Here’s how to set up an account on http://thefamiliar.wordpress.com/:

  1. Our shared site is based on WordPress’s free blogging software, WordPress.com. I will invite you to contribute to the blog using your Clemson email address, and you will receive an email once I’ve done this. This email will contain a link asking you to sign up for a free WordPress.com account; click on that link.
  2. Fill out the form, providing your email address, your username, and a password, and click “Sign Up.”
  3. You will then receive an email to the address you provided asking you to activate your account. Click on “Activate Account.” You should now be able to sign into the site’s Dashboard.

Here’s how to post to the site:

  1. To submit a post, you first need to be logged into the site. The easiest way to do this is go to http://thefamiliar.wordpress.com/ and click on “Log in” under “Meta” in the left-hand sidebar menu (or, if you are already signed in, then this link will appear as “Site Admin”). Then log in using your username and password. Logging in will take you to your Dashboard.
  2. Click on the “Posts” tab in the left menu, and click on the “Add New” submenu.
  3. Start filling in the blanks. Make sure to give your post a title. Enter your post content in the main post editing box below the title.
  4. If you are posting a response to another post, link to the post you are responding to in your response. To do this, open up a different tab in your browser and navigate to the post you want to respond to. Then click on the post’s title. This will take you to the post’s permanent page. Copy this URL. Back in the tab where you are writing your post, insert this link into your post by highlighting the text you want to link and then clicking on the chain link icon in the top row of the text entry box. This will bring up a dialog box into which you can insert the post’s URL.
  5. You may also post a comment about a particular post as a way of responding to that post. However, any comments you write won’t show up on your author page that you email me on January 29. So make sure you keep track of the URL’s where you comment so you can send me those as well.
  6. Make sure to save your work! You can do this by clicking “Save Draft” up under “Publish” on the right side. You never know when your browser may crash, and you don’t want to lose your work. If you save your posts before you publish them, you will be able to find them again if your browser crashes via the Dashboard by clicking on Posts > All Posts. They will be listed on that page.
  7. Additionally, make sure to give your post a category using the “Categories” menu on the right. You can give your post as many categories as you would like. If none of the listed categories seem like they fit your post, send me an email containing the name of the category you would like to create and I will create it for you.
  8. You can find more information on posting in the WordPress Codex. You can also find articles in the Codex on incorporating media into your posts.
  9. When you’ve finished your post, click “Publish” under the “Publish” menu on the top right. To make sure your post has been submitted properly, you can click on one of the categories you tagged your post with from the site’s home page. If your post is listed on this category’s page, you’ve posted successfully.