Creating a Comment Link Cheat Sheet

Seth Williams created an awesome article way back in the olden days of Gather - you know, back in December of Aught Five.  Some of you youngun's may not remember back that far, but us old folks remember those glory days.  The article was titled How to Format Your Comments.  It was truly a revolution here at Gather, and many a Gatherer is thankful to Seth for the wisdom he gave out in that article. 

It is still a great article, and I have long been touting it.  But I wanted to share with you how you can use Seth's information on how to add hyperlinks to your comments to create a very handy - can't live without it "cheat sheet."  I love mine, and use it all the time.  I hope you will find it useful as well.

What would you use a hyperlink in a comment for?  Mainly, to direct someone to a great article or image - yours or someone else's.  It is a great way to advertise for yourself and others, and makes comments even more fun.  You are far more likely to get a response to a hyperlink than to a web address pasted in a comment.

What we learn about linking in comments from Seth's article is that there are two components to creating the link - the address part and the title part.  This is how I simplify it in my mind at least.  Now, I am going to go through the steps to both create a cheat sheet, and to put the links in your comments from this cheat sheet.

1.  Open a new word processing document.  Type the following:

Above is a sample cheat sheet with three blank codes.  There is one row between each code.  You'll want to make lots of these codes - I save things I link to frequently and have over two pages of links - so make yourself at least ten to start.

2.  Like I said, the code for hyperlinks in comments is made up of two parts.  So, think of it like this - the first part is the address, or URL.  This goes between the quotation marks. 

The easiest way to get the address is to go to the page you want to link to, then go to the white URL line, highlight everything (http:// and all), then paste it all between the quotation marks.

The second part is the title you want to appear as the link.  This part goes between the > < marks.  You can type it there, or copy and paste it there (from the same page you got the address).

When you combine these two parts - this is what it looks like:

3.  Now that you have completed both parts and have the completed code, you will need to highlight the whole thing (beginning at href and ending including the final >).  Now either right click and choose copy, or hit the control key and c at the same time - either will give the same effect - it will copy the code for you.

4.  Now go to your comment and make your remarks.  When you get to the point where you are ready to add the link, simply either right click and choose paste, or hit control key and v at the same time - both options will paste the code for you.  DO NOT PANIC!  The code will magically translate once you post it!

Now, if that was a link you want to keep using, then save it on your cheat sheet.  If not, you can delete it and replace it with a new link.  Once you learn this nifty trick, you will be hooked on linking! 

Now, show me your stuff!  Did I teach you well?  Leave me a link!  Let me know if this is not clear enough for you.  I'll be glad to further explain.  Happy linking!