You heard me right. No more zero days. Shared by Reddit user u/ryans01 over a decade ago (can't believe I've just come across this concept), the simple premise is that a day where you've not worked on a goal or target is a zero day: > What's a zero day? A zero day is when you don't do a single fucking thing towards whatever dream or goal or want or whatever that you got going on. I've had a lot of those zero days. Whether it was trying to learn python, get out walking everyday, becoming less sedentary through the use of a timer, whatever... zero days aplenty. It's not that I didn't value the benefits of any of those goals, it's that I found many ways to become self-defeatist or self-destructive. I focused on how many "zero days" there'd been and decided failure was the result. But that isn't true whatsoever. > No more zeros. I'm not saying you gotta bust an essay out everyday, that's not the point. The point I'm trying to make is that you have to make yourself, promise yourself, that the new SYSTEM you live in is a NON-ZERO system. Didnt' do anything all fucking day and it's 11:58 PM? Write one sentence. One pushup. Read one page of that chapter. One. Because one is non zero. For instance, earlier this year I decided I'd read every night before I went to bed. Didn't set a specific goal; just needed to read. Yet as I ran out of things to read - as if there were no more books in the World - I soon stopped. Strung many zero days together. But after reading the reddit post last night, what did I do? I read. I grabbed a book that's been collecting dust on my shelf and read. Got a chapter in. And tonight, I'll read again. Maybe a sentence. Maybe a page. Maybe a chapter. And if that book doesn't resonate, I'll find something else. There's plenty "to read." Yet I feel I can apply this to many of those other goals I shared. I want to learn Python. So why not work on an exercise every day? Even if only for a few minutes, that's a non-zero day. And I'm diving into the world of HTML as I shared yesterday. Each day I'll plug away at something. Maybe for a few minutes, maybe even longer. More non-zero days. Obviously I have to be realistic with my time and not put myself in a position of failure due to a thousand cuts, but a few minutes here and there are definitely possible. No more zero days, Chris!

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Here’s our stats breakdown for 2026. * According to the signup sheet we had **173** participants this year, although at least one of the Blaugust mentors clocked a handful of folks who did not officially sign up, which means that number is closer to **179**. * Out of that first number, **161** bloggers made at least one post during August (that we could find!) * Of the bloggers who signed up **96** people indicated that this was their first time participating in Blaugust!!! * * * _Disclaimer: The Blaugust crew are only human, and while we did make every effort to correctly tally post counts, we acknowledge that there may have been mistakes made. If you feel you qualified for an award and weren’t included in the correct category, please leave me a comment & I’ll get that fixed up for you._ * * * ### Blauginner Class of 2026 So many new blogs this year. So many. Any new blogger that signed up this year is in the graduating class even if they didn’t make a single post. * 20ilyApril * 26g * 392ms * 82MHz * A 3D Blog for a 3D World * A parenthetical departure * Academic Aesthetic * Aeish World Neocities * Agnes the Alien’s blog * Alessandro Cuzzocrea * aneeshsathe.com * annonimax * Aprill Space * Audrey Zetta * bavatuesdays * Blog.x2600 * Brennan.day * BurgeonLab * ChristiRichards.com * Christopherhimes.com * ComradeNerdy Blog * Dear Angel * devz.cl * diary.lollyrots.com * Dozenial Dragons * Emma Juettner’s Blog * Fragmentary * From the keyboard of Dr Jan * fyr.io * Games and Geekery * Graphiya’s Garden * gRegorLove.com * Heart Soul Machine * Ivy Run * I Can’t Think of a Name for this Website * It’s Just This Little Chromium Switch Here * Jak2k’s Website * Kai Gulliksen * Kevin Cunningham * K-Squared Ramblings * Lost Letters * Lucky Instar * lysurps * Michael Harley * michcia’s notes * MogBlog * msfjarvis.dev * Newsonaut * NomadWarMachine * Note * Nullish * object dot computer * Off the Top * Parallel Spirals * PaseoBaggage * Pinkway * Pour The Coffee * Pretend Typewriter * prin.lu * prry * puxped’s station * Quinn Daedal – Blog * Rishi Dass * Robida.net * Roska’s Reverie * Rukinations * Ryan Patrick Randall * Select * From Life * Shannon Kay’s Blog * Sheri42.net * Srijan’s Home * SweaterPockets * Sylvia’s Studio * Tabitha * Tantek Çelik * thethinkingboard * ThinkRoot * thiskurt’s blog * Toby Geeks Out * tommyeveryday * Troy Press * What the Fran * with words, wonder * words, essays, and more * youtherthyf’s salon * Zachary Kai * コーポ雪原 * スナックエルベ * もうすぐ33歳 * わくパンの思考のかけら * 伏枥之间 ### The Awards and Methodology For anyone who needs a bit of a refresher, here are the guidelines that the awards are assigned based upon: * **Bronze Award** – You made at least **5 Posts** during the month of August 2026. * **Silver Award** – You made at least **15 Posts** during the month of August 2026. * **Gold Award** – You made at least **25 posts** during the month of August 2026. * **Rainbow Diamond Award** – You beat the challenge and **posted 31 times** or more during the month of August 2026. One final note. Authors that have multiple blogs in the competition are tabulated individually for each blog but the award assigned is for the total contribution of the Author. The Blauginner award is available to all first time participants, and the Community Builder award is on the honor system. Blauginner Community Builder Bronze Silver Gold Rainbow Diamond ### CLUB BRONZE 2026 This year we had **forty-two** folks who managed the feat of posting **at least five times** during the month of August 2026. A lot of this event is about posting more often and finding your own schedule to follow. Five times during the Month of August would be around one post a week… which seems like a completely reasonable schedule. * わくパンの思考のかけら – 14 posts * MogBlog – 14 posts * fyr.io – 13 posts * bavatuesdays – 13 posts * A parenthetical departure – 13 posts * Lyons in Beta – 13 posts * Kedara – 13 posts * Lameazoid.com – 13 posts * Jak2k’s Website – 12 posts * In An Age -12 posts * Gridranger’s blog – 12 posts * Kai Gulliksen – 11 posts * Taxodium – 11 posts * Shannon Kay’s Blog – 10 posts * lysurps – 10 posts * GamerLady P Blog – 10 posts * Through Wolfy’s Eyes – 10 posts * Agnes the Alien’s blog – 9 posts * puxped’s station – 8 posts * Lost Letters – 8 posts * 20ilyApril – 8 posts * Zachary Kai – 7 posts * prry – 7 posts * Kevin Cunningham – 7 posts * Emma Juettner’s Blog – 7 posts * Roska’s Reverie – 7 posts * re: nyman – 7 posts * Nerd Girl Thoughts – 7 posts * Tabitha – 6 posts * Ryan Patrick Randall – 6 posts * michcia’s notes – 6 posts * Biggus Bloggus – 6 posts * 26g – 6 posts * Dave Henry Blog – 6 posts * object dot computer – 5 posts * msfjarvis.dev – 5 posts * diary.lollyrots.com – 5 posts * Beyond the Horizon – 5 posts * Alessandro Cuzzocrea – 5 posts * Casual Aggro – 5 posts * WCRobinson – 5 posts * 世界のねじを巻くブログ – 5 posts ### CLUB SILVER 2026 Traditionally we have this pattern emerge where folks generally either get Bronze or Rainbow, without a lot of folks in between the two extremes. This year given the larger sample size, we had more folks get Silver and Gold but it still more or less fits the pattern. This year we had **twenty-eight** bloggers that managed the feat of posting **at least fifteen times** during the month of August 2026. To continue the theme of choosing a schedule, this would equate to posting at least three times per week. Especially if you landed on something along the lines of a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule… this also seems completely manageable. * 392ms – 24 posts * Portrait of a…. – 24 posts * Pinkway – 24 posts * Heart Soul Machine – 23 posts * Syl’s Blog – 23 posts * BongoTwisty – 23 posts * clandestini – 22 posts * K-Squared Ramblings – 20 posts * Ivy Run – 20 posts * Aeish World Neocities – 20 posts * Joelchrono’s Blog – 20 posts * Zelibeli – 20 posts * コーポ雪原 – 19 posts * Parallel Spirals – 19 posts * coffee spills – 19 posts * BurgeonLab – 18 posts * An Archaeopteryx – 18 posts * Newsonaut – 16 posts * It’s Just This Little Chromium Switch Here – 16 posts * A 3D Blog for a 3D World – 16 posts * theTangentSpace – 16 posts * The Ghastly Mirror – 16 posts * Nerdy Bookahs – 16 posts * Dozenial Dragons – 15 posts * 82MHz – 15 posts * Noisy Deadlines – 15 posts * Aster’s Asterisms – 15 posts * Gaudete Theology – 15 posts ### CLUB GOLD 2026 Now we get to the folks who usually have a pattern already and are sticking with it… aka the Gold Club. This year we had **eleven** blogs that posted **at least twenty-five** times during the month of August 2026. Keeping the schedule thread rolling forward, this would be around five times per week. * Sheri42.net – 30 posts * Fragmentary – 30 posts * Robida.net – 28 posts * Pretend Typewriter – 28 posts * nosrednayduj’s blog – 28 posts * Shadowz Abstract Gaming Blog – 28 posts * Point, Click, Repeat – 27 posts * Brennan.day – 26 posts * Divergent Rays – 26 posts * Sal’s – 25 posts * Indiecator – 25 posts ### CLUB RAINBOW DIAMOND 2026 We continue to be impressed by the number of folks who end up going for the highest possible award in the event and this year we had **forty-seven** folks who posted at least **thirty-one** times during the month of August 2026. That is either a post every single day, or the occasional rest day with a double post to make up for it. Either way? It’s a lot of posts, and while some people effortlessly keep up with this schedule year round, for most folks, it’s just not sustainable, but damn, we admire the effort. * with words, wonder – 74 posts * JAG’s Workshop – 52 posts * Words of the AgingGamer – 49 posts * 素生 – 48 posts * スナックエルベ – 47 posts * NomadWarMachine – 44 posts * Off the Top – 42 posts * Wry Writer – 37 posts * Gamers Esoteric – 37 posts * ThinkRoot – 35 posts * TAGN – 35 posts * hamatti.org – 35 posts * aneeshsathe.com – 34 posts * Tantek Çelik – 33 posts * Nullish – 32 posts * ComradeNerdy Blog – 32 posts * Small Good Things – 32 posts * owlblog – 32 posts * もうすぐ33歳 – 31 posts * What the Fran – 31 posts * Troy Press – 31 posts * tommyeveryday – 31 posts * Toby Geeks Out – 31 posts * Sylvia’s Studio – 31 posts * Rishi Dass – 31 posts * note – 31 posts * Michael Harley – 31 posts * Lucky Instar – 31 posts * Christopherhimes.com – 31 posts * Blog – 鳥啼く頃に – 31 posts * PaseoBaggage – 31 posts * Aprill Space – 31 posts * Academic Aesthetic – 31 posts * Notes by JCProbably – 31 posts * The Friendly Necromancer – 31 posts * Alex’s Review Corner – 31 posts * Kay Talks Games – 31 posts * Quail Creations – 31 posts * Aywren’s Nook – 31 posts * Chasing Dings! – 31 posts * Inventory Full – 31 posts * Endgame Viable – 31 posts * Cubic Creativity – 31 posts * Words Under My Name – 31 posts * not all those who wander are lost – 31 posts * Contains Moderate Peril – 31 posts * * * This year, we have a little survey for our participants who would like to have some input into the future of Blaugust. Please note: This survey is intended to help the Blaugust organizers gather feedback and ideas for consideration when planning future events. Suggestions and preferences expressed in the survey will be considered alongside practical, organizational and community factors, and their inclusion does not necessarily mean that they will be adopted or implemented. This survey is anonymous, and should take less than 10 minutes, unless you wanna get wordy. And we know bloggers like to get wordy sometimes. **Roger** did the heavy lifting on this one, although we all loved the idea, he was the one to actually put it all together. **Blaugust 2026 Participant Survey** And that’s another Blaugust in the books! Much love to everyone who helped organize, and everyone who participated. ### Share this: * Share on X (Opens in new window) X * Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook * Like Loading... ### _Related_

View fullsize Judging by the posts I’ve read, it would appear that _Blaugust 2026: Festival of Blogging_ has been well received by those who participated in it. That is most satisfying to know, especially in light of the fact that this is the first year the event has been run without our founder who sadly past away in July. It has also become clear that _Blaugust_ is reaching a far wider and diverse audience and most definitely is no longer the exclusive province of bloggers from one particular community. There has been healthy discussions on our Discord server about whether this year event needs to adapt to accommodate the modern blogosphere. Questions such as whether or not there needs to be a dedicated _Blaugust_ website have been raised and explored. Should every site participating have an RSS feed? How, if required, should comments be handled. Inevitably, the subject of the use of AI in blogging still remains a controversial issue. In light of these ongoing discussions, the _Blaugust_ organisers of which I am one, think we should seek further feedback from those who have participated. Hence I have collated the _Blaugust 2026 Participant Survey_ to address this. It is a simple set of questions designed to seek information from those who took part this year, as to what the enjoyed about the event and what can be done in the future to improve or expand the scope of the festival. It is anonymous of course (unless people want to sign it) and all details submitted will be treated in confidence. The survey is simply a means to start collating information about _Blaugust_ and to see what ideas people have for the future. At this stage leaving a specific suggestion does not a guarantee that it will be carried out. This is effectively an initial consultation. However, we believe this is a good place to start with regard to shaping future decisions regarding the festival of blogging. Hence, it would be greatly appreciated if you took part in this years _Blaugust 2026: Festival of Blogging_ , if you could spare a few minutes and complete the survey. It takes about 5 minutes or so. I will ensure that the survey remains accessible until the end of September. After which it will be closed and the feedback provided will be collated and analysed, which basically means that the organisers will read and discuss it. I’m sure that the information will prove invaluable. Naturally a summary will be made available on the Discord server later in the year for the perusal of members. I will also write a follow up post to share and discuss the results. It just remains to say thank you, once again, to all those who took part in this years blogging festival and made it the biggest one yet. And thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this survey. Link to survey: _Blaugust 2026: Festival of Blogging_ Related Posts Blaugust, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust 2026 Participant Survey Blaugust 2026 Participant Survey Blaugust, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust 2026 Participant Survey Judging by the posts I’ve read, it would appear that _Blaugust 2026: Festival of Blogging_ has been well received by those who participated in it. That is most satisfying to know, especially in light of the fact that this is the first year the event has been run without our founder who sadly past away in July. It has also become clear that _Blaugust_ is reaching a far wider and diverse audience and most definitely is no longer the exclusive province of bloggers from one particular community. There has been healthy discussions on our Discord server about whether this year event needs to adapt to accommodate the modern blogosphere. Questions such as whether or not there needs to be a dedicated _Blaugust_ website have been raised and explored. Should every site participating have an RSS feed? How, if required, should comments be handled. Inevitably, the subject of the use of AI in blogging still remains a controversial issue. Read more → Blaugust, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust 2026 Participant Survey Balugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, Lessons Learned Blaugust 2026 Group Project: Lessons Learned Balugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, Lessons Learned After a very productive month of writing, we come to the final _Blaugust 2026 