What journal / blog site to use?

[Ry]

I've been recently considering taking down my existing blog (rycanada.livejournal.com) because even though I paid for no ads and more space, I apparently can't add pdfs or zip files and such into the mix. That pisses me off to no end - I can attach stuff here at EN World but not on my own damn blog.

I write articles about RPGs with a little bit of minimal formatting, and I make free pdfs available for download. The filesizes aren't stratospheric. I like a nice, clean blog interface that allows moderated comments on the entries without too much garbage clogging it up. Does anyone know of such a service?

 

[WhatGravitas]

I've tried blogspot (and it was horrible), and right now, I'm sticking with LiveJournal, but as you've said, there's no way to upload stuff.

The best way, would be a own homepage, where you either host your own or embed your current blog. Or at least, you'd use it as a file repository.

The next thing is: Googlepages. It's a mini website kit (with 100 MB), and as far as I know, you can host stuff there, though I'm not 100% sure of it.

Last, and worst solution: Use a file hoster, and renew the files regularily (since they usually get deleted after some weeks of inactivity).
____________

If you want to pull of a very 'professional' look with full control, host it yourself, otherwise try the GooglePages, they look very promising and good.

Cheers, LT.

 

[horacethegrey]

I too am curious. Is putting up your own website the only way you can upload files for other people to view? Or is their an alternative?

 

[WhatGravitas]

I too am curious. Is putting up your own website the only way you can upload files for other people to view? Or is their an alternative?

Well, I've suggested GooglePages... and the next solution (besides uploading stuff on friendly messageboards) would be one of the many file hosters, though most of them are a bit unreliable and only host files for a certain time. Plus many people use them for less savoury files, so they have a slightly shady image.

Cheers, LT.

 

[horacethegrey]

Well, I've suggested GooglePages... and the next solution (besides uploading stuff on friendly messageboards) would be one of the many file hosters, though most of them are a bit unreliable and only host files for a certain time. Plus many people use them for less savoury files, so they have a slightly shady image.

Cheers, LT.

I took a look at GooglePages, and it looks a bit lacking at first glance (though I could be wrong, I may need to investigate it further). But what's with all the wariness of file hoster sites like Megaupload and Rapidshare? I've downloaded a ton of files from either of them and never had any problem (though I have encountered the time limit on hosting files on occasion).

 

[WhatGravitas]

I took a look at GooglePages, and it looks a bit lacking at first glance (though I could be wrong, I may need to investigate it further). But what's with all the wariness of file hoster sites like Megaupload and Rapidshare? I've downloaded a ton of files from either of them and never had any problem (though I have encountered the time limit on hosting files on occasion).

Well, on the one hand is the problem with the time limit (for the file itself) and that you often have a download limit (for rapidshare, you can only download once a hour or something like that).
On the other hand, since they are also used for porn files, they're often blocked, so they're less than ideal, if you're not surfing from home.
And finally, they're often full of pop-up ads. At least I was told so... I'm protected by Firefox!

Cheers, LT.

 

[ssampier]

wordpress.com

 

[silvermane]

for rapidshare, you can only download once a hour

Renew your IP to start afresh, or if you have a static IP, use tor or another caching system to get around the restriction. Or you can purchase the membership. However, if you're into large files, the download limit is still 5GB per day or so, even if you're a member.

 

[Terraism]

Another option - not mentioned here, but really not that bad - would be to pick up a host and domain name, and run it yourself. It's what I've done with my site (less open blog, and more campaign notes, but still,) and it's worked out quite well without costing all that much - around $80 a year, which I can deal with.

For blogging software, I've just upgraded to Movable Type 4, and while it was a bit of a pain, I think that was more because I'd upgraded over an existing MT3 installation instead of wiping it and starting fresh. I set up another blog on the site for a friend and co-DM of mine, and it was simple and intuitive, so generally, I think it's a good solution.

Oh, and as a perk? Movable Type 4 will let you import entries and comments from an existing Livejournal site - so migrating that direction would let you keep what you've already done, including the community responses.

(Just 'cause it amuses me to say so, what I really mean when I say "campaign notes" right now for my site, is "my E6 houserules." )