How We Keep RVblogz Running

WPMU Dev Premium WordPress Multisite plugins, themes and support help make the RVblogz community and Tripawds blogs a couple of the best multi-user blog communities online!

RVblogz was first created as a testing ground for the  Tripawds Blogs community.

While we do have a growing number of RVers sharing their adventures with free travel blogs here, it is Jerry’s three legged dog blog network – with more than 2200 members and 550+ blogs – that has become one of the premiere WordPress Multisite networks.

Tripawds Three Legged Dog Blogs WordPress Multisite Network

In fact, Tripawds was recently added to the acclaimed WPMU Dev Showcase among some of the leading WordPress MultiSite communities online!

Best WordPress Multisite Plugins & Themes

So what exactly makes these network work? Simply said, it’s our WPMU Dev Premium subscription that enables us to offer such amazing functionality. Here’s a rundown of just a few of our favorite WPMU Dev plugins and themes that power RVblogz and the Tripawds community.

Admin Ads: We provide a row of dashboard “Quick Links” to many of our community’s most valuable resources using this simple plugin. It also allows us to notify bloggers of pending upgrades and other special announcements.

Anti-Splog: This ultimate spam blog plugin and service stops nearly all splogs from even being created in our WordPress Multisite network. If a splog does get created, no posts are visible to the community, and an easy interface allows us to moderate or delete them.

Avatars: Ths is how we allows users to upload ‘user avatars’ and ‘blog avatars’ which then appear in blog comments and blog / user listings throughout the network.

Invite: Allows all RVbloggerz to invite their friends and colleagues via email to check out their blog and register for an account.

 

Recent Comments: This widget lets us display a list of recent comments from all blogs throughout the community.

WPMU DEV - The WordPress ExpertsRecent Global Posts Widget: This widget shows recent posts from all RVblogz, with user avatars.

Sitemaps and SEO: Automatically generates and submit Google sitemaps for all blogs on this network

Supporter: Lets us easily offer paid RVblogz Supporter accounts with automatic upgrades including premium themes, premium plugins, extra storage space, the ability to instantly remove banner ads and more.

Terms Of Service: This plugin places the Terms of Service on the signup with an approval checkbox users must select in order to continue their registration.

The WordPress Popup Plugin: Allows us to display a simple ad directing new tripawds.com visitors to the valuable information in our first e-book, Three Legs and a Spare – a Canine Amputation Handbook.

Update Notifications: This keeps us automatically updated of any WPMU Dev plugin and theme updates for best security and functionality!

WPMU Nelo: The custom homepage CMS WordPress theme we customized to improve navigation and address site performance issues.

What’s next?

I often turn to the WPMU Dev support forums for quick answers whenever I need help tweaking things behind the scenes here. I have requested development of a couple things that might help us continue enhancing the Tripawds experience. For instance, I’d like to have a Map plugin that would automatically generate a map page with member locations based on profile data.

With all this that we already offer in mind, what other new features might Tripawds members like to see?

RVblogz got an upgrade!

The RVblogz free travel blog community is now running along smoothly in style atop the latest version of Wordpress Multisite with all the best multi-user plugins and lots of new themes.

Big news from the cockpit here! The RVblogz free travel blog community is now running along smoothly in style atop the latest version of WordPress Multisite with all the best multi-user plugins and lots of new themes.

What does this mean to RVblogz members, Supporters and road warriors who want a cool free travel blog? Let’s see…

  • It’s easier than ever to start blogging about your travels!
  • RVblogz.com now delivers better performance with higher security.
  • More blog designs including premium layouts.
  • No more Grunions, but better spam protection with an better contact form.
  • And much more!

WordPress, Multisite and BuddyPress Plugins, Themes and Support - WPMU DEVBloggerz may need to refresh their dashboard pages and should check their Plugins an Apperance tabs for new functionality. Reply with a comment or submit a Support Ticket from your RVblogz dashboard.

RVblogz Supporter Framework Updated

RVblogz Supporter framework has been updated so be sure to review your available plugins and activate available spam protection and more!

We recently upgraded the Supporter Blog framework running behind the scenes here, so all at RVblogz members should visit the Plugins tab in their dashboard to ensure the TypePad Anti-Spam plugin is activated. This will keep spam comments to a minimum on free travel blog accounts.

RVblogz Supporters should make sure the WP-SpamFree plugin is also activated for enhanced spam protection. WP SpamFree will also allow RVblogz Supporters to easily add a contact form to their blogs. Other premium plugins that may have been deactivated in the recent upgrade include Viper’s Video Quicktags for easy video embedding from numerous video sharing sites, Multiple Twitter Widgets, and much more. For complete details review our Supporter Blog feature comparison.