Group Project_ writing prompt. It is titled lessons learned and is usually a chance to reflect on the festival and whether or not it has been to one’s satisfaction. Have you achieved your goals? What have you gained from the experience? Those sorts of things. It also poses two further questions; “What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?” and “what’s the best advice you’ve ever given to someone else?” for your consideration. I’ll address the questions shortly. Firstly let’s mull over this years event and assess how it’s gone. Read more → Balugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, Lessons Learned Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, Staying Motivated Blaugust 2026 Group Project: Staying Motivated Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, Staying Motivated It was my blogging anniversary on the 16th August. I’ve been writing and sharing my post online for 19 years, via various different websites and blogs. This current iteration of _Contains Moderate Peril_ has been around since August 2015. To date it has 2,171 posts including this one. Quantity does not necessarily equate to quality but there are some articles I am proud of and feel that they make their point effectively. This week’s _Blaugust 2026 Group Project_ writing prompt is an important topic. Namely, staying motivated. I prepared a fairly lengthy post with some advice and ideas to keep people focused and writing. Then I checked it against the post I wrote last year and the year before that, going back to blogging events from 2012. All of these posts broadly said the same thing, so I decided to scrap what I had composed for today and to go with a simpler approach. I shall answer the questions Krikket posed for this _writing prompt_. Fellow blogger _Bhagpuss_ has also done so and as ever, his thoughts are interesting and well expressed. Here are my answers. Read more → Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, Staying Motivated Blogging, Blaugust, Balugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, RSS Feed, Atom, RSS Alternatives, IndieWeb The Great Blaugust RSS Feed Debate Blogging, Blaugust, Balugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, RSS Feed, Atom, RSS Alternatives, IndieWeb Once again, I have stumbled across an interesting debate that has provided me with an opportunity to write a blog post. Over on the Blaugust Discord Server, I read a comment from AgingGamer regarding RSS feeds and their significance with regard to blogging. This in turn referred me to a post by fyr (don’t you love all these nom de plumes) who wrote at depth about the ongoing community debate about the use of RSS/Atom feeds. The article explored the importance of such feeds with regard to reaching readers and providing accessibility to the disabled. All of which provided me with a great deal of food for thought. Mainly because I use a mainstream website service provider for my online endeavours, so RSS is by default built. I’ve never really considered not having such a facility at my disposal. But the rise in the IndieWeb scene challenges this assumption. Read more → Blogging, Blaugust, Balugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, RSS Feed, Atom, RSS Alternatives, IndieWeb Blogging, Editing, Writing, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust 2026, Self-censorship Which Subjects Won’t You Write About? Blogging, Editing, Writing, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust 2026, Self-censorship I have written two blog posts today that I have subsequently abandoned. The first was gaming related but when I was about halfway through writing it, I felt like I was covering old ground and just repeating myself. It was also regarding an issue that can’t really be fixed. Namely, how do you ensure that matchmaking in PVP games is done equitably. As there is no solution to this issue at present, or at least not one that all parties can agree on, I decided to ditch it. Similarly a post I was working on about what becomes of my blog if anything happens to me was curtailed. In light of recent events in our community it seemed inappropriate. However, as a result of binning two blog posts, I new idea occurred to me. Do my fellow bloggers self-edit and curtail what they write about? Is your blog totally unfiltered or do you apply a set of rules that determine what content is deemed acceptable? Read more → Blogging, Editing, Writing, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust 2026, Self-censorship Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, If You Could Choose a Super Power Blaugust 2026 Group Project: If You Could Choose a Super Power Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, If You Could Choose a Super Power It is time for the next _Blaugust 2026 Group Project_ writing prompt. This one comes with two lines of enquiry. The first is an opportunity to “introduce yourself”. Over the years, I have written several introductory posts for previous _Blaugust_ events. Rather than repeat myself I’ll just _link to the last one_, which was posted in August 2023. I haven’t radically charged since then apart from my hair going whiter. The next part of the prompt poses a far more intriguing question. “If you could have one magical power or super power, what would you choose and what would you use it for?”, which offers much for consideration. Having given this proposition much thought here is my response. Read more → Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, If You Could Choose a Super Power Blaugust 2026, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blogroll, Recently Published Posts, Blaugust, GitHub Blog Directory and 20 Recently Published Posts Blaugust 2026, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blogroll, Recently Published Posts, Blaugust, GitHub A decade ago I wrote a post about blogrolls and the practical and social issues surrounding them. At the time, the version of Squarespace I was using didn’t easily support such things or at least wasn’t able to do so in a manner I liked, so I didn’t have one. Ten years later Squarespace as a hosting platform has far greater functionality, hence I recently decided to add a blogroll. That was in March this year. However it just wasn’t really fit for purpose. So I decided to revise it a few days ago and rather than just have a traditional list of blogs in a side column, I ended up producing a more comprehensive blog directory, which list two hundred plus sites alpha-numerically. I’ve been tinkering with it on and off and I am now finally happy with it. The latest update reflects the international nature of the _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ and the fact that we have many blogs written in their native language. Translating text is now an integral function of web browsers, so I see no reason why these blogs should be excluded. Read more → Blaugust 2026, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blogroll, Recently Published Posts, Blaugust, GitHub Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, Welcome to Blaugust, Your First Blog Blaugust 2026 Group Project: Welcome to Blaugust Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, Welcome to Blaugust, Your First Blog Today’s post is part of the _Blaugust 2026 Group project_ , which features a series of writing prompts set for specific dates throughout the month. The idea being that everyone who wishes to participate can write about the same subject, riff off each other’s posts and enjoy a shared experience. In many respect having a common writing prompt levels the playing field and provides a sense of common purpose among those who take part. Today’s group project prompt asks the question “tell us all about your very first blog”. An unambiguous and interesting question that will hopefully prove enjoyable to write about and informative to others. Read more → Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Group Project, Welcome to Blaugust, Your First Blog Let Writing Commence, Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Writing Blaugust 2026: Let Writing Commence Let Writing Commence, Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Writing I have been writing online for nearly two decades. I don’t claim