| HOW THE JOIN THE SANCTUARY
Anyone who comes to The Sanctuary can read diaries and comments, and use the tools and video links, but to comment on a diary, or post one of your own to the community post section, you must join the community.
To Join The Sanctuary
1. Click: "Make a New Account" on top right
2. Enter: Your preferred screen name and e-mail
address
3. Hit: OK
You will immediately receive an e-mail from The Sanctuary containing a temporary password to enter the site. If you don't receive it immediately, check your junk mail folder - we sometimes get caught in the spam filters
The first time you log-in:
1. copy your temporary password from the e-mail you received from The Sanctuary Editors
2. Click: "your page" on the top right,
3. Click: Profile (fill in info now, if you wish)
4. Click: E-mail/Password
5. Paste: Your temporary password in the current password field
6. Enter: Your new permanent password of your choosing into the new password field (twice)
7. Confirm security code
8. Hit: Save
You are now a member of the community with the privileges of membership. You can post stories to the community diary section, post comments and recommend stories for promotion to the recommended list
POSTING DIARIES
To post a new diary go to Create new Diary on the top right tool bar.
you will notice that when you enter the diary composition page, besides the title and tag boxes (see tips on tags & subjects), there are two main composition boxes.
The first is called: "Main Text", which is essentially the introduction area for your diary.
It should be used only for the first three or four paragraphs of your diary and should contain the lede and enough text to whet the readers appetite. Often this section is called "above the fold", referring to the top section of a newspaper's front page.
The second is called: "Extended Text", (below the fold) and should contain the bulk of your article. This section, if published on the front page, would not be immediately visible, but instead open up when the "there's more" link is clicked.
- to post a new diary:
1. Choose your format preference (see below)
2. Check off if diary is to be posted now (public), or saved as draft for later publishing.
3. Enter you title in the title field,
4. Then proceed to write your introduction in the main text field and the bulk of your article in the extended text field
5. Pick an appropriate label from the "topic" scrollbox at the bottom of the composition section, then enter additional tags in the tag field at the top (see tips on tags & subjects)
6. Hit Preview
7. Make any changes
8. Hit save and your diary is now published.
- formating options
When posting a diary you are given a choice between a few format options:
1. Auto-format - lets you compose your diary with automatic line breaks and paragraphs, has basic format functions like bold, blockquote, italic, but still allows those familiar with it to add basic html coding for some additional formatting.
2. WYSIWYG - "What you see is what you get" works like a basic word processor and is the easiest to use for those new to blogging. This option also allows you to paste in entire posts from other blogs right from their pages, keeping all formating and links intact. Best for cross-posting diaries from other blogs for those unfamiliar with basic html. WYSIWYG does not support YouTube Video embedding ...if you wish to embed YouTube videos in your diary you must use auto-format or no-format options.
3. No Format - For those more comfortable writing in full html format.
- using images
1. image size:
In order to keep the site working properly and viewable across all browser platforms and screen resolutions we ask that you post images no wider than 425 pixels.
If your image is larger, you should scale it down by adding a "width attribute" to it.
Simply change your image code from:
>img src ="http://your pic url"<
to:
>img width="425" src="http://your pic url"<
(flip < brackets)
2. hot-linking
Do not link directly to images from other web sites or pages. This is called "hot-linking" and uses up that sites bandwidth and increases hosting fees. There are plenty of free image hosting services available like Photobucket and we strongly urge you to join one if you want to post images.
- posting links
If you are posting a link larger than 50 characters in length we ask that you replace it with a shortened one from tiny url.
Long links, like large images, cause our web page's margins to break, sending the layout into a jumbled mess for those with certain browsers and low screen resolutions.
tiny url is a free service that converts large URl's into smaller ones that still link to the same source.
We've provided a Tiny URL converter at the bottom of the right sidebar.
When composing your diary simply paste in any large url and press "make tiny URL" and you'll be supplied with an alternate link that will ensure our layout's integrity for all veiwers. |
Receive information on the latest action items, media campaigns, and legislative initiatives from ProMigrant
No spam or press release dumps from DC advocacy groups, lobbyists, or politicos. No requests for donations, or re-directs to astroturf groups looking to harvest your e-mail information.
Just real action for real change from real grassroots activists.
