As you might recall, in an earlier story we noted that SoylentNews' Editor-in-Chief, janrinok, was scheduled for a medical procedure.
I have just received word that there were some (not totally unanticipated, but thought to be a very unlikely) complications and the expected 3 day hospital stay has now lasted over a week. In his own words:
No idea what will happen next is anybody's guess. My first objective is to be well enough to get home again but that looks like being the end of the week at the earliest.
He seemed to be in good spirits. In his inimitable style of humor, he noted the internet connection available to him in Hospital would lie in the bottom-most tier of our current poll!
I am torn in revealing personal details that were shared with me, and wish to not sound overly alarmist. I'll just leave here that I am reminded of a saying by Ralph Waldo Emerson "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late."
JR has tirelessly (and tiredly, too) gone over and above in support of this site -- please keep him in your thoughts and, if you are of a mind to, your prayers. --martyb
Related Stories
First the good news. I just received word that janrinok, our Editor-in-Chief, is finally out of the hospital and back in his own home! He is very tired and has severe restrictions on his activities but is otherwise in excellent spirits. He very much appreciated the kind thoughts and wishes expressed by the community in our prior stories. It will still be many weeks or months before he can resume his prior level of activities on SoylentNews, but hopes to pop in once in a while to "second" stories that are in the story queue. Please join me in welcoming him back home!
Next, the good news. In janrinok's absence, the other editors have stepped up to the challenge. I'd like to call out chromas, fnord666, mrpg, and takyon who have all freely given from their spare time to make sure we have a steady stream of stories appearing here. I even saw CoolHand pop in on occasion to second some stories! teamwork++
Then, I have to bring up the good news that our development and systems staff have kept this whole thing running so smoothly. Besides the site, there is e-mail, the wiki, our IRC server, and a goodly number of other processes and procedures that make this all happen. That they are largely invisible attests to how well they have things set up and running!
Lastly, the good news. This is what's known in the press as the "silly season". Summer in the Northern Hemisphere means most educational institutions are on break, so less research is done and reported. other ventures are closed or running on reduced staffing levels. In short, the amount of news to draw from is greatly diminished. Yet, even in that environment, the vast majority of the time finds us with a selection of stories in the submissions queue to draw from.
We recently hit a low spot where I combed the web for a couple quick stories I could submit, but that has been the exception rather than the rule. Generally, we look for stories that have some kind of tech-related angle to them. The community has spoken loud and clear that there are plenty of other sites to read about celebrities, politics, and religion. We make a slight nod to politics in so much as it affects technical areas or has large scale ramifications (e.g. a story about President Trump having a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin would fit that description). Even then we generally try to keep it down to one story per day.
That said, if you see a story on the 'net that catches your fancy, please send it in! Feel free to draw upon titles listed on our Storybot page, then pop onto IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and simply issue the command ~arthur $code where $code is taken from the second column on the Storybot page.
Community++
Whether you contribute by submitting a story, buying a subscription, writing in one's journal, moderating or making a comment, we continue to provide a place where people can discuss, share knowledge and perspectives, and maybe learn a thing or two, too!
--martyb
This is a followup to: SoylentNews Site Certificates Expiring... We ARE Working on It, But... [Updated]
and: Site Services Restored
Certs (Not Just a Breath Mint):
Thanks to the efforts of The Mighty Buzzard and NCommander we now have valid certs, issued by LetsEncrypt installed on all of our servers. Except that the IRC server needs to be bounced to make its cert active on the backup daemon, all should now be in effect. As in our original story, you can check our certificate status with these links:
https://crt.sh/?q=soylentnews.org
https://crt.sh/?q=%%25soylentnews.org
https://crt.sh/?q=sylnt.us
https://crt.sh/?q=%%25sylnt.us
Developers:
The past few days have brought into focus a situation that has been building for several months: We really only have a single person who is working on developing features for the site, The Mighty Buzzard. As with any large and on-going undertaking, this burden is taking its toll. I try to help out as I can, but as I am the primary QA/Test guy who is much better at the user-facing things than what all happens "under the covers", my abilities and assistance are limited. If you have any spare time and would like to lend a hand (and every bit helps), please reply in the comments or contact The Might Buzzard directly on IRC.