to be good or accomplished but what I can say with certainty is that the more often you write, the easier it becomes. For those who are new to writing a blog and the _Blaugust Festival of Blogging_ , possibly the biggest hurdle that you now have to get over, is writing your first post of the month. You spent the lead up to this event sorting out your blog templates, fine tuning the backend and possibly banking some ideas. Or you may have decided to just wing it and make it all up as you go along. Both are perfectly valid approaches. However, there is one thing left to do that cannot be put off, avoided or danced around. Writing. At some point you’ve got to do it. Or bail on the event. The proverbial “shit or get off the pot”. Read more → Let Writing Commence, Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blogging, Writing Blaugust 2026, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Content Creation, Blaugust, Planning Planning for Blaugust 2026 Blaugust 2026, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Content Creation, Blaugust, Planning If you take a cursory look at a calendar you will see that the month of July is fast coming to an end. That means that _Blaugust 2026 Festival of Blogging_ starts in a few days time! If you’re participating, or thinking of doing so, the next few days present a golden opportunity to do some practical organising and basic preparation. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Feel free to just do things as they come, so to speak, if that’s your approach. However, for most of us, it helps if we have some kind of plan in place and make some arrangements in advance. I personally prefer this approach and like to have some ideas for blog posts in the bank. It is also useful to have “options” if something doesn’t go to plan. For those who are new to _Blaugust,_ here are a few ideas regarding preparation that may be of use to you. As ever, your personal mileage may vary and ultimately you are best off adopting a strategy that suits your writing style and personal schedule. Read more → Blaugust 2026, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Content Creation, Blaugust, Planning Blogging, Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Preparing Your Blog, Blog Post Counters, Blogroll, Squarespace, Blog Preparation, Blaugust Preparing Your Blog For Blaugust 2026 Blogging, Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Preparing Your Blog, Blog Post Counters, Blogroll, Squarespace, Blog Preparation, Blaugust Prior to last year’s _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ , I upgraded _Contains Moderate Peril_ to the latest version of Squarespace. There are still some aspects of the site that need fine tuning but overall, I am happy with the appearance of my blog and its respective functionality. With this year’s writing event fast approach, I decided to tackle over the last few days, some of those finer points that need tweaking. I have wanted a post counter on the site for a long time but unfortunately there is no native Squarespace widget for this basic function. I also felt the need to upgrade the blogroll, as the current one didn’t support RSS feeds from certain sites (e.g. Google Blogger) and was dependent upon a third party service, Elfsight, which wasn’t ideal. Both of these issues have now been addressed and I am pleased with the results. There is now a post counter on the Blog Archive page, which seems a logical place to have it and the Blogroll is now far more comprehensive. Read more → Blogging, Blaugust 2026, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Preparing Your Blog, Blog Post Counters, Blogroll, Squarespace, Blog Preparation, Blaugust Blaugust 2026, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Content Creation, Q&A Blaugust 2026: Q&A Blaugust 2026, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Content Creation, Q&A Next month the annual _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ begins. Roundabout this time each year, I try to write a promotional post to raise awareness of the event and encourage potential participants. However, as I’ve done this quite a few times before, each year it is becomes increasingly difficult to present the essential facts about _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ in an interesting fashion. There’s nothing worse than writing a post and feeling that you’re just covering old ground. So, this year, I thought I’d try something different and present the most important information about this annual event, as if it were a conversation between myself and an interested passer by. Feel free to attribute novelty voices for each party in your own head, while you read this. If it helps, try imagining that this discussion is happening between two celebrities or such like. Both may be wearing exotic hats but I digress. On with the scenario. Read more → Blaugust 2026, Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Content Creation, Q&A Blogging, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Finding an Internet Home, Discord, Website, Forums Thoughts on “Finding an Internet Home” Blogging, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Finding an Internet Home, Discord, Website, Forums I read a blog post by Void recently, about finding a new internet home. He wrote about how he and many others have had to pick up their “digital roots” and migrate multiple times over the years, from one platform to another. It is a position I can sympathise with as I have done likewise. Hence I like the idea of having a place online where I hangout by default. My own blog is an anchor for me but it is not quite the same thing as a platform or online portal where I can find all my friends and colleagues, share content and shoot the breeze. It’s a curious thing, because as I typed that last sentence it struck how such a sentiment may seem alien to others. There may well be people who like to have a finger in multiple pies and who are happy to frequent and flit between various social media apps, Discord servers and subreddits. I prefer to focus my efforts on a single instance. A place that suits my requirements, allows me to put down roots and become part of the furniture. Like a virtual Diogenes Club. Read more → Blogging, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Finding an Internet Home, Discord, Website, Forums Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Tales of theAggronaut, Belghast, Community and Friendship, RIP Farewell Belghast Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Tales of theAggronaut, Belghast, Community and Friendship, RIP Everyday, once I’m up, I sit at my desk in my office, fire up my PC and log into Feedly. I have various RSS feeds grouped by category, which I slowly trawl through and read anything that catches my eye. I have one curated feed named “Blaugust” named after the yearly festival of blogging event. It has over 250 blogs listed, many of which are former participants. Most of these regularly post. Hence there’s a lot to get through and so I don’t read all of them. However there are a few that I always checkout. Mainly because they’re the personal musings of some of our writing community’s oldest and most prodigious members. The sorts of guys and gals who are part of the furniture. They’ve always been there and it feels like they always will. Posting their thoughts, sharing their enthusiasm and spreading the love, so to speak. One of these blogs, is _Tales of the Aggronaut_. written by Belghast. Read more → Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Tales of theAggronaut, Belghast, Community and Friendship, RIP Blogging, Thoughts on Blogging, Part 25, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Generative AI Summaries, AI Thoughts on Blogging Part 25 Blogging, Thoughts on Blogging, Part 25, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Generative AI Summaries, AI On Friday 26th June, I had another random spike in internet traffic to _Contains Moderate Peril_. The statistical package that comes with my Squarespace account recorded over 13k visits in less than 24 hours, which is not typical (although I wish it was). However, all of these visits to my blog arrived via the default homepage and spent between 1 and 2 minutes