I thought people might like to know what the Realm of RawFlyer.com is made of… what makes it work.
The Realm of RawFlyer.com is hosted at GoDaddy.com with a Linux Deluxe Hosting plan. (Linux is the operating system that the server runs… as opposed to Microsoft) I went with Linux for three primary reasons, 1) it’s not Microsoft and 2) for the range of open source software that I can run and install on the server and 3) for the learning curve…
GoDaddy.com does have an automated install for WordPress (the backbone program of this blog), but I choose to install WordPress from the files that I downloaded at WordPress.org. I did this for two reasons, 1) I was able to install a more recent (current) version of WordPress and 2) for the experience.
The basic install of WordPress will allow you to post text and maybe a few pictures into cyberspace… but the real tricks (fancy multimedia and behind the scenes work) comes from plug-ins. Plug-ins are like little programs that work inside of the main program of WordPress that add functionality (or formatting, or just about whatever you want actually) to the main program. I actually have (most likely) too many plug-ins and will be pruneing the list as I learn to use the more functional ones better. The beauty of plug-ins is this: WordPress the program is written in the public domain with code available to all, when someone discovers a need or a way to make WordPress better (and with the knowledge to do so), they write a plug-in to do it. This has a couple of advantages over one large do-it-all program… it keeps the original basic program small and light, and it allows for increased functionality quicker then an entire new release of WordPress could ever be released. A plug-in also has the advantage of doing something so specific that it would never make it into the main program… this allows individuals to make their websites do whatever they’d like.
The plug-ins that I use currently are:
Admin Drop Menus Creates drop down menus on the backend (the administrative section of WordPress).
Advanced Tiny MCE Editor Adds advanced features to the editor on the backend.
Akismet Checks the comments against a Spam blacklist.
Cimy Swift SMTP Sends email via SMTP
CoolPlayer Allows various multimedia objects to be posted.
HidePost Allows portions of the posts to be restricted to registered users only.
Multifile Upload Allows multiple files to be uploaded simultaneously.
My Page Order Allows the setting of the pages orders.
My Video Allows YouTube.com videos to be posted in the WordPress.
Page Category Organizer Organize pages by category.
Paged Comment Editing Replaces the stock Comment editing form with a better one.
PJW Mime Config Allows the user to alter the mime tags allowable for upload.
Popup Image Gallery Popup Gallery plug-in.
Private Email Allows the administrator to send private email to registered users.
ST Visualize Advanced Features Changes the editor so that advanced features are viewable easier.
Thumbnail Viewer Allows the posting of thumbnails that balloon up to full size images.
Tippy Allows popup tips while hovering over text.
WP-PageNavi Allows advanced page navigating.
WP-Polls Allows polls to be posted.
WPG2 Allows an interface between Gallery and WordPress.
WP Plugins Tracker Allows the administrator to keep track of the versions of the plug-ins.
The other part of RawFlyer.com that makes it easy to view pictures, is the interface between WordPress and Gallery. Gallery is another open source program that is installed on the web server to hold and organize pictures and movies. It can be accessed directly by going to http://www.rawflyer.com/gallery. But, it can be incorporated directly into the posts through the use of plug-ins.
If you’d like to try your hand at posting and bloging…. without the trouble of installing programs on your own (rented) web server, you can go to WordPress.com and sign up for a free account. I haven’t personally used this, but I understand it works very well.
Hope this helps, but any questions can be directed to rawflyer.