For the past few weeks, I have been searching the internet for a way to rebuild the massive blogroll known as the FTW Blogger Group. It is time to admit that I am unable to do it at this point. I have failed, but I am not out.
What's going to happen now
I am going to rebuild the list from the ground up and I need your help to do it. I am going to start over and include only those members who meet the new criteria and want to be in the new roll. The previous list had members who's blogs had been dead for ages, transferred to new listings and all other kinds of problems. These "old" links only bogged down the listing and created a ton of problems when it came to upkeep.
The new roll will be listed right over there in the right hand column under the first tab. That way it pops up and can be scrolled through quickly just like before.
The new criteria for joining
It's going to have to change if I'm going to make this work. As the previous blogroll grew, it lost it's focus and it lost the purpose it was designed for. The new blogroll will go back to what I wanted it to be in the beginning... a current, friendly 40k blogroll.
Here's the new criteria for being a member
1. Your blog needs to be about 40k (the majority of it). We all post about other things, but 40k will have to be the focus of your blog to get listed now. And it's only one blog per member.
2. You'll need to post at least once a month. New and old blogs are welcome.
3. No inappropriate language.
It's simply an aspect I do not believe helps this hobby in any way.
4. Display the FTW Blogger Group logo and consider including From the Warp in your blogroll if you have one on your blog. This is optional, but I appreciate the return exposure.
So you meet the criteria, how do you join?
Simple. All you need to do is email me: ronsaikowski_illus(at)msn.com
You'll need to include two things in your email so it isn't deleted as junk:
1. Title your email "FTW Blogger Group membership"
2. The link to your 40k blog.
That's it, simple as that.
I'll email and let you know once you've been added to the new roll.
If you'd like to display the logo on your blog to promote each other and the FTW Blogger Group, your support would be greatly appreciated. The image directly above should have a clear background (you can put it over colored backgrounds) that you can copy it for your blog and scale it to any size smaller that fits your page as well.
To add the logo to your Blog, just copy the text in the box below and paste it into a HTML widget (for Blogger) on your site.
What's going to happen to the previous blogroll?
That is a giant list of blogs I look through daily. I'm still in the process of removing the "old" blogs and trying to make it something manageable. It's going to finish it's life in that state. The new list is the one that is going to be much more streamlined and posted here on FTW for everyone to check out.
I understand the new criteria may exclude some previous blogs. In order to make FTW the best I can, I need to focus on what this site is about and build it accordingly. There are a number of blogrolls out there that can be joined without these "rules." I'd encourage Bloggers to get their blogs out there and get as much exposure as possible. Just be aware of where you list and the type of community you are trying to build on your own blog.
Even more than just getting listed on a blogroll for exposure, I'd encourage folks to get out there and get involved with other 40k bloggers and discussions.
Make sure to check out these posts as they might help:
10 ways to improve your blog
But what should I post about?
Profanity and the hobby
UPDATE: This post is fairly old and FTW has since experienced a number of changes. Sometimes it's nice to look back at where you came from and where you're going.
