#editorial | Logs for 2015-02-12
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[14:58:12] <janrinok> I'm here
[14:58:15] <LancePodstrong> yep
[14:58:21] <janrinok> good.
[14:58:51] <janrinok> just give me a moment or two to get myself sorted - how long do you have by the way?
[14:59:28] <LancePodstrong> plenty of time, home sick. might have to take occasional breaks to care for dog, toilet, etc but otherwise plenty
[15:00:04] <LancePodstrong> i'll be reading the page whilst you sort
[15:00:14] <janrinok> OK, if it gets too much or nothing seems to be sticking, shout out and we can take a break or pick up another day
[15:01:06] <janrinok> OK, confirm that you are logged in to dev.soylentnews?
[15:01:19] <LancePodstrong> looks good
[15:02:02] <janrinok> OK, across the top of the page you should now have a new menu which includes items such as Submissions, Stories etc?
[15:02:19] <LancePodstrong> yeah
[15:03:09] <janrinok> click on any submission that you want to work on. Remember, I cannot see your changes although I will pick the same story as you to work with, so let me know which one you choose
[15:04:06] <LancePodstrong> let's go with police to place ads on pirate site
[15:04:30] <janrinok> OK, click it and it should open in the preview window
[15:04:41] <LancePodstrong> k
[15:05:30] <janrinok> I can see that you have, because if you look just below the submission text at the title field, I can see that it is 100% matching with the story you have selected. This might not show up on your display
[15:05:50] <janrinok> If you refresh the page it should show that I have it open too
[15:06:12] <LancePodstrong> indeed
[15:06:46] <janrinok> OK, that doesn't often happen in everyday work but it does from time to time so it's worth knowing what it means.
[15:07:24] <janrinok> You can get in a hell of a bind when 2 people are trying to make different changes to the same story but the updates don't reflect what they are typing :)
[15:08:23] <LancePodstrong> ok
[15:08:29] <janrinok> OK, I follow a pattern to make sure things don't get overlooked. The first thing is the check the story content - is it a story, spam, a dupe or does it need binning
[15:09:12] <LancePodstrong> k
[15:09:15] <janrinok> Check that the links open and that _they point to the same story_ that the headline refers to. Some people try to slip spam passed us by linking to something irrelevant
[15:09:45] <LancePodstrong> ok i checked this link and it looks good
[15:10:12] <janrinok> We _try_ to give a balanced viewpoint and some stories need a bit of editing to bring them into the bounds of reasonableness
[15:10:50] <LancePodstrong> k
[15:11:04] <janrinok> If it is an extreme viewpoint, there are several things we can do. Try to find another link to give the opposing view or simply tone it down
[15:11:45] <janrinok> The latter is quicker and easier but is really a cop out when it comes to doing our job. However, sometimes it what you have to do.
[15:12:10] <LancePodstrong> better to find a good opposing link you mean?
[15:12:35] <janrinok> Yes if you can - but that might be very time consuming or not even possible
[15:13:06] <LancePodstrong> k
[15:13:10] <janrinok> You will make mistakes - we all do (not did - do)
[15:14:02] <janrinok> But assuming that you now have a story that is suitable in content for release, we can move on to the mechanics of the process.
[15:14:47] <janrinok> At the top and bottom of the edit box there are buttons marked preview. Press one of them.
[15:15:06] <LancePodstrong> i put a comma in and changed a word in that story
[15:15:08] <LancePodstrong> previewed
[15:15:16] <janrinok> This is the page where we do most of our work.
[15:15:58] <LancePodstrong> k
[15:16:08] <janrinok> I'll talk you through each button, or most of them, but don't worry if you don't get it all at once. Most of them are obvious anyway
[15:17:03] <LancePodstrong> i notice it still says 100% matching with my changes. although i guess they were just 2 characters so maybe it's a rounding error
[15:17:07] <janrinok> Immediately below the story preview box, is a list containing similar stories. Check here for dupes but remember it is only an approximate similarity
[15:17:25] <LancePodstrong> k
[15:17:33] <janrinok> Yes - the 100% is approx also
[15:17:58] <janrinok> There is no substitute for keeping up-to-date with what we have already pushed out
[15:18:17] <janrinok> ..and even then the odd dupe will fall through.
