See what other people are saying!

You can view comments that other members have posted to a blog post as well as add your own comments for other members to view. Click on the “Comments” link in the bottom right corner of a post to view comments submitted by other members.

Add a comment to the author’s blog post

You can add comments to another members’ blog post, assuming the author has allowed it. Follow the instructions below to add a comment:

1. Click on the “Comments” tab located in the bottom right corner of the post.
2. To add a comment click on “Add a comment” next to an existing comment or scroll to the bottom of the page.
3. Enter your comment and click the “Post” button. For more information about formatting visit the Message Toolbar
4. You can add an image by clicking “Choose File” next to the Photo/Icon field. Put [image] where you want the uploaded photo displayed within your blog post. If you do not position your photo, then it will replace your blog’s main photo (or silhouette). Note that this step is optional.
5. Click on the “Post” button when you are ready to submit your post. Your comment will be visible to other members once it has been approved by our review team.

Responding to a comment

1. You can respond to another members’ comment by clicking on the “Respond” link to the left of the members’ comment.
2. Enter your comment and click the “Post” button. For more information about formatting visit the Message Toolbar
3. Click on the “Post” button when you are ready to submit your post. Your comment will be visible to other members once it has been approved by our review team.

Quoting another member’s comment

1. You can quote another members’ comment to give your own comment more context. Click on the “Quote” link next to the comment you want to reference.
2. Enter your comment and click the “Post” button. For more information about formatting visit the Message Toolbar
3. Click on the “Post” button when you are ready to submit your post. Your comment will be visible to other members once it has been approved by our review team.

Watching a Blog

You can receive a notification when a member makes changes to their blog by adding the member to your watch list. To add a blog to your watch list click on “Watch This Blog” in the upper right corner of a members’ blog homepage.

View Blog Posts by Keywords

Click on “Keywords” in the upper right corner of any blog to display the most commonly used words the member uses in their blog posts.

Using Title View

Title view allows the reader to get an overview of your blog in an easy-to-read format showing more posts than the normal view. This will switch the display of your blog to a tidy grid of your posts sorted by title, and will show the number of comments, date and time posted, and when the last comments were made on each post.

Viewing Polls

A Poll is a question asked by a blogger with pre-defined answers. You can either select one of the pre-defined answers and click the “Vote” button to participate or view the results from other members’ votes by clicking the “View Results Only” button.

My Blog Homepage

Every member has their own blog homepage. To access the Blog homepage, hover your cursor over Community in the navigation bar and click on Blogs in the menu. From your homepage, you can see all your posts, recent visitors, the most recent responses by others, and your responses to other member’s blogs. To create a blog post click on “Add a Post” from the main blog page.

1. In order to get started click on the “start” link on the blog home page.
2. Type a “Title” for your blog.
3. In the “Message” type the purpose of your post.
4. The “Sticky Post” field can be used to organize your blog homepage. For example, selecting “Top” will always display your post at the top of your blog homepage. Note: If you have more than one blog with the same sticky post setting the most current post will be displayed in chronological order with the most recent being towards the top.
5. When you create a blog and want to showcase it in the public forums, simply choose which one from the “Show in Forums” drop down menu. If you don’t want your blogs to be viewed on public forums select “Don’t Show in Forums” from the dropdown menu. Note: This step is optional.
6. You can add an image to your post by clicking on the “Choose File” button next to the “Photo/Icon” field. After selecting an image add type [image] where you want the image to be displayed in the post.
7. You can choose who is able to view your post by clicking on one of the radio buttons:
   • Anyone – The post will be visible for both members and guests.
   • Only  members – The post will only be visible only to members of the site.
   • Only Friends – The post will only be visible to members in your Friends Network.
8. You can choose whether members can comment on your post by clicking on one of the radio buttons:
   • All  members can add comments – All members will be allowed to comment on your post.
   • My Friends only – Only members in your Friends Network will be allowed to enter comments.
   • No comments allowed – Members will not be able to comment on your post.
9. You can preview comments submitted by other members or have them post immediately by selecting one of the radio buttons:
   • Nothing (have comments show up automatically) – Comments will show up immediately after being approved by our review team.
   • All responses before they show up – You must review all comments and approve them before they are displayed to others.
   • All non-friend posts – You must review all comments from members who are not in your Friends Network and approve them before they are displayed to others.
10. Click on the “Add” button to submit your post. Please allow 24 hours for our review team to review your post before it is visible to others.

