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The submissions queue is running very low. Please support the site and make submissions on the usual topics because, without them, we will have to reduce the number of stories that we can publish each day.
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There will be big changes for you but you will be happy.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @03:46PM (27 children)
What are the general guidelines of what types of articles to submit?
I've personally (not that you know it, given Anonymous Coward) submitted several stories over the past few months. However, none of my articles were published, so I gave up on submitting because I didn't know the types of articles this site wanted, and I felt like I was wasting my time.
(For reference, the most recent one I had submitted the news about the leak of the "Roe v. Wade" and how the Supreme Court in the US is poised to remove the right for abortion.)
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday May 18 2022, @04:09PM (21 children)
Find interesting science stories such as this one:
Peculiar Parasitic Fungi Discovered Growing Out of Rectum of a 50 Million-Year-Old Fossilized Ant [soylentnews.org]
That one's less than a year old.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday May 18 2022, @04:17PM (20 children)
I personally very rarely mention my own rejected submission. It is perfectly reasonable to reject an otherwise noteworthy story for purely subjective reasons. Editors are human and do not share the exact same interests as me.
It's only when a legitimate concern about the editorial quality of a submission gets blamed on my lack of submission that I mention that I do submit stories they just get rejected all the time.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday May 18 2022, @05:04PM
I have an 84% accepted rate. God only knows why?
I think I look for stories that are interesting as a geek, or if not interesting, then amusing, or sometimes even outright funny conversation pieces.
Something that will attract comments.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday May 18 2022, @05:38PM (4 children)
You currently have a 77% acceptance rate - I think that 'all the time' is a bit of an exaggeration.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @05:54PM (3 children)
Maybe they are not logged in for all submissions? If editors are biased towards submissions from registered users, and worse specific users, then you've got problems to sort out.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday May 18 2022, @06:45PM (2 children)
There is no difference in how submissions from a username or from an AC are processed. If the submission has been made via 'upstart' on IRC we cannot tell the difference.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @10:11PM (1 child)
Unless they are aristarchus submissions! Those get deep-sixed post haste, and with extreme prejudice and malice aforethought. SN missed a bunch of really interesting articles, that way.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @05:55AM
I am quite sure that the irony of a "Redundant" mod on this comment is not lost upon aristarchus. #WeAreAristarchus! #Freearistarchus!
(Score: 4, Informative) by janrinok on Wednesday May 18 2022, @05:53PM (13 children)
With the exception of your last submission which I have already explained the reason for the rejection, the previous 5 rejections were entitled:
What made you think that they fit into one of our topics? They would be ideal in your journal however. You can complain all you like about the editors - nothing has changed in the way that we select stories for publication in the last 8 years or so. The standard topics are:
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @06:35PM
Does this all mean the ban on Hunter Biden's Laptop is lifted?
Over 120,000 Hunter Biden Emails Uploaded To Searchable Database [zerohedge.com]
How about life in this time of Great-Malaise, Whip-Inflation-Now, Build-Back-Better...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday May 18 2022, @08:38PM (1 child)
There have been more than a couple occasions where I have thought that a good topic would be: Space
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @11:18AM
Tabs FTW.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @09:49PM (9 children)
UN ousts Russia from Human Rights Council as evidence of atrocities mounts
- Nothing wrong with that article, shouldn't even be considered political. No real tech angle except to discuss the atrocities and how they were carried out.
DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida students, professors to register political views with state
- Very pertinent to SN and its supposed free speech values, but sure it is a political story. Seems like the kind of authoritarian papers please activity that most users here care a LOT about, but whatever.
President Donald Trump has been Impeached, Again
- This one definitely should be rejected.
Presidential election result no longer based on statistics.
- Possibly valid, doesn't seem overly political from the title, statistics is very nerdy!
Woman Charged with ‘Obscene Communications’ After Calling Her Parents ‘Racist’ on Facebook
- Exactly the kind of story that should be discussed on SN.
