NEW FEATURES! The Window Has Been Upgraded

Since the beginning there has always been a vague plan as to how the Wincanton Window would evolve, should it become reasonably successful. If things continue to improve at the current rate, we'll be crossing the 1500 visits per month line in the next few days and hopefully 2000 before the end of May. If you put 'wincanton' into a google search you'll now find us at the bottom of page 1 and climbing! With your support, and that of your web site if you have one, perhaps we can knock that transport company off the top spot...

At this current rate of growth it only seems fitting to take the site to the next level - introducing user comments. And in order to post comments we'll all be needing user accounts with which to identify ourselves, so we've now got those too!

To clarify, you WILL need a user account in order to post comments, but it's entirely up to you if your username (the handle that will appear to other users of the site) actually represents your real name. I should probably also add that to create a user account you'll need to provide a legitimate email address, but that there are absolutely no nefarious purposes behind the operation of this web site and so it goes without saying (though it won't) that your email address will be kept private, won't be shared with any third parties or used for spam or advertising purposes on behalf of the aforementioned third parties.

The additional benefit of implementing user accounts is that eventually we may choose to add content to the web site that is to be kept private for registered users. At the time of writing, however, the only benefit to registered users really is the ability to leave comments at the end of almost any article that appears on the site. To date there is no other hidden content. If there is, I don't know about it either.

Comments

On the headlines (home) page, 'all contributions' page and the various folder pages you should now see that each article summary has a 'Comments(x)' link in the bottom right corner. Clicking that will not only take you to the article in question, as would clicking the title or the 'Read more...' link, but will also automatically scroll you to the bottom of the page where the comments are located. When viewing an article in the usual manner, starting from the top, you will also find a 'comments(x)' link directly below the main article title, after the date and author in the smaller print.

Comments will be found at the bottom of an article. You'll be able to see existing comments whether logged in or not, but if you're not, you'll see only the comments and not the "Write a comment" form. In its place will be a prompt to remind you that you can't post a new comment of your own until you've logged in. If you are logged in, all you need to do to leave a comment is type in a subject (optional) and a message, and then click "Post Comment". Job done.

Creating a user account

If you haven't got a user account, you can create one by clicking the "Register" link at the top of every page. It'll take you to the "Create Account" page where you can enter your email address and the username you'd like, along with your real name (optional) and your home town/village (also optional).

Finally, you'll have to enter a special code (case sensitive, so use capitals where necessary!) to prove you're a real person and not a malicous bot or script, and scroll to the bottom to tick a box indicating that you agree with our very reasonable terms and conditions, before clicking the "Create Account" button to seal the deal.

Once your account is created a password will be emailed to the address you provided. Check your mail so you can get the password and use it to log in. I suggest you copy and paste the password from your email because it's a little complex. Once you've logged in you'll have the option to edit your profile, at which point you can provide additional optional details, including contact details, age, gender and most interestingly - a small photo or image that will appear next to all your comments.

When logged in, you'll find the "Logout" link at the top of every page where the "Register" link was. In the same place you'll see your username which is a link to edit your profile.

Problems?

If you experience any problems trying to create or use your account, or leave comments, go to the Contact page and use the contact form to tell me about it. Remember to set "Regarding" to "Technical Support".

Comments

davidsmith
Posts: 1

An example comment
Reply #1 on : Sun May 02, 2010, 16:54:33

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Here's an example comment! This is what they look like. Your own comments will appear a slightly different colour when you're logged in, so it'll be easy to identify new responses from other people.

My username accurately represents my real name, and I've added a photo to my profile as you can see to the left.

Last Edit: May 02, 2010, 17:01:08 by davidsmith  

johnsmith
Posts: 1

Comments.
Reply #2 on : Mon May 03, 2010, 09:56:31

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Well done The Window. This is a great new feature. The Window is a genuine community magazine now. Now it's up to the community to get onboard and let The Window have it's views and comments on the news.

Come on people. Have a rest from Facebook etc., and lets hear from you on The Window.

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