Normally I wouldnt create a whole new blog entry for a reply but I suspect this time it is a better way of communicating. On my last article about Linux Format, I had this comment:

Very good blog.
However, I am tempted to argue the toss on having things for people who can’t do things already. Just because soemone can’t use WordPress to setup a blog successfully (that would be me, then) it doesn’t mean they may not want to use Linux (that would soemtimes be me, then)
Windows-based PC mags dont have to just stick to writing about things to do with Windows do they? They usually have something like “Total N00bs guide to sending an email” as well as how to integrate Excel with a beowulf cluster through using a load of port hacks (or something on that level of complexity that actually makse sense)

While I can see (partially) where you are coming from here, I dont agree. The idea behind “total newbie” guides for Linux is an ideal use for a Linux magazine and is, frankly, what is totally missing from the market. The main issue with the wordpress tutorial is that it showed nothing that isnt covered by the WordPress site itself. By the time you have worked out how to download the software you are pretty much walked through everything that this tutorial cover.

Critically, and this is important, Linux is far from a mainstream Operating System. How many adverts do you see for PCs with Linux pre-installed? When you go to PC World / Currys.digital (or whatever Dixons have become) or any of the other high street retailers, can you buy a PC running linux off the shelf? In a word, no.

Anyone running linux in the UK has probably installed it themselves. Even with the idiot friendly versions like Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS this is infinitely more complex than getting word press up and running. Word press is easier to install and configure than any of the CMS packages you may have come across (eg., DragonflyCMS, phpNuke, postNuke, Jabber, Mambo, etc). It is seriously easy to set up. Even babies can do it. The hard part of WordPress is getting it to talk to your database. This is what LXF has to say about that:

Copy the wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and open it in a text editor. Change the “MySQL settings” line to match your database configuration – if you’ll be hosting the blog on a remote server, your hosting provider will have the database details.

Brilliant. How helpful is that? This is followed two steps later by this little chestnut:

You’ll also need to set up a blank MySQL database on the server, using the name you specified in wp-config.php. Your host may provide a configuration panel to do this, but if you can log in to the remote host provider directly, enter mysql to log in then create database name ;

Do you feel that will help you? Seriously, software like WordPress is a market leader for a reason. That reason is everyone from child to OAP can set it up and get blogging in seconds.