Configuring Trackbacks in Drupal
Creating a Blog Entry with Trackbacks
Once you've installed and configured trackbacks, your blog authors can easily set up trackbacks. A blogger who creates a blog entry will see a couple of new options. For example, if I'm planning to go to OSCON and I want to let people know, the Allow Trackbacks option at the bottom of the Submit blog entry form enables trackbacks for that particular blog.
If I want to manually ping other sites that have trackbacks enabled, all I would have to do is put in the URL of the blogging site that will receive the trackback. A blogger at the other site will notice the ping I've just sent and will then be able to choose whether or not to accept my request for a trackback.
Once I click the Submit button, my blog entry will be shown with the trackback URL.
You can send a trackback to any trackback-enabled site; you aren't limited to just Drupal or another CMS. WordPress and many other major blogging tools support the Trackback Technical Specification (see the box titled "How Do Trackbacks Work?").
Trackbacks and Spam
Spammers will sometimes take advantage of trackbacks. As you learned earlier in this article (see the "Configuring Trackbacks" section), if you are concerned about receiving unwanted trackbacks for unrelated content, you can enable checking and moderation to review trackback results. Another option is to install one of the common Drupal anti-spam modules [7]. Additional modules that can help you combat spam also are available through Drupal [8].
How Do Trackbacks Work?
A trackback is an http packet sent between one web server and another. It is sent whenever a user chooses to enable it, usually when the blogger creates or updates content. Trackbacks are implemented with the use of either POST or GET queries. These queries are exactly the same as those used in processing HTML forms. Trackbacks were created with the use of existing queries to capitalize on previous work, and also because the developers didn't want to create a new type of traffic that could be blocked easily by firewalls and other security software.
Still, it's possible, though unlikely, for this type of traffic to be blocked. You might want to test to see whether your pings are going through to remote systems. To verify a problem, consider reviewing the Trackback Technical Specification [9].
Conclusion
Trackbacks aren't going to make a blogger instantly popular, and they could cause additional work if you are serious about reviewing URLs to thwart spamming. However, some groups have found that trackbacks help increase their hit ratio for Google and Yahoo! searches. More importantly, trackbacks support better communication within their communities.
Infos
- Drupal: http://drupal.org/
- Wikipedia on trackbacks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linkback
- vBSEO linkbacks FAQ: http://www.vbseo.com/linkbacks
- WordPress tutorial: http://www.optiniche.com/blog/117/wordpress-trackback-tutorial
- Drupal trackbacks page: http://drupal.org/project/trackback
- Trackbacks documentation: http://drupal.org/handbook/modules/trackback
- Drupal anti-spam module: http://drupal.org/project/spam
- Spam control module: http://drupal.org/node/206787
- Trackback technical specification: http://www.sixapart.com/pronet/docs/trackback_spec
« Previous 1 2
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora 39 Beta is Now Available for Testing
For fans and users of Fedora Linux, the first beta of release 39 is now available, which is a minor upgrade but does include GNOME 45.
-
Fedora Linux 40 to Drop X11 for KDE Plasma
When Fedora 40 arrives in 2024, there will be a few big changes coming, especially for the KDE Plasma option.
-
Real-Time Ubuntu Available in AWS Marketplace
Anyone looking for a Linux distribution for real-time processing could do a whole lot worse than Real-Time Ubuntu.
-
KSMBD Finally Reaches a Stable State
For those who've been looking forward to the first release of KSMBD, after two years it's no longer considered experimental.
-
Nitrux 3.0.0 Has Been Released
The latest version of Nitrux brings plenty of innovation and fresh apps to the table.
-
Linux From Scratch 12.0 Now Available
If you're looking to roll your own Linux distribution, the latest version of Linux From Scratch is now available with plenty of updates.
-
Linux Kernel 6.5 Has Been Released
The newest Linux kernel, version 6.5, now includes initial support for two very exciting features.
-
UbuntuDDE 23.04 Now Available
A new version of the UbuntuDDE remix has finally arrived with all the updates from the Deepin desktop and everything that comes with the Ubuntu 23.04 base.
-
Star Labs Reveals a New Surface-Like Linux Tablet
If you've ever wanted a tablet that rivals the MS Surface, you're in luck as Star Labs has created such a device.
-
SUSE Going Private (Again)
The company behind SUSE Linux Enterprise, Rancher, and NeuVector recently announced that Marcel LUX III SARL (Marcel), its majority shareholder, intends to delist it from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by way of a merger.