SoylentNews

Ask Soylent: Are Soylent News Editors Overstepping the Mark?

posted by n1 on Sunday May 24 2015, @06:06PM   
from the unedited-perspectives dept.

sigma writes:

Myself and other submitters have noticed that articles are being edited to change the tone and intent of our stories.

Soylentil McD has suggested that "Minor edits, spelling corrections, and such, are no problem and to be expected." but "I think soylent editors should adhere to a policy of not putting words in the submitter's mouth".

I agree with that. If the editors want to add their own two cents, they can respond inline like the rest of us. Their role here is to be responsible, not privileged.

The stories we submit are a reflection of our enthusiasms and beliefs, the tone and character of those posts is as much part of the submitter's story as the actual content. The community is what makes sites like SN and Slashdot before it, an eclectic community with a wide range of opinions, styles and passions will always be more active and interesting than a bland monoculture. SN's editors should embrace and encourage that diversity, not sabotage it to appease some corporate interests.

So what do other Soylentils think? Should the submissions be allowed to stand as a clear reflection of the community's intent, or should the editors change our submissions to suit their perception of suitability?

• Re:No complaints from me (Score: 4, Insightful) by zocalo on Sunday May 24 2015, @06:51PM

  by zocalo (302) on Sunday May 24 2015, @06:51PM (#187272)

  Linking to the original submission does seem to be the ideal compromise when the editing goes beyond simple spelling/grammar correction. Those definitely ought to be either fixed or "[sic]" added as a matter of course (I'd prefer the former for most, but sometimes the latter can be a better approach), but major changes in tone and any editorial comment ought to be clear and in a consistent format. Since we don't tend to get the level of duplicate submissions that the other site does it's not like the editors can just wait for a better submission to come along if someone spouts a personal agenda in their submission of an otherwise good story, so they are going to have to work with what they have.
  
  Also, we based the editors of the other site for not actually editing, yet now we're bashing the editors of this site for actually doing so? And I thought moderation was a thankless job... :)

  --
  UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!

  Parent

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+2
  Insightful=1, Informative=1, Total=2
  Extra 'Insightful' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		4