What is a group blog?
A group blog is just like a regular blog except more than one person can make entries. Group blogs can be used by professors for classes, by student organizations for publicity, by a group of friends for fun, or any other non-commercial purpose.
Who can start a group blog?
Anyone at WOU can start a group blog. You just need to contact blogadmin@wou.edu and request it; be sure to include a title for the blog and a list of members, along with any other requests such as privacy options. The blog will be created in your public_html folder, but separate from your personal blog. When you log in to the blog admin system at http://www.wou.edu/blogadmin you will see the group blog along with your personal blog.
Who can be a member?
Only people with valid WOU email accounts can be part of a group blog. The blog creator needs to provide a list of WOU email address or ID numbers (V numbers) for each person they want to be a member. Unless you are a faculty member creating the blog for a class, each member will be contacted and asked for their permission to be included in the blog.
What can members do?
Most members will just be able to post entries, and edit or delete entries they have made. The creator of the group blog can request that certain members be given administrative rights, which means that they can do anything the creator can do: edit or delete any entry, accept of delete comments, change any setting, etc. Either way, members need to log into the blog admin system, just as they would to post entries or make changes to their own personal blogs.
Can I keep the blog private to the group?
Yes. Any blog (not just a group blog) can be made private. Normally you wouldn't want to do this, because most blogs are meant to be public, but if your blog is intended for a particular audience, you can require a password to view it.
What privacy options do I have?
You can provide a list of WOU email addresses or ID numbers of people who should be allowed to see your blog; in that case they will log in with their email username and password. You can also set up a single username and password that will allow people to view your blog; you can then give that password to anybody you want, even off campus. And if you want, you can set your blog to be viewable by anybody who has a valid WOU email account.
Can I change blog members or privacy settings?
Yes; just contact blogadmin@wou.edu with your requested changes. You can add or remove members (again, unless it is a class blog, they will be asked for their permission) or change privacy options. Please do not ask us to change normal blog settings for you; you can do that yourself in the blog admin system.
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