Recommendations for MLA Blogs
What type of content should be posted to the blog?
Define the purpose or topic of the blog to help keep postings and comments relevant. Blog owners may want to post this page publicly so that readers will also know the scope and purpose of the blog.
Who should be responsible for the blog?
Decisions concerning design, scope, and posting procedures should be established beforehand to ensure that the blog fulfills the need of the chapter, section, or SIG. MLA unit leaders may want to appoint a person to monitor postings or triage questions about the blog. For example,this responsibility could be added to the email discussion list owner, newsletter editor, or a new position could be created.
What kinds of responsibilities will that person(s) have?
Think of this person(s) as the Webmaster for the blog. Design, installation of plugins, software version updates, and monitoring of posts are examples of responsibilities. Input from a larger group in these areas will be useful; however having one person or a few people making decisions will cut down on the 'design by committee' effect.
Who should be allowed to post to the blog?
To answer this question the MLA unit should first outline the scope and purpose of the blog. For example, does the section want the blog to serve as a forum for discussion or is it a current awareness tool, more like a newsletter? The options listed below are designed to help answer this question.
One person posts
With only one person posting content, blog owners can focus content to meet the specific needs of the group. The scope and frequency of the content can be governed by the need of the group. Clearly defining the scope of blog will ensure that the content stays focused. A good process for backup coverage is recommended in the event that the primary poster is unavailable.
Few people post
Having a select group of people responsible for the content of a blog distributes the responsibility and helps to keep the blog active. This removes the need to establish a backup process. The core group of bloggers may want to agree on the scope of the blog so that there are no misunderstanding about the types of content to be posted.
Many people post
This scenario allows a community of bloggers to be responsible for their own posts. The major advantage of this setup is that with many people posting, the burden of providing fresh content will be distributed among a larger group of bloggers. One challenge may be to keep the bloggers within the scope of the blog. With more people posting there is a greater chance for off-scope subject matter. Managing blog accounts is a necessary task that could be time-consuming and challenging with many bloggers.
Anyone posts
It is possible to configure some blog software so that anyone can register and post. There are several problems that may occur in this configuration. With the blog this open, it will be hard to define and enforce scope, and there may also be inappropriate posts. In this case, it may be better to utilize a different technology, such as email discussion lists, if a group would like this type of open authorship.
The MLA unit should also consider how bloggers will login and how the accounts will be managed. It may be that in the future MLA can implement a system where blogging permissions can be centrally managed. However, this is not currently possible.
Should our blog allow anonymous comments? Or should users be forced to leave a name or email address?
This topic is mentioned in the Guidelines section, but is worth mentioning again. An MLA unit should discuss what kind of environment they wish to create with their blog. There is some general agreement that allowing anonymous comments may encourage more open interaction. A disadvantage to allowing anonymous comments is that spam or inappropriate comments may be left, and the MLA unit will need to decide in advance how it wishes to handle those issues. An MLA unit may also want to be careful when considering ideas or opinions from anonymous commenters—they may not be your members or may not represent the majority of your members' opinions.
The MLA unit will need to make this decision on their own. However, consider that anonymous commenting may not be a problem at all. Your MLA unit may want to allow anonymous commenting and become more restrictive only if this becomes problematic.
Define the purpose or topic of the blog to help keep postings and comments relevant. Blog owners may want to post this page publicly so that readers will also know the scope and purpose of the blog.
Who should be responsible for the blog?
Decisions concerning design, scope, and posting procedures should be established beforehand to ensure that the blog fulfills the need of the chapter, section, or SIG. MLA unit leaders may want to appoint a person to monitor postings or triage questions about the blog. For example,this responsibility could be added to the email discussion list owner, newsletter editor, or a new position could be created.
What kinds of responsibilities will that person(s) have?
Think of this person(s) as the Webmaster for the blog. Design, installation of plugins, software version updates, and monitoring of posts are examples of responsibilities. Input from a larger group in these areas will be useful; however having one person or a few people making decisions will cut down on the 'design by committee' effect.
Who should be allowed to post to the blog?
To answer this question the MLA unit should first outline the scope and purpose of the blog. For example, does the section want the blog to serve as a forum for discussion or is it a current awareness tool, more like a newsletter? The options listed below are designed to help answer this question.
One person posts
With only one person posting content, blog owners can focus content to meet the specific needs of the group. The scope and frequency of the content can be governed by the need of the group. Clearly defining the scope of blog will ensure that the content stays focused. A good process for backup coverage is recommended in the event that the primary poster is unavailable.
Few people post
Having a select group of people responsible for the content of a blog distributes the responsibility and helps to keep the blog active. This removes the need to establish a backup process. The core group of bloggers may want to agree on the scope of the blog so that there are no misunderstanding about the types of content to be posted.
Many people post
This scenario allows a community of bloggers to be responsible for their own posts. The major advantage of this setup is that with many people posting, the burden of providing fresh content will be distributed among a larger group of bloggers. One challenge may be to keep the bloggers within the scope of the blog. With more people posting there is a greater chance for off-scope subject matter. Managing blog accounts is a necessary task that could be time-consuming and challenging with many bloggers.
Anyone posts
It is possible to configure some blog software so that anyone can register and post. There are several problems that may occur in this configuration. With the blog this open, it will be hard to define and enforce scope, and there may also be inappropriate posts. In this case, it may be better to utilize a different technology, such as email discussion lists, if a group would like this type of open authorship.
The MLA unit should also consider how bloggers will login and how the accounts will be managed. It may be that in the future MLA can implement a system where blogging permissions can be centrally managed. However, this is not currently possible.
Should our blog allow anonymous comments? Or should users be forced to leave a name or email address?
This topic is mentioned in the Guidelines section, but is worth mentioning again. An MLA unit should discuss what kind of environment they wish to create with their blog. There is some general agreement that allowing anonymous comments may encourage more open interaction. A disadvantage to allowing anonymous comments is that spam or inappropriate comments may be left, and the MLA unit will need to decide in advance how it wishes to handle those issues. An MLA unit may also want to be careful when considering ideas or opinions from anonymous commenters—they may not be your members or may not represent the majority of your members' opinions.
The MLA unit will need to make this decision on their own. However, consider that anonymous commenting may not be a problem at all. Your MLA unit may want to allow anonymous commenting and become more restrictive only if this becomes problematic.