[mod post] Blog Crew FAQ
It seems like every time I post a blog crew, I get at least one person who has no idea how they work. So I'm going to write this handy-dandy little guide on blog crews so I don't have to explain it individually every time, okay?
WHAT IS A 'BLOG CREW'? //
Simply put, a blog crew is a list of fans. You "claim" a character at the blog crew post, and then put the provided HTML code up somewhere in your journal to show how much you love said character. Typically, there's a limit on how many characters you can claim, as well as how many people can claim one character. Claiming is usually "first come, first served," so you have to be quick getting your claim in before the character you want is snatched up!
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH CHARACTERS I CAN CLAIM? //
You can claim whatever character you want, provided the series they're from is in the blog crew post's list of tags. (The 'animanga: multifandom' tag applies to more than just animanga, but it's labeled as 'animanga' simply to keep my list of tags looking pretty and uniform. You can claim characters from movies, live action shows, video games, real people, and anything else you can think of if the entry has the 'animanga: multifandom' tag attached to it.)
The number of people who can claim a character changes depending on the blog crew. (Usually it's five or ten.) If a character is "filled up," his or her name and the names of the people who claimed it will either be crossed out, or it will have no "claim slots" left. "Claim slots" look like this: o1 / o2 / o3, and when a claim is made, one of the numbers will be replaced with the claimer's username. When all the slots are filled up, no one else will be able to claim that character.
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH CHARACTERS I SHOULD CLAIM? //
You can claim anyone you feel the blog crew text applies to! (Though if you tell me you want Sealand to get you drunk and take advantage of you, I'll probably laugh and make a mental note that you're a weirdo as I add you to the claims list.) So far all of the blog crews at whitepoppies have a theme of "I am somewhat in love with X Character," and this trend is bound to continue, so claim accordingly.
HOW DO I MAKE A CLAIM? //
o1.) First, think of the character you'd like to claim. (This should be obvious, haha!)
o2.) Read the Rules (located in a "blockquote" box labeled 'RULES //') from start to finish.
o3.) Check the Claims List in the blog crew post (labeled 'CLAIMS //') to see if the character you want still has room for claims left.
o4.) Check the comments (Ctrl + F) to see if there are any outstanding claims for the character you want that haven't been added to the Claims List. I usually try to add claims to the List as fast as possible, but sometimes I fall behind (particularly within the first few hours the blog crew is open).
o5.) Click 'Leave A Comment.'
o6.) Type the requested phrase subject line to show you read the Rules. This differs with each blog crew, so you need to read each set of rules individually!
o7.) In the body of the comment, type in which character you'd like to claim. You can leave me a little message if you want, and I'll smile when I read it, but I may not actually respond to it, especially if the blog crew is very new and I'm being swamped by claims.
o8.) Click 'Post Comment.'
And then you've successfully made a claim!! ♥
MY CLAIM HAS BEEN APPROVED, WHAT NOW? //
This is what most of the questions about blog crews I get are about, because it can be slightly confusing to someone who's never done it before. In short, you upload your sprite (the little picture) to your own server and put up the code in your journal.
HOW DO I UPLOAD A SPRITE TO MY OWN SERVER? //
o1.) Save your chosen sprite to your computer (Right Click >> Save Picture As...).
o2.) Go to an image hosting site of your choice (I use Photobucket.com, and am writing this tutorial accordingly), and sign in.
o3.) Click on the green, rectangular button on the right side of the page that reads 'Upload Images and Videos.'
o4.) When the box filled with the files on your computer (I don't know it's technical name) pops up, locate and click on the sprite you just saved.
o5.) Click 'Open.'
o6.) Once the file is finished uploading, depending on your browser, Photobucket may prompt you to tag or label the image you just uploaded. Feel free to ignore this and just click 'Save.' If your browser does not prompt you and just kind of freezes up with the upload bar at 100%, refresh your page and your sprite should be in the section labeled 'In This Album.'
Congrats, your sprite is now uploaded on your own server!!
HOW DO I PUT UP THE CODE IN MY JOURNAL? //
o1.) Highlight everything in "textarea" box directly beneath the code of your choice.
This is a "textarea" box, by the way.
o2.) With the entire HTML code in the "textarea" box highlighted, Copy (Right Click >> Copy) the code.
o3.) If you're putting the code up in an entry (as opposed to your userinfo), make sure the entry is in HTML mode and NOT Rich Text mode. Likewise, keep the box labeled 'Disable Auto Formatting' UNCHECKED. Neglecting to do so will turn your pretty code into a jumble of HTML, which you do not want.
o4.) Paste (Right Click >> Paste) the HTML code into the text input area of wherever you'll be displaying it. (Your userinfo, a blog crew post, etc.) Unless you understand LJ's special brand of HTML, DO NOT edit the code, otherwise it may mess it up.
o5.) Replace the words "claimhere" in the code with the name of your claim.
o6.) In a new browser window or tab, go back to the Photobucket page where you've uploaded your sprite.
o7.) Scroll over the thumbnail of your sprite; a box with four HTML codes should pop up.
o8.) Highlight and Copy the URL (located in the "textarea" that reads 'Direct Link') of your sprite.
o9.) Paste the URL into the quotes surrounding the words "UPLOAD TO YOUR OWN SERVER PLZ" in the HTML code.
1o.) Click 'Post to [your journal name],' 'Save Entry,' 'Save Changes,' or whatever other "finish" button you can find on the page where you entered your code.
Awesome, you just posted the code!!
