Frequently Asked Questions

:: FAQ Main Menu :: Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ::

:: POSTING TIPS ::

What HTML is allowed in our posts/comments?

Frequently used and quite useful are the following <A HREF="[url]"> <STRONG> <B> <I> <EM> <U> <P> <OL> <UL> <LI> <BR> <BLOCKQUOTE>

How about a quick HTML Tutorial?

<a href=”http://www.sourceURL.com”>text that you wish to appear LINKED to a source article or website</a>
<B>text that you wish to appear BOLD</B>
<STRONG>text that you wish to appear BOLD</STRONG>
<I>text that you wish to appear in ITALICS</I>
<EM>text that you wish to appear in ITALICS</EM>
<U>text that you wish to appear UNDERLINED</U>
<P>Automatically puts your text into a separate PARAGRAPH</P>
<OL>Gives an ORDERED LIST (i.e. numbered list)
<LI> Number One
<LI> Number Two
<LI> Number Three
</OL>
<UL>Gives an UNORDERED LIST (i.e. bulleted list)
<LI> Bullet
<LI> Bullet
<LI> Bullet
</UL>
<BR> Creates a virtual carriage return (or ‘BREAK’)
<BLOCKQUOTE>text that you wish to appear in BLOCKQUOTES</BLOCKQUOTE>

How do we cite our sources?

Online publications traditionally cite sources for their information using source link attributions. When quoting a source you should always provide a link to the source. Here is one example where the link to the article is casually embedded in the lead up text to the quote:

<a href=”http://www.sourceURL.com”>text that you wish to appear LINKED to a source article or website</a>

Can we post Images?

Images can add a lot to a story or discussion as long as the image is truly ‘worth a thousand words’. Inserting an image of President Bush in every article that refers to him would be ridiculous and would add nothing to the community knowledge base. In other words. Only add images under the following conditions:

1) The image tells you something that words simply cannot.
2) You insert the image ONLY in the ‘Extended Copy’ and NEVER in the Introduction.
3) You know what you’re doing with the inserted HTML. Inserting images without understanding the implications to the site structure (e.g. column width and bandwidth restrictions) can destroy the site’s layout. In essence, if the image is larger than 300 pixels wide, then you should constrict the image’s size in the HTML using the width=”300” element in the <img src…> tag and also decrease the height=”xxx” element to keep the constricted image size in the same height:width ratio as the original image. If that constriction disallows the desired detail in the image, then link the constricted image to the original image. For more on this, please visit the “embedded image” tutorial at the DKosopedia.

To add images (pictures) to your Diary or Comments... the html code is rather simple:
<img src="imagelocation"> ex:

If you find an image/picture on another website and use it on Political Cortex, the original host of the image has to "deliver" the image every time a user on Political Cortex sees it. This can be quite expensive as it uses up "bandwidth". The best thing for you to do if you want to include a picture in your Comment or Diary is to "host" the image yourself. Try going to Google and finding a server that will host images for free.

:: USER PAGES and PREFERENCES ::

What are “User Pages”?

A “User Page” is given to each registered user. This is the place where you can find the following:

Click on the link "[Username]'s Page" (Replace [Username] with your actual Cortex ID) In your "USER MENU" in the right-hand column (visible only if you're logged in).

At the top of that page will be links to 4 user pages:

User Info (Default) - Displays your public information including Public Email, Homepage and Bio. When you click on the link to your user page in the “USER MENU” in the right column, you will be sent to this page within your set of user pages.

Comments – An archive of all the comments you’ve made

Stories – This is an archive of your submissions and Quick Posts – with titles, excerpts, and links to your full story pages.

Ratings – Shows all the comment ratings that you have given other users' comments.

Click on the link "My Preferences" In your "USER MENU" in the right-hand column (visible only if you're logged in).

Profile – This is where you enter your publicly viewed information.

Email / Password – Manage your private information here

Interface – Set up the site to suit your tastes

Comment Preferences – Determine how you want to view the comments

What is a Hotlist?

Once a story is posted, you will see next to the title a set of icons. The first of those (the magnifying glass) is an option to "+Hotlist" (add to hotlist) and "-Hotlist" (remove from hotlist). This means that if you click the "+Hotlist" link, the story will be added as a “Story Hotlist” link in your ‘hotlist’ page. (The link to your “HOTLIST” page can be found in your “USER MENU” in the right column. This means you can keep track of, or ‘bookmark’, individual articles and return to them at will. This might be done in order to refer back to the article’s content or check back with the ongoing comment discussion within the article.

