How does this work?
It's easy. Once you're registered, you login and click on the 'Create Content' link in the first of the two right-hand columns. From here you can start writing your own blog. Anything you write will appear on your own blog page, and on the main community page at www.wordmagazine.co.uk/blog (alongside everyone else's entries), while the very best will also be promoted to the Word Magazine homepage.

So why do I have to register?
It's nothing sinister, honest. If you're registered we can keep all your contributions in one place, making it easier for other readers to find you and for you to let others know what you're doing. It also means that you don't need to input your username and e-mail address every time you want to have something to say. And we're going to start a weekly newsletter which we trust you'll appreciate

I've registered, but my confirmation e-mail hasn't arrived.
It's likely to have been caught up in a junk mail filter somewhere between leaving us and getting to you. This is especially an issue with some of the larger ISPs (Tiscali and AOL, we're talking about you). So check your spam settings, or try a different e-mail address. If you still don't have any luck, get in touch and we'll sort it out.

Do I need to know geeky code stuff?
Not at all. Links are turned into clickable things automatically, and you can embed YouTube videos using the code they give you.

Is this Web 2.0?
We're not really sure what that means either, but we do have various rss feeds you can subscribe to. Also, you'll see there is a "share" option at the foot of each post. Clicking this enables you to bookmark the page, or to share it with other people via e-mail or via a choice of social networking sites. In most cases you'll need accounts at the websites the icons link to to use these features. Here's a few examples of how this works:
Clicking this will bookmark the page if you have an account with del.icio.us
Clicking this will post this story to the Digg website
Clicking this will enable you to share this link on your Facebook profile

Are there any posting guidelines?
Yes, and we'd be grateful if you adhered to them. "Wordiquette" keeps this website a pleasant environment to inhabit.

People who ignore these guidelines run the risk of having posts removed and, after repeated instances, their accounts blocked.

Can I use my blog to plug my new record/book/podcast/website etc., or to link to a cause or campaign I support?
To be honest, we'd rather you didn't. This isn't because we don't like your new record/book/podcast etc., but because we don't want the site to become cluttered with people using it for self-promotion, and it's easiest to have a rule that we can apply across the board rather than judging everything on a case-by-case basis. As for causes and campaigns, there will be far more effective - and therefore appropriate - places to post your message. Thanks for your understanding.

So it's against the rules to link to your own site, or to a site that you contribute to substantially, or have a financial interest in, or to one owned by a friend or family member. People who do this run the risk of having the posts removed, and in extreme instances, their accounts banned. If you want to advertise on the site, please contact us.

Are there any exceptions to this?
Yes. You're welcome to post a link to your site on your profile page, and it's OK to self-link in response to a post by another Word reader, but only if it's relevant to the original post.

How do I add an image to my post?
You need somewhere to host the images yourself. Lots of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) give you some web space as part of the deal, so that's worth checking out. The other option is to find somebody on the web willing to host your pictures for free. There are a few options out there, including http://photobucket.com/, http://groups.msn.com/ and http://www.imageshack.us/

Once you've uploaded your image to the site you've selected, you need to get the URL (address) of the file. It will look something like http://www.foo.com/image.jpg. Some services will automatically generate the code you need to copy to embed the image on another site, but if not, it's easy to get it yourself:

PC:

Mac:

Now just add the address of the image into the field where you write your post or comment on the Word site. You will need to surround the address of the image with a little bit of HTML code, like this:

<img src="http://www.foo.com/image.jpg">

Use the preview button to make sure your image has appeared and looks OK.

Remember:

What does 'HJH' stand for?
Why, it's those cheeky mop-tops, the 'Hey Jude Hitmakers' themselves, a.k.a. The Beatles

What are the arrows for?
The arrows are a convenient shorthand for "I like this". Click the arrow if you like a post, or if you think a comment adds significantly to the debate that follows. The number reflects the number of fellow readers who have done so.

You mean that's it?
Yes. Simple, isn't it? It's likely that we'll be making changes to this page as time passes and we learn more about how things work and what you want, however, so it's worth checking back from time to time.

Hold on a sec, you haven't answered my question!
You can reach us via the contact page if you have another query or have a bug to report.