Thanks for the list. Other people had better rejected subs examples, but even yours demonstrate your rightwing bias. No criticizing the GQP! Fascism must not be deterred! Of course such censorship is always done by conservatives under the guise of civility only to have them turn around and be vicious savages. You haven't gone savage just yet Mr. Ed, but the criticisms seem to be getting you angrier by the day. If you actually tried to address some problems, even just starting an official conversation, it would be better than the constant blaming of the community when the community has effectively no say in how the site runs. Like every libertarian experiment you types find out that you just reinvent society after the authoritarian anarchy (ha wtf weirdos) collapses in on itself.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday May 19 2022, @06:33AM (8 children)
I selected examples from one username - I cannot help it if his rejected submissions all seem to be biased. And, by being so, they do not comply with the Submission Guidelines.
An official conversation about what? The site was created to meet the needs of those geeks and nerds who were driven away from the green site by changes imposed by the 'management', and/or who did not like the way the site was being monetized by Dice. The topics haven't changed since inception.
Some complained that they wanted the site to be more 'encompassing'. Well, none of the editors (at that time or now) fancied donating time to sorting out submissions regarding US politics, swapping recipes, hints and tips for quilt makers, open marriages and the 'lifestyle', fashion etc. So we provided journals where you can discuss any legal topic that you choose to discuss!. I fail to see how a discussion about that will change things but please start a conversation in a journal somewhere, let the editors know where it is, and I will certainly join in if I have anything constructive to add. Or make a proper submission asking the questions that you feel are not being answered and we might even have time to get it into this weekend's release schedule.
The problem appears to be that various people object to what others write in their own journals. I am amazed when, each weekend, everybody gathers around a journal that they know they will strongly disagree with and then start bickering about it. Do you also read all the press put out by the opposing political party? Do you also force yourself to watch their particular TV channel? Just stop reading the journals that you know you will disagree with - many intelligent people already have!
Now, if your argument is that you want a completely different site then what is stopping you from creating it? You obviously believe that there is a need for such a thing. We can provide you with the full code [github.com] and guidance on how to organise the various jobs that are necessary to support a site. You have seen how easy it must be because you appear to believe that we are merely being obstructive by not doing what you personally want. Why haven't you done anything? Is it that you simply want others to do your bidding in their own time and for free?
If we are going to change the rules then there are several things that you have to remember. There will have to be a vote that can be verified, so I will put the marker down now. No account created after uid 17236 will be eligible to vote (that is the highest uid as I release this comment). Only those with a username and logged in to the site will be able to vote - we have to have some way of confirming one person/one vote. There can be no AC voting. The last time that we did this (2015?) it took 3 months to organise and execute. and we had a lot more staff at that time than we do now. So don't expect a vote to be organised overnight. If changing the rules means changing the code - then it cannot be done. Remember, Perl programmers always work for free and are everywhere nowadays, aren't they?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @07:23AM (7 children)
Nice topic change, the discussion was about article submissions. A big fu for skipping everything I said to piggy back your own rant about how hard things are. You poor baby, how do you do it?
Let's try again.
Post a staff journal at least, gather feedback. Post another journal summarizing ideas, asking for more, and further discussion. Eventually you can run a vote.
Two items you should be able to do without a perl coder. Expand the moderation guidelines and post some rules of civility if you want this site to be less of a toilet. Next disable AC comments, anyone can make multiple accounts if they truly need a throwaway to make some comment. Otherwise there is no method to enforce site rules, and even then it is hardly a big deal when they can make a new account any time. Moderation karma also means nothing when anyone can post AC to avoid a karma hit.
Meh, I'm realizing it is pointless. SN code is too brittle and staff have little to no desire to change anything as you make very clear. No surprise you have a hard time finding people to help out.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday May 19 2022, @10:03AM (6 children)
Which topics should the rejected submissions go under? Oh, that's right - none of them. If people want to discuss politics then they can put them in their journals.