Once you are finished with an article in your hotlist, go to that article, and click the "-Hotlist" button to remove it from your hotlist.

What is the Hotlist Page?

The "Hotlist" Page linked to from the "USER MENU" in the right-hand column will contain the following Three features:

• Story Hotlist – maintain your ‘hotlisted’ (bookmarked) stories here
• Diary Subscription – Be alerted each time your favorite writers post a new article.
• Recent Replies to Comments -- Be alerted each time someone replies to your comments

:: SITE SEARCH and NAVIGATION ::

How can I easily navigate the site?

There are several ways to find what you’re looking for.

First, there are the “MAIN MENU” and “USER MENU” (if you are registered and logged in) that will often provide you with what you’re looking for.

Second, the “SEARCH” Function (Link found in the “MAIN MENU”) provides the ability to search the site as specifically or as broadly as you wish.

GOOGLE Search: At the top of each search page, there is a google search form that allows you to search either the site or the web.

How do I search Political Cortex?

You can search Political Cortex for just about anything. Click on the “SEARCH” link in the “MAIN MENU” at the top of the right column. Enter the text you want to search for, how many hits you want returned per page, and what section of the Cortex you want it to look in.

You can search for Authors, Comments By, Comments, Diaries, Diaries By, Polls, Stories and Users.

· Authors - Refers to searching for Stories written by "Main Page" writers only
· Comments - Refers to searching for text within a Comment, not necessarily written "by" a certain person
· Comments By - Refers to searching for Comments by a certain User
· Diaries - Refers to searching for text within a Diary
· Diaries By - Refers to searching for Diaries by a certain User
· Polls - Refers to searching for text inside a Poll
· Stories - Refers to finding text within a Main Page Story only

Searching Hints - If you're not finding what you're looking for using the second method of Searching, try clicking either the box marked "As Phrase" and/or the box marked "Search Archive"

Experiment with the interface to discover the benefits of search customization.

Third, Content is categorized in several different ways so you can filter what you wish to read. It is broken down by:

Writers:

The regular bloggers (or “Featured Writers”) are a collection of some of the most talented writers in the blogosphere and their posts can be found in the First column of the front page. These writers are the backbone of the site, always there for you with a consistent and reliable stream of Brain Food.

The Community, the oxygen and energy for the Cortex, are truly the element that gives this site its life and spirit. The community’s insights can be found in the “Top-Rated Submissions”, the “Diaries”, “Nerve Center”, Comments, and the editing and voting Queues.

Sections:

In their broadest sense, all Posts are first broken down into their general classifications:

“Grey Matter – Everything”
“Frontal Lobe – Opinon/Editorial ”
“Left Brain – Analysis/Investigation”
“Code Blue – Activism”
“Diaries – All Members’ Diaries”
“Nerve Center – Breaking News and Quick Posts”

These sections allow you to focus on a particular type of post to the exclusion of all others – except “Grey Matter” which includes ALL posts.

What are Keyword Topics?

Keyword topical listings are a brand new, extremely intuitive categorization method in the political blogosphere – and one we think you will really like. We certainly do.

In essence, when an article is posted, the author submits several keywords and/or phrases that best describe the focus of his or her article. These keywords are used to create a gizmo called a ‘Keyword Tag cloud’, a ‘Hot Topics’ listing, and a ‘Related Articles’ listing – all of which help to enrich your Cortex experience.

What is the “Keyword Tag Cloud”?

The cloud is an incredibly clever innovation. It takes the keywords and phrases used by all Cortex authors and lists them (in paragraph form) on a page in alphabetical order (To make searching for a particular word a simple task). The more popular the Keyword, the larger the font size. Thus, the most popular keywords stick out like sore thumbs. In addition:

Each keyword has next to it the number of Articles that cite it as one of its keyword.
Each Keyword is linked to a page populated with all the articles that use the keyword simplifying any immersion into a specific topic.

What are “Hot Topics”?

What are “Related Articles”?

Where can I find the following?

“Featured Writers” can be found in the First Column of the front page and interspersed among all the posts in the “Grey Matter” section.

