Tips Please
The other day I wrote a bad article that didn’t go over so well. I hurt your feelings, then you hurt mine; and then it hit me, maybe some of you could produce better content if we gave you the chance.
If you look at the sidebar to the right (and all you Google Readers can hop over by clicking here), just below the advertisement (or blank rectangle for those of you using AdBlock) you’ll see an article submission form into which you can either just drop us a short tip or a more abstract idea for us to chase down ourselves to turn into an article or you can do the legwork for us, writing a complete article with or without an image and we’ll post it under your name — if it’s a good lead. Either way we want what you’ve got and we’ll take what we can get, and will credit you accordingly.
Asking you to join the writing team and then write has proven less than effective so maybe a little widget can extract something out of you better without that fear of commitment. One great asset, on the top two or three list, of this site is our audience. Got some bright and well-informed people among you so please let us tap into that. Sorry in advance for the captcha but the second I put the thing up we were getting Viagra spam from the Chinese. You’d think the Chinese would be pushing some sort of ancient herbal recipe thing instead, right?
Doug Simmons
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About The Author
Doug Simmons
Biographical info.. hmm. I have a history of not being able to strike the balance between what is "safe" to put into these forms and what is, in my mind at least, funny. Can't do it.
Doug, it wasn’t that we don’t like the content. It’s that we don’t like unnecessary division.
Blasting people of a political ideology on a mobile-based forum makes as much sense as Android/iPhone sniping on a political site. There’s no reason – if you’re trying to grow an audience – to cleave away people without cause. (Sorta like finding a rare and delicious chocolate truffle… in your shoe. It’s just not going to go down well, no matter how much you think you’d like the flavor.)
I skew libertarian (lowercase-L), and while I don’t buy the histrionics and manipulation of those who aspire to lead “The Tea Party,” I can see promise in several ideas they (claim to) uphold.
Now — as to the submissions, how about finding a different place for that form? You’ve got some real-estate in that custom menu at the top, between “Videos” and those social networking icons to the far right. “News Tips” would be a great addition above the fold, and a reminder that we can flag you when we see things that might be of interest.
I love this site, and I want to be able to recommend it to friends as a resource without having to stop and think about who they voted for before sending them links.
Thanks for all you do, and no hard feelings.
Ike I got the picture.
As for the form, that tabbed widget’s contents are all part of a single package. Can’t tuck this into it and even if I could, which would be a real pain in the balls as we’d have to scrap the existing widget or read a few books on PHP and CSS first, at least for now I want it prominent (but not tip-top prominent) and as people tend not to click on things I’d like it exposed and see what happens. If there’s enough volume on it, as in more than we’d like, then I’ll make it more subtle, but just getting the thing to work today, I’m quite drained.
Hey we just got one.
Yeah Ike followed up in detail in an email, I’ll forward it. I don’t like that widget either. Would work on it now but my brain is full and I really ought to get some.. fresh air while it’s still … hot out.
It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you are surrounded by turkeys
@BRYAN B:
ROTFLMAO!!!
@Doug Simmons: Ike was talking about putting it on the page navigation bar at the top. 🙂
The sidebar tabber box is hard coded, but could be changed easy enough. I personally hate the plug in on the sidebar we are using for comments. I like the one at the bottom better.
Keith / We chose this equipment besauce it uses nothing but your bodyweight and angles. I believe the best way to work muscle is NOT to isolate one to the exclusion of all others. Body movement is an awesome concert of hundreds of muscles working at the same time. You can “concentrate” on a group of muscles; but, to truly train them, all the stabilizing and secondary muscles must be involved. Come check this training system out @ the club and I’ll show you what I am talking about.