Tip.it Times 15 November 2009

[JoeDaStudd]

mmmm I'm not going to lie I'm disappointed with it.

 

I suppose I could look at typing out the topic I created a while back looking in depth at updates which could be reverted and have been left in the dust.

 

Whats the min/max word/letter count of an article?

[Mdeoxys]

mmmm I'm not going to lie I'm disappointed with it.

 

I suppose I could look at typing out the topic I created a while back looking in depth at updates which could be reverted and have been left in the dust.

 

Whats the min/max word/letter count of an article?

A minimum of around 600 words, and the max doesn't really matter. If it gets too long we can cut it in 2 pieces. :wink:

[Ts_Stormrage]

TBH, and I'm not trying to undermine the Editorial staff here...

 

1. Just because we're short of articles (I cannot come up with one EVERY week... sorry) does not mean they're going to post any crap that crosses their desks...

2. Min/max is a guideline, if you can write a short but strong piece, you're more likely to get published then a longwinding incoherent piece of napkin doodling...

3. I've made a proposal that should import a lot more ideas on stuff to write about... Unfortunately for us at the scribble-room, the people using thse forums are generally smart, and usually start topics on certain matters before we get a chance to write a masterpiece on the subject...

If you think you have something that you want to write about, but feel that these forums do not give it a high enough profile, feel free to PM me (or any other guy or gal with the pen under his name) with the sbject and the elements you want to see in it, and watch wonders happen...

4. Know that only one in 20 people that use the site (and maybe reads the published articles), also visit and post on the forums... Occasionally we have to put a bulletin out there to attract more people to our forum-based facilities :)

[i_love_burritos]

To all you haters.

 

Shut the [bleep] up. Please.

[bedman]

I wasn't really planning to comment but since it is so heated I'll try to post my hopefully not too offending opinion.

 

I'll actually just explain what I did. Normally when there a new Times, I read it at some point. However, I am not the person that is looking forward every week to when the Times is released. I just like to read it as a disctraction every now and then. I also don't read the fictional articles, and often when I get bored, I don't read the full thing. Well, that is what happened today. I saw, hmm, only one article, no problem, they just left out a fictional I guess. I started reading and saw they were askign for more writers, so I stopped reading since I don't really have any ambition in that direction. That's it. I'm not going to rant, or laugh, or whatever, just stopped reading and looking forward to next week, no problem.

 

I do think, like some people said, that it might have been a better idea to just say you are short of articles and are looking for writers. Would have spent you less time in making up a fancy form of advertisement, and it's really no shame to admit you don't have a Times ready. We understand. At least I do.

[qeltar]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Red_Hen

In the tale, the little red hen finds a grain of wheat, and asks for help from the other farmyard animals to plant it. However, no animal is willing to volunteer to help her.

 

At each further stage (harvest, threshing, milling the wheat into flour, and baking the flour into bread), the hen again asks for help from the other animals, but again she gets no assistance.

 

Finally, the hen has completed her task, and asks who will help her eat the bread. This time, all the previous non-participants eagerly volunteer. However, she declines their help and eats it with her chicks, leaving none for anyone else.

 

The moral of the story is that those who show no will to contribute to an end product do not deserve to enjoy the end product..

I've been involved in setting up, running and contributing to Internet communities for close to 20 years. And no matter what the topic, no matter who the members, there is always one common thread: lots of takers and few givers.

 

While I've contributed to the Tip.it Times before, I don't know the people who run Tip.it. But my guess is that they have put in countless hours to make this site what it is. And I doubt they're getting rich off it. The people who write articles for this site and contribute in other ways do it because they love it, and because they feel the site is important.

 

They don't owe you an article every week. They don't owe you *anything*.

 

If you don't like what you see on a site, then do something about it: contribute. Write an article yourself. Identify someone on the forums who makes a good post and encourage them to turn it into an article. Come up with some ideas for others to write about.

 

Sitting around going "lame" or whining about not wanting to see "advertisements" while doing nothing yourself to pitch in just makes you one of the barnyard animals.