Frequently Asked Questions

5 Second FAQ
· Immediate help can usually be found by IMing "sportscolumnhelp" on Yahoo Instant Messenger or AOL Instant Messenger. Use "help@sportscolumn.com" for MSN Messenger.

You can also email me at vin@sportscolumn.com - I try to respond quickly to all questions. Or try the SC.com support forum.

· No account is necessary to read stories, polls, and comments.
· If you want to post stories or comments, sign up for an account.
· When you submit a story, you can submit it for editorial feedback (aka - fix my mistakes) or just submit it for moderation, which means other community members vote on it. They can vote to publish it to the front door, the section door (e.g. NFL) or just dump it.
· After a certain number of votes, the story will be published or dumped.
· If you just want to discuss sports in a message board setting, go to the Forums. What is the difference between the forums and the main site? Think of the forums as shooting the shit at your local bar. The main SC site is for structured articles and discussion.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACCOUNT QUESTIONS

Do I need an account? (Top)

Basically, No.

But, without an account, all you can do is read the stories on the site. An account is necessary if you want to actually take part in the site. It is your way of identifying yourself to the community. It also adds a measure of accountability that is generally not found in a system which allows for true anonymous postings. We are trying to build a community, and as such, we would like to know who you are. If you have something that you are afraid might come back to haunt you (such as exposing an illegal practice of a company or person), you can easily create a "throwaway" account using one of the many free webmail services out there. We would prefer that everyone only have one account though. Be aware that accounts can and will be deleted for abuse of Sportscolumn.com. We do not allow anonymous submissions and commenting.

How do I sign up? (Top)

Creating an account is straightforward. Follow these directions:
1) Click here.

2) Enter a username and a valid email address.

These are very important; review both for errors before you click the CREATE ACCOUNT! button.

3) You will receive an email that contains an initial password and the URL that you need to activate your account.

4) Follow the URL and that is it.

Please note that you should probably change your password immediately to something that is easier for you to remember (see How do I modify my account?). Also, if you enter a bad email address, not only will you never receive an initial password, but you will also lock that username out of the system. This email address you give us will NEVER be revealed to anyone in any way, nor will this email address be shown on any articles or comments.

How do I log in? (Top)

Once you have set up your account, you can log in on the right side of the Sportscolumn.com home page by entering your username and the password that was provided to you. Please note (and this is VERY IMPORTANT): you must have cookies enabled in order to use your account.

Once you are logged in, you can modify your settings and change your password

Should I ever log out? (Top)

This is up to each user. If you are the only one using your computer/terminal, then feel free to stay logged in. It will make your life much easier and faster. However, if you share your computer/terminal, we would recommend that you log out. This will stop someone else from "fiddling" with your account, and in the end, save many headaches and problems from occuring.

How do I modify my account? (Top)

You can edit your user preferences and display preferences easily once you are logged in. Click on the appropriate link and follow the onscreen instructions.

You can modify the following user options:
Real email (keep this legit; all account related emails will be sent here)
Fake email (this is the address that will be displayed publicly)
Homepage (displayed in user info and comments)
Bio (displayed in user info)
Signature (attached to the bottom of your comments)
Public Mail Key (If you use a PGP/GPG public key for encrypting email, it goes here)
Account Password (your uh, account password)

You can also modify an assort of display preferences that will determine how Sportscolumn.com is presented to you.

What happens if I lose my password? (Top)

If you do lose your password, you can get a new one emailed to the "real" email address you originally gave us. Unlike other sites, we do not keep a plaintext copy of the password list. All our password information is kept encrypted. You can get a new password assigned to you by entering your username on the login on the account information area and then clicking the MAIL PASSWORD button.

Do not share your password with anyone else. Once you lose control of your account, there is very little we can do.

Will my account on forums.Sportscolumn.com work here? (Top)

Sorry, no. We are working to integrate the two systems but for now, you have to create a new account for the main site.

ARTICLE SUBMISSION QUESTIONS (Top)

What kind of articles should I submit here? (Top)

Well, the short answer is anything you find interesting. We do not get upset if we do not like your articles. In fact, if we do not like your article, but it was posted in all sincerity as something you thought was interesting, we will just leave it alone and let the users decide whether to post it or not (see What is the voting queue?).

The longish answer is anything related to sports, culture and entertainment, or stuff you think is interesting. Good writing on any topic is still good writing. However, think about the audience. They might be interested in a think piece on how Marcia getting hit with a football changed your life but probably not about the latest release of an obscure German art rock band.

Do not be intimidated by these guidelines, either. Read the site for a bit. If the articles that appear here interest you and you come across a article elsewhere that also interests you, chances are it will interest us too. We would rather have too many submissions than not enough.

In general, we prefer articles that have some meat to them. A summary of an article on another site, with only a one- or two-sentence statement of opinion added by you, is not usually preferred here (there are other places for that). We encourage submitters to extend their posts, and perhaps offer some insight or explanation as to why they thought their item was interesting, and what it means to us. As always, the readers will decide, so your job is to interest them in your article!

How do I submit an article? (Top)

Create an account (see How do I sign up?), or have an account already and log into it, and click on the SUBMIT STORY link.

Take the time to read the reminders on the story posting page. Leave the check box labelled "Request editorial feedback before voting" checked for now. You can and should preview your article before submitting it.

Article submission is a two stage process. Your article will initially be placed in the "edit queue". This is where all logged-in members of the community can view your article and make suggestions on it. These will range from correcting typographical errors and improving formatting to noting unclear sections and proposing topics to include or expand upon. While the article is still in the edit queue, you can edit it as you wish by selecting the story from the edit queue and clicking the "Edit Story" button at the bottom. Make use of this opportunity to do so, as people will indicate what you can change to help get your article posted. Articles that include errors and that appear to have spent little or no time in time in the edit queue tend to get rejected. Also note that as anywhere on the site, some of your responses will be from trolls (see What are trolls).

