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Poster Guidance
2005-09-09
This is not a space blog. Thank you.
The other Steve expands the policy:

This is not a space blog. Military/WoT uses of space are okay. General space topics are not, unless it's really hot on the news. We had news on the Mars explorers when they first landed because it was in the news and really cool, but we don't have that now.

This is not a hurricane blog. We've blogged on the Katrina disaster because it was the #1 item in the news, but as NO/Mississippi clean up we'll be cutting back on that. I certainly have. Many times a natural disaster somewhere in the world, especially the Islamic world, gets two sentences under the rubric of 'Signs and Portents, part xxx'. That's okay, but we don't need ten paragraphs and nine posts on it.

This is not a domestic news blog. We blog WoT related items, and some politics always creeps into that. But we don't cover the usual 'inside baseball' stuff on health care policy or the highway bill. There are other good blogs for that.

An extension to that is that we're not a domestic news blog for Britain, Australia or Liberia. We want to hear about Tony when it matters to the WoT (his survival in parliament is included in that). We hear about the German election and Chirac's stroke because it matters, in some way, to the WoT. But what Dominique DeVillepin (who is alleged to be a man) does with domestic policy in France is something we generally don't cover.

Health and tech stories that don't relate to the WoT generally shouldn't be posted. The flu story was fine, because a flu pandemic is germane to the WoT.

Stupid animal stories, of course, are always welcome.

When news is slow, the moderators tend to let more stuff through. When we have 100+ posts staring at us, it gets tough for Fred, me, Steve, Emily, Robin, Dan, etc to keep up, let alone filter and snark away. So we start lopping off stuff that isn't central to the WoT. I don't have enough hours in the day to wade through 200+ posts.

Don't take it personal.
(Gonna get in trouble for this, I just know it...)

Page 1 is for hardcore WoT stories. They'll usually include dead bodies, guns, lawyers, large amounts of money, major breakthroughs, major setbacks, and major investigations.

Page 2 is what you might call background noise WoT stories. That's the place for negotiations, maneuvering, diplomatic initiatives, Arab and Muslim lies and perfidy, elections on Islam's bloody borders, regime change, efforts of the moonbats to impede the war effort, military technological developments, economic warfare — including oil and other forms energy, the peculiar people who ally themselves with international Islamism, like David Duke and the neo-Nazis. There are occasional dead bodies on Page 2, usually associated with whoever's rioting that day in Karachi or Quetta.

Page 3 is for non-WoT stories that are of interest to us all, or at least to a large number of us. That's fire, flood, earthquakes, people doing terrible things to each other that aren't associated with terrorism or international Islamism (Congo, Burundi, death cults in whatever country), and, of course, stoopid animal stories and Darwin award candidates. Many Fifth Column stories will also fit on Page 3, because they have the habit of creeping onto Page 2 as they grow — think Michael Moore, George Soros and Code Pink — even though their immediate target might not be the war effort. Page 3 is the background noise to the WoT, what would be of interest if there were no Islamists. That does include the occasional space story, but only when it's something big, like arriving on Mars, discovering a new planet, or the occasional asteroid on a collision course with the earth.

Page 4 is available for opinion, your own or somebody else's, preferably on Page 1 or 2 topics, but occasionally on Big Story Page 3 topics.

I remind everyone periodically to keep stories short where possible. My original intention when I started Rantburg was to have a series of easily digestible nuggets that would summarize the day's WoT. When the AP or Rooters starts to repeat themselves, or to tell you things you learned in nursery school, cut it there or chop that paragraph if there's actually more news to follow. If a single story covers multiple topics, take each topic and make it a post, putting it on the appropriate page. See today's Leb stories, for example, three of which lead back to a single Beirut Daily Star article. You can cut the original text as long as you don't change its meaning — Maureen Dowd doesn't post here. Anything you add goes into hilited comments.

You can also post just a headline if it's descriptive, or you can post just a headline with your comments. If you're on the spot and the news is breaking, feel free to write it up and post it.
Posted by:Steve

#30  Thanks for the guidelines. Any guidelines or info on some of the links such as WOT Futures or the O club? I often enjoy visiting several of the links but don't know the protocol and don't want to intrude if it's not invited. Is the O club named after the obstacle course in Coronado? Also I've had problems posting pictures sometimes with my posts. I guess I need tips from Big Ed on that part. I do love this site and thank you for it.
Posted by: Jan   2005-09-09 23:28  

#29  Perhaps a revision of the posting categories is in order...

