Blogtimore, Hon.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this thing?
It’s Blogtimore, Hon. We’re a sort of meta-site; a blog of blogs. When you sign up to join our community, we use your XML feed (what’s that?) to aggregate your content with everyone else.
You bastard thief! You’re taking my content!
Not exactly. The only thing you’ll see on Blogtimore, Hon is what you’ve chosen to syndicate, or share with others. If you’d like to only include your headlines, that’s fine. If you’d like to include the entire text of your articles, go for it. You can syndicate as little or as much content as you’d like on Blogtimore, Hon, just by changing your XML feed accordingly.
And what is an XML feed?
An XML feed is a means by which you syndicate your content, or make it available to other sites or in newsreaders like NetNewsWire, SharpReader, Straw or BlogLines. Blogtimore, Hon works the same way—except instead of finding and adding the feeds yourself, we do the work for you. Some common types of XML feeds are Atom, RSS, and RSS 2.0.
So how do I publish an XML feed?
This all depends on how you publish your site. If you use a system like WordPress, Textpattern, MoveableType, or Blogger, you’re likely already publishing a feed. The instructions on how to get one running are different for each service, though, so you’ll need to talk to someone knowledgeable about your publishing system to get the best help.
Do I have to have an XML feed to be included?
Yep. That’s how all the magic happens. Just about any system has some option of publishing one, though, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting one going.
So what do you do with my information?
We just pass it along. We’re a cipher, really. If you choose to stop syndicating, your content will disappear from Blogtimore, Hon. We don’t keep a copy of your work, or give it to anyone else. And it should go without saying, but we’ll never sell your e-mail address, spam the hell out of you, or sign you up for any erectile dysfunction marketing lists.
Who’s behind this thing?
Wouldn’t you like to know! We’re a collective of Baltimore bloggers. We live in the city, we blog regularly, and yes, we’re listed on Blogtimore, Hon. Hey, you might be one of our regular readers. But rest assured we’re no fly-by-night operation. We’re not based in the Bahamas (though we wish we were), and we’re certainly not doing this to make money. While this may very well be one of Baltimore’s worst-kept secrets, we’re staying anonymous so you won’t notice when we give ourselves preferential treatment. Just kidding. We haven’t figured out how to do that. Yet.
I’m angry! Your site doesn’t look right in my browser.
We’ve tested our site in a pretty wide variety of browsers, including Firefox, Safari and Opera. Oh, and that crappy one that Microsoft makes. We know how much you love Mosaic, but there’s only so many of us working here.
I’m angry! My site was on Blogtimore, Hon but now it’s gone.
We refresh our site every half-hour. If your server didn’t respond when we asked it for new info, your site wasn’t included in the update. If it responds the next time we request new content, you’ll be added right back in. But, if your server doesn’t respond multiple times, you’ll be permanently dropped. Just take a look at your feed, make sure everything’s in order, and fill out our sign up form again.
Ok, I’m sold. How do I sign up?
Mosey on over to our sign-up form, give us your info, and start syndicating. If everything checks out, we’ll have you added to the site within 24 hours.
I heard that you reserve the right to delete any feed, at any time, for any reason. Is that true?
Yep.
You really think this is the “Greatest Web Site in America?”
That’s a joke. This, oddly enough, apparently isn’t.