KOnnect is structured as a main column and a right side-bar – as here. This main column displays a list of the most recent posts, in descending order of date. The right side-bar contains a variety of ‘widgets’ for navigating and searching.
Main Column
If you are a KOnnect Editor or Author, you create your posts in this column. Comments on your posts also appear here.
Seeking Consensus
At any point in a thread, an Editor can produce a summary of the discussion so far, and record points of agreement – and disagreement – in a separate page on the blog. KOnnect pages are intended to be permanent records of observations and conclusions arrived at through discussion. KOnnect pages can be commented on, but should be regarded as considerably less volatile than common posts.
Right Side-bar
In the right side-bar, you’ll see a number of blocks, arranged vertically:
KOMMUNITIES
is where you can view what’s being written and discussed within the KOnnect KOmmunities. You can leave a comment on any post.
RECENT POSTS
this is, well, a list of recent posts!
CATEGORY CLOUD
this is the well-known ‘tag cloud’ showing the most popular tags searched – except that this relates to KOnnect categories, rather than tags. What’s the difference between categories and tags? Well, tags are uncontrolled; anyone can apply whatever tag they want to a post. Categories are managed. When you create a new post (rather than a comment) you can select one or more categories for it from a list on the right of the browser window. If nothing suitable is listed, you can create your own category.
CATEGORIES (ALPHABETIC)
is a list of all KOnnect categories in alphabetical order, irrespective of their hierarchical relationships.
CATEGORIES (HIERARCHIC)
is a list of KOnnect top-level categories in alphabetical order. Lower-level categories (sub-categories) are listed indented and in alphabetical order within each top-level category.
BLOGROLL
is a common device for listing related blogs. Registered KOnnect users can suggest items for inclusion in the KOnnect Blogroll by making a post.
SEARCH
if you need an explanation of this feature, then you shouldn’t be on the KOnnect blog in the first place!
MISCELLANEOUS
this provides access primarily to means of setting-up an RSS feed to all posts to the blog, or to comments on selected posts. Don’t know what an RSS feed is? See the first four introductory paragraphs on RSS at Wikipedia.
Keeping up with KOnnect
How do you keep up with developments on the KOnnect blog without having to remember to visit it regularly? The answer is RSS. When you subscribe to a site which offers an RSS feed, you can get automatically updated summaries of new content. Both of the most popular browsers, IE7 and FireFox, have RSS readers built-in or available as add-ons. With the KOnnect blog, you have two options:
- subscribe to the site RSS feed, which alerts you every time a new post is published on the blog
- Go to the KOnnect Home Page.
- Scroll-down to display the MISCELLANEOUS block
- Click ‘Entries RSS’.
- subscribe to a specific post and all subsequent comments
- select the post
- beneath the post, locate the post data, point to ‘Permalink’
- Right-click and select ‘Copy Link Location’
- Create a new Tab in your browser
- Paste into the Address Bar
Your browser RSS feature will be activated and guide you through the process
Your browser RSS feature will be activated and guide you through the process