I often have a hard time figuring which category to file stuff under.

Maybe a Page 1, 2, 3, ...

The subcategories certainly need some work.

Iran should be by itself as should Syria, Pakistan, Mexico and Canada.

Other than that Rantburg is an excellently run operation and kudos to all of you who make it so, moderators, posters and commentators alike.
Posted by: DanNY   2005-09-09 22:36  

#28  Hokay, here's one for a petite bot.
Posted by: Robo   2005-09-09 20:51  

#27  Be sure to have one for all the wee robots!
Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-09-09 19:58  

#26  I'll drink to that JerseyMike!
Posted by: Shipman   2005-09-09 19:55  

#25  you were right
Posted by: Frank G   2005-09-09 19:33  

#24  I disagree strongly with you Ship, if it weren't for drunken posting - I for one would no longer be heard from (no loss to most I'm sure).
Some of the most entertaining posts I've read here, I'm convinced the poster has been hammered.
Posted by: JerseyMike   2005-09-09 19:02  

#23  Partially in response to Phil F: One of things that makes RB is that is not an echo chamber and the variety of stuff that gets aired here, and debunked as well, is RB's major attraction. I come here precisely because I know I'll get to hear interesting stuff I didn't know or I'm prompted to go off and educate myself on something because of what I read. Not posting the stuff you did yesterday, would have made RB less of what it is. I didn't think you needed to apologize for the comments yesterday and I don't think you need to today.

.com's right, If the volume of posts is the problem then lets address that problem and not try to solve it indirectly by restricting the scope of what can be posted. (No implied cricism of the moderators there)
Posted by: phil_b   2005-09-09 18:32  

#22  'Moose wrote:

Along with "stupid animal stories", there should be a tag for "Moonbats", maybe even a "Darwin" tag, and/or a "Dumbass" tag. They may or may not be WoT related, but they certainly have stuff you can rant about.

Well, "Short Attention Span Theater" pretty much functions for describing all fo the above. And really, if you want to read a lot of "dumbass" news items, fark's usually there the furstest with the mostest.
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-09-09 18:15  

#21  Phil B. wrote:
I found Phil Fraering's comments yesterday on the comet story very interesting.

Phil, I don't intend to repeat that. The moderators are probably right.

I sorta got sucked into the topic drift in that thread because large segments of the official moonbat belief system appear to depend on taking a "bring your own rules" attitude towards physics. This would irritate me even if it didn't appear to be part of a larger effort to undermine the country.

I'm still trying to figure out if there's really anything that can help counteract the trend. But I understand how the editors feel if they'd rather the discussion happened somewhere else. I will attempt not to get carried away in the future.
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-09-09 18:10  

#20  How about a Casual Friday/Post What You Want one day a week?
Posted by: ed   2005-09-09 17:50  

#19  Oh, yeah. And "Dancing Virgins" is so incredibly popular, it should really have its own tag. One for the girls, as it were.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-09-09 17:40  

#18  I take the "Rant" part of Rantburg seriously. I will confess that lots of WoT stories are as dry as corn starch, involving Shiek Yabooti in Fructistan and his dancing terrorist goats meeting a sorry fate with the business end of a pointed stick after his brother-in-law mistook him for Shiek N'baik from the next village over.

I mean, that's all well and good, but what's there to rant about? Even if you get a mouth full, eventually all you have is saliva ooblek.

Along with "stupid animal stories", there should be a tag for "Moonbats", maybe even a "Darwin" tag, and/or a "Dumbass" tag. They may or may not be WoT related, but they certainly have stuff you can rant about.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-09-09 17:39  

#17  But what Dominique DeVillepin (who is alleged to be a man) does with domestic policy in France is something we generally don't cover.

Stupid animal stories, of course, are always welcome.

Ooh, Catch 22. Which of these directives has priority?
Posted by: BH   2005-09-09 17:35  

#16  BTW, if it's space-blogging you want, try Rand Simberg's Transterrestrial Musings. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2005-09-09 17:21  

#15  Suggestion:

Before posting articles anywhere, spend a week or two just lurking so you can get a feel for the personality of the place. There's certain things that belong on Rantburg that wouldn't fit on other sites, and vice versa. You need to spend time to get a feel for the personality of a place before you can judge the "fit" of a posting.
Posted by: Mike   2005-09-09 17:16  

#14  We regularly revisit this topic. Arguably what makes RB is the number of people who get to choose what is 'interesting' news. inevitably this leads to stuff that many are not interested in. The reality is that many of us are interested in tech/space/natural phenomena stories as the volume and quality of comments shows. I found Phil Fraeling's comments yesterday on the comet story very interesting. Best thread of the day IMO.