Not yet an RVblogz Supporter? Consider upgrading today to automatically remove ads from your blog and instantly increase your blog space quota to 1GB for uploading lots of photos! You’ll also gain access to the Premium Plugins available, and a Supporter Badge widget you can proudly display in your blog sidebar. Simply visit the Supporter tab in your dashboard more information.

The RVblogz Supporter Blog framework is made possible with the powerful Supporter mu-plugin from WPMU-Dev Premium.

New Support System Online!

tech support catAll RVbloggerz will now notice a helpful new feature in their blog dashboard. We have just launched a comprehensive Support System to help you make the most of your blog. Simply log in to your RVblogz account and click on the Support tab to the left to access our new FAQs and Support Tickets.

We have tried to answer the most common questions regarding RVblogz account management, blog settings, options, themes, and much more. If you see an issue that isn’t answered, just send us your question or submit a new support ticket.

Support Tickets are our new way of providing direct technical support for your blog account when needed. Tickets are not intended for how to tips, but rather to address any specific issues you may have with your blog. Submit a ticket if you believe something is broken or are having technical difficulties with your blog. You will be notified by email when when we respond to your support ticket. You can then click the link provided to see the ticket and respond if necessary. All assistance will provided within the RVblogz  Support Ticket system – not via email – for clarification and archiving purposes.

The new Support tab in your dashboard is just another step in our continuing efforts to make your travel blogging experience easy and fun. And it is not to be confused with the Supporter tab where you can upgrade your RVblogz account to increase your upload space quota and enable enhanced features.

We’ll get those spammers!

One of the biggest challenges to having a blog is battling the insane amount of comment spam. We’re doing our best to put an end to that here at RVblogz.com!

RVbloggerz may have noticed the reCAPTCHA image verification plugin we recently installed which required commenters to enter validation words before posting comments. reCAPTCHA is an amazing project that is actually helping to digitize old texts from the internet archive by having words OCR can’t recognize deciphered by blog commenters. But some consider any captcha an inconvenience.

So, we’re trying a different method now. It’s transparent to your readers but fools spam-bots, so it should stop all automated spam comments. Please let us know if its working on your RVblogz.

What’s that you say? You haven’t signed up for your own free travel blog yet? Get your free travel blog today, and we’ll make sure you no spam gets through it … one way or another!

We are building community here.

RVblogz announces new Communities and Privat Messaging features for members.

RVbloggerz will now notice two new features in their admin dashboard – Communities and Inbox.

Our new Communities feature allow RVblogz members to create a community with a message board, Wiki pages, and news items. In fact, multiple communities can be created. They can be public or private. Simply search for existing communities that may be of interest or start your own. Make it private if you only want members you approve to join. Or, make the community public and everyone can join the fun!

But wait, there’s more. The Inbox feature is our new RVblogz private messaging system. Simply enter any RVblogz user name and send them a message. It will immediately appear in their in box and they’ll be notified by email. Notification emails can also be turned off.

Just a couple new enhancements we’re proud to announce in our continuing efforts to build community here at RVblogz.com. Join the fun today!

Supporters get Grunions!

Supporter RVblogz get grunion contact form plugin

grunionNo, not the fish. As an RVblogz Supporter, you can easily add a simple contact form to any post or page of your blog. Just like they do it at WordPress.com! Simply activate Grunion in the plugins tab of your dashboard.

You can add a contact form to any post or page just by inserting the simple tag [contact-form] into the post wherever you want the form to appear.

It will work like this …

[contact-form]

Readers and visitors to your blog can then send you messages directly. Emails will be sent to the post’s author. Your email address is never shown, and the sender never learns it (unless you reply to the email).

What’s a Grunion?
The plugin was written in Southern California, home of an unusual fish called the Grunion. There’s apparently  no correlation between fish and contact forms; it’s just a fun sounding word that’s geographically apropos.

Anyone can put whatever they want in the name and email boxes. How can I know who’s really sending the message?
If a logged in RVblogz member of your site sends you a message, the end of the email will let you know that the message was sent by a verified user.Otherwise, you can’t trust anything… just like a blog comment. Anonymity is both a curse and a blessing 🙂

My blog has multiple authors. Who gets the email?
The email is sent to the author of the post with the contact form in it. So each author on your blog can have his or her own contact form.

Great! But how will my visitors know who they’re sending a message to?
Just make the title of your post “Contact Mary” or put “Hey, drop John a line with the form below” in the body of your post.

Not a supporter? Visit your RVblogz dashboard and upgrade for immediate activation. Not yet blogging on RVblogz? Sign up for your free account today.