SoylentNews

martyb [soylentnews.org] writes:

The end of the year 2020 is fast upon us. There are many, I'm sure, who will be glad to see it go. And for good reason, too.

I won't go into a recap of the world's events over this past year — plenty of other sites will do that and I see no need to waste people's time.

I just noticed a milestone that happened a couple weeks ago, that I would like to mention: SoylentNews has been here, for the community, for over 2,500 days! It's amazing what can happen when people pull together in a common effort.

Finances:
We are about to wrap up our fiscal year. (NB: all amounts are estimates.) Our first-half fundraising went very well (thank you!) It looks like we need only $110.00 to make our year-end goal!

As I write this, for the year, we have raised $6,890.77 (98.4%) of our $7,000 goal. That is, in large part, due to the excellent response to the fundraiser for the first half. For the second half of the year, we stand at $2,136.25 (61.0%) of our $3,500.00 goal. Thanks everyone who has already subscribed; we wouldn't be where we are without you! Please subscribe [soylentnews.org]

if you can. Every bit counts!

Journals:
Theeeyr're baaack! Well it seems that way, at least! I noticed the "Most recent Journal Entries" Slashbox has returned and that the load on our servers has returned to normal levels. I have received no official word, but from what I can see, we are back in business. Yay!

Teamwork++:
Lastly, I am going to take this opportunity to thank the editorial team for keeping the stories coming 24/7/366 (Yeah, 2020 was a leap year). Between politics and the pandemic filling the headlines, it was difficult to find a balanced mix. In a highly polarized environment, it was sometimes difficult to sift the wheat from the chaff. Also, thanks to COVID-19 many events were cancelled and facilities closed or operating under reduced hours. That resulted in even less of the "normal" kinds of news we'd have available to us to choose from.

I am happy to report that requerdanos, who so graciously accepted an invitation to join the editorial team, has already been making a very positive impact. Not just in pushing out stories (though that has been huge), but also in bringing a positive attitude and a keen eye to bear. We are indeed fortunate to have him aboard!

A little history:
I got started as an editor in 2014. It all started when I noticed typos, formatting errors, or word omissions in stories posted to the site. I'd jump on IRC and try to reach out to an editor to get corrections made. After doing this several times, I started suggesting that if I were made an editor, I could make the corrections, myself! Seemed to fall on deaf ears. But I persisted and was eventually made an editor. Little did I suspect: I was in for a shock! There was so much more happening behind the scenes than I had ever imagined. (Can you say Dunning-Kruger [wikipedia.org]?) It was only after a had undergone a few days' training that I was permitted to finally push out my first story.

I did not understand that what gets posted on the main page is the voice of the site. That we needed to watch out for troll submissions (some are plausible but fail under closer scrutiny). Other story submissions came with bold and italics omitted. Others had missing or broken links. There are also matters of defamation [wikipedia.org] and fair use [wikipedia.org] to watch for. That is entirely separate from the logistics of working as part of a team with members on multiple continents and in different time zones!

I am grateful the extent of my ignorance was mostly made known only to other (very understanding and patient) staff members. (Yes, I've had my front page flubs, too.)

Join us:
So, with that most glowing of introductions to the work of an editor, I hereby offer an opportunity to anyone who is interested in joining the team. (I feel like I'm writing an ad inviting people to join a team trying to reach the North Pole: random hours, no pay, bring your own asbestos garments!)

Anyone who thinks the job of an editor is quick work or easy is hereby also invited to volunteer.

Here's wishing everyone in the SoylentNews community a safe and prosperous new year!

Original Submission