there. Hence, it was obvious that this was not human traffic, as there was no evidence of any searches being made of content that is available on my site, nor of the “visitors” clicking on any of the links on the top menu and viewing other posts. This was undoubtedly AI traffic arriving at the designated homepage and simply parsing the site. I had a similar spate of this sort of web traffic last November. The only difference on that occasion is that the traffic all came from China. This time round it hailed from the US. I suspect that this is something that will happen more often as companies set their AI loose on the net for what is effectively training. Read more → Blogging, Thoughts on Blogging, Part 25, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Generative AI Summaries, AI Blogging, Blog, Hosting, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Upgrading My Blog, Part 2, Break Stuff Upgrading My Blog: Part 2 Break Stuff Blogging, Blog, Hosting, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Upgrading My Blog, Part 2, Break Stuff In the last post in this series, I specified the need for a plan with regard to upgrading my blog. Well a plan has emerged, been refined and has now been formally adopted. Rather than migrate _Contains Moderate Peril_ to a new platform and effectively have to rebuild all the content, I am going to upgrade my existing presence on Squarespace. This decision was made for two reasons. Time and money. Migrating to a new platform will take a lot of time and incur additional costs. Upgrading the existing website will take less time and has no cost implications. That is not to say that it will be easy. It has become abundantly clear that the upgrade process will break stuff and that all published posts will have to be manually repaired. Hence my choice boils down to the lesser of two evils. Read more → Blogging, Blog, Hosting, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Upgrading My Blog, Part 2, Break Stuff Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Lessons Learned Blaugust 2025: Lessons Learned Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Lessons Learned This year’s _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ has reached an end and it would appear that this event has been well received by those who have participated in it. I believe that there were 168 bloggers taking part this year, many of whom have not participated before. Some were new to blogging, where others simply wished to see if they could increase their writing output. As ever there was a wide variety of blog styles and subject matters and it has been most interesting to read new posts every day. I have attempted to leave comments and positive feedback where I can and I hope that some of these new blogs that I’ve discovered continue to write. Well done to everyone who took part. I hope it has been an enjoyable and informative process and that you have learned from it. I know that at least one blogger has determined that writing online is not for them, which is a valuable lesson. Read more → Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Lessons Learned Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blogging, Blaugust 2025, It's Alive, Group Project, My Oldest Blog Post, The Party, Blake Edwards, Peter Sellers My Oldest Draft Post Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blogging, Blaugust 2025, It's Alive, Group Project, My Oldest Blog Post, The Party, Blake Edwards, Peter Sellers There is currently a group writing prompt available as part of this year’s _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ which has piqued my interest. It asks the question “what is the oldest draft post you have” and suggests that it is revived in some manner. I have dozens of draft posts in a folder in my Google Drive. Many are film reviews or film related. The oldest of which dates back to summer 2010. Rather than write a straight forward review of Blake Edwards 1968 comedy _The Party_ , I rather foolishly thought at the time that I’d tackle the issue of whether the film is sufficiently racist to make it beyond the pale. Let it suffice to say that I quickly found myself bogged down in the complexities of the subject and thus never completed the blog post. Read more → Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blogging, Blaugust 2025, It's Alive, Group Project, My Oldest Blog Post, The Party, Blake Edwards, Peter Sellers Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Staying Motivated Blaugust 2025: Staying Motivated Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Staying Motivated I’ve participated in every previous _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ event. Prior to that I was involved in the _Newbie Blogger Initiative_ or NBI as it was affectionately known. I have therefore written quite a lot of blogging advice and suggestions over the years. If anyone feels disposed to do so, you can access them all by clicking on the “blogging” option on the top menu of this blog. However, it is important to remember that a lot of the ideas I have advocated and written about over the years are purely subjective. Not all advice or guidance works for everyone. People have different ideas about blogging, different approaches to it and different aspirations. This year has highlighted some quite distinct differences among bloggers which has been most illuminating. Read more → Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Staying Motivated Blaugust 2025, Blaugust, Writing Prompt, Low Stake Hot Take, The Pronunciation Police The Pronunciation Police Blaugust 2025, Blaugust, Writing Prompt, Low Stake Hot Take, The Pronunciation Police This post is courtesy of a _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ writing prompt. Specifically, _“write about something that’s pretty insignificant overall that you have a very strong feeling about”_. Effectively a low stake hot take, to coin a phrase. Twenty years ago I could have provided dozens of examples. People who eat with their mouth open, the decline of public toilets and what is the point of male body hair? However, old age has calmed my tumultuous soul and I no longer allow an excess of trivia to get under my skin. That being said, there are a few things that continue to set my teeth on edge. The immediate problem I’m presented with as far as this blog post goes, is choosing one to write about that won’t get me sectioned, defenestrated or sent to Coventry. Read more → Blaugust 2025, Blaugust, Writing Prompt, Low Stake Hot Take, The Pronunciation Police Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, 18 Years of Blogging 18 Years of Blogging Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, 18 Years of Blogging Today is my blogging anniversary. I have been writing online consistently for 18 years. My earliest blogs no longer exist, although they can be found via the _Internet Archive Wayback Machine_. My first blog was a _Lord of the Rings Online_ fansite called _Misadventures in LOTRO_. After a while this morphed into a wider gaming website; _Misadventures in Gaming_. However, I soon discovered that I wanted to write about more than just video games, so I decided to start from scratch and created _Contains Moderate Peril_ in February 2010. This blog endured and has been my main online presence ever since. It has moved several times for various reasons. For a while I had a sponsor, as well as a reasonably sized audience and had dreams of making money from my writing and podcast. But it wasn’t to be and now I just write primarily for my own peace of mind and amusement. Read more → Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, 18 Years of Blogging Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Blog Comments The Great Blaugust Comment Debate Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Blog Comments This year’s _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ has already raised a very interesting debate. An old one that habitually comes up when discussing blogs. Namely, whether a blog should or should not have “comments” enabled. However this time round there is a different slant on things. Rather than the usual binary choice of having comments enabled or disabled on your site, this time round there