SoylentNews

• Be neutral and factual in both Subject and Summary. You can wait until the article is posted, or if you must, include your opinion at the end of the Summary.
• Provide OC - original content. Don't just copy/paste other people's work.
• Avoid paywalled articles if possible. This is also true for sites that show an advertisement before loading the article.
• Use primary sources if possible. If a statement is made to NBC News, link to NBC News, not another site that is quoting NBC News.
• Use at least two source links if possible. This gives readers options and helps insulate against other sites' outages or page removals.
• For controversial issues, use source links from sites with opposing biases. If a wolf says he wants sheep for dinner, don't ask another wolf if that's a good idea, ask a sheep.
• If there is a study or deeper link listed in one of articles you are linking to, you should also include that direct link. Some news sites link to study abstracts, and they are primary source material.
• If the new articles you are linking to reference old articles, you may link those as well to provide background or quotes.
• Explain acronyms for most things. The first time you name something, spell it out. Then on subsequent uses, use the acronym. With our goal of being a global site, things like the US FAA or British OfCom may not be obvious to those outside those countries.
• Wikipedia links are a good source of background info and statistics.
• Check your links are timely. Nothing is worse than warning about something Snopes disproved 5 years ago.
• When quoting a sentence or less, use quotes. When using more than a sentence, use blockquotes, as this makes the text stand out more.
• Double-check your story in preview prior to submission, including opening all links. The less an editor has to edit, the more likely your submission is to being approved.

There are also some things to avoid:

• Don't grumble about rejection of your submission As the site grows, more people will submit the same story. I've also heard there is a 'reason for rejection' system in the works.
• Avoid unauthorized copying. Don't copy/pasta from Slashdot, that's setting up your editor for failure. Or a mocking on IRC.
• Avoid links to non-English sources unless you provide a Google Translate link along with the direct, native link.

Wonder how much I would have to bribe someone to get an insanely high user number. Some number in the hundreds of billions would do. Trillions or more would be better, but it would need to be in scientific notation. Damn near NO ONE would actually count the zeros. Errr - wait - there probably are anal retentive geeks out there. Or obsessive compulsive nerds. Yeah, some few would count the digits.

Anyway - with some crazy high number, I can post from the far distant future. Infuriating nonsense, like, "Yes, Apple is still around today. They haven't innovated anything for centuries though. About all that's left of Apple, is their manufacturing facility in orbit around Mars, where they make a few specialty items for the Chinese Space Marines."

YES!! ICANHAZJOURNAL!

Of course, knowing me, this may very well be the last entry I ever make in the journal.