Writing.Com 101

Newsfeed

Your Newsfeed is an area where you can follow the current Notebook updates of Writing.Com members and can post notes in your own Notebook Tab, which are then added to the Newsfeed as your Notebook updates. Scribbles (notes created by others) in your Notebook are not included in the Newsfeed. The Newsfeed can be accessed in two versions.1

Community Newsfeed
This page gives you a glimpse of what is currently going on in the Writing.Com community through the Notebook updates of Writing.Com members. Read their updates, visit their portfolios, read scribbles in their Notebooks, check out their items, and find new favorites from this page. This page is linked in the left navigation menu as Community/Community Newsfeed.

Personal Newsfeed
This page shows the most recent Notebook updates of the members you have added to your Fans and Favorites list. Stay current and up to date with your favorite members. Your own most recent Notebook updates are also included on this page. This page is linked in the left navigation menu as Newsfeed. When someone in your Favorites list updates his or her Notebook, a red notification will appear next to the Newsfeed link.

The Newsfeed lists the Notebook updates made during the past 31 days in chronological order with the newest at the top of the listing. It loads the long list dynamically in sections on demand, and is not searchable. New content can be added at any time so older content requires progressively more scrolling and loading to get back to. There are several ways to conveniently access this information again later.

If you are reading the Newsfeed and see a contest you want to enter, a Newsfeed activity you don't want to forget, the announcement of a new site feature, or an interesting discussion you want to check back on, you can add that note to your Saved Notes view of the Newsfeed, allowing you to easily go back to that note later. In the note you are interested in, open the down arrow menu at the upper right corner of that note, and click the Save a note option.

You can also add items or members to your Favorites/Fans to make finding them later easier. See "My Favorites and Fans" .

The notes posted by other members are also available in their Notebook tab, which is searchable, and which is organized by most recent activity (comments or editing) rather than by the original creation order of the notes.

Your Saved Newsfeed Notes can be viewed in Feed View (default, which you can't change) or in a more compacted List View. The saved notes are listed in the order you save them, with the most recently saved at the top. In Feed View, you can remove notes from the Saved Newsfeed Notes list by clicking on the Note Saved button in the down arrow drop menu at the upper right of the note. In List View, click on the X at the right end of the list entry for the note.

Making a comment to a note allows you to opt to be sent an email notification if someone comments after yours. Tagging notifications can also be sent from a note or a comment. If you need to make sure someone sees something in the Newsfeed, use tagging since email notifications are optional and can be turned off at any time. Email notifications will contain a link to the individual note, and contain an option at the bottom to turn off future email notifications for that note. See Notifications.

If you wish to link to a particular note, you can click the down-arrow button at the upper right of the note, and copy the ID number from the note menu, then use it to create a note link elsewhere. See WritingML Help for note. Individual notes can be viewed via their note link, either in a pop-up window or in a new tab. Tip: It's easier to tell what note a note link is for if the note starts with text rather than with WritingML tags or emoticons.

What Not to Use the Newsfeed For
Although the Newsfeed is an access method with the potential to reach anyone in the community, the Newsfeed is not the best method of getting help when you have a question about how to use the site, or need to report a problem with using the site. Please post these kinds of questions and problems in "Technical Support Forum" , which is linked at the top right of the page as Need Help? and in the left navigation menu as Writing.Com Tools/Help: Technical.

For help with questions about writing and interacting with the community, post in "Non-Technical Support Forum" , which is linked in the left navigation menu as Writing.Com Tools/Help: Non-Technical. This forum is also linked in the header of "Technical Support Forum" .

Writing questions can also be posted in "Writing.Com General Discussion" , which is linked in the left navigation menu as Community/General Discussion.

These Forums are monitored by members who have expertise in these areas, and posting there is the best and quickest method of getting their attention.

