourage you to take action. I encourage all of us to protect ourselves from Mean People.

Those of us who host our blogs on Wordpress.org can make a quick fix by means of a plugin called WP-Ban. It allows you to ban specific IP addresses from ever accessing your page again, and you can use it to block Mean People as well as spammers and bots. Just copy the IP address on the comments they leave, drop it into a certain text field, save, and you’re done. You can even choose what kind of message you want to show up on the screen when they try to access your domain.

I wish I knew how to do something similar on Wordpress.com and on Blogger. There ought to be something to protect people on every content management system. Mean People are the blogosphere equivalent of the junior high school bully – and should be treated as such. Shut them up.

</rant>

Bloggers, please share so we all know: Have the Mean People gotten to your blog? What platform do you use, and what did you do?

Like Donkey Kong. Oh yeah.

My slacker-self always misses BlogHer for two reasons:

1. I forget to sign up on time.
2. I do not have the money to sign up anyway.

This year I have thwarted both of those excuses. Even though I did forget to sign up for a full conference pass (and couldn’t have afforded it anyway), I’m still going because BlogHer 09 is in my friendly neighboring city of Chicago and I can get a partial admission called LobbyCon for only $99. This means I get to be in on the streaming video session of the general and keynote addresses (on-site at the ChiBar at the Sheraton), as well as the cocktail parties, the after-parties, and the swag at the Expo. I’ll miss the breakout sessions, but that’s okay. I’d rather come for part of it that I can afford than not go at all.

Do you know anyone doing LobbyCon at BlogHer?

Since LobbyCon-goers are not involved in the breakout sessions, we have a big gap of free time during the day Friday and Saturday, all of which cannot be spent harvesting goodies at the Expo. But BlogHer is at the Sheraton Towers in downtown Chicago, close to lots and lots o’ fun, even outside of the conference! Since no official forum exists, I’m working the comment board on the one article about LobbyCon, trying to gather email addresses to at least get a mailing list together so people can share ideas.

Because, you know, we don’t get to eat lunch with the rest of you guys.

If you are interested in LobbyCon, click here for a link to an article with the details, and click here to go to the Eventbrite page to register.

And if you’re going to BlogHer, with whatever kind of ticket, I strongly recommend that you check out  “The Unofficial Guide to BlogHer ‘09″ at Guidespot.com. Jenn of Free and Flawed put that puppy together and it is all kinds of helpful, especially for first-timers like me. I learned many things, including that I need not be afraid of taking my laptop around, but I might like a sexier laptop bag with more pockets. And that my social anxiety may be assuaged if I have pretty blog cards to break the ice with new people.

So I bought this from Amazon:

and these from socialcirclecards on Etsy:

The blog cards even come with a super-cute matching case. It’s not too late to order yours!

</sales pitch>

Brand About Town sent me a Nintendo DSi in the mail yesterday! I had no idea I was going to get one before the party, but I’m sure they just want me to practice so I can be a good example and a rock star and all that. AND IT HAS BLING.

Justine opened the box and put a sparkly crystal heart on the DSi before she sent it. Woo! Shiny objects!

This is all quite convenient because today I am stuck at home waiting for the air conditioner repair guy to come and douse my cranky AC with new freon. And so from 12 to 4, I need something to do besides watch the temperature on the thermostat rise.

Who wants to learn to play Mario Kart with me?