 A few simple reminders:
We focus on the WoT and matters related to the WoT. That includes general thuggery around the world, such as Zim-bob-we, and the politics surrounding the WoT. The farther away it is from that, the less likely people here want to read it here on Rantburg. We assume y'all read other weblogs for the other news. Rantburg has been getting some posts that are -- frankly -- a distraction from what we want to cover. The more we get away from the WoT, the more we look just like any other blog, and that's not the point for us. We have an eclectic readership and we want to keep it that way.
We do carry a fair bit of politics ('seedy politician') but even there the focus is on how that news relates to the fight against terrorism and the defense of the good. We have the separate 'Election 2012' category if you can't restrain yourself about your country's elections; put those posts there.
Very simply: domestic issues in Australia, surface crawlers on Mars, and the general state of Tiger Woods' rehab shouldn't be posted here. Unless Fred does it in which case it's okay.
| I say this again in salmon color: we focus on the WoT! |
Check for duplicates before you post. We've had a number of these lately, so please check on the Burg, particularly if it looks like 'breaking news'.
| I say this in salmon color as well: check for duplicates! |
Provide a source URL for your post.. This goes into the 'source' box in the poster. If you don't provide a URL your post will be deleted. None of the moderators have enough time to look for the source of your post.
Shorter, not longer, titles. Remember, the URL does NOT go into the title box. Snarky and catchy titles are fine.
File it in the right place. If it's about the current insurrection in Yemen, don't file it under 'Great White North'.
Opinion pieces go into the 'Opinion' category. Tricky, eh? This includes blog pieces. Some exceptions exist: VDH, Lileks, and Marc Steyn can go into any appropriate category. All the rest go into Opinion. And that's not an invitation for other blog-owners to post stuff in Opinion just to advertise their own blog.
Your opinion is welcome. Opinion is also for your own original articles, for everyone, but especially for Rantburg regulars. If you have an opinion, post it here. And don't forget your byline.
Please format the post. Help us make posts readable. Think of it as a chance to teach English composition to the MSM. Delete the fluff and the stuff we already know. Some gentle editing to make a post readable helps all of us, especially the moderators who then don't have to go back and re-edit stuff.
No 'more at the link', no ellipses and no 'snips'. Readers assume you're editing the post to just the good stuff (see above). Therefore you don't need ellipses or [SNIP]'s to tell us that you edited the post. Since you gave us the source URL (right?) a reader can always go to the original. That means you don't need to say at the bottom, 'hit the link to read the rest'. The readers already know that.
Your in-line comments are in hilite (yellow) text. Use the 'HILITE' button. Start your comments on a separate line.
If you do it will look like this. This is the ONLY acceptable format for your comments.
Don't put a leading line space before or after, as illustrated. And don't bury it like this. Do not use italics instead of hilite. Do not insert FONT commands: Fred has already settled the proper font and size for your snark. And do NOT put your comments into blockquotes.
Strikout text can be placed in-line in the text. Some here complain when we use too much of it. Unless you've got a sure-fire 'mad-libs' winner, use strikeout text sparingly.
Don't embed pics from outside Rantburg. We have an ever-expanding library of pics (even after Fred cleans out the attic we have more than when we started). Embedding a pic with a URL takes bandwidth and it may upset the owner of the site from where you're getting the image. We'd love to allow users to upload images, but if we did we'd be dumping 100k erectile dysfunction ads and pictures of nekkid 40-year-old teen hotties all day and not have time for any posting of our own. Finally, outside posts also die as links can (and will) rot. A Rantburg image will be around as long as there's a Rantburg.
Submitting pics to the Burg. E-mail us the pic, but format it first. 250 pixels width for portrait, 300 for landscape or square. On a case-by-case basis, max 500 pixels (width of the yellow comments box) wide for charts, diagrams, and maps. Please compress: images should be under 20k if at all possible. It's not the single image we have to worry about, but 80 articles x 20k. Too many images will slow page load dramatically.
And as always, thanks for all your support. You make Rantburg a special place. |