Given this
cool diary by Jotter, it seemed like a good starting point for a series of meta diaries this week laying out the site's "Official Guidelines".
It pains me to write the word "official", since this site was always very organic in self-governance, without a strong hand from dKos HQ. But given the site's growth, it was inevitable that something more official had to be put together. And with the help of the irregulars and me, DavidNYC put together the guidelines that I'll be rolling out throughout the week and adding to the dKosopedia.
But I'd like to make one big sweeping statement about diaries. Many people criticize the Recent Diaries list for scrolling through so quickly. They feel that their content doesn't get fair play on the site's homepage. Jotter's numbers in that diary confirm that -- the site averages 248 diaries a day, most of them I'm sure crammed in during the daylight hours. There's a lot of noise to break through, and as such, many people begrudge those diarists that have developed "star" power on the site (Jotter lists those people out as well).
But here's the fact -- every person who has risen to a position of prominence in the diaries started with the exact same limitations and challenges. Everyone on the site has equality of opportunity. If your words resonate with enough people, chances are you'll separate from the masses. If not, then you won't. It's like anything else in life. And even if you're not one of the star diarists, opportunities to shine exist and happen all the time. From Jotter'sdiary:
Interestingly, of the 117 [most recommended and commented] diaries shown, corresponding to 5% of total diary impact, 90 different authors are represented. Of these 90, only 35 are on the list of 117 top impact authors.
So people can stand out from the crowd when their content warrants it. But generally speaking, no one has a right to be read or heard. You have to earn that respect. If you are writing for personal accolades and fame then you have absolutely the wrong motivation. The same goes for bloggers in general.
But note that even 30 minutes on the Daily Kos recent diaries list represents 25,000 visits during normal traffic hours. That's not insignificant. But people's expectations have become corrupted by the success of a few. And while that is inevitable, it's also a bit tragic. The beauty of the blogs and this site is that you have a voice and can share it with the world. There is intrinsic value in that whether 10, 100, 1,000 or 100,000 people read you. And given the fierce competition in the media lanscape (online, offline, and broadcast) for reader and viewer attention, getting anyone to focus on your material is still a remarkable accomplishment.
Without further ado, the "new" Diary guidelines are below the fold.
DAILYKOS DIARY GUIDELINES
- All users are limited by the system to one diary per calendar day.
- New users cannot post diaries for one week after an account has been created.
- "Intro" box for new diaries has a three paragraph limit. If you exceed that limit, use the "Extended Body" box for the remainder of your diary.
- Diaries should be substantive. A good guideline is that if you don't have at least three solid paragraphs to write about your subject, you should probably post a comment in an open thread, or in a recent diary or front-page post that covers a topic relevant to what you wish to write about.
- Copying and pasting complete copyrighted articles without permission from the copyright holder is absolutely prohibited by both this site's policies and copyright laws. Copyright infringement can expose both you and the site's owners to financial liability. Just don't do it. And if you see someone else doing it, please politely ask them to edit their diary accordingly. This is a bannable offense.
- Limited copying within the bounds of the doctrine of "fair use" is permitted. A reasonable rule-of-thumb is that copying three paragraphs from a normal-length news article or editorial is acceptable. (This, however, is not a safe-harbor. If even three paragraphs seems like "too much," then copy less or nothing at all.) For more on fair use, please visit this site.
- When you quote material that is not your own, please provide a link whenever possible. Also, use the blockquote tags to set off the copied material so that your writing is distinct from the material you are copying. For more on HTML tags, click here.
- Hotlinking images without permission is prohibited. Hotlinking means using the [img src] tag to display an image on a diary which is hosted on someone else's server. Hotlinking, especially on a site as popular as this one, can cost people real money in bandwidth costs. It's essentially stealing. If we get complaints from sites about images being hotlisted, we will consider that as possible grounds for banning.
- Duplicative diaries are prohibited. Please scan the recent diaries and front-page posts before starting to compose your own diary. This rule operates on a sliding scale. A repeat diary with minimal analysis or originality (particularly on "breaking news" items) is prohibited. Such diaries are subject to deletion without notice. But if you write on a recently-covered subject and provide original analysis or research, that is acceptable and in fact welcome.
- If you receive a reasonable request from a fellow Kossack to delete your diary (i.e., your diary is duplicative as per above), please do so.
- Cross-posting from your own blog is welcome. Remember, though, that you can only write one diary a day at Daily Kos.
- Diarists are strongly encouraged to back up all assertions with facts (and preferably links to supporting materials) whenever possible. Use reputable sources whenever possible. If you can't find a reputable source that supports your position, then perhaps reconsider writing your diary.
- As a corollary, diarists should always make it clear when they are expressing an opinion - please do not assert opinions as facts, as this tends to be needlessly inflammatory.
- Diaries which engage in wild speculation without any proof are strongly discouraged. Repeatedly posting diaries consisting largely or entirely of wild speculation is an abuse of site policy. Bear in mind that that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
- Diaries which contain hateful or defamatory writing are prohibited.
- Diaries which are deliberately designed to inflame are prohibited.
- Deliberately inflammatory titles, or titles which contain attacks, are prohibited. Also, while this site doesn't prohibit profanity, please think very carefully before using any curse words in a diary title.
- "Calling out" other site users by name in diary titles is prohibited. Diaries which "call out" another by name tend to needlessly inflame. If you feel compelled to address another user's comments or diaries in a diary of your own, please do so cautiously. Avoid ad hominems and stick with substantive, constructive criticism only.
- Some topics which tend to make for poor diaries: Breaking news. Something you just saw on a TV show. Something currently on the front page of a major news site (eg, New York Times). Something currently on the front page of a major blog (eg, Atrios).
- What makes for a good diary: Anything which showcases original research or original analysis. Political calls to action with substantive information on how to get involved. News (plus analysis) on interesting/relevant topics that are not widely discussed.
- Diaries on contested Democratic primaries: Be positive. Make an affirmative case for your favored candidate. If you do criticize a Democratic candidate, don't make ad hominem attacks - stick to substantive criticisms, and back them up with hard evidence. Be very cautious if you go after a fellow Democrat. Odds are, that candidate will have supporters on this site. Reasonable people will accept reasonable criticism - unfair criticism will only needlessly inflame. And remember, deliberately inflammatory diaries are prohibited.
- "Open Thread" diaries: Diaries designed to serve as "open threads" for discussion on major, breaking events (such as a speech or hearing) are permissible. Please provide links to information about the events (such as news articles or webcasts) in such diaries. Do not post duplicate diary open threads unless an earlier open thread exceeds 150 comments.
- When writing a diary on a political race, prefixing the title is always helpful. For example: FL-Gov (Florida governor's race), NY-Sen (New York senate race), CA-25 (California's 25th congressional district race).
- Do not use ALL CAPS or exclamation marks !!! in diary titles.
- Do not put "Please Recommend" or similar language in diary titles.
- Please read an entire diary before hitting "Recommend." Recommending based on just the first few paragraphs or the author's name is strongly discouraged.