Frequently Asked Questions |
:: FAQ Main Menu :: Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 :: :: CATEGORIZING YOUR ARTICLE :: Why do we need to assign sections and topics to our articles? In addition to providing a gathering place for those politically and current
event driven, the Cortex will also serve as an archive and a resource for
those researching various issues of the day. For that reason, it is critical
that the vast depository of knowledge and insight that will make up the Cortex
be readily and logically retrievable. Assigning each Article topical keywords
and/or a section will go far to ensure that relevant material is easily found
via the site search or external search engine. Articles are sorted in two ways. Each article has a TOPIC and a SECTION. Topics are "narrow focuses", while sections are "broad categories". When submitting a story, pick carefully the topics and section to which it applies.
A complete view of all Topics (Keyword Tags) used on the Cortex can be viewed
in our “Keyword Tag Cloud”. What section/topic should I use? The choice of section and topics is up to you. However, it is not unheard
of for articles to be rejected in the voting queue because people feel
they should be in a different section or represented by different topical
Keywords. More likely, however, the ‘editors’ will let you know
if you are way off base in either aspect. An important aspect of Political Cortex is the ability of the community to communicate with one another. Comments go far to provide for this spontaneous and timely interaction. They are critical to the site as they add an invaluable level of spontaneity and personality into the discourse. So post comments often in and about the stories you read here. Note: You must have an account and be logged in to post a comment. Comments are posted using an interface similar to that of Story Submission.
Here are the details:
6. Preview the comment, make as many corrections as required, and then preview it again. Sometimes several iterations are required before all problems are fixed, so be patient :) 7. SUBMIT! When you type up a comment or post a new article/diary, there is a dropdown menu that lets you select 1 of 3 input modes: Plain Text - everything typed appears directly in the post.
There is no way to make a link or a gray quote box in this mode, but you
can in the other 2 modes. A Comment rating is a number that you can assign to any comment (except your own) that shows your feeling toward the value that the chosen comment has added to the discussion. The ratings range from 0 to 5:
Ratings reflect an evaluation of behavior, not of agreement. Users should not give 1s or 0s to comments simply on the basis of disagreeing with another user's perspective. They should give out 1s for language that is rude, abusive, insulting or otherwise offensive. This is a self-policing community, and we covenant with one another to make this board a place where all voices can be heard without fear of ridicule, hostility, or overtly hurtful responses. Explain your negative ratings: Generally, you should accompany a low rating with a comment explaining why you think the user deserves a 0, 1, or 2. It is considered quite rude for a person to give "fly by" troll ratings. Should I rate every comment I read? A good guideline to determine whether you should rate a comment at all is to ask yourself whether you could explain your rating if asked to do so. If you could not, it would probably be wisest not to rate the comment at all. Rating purely on the basis of emotional agreement without actual knowledge on the subject or rational/logical disagreement is considered bad style by many users. When more than six people rate a comment, the overall rating is the simple
average of all the ratings. This is nicely displayed next to the comment
name in the form of X/Y. X is the average, and Y is the number of people
who have rated it. If a comment has not been rated, it will say "none/0". If the comment has been rated by between 1 and 5 people, it will say "none/Y". How does the “Rate All” button work? The easiest way to do it is to rate a Comment after you read it. Then keep ratings Comments until you are done with the Story. Then when you're completely done handing out Ratings, click on one of the "Rate All" gray boxes. When you click on "Rate All", the screen refreshes and you will lose your placemark where you are. The easiest way to escape this is to hit "Rate All" when
you're completely done reading the Story. What's This "Rate? -- Yes, No, Hide" above the comments sections? You can choose whether or not you wish to Rate Comments by clicking on either "Yes" (I want to Rate) or "No" (I don't want to Rate). If you click on "Hide" you
will not see the Ratings other people have given. How Do I Find Out How People Rated My Comment? First go to the Comment you wrote then click on the Rating beside it. This will tell you who rated you and what rating they gave you. Somehow, some way, when you write enough Comments that get enough positive ratings, you are awarded the power of being a "Trusted User" of Political Cortex. You now have the power to rate people with a "0" and also to see "hidden Comments". In essence, you are rewarded with a status of respect and the power to more forcefully invoke your will on the community at large via increased comment rating flexibility. ‘Trusted User’ status can come and go depending on your activity
level and volume of positive comment ratings received. So if you lose your
TU status, rest assured that you can just as easily regain it. How Can I Tell If I'm A Trusted User? If your user listings allow you to view hidden comments, you are a Trusted
User. If you are rating a Comment on a Diary or Front Page Story and see "0 - Super Troll",
you are a Trusted User. If not, you're not :) A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (DailyKos before 2004)...
there were a lot fewer users. A person would write a Diary and get maybe
just three or four Comments, even though the Diary might've been read by
20 to 30 people. People started to add a Comment to their own diary and
called it a "Tip Jar" where people could add a rating to that particular Comment, so the person would get "mojo".
It's a way to reward a person for writing a Diary they liked when the reader
doesn't have the time or inclination to add a Comment saying so What is the “Mojo” System and how does it relate to the “Trusted User” status? The “Mojo” system boils down to this: hang around the board long enough and collect enough 4s, and you become a Trusted User. This enables you to see and review hidden comments, and to give comments a 0. In
return, Trusted Users are asked to take extra responsibility in policing
the site by helping to banish trolls and ensure the fairness of comment
ratings. Trusted User status is not permanent for most folks: if you collect
enough 1s and 0s, you can lose it. But it can also be regained by more productive
contributions. How do you know when you've become a troll? Presumably, you get a notice informing
you that you're no longer welcome to post. What are the comment viewing options? At the bottom of each story, you can set how you view the comments about the story. You have several options that allow you to make it easier to read and follow a discussion: View: There are two types of comments, "Topical" Comments which relate to the content of a post and are visible at all points through the submission process as well as after the piece has been posted. "Editorial Comments" are those that relate to the author's writing. These comments are intended to be constructive editorial advice to the writer. They are visible only in the "Editing Queue". Thus, your choices for the type of comments you will be viewing are “All comments” (includes "Hidden" if you are a "Trusted User") , “Mixed” (which is the default), “Topical Only”, “Editorial Only”. How you choose to view is your preference. Display: This determines the structure of the comments sections themselves. These structures include “Minimal”, “Flat”, “Threaded”, “Nested”, and “Dynamic”.
Try them and see what works best for you. Sort: You can sort the comments by their ratings, their lack of ratings, and by their posting date.Rate: This is whether you want to be able to rate comments. We recommend that you leave this on and rate comments. Feedback is always a good thing. Show Hidden Comments: Trusted Users can choose either to always see comments which are rated at below 1, or to never see them. Once you have made your changes, click the set button and watch them come into effect. We recommend you try several different settings. Fiddle around and see what works best for you. On the front page you will see a "Story" sometimes called the "Open Thread". It’s
the perfect forum for you to write a Comment about anything under the sun
- especially if it's just a simple link to an article on another website. What are trolls? :: FAQ Main Menu :: Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 :: |
