FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Nobody has really asked these questions yet, they certainly haven’t been asked frequently. But then again the answers to these questions might help you and answer some questions you might have. I also read somewhere that a good website should have FAQs, so here are the ones for New.IslayBlog.com:

Who are you and why are you running this blog?

My name is Armin Grewe, you can find out a bit more about me on www.grewe.co.uk, my personal homepage. I first visited Islay in 1998, really liked the place and have returned at least once a year ever since. I’ve been blogging for quite a few years now (my first steps were back in 2001), my ‘normal’ blog currently being the Ministry of Propaganda, started in 2003.

In 2006 I upgraded my webspace, which gave me the opportunity to register a few more domains. I decided to register islayblog.com and start a blog about Islay. While I don’t live on Islay (at least not yet, who knows, I might move there one day) I still feel I can find enough interesting content to fill a blog. I hope the content will be of interest to a few people, entertain them and if they haven’t been to Islay yet may interest them in a visit.

Is this an official blog for Islay?

No, far from it. I don’t speak for anyone on or from Islay. All views expressed here are mine and mine alone, unless stated otherwise. They might or might not reflect the views of the population of Islay (assuming there is such thing as a unified opinion, which it probably isn’t in a lot of cases).

What are you going to blog here?

In short: Anything Isle of Islay (or Jura, Colonsay or Gigha, I might even go as far as Kintyre or Ireland) related. This could be interesting websites, pictures, news, links, other blog entries, whisky, food, drink, wildlife, hillwalking, music, bird watching, travelling, accommodation, art, sport or anything else I forgot in this list.

Why can I not see my comment?

If this is your first comment it will require my approval to make sure you are a real nice person and not a spammer. Any subsequent comments should appear immediately, if not something else might have triggered it. Either way, I will approve any legitimate comments as soon as possible.

Unfortunately the huge amount of spam this blog like most blogs receives forces me to use this measure, otherwise I would be overrun with it. Thank the inconsiderate spammers for it.

Also please keep in mind that you are commenting in my house, so I reserve the right to remove comments I feel go too far. This is not censorship (you’re free to say whatever you want in other places), it’s simply keeping my house clean to my standards.

I found a mistake, what should I do?

By all means let me know. I’m not perfect and might make all kinds of mistakes. Spelling mistakes, identifying a place incorrectly, having outdated information, misinterpreting something, misunderstanding something and other mistakes. Let me know whichever way you feel comfortable. You can leave a comment at the post. You can send me an email. Whichever way you prefer. And unless you tell me otherwise I will give you credit for the correction.

How can I find old entries?

There are two ways to find old entries: If you don’t know the exact entry and/or are interested in several entries for a topic I suggest you use the Search function. There’s a search box in the sidebar on the right, type in your term and click on the magnifying glass to start the search. You should be able to find most pages through it.

If you know the title and approximate date of the entry you might want to try the archives. They are structured by year and month and you can find a link to them at the bottom of any individual entry. Similarly you can browse through entries by category if you so wish.

Can you answer my question about Islay?

I will certainly try. Just keep in mind that I’m running this blog in my spare time, don’t live on Islay and won’t have the ultimate answer to all questions. I’m not the tourist information either. Meaning I might not respond immediately (although I will try my best, time permitting) and I might not have the answer. I won’t claim it will be the authoritative answer either.

And if do provide an answer I would appreciate a response from you as well, letting me know if you found my answer helpful. Not much is more frustrating than spending my time on an answer for you and then not hearing anything from you.

Will you link to my site?

Good question, let me answer it with a clear ‘may be, it depends’. First of all, I won’t link to any site just because you ask me to link to you. I will not participate in generic link exchanges, don’t bother asking me, in particular if the only purpose is to increase search engine rankings.

If your site or a page on your site is in some sense Islay (or Jura, Colonsay or Gigha, I might even go as far as Kintyre or Ireland) related your chances of a link are quite high. If I like your site or what you offer on your site your chances increase significantly. And if it is good enough to warrant a blog entry the chances go even higher.

Send me a mail with your link and some further information and I’ll see what I can do.

Will you publish my picture of Islay?

If you have nice pictures from Islay or of an event on Islay (or Jura or Colonsay) it is quite likely that I would be interested in publishing them on either this blog or on the Islay Pictures Photoblog. Feel free to contact me through the form, I’ll then let you know which address to email the picture to (To avoid the spam bots I don’t really want to publish my e-mail address here).

Please understand that I can only publish pictures you have the rights to and give me permission to publish. Also let me know if you prefer to remain ‘nameless’ or under which name I should credit you (as well as the address of your website, if you have one).