What is the etiquette on creating a post that gives you a small teaser then a link to a blog?

It seems to me like this is bad form. I see a lot of people doing it but for some reason it seems wrong, like a shameless way to drive traffic to your site by directing it away from this site.

Also I see how a lot of blogs go in and out of fashion, the owner does not keep it up and next thing you know it is down. So later you search on BPL, find a relevant thread in the archives, click on it and then all the information in the thread is in a blog whose link is broken, information is no longer there, whatever. Now you are reading this incomplete thread where everyone is discussing a blog post that is no longer there.

Just seems like it would be more polite to copy and paste the blog article onto the forum and if you want provide a link to your blog.

if the content is topical for posting the teaser, then why not just post the content? i could see if it were filled with images and data plots, but then why not submit it as an article for the site. consolidation of information is better than having thousands of dead links in 2 years.

Teaser plus a link to blog is appropriate.

Oh look, a link out to a blog with an example showing that even the owner doesn't want to post his good content here anymore

Edited by redmonk on 03/29/2012 12:36:01 MDT.

I've posted several of my trip reports here and not on my blog, and vice versa. Kind of depends.

The problem with BPL postings is that content, especially quality content (trip reports in partucular) of any significant value gets buried in junky chaff threads and gear discussion.

Links to personal blogs from the forums will often drive motivated people to their blog to have discussions that don't turn into arguments.

To sum it up, the BPL forums aren't the ideal platform for certain content. A link out of here can be appropriate.

Just because we may not like it, does not necessarily make it tasteless or shameless. It has not bothered me. If I was in the market to be irritated or bothered by something, this would not be it ; )

Edited by Kat_P on 03/29/2012 09:16:28 MDT.

I have to say, that I have NEVER followed a "You might want to check out my blog!" link.

Ever.

It just seems so... desperate. "Please read my blog!!! Or I'll kill this kitten!!!"

Ew.

The sole exception is when someone posts a link to a blog entry that is a trip report. I totally understand not wanting to duplicate things.

My take... answer whatever question OP might have so the forum thread can remain meaningful -- then put in something like "for more detail, click to my blog here".

I post trip reports (when I post them) only on our local hiking forum, and all other forums in which I participate get links.

Why? Every forum appears to have a totally different way of posting images, and I can't and don't want to cope with a whole bunch of different methods. I managed to master posting directly from my own computer to our local forum. Most others require a hosting site, and I don't want to deal with that, either, particularly since it means spending money once a certain number of images are on the hosting site.

I've never had anyone object to this practice. Maybe it helps that the link is to another forum rather than to a blog. I fully sympathize with people who don't want to spend extra hours reformatting reports for half a dozen different forums--that's exactly my issue!

I certainly don't object to anyone posting links to to trip reports on their blog, at least not if they are interesting! There's a big difference between someone saying "Check out my wonderful blog!" and posting a link to an excellent trip report.

Edited by hikinggranny on 03/29/2012 14:31:25 MDT.

I have a blog, mainly for writing and sharing my own trip reports with friends and family. I post links to stuff on my blog that might be relevant to people here.
1. I don't want to double-post.
2. I'm not going to tell my mom or sister or cousins to log on to BPL to find my trip reports.
3. I created a blog because my trip reports used to be only posted here...And then I realized that when I want to go back and see them or share them, they're often completely buried. I like being able to archive my trip reports.
4. I don't own or have any control over this site. If I'm going to take the time to write and post pictures, I'd rather be in control of the site through which I do it. I'm not a techie, but this site can be pretty tedious to upload to.

Edited by xnomanx on 03/29/2012 15:54:41 MDT.

Cameron, I want to buy you a beer someday.

On point!

"I don't own or have any control over this site. If I'm going to take the time to write and post pictures, I'd rather be in control of the site through which I do it. I'm not a techie, but this site can be pretty tedious to upload to."

+1 to the millionth

Posting a trip report of any length is a huge undertaking on this forum... it sucks. I don't have the time or inclination to goof around with a blog, but I image it is pretty quick and easy to upload a file. Could probably even do it in MS Word and save it as a HTML file.

When I write a trip report, it is for my kids(actually a story for them); not BPL. If it is a long story, I just save it as a PDF, post it to GoogleDocs, and link to it.

Blog posts... Lately I've been linking to my personal blog and also to some articles I've done for Seattle Backpackers Magazine. With the latter, I have to link, because of copyright.

For my personal blog... to post here it takes a lot of time. I'd have to upload photos, write in the href tags for any links and such. I also lose some of the formatting when I cut and paste here. That means having to type in bold and italics tags and it all just takes time. Plus there are some that might want to follow my story. My personal blog is non-commercial too.

My trip logs are made by hand-coding html. I do that because it is easier for me to make one page of reports and photos and link to it. Also, if I want to change or remove a photo I only have to change it in one place.

I also run a forum and I allow my users to link to their trip reports and it has worked well there. If the link every expires, I merely put a note in the post. Granted I only have 1000 users but it works well enough.

i won't usually follow a link to a story, any more than I follow those stupid links on major news websites: "Girl swallows gila monster, click here to find out what happens next."

No thanks.

And I generally post a shortened version of trip reports on sites like this. And yes, if you want more photos and more details, you can go to our website. And if you don't want to do that, fine.

Oh yeah--the site is at backpackthesierra.com.


nyuk nyuk nyuk.

I post 'teaser' trip reports because, as others pointed out, it is tedious to use this site for extended photos, links, etc. On certain forums, I can do a copy and paste of my entire trip report and everything copies over OK. BPL ain't one of them.

On certain topics (esp ones concerning Colorado and The Colorado Trail), I have a ton of info I wrote on my website. I am not going to reinvent the wheel. :) Typically, I'll type the appropriate info and say something along the lines of "To see more info on transportation, check out this link at xxxxx"

I really, honestly and truly don't care how many people come to my website. For me, it is just a matter of convenience. I'll write the info if needed but I'll link as needed, too.

Of course, this debate ranks up their with purity on the long trails, Coke vs Pepsi and how many licks does it take to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop. :D