Community:
I recall in the early days of this site when things would fall over several times a day. That has largely become a thing of the past... to the point where it is unusual for any issues to appear on the site and the support services we maintain (email, wiki, IRC, etc.) The baseline code on which this site was founded (open-sourced, out-of-date, back-level, and non-functional) was not promising, but the staff managed to bludgeon it into shape and we now have a solid foundation. That it continues to run as smoothly as it has is a testament to our SysOps folk who toil largely in the background and just keep things working... as well as the continued care-and-feeding that TMB so generously provides. To all of you, please accept my heartfelt thanks and appreciation!
Some numbers: we are approaching the 23,000th story posted; have recently passed 700,000 comments submitted; have had over 3,300 journal articles posted; and are on the cusp of having our 120th Poll!
Though all numbers are approximate and unofficial, it appears we surpassed our funding goal for the first half of the year ($3,000) with a net subscription tally of just over $3,250! I'll leave it to our treasurer to collate and post the official numbers. I'll leave the "Funding Goal" side bar as is for a week or so to commemorate this accomplishment. Do note that subscriptions are still being accepted and will count towards the second half of the year's funding needs.
Folding@Home: Not all of you may be aware, but our soylentnews team for Folding@Home is currently at 240th place... in the world! It started with a single story posted to this site. Just over four years ago, we were at 230,319th place! If you have any spare computes you would like to contribute, especially GPU-based, we'd love to have you sign up! Just reply in the comments and I'm sure someone will get back to you.
Whenever I write one of these stories, I always fear I'll have omitted someone or something important. Please accept my humble apologies if I have done so as there is no intent to slight any contributor.
To the community, I offer my thanks for your contributions to the site as well as your patience and understanding during the challenges of the past few days. Contributions are not just financial (though we wouldn't be here without them -- Thank You!), but also submitting stories and comments, and moderating comments, too! The community continues to impress me with your wide-ranging knowledge and expertise; I have learned much from the exchanges in the story comments!
Lastly, please keep janrinok (our Editor-in-Chief) in your thoughts and wishes while he undergoes a medical procedure and attendant recovery period. Best of luck JR!
--martyb
(Score: 5, Insightful) by muppet on Tuesday July 10 2018, @10:42PM
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday July 10 2018, @10:59PM
Get well!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 10 2018, @11:03PM
We don't need to the guys personal medical details but best wishes for a full recovery from this AC.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Snotnose on Tuesday July 10 2018, @11:12PM (1 child)
It's hemorrhoids, isn't it.
Get well soon dude.
It was a once in a lifetime experience. Which means I'll never do it again.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @12:07AM
"The snip", there's enough bastards on this site already.
Get well soon janrinrok.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 10 2018, @11:17PM (3 children)
How long before some Russian troll points out that gender reassignment surgery is not without its risks?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 10 2018, @11:22PM (1 child)
Thank you Dasha, we knew we could count on you!
Мать Россия поддержала другого кандидата
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @01:33AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @12:36AM
You jinxed it!! Glsd it wssnt me but i couldnt find a quick image of a troll rune/ward.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Tuesday July 10 2018, @11:27PM (3 children)
Γίνετε υγιείς σύντομα!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @12:38AM (2 children)
Γίνετε υγιής
(Score: 4, Informative) by KritonK on Wednesday July 11 2018, @07:21AM (1 child)
The standard Greek wish for someone, who is ill, is actually "περαστικά" (literally, and quite laconically, "may this be a condition that passes").
The other stuff looks like an automatic translation of "get well soon".
So, janrinok, περαστικά!
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday July 11 2018, @05:44PM
Ook!
(we're doing this thing in character, right?)
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday July 10 2018, @11:45PM (1 child)
Get well soon, janrinok. God bless.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday July 11 2018, @12:48AM
Yes. God Bless. My sincere wishes that you recover quickly.
For some odd reason all scientific instruments searching for intelligent life are pointed away from Earth.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by pbnjoe on Tuesday July 10 2018, @11:47PM
Hope you're back home quickly.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 10 2018, @11:50PM (1 child)
Can guessing janrinok's ailment/procedure be our next poll? You wouldn't even have to list the true issue, just a variety of humorous options (from hemorrhoid-ectomy to protoplasmic seepage), and the traditional "your best guess" write-in.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Wednesday July 11 2018, @08:37AM
Chronic Anal Leakage is my vote.