Adding a Post

1. To create a post from your Blog homepage click on “Post” in the upper right corner.
2. Type a “Title” for your blog.
3. In the “Message” type the purpose of your post.
4. The “Sticky Post” field can be used to organize your blog homepage. For example, selecting “Top” will always display your post at the top of your blog homepage. Note: If you have more than one blog with the same sticky post setting the most current post will be displayed in chronological order with the most recent being towards the top.
5. When you create a blog and want to showcase it in the public forums, simply choose which one from the “Show in Forums” drop down menu. If you don’t want your blogs to be viewed on public forums select “Don’t Show in Forums” from the dropdown menu. Note: This step is optional.
6. You can add an image to your post by clicking on the “Choose File” button next to the “Photo/Icon” field. After selecting an image add type [image] where you want the image to be displayed in the post.
7. You can choose who is able to view your post by clicking on one of the radio buttons:
   • Anyone – The post will be visible for both members and guests.
   • Only members – The post will only be visible only to members of the site.
   • Only Friends – The post will only be visible to members in your Friends Network.
8. You can choose whether members can comment on your post by clicking on one of the radio buttons:
   • All members can add comments – All members will be allowed to comment on your post.
   • My Friends only – Only members in your Friends Network will be allowed to enter comments.
   • No comments allowed – Members will not be able to comment on your post.
9. You can preview comments submitted by other members or have them post immediately by selecting one of the radio buttons:
   • Nothing (have comments show up automatically) – Comments will show up immediately after being approved by our review team.
   • All responses before they show up – You must review all comments and approve them before they are displayed to others.
   • All non-friend posts – You must review all comments from members who are not in your Friends Network and approve them before they are displayed to others.
10. Click on the “Add” button to submit your post. Please allow 24 hours for our review team to review your post before it is visible to others.

Adding a Poll

You can ask the blog community questions and take a poll of their answers. Follow the instructions below to create a Poll.

1. To create a poll from your Blog homepage click on “Poll” in the upper right corner.
2. Type a “Title” for your poll.
3. Type your question in the “Poll Question” field.
4. Type the possible answers members next to the “Options” field. You need to enter at least two options for members to choose from.
5. You can add images to each option (answer) by clicking on “Include photos” under the options section. After clicking on “Include photos” you can select an image from your PC by clicking on the “Choose File” button. Note: This step is optional.

Create a Blog Signature

1. Your Blog Signature is the unique stamp you use to identify all of your postings – your very own personal signoff. It can be text or an image, or a combination that you choose to appear at the end of each of your posts. To create or edit your Blog Signature, go to your blog and click on “Signature”.
2. Enter the content that will show up at the end of your posts in blogs, groups and magazines in the text box.
3. Click one of the radio buttons next to “Show Signature” to either display or hide your blog signature.
4. Click “Save”.

Editing a Blog Post or Poll

You can edit your blog posts or polls at any time by clicking on the “Edit” button at the bottom left corner of each blog post or poll.

Hide or Unhide a Blog Post or Poll

You can hide a post or poll in your blog from public view by clicking the “Hide Post” link located in the bottom left corner of each post or poll. When you click the “Hide Post” link in your blog – and then confirm the action – you make that blog post temporarily unavailable to other members. They will not be able to see and/or comment on it. The post will still be available to you, and you can make it public again by clicking the “Edit” link.

If you only want to see the publicly visible posts in your blog, as it will be viewed by other members, go to your Blog Settings page and click the “No, don’t show them” radio button next to “Show me my hidden posts?” You can toggle them back on by clicking the “Yes, show them” radio button.

