My personal theory is that the root of many of our problems at dKos these days is the sheer volume of the diaries, which has overwhelmed the low-key "community policing" and in-diary debunking of the past. So I'd certainly like to see a decrease in "repeat diaries," but just saying "No repeat diaries" and "Follow the rules" isn't going to do that.
In fact, over and over again, those who post repeat diaries are rewarded here with a slot on the Recommended Diaries list.
here's what happens in the "real world" here at dKos. A topic or bit of news gets posted as a diary; it gets 6 comments and disappears. Another diary on the same subject is posted an hour later; it gets 3 comments and disappears. This happens 4 times, 5 times, 6 times -- and then, TA DAH, one of the repeat diaries -- not necessarily the best-written or the most original -- maybe it's been written by "a name diarist," maybe not -- gets posted to the Recommended Diaries list, and the larger group of Kossacks gets to read it, and comment. This is a good thing (that the larger group gets to read something important, I mean).
Sometimes, these "repeat" diaries aren't even officially "repeat diaries" according to "the rules": in the FAQ it says, to check "within the last 20 diaries or so" to make sure your diary isn't a duplicate. So, if your Recent Diary list is set to display 50 diaries, you could theoretically see 3 diaries all on the same subject that were technically NOT "repeat diaries" under the current rules, because they ARE following "the rule" of being at least 20 diaries apart.
Also here's something unclear on the most important list of "rules" -- the ones on the "Submit New Story" page:
"If it's been blogged or diaried, there's no need to repeat it."
Technically, that means any topic or subject or bit of news only gets 1 chance on the Recent Diaries list -- and if the diary scrolls by unnoticed or not well noticed, oh well, that's the end of the line for that topic of conversation on dKos. It's been diaried; no need to repeat it. OBVIOUSLY, that's not the things really work around here, so why wouldn't any new diarist just ignore that rule, so clearly unenforced 90 percent of the time?
If you're going to have and enforce "the rules," shouldn't they be clear and fair and understandable?
As it is now, we've got a weird amalgam of: outdated rules that get ignored; unrealistic rules the breaker of which is sometimes dissed and sometimes rewarded; unwritten rules (no "conspiracists"); and "enforcement" done intermittently and subjectively.
Personally, I don't know how the hell you fairly enforce a content-based prohibition banning "conspiracists," but a first step would be to get the less controversial "rules" in order.
suggestions
- default display of Recent Diary List should be set to 50.
- default setting of Search function should be set to "Diaries" instead of "Stories" -- I'm convinced the many who plaintively say, "I searched for it!" are unknowingly searching front-page stories, not diaries.
- FAQ and Submit New Story pages need to be edited, updated and corrected (typos, too).
- Does anybody really need to post 14 diaries a week? Sure, sometimes somebody needs to post 2 diaries a day. How about 2 diaries a day is OK, but adding a limit of 6 diaries a week (or whatever).
- How about increasing the wait before a new diarist can post until 2 weeks? Having a 1 week limit, already means any burning issues the diarist came here to post will likely be "out of date" anyway by the time posting is allowed.