“Top-Rated Submissions” can be found in the Second Column of the front page and interspersed among all the posts in the “Grey Matter” section.

“All Posts” -- and I mean ALL posts can be found in the “Grey Matter” Section.

All “Opinions/Editorials” can be found in the “Frontal Lobe” section.

All “Analysis/Investigations” can be found in the “Left Brain” section.

All “Activism” Posts can be found in the “Code Blue” section.

All “Diaries” can be found in the “Diaries” section and in the diaries listing in the right column of each page. These are further broken down into ‘Recommended’ and ‘Recent’ diary listings – all in the right column.

All “Quick Posts” and “Breaking News” can be found in the “Nerve Center” section and in the “Nerve Center” listing in the right column of each page.

How do I get to the front page and sections?

To get to the Front Page, click on the "Political Cortex" logo at the top of the page or click on the “HOME” link in the “MAIN MENU”. Sections can be accessed via the links along the ‘Ribbon’ below the “Political Cortex” logo at the top of the page.

:: ADVERTISING ::

Why the Advertisements?

Simply put, running a web site isn’t free. Not even close. Moreover, the more successful the site, the more expensive it is to create, maintain, update, and enhance. True, the ads can be annoying but they are a necessity in an environment where bandwidth, development, design, storage, and maintenance all come at a price.

On the positive side, it is our sponsors that make such a site possible. In addition, the ads we’ll be running will often be for those who, in some way, promote the progressive political agenda to which Political Cortex is most closely aligned.

Why are the ads interspersed in the post columns on the front page?

The pioneering design of the Cortex which provides front-page space for top community posts, requires that ads forego their own column – otherwise those using screen resolutions of 800x600 (about a third of all internet users) would not be able to see the whole site without shifting the browser view to the left and right while reading an article.

Thus, for the front page – and the front page only – the ads had to be accommodated within the content columns.

What does a subscription to the Cortex offer you and how much is it?

Political Cortex already offers much functionality for free (to registered users) that other sites include only in their paid subscriptions (e.g. alerts whenever someone replies to one of your comments, and alerts when your favorite Authors post new articles). We want you to have the most personal, enriching, interactive community experience possible regardless of your financial position. Because of that, a paid subscription simply offers to get rid of the advertisements – essentially, your subscription fee will replace the lost revenue from the eliminated advertising.

The cost is just $3/month.

How can I advertise on Political Cortex?

First, look at the current ad positions to see where you would like to place your ad.

Second, at the bottom of each Ad, there is a link that says “Advertise here”. Click on it. This will take you to a Blogads page dedicated to that particular ad space.

Third, follow the instructions on the Blogads page.

:: LEGAL ::

What is your privacy policy?

We do not ever give out or sell your email address to anyone, ever.

You get one "confirm" request when you set up your account, a confirmation email if you ever change your password on your account, and notices if an article of yours posts or dumps. There are also digests you may turn on. Basically, accounts here are for your convenience. We strongly recommend getting one, as it will never cause you grief. You also cannot post, submit articles, or vote without one! Please read the full privacy policy for more info.

Who retains copyright and ownership?

We have no desire to own your comments. So, when you post a comment here, we take that to grant Political Cortex the right to display your comment on the page on which you posted it. It may also be displayed on other pages within the site, or reachable through searches or other means, but it will always and only be here on the Cortex, and we have no intention of ever reusing, reprinting, or recreating your comment anywhere else. By posting here, you also grant us the right to remove your comment if we choose not to want it here. We do not edit comments, except in extreme cases of comments which include html or other characters that damage the usability of the site. We do remove comments that are inappropriate or offensive to the administrators.

You lose no copyright control over your words, and are not beholden to us in any way, shape, or form. Political Cortex claims no liability for the accuracy of user's comments, and reserves no ownership of them whatsoever.

What are Political Cortex’s rights?

Unless we have explicitly agreed otherwise, contributing a story here means that you grant Political Cortex non-exclusive serial rights to publish it online, at PoliticalCortex.com, and syndicate the title through our RDF backend. You also grant us the right to edit or remove your story as necessary, though we will take great pains to ensure the meaning remains intact.

You also, by submitting a story here, warrant that it is your original writing, and not plagiarized from any other published source. Political Cortex is not responsible for checking the accuracy or originality of any submission, nor will we be liable for plagiarism or the truth or lack thereof of any submission.

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