How do I update my own Notebook?
The very top of your Newsfeed page contains a place to update your own Notebook with a new note. Click on the text box prompting you to share, and it will expand to allow you to create your note. As you type a note, it will appear dynamically above the text box, showing you what the finished text will look like, complete with links, parsed tags, emoticons, etc. Although you can edit the content of a note after you submit it, please make sure you proofread and make sure everything looks good before submitting it, and use the content rating drop menu under the note text box to make sure that the note will be assigned the correct content rating for the content. If you are linking an item, please check that its access restrictions allow it to be viewed by those who will be seeing the note.

You can also post your note directly in your Notebook tab, and it will be added to the Newsfeed as your update just the same.

How can I find members to add to my Personal Newsfeed?
As you peruse Writing.Com, you will find interesting, friendly, and unique members whom you may like to follow on your Personal Newsfeed. Click the plus icon behind their username to add them as a favorite and their Notebook updates will be included in your Personal Newsfeed.

How do I add and remove members from my Newsfeed?
If you'd like to add someone to your Newsfeed so that you see when they update their own Notebooks, just add that member to your Favorites, i.e. click the "plus" icon next to their username. (If the person is already a favorite or a fan, you'll see an icon of a "finger tied with a string" or a "bullhorn" respectively.) Members whom you have set as Favorites or Fans will automatically show up in your Newsfeed. To remove someone from your Newsfeed, just remove that member as a Fan/Favorite. See My Favorites and Fans for more information.

Using Content Ratings in the Newsfeeds
The Newsfeeds can contain content of any content rating from E to XGC. The Newsfeeds are filtered, the same as site search listings or the Reviewers page. When you load either Newsfeed, each note in the database is included or excluded in the displayed listing based on whether its content rating fits the current setting of your content rating filter. For example, if you have set a Favorite or a Fan for a member whose Notebook is set to a content rating higher than your content rating filter, their newsfeed content will not appear in your newsfeeds.

You have only one content rating filter. You can check (and change) the current setting of your content rating filter at the upper right side of your Newsfeed page or in your Reviews tab between the tab header and the listing of your public reviews.

How to Set the Content Rating of a Note:
When you post a note to the Newsfeed, you are responsible for setting its content rating correctly to account for its content. Posting notes with incorrect content ratings can result in individual notes being removed from the Community Newsfeed, and/or losing your privilege to post to the Community Newsfeed.

When a note is created, its content rating drop menu is set by default to the current content rating of the Notebook where it is posted. You can change the drop menu for the note as needed to account for the note's content.

For convenience, set the content rating of your Notebook to cover the content of your typical notes, and then change the content ratings for notes that exceed that content rating. If you don't want to need to think about content ratings for your notes, set the content rating of your Notebook to cover the highest content you expect to post. Everyday activities often require a 13+ content rating, and mentioning events in the news often requires an 18+ content rating. The current content rating setting of the Notebook is shown at the upper right side of the Notebook tab. The default content rating setting of the Notebook is 18+. To adjust the content rating of your Notebook tab, click the gear icon on your Notebook tab at the top right to open the tab's manage area. Change the drop menu for the content rating to the correct content rating and wait for the swirling circle to change to a check mark. The content rating directive in the header of your Notebook will automatically change to match the new content rating. Click the X at the upper right to close the manage area.

A note will stay at the content rating it is assigned when it is created, even if you change the content rating of your Notebook tab again later. The content of a note and its content rating can be edited by clicking on the down-arrow shown at the upper right of the note and then the Edit note option. After making your edits, save the edit. If you need to edit again, you may need to reload the page first.

How to Check the Content Rating of a Note:
Before commenting on a note, you can check the content rating of the note by clicking on the down-arrow shown at the upper right of the note. This opens a menu area that contains:
  The ID number of the note. The ID number can be used in the note tag (WritingML Help for note) to link to the note elsewhere.
  The content rating of the note.
  The Edit note button if it's your own note.
  The Hide this note and Hide this member options for notes posted by others. Hidden content is listed in My Account/Account Settings under Additional Account Tools on the Show Hidden Content page.
  The Remove note button if the note is posted in your Notebook.

