Formatting Requirements

Here are some picky guidelines to follow for your blog posts. I’ll update and add to this list as things come up. Enjoy 🙂

Content

  • Make titles engaging/descriptive.
  • Use short paragraphs and lots of pictures and links.
  • Proofread and spellcheck!

Images

  • All images on the site should be good quality and sized to 1400 x 600 (or minimum of 800 x 445) in “landscape” orientation (wider than it is tall). GraphicConverter 9 is one free and easy option for resizing and cropping images.
  • Images within your document should be at full size. You may have to click on the image, then on the “pencil” edit button, then select full size from the menu. Note that you can also make your image have a link while you are in this edit window.
  • Every post must have a Featured Image, which can be chosen from the editor screen at the bottom of the right column menu. This image will appear next to the post in the front page view.
  • The Featured Image will NOT automatically appear within/above the post itself. You need to explicitly include it within the post somewhere. In most cases you will want to do this so that your post includes this important image.

Formatting

  • Please use “Heading 1” for your headers. They look large in the editor but correct on the actual website. Click “Preview Changes” to see how your edits will look on the live site.
  • Remember to look at the formatting on the Preview or live site, not within the editing window. It can look different on the live site than it does in the edit environment.
  • Add an “Excerpt” to each of your posts. Please preview how it looks on the site and make sure that it has three lines on the main class webpage.

Links

  • Use links wherever possible to refer to outside sources and provide additional resources.
  • Links that point to other websites (not other parts of our class site) should open in a new tab.
  • Have your images link out to sites when appropriate.

Attribution

  • If you use a photo you found on the internet, either in a blog post or in a 3D design, be sure to credit the source, including a link.
  • If you use a 3D design from Thingiverse or some other source in your work, be sure to give credit in your blog writeup, including a link. Also, when you post your work to Thingiverse, make sure to mark your design as a “Remix” to the original(s).
  • If you use 3D software or tools, like Tinkercad or Fusion 360, be sure to mention it in your blog writeup and link to the site for that software.
  • If you get consultation from actual people, include their names and link to their website or home page somewhere in your blog writeup, if possible.
  • Obviously if you quote an article or use content from an article or blog post online, you should cite that article and include a link.

Sharing

  • Everything you make in this class should be shared with the outside world under public domain or a Creative Commons license. In this class, our textbook is the internet. We use content that other people kindly provide online for free, so we have an obligation to give back to the community by sharing our own work freely with others.
  • If you use Tinkercad to create designs, please make them public. You’ll have to change each design to “Public” in the settings. Make sure you do that before copy-pasting any links to your objects, or else people won’t be able to access them.
  • Every 3D design you create should be shared on Thingiverse, including the tag “JMU3SPACE”. Be sure to include a good photo of your work, and link back to your class blog posts.
  • If you use Shapeways to print your work, then you should also make it available there, so that people without 3D printers can order 3D prints if they want to. On Shapeways you can set your designs so that others can buy them, choosing whatever markup you like. Because you are doing academic research in this class, you should set this markup to be very low, for example $1. In addition, you should link to the corresponding or similar free downloads on Thingiverse (although the files/models may necessarily differ, since designs optimized for desktop printing are different than designs optimized for fancy Shapeways printing).

Social Media

  • You are not required to post on social media in this class, but it is great if you feel like it!
  • If you want to tag this class in social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc), please consider using the hashtag #JMU3SPACE and also tag @jmulibraries.
  • If you want to tag me/Laura in social media, please use @mathgrrl.