Factoid of the day: Owners can add images and files in Plone but by default they can’t edit them once the save button is pressed.
ATImage tips
The default Image type in Plone (ATImage from the ATCT Product) is capable of scaling:
large : (768, 768)
preview : (400, 400)
mini : (200, 200)
thumb : (128, 128)
tile : (64, 64)
icon : (32, 32)
listing : (16, 16)
To access these sizes, append /image_XXX to the URL, where XXX is one of the above sizes.
Choosing ‘photoalbum view’ in the new ‘display’ menu when inside a folder containing images will result in a different view.
Example: if you reference /images/EasyBlog-Logo-1.gif on this site you will have:
Listing: /images/EasyBlog-Logo-1.gif/image_listing
Icon: /images/EasyBlog-Logo-1.gif/image_icon
Tile: /images/EasyBlog-Logo-1.gif/image_tile
Thumb: /images/EasyBlog-Logo-1.gif/image_thumb
Mini: /images/EasyBlog-Logo-1.gif/image_mini
Preview: /images/EasyBlog-Logo-1.gif/image_preview
Large: /images/EasyBlog-Logo-1.gif/image_large
An EasyBlog screencast
EasyBlog is probably the best blogging tool available on the Plone platform.
Our very own Richard Pettinger has recorded today a very nice EasyBlog screencast.
It is targeted to beginners who have never used EasyBlog before.
More screencasts will come for more advanced functions soon.
Plone byline issues
One of the bees that’s been buzzing around in my bonnet recently is the issue of bylines in plone.
To me, any text that appears on a Plone page should be editable via a UI rather than having to edit a template. Ever since 2.1 the byline has been right at the top, so it might be one of the first things a new Plone user will wish to modify. An option to turn on/off the last modified date would be welcomed, some of our content contributors find it ugly and also a little misinformative if you have a site with contributors from all around the globe. At least it’s simple enough to remove the byline entirely, see here.
The same issue also applies to the colophon, the bit at the very bottom….
But to me the main issue is that to move the byline somewhere else requires a main template modification. I know its only cut and paste, but when you’re using other products with modified templates you kind of want to keep the clutter to a minimum. Since there’s only four places where 99% of sane Plone users will want to put their byline why not just have the ability to make that choice in a UI also?
Until things change, we are modifying the main template of our vsCore product to put the byline on the bottom right. We are also working on skin changes so that a photo of the page creator appears on the bottom right.
Lisp and dinosaurs
I really like Philip Greenspun’s contributions to the developer’s community and Internet world at large. His posts are usually witty and have about them a sharp vision that is quite rare to find.
Here is a post I liked about LISP. It is not really concerning Plone, but I think it concerns us as seekers of beauty and simplicity in our project.
From "Lisp diehards = Holocaust deniers"
Hmm… it seems that the “Java = SUV of programming languages” posting has stirred up a bit of controversy over at Slashdot and right here on this server. Some people read it as a personal endorsement of PHP, VB, and other semi-baked programming languages. Actually my personal preference is a much darker, uglier, and more shameful secret: Common Lisp, CLOS, plus an ML-like type inferencing compiler/error checker (with some things done in a sublanguage with Haskell semantics and Lisp syntax). Common Lisp dates from around 1982 and ML from 1984.
I try to keep this preference concealed from young people who’ve been raised on a diet of C, Java, C#, Perl, etc. They just wouldn’t find it credible that 20-year-old systems and ideas are actually better than the latest and greatest from Microsoft and Sun.
Imagine my delight in running into a friend yesterday. She’s a 23-year-old graduate student in computer science at Harvard. Conversation rolled around to programming tools. Unprompted she said “What I think would be best is Common Lisp Object System with a modern type system”. I was stunned. I thought it was only dinosaurs like me that clung to Lisp.
I had a second ephiphany for the week… Believing that Lisp circa 1982 plus some mid-1980s ML tricks thrown in is better than all of the new programming tools (C#, Java) that have been built since then is sort of like being a Holocaust denier.
It is also interesting to read the numerous comments to that post:
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2003/09/22/lisp-diehards-holocaust-deniers/
Easy Blog
Easy Blogs are now being used by community members at sites such as Sri Chinmoy Races. For members who are new to the idea of using blog a basic introduction to using Easy Blogs has been created.
The guide is quite short as it will hopefully prove relatively straightforward to use.
Advice for writing Blogs
1. Include Short biography and photo. – People like to know who they are reading. It gives the blog a personal aspect. (Me)
It is easier to trust someone with a real name and photo.
2. Make your blog easy to read. A good feature of "easy blog" is the option to have an introductory paragraph and then more.
If its a very long article you can link to the article from your blog. See this article on "Don’t make me Think"
3. Links should be descriptive of where they go. e.g How to add internal links to a website
4. Make your best postings easily accesible. Don’t let them get buried in archives.
- (Here easy blog may need a new feature)
5. Focus on a certain niche. This blog at Vasudevaservice will focus on websites, Plone and blogging. If you post on too many diverse subjects it is unlikely people will share all your own tastes.
6. Try to stick to a regular publishing schedule. Little and often is better than all at once and then nothing for several months
However don’t post for the sake of it. ( Not every one may share your enthusiasm for an in depth account of your recent visit to the local supermarket. )
7. Use good Headings which are descriptive of content. This is good for Search Engines and makes it easier for visitors to know what the blog entry is about
8. Good photos help. (preferably related to the blog of course…)

9. Look for ways to promote your blog. Try to find people with similar interests. Use services like Ping o matic.
-
Hopefully Easy blog will have this feature as automatic soon.
10. … Please leave a comment if you have a 10th idea.
How to Write Good articles for web
Many of these ideas came from "Top 10 Design Mistakes"
See also "Guide to Starting Websites" by R. Pettinger
More on Easy Blog.
We feel Easy Blog to be the best Plone Blog feature and look forward to its continued development.