You are responsible for keeping the content rating of your comment text within the content rating of the note. Comments cannot be edited; they can only be deleted. The owner of the note can delete your comment and block you from commenting on their notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

There's content in the newsfeed I don't want to see.
There are several options for removing that content from your view of the newsfeeds.

  If that content is not correctly content rated, you can report the member's username and the ID number of the note in "Technical Support Forum" . You can check the content rating and the ID number of the note by clicking the down arrow at the upper right of the note. A copy/paste-able version of the username is available in the right-click handle menu.

  If it is correctly content rated, you can change your content rating filter to exclude content of that content rating. You can change your content rating filter with the drop menu located at the upper right of the Newsfeed page.

  If that member is one of your Favorites or Fans, you can remove their content from your Personal Newsfeed by using the Remove Favorite option on the My Account/Favorite Authors page.

  You can hide the content of specific members from your view of both newsfeeds, even if you have them as one of your Favorites or Fans. Click the down-arrow at the upper right of their note to open the note menu. Click on the Hide this member option. This removes their content from both your Personal Newsfeed and your view of the Community Newsfeed. Should you need to, you can see what those members may have posted in the newsfeed by checking their individual Notebook tabs. This hide procedure is reversible if you change your mind, by going to My Account/Account Settings and scrolling down to Show Hidden Content and using the Unhide option(s) on that page.

  You can block/ignore particular people to remove their content from your view of the site, including both newsfeeds. In the left navigation menu, click on My Account/Account Settings, scroll down to Additional Account Settings and click on Block / Ignore Members. Put that member's user name (not their handle) in both text boxes and scroll to the bottom to Submit Changes.

My Newsfeed suddenly is empty (or almost empty).
If you have not set any Favorites or Fans of other members, your Personal Newsfeed can be empty, but your view of the Community Newsfeed will have content. To fix this, choose some other members to Favorite or Fan.

If both your Personal Newsfeed and your view of the Community Newsfeed are empty, then check your content rating filter at the upper right of the Newsfeed page. If it's set to E-rated, your newsfeeds will probably be empty. To fix this, change the filter to a higher setting -- at least ASR. Note that the default content rating for Notebooks and notes is 18+.

When I make a note in my Notebook or add something in the form at the top of the Newsfeed pages, it doesn't show up in the Newsfeeds for me, but other people can see it there.
If this happens often, you can try using the alternate method for posting in the newsfeed than the one you have been using. Pending further programming, the fix for when this problem occurs is:

1. Clear browser cache. Shut down all browser windows. Reboot the browser.
2. Make sure your browser is up to date.
3. Try another browser. The site recommends Chrome or Firefox, or for mobile, Chrome or Opera Mini.
4. Reboot your computer.

I don't want to use my Personal Newsfeed.
To clear Newsfeed notifications, you only have to open the Newsfeed page. If you don't want notifications that you have new content on your Personal Newsfeed, you have a couple options, but each has side effects.

  Don't set any Favorites or Fans of other members (and remove any you may have already set). To replace this function, you will need to keep your own list of user links for any other members you may want to keep track of, either somewhere in your port, the address list in your Writing.Com email page, or setting browser favorites for their portfolios, etc. This option allows you to use the Community Newsfeed.

  This option allows you to use your Fans and Favorites, takes some time to implement, and affects both newsfeeds so it would only be useful if you don't use the newsfeeds at all. As people you have Favorited or Fanned add a note in the newsfeed, you click the down arrow icon at the top right of their note and select the Hide this member option. This removes their content from both your Personal Newsfeed and your view of the Community Newsfeed. You could also use their old notes in their Notebook tabs to hide their content. This procedure is reversible if you change your mind, by going to My Account/Account Settings and scrolling down to Show Hidden Content and using the Unhide option(s) on that page.

Recommended Reading

1. Notifications
2. My Favorites and Fans
3. Notebook Tab

Footnotes
1  Updated by northernwrites; written by Jeff and The StoryMistress