is a third option available. Leaving comments via email or a third party service such as Mastodon. Both of these additional options keep comments conspicuously at arms length from your website. Furthermore, the email option makes the comments private, instead of in the public domain. All of which puts a subtly different spin on conventional notions of blog comments and makes this ongoing discussion all the more interesting. Read more → Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Blog Comments Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Blogging Every Day Writing Every day Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Blogging Every Day There is currently an interesting discussion on the _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ Discord Server about writing every day. It can be quite a polarising subject but the one thing that everyone agrees on is the fact that it is hard to do. A daily schedule requires multiple factors to come together to be sustainable. It is also fair to say that if you go about it unprepared, it will be a very hard learning curve. Ultimately it may not work out and then there is the risk of a bad experience negatively impacting upon your wider writing plans. Hence it is not something I would recommend to new bloggers or those who aren’t keen on a baptism of fire. Some writers like to test their metal and jumping feet first, into daily blogging may be the sort of challenge they seek. For everyone else I would urge them to plan a strategy and consider the following point if you wish to try it. Read more → Blogging, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Blaugust, Blaugust 2025, Blogging Every Day Blogging, Blog, Hosting, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Upgrading My Blog, Part 1, The Plan Upgrading My Blog: Part 1 The Plan Blogging, Blog, Hosting, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Upgrading My Blog, Part 1, The Plan Last year, prior to _Blaugust 2024_ , I looked at the viability of upgrading or replacing my current blog template. The mobile version of _Contains Moderate Peril_ holds up quite well but the site looks somewhat tired on a desktop PC. I spoke to several design companies that dealt with Squarespace based websites and they all said the same thing. The existing template is a decade old and cannot support a lot of the current functionality available. Hence it needs to be replaced. However, such a change could potentially break the existing formatting of nearly 2,000 posts. This would create a great deal of work. Hence, I decided at the time to postpone such a decision and I simply tinkered with the branding of my website and left the matter be. A year later and the issue has resurfaced. The same problems exist and the hosting costs for Squarespace have increased. I now pay £16 a month. Read more → Blogging, Blog, Hosting, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Upgrading My Blog, Part 1, The Plan Blogging, Blaugust, 2025, Newbie Blogger Initiative, 10 Things Not To Do Blogging: 10 Things Not To Do Blogging, Blaugust, 2025, Newbie Blogger Initiative, 10 Things Not To Do Oh look, another blogging advice post. What a surprise. I suppose the internet is awash with such information. Furthermore, a lot of that advice comes from a commercial perspective and the assumption that the writer intends to monetise their blog right from the start. The notion of writing for pleasure or fandom sometimes seems to get drowned out in all the online white noise. Anyhow, I’m going to offer up for your consideration, 10 tips of things not to do when you start a blog. I’m sure I’ve mentioned some before or even written a similar post that is now buried somewhere in _Contains Moderate Peril_. But good advice bears repeating and it is the first day of __Blaugust: Festival of Blogging 2025__ I think it prudent to make such a post. Please note these are not technical points such as using SEO or alt text etc. This is more about your approach to blogging as well as some practical logistical considerations. Read more → Blogging, Blaugust, 2025, Newbie Blogger Initiative, 10 Things Not To Do Blogging, Blaugust, 2025, Newbie Blogger Initiative, The Key to Writing The Key to Writing Blogging, Blaugust, 2025, Newbie Blogger Initiative, The Key to Writing What is the key to writing? It is a question that most new bloggers ponder. It’s also something that older, established bloggers consider on a regular basis. The subject has been dissected, analysed and written about at great length over the years and there is plenty of advice available online. You’ll find millions of websites telling you to consider picking the right niche or subjects, how to find your voice and writing style, as well as establishing a regular publishing schedule. Not all the advice out there is good and not all of it is bad. There certainly isn’t any “one size fits all” solution. There are multiple factors to consider when you start writing and you have to find answers that suit you. All forms of writing are a personal form of self expression and unique to their author. Therefore, one’s approach to writing should be similarly personal and unique. Read more → Blogging, Blaugust, 2025, Newbie Blogger Initiative, The Key to Writing Blogging, Blaugust, 2025, Newbie Blogger Initiative Blaugust 2025 Blogging, Blaugust, 2025, Newbie Blogger Initiative August is fast approaching, so you know what that means? Yes, the annual _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ is nearly upon us. This long established (twelve years now), community driven event is designed to extol the virtues of blogging and encourage everyone and anyone to give it a try. In an age where video and audio based content are often favoured for their immediacy and reach, we advocate strongly for the joys and benefits that come through traditional writing. _Blaugust_ strives to motivate those who have thought about writing online in some shape or form, but have never got around to doing so, as well as rallying those who have tried it already but fallen by the wayside. We try to provide practical support, writing prompts and advice to all who participate. There is an optional Discord community where participants can hangout, exchange ideas and share their writing. The emphasis is on powering through “writer’s block” and most importantly, having fun. Read more → Blogging, Blaugust, 2025, Newbie Blogger Initiative Blogging, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Quotes, 10 Wise Quotes 10 Wise Quotes Blogging, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Quotes, 10 Wise Quotes The last time I wrote a _post about quotes_ I only included one proper example. That was because it was somewhat lengthy. So I filled the remainder of the article with film quotes, which I found amusing because I do like a good pop culture reference. However, it can be argued that they weren’t really in the spirit of the original writing prompt. So this time round I have collated ten proper quotations from various intellectuals, celebrities and bon viveurs. I also made sure that they’re not all from people who are dead. Many of them do come across as somewhat smug and self satisfied. Such is the nature of quotes. I think the main reason we sometimes feel this way is because a really good one hits home with its sage wisdom. So here are a few that I find interesting. I’ve added a brief annotation as to why I particularly like each one. Read more → Blogging, Blaugust, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Quotes, 10 Wise Quotes Blogging, Blaugust, 2024, Newbie Blogger Initiative Blaugust 2024 Blogging, Blaugust, 2024, Newbie Blogger Initiative Every year, _Blaugust: Festival of Blogging_ comes around and I happily participate. I also try to encourage others to do so by giving reasons why writing and being creative in general are worthwhile pastimes. At times it does feel that I’m repeating myself, so this time round I shall keep it very simple. Writing is fun, regardless of how you do it. The benefits of being part of a friendly and supportive community are so obvious, do I really need to list them? _Blaugust_ is always one of the high points of my year and I’ve never regretted the time I’ve spent participating. The “rules” are