From Linux.com

While podcasting and video blogging are all the rage, many people still prefer the simplicity of the typed word for expressing themselves online — that is, a blog. However, popular blogging platforms like WordPress and Movable Type can be tough to configure and maintain. On the other hand, you might not want to use an online service like Blogger or TypePad because you want complete control over your blog. If you’re not afraid of the command line, take a peek at Bash Blogger. As its name implies, this application is a bash script that automates all of your blogging tasks (aside from writing, of course).

Bash Blogger’s shell scripts come in a 36KB archive. After you download it, extract the archive somewhere in your path, then run the script bblog_setup, which will create a directory containing Bash Blogger’s configuration file and a bunch of supporting files. If all goes well, the installation should take only a few seconds.

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From Performancing:

So you’re planning to launch a new blog but don’t want to reveal it to anyone quite yet, for a variety of reasons. You want to be able to view individual posts as they would normally appear, but neither want them indexed nor visible to anyone. Or you want to test some themes on an existing blog without your visitors having to see.

There are a few ways to accomplish either, and it’s relatively easy. Just make sure you take precautions to back up your existing blog and database. (I’ve wiped out a few sites. Fortunately, they never had more than about 9 posts, and could be fixed manually.)

Read more

You have probably already noticed that there are no ads at Linuxchic.net. I get quite a few hits to this site and I probably could bank some extra cash by tossing up some ads. As a matter of fact, I have dabbled in that arena a time or two but always end up taking them back down. I am definitely not sleeping on a mattress filled with money and would love to have some extra moolah to cover hosting costs at the least. The problem is I hate ads. I loathe them. It’s a personal choice for the site at this time. Not to say that one day I won’t give in and decide that the need out weighs the want but right now I don’t want the clutter. I don’t hate sites that use them, I just don’t want them here.

There is also another debate on that front;I don’t want my posts confused with paid advertisements. Bloggers are making money and that is really awesome however, some of them probably shouldn’t be managing their own business. I choose blogs to read for their integrity. I want to be sure that what I am reading is not a biased post because of the paycheck they are getting for clicks or views or links or whatever. If I can’t be sure that what they write is unbiased when they say it is, then I will most likely stop reading it. I read some fanboy blogs even though I KNOW they are pimping out the devil because they are pretty upfront about it. They are biased but I know that going into it. What gets my goat are bloggers who are claiming to be non discriminate then selling their words to the devil. Embedding words into a post that you have sold is even more fly by night than the pay to post type deals. I don’t care if it is a stupid slogan or the a single word, if you got paid to stick that into your post, you have sold your soul to the dark lord if you don’t tell your readers that you got paid to stick that crap in there. A simple disclaimer somewhere in crazy small print would satisfy me. Just tell me. If I am too stupid to see the small print then that is my problem.

The pay for post is not as sneaky as slipping a few words in here and there, but in my opinion it’s more deceiving. We have all seen these types of “fake” articles in print magazines. Usually in print the “article” in question looks like an ad. It is typically printed with a different weight paper or glossier paper or something telltale not to mention the “Paid Advertisement” print somewhere on it. The problem with these types of advertisements on blogs is there is nothing physical about it. There are no paper types to distinguish it and I have yet to see “Paid Advertisement” in bold print anywhere in the article. If the writer is getting paid to review a product by a manufacturer then there had better be a disclaimer even if that review is honest and discusses pros and cons otherwise that writer is risking having their integrity called into question for not only that review, but any other opinion stated in the future. How can I trust them?

It’s really just a matter of principal so I don’t want to hear any whining about how anyone has to make a living. We ALL have to make a living unless we are blessed enough to be independently wealthy from birth, it is just a matter of how you choose to make your living. Advertisers aren’t holding a gun to your head. If you love what you write about THAT much, you could bag groceries for a living and still write. This “good vs. evil” conversation has been going on since the World Wide Web was born. Dot-Com? Commercialize the information I love? That’s crazy talk?! Oh wait, yeah, it is still going on just tell me it is a commercial because I really don’t want to be duped. Don’t cop out either claiming your banners and ads are enough to clue readers in that your “words” are paid for too. There is a HUGE difference to putting a column of ads on your site and selling words in your posts. If you call yourself a “professional blogger” you had best behave like one and take some responsibility for your business because that is what you site becomes the moment you put ads on it no matter what the profit or loss margin is for it.

If everyone else jumped off the cliff, would you be a lemming too?

At DevChix, Gloria has a thought-provoking article about the barriers that women face in technology fields and the role of women-only and women-friendly groups can play in building community. She points out that interactions in women-friendly groups is different than in male-dominated spaces.

Destructive criticism is the best way to keep a site predominantly male. It implies that there is no concern about whether a person can learn from a response or not, or whether they would find offense. It is an outward display of ego, a territorial “pissing rite” in which most women do not and will not participate.

Of course many men are also put off by that kind of behavior and are often welcomed into women’s groups, as long as they don’t appear to be there for the “wrong reasons.” The wrong reasons (discussed in more detail in the article) being thouse that conflict with the groups’ primary function as a safe space for women to exchange ideas.

Awareness of and accountability for behavior in women’s groups means a lot more than just safety from sexual harassment, or discrimination. It means that if one is treated unfairly or harshly in any manner that a person finds offensive, the entire community will hear your claim. They will give you advice, opinions, and will collectively decide if action should be taken.

Read more…

Whether you are a blogger, a photographer or a filmmaker, it is not always clear where your freedom to use content publicly might be legally questioned. When it comes to using copyrighted material, you have more rights than you think.

Whether you are a blogger, a photographer or a filmmaker, it is not always clear where your freedom to use content publicly might be legally questioned. When it comes to using copyrighted material, you have more rights than you think.

Fair use is the right, in some circumstances, to quote copyrighted material without asking permission or paying for it. It is a crucial feature of copyright law and what keeps copyright from being censorship. You can invoke fair use when the value to the public of what you are saying outweighs the cost to the private owner of the copyright,” according to the Center for Social Media site.

Read more (scroll down for the easy to navigate Q&A)

BlogHer has partnered with Scrapblog, the premiere multimedia scrapbook creation tool, to offer BlogHers a chance to win a trip to BlogHer Conference ‘07! Every view my Scrapblog gets will earn me a entry in the sweepstakes! I have embedded it, but you can also go here to see it in all it’s glory…

The damage has been done and the debut episode for the Alternageek.coml podcast has been posted. =) Listen to Linuxchic (that’s me ;)), the CodeNinja, and TechMonkey babble on and on about technology related stuff then call or email us and tell us what you think.