Reconnecting through Dreamwidth

(EDIT: This practice poses some format and ethical issues, which were brought up to me in the comments. I think it is natural and healthy for our population of users to try out new things and develop our own ways of using the site, but it also important for us to respect DW's existing users and adapt ourselves to their ways of doing things. I'm going to leave this up so that other Tumblr immigrants can benefit from what we learned here.

We have taken the feedback and stopped using this format, which makes this post no longer relevant. I'm going to freeze comments since I think everyone has had ample opportunity to express their opinion. For new users looking for the proper way to signal boost other's posts, please see shy's guide to blockquotes. Thank you all for your input.)

So my friend shy_magpie has found a really great way to emulate reblogs, and it's actually quite simple to do. While threaded discussions are a vastly better way to talk one-on-one they really aren't good for Tumblr style memeing. (and personally, I am very, very passionate about the good old fashion shit post! I can't quit, you can't make me!) So for those times when you really, really want to copy someone's entire post and then add to it, here is a very simple method:

The codes in use are <dt> and <dd>. In normal HTML they are used to generate lists. <dt> is used for list items. <dd> is used for list details.

Example:


So in order to create a faux reblog, all we need to do is put our username and the OP's username in <dt> brackets, and put the content of the entry/response in <dd> brackets. Out of respect to the OP, I think we should be in the practice of linking to the original posts and to all the journals involved in the discussion. So, with all that taken into account, the standard code would be formatted like this:

<dt> <user name=OP USERNAME> said <a href="ORIGINAL ENTRY URL">in this entry</a>:</dt>
<dd>COPY/PASTE ORIGINAL POST'S CONTENT</dd>
<dt> <user name=YOUR USERNAME> said:</dt>
<dd> YOUR RESPONSE</dd>

And when previewed should look like this:

dendriteblues said in this entry:

questionoftheday Do you like strawberries?

my answer: Oh my god I love strawberries. When I was a kid my mom would always make the most delicious pies...blah blah blah.

dendriteblues said:

my answer: I like them too, but not for the reason you would think! As a kid I had a puppy named Strawberry Pie. What a great dog, let me tell you all about him for thousands and thousands of words. Blah, blah, blah.

There is no limit to the number of "reblogs" you can add to the list, it just gets longer and longer as it did on Tumblr. When you copy and paste the contents of the entry all of the links and HTML in that entry are preserved AS LONG AS YOU PASTE INTO THE RICH TEXT EDITOR. If you paste into the HTML editor, you will lose all the code and have to manually recreate it. EW! Likewise, if you paste into Rich Text and forget to switch to HTML before typing your <dt> and <dd> tags then your code won't work.

So to be as clear as possible, the procedure for posting a reblog should go like this:

1. Copy the entry you want to reference.


2. Click "Post Entry"


3. Click "Rich Text" in the top right corner of your text box.


4. Type CRL+V on PC or CMD+V on Mac to paste the entry.


5. Click "HTML" in the top right corner of your text box.


6. Paste the template code into the text box.


7. Change the username to the OP's username and the URL to the original entry's URL


8. Put <dd> and </dd> on either side of the original post.


9. Move the second half of the template code below the OP's code and add your own username and comments.


10. Hit preview and make sure everything looks correct.

It sounds like a lot, but once you do it a few times it becomes second nature. Obviously, it's quite a bit more work than just clicking a reblog button, but I think it will go a long way in helping us Tumblr refugees preserve the meme culture we are accustomed to. And all that while being able to have a civilized, threaded conversation when you want to. In a way, it's actually really cool. The best of both worlds.

Please let me know if you find this useful, or if you find it confusing. I'm not a coder, but I'll do my best to explain it!


(EDIT:   Also worth mentioning, reblogging is much easier after the intitial reblog. Because if a friend of yours reblogs a post and you want to reblog your friend's reblog, all you have to do is copy your friend's post and add <dt> and <dd> tags around your own comments. Your friend will have already done the formatting on the OP's post. So in theory, reblogging gets easier the more people do it.)