I sincerely hope and pray that we do have a poll so that we are making light of something having the luxury that we can laugh at it in the future. My prayers are with you janrinrok.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Wednesday July 11 2018, @12:15AM
Best wishes. Hope you're home soon, comfy, and healing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @12:39AM
Hope your complications smooth out soon, but just in case, make sure you have family or friends with nursing experience checking up on you. I've heard some bad stories from immediate friends, and the only way to ensure you stay safe all the way through recovery is having someone experienced watching over you while you're recuperating! Sometimes it is hospital staff, other times it's an observant friend. Having both is the best way to make sure you recover quickly and without further complications.
(Score: 2) by weeds on Wednesday July 11 2018, @01:23AM
Here’s hoping you have a speedy recovery!
Get money out of politics! [mayday.us]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @01:26AM
I don't know you but I wish you a speedy recovery and many more years of life and happiness!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @01:52AM
Get well soon.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday July 11 2018, @02:07AM (4 children)
You never know what might happen in an experimental procedure. Come home with an extra something, or missing something, or maybe both.
When the Bionic Janrinok gets things ironed out, he's gonna be awesomer than awesome.
ICE is having a Pretti Good season.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday July 11 2018, @02:11AM (2 children)
Theys gonna give him 3 boobs, hyuk hyuk!
:)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @03:55AM
TMB will love him more because of it.
(Score: 3, Funny) by RS3 on Wednesday July 11 2018, @05:53AM
So they're removing one?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @03:30AM
Bionic Janrinok? So that's where the contributions have gone!
Eh, it's a worthy cause. Get well, even if it costs six million dollars.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Gaaark on Wednesday July 11 2018, @02:10AM (1 child)
I'd say get well soon, but I know he's being fattened up to be turned into Soylent Green as I type.
JR, yummy fo' yo' tummy!
;)
Get better!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @04:55AM
I bet this was the most heartwarming / amusing post for JR.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by archfeld on Wednesday July 11 2018, @02:20AM
I'd like to add my best wishes and hope for a speedy recovery. The Rasta Pasta monster be with you.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday July 11 2018, @02:42AM
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by mrpg on Wednesday July 11 2018, @05:10AM
I wish you the best, get well and come back soon.
(Score: 2) by EventH0rizon on Wednesday July 11 2018, @06:29AM
Good luck and a speedy recovery janrinok, we value what you do very highly.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by pTamok on Wednesday July 11 2018, @07:40AM
Make sure to use your resources to recover first, before thinking about doing things for others.
Accept help when offered. People are usually happy to do practical things for you: like cooking some meals to put in the freezer for you, cleaning your house etc: all far more helpful than a bunch of flowers or a bowl of fruit.
Ask for help if needed. Don't soldier on if you don't need to.
Follow your physiotherapists advice (if you have one).
Take the opportunity to relax and have a time out from 'normal' life.
(Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Wednesday July 11 2018, @07:48AM
May the recovery be as fast and as painless as possible.
(Score: 2) by RedIsNotGreen on Wednesday July 11 2018, @09:41AM
Hope everything goes smoothly from here on and you have a speedy recovery and feel better.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @11:17AM (2 children)
Rest well janrinok
We'll be here when you get back
errr
ummmm
if you don't mind me asking
will you have a new name upon your return?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @11:22AM (1 child)
Same name, only shorter? Like "Jan"?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @09:35PM
More like "Janrinok the White", after he fell in the pit with the Balrog.
(Score: 1) by conn8d on Wednesday July 11 2018, @02:05PM
Best wishes, janrinok. I hope your recovery is speedy and that you know that everyone in this site loves you DEEPLY and HARD.
(Score: 2) by quietus on Wednesday July 11 2018, @02:25PM
Keep your spirit up, janrinok, and take your time for recovery.
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday July 11 2018, @02:42PM (4 children)
So many folks getting sick. And people say, "oh, Novichok, oh, Russia!" We don't know it was Novichok. And if it was, it's not necessarily from Russia. Russia, they invented the Novichok. Back in the USSR days. But possibly other folks know how to make it. And, very hard to tell who made it. Maybe impossible. Because the whole idea of Novichok is, you can make it with regular chemicals. Very common chemicals that so many people use. That anybody with a Pesticide Factory uses. You try to ban it, very hard to ban. Because you'd stop regular folks from making pesticide. Believe me, there's nothing about it that says "Made in Russia." We don't know it was Russia. It could be Russia. Could be China. The UK. Could be many people. There needs to be a FAIR investigation, there needs to be Due Process on that one.