[15:18:58] <LancePodstrong> mhm
[15:19:04] <janrinok> Ignore for the moment the black box below the list, but look carefully at the save/preview/unsigned/Display options
[15:19:19] <janrinok> blank* not black
[15:19:32] <LancePodstrong> yes, i was wondering about those
[15:20:10] <janrinok> Save means you have finished editing and are releasing the story to the world. Preview simply updates your display to show any changes that you have made so far
[15:20:36] <janrinok> unsigned we do not use but the Display is _critical_
[15:21:22] <LancePodstrong> ok
[15:21:40] <janrinok> If the display box is ticked then the story will go out and be released. Once a story is released, the only way to stop it is to re-edit and UNTICK THE DISPLAY BOX.
[15:22:30] <janrinok> http://soylentnews.org I learned the hard way!
[15:22:31] <Hedonismbot> ^ 03SoylentNews | Janrinok - FOR TRAINING ONLY - do not release!
[15:22:40] <Azrael> :D
[15:23:04] <janrinok> Hi Az
[15:23:12] <LancePodstrong> hahahaha
[15:23:31] <janrinok> So that little box will save your ass someday
[15:24:04] <janrinok> OK moving on to the Topics
[15:24:04] <Azrael> janrinok: will let you get back to training and sit here quietly :)
[15:25:09] <janrinok> We have the ability to select Nexuses - groups of stories by topic - but we only currently use The Main Page. One day there might be Mobile, Linux or whatever
[15:25:34] <janrinok> Az no giggling or you get sent out of class
[15:26:25] <Azrael> awww
[15:26:50] <janrinok> There are numerous topics e.g. Ask Soylent, Business, Technomics etc. You can add one or more to suit the content of your story so that the appropriate icons show when it is displayed.
[15:27:43] <janrinok> If you click the '+' symbol to the rhs of the topics list you can see how to add and delete more topics as you see fit.
[15:28:15] <janrinok> LancePodstrong: Happy so far or do you want to pause and let that sink in?
[15:28:26] <LancePodstrong> so far so good, onward and upward
[15:29:10] <janrinok> Ok moving down the page we get to the title. The title is your choice and does not need to be the one that the submission has when it first arrives.
[15:29:36] <LancePodstrong> k
[15:30:07] <janrinok> I always change Windoze to Windows, I try to remove any strong sentitment or views and try to make it appropriate to the story and the community members.
[15:31:24] <janrinok> The Dept field is one you will love or hate - I'm in the latter group. If you can think of something witty put it in here, or perhaps something that gets to the nub of the topic but, if not, leave it blank.
[15:31:56] <janrinok> You will possible spend/waste a lot of time pondering on this
[15:32:05] <LancePodstrong> :)
[15:33:24] <janrinok> In the Author field - it should show your name, comments are always enabled and you then have to pick a time for release. And at this point it can all grind to a halt because you cannot see what stories are queued for release and at what time.
[15:33:42] <LancePodstrong> ok
[15:33:59] <janrinok> So you need another page/tab open to show you what is already in the queue
[15:34:35] <janrinok> If you scroll back to the top of the page, you will see a menu item called Stories - open this in a new tab
[15:35:23] <LancePodstrong> ok
[15:35:24] <janrinok> and lo a new page will appear
[15:36:16] <janrinok> The colour coding is significant but you will see different colours to those that I see. Because the colours are for your stories and everyone else's stories.
[15:36:30] <LancePodstrong> ok
[15:37:08] <janrinok> When you release a story - your stories will show as yellow.
[15:37:34] <janrinok> Everyone else's stories - that have not been checked by a second editor - will show as red
[15:37:57] <janrinok> Stories by anybody that have been seen by two or more editors will show as green
[15:38:19] <janrinok> Stories that do not have the Display box ticked will show as grey/gray
[15:38:40] <LancePodstrong> ok
[15:39:07] <janrinok> We operate a principle here that stories are seen be 2 editors before they go public whenever possible.
[15:39:26] <LancePodstrong> a solid plan
[15:39:59] <janrinok> I will go into this in more detail but, for now, if you look at the rhs, you can see the release times for stories displayed by date/time
[15:41:20] <janrinok> How we space the stories depends on several factors. How many submissions we have, how important/time-critical the story is and various other things.
[15:41:48] <janrinok> It will tend to vary between 1 hour and 3 hours but there are exceptions to both ends of that scale
[15:42:10] <LancePodstrong> k
[15:43:26] <janrinok> But, for now, we can see that the last story went out at 01/28 02:10 so we can release ours at any time. However, on 'dev' the coders want to keep the top story for their own testing purposes so we should not go after the release time but perhaps a few minutes before. This _only_ applies on dev.
[15:43:54] <LancePodstrong> ok
[15:44:02] <LancePodstrong> are thise in UTC/GMT?