simple. You do as little or as much as you see fit. You share your content and if you wish to, can interact with others over on the community Discord. There’s no pressure from anyone and if you approach the event with the right mindset, you don’t need to put any pressure on yourself. So follow the link above, read Belghast’s post and consider signing up? To quote Alexei Sayle, “you’ve nothing to lose but your wafers”. No, I have no idea what it means, either. Read more → Blogging, Blaugust, 2024, Newbie Blogger Initiative Blogging, Blaugust, 2023, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Lessons Learned Blaugust 2023: Lessons Learned Blogging, Blaugust, 2023, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Lessons Learned This is the last week of Blaugust 2023: Festival of Blogging and it is customary at this point to reflect on the event and one’s own contribution to it. For me, the stand out aspect of this year is the number of people participating and the diversity of blogs. I find it most reassuring that so many people have chosen to express themselves online and share their thoughts and insights. It has also been most gratifying to see so many people join the Discord server. There have been a lot of interesting and enjoyable discussions over the last few weeks. I hope that the support and resources available have proven useful for new and returning bloggers and that the event has been beneficial for them. I always find that Blaugust is good for bolstering my enthusiasm for writing and getting me back in the proverbial saddle. Read more → Blogging, Blaugust, 2023, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Lessons Learned

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By the start of August, I am absolutely **_desperate_** for autumn to show up. I’m one of those people who have a very small window of comfortable temperatures, and although I cope okay when it gets a lot colder, I do **_not_** thrive when it’s warmer. I know there’s a lot of people that love summer, but I will never be one of them. In 2024, I stumbled over **this horror movie challenge** from SpookySarahSays. While I really liked the idea, I felt like her rules were too restrictive for me to have fun with – most specifically the one where all 100 films need to be first time watches. There’s a lot of movies I love to revisit, and with the challenge already requiring more than one movie per day, I just am not willing to give up those favorites. So, as I tend to do, I made my own rules. Because of course I did. * * * #### Krikket’s 100 Horror Movie Challenge Rules * The challenge runs from August 1st through October 31st. * The goal is to watch at least 100 horror movies in this time period. * Films must be at least 45 minutes to count. * At least half of the films must be “first time watches”. Only fifty re-watches will count, even if I exceed that number. * Films from series like Masters of Horror and Hulu’s Into the Dark are considered feature-length films and will count. * If I really feel compelled to watch a horror TV series, an entire season will equal a single movie. This is not time efficient, and I’m unlikely to actually do this, but I’m giving myself the option. * A film is horror if it’s tagged as such on IMDB, or by the streaming service, but I’ll allow myself wiggle room of up to 10 films that I think fit the category even if I can’t find anyone who agrees with me. * * * This will be my third year doing this challenge. It’s a weird one, to be sure, but I find myself looking forward to it every summer. This year, I did quite a bit of prep work already – any excuse to make a spreadsheet, right? I already have a list of over 100 new-to-me movies along with where they’re streaming (if they’re streaming, there’s always a few that don’t seem to be available, even to rent). I am currently still in a funk about some Netflix-related frustrations last year (apparently, the “ad supported” subscription doesn’t give you access to the full library, and there’s no way to change your choice after the fact, even if I wanted to, which I didn’t), so I’m probably skipping everything Netflix-exclusive this year. I did get a good deal on a full year of AMC+, so I expect Shudder to be doing almost as much heavy lifting as Tubi this year. Currently (and for the duration of the challenge) I have access to Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock, and AMC+ as far as paid services go. And of course, I have the old standby free channels: Tubi, Roku, Plex, and Pluto. I might even buy a few more DVDs over the next couple months. We’ll see. I also have the newest season of **FROM** to watch in the next couple of weeks, so I’m doing at least one TV show this year. A collage of the 100 movies I watched for this challenge in 2025. 78 new-to me movies, and 22 re-watches. As I did for the last two years, I will be threading what I watch (including IMDB link, year of release, length and where it’s currently streaming if applicable) and a quick spoiler free comment on each movie on **Mastodon** under the hashtag #100Horror2026. * * * I wasn’t blogging last year when this challenge wrapped up, so I never did a 2025 post-mortem (pun absolutely intended). So I’m going to do a quick list of my favorite new to me watches from last year, in case you’re looking for a bit of horror in your life. * Happy Death Day * Late Night With the Devil * YellowBrickRoad * Ready or Not * Final Destination: Bloodlines * Death of a Unicorn * Bring Her Back * It’s What’s Inside * Caveat * The Atticus Institute * The Perfection ### Share this: * Share on X (Opens in new window) X * Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook * Like Loading... ### _Related_

I’m going to have plenty of time to talk about me this month, and since you’re already here, I guess you know where to find me. ### Meet the Mentors I’m going to start this list with the mentors who have actually signed up to participate this year, and follow that up with some shout outs to other members of the mentor team (who people have been informally calling The Committee) who, while they may not be officially participating, are still involved in the community. Apologies in advance if I miss anyone. In no particular order, the participating mentors: * **Contains Moderate Peril** – Roger Edwards, who drafted our AI policy this year. * **Inventory Full** – Bhagpuss * **The Ancient Gaming Noob (TAGN) **– Wilhelm Arcturus * **Aywren’s Nook **– Aywren, who is handling the Blaugust Mastondon account for us. * **Nerdy Bookahs** – Paeroka * **Indiecator** – Magi, who is working on the graphics for this year’s awards, as well as putting together the **media kit**. I’d like to also highlight Jaedia (**The Dragon Chronicle**), who created this year’s header image, and Naithin (**Time to Loot**), who is the one who introduced me to Blaugust way back in 2019. ### The Blogroll This is the full list of participating blogs as of approximately 6pm Eastern Time on July 31st. I would like to promise you I will come back and add any late signups, but I probably won’t, and if I do? I certainly won’t be putting them in the list alphabetically by blog name, so check the end. Feel free to steal this entire formatted list for your own blog, if you like. * 82MHz * Academic Aesthetic * Alex’s Review Corner * An Archaeopteryx * Aster’s Asterisms * Axxuy’s Internet Notebook * Aywren’s Nook * bearblog * Ben Ramsey * BongoTwisty * Brennan.day * Byte Vortex * Chasing Dings! * ChristiRichards.com * Christopherhimes.com * coffee spills * ComradeNerdy Blog * Contains Moderate Peril * Cubic Creativity * Dave Henry Blog * Emma Juettner’s Blog * Endgame Viable * fluidline.neocities.org * Fragmentary * fyr.io * GamerLady P Blog * Gamers Esoteric * Gaudete Theology * Geek on a Harley * Gridranger’s blog * hamatti.org * I Can’t Think of a Name for this Website * In An Age * inconsistent.software * Indiecator * Inventory Full * Kay Talks Games * Kayriene * Kedara * keeroks space * Knifesedge Blogs * Lameazoid.com * Lucky Instar * Lyons in Beta * Mailvaltar – MMOs and other stuff * Many Welps * Mar Qaroll’s The Marrowing! * Matt’s Blog * MMO Casual * MMO One Night * MogBlog * Nerd Girl Thoughts * Nerdy Bookahs * NomadWarMachine * not all those who wander are lost * note (large blog platform) * Notes by JCProbably * owlblog * Pinkway * Point, Click, Repeat * Portrait of a…. * Quail Creations * Quinn Daedal – Blog * Riel’s Nest * Ryan Patrick Randall * Select * From Life * Shadowz Abstract Gaming Blog * TAGN * Taxodium * Taylor film crit * The Friendly Necromancer * The Ghastly Mirror * The Maker Dad * theTangentSpace * ThinkRoot * Through Wolfy’s Eyes * Troy Press * Ubergeek Kelly’s World * Varun Barad * WCRobinson * What the Fran * Why I Game * Words of the AgingGamer * Words Under My Name * youtherthyf’s salon * Zelibeli (Youtube / specifically my posts tab) * もうすぐ33歳 * 世界のねじを巻くブログ * 伏枥之间 * 素生 * * * If it isn’t yet September, it’s not too late to **sign up**! If you haven’t already, please join us **in Discord**! ### Share this: * Share on X (Opens in new window) X * Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook * Like Loading... ### _Related_