So, what to do? I sympathize with the editors need to keep the volume of posts under control and I also understand WoT is the primary focus. However, the cause of increasing posts is increasing traffic and this is a problem that is not going away unless RB deteriorates. I won't bore you with a 'tradegy of the commons' analysis, but this problem (like many problems) has been solved before. Eventually will you have to 'fence' RB, that is restrict who can post or have somekind of 2 tier system e.g. regulars and others. I am sure we can find innovative ways to do this that allows newcomers to continue to post articles.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-09-09 17:13  

#13  Registration would have kept the likes of me from posting. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing in the end. In any event you need to understand that it would deter alot of folks from getting involved.
Posted by: MunkarKat   2005-09-09 17:02  

#12  No registration.If there had been registration I probably wouldn't be here.When I run across a new sight that I like I invite them over(don't know if anybody ever took me up)registration may just put them off.
Posted by: raptor   2005-09-09 16:59  

#11  And warn of the dangers of drunken posting.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-09-09 16:50  

#10  Steve, what are the chances of this being a permanent fixture or link on the front page?

Maybe with the title "Before You Post, Read This."

Lots of regular posters may not see this if they're tied up today and can't visit, and those who start coming here after today won't either.

I know that when I started posting I would have loved to have some kind of instructions like this. Just a thought.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2005-09-09 16:34  

#9  The registration thing gets tired after a while. Lots of sites use it, to little or no effect except to drive away posters.

Instead of trusting to my own judgement of what is appropriate or not, I'd put more faith on positive follow-ups. If someone posts something that is questionable, give it an hour or two to see if others chip in with good commentary. If it just sits there, as an empty thread, either the article "says it all", or nobody else cares.

Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-09-09 16:09  

#8  Interesting dilemna.

Hurricane preparedness as it relates to WMD on Homeland preparedness (or lack thereof)?

Now, where's my Rubic Cube?
Posted by: Captain America   2005-09-09 16:04  

#7  A thought, that might help? Is shorter, better? I mean, if I really want to share my green froggy story, is it more likely to pass thru you hard-pressed Moderators if it's edited down to less than 50 words - sort of a teaser?

Come to think of it, I was guilty of a post like that....

But I'd really hate it if there were only four articles on Monday!
Posted by: Bobby   2005-09-09 15:54  

#6  Well, I'm going to keep posting stories on my little green froggie if I want to, and I don't care WHAT you say, Steve. "There once was a little green frog, and one day he hopped to the post office and blew it up because he was a secret Al Queda operative . . . " There. Is that okay? WOT and stupid animal story! :) Oh--and can I still complain about Hilary? I think she fits the category of stupid animal story.

Just being weird. Good idea to set limits, or things can get going in all kinds of directions . . . forever and ever . . . and you probably won't get any sleep. I do hope you won't limit troll bashing responses. It's the only fun I got.
Posted by: ex-lib   2005-09-09 15:44  

#5  *cough* registration *cough*
Posted by: Rafael   2005-09-09 15:06  

#4  Hmmm. Space is off-topic? Okaaaay. Good thing the US Military is the friggin' Gold Standard in any venue in which they are fielded -- or the whole shitload of Hurricane Katrina stories would be off-topic, too. Despite the blather about this being a dry run for a major asshat attack, extremely few stories reflect that angle - they're all over the map.

I understand the focus on WoT is primary. But is this really a way of reducing the number of posted stories, perhaps? Is that the real issue being addressed? If so, then I get it - it is a jungle, nowadays. If not, well, I guess I don't really get it.
Posted by: .com   2005-09-09 14:15  

#3  Today would also probably omit geological and meteorological stuff like earthquakes, volcanoes and hurricanes.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-09-09 14:06  

#2  I have also posted way more in the "tech" category than is just WoT tech. No more flu info, major science discoveries, or other stuff then. Sorry about crossing the line.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-09-09 14:02  

#1  I have a strange feeling this post may be directed towards me, as i have posted quite a few articles relating to space topics...

I promise not to post anymore topics, unless they are directly connected to WOT.
I didn't realize that posting these articles was a problem as i have posted a few others, but i do understand, and i do respect your wish. And i will obey and abide by your rules.

Again, i am sorry - if this post is directed towards me.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World   2005-09-09 13:43  

00:00