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I feel as though I've covered everything I've been asked in the past here, but there are new problems that pop up every day, so don't be shy if you encounter one, okay?
WHAT IS A 'BLOG CREW'? //
Simply put, a blog crew is a list of fans. You "claim" a character at the blog crew post, and then put the provided HTML code up somewhere in your journal to show how much you love said character. Typically, there's a limit on how many characters you can claim, as well as how many people can claim one character. Claiming is usually "first come, first served," so you have to be quick getting your claim in before the character you want is snatched up!
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH CHARACTERS I CAN CLAIM? //
You can claim whatever character you want, provided the series they're from is in the blog crew post's list of tags. (The 'animanga: multifandom' tag applies to more than just animanga, but it's labeled as 'animanga' simply to keep my list of tags looking pretty and uniform. You can claim characters from movies, live action shows, video games, real people, and anything else you can think of if the entry has the 'animanga: multifandom' tag attached to it.)
The number of people who can claim a character changes depending on the blog crew. (Usually it's five or ten.) If a character is "filled up," his or her name and the names of the people who claimed it will either be crossed out, or it will have no "claim slots" left. "Claim slots" look like this: o1 / o2 / o3, and when a claim is made, one of the numbers will be replaced with the claimer's username. When all the slots are filled up, no one else will be able to claim that character.
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH CHARACTERS I SHOULD CLAIM? //
You can claim anyone you feel the blog crew text applies to! (Though if you tell me you want Sealand to get you drunk and take advantage of you, I'll probably laugh and make a mental note that you're a weirdo as I add you to the claims list.) So far all of the blog crews at whitepoppies have a theme of "I am somewhat in love with X Character," and this trend is bound to continue, so claim accordingly.
HOW DO I MAKE A CLAIM? //
o1.) First, think of the character you'd like to claim. (This should be obvious, haha!)
o2.) Read the Rules (located in a "blockquote" box labeled 'RULES //') from start to finish.
o3.) Check the Claims List in the blog crew post (labeled 'CLAIMS //') to see if the character you want still has room for claims left.
o4.) Check the comments (Ctrl + F) to see if there are any outstanding claims for the character you want that haven't been added to the Claims List. I usually try to add claims to the List as fast as possible, but sometimes I fall behind (particularly within the first few hours the blog crew is open).
o5.) Click 'Leave A Comment.'
o6.) Type the requested phrase subject line to show you read the Rules. This differs with each blog crew, so you need to read each set of rules individually!
o7.) In the body of the comment, type in which character you'd like to claim. You can leave me a little message if you want, and I'll smile when I read it, but I may not actually respond to it, especially if the blog crew is very new and I'm being swamped by claims.
o8.) Click 'Post Comment.'
And then you've successfully made a claim!! ♥
MY CLAIM HAS BEEN APPROVED, WHAT NOW? //
This is what most of the questions about blog crews I get are about, because it can be slightly confusing to someone who's never done it before. In short, you upload your sprite (the little picture) to your own server and put up the code in your journal.
HOW DO I UPLOAD A SPRITE TO MY OWN SERVER? //
o1.) Save your chosen sprite to your computer (Right Click >> Save Picture As...).
o2.) Go to an image hosting site of your choice (I use Photobucket.com, and am writing this tutorial accordingly), and sign in.
o3.) Click on the green, rectangular button on the right side of the page that reads 'Upload Images and Videos.'
o4.) When the box filled with the files on your computer (I don't know it's technical name) pops up, locate and click on the sprite you just saved.
o5.) Click 'Open.'
o6.) Once the file is finished uploading, depending on your browser, Photobucket may prompt you to tag or label the image you just uploaded. Feel free to ignore this and just click 'Save.' If your browser does not prompt you and just kind of freezes up with the upload bar at 100%, refresh your page and your sprite should be in the section labeled 'In This Album.'
Congrats, your sprite is now uploaded on your own server!!
HOW DO I PUT UP THE CODE IN MY JOURNAL? //
o1.) Highlight everything in "textarea" box directly beneath the code of your choice.
This is a "textarea" box, by the way.
o2.) With the entire HTML code in the "textarea" box highlighted, Copy (Right Click >> Copy) the code.
o3.) If you're putting the code up in an entry (as opposed to your userinfo), make sure the entry is in HTML mode and NOT Rich Text mode. Likewise, keep the box labeled 'Disable Auto Formatting' UNCHECKED. Neglecting to do so will turn your pretty code into a jumble of HTML, which you do not want.
o4.) Paste (Right Click >> Paste) the HTML code into the text input area of wherever you'll be displaying it. (Your userinfo, a blog crew post, etc.) Unless you understand LJ's special brand of HTML, DO NOT edit the code, otherwise it may mess it up.
o5.) Replace the words "claimhere" in the code with the name of your claim.
o6.) In a new browser window or tab, go back to the Photobucket page where you've uploaded your sprite.
o7.) Scroll over the thumbnail of your sprite; a box with four HTML codes should pop up.
o8.) Highlight and Copy the URL (located in the "textarea" that reads 'Direct Link') of your sprite.
o9.) Paste the URL into the quotes surrounding the words "UPLOAD TO YOUR OWN SERVER PLZ" in the HTML code.
1o.) Click 'Post to [your journal name],' 'Save Entry,' 'Save Changes,' or whatever other "finish" button you can find on the page where you entered your code.
Awesome, you just posted the code!!
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I feel as though I've covered everything I've been asked in the past here, but there are new problems that pop up every day, so don't be shy if you encounter one, okay?