But whoever poisoned Editor Janrinok, it's a DISASTER for SoylentNews. And for my LOYAL readers, my many wonderful supporters here. The Editors were doing a terrible job, as everyone knows. Then the attack on Janrinok. And now it's MUCH WORSE. They replaced Editor Janrinok with a Robot. With a VERY LOW I.Q. Robot. We now have a very dumb Robot deciding what stories we'll be reading. The Robot scanned the Subs Queue. Rejected so many Subs. Purely because of WHEN they were submitted. And sent messages to our hard-working story submitters. I got so many messages, all the same. Rejected, Rejected, Rejected, Rejected. Can we call that Spam? Why not, right? Un-American!
(Score: 2) by martyb on Thursday July 12 2018, @10:49AM (3 children)
So let me see if I have this right. A man is in hospital experiencing complications from a previously-scheduled procedure. A 3-day stay has already been extended to a full week, and it appears several more days before he can be released.
This man made countless sacrifices in support of this site, as witnessed by the comments voicing well-wishing and encouragement from others on this site. Ones whose UID's indicate they have been here since the beginning.
Your comment is to fabricate some theory of poisoning out of whole cloth... and then turn the whole situation into being focused on YOU and story submissions that were not accepted.
Your self-centered focus and lack of compassion for your fellow man, as exhibited here, speaks volumes.
I suggest taking a long hard look at the stories that have been accepted on the site, and make an attempt to be more like them. In general, use less rhetoric, exaggeration, and strident one-sided opinion and use more fact-based, level-headed, and even-handed phrasing and your submissions will have a much better chance of being accepted. Oh, and Fox News -- which has itself stated it is for entertainment and not for news -- might not be the best choice when single-sourcing a story, unless the story is about entertainment, of course! Using other sources in submissions (again, look to accepted stories for examples) would also be a good idea.
Wit is intellect, dancing. I'm too old to act my age. Life is too important to take myself seriously.
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday July 12 2018, @02:00PM (2 children)
I think I read that Chief Editor Janrinok is in Britain. And I heard it, and so many people must have heard that. And he's very sick, that's terrible. Terrible illness, mysterious illness. So many folks in Britain getting sick right now. Big mystery. And the British government blames it on Russia. on a Weapon of Mass Destruction, a WMD from Russia. As you know, you approved that theory to go on the SoylentNews Main Page. Saying that folks are getting poisoned, supposedly getting poisoned, and Russia is responsible. It's just a theory, it's the official theory. As reported by the Fake News BBC. And that's good enough for you. You were OK with that one. No "oh, do multiple sources!" No, "oh, that's entertainment!" You just let it sail through. And it does have another source. Sputnik News, which is paid for by the Russian government. Very long quote from Fake News BBC. Four paragraphs from that beauty. NOTHING from Sputnik News. Just the link. Put at the very bottom so hardly anyone will see it. Then you tell me "oh, be even-handed!" And @BBC [twitter.com] has a TERRIBLE history of so-called reporting on the Weapons of Mass Destruction. Look what happened with the Fake Iraq Dossier. Look what happened to David Kelly (RIP!!!). Look what happened with the Hutton Inquiry. So many TOP execs at BBC resigned after that one. In TOTAL DISGRACE. The government wanted a war w/Iraq. They made a Fake Dossier saying that Iraq had terrible WMDs. Which didn't exist. A BBC guy talked to David, he was an expert on those things. It was supposed to be anonymous. It wasn't anonymous enough. Because the government found out it was David. And he turned up dead. Supposedly slashed his wrists and took pills. Or took pills and slashed his wrists. The British government said it was suicide, many people think it was assassination. And possibly the British government tried to assassinate @janrinok. So they can destroy SoylentNews. Possibly they're still trying. Who knows? Terrible thought, maybe it's what's happening. And if that's what's happening, someone should look at that one.
Fox News, their slogan is Fair & Balanced. There was a survey, they have 52% negative coverage about me. And 48% positive. Very even-handed as you say. I love the positive stories. But I made Subs of some that weren't totally positive. Like the ones about my new embassy in Jerusalem. So many stories about me, not always nice. But they try to be fair. And you say, "oh, exaggeration!" I call it truthful hyperbole. And I don't put so much of my own opinion in my Subs. No more than most of the other submitters. And a lot less than some. A lot less. I put in a link, a quote, maybe a department line. If it's my opinion it's usually in the department line. So many times. And they tell us, the Editors might ignore the department line.
