Chiriquí Chatter

Sep 22nd, 2006 by Don Ray

I get a lot of comments or questions by way of an email that comes via “Contact” at the top of the blog. That is fine. I respond to all emails that I receive. A lot of times I feel that the comment or question would benefit others, if it had been placed as a comment tied to post that it is related to. After thinking about it, I have concluded that maybe it is not evident to the readers how they can leave a comment. For people who read a lot of Blogs, it is second nature, because most blogging systems work similarly. However, I think a lot of people that find Chiriquí Chatter, do so because they are researching Panama and considering it as a retirement location. Therefore, this may be the first blog that some people will read.

With that premise, let me try to explain some things about how WordPress handles posts and comments. Since Blogs are like journals, then all new posts push down the previous posts. You may read something and wish you could have a friend read it, so you write them tell them to read http://www.chiriquichatter.net/blog. Sure enough it is a few days later before your friend stops by and the post of the day is nothing related to whatever the post was you were telling them about.

To solve this problem, the blogging software uses something called permalinks. This is URL address that is related to the individual post that will never change. To get a permalink address from my blog here is what you do. Take this post. It has the heading “Your Comment May Benefit Others” at the top of the post. If you pass the cursor over the title it will change colors. If you click on the title then the browser will bring up that individual post and the address that shows up in the browser is the address that should be sent to the person for that post. If you look at “Disarranging Mine”, a blog I read, it uses a different system. At the bottom of each of Marie’s posts you will see the time that she posted it. If you click on the time, that is its permalink address. If you look at the Cooking Diva’s site, it also is different. At the end of each of Melissa’s posts you will see the word “Permalink”. Clicking on “Permalink” takes you to the permalink address.

Next at the end of a post on Chiriquí Chatter, you will see “Posted in xxxx”, where xxxx is a category or multiple categories. Clicking on the category will do the same as clicking on a category on the right side of the blog page. It will bring up all posts that were marked with that category. If you want to see all posts on “Hotels” then click on that category. If you want to read all of my Poems, then click on that category.

Lastly, following the category you will see a vertical bar and either “No Comments” or “xx Comments” where xx is the number of comments that have been left for that post. To read the comments or to leave a comment just click on the “No Comments” of “xx Comments”. That will do the same, as clicking on the Permalink and you will be presented with the post and a window at the bottom of the post to leave your comment. Sometimes I feel that the comments I receive are more important than the post itself. When you agree or disagree with the post, leave a comment. It may help others. You may notice some time passing before your comment appears. This is a safeguard from spam comments coming in. In this particular post, I have used a special command to prevent the entire post from filling the front page of the blog. Because of that you see “Read the rest of the entry”. When you click on that, it will bring up the entire post with the comment window.

I appreciate seeing comments. It is good feedback for me. Sometimes a comment may spark an idea for another post. Sometimes it may cause me to rethink what I have written. When it comes to Panama, I try to write a balanced view of how I see things. If you have a different experience than I have had, tell others via a comment.

If you have a question that is not related to anything that you have seen written, then feel free to write an email. If I think the question and answer are beneficial to other readers, I may write a post related to the subject.

It you have taken the time to read this post, then thanks for dropping in. By the way – Leave a comment.

Tags: Blog

Posted in Panama Journal

11 Responses to “Your Comment May Benefit Others”

on 22 Sep 2006 at 9:43 am1Debbie

As always, I absolutely love your blog! I read it everyday and appreciate all of the information. Your blog is professional, informative, and entertaining. Your photos are excellent and represent Panama in a way that no other blog has done. Thank you so much!
I was thinking of starting a blog when we move to Panama, in a little over a year. I love writing and have had several pieces published. While living in Nicaragua, I wrote my Nica News newsletters. I made many connections and enjoyed writing about my daily life on Ometepe Island. I’m looking forward to writing about my daily life in Panama from a woman’s perspective.
Again, muchas gracious!
on 22 Sep 2006 at 9:54 am2Don Ray

Hi Debbie,

Thanks for dropping in and for the kind words. You might as well go ahead and get your blog started. It would be interesting to see the preparations you have to go through to make the move. It would also provide a glimpse into some of the differences between what you are expecting and what you find.

And of course being able to look into the mind of a woman – well can anything be better than that!
on 22 Sep 2006 at 11:36 am3Leena

Thank you for your comment in my sites! You should read, what I wrote there before reading this your post, but now you are testifying my words with this post!
Perhaps Debbie could start DailyPhoto blog from David or where she lives?
Am I too pushing now, forgive me.
Have a good weekend!
Leena
on 22 Sep 2006 at 11:46 am4Don Ray

Hi Leena,

It is always nice to have you stop in from Finland. Yes, I frequent your site more often than I leave comments. It allows me to visit a part of the world that is very exotic to me.
on 22 Sep 2006 at 3:30 pm5Marie

Don Ray, This is a very good and instructional and I wonder if you might end up giving it a permenant link in your sidebar. Though I don’t always leave a comment, I never miss anything you write. Thanks for being so receptive to our comments. Marie
on 22 Sep 2006 at 3:37 pm6Don Ray

Hi Marie. Thanks for the comment. I will give your suggestion some thought.
on 23 Sep 2006 at 12:22 am7Harmodio I. Suira

Hi don Ray, yeah…I agree with yours visitors, your blogs are very interesting and you always do the best effort to show chiriqui from a foreing perspective. I know that a lot of retirement people read this blog, so I tell them… come to panama and enjoy chiriqui, the best place to live.
regards!
on 23 Sep 2006 at 5:48 am8Don Ray

Hi Harmodio. Thanks for the comment. I like Chiriqui and think others will also.
on 25 Sep 2006 at 6:45 am9Jimi Colteryahn

Hello Don!,
I think the following plugin for wordpress will be really helpful. It allows anyone who leaves a comment to edit what they’ve written for a period of time after they’ve posted their comment.
Edit Comments
It worked well for my site and it was easy to install.
Saludos y un abrazo,
Jimi
on 25 Sep 2006 at 7:11 am10Don Ray

Thanks Jimi. I took a quick look and it does require a large amount of editing to install it. Before I put this on, I will need to get up a lot of courage.
on 22 Oct 2006 at 8:09 pm11Comments And Permalinks « Beneath The Baru

[...] On my other Blog I wrote up a small piece related to Comments and the use of Permilinks. Rather than duplicate that post, let me just direct you to it. Click HERE. Published in: [...]