Article

2005-09-09

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Posted by Steve 2005-09-09 12:43|| || Front Page|| [6 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 13:43|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 14:02|| Front Page Top

#3 Today would also probably omit geological and meteorological stuff like earthquakes, volcanoes and hurricanes.

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-09-09 14:06|| 2005-09-09 14:06|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 14:15|| Front Page Top

#5 *cough* registration *cough*

Posted by Rafael 2005-09-09 15:06|| 2005-09-09 15:06|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 15:44|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 15:54|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 16:04|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 16:09|| Front Page Top

#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">Barbara Skolaut 2005-09-09 16:34|| http://www.ariellestjohndesigns.com]">[http://www.ariellestjohndesigns.com] 2005-09-09 16:34|| Front Page Top

#11 And warn of the dangers of drunken posting.

Posted by Shipman 2005-09-09 16:50|| 2005-09-09 16:50|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 16:59|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 17:02|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 17:13|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 17:16|| Front Page Top

#16 BTW, if it's space-blogging you want, try Rand Simberg's Transterrestrial Musings. :-D

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2005-09-09 17:21|| http://www.ariellestjohndesigns.com]">[http://www.ariellestjohndesigns.com] 2005-09-09 17:21|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 17:35|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 17:39|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 17:40|| Front Page Top

#20 How about a Casual Friday/Post What You Want one day a week?

Posted by ed 2005-09-09 17:50|| 2005-09-09 17:50|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 18:10|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 18:15|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 18:32|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 19:02|| Front Page Top

#25 you were right

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2005-09-09 19:33|| 2005-09-09 19:33|| Front Page Top

#26 I'll drink to that JerseyMike!

Posted by Shipman 2005-09-09 19:55|| 2005-09-09 19:55|| Front Page Top

#27 Be sure to have one for all the wee robots!

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-09-09 19:58|| 2005-09-09 19:58|| Front Page Top

#28 Hokay, here's one for a petite bot.

Posted by Robo 2005-09-09 20:51|| 2005-09-09 20:51|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 22:36|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2005-09-09 23:28|| Front Page Top

23:47 Cheaderhead
23:44 Captain America
23:43 AJackson
23:43 ed
23:42 ed
23:39 OldSpook
23:37 IT Insider
23:35 Bomb-a-rama
23:35 Jan
23:35 ed
23:28 Jan
23:28 Tony
23:26 Bomb-a-rama
23:22 Alaska Paul
23:08 Alaska Paul
22:59 JosephMendiola
22:45 Phil Fraering
22:36 DanNY
22:34 Rafael
22:20 JosephMendiola
22:14 AJackson
22:11 Alaska Paul
22:08 Alaska Paul
22:00 JosephMendiola