And believe me, I looked at the stories that have been accepted. So many from Fox News, other folks turn them in, they're accepted very easily. Very easily. But when it's turned in by Donald J. Trump, not as easy. And I understand. You guys must be going, "oh, this guy turned in another story about himself!" But, I turn in a lot that aren't about me. Like the VERY CROOKED election they held in California last month. They rigged the election, they took over 118,000 folks off the voter roles. Breitbart News did a story about it, I made a Sub. And I thought, for sure this will be accepted. Because it's from Breitbart. And when other folks put in a Breitbart Sub, so many times it's accepted. And then I saw, Fox News did a story. I made another Sub. With the Fox News link. So you had 2 different versions. And the Editors could have put them together. Which they do all the time. They didn't put them together. And they didn't really read them. Because I got a message from Chief Editor @janrinok. I don't have it anymore. But it was like, "why did you put the same thing twice?" Not seeing it was 2 different Media! Not great, not great at all. But at least he said something. And at least it came from a HUMAN BEING. Not a Robot. The new Robot is very dumb. Very low I.Q. Maybe you think it's smart, it's not smart. I challenge it to an I.Q. test. Anytime, any place. And maybe you don't want to talk about it. You want to talk about me, you want to make this about me. And how I don't have compassion. Believe me, I have A LOT of compassion. I'm compassionate like you wouldn't believe. I'm putting families back together. I put over 30 families back together in the past few weeks. I'm coming to London very soon. And Trump Turnberry in Scotland, incredible course. I'm going to a pretty hot spot right now, with a lot of resignations. They like me a lot in the UK. And all the folks getting poisoned there, or whatever's happening that's making them so sick, @janrinok and so many more -- some dieing -- my thoughts & prayers are with them. Obviously they have my thoughts & prayers!
(Score: 2) by martyb on Thursday July 12 2018, @04:13PM (1 child)
Just to refresh your memory, the Editor-in-chief of this site went in for a medical procedure which was expected to require a 3-day hospital stay. There was a complication and that stay has been extended; possibly able to go home at the end of the week.
In my original comment, I put it in bold so it would be hard to miss, or so I thought. Here, I'll repeat it for you:
Just to make it abundantly clear, I provided this as the subject on that comment:
True-to-form is an 889-word reply that, again, focused on yourself... riddled with self-aggrandizement and self-justification.
One could simply have posted, as did so many others, something simple along the lines of:
Insanity: "Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results."
Suggestions have been given on how to improve submissions to make them more likely to be accepted. Use them. Or, keep doing the same things and keep getting the same results.
Wit is intellect, dancing. I'm too old to act my age. Life is too important to take myself seriously.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday July 12 2018, @04:26PM
A man is ill and you've replaced him with a Robot. And you won't talk about the Robot, you keep tweeting the same things over and over. Which according to you is crazy. That's too bad.
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Wednesday July 11 2018, @05:17PM
Here's to a speedy recovery and continued good spirits
(Score: 2) by turgid on Wednesday July 11 2018, @05:38PM
Being sick is no fun! Hope you're up and about soon.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @06:30PM (2 children)
I hope there are no jewish rats in his vicinity who call themselves doctors while he is being fixed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @07:00PM
What if you became seriously ill, while in Israel?
(No that is not the start of a does the king of bahrain dance in the rain or vacation in spain or something like that)
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday July 12 2018, @02:05PM
I had a Jewish doctor for about 40 years. Dr. Harold Bornstein. And I was in PERFECT health. Because I have amazing genes. The best. But it was good doctoring. Until he lost his mind. And gave out my medical info, he talked to the Fake News Media about my medications. VERY DUMB MOVE. And I fired him. What could I do? But I don't think it was because he's Jewish. I think you have good & bad doctors in all religions. Including the atheist religion. And sometimes a good doctor, bing bang boom, turns into a bad one overnight. You never know!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 11 2018, @09:10PM
do you hear me? i said get well, motherfucker!
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday July 11 2018, @09:26PM
Ave, Imperator, faeciscribo te salutant!
I even wrapped it in /b/ tags, truly a high honor, sir.
Imperator might be a bit of a promotion for an editor, but, what the hell, get well soon.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Saturday July 14 2018, @12:04AM
Hope you're feeling better soon, Janrinok.
"rancid randy has a dialogue with herself[...] Somebody help him!" -- Anonymous Coward.