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SoylentNews
The observant reader will notice that we have reduced the number of stories we post on weekdays from about 15 stories per day to about 13 stories per day. We would certainly like to continue with the higher rate, but we have been struggling to do so with current staff.
We try to post enough stories each day so that there is "something for everyone". Ultimately this site is for the community. It is also by the community; it does not run all by itself.
We Need Your Help
People's lives change. They move, get married, have health issues, change jobs, etc. All of these place additional demands on their spare time. SoylentNews is not immune to this; in fact we have experienced all of these. With less free time available, more work falls upon the other staff members — whose lives are already quite full.
What would help?
Volunteer! Have you ever thought about being an editor at SoylentNews?
You'll get to learn a super-sekret handshake, the passcode to enter our volcano-lair, and the admiration of your fellow Soylentils!
Right from the start, let me point out that we — SoylentNews — aim to be impartial. If you have an agenda that you would like to push or advocate (or denigrate) then skip to the next story.
On the other hand, not a great deal of time is needed. Even if you have only an hour or two per week that you could contribute, that would be greatly appreciated!
An earlier request for help summarized things nicely (slightly updated here):
Well we are all volunteers, so we contribute what we can, when we can, no one is expected to edit X stories/day (make your own hours). I would say a strong recommendation (maybe not requirement) is signing onto IRC once in a while (especially when editing) so one can communicate with the other editors. Editing a few stories a day, or even a few a week would be welcome. A typical submission takes me about 15-30 minutes to edit, usually on the longer side if I'm expanding or adding a balanced point of view without trying to put words into the mouth of the submitter. The rest is pretty much what you'd expect:
- Opening up a story
- Checking links
- Checking basic grammar and spelling
- Correcting wording
- Expanding a weak submission (sometimes it's just a few links and a sentence or quote)
- etc.
One also needs to:
- Learn the editing interface (not particularly hard but it has its quirks like UTC 24 hour time and the interface could use a little polish)
- Learn the SN Style Guidelines
How else could I help?
Nominate someone. Have you noticed someone who tends to compose well-written comments or journal entries? Think they might be a good fit? Please let us know!
How else could I help?
Submit a story! A well-written story that needs little editing takes a huge load off of the editorial staff. If just a few Soylentils submitted a story each day it would make a world of difference. Ideally, a story submission would be grammatically correct, have no spelling errors, be balanced and impartial, and be "publication ready". But even if your writing skills are not up to (or are even far from) that level, we are experienced at "cleaning things up", so do not let that keep you from making a story submission! If you see something tech-related that you think would be of interest to the community? Send it in!
How can you reach us?
Send an email to editors (at) soylentnews (dot) org. Or drop a message on our IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel. Just issue the command "/join #editorial" and leave a message expressing your interest, along with your SoylentNews nickname, and someone will get back to you.
What's in it for me?
That is a good question. Speaking for myself, it started with my getting onto IRC and occasionally pointing out an error I'd seen in a story. Sometimes it would take a while before I could get the attention of an editor who could make the correction. I got frustrated. Finally, I suggested that if I were made an editor, I could fix things myself without having to track people down. Over the 5 ½ years since then, I have made mistakes... and learned how to own them, in writing, in front of all of you. I've developed a thicker "skin". I've made great friendships with people all around the world. The technical expertise on staff here is amazing; they've taught me so much. And, I hope, I've been able to teach them a thing or two, too.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday January 14 2020, @06:52PM (1 child)
Speaking of topics, I was touched that SN heeded a notion of mine and tried out a monthly SF book recommendation.
But I just don't read SF like I once did, and that seems a bit sad. Or maybe not, if reading habits could be seen as a life progression. Maybe reading fiction is sort of like listening to music, something you do more when you are young? Now I'm middle aged, and jaded.
I read The Lord of the Rings when I was 12, and that was my first encounter with the idea of an Ultimate Bad Guy. Before that, evil seemed just kinda random, opportunistic and isolated, as in good deeds are often done in broad daylight in front of an audience, while evil deeds are done in secrecy and darkness. Now, UBGs are difficult to do without being trite and stale. The goal of Ultima 1, 2, and 3 and such like adventure games was to kill the UBG. The medieval romanticism is another fixture of fantasy that's gotten very old. SF mostly doesn't suffer from those tropes. Instead, we have time travel and faster than light travel being massively overused.
Maybe what I should be doing is trying to write books. See if I can address the issues I'm complaining about.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 15 2020, @12:32PM
I thought I didn't like reading much anymore, I just didn't enjoy it and it seemed like work. Turns out the work was focusing on the small print.
Get your eyes checked, and maybe get an e-ink e-book with adjustable fonts. (recommend a Kobo* or Nook, also install Calibre and all its DRM-breaking plugins goodness. (don't support Amazon and its shitty DRM and tracking)).
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*I have the Kobo Aura One, and it is fantastic. (They have a later model that looks good too. Slightly bigger 8" screen, and can do landscape mode.) Don't get a little one, all the page turning will drive you nuts. It's a book not a postage stamp.