Blaugust is the brain child of Mark Temple, more commonly known as **Belghast** , author of **Tales of the Aggronaut**. Normally, this post would be coming from him, but sadly, we lost Belghast on July 2, 2026. The Blaugust Discord mentors have decided to move forward with hosting the event this year, as we believe he would want to see it continue. I expect I will be making a more personal post about this in the near future, but for now? For now, we do what we’ve always done – get ready to throw a big old blog fest! * * * Already know everything you need to? Go directly to **the signup form!** * * * ## Blaugust – Classic Edition The next two sections here are stolen in its entirety from Bel’s post Blaugust 2024 is Coming. Only the dates have been changed where necessary. ## What is Blaugust? For anyone arriving here for the very first time Blaugust is a month-long event that takes place each August which focuses on blogging primarily and has started to include other forms of serialized content over the last several years. The goal is to stoke the fires of creativity and allow bloggers and other content creators to mingle in a shared community while pushing each other to post more regularly. Above all the goal of Blaugust has always been to prove to folks that they can in fact sit down every day and create something fresh and then share it with the world. Posting regularly builds a community and in this era of AI-slop content, our voices are needed even more than we ever have been at any point in the past. Our hope is to create a nurturing environment where Veteran bloggers can help those just getting started and the cross-pollination of ideas can create something truly spectacular. Your blog gives you a permanent foothold on the Internet that you own and have complete control of, and that is a really good feeling in the midst of shifting trends. ## The Core Challenge of Blaugust Blaugust at its heart has always been about celebrating the creation of content on a regular schedule. The original challenge was to post 31 times during the month of August which is 31 days long. This can be posting every day or doubling up on some days to make the schedule a bit easier. However, we also want to award anyone who starts down this path, because deciding to blog in the first place is a victory in itself. As such we give out awards based on the number of posts that you manage to knock out during the month of August. Again the idea is to spark creativity and get folks to create more content, not necessarily grinding them to dust on the millstone of some lofty goal. Here are the guidelines for each of the awards that we give out as part of this original challenge: * **Newbie Blogger Award** – You did it! You joined Blaugust for the very first time and we are extremely happy to welcome you into this raucous community. As a result, we are going to recognize your efforts just for signing up. * **Bronze Award** – You made at least 5 posts during the month of August 2026. * **Silver Award** – You made at least 15 posts during the month of August 2026. * **Gold Award** – You made at least 25 posts during the month of August 2026. * **Rainbow Diamond Award** – You beat the original challenge and posted 31 times or more during the month of August 2026. ## Blaugust – Community Builder Edition As noted above, Blaugust has been around for a bit now. While it still attracts new bloggers every year, quite a few folks have now conquered the 31 post challenge several times. We know we can do it, and a few of us have been chatting about the idea of mixing it up a bit and trying something a little bit different. Blaugust is so much more than just a personal challenge, and we wanted to offer an alternative “rule set” that reflected that. Anyone choosing to participate in the Community Builder edition of Blaugust this year will earn the Community Builder award in tandem with whichever other award you obtain for your number of posts. Community builders will meet **at least three** of the following challenges: * Make a post on your blog on or before August 1st, 2026 inviting other bloggers to participate in Blaugust. Make sure you link the signup form. * Make at least 5 posts directly inspired by a post by another Blaugust participant. Make sure you provide a link back to the post in question. * Engage with other Blaugust participants at least once per week. Read posts, leave comments, join discussions in the **Blaugust Discord** and share posts written by others on social media. * Guest post on another Blaugust participant’s blog – or have someone else guest post on yours! * Create or join in a group project – choose a topic, find some other bloggers, and each post your own take on that topic on the same day. The Community Builder badge will be done strictly on the honor system. If you think you’ve earned it, claim it and wear it proudly. * * * ## Use of AI as a Blaugust Participant The Blaugust mentor team has worked together to draft the following statement in regards to AI and Blaugust participation (with thanks to Roger Edwards, who did the heavy lifting on this one): Blaugust celebrates human creativity, personal expression and the shared experience of making and publishing something of your own. Participants are welcome to use AI tools for assistance, but **the substantive creative contribution to a Blaugust post must come from the participant**. Posts that are wholly or substantially generated by AI should not be submitted as Blaugust content or counted towards Blaugust awards. This includes supplying an AI system with a prompt, notes or bullet points and asking it to produce, substantially rewrite or expand them into a finished post. Lightly editing an AI-generated article does not make it human-written. Acceptable assistance may include: * spelling and grammar checking;, * formatting and organisational suggestions;, * brainstorming or writing prompts;, * research assistance, provided information is independently checked;, * transcription or accessibility assistance;, * translation of the participant’s own original work; and, * AI-generated images used to illustrate an otherwise human-created post. Meaningful use of generative AI should be disclosed briefly within the post. This includes generated passages, substantial rewriting, translations, images, audio or video. Routine spelling and grammar checking does not need to be disclosed. For primarily visual, audio or video posts, the central creative work must likewise be the participant’s own. An AI-generated image accompanying a human-written article is acceptable; a post whose only substantive creative element is an AI-generated image would not meet the spirit of the event. Participants remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, attribution and legality of everything they publish. Blaugust operates on trust. Organizers will not routinely use AI-detection tools or attempt to investigate participants. However, content that clearly conflicts with this guidance may be excluded from Blaugust listings or awards, normally after a private conversation with the participant. A simple rule of thumb is: **AI may assist your creative work, but it should not replace your creative contribution.** ### Share this: * Share on X (Opens in new window) X * Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook * Like Loading... ### _Related_