[15:44:19] <janrinok> So I would suggest 01/28 02:00 or thereabouts - all times in UTC when you are logged in
[15:44:49] <janrinok> so switch back to you story editing page
[15:45:06] <LancePodstrong> ok and where do i put that in? in the box right of the comments enabled/disabled drop down list?
[15:45:27] <janrinok> no, back down to the Author section
[15:45:41] <janrinok> there is a date/time box there
[15:45:49] <janrinok> see it?
[15:45:54] <LancePodstrong> yeah gotcha
[15:46:14] <janrinok> modify the time as agreed
[15:46:30] <LancePodstrong> ok, now save?
[15:46:46] <janrinok> Not yet - we haven't finished
[15:46:58] <LancePodstrong> getting ahead of myself
[15:47:05] <janrinok> np
[15:47:55] <janrinok> you can always put in a dept, modify the title with your name - to differentiate it from other stories with the same name - and then press preview again
[15:49:19] <janrinok> There are 2 text boxes that we haven't covered yet - the Intro Copy and Extended copy
[15:49:36] <LancePodstrong> is that where there's a short summary on the page and a "click to read more" type thing?
[15:49:49] <janrinok> Yep
[15:50:35] <janrinok> Most stories can be contained in the Intro box, but to prevent overlong stories from filling the front page you might have to split them into both boxes
[15:51:34] <janrinok> The thing to remember is that any HTML formatting does NOT cross from one box to the other. So, if you forget this fact, your screen display will look like rubbish.
[15:52:02] <LancePodstrong> mkay
[15:52:13] <janrinok> OK, NOW you can press save
[15:52:43] <LancePodstrong> okee dokey
[15:53:09] <janrinok> And I can see it in the queue. What colour is it in your display and why is that colour?
[15:53:51] <LancePodstrong> yellow cuz it's mine
[15:54:03] <janrinok> and what does the yellow indicate
[15:54:17] <LancePodstrong> that i'm the editor
[15:54:27] <janrinok> and...?
[15:54:55] <janrinok> ...that it has not been seen by a second editor
[15:55:00] <LancePodstrong> ah
[15:55:11] <LancePodstrong> then what color will it be?
[15:55:26] <janrinok> how many stories on that page _should_ have been released if we follow the rules?
[15:55:53] <LancePodstrong> is it the green ones? 2?
[15:55:56] <janrinok> hint - count the green ones
[15:55:59] <janrinok> yep
[15:56:13] <janrinok> how many stories were prevented from release?
[15:56:25] <LancePodstrong> the 1 by azrael?
[15:56:45] <janrinok> ...and which fine editor authored them?
[15:56:51] <janrinok> great
[15:57:07] <janrinok> there you go Az
[15:57:39] <janrinok> Ok I have to pause for 10 mins or so. think about both pages and play with another story or two
[15:57:54] <LancePodstrong> sounds good
[16:06:29] <Azrael> :D
[16:14:41] <janrinok> OK -I'm back on if you need me
[16:15:25] <LancePodstrong> i just now realized that the "think a bout both pages and play with another story or t wo" was what you told me to do rather than what you were off to do
[16:15:53] <janrinok> ah, grasshopper
[16:15:57] <LancePodstrong> it confused me a bit at first, thought i was missing some context. now it all makes sense
[16:16:17] <janrinok> OK, we will continue for a short while if you are happy?
[16:16:26] <LancePodstrong> yeah i'm comfortable so far
[16:16:42] <janrinok> OK, so lets start thinking practicalities
[16:16:53] <janrinok> I operate with 3 tabs open.
[16:17:32] <janrinok> The front page - that shows me what is happening on the site now, and is useful for those quick fixes that the members find like spolling mistooks
[16:17:57] <janrinok> the Stories page - so I can see what is in the queue, and the timings of story releases etc
[16:18:24] <janrinok> and the Submissions page, so I can see what I am working with.
[16:18:41] <LancePodstrong> ok
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[16:19:23] <janrinok> Its also useful to keep IRC open if you can manage it, but it is by no means essential
[16:20:00] <LancePodstrong> easy enough
[16:20:13] <janrinok> When I first log on to begin work, I check the stories queue. Any stories in red need checking and I do that before I start adding new ones unless time is critical
[16:21:03] <janrinok> If you check the dev stories queue, your story should have changed colour to green. Later on, open it and see if you can find the part where it shows that I checked it
[16:21:38] <LancePodstrong> ok i see
[16:21:43] <janrinok> Then I check the last 24 hours stories so make sure that I don't put out a dupe that has been processed since I was last on site
[16:21:45] <LancePodstrong> signoffs 2/2 on the right
[16:21:53] <janrinok> yep thats it
[16:22:31] <janrinok> Then I start looking at the submissions. Switch to the sub page now please
[16:22:42] <LancePodstrong> k
[16:23:29] <janrinok> The story that you edited has gone from the subs page and is now in the stories queue. If, for some reason, you had to stop your story, how would you do it?
