What are pingbacks? (original) (raw)
Pingbacks are a way to keep track of links on LiveJournal to your public entries or to your LiveJournal username (or both). Pingbacks help LiveJournal users know who else on LiveJournal is linking to their public content in entries or mentioning their username in entries or comments. The pingback feature only works for links from within LiveJournal itself; external pingbacks are not supported at this time. The feature is also only for personal journals; communities cannot use the pingback feature.
Pingbacks for entries. When you are subscribed to receive pingback notifications for entries, LiveJournal alerts you when a user publishes a link to your entry in one of their entries. Notifications are sent in the form of comments from
livejournal. Pingback notifications include the name and URL of the page that is linking to your entry as well as a brief quote from the text where your entry is linked is used. Pingback comments to your journal will be left as screened comments. Please note that pingbacks only work for your public entries. Friends-Only or Private entries cannot receive pingbacks. Similarly, links to your entries that are made from within the Friends Only or Private entries of another user will not generate the pingback notification.
Pingbacks for usernames. When you are subscribed to receive pingback notifications for your username, LiveJournal alerts you when someone has used the tag to link to your username in an entry or comment. Notifications are sent to the e-mail address currently associated with your journal. Pingback notifications include the name and URL of the page that is linking to your username, as well as a brief quote from the text where your username was mentioned.
You can manage your preferences for this setting under the Privacy tab on the My Account Settings page. The setting you choose under the Privacy tab is the default setting for all your future entries. There are four options:
- Both usernames & entries: You will be notified when other LiveJournal users link to your entries and when they link to your username.
- Only entries: You will only be notified when a LiveJournal user links to your public entries.
- Only usernames: You will only be notified when a LiveJournal user uses an tag to link to your username.
- Disabled: You will receive no notifications at all.
The pingback system is mutual; when you choose to receive pingbacks, you are also choosing to send pingbacks to others when you link to their content or usernames.
Note that there can be a delay of up to 15 minutes after an entry or comment that will generate a pingback is posted before the pingback arrives. Pingbacks for links to entries appear as screened comments and need to be unscreened before they are visible to anybody other than the journal owner. Pingbacks for username links are sent as emails, as there is no associated entry on which to post a comment.
Last Updated: April 25th, 2013
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