Your article can spend up to 24 hours in the edit queue. After this it will automatically be moved to the "voting queue". You can choose to move your article to the voting queue before it happens automatically by unchecking the box marked "Request editorial feedback before voting". Make sure you are happy with your article before you do so as you will no longer be able to edit it yourself once it is in the voting queue. Remember that the site has a global audience, so some of those who would give helpful feedback will not comment immediately.

As a matter of practicality, it is much easier (and much better) to write your story in a good word processor where you can spell check (and hopefully grammar check) your article before posting it. If you do not have access to a word processor, try using an online dictionary or spell checker. While decent spelling and grammar is not all-important, you will come under heavy fire for making mistakes in these departments. Our readers take a rather obscene delight in pointing out mistakes of these kinds. So make life easier on everyone and check your story thoroughly before posting it. Not everyone knows how to write. If you are one of those people, save us all some time and just read. Or get a good editor.

If you really need to make further editorial changes once an article has left the edit queue, see How do I make editorial changes to submitted stories?.

What goes into writing an article? (Top)

Each article has eight parts:

SUBMIT!

What should I really pay attention to? (Top)

Take note of the following important items to remember when writing your story:

How can I get help with writing articles? (Top)

Use the edit queue (see How do I submit an article) to have other users proof-read your article and suggest improvements.

What is the etiquette of the edit queue? (Top)

Your story will be better received if you show what are considered good manners as a story author.

It is considered good etiquette to post an editorial comment with your plans for editing the story. For example, if you will be working or sleeping for some of the time the story is in the edit queue, you should say you will not be able to respond to comments during those times so that other users do not feel you are simply ignoring any advice they give.

When you submit your story to the edit queue it may receive editorial comments. These are generally intended to help you improve your story, but the opinions expressed will certainly vary. Resist the urge to moderate editorial comments until after the voting process has completed, and remember your moderation should reflect the quality of the advice rather than your agreement with it. Criticism is to be expected in the queue, and as the author you are expected to be able to accept it.

How are articles sorted? (Top)

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 what topic and section it applies to. Almost all sections have a "General" Topic in case your story doesn't fit into a particular topic. And, there's always the All Other Sports Section. Here's a chart of all sections and topics.

How do I know when my story gets posted/dumped? (Top)

There are four easy ways to tell if your story has been posted or dumped:

What do I do if my story gets posted/dumped? (Top)

Well if your story gets posted - celebrate on a job well done. If your story gets dumped, you have a few options. You can forget it and get on with your life, you can rewrite it (and pay attention to any comments that might have been posted on your story) and then resubmit it, or you can find a new topic and write something else. No matter what, do not get upset that it did not get posted. Many great articles do not always make it first time.

How do I make editorial changes to submitted stories? (Top)

You can't. If the problem is serious, your best bet is to edit and resubmit. If you do find a few typos, you can send an email to the editors (editors@sportscolumn.com) and ask them to fix the typos for you.

If I want to resubmit, how can I see what I did wrong? (Top)

One your story has dumped, you will receive an email from the server. You can follow the link in that email and it will show you your story. You will be able to see the body of the article, all the comments, and also who voted what for you (try to refrain from revenge please). Of these, the comments are the most important, as often the reason the story was dumped is in the comments. Read all the comments, rewrite your story appropriately, resubmit it, and make a small sacrifice to the Submission Deity of your choice to get it through this time.

ARTICLE MODERATION AND READING

What is the edit queue? (Top)

Sportscolumn does not use an edit queue. All stories are immediately moved to the voting queue. Make sure your story is ready for publishing when you submit a story.

What is the voting queue? (Top)

Once an article has been written and edited, it is put into the voting queue. Members of Sportscolumn.com vote on articles in this queue to determine what happens to each. You are allowed to vote once on an article in the queue.

You have four options when it comes to voting on the moderation queue:

Choose this if you like the story, or feel it is really worthy of being on the front page of Sportscolumn.com.

Choose this if you like the story, but think it should be on the section page (not on the front page).

Choose this if you do not really care either way about the article.

Choose this if you dislike the article and feel it is not worthy of everyone's time. Please please please do not choose dump it simply because you do not like what the author is saying. Being a Cowboy fan doesn't automaticaly make the author a moron or make the article bad.

Once you have voted, this part of the page will change to reflect how you voted. Likewise, a list of who voted and how they voted will appear on the right side of the screen.

It is important to remember that, just because an article might not be about a topic you are interested in, it is not a reason to vote -1. Vote 0 if you are not sure. Likewise, if this article has "been seen before", or "I saw it on the other site", or any such similar thing, that is not a reason in and of itself to vote a story -1. Vote it 0 if you do not really care.

Once you have voted, you can see the current score of the story. There is a "post threshold" and "dump threshold" which are both defined by a mathematical formula based on the percentage of total registered users on Sportscolumn.com. Once the voting score reaches either of these two thresholds, the story either posts or dumps. If a story posts, and if it got at least 50% of its votes "+1 Front Page", it will appear on the front page. Otherwise it will go to the section page. Do not get upset if your story does not make it to the front page; it is very hard to get a story there.

How do I respond to a poll? (Top)

If an article has a poll, it will appear on the right hand side. Click on which option you want, and then press the vote button. To see the results of the poll, you can click just below on the view results button.

What are all the links on the right side of the article? (Top)

When a story is submitted, all the links in the story are collected and listed on the right side. This is just an easy way to quickly follow the links of a story to get more information on it.