Deleting a Post or Poll

In order to delete a blog post or poll you must first hide it from public view. When you hide a blog post or poll the option to delete it will be displayed in the bottom left corner. Please note that deleting our blog post or poll will permanently delete it from your blogs and it cannot be recovered.

Creating a safe and friendly blog community

Things to stay away from:

• Excessive use of foul language, profanities, obscenities, or vulgarities.
• Harassing, threatening, degrading, intimidating, victimizing, or abusing any individual or group. This includes hate based on a member’s age, gender, ethnicity, disability, religion or sexual orientation.
• Interrupting or repeatedly posting a lot of off-topic comments that disrupts the flow of conversations.
• Selling, advertising or posting ads or making solicitations, including URLs for other sites.
• Posting any URLs, no matter what the intent or content, except in the places where it’s otherwise noted.
• Posting any personal contact information. This includes email or instant messenger addresses, phone numbers, etc.
• Posting copyrighted material or anything that’s protected by intellectual property rights. This includes text, photos, images, sound, and video files.
• Posting instructions or information on how to do anything illegal, such as shoplifting, hacking, etc.
• Any attempt to collect or post any other member’s username, password, or other private, personal information, such as telephone number, email/instant messenger addresses, home address, etc.
• Starting or allowing arguments that escalate into threats, harassment, or violence. Feel free to argue and defend your opinions, but keep it civil.
• Flooding a Blog. This means you can’t continuously post the same blog title or comments over and over again to disrupt a conversation or the community.
• Transmitting or attempting to transmit a virus to other members.
• Impersonating or trying to pass yourself off as an employee of our site, its parent company and/or affiliates or subsidiaries.
• Making defamatory statements about our site or any of its affiliated sites.
• Unless we mentioned it above, anything you post to your blog or anyone else’s must comply with our site Terms of Use.

Multiple violations will result in deletion of accounts and any other accounts connected to this member. Previous violations will result in future violations being treated more swiftly and severely. If you need to file a complaint against another user, contact customer service using the Help Form.

Blog Advice & Etiquette

• Check comments regularly. Don’t respond to mean or embarrassing comments — delete them and block offensive people from commenting further.
• Post often. Once you get members hooked on your blog, they’ll want to keep coming back for more. Give it to them!
• Use your sense of humor. We’ve noticed that the most popular blogs tend to be honest and humorous. You don’t have to be a comedian, but everyone has a unique way of expressing themselves through humor. Find yours and use it, and you’ll get more people reading your blog.
• Post your blog on public forums. The best way to reach a wider audience with your blog is by posting it on our numerous public discussion forums. Just pick which topics your post touches on, and whether it would be appealing to the members discussing that topic.
• Connect with other bloggers. One of the most amazing things about the blogosphere is how it has created a tight-knit community that supports one another. Developing relationships with other bloggers will lead more people to your blog, and give you a better sense of what appeals to members. Which makes your blog even better!
• Learn more at the blogging FAQ. And most of all — have fun out there!

Tips for Blog Safety

Be careful about giving out your personal information to anyone online. Our employees will never ask you to post personal information or account details, like your email address or password. If anyone asks you for this kind of information, report it to our Abuse Team. The rule of thumb is: Don’t post any personal information in your blog. It’s just good common sense and will make your blogging safer, more secure and, in the long run, more fun.

• Be anonymous. Avoid postings that make it easy to locate you. That includes your last name, your employer, any clubs or affiliations, the town you live in, and where you hang out.
• Protect your info. Use the Blog filter feature which allows you to control who can visit your blog. Allow only people you know and trust. Remember — if you don’t use privacy features, anyone with an Internet connection can read your blog.
• Avoid in-person meetings. Don’t get together with someone you “meet” in a blog unless you are 100% certain of their actual identity. If you do meet the person, be smart about it. Arrange the meeting in a public place and bring a friend along.

Viewing other member Blog Posts and Polls

The Member Blogs page provides a summary of popular blog posts and polls as well as blogs you have decided to watch. Hover over the Community menu and click on “Blogs” to view the Member Blogs page.

You can also view another members’ blogs by clicking on the “My Blog” tab on the members’ home page.