Feedback about what exactly? Why would we need a staff journal? Surely something as important as you are suggesting should be on the main page?
Was it any particular submission in question, or just the ones that you haven't mentioned so far?
As for the last quote - don't you think that the community might have views on this? No worry, I'm sure that they will all accept the suggestion of an AC who might be making his first ever posts on this site as far as they can tell.
So, let me get this right, you are getting 3 - 4 hour/day of my time for free and now you also want me to run a staff journal for some unclear purpose or function, rewrite the moderation guidelines and produce some 'rules of civility', you want me to disable AC commenting based solely on your decision, and this is all to do with 'article submissions'. Give me your address and I'll pop round and do the housework for you too. Excuse me if my laughing disturbs you.
How about you get a disposable account (as it is so easy to do), and start the discussion in your journal?
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @06:30PM (5 children)
*yawn*
Speaking of whining, did you read the title of this story? You've got a real persecution thing going on, maybe time to stop working on SN if you can't handle feedback? Why would anyone volunteer when this is the attitude they get? Super duper boomer bullshit that no one wants to put up with anymore.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday May 20 2022, @05:42AM (4 children)
When can you start training as an editor please? It usually takes 3 - 5 hours of online training before you become productive but that varies on the individual. As we have already disabled your original account for moderation abuse you will have to create a new one with a permanent email address. Although all work is voluntary it does include weekends.
Several editors would appreciate a break but without a replacement it is not possible.
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 20 2022, @06:05AM
So this is how it is going to be, eh? Beatings will continue until morale improves?
Moderation abuse, huh? You mean, someone modding down psychopaths like Runaway, or idiots like khallow? I have always been amused that the admin could so flippantly talk of "moderation abuse" with no criteria, though it seems vaguely biased against left leaning political views, who might downmod racists and fascists. And you think that disabling a soylentils account is going to encourage them to join your alt-right cabal? Right.
Some wish to help by getting you to recognize the right-wing slant of the site. This is the problem with Tech, and especially IT: They think they are so smart, and so objective, that they just cannot see the racism and misogyny of their worldviews. No wonder janrinok is so deeply disturbed by aristarchus, to the point of launching an indiscriminate barrage of spam mods at any AC that might possibly be the White Whale. Sad thing is, the disabled account most likely is not even the one janrinok is addressing, and aristarchus is all up in his feed.
"Permanent e-mail address"? What is that? AOL? Hotmail? Something "real"?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 20 2022, @05:24PM (2 children)
Poor baby, can't even follow the actual topic. Dementia? Just old person crotchety? Still confusing who is who? Depends?
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday May 20 2022, @06:59PM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 21 2022, @04:52PM
That nerve's bame? Exasperation. Not my fault you can't stay on topic. After enough of your shifting goal posts to ignore topics mockery is all that remains. Grow a spine and stop avoiding, maybe with a better attitude you'll find it easier to recruit volunteers.
(Score: 3, Informative) by janrinok on Wednesday May 18 2022, @06:34PM (4 children)
The standard topics are:
See also the Submission Guidelines. [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @01:16AM (3 children)
> The standard topics are:
> ...
> Mobile
When I have some time* I often submit automotive tech stories, as AC, and I usually take the time to edit them into something that I think is close to ready for the front page. Often the stories are found in automotive trade mags, which I read for work. I'll guess my acceptance rate is about 50%, not complaining about that at all.
I would like to know if "Mobile" is the correct topic? Or should I just use "News".
*Spring is busy for me: as well as work, there are lots of house-related things that get done now so my subs have slowed down for the last weeks.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday May 19 2022, @05:41AM (1 child)
You can use either topic - although you can only select one for your submission then we can allocate several topics to a story.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 19 2022, @02:16PM
Thanks for clearing that up!
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday May 19 2022, @02:40PM
We are grateful for the submissions that you do make - but you never have to apologise for those that you don't. Make the most of the weather!