[16:23:41] <LancePodstrong> edit, uncheck display box
[16:23:46] <janrinok> yep
[16:24:15] <janrinok> but, even if you were to do that, it would _not_ come back to the sub page. Once it has gone - its gone for good.
[16:24:35] <LancePodstrong> k
[16:24:59] <janrinok> If you look at the top line ie the first submission, you will notice a blank box on the lhs
[16:25:24] <LancePodstrong> yeah
[16:26:39] <janrinok> On the live system you will often put comments in here to help other editors. For example, you might identify a story as a dupe, it might be spam, or you want to save it for a specific time like the weekend or whatever. Simple type you message into the box, and then press the 'update' key at the bottom of the submissions list
[16:27:38] <janrinok> if you update the subs page you will see that I've marked the top sub
[16:27:56] <LancePodstrong> indeed
[16:29:19] <janrinok> The option box next to it is not used much, but is sometimes used to remove spam from the list without deleting it entirely. If you mark a story as 'Held' it disappears from view - to where it goes I haven't a clue - but paulej72 can still access it to ban the appropriate IP
[16:30:04] <janrinok> All our stories for now are on the Main Page so the next selection box is taken car of.
[16:30:28] <LancePodstrong> ok
[16:31:10] <janrinok> sry - I had to pause because the nurse has arrived for my SO
[16:31:55] <janrinok> The filter box allows you to select mulitple subs for action with the Update/Delete/Merge buttons at the bottom of the page
[16:31:56] <LancePodstrong> no worries
[16:32:49] <janrinok> the other fields are self-evident I think?
[16:33:20] <janrinok> The only other thing to discuss on here is the 'Merge' option.
[16:34:05] <LancePodstrong> is that for dupes that both have worthwhile content?
[16:34:16] <janrinok> Sometimes we receive 2 or more submissions on the same topic and, if you select both stories by ticking the box next to the 'Main Page' option and then select Merge, it combines both subs into one
[16:34:27] <janrinok> You tha
[16:34:32] <LancePodstrong> ok cool
[16:34:54] <janrinok> you then have to edit the title, and tart it up a bit, but it means both submitters get karma for the submission.
[16:35:30] <LancePodstrong> k
[16:35:45] <janrinok> There are various ways that you can frig the system to add a late submission to an earlier one, but in most cases it results in only one person getting the credit
[16:36:04] <janrinok> ... its not impossible though, by any means.
[16:36:41] <janrinok> If you scroll down to show the bottom half of the page, you will see a list of editors names
[16:36:51] <LancePodstrong> yes
[16:37:56] <janrinok> This is handy to keep an eye on who is editing what so that you don't get into that multiple loop I mentioned earlier
[16:38:33] <janrinok> Have you got any immediate questions on this page at present?
[16:38:44] <LancePodstrong> no seems pretty straightforward
[16:39:30] <janrinok> It does until you go to another site and then return and - if you are like me - you stare at it in bewilderment for a while again!
[16:41:04] <janrinok> What I would strongly urge you to do now, is have a play on this system make a few submissions, edit them, release them, retract them, etc while also reading the wiki link that I provided earlier. Perhaps it will now begin to make some sense.
[16:41:30] <LancePodstrong> ok
[16:41:43] <LancePodstrong> i don't think i will right this minute but certainly over the day
[16:42:12] <janrinok> I'll be afk while I take care of my wife and prepare a meal, but if questions arise then I'll probably be listening on #soylent until 2100 UTC
[16:42:55] <janrinok> OK - but don't worry about breaking dev - you won't be the first!
[16:43:16] <LancePodstrong> thanks janrinok
[16:43:27] <janrinok> np - we can do more tomorrow if you wish
[16:43:38] <LancePodstrong> appreciate it. good luck to your wife
[16:43:55] <janrinok> although I suspect that after a short play it will seem quite straightforward
[16:45:03] <janrinok> thanks for your kind thoughts
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[18:37:53] <Azrael> welcome on board LancePodstrong :)
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[19:41:40] <LancePodstrong> ahoi :)
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