I am going over the DKos community guide, and attempting to modify it to fit this site better. It’s okay… I volunteered to do this. Really!
And now I am volunteering everyone else to help 🙂
First thing I see we need to do is come up with our own community definition of what the Boo Trib is, and how we’d like it to be. Begin as you mean to go on, and all that.
I think there was a diary similar to this a long (internets-wise) time ago, but there are a lot more people now I think, and also it’s better to have it all in one place.
So… what is the Boo Trib Community, what standards for diaries and so on? Am looking more for a mission or vision type statement thing than nuts and bolts, I think. But both are welcome.
Your turn.
Diaries:
I love the variety of styles I see in diaries here. Some are very personal, others formal. Some have lots of HTML, others are straight text.
About the only thing I don’t like is a diary that has a big quote from an article, and that’s about it.
In the comments, I’m loose … about the only thing I don’t like is if someone is unkind to another person.
From my amazon review of the site:
Civility in the Frog Pond
I have been a regular reader of Booman Tribune since the site launched; recently becoming brave enough to post my own diaries. The quality of information found in the news stories and diaries is rock-solid, with several international contributors giving their take on world affairs. I have found the site to be extremely welcoming and on occasion, hilarious. There is a perfect mix of intellect and humor throughout the various topics in the Frog Pond. I highly recommend the Booman Tribune if you are looking for a blog that provides great political dialogue with a twist of international flair.
I have located some of the old diaries and comments on this topic. One thing some mention is the civility and the room to speak on various topics, not especially politics, without recrimination. So, those are a couple of things that can get mention as well.
Me, I want a [Discuss] designation or category for diaries, to indicate a topic not only looking for comments but for discussion and a possible solution or something like that.
We have lots of knowledgeable people here, and inquiring minds… eventually we can start putting out papers or something, on this or that topic. Or putting them in the Boopedia someone is likely to set up soon…
.
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
Yes but, first we need to have a BooTopedia for them to read, no?
(Dont’ look at me, I’m wiki phobic)
Probably too “mission statement-ey” in terms of language, but here goes…
A few examples: the Iraq war, stem cell research, Social Security reform, protecting the environment, women’s reproductive rights, balancing the budget, and finding a solution to the health care crisis. Of course, your favorite lines from the Big Lebowski, tales of your wild night with Jim Morrison, or the perfect mango mojito recipe are always a welcome addition to the mix!
These issues are clearly shared by thinking people throughout the world, and we welcome thoughtful discourse on these and other subjects here; in a free and democratic society, there is no one correct answer to most of the “big picture” issues.
BTW, I love the quality of the topics and writing here, the personalities and senses of humor, the variety in what turns up from day to day, and the way people can respectfully (gasp!) disagree on occasion.
and we all want to know where the hell the pizza man is.
Did you share with the kids, Boo?
They just left after putting pizza sauce between one of cat’s eyes, pretzel sticks in my couch, drinking all my juice, making the real BooMan lick and slobber all over them, using 100 napkins and 10 rags, forcing me to watch 2 hours of cartoons, demanding to use paintpad on the computer, and the 5 year old wrote a diary that was laced with so many references to butts that I couldn’t post it.
The best sentence? “You may be the President but I am going to take a shower because I just pooped my pants.” That’s verbatim, and he didn’t even understand that this is a political site!!
I’m exhausted.
the pink elephant on the front page. Natural progression!
“You may be the President but I am going to take a shower because I just pooped my pants.”
…Lord, that’s classic. I’ve been on the site 20minutes and I just found my first tagline. Thanks for that.
then no one does…right? LOL I intended to give mojo just to the really good suggestions, but in all fairness that applied to all of the above (well, not Booman’s, but he was just being silly). Good stuff, people! I endorse all your ideas.
Alan
Maverick Leftist
Can we take a line out of the AA preamble? There are no dues or fees. There are no rules only suggestions.
Part of the charisma and charm of this site is the lack of structure. You start setting things in stone and things start happening like grammer and spelling police, diary police. I have been here from day one and yes there has been some disagreements but quite frankly(especially compared to the flame wars at dkos)they have been quite mild and civil. Maybe I am wrong and you all feel we need more rules and structure but i love things just the way they are. Our mission is to come together and work out the problems we as a country are facing in these troubled times. Thanks for asking.
I agree. A good vision statement is broad and encompasses the soul of the product.
Amen brother!
.
I appreciate your take on this Alohaleezy, I made use of it and added some suggestions of my own for Nanette.
A Mission Statement?
Can we take a line out of the AA preamble? There are no dues or fees. There are no rules only suggestions.
Participants are young to old, excuse me, participation is exclusive to all young at heart, spirited and full of ideas.
Part of the charisma and charm of this site is the lack of structure. You start setting things in stone and things start happening like grammer and spelling police, diary police. Personally I have been here from day one, and yes there has been some disagreements but quite frankly, they have been quite mild and civil.
Maybe I am wrong and you all feel we need more rules and structure, but I love things just the way they are.
Our mission is to come together and work out the problems we as a country are facing in these troubled times.
Nevertheless, thanks for asking.
So, stop over and visit our site BooMan Tribune. The experienced blogger will recognize present authors by name, style and content of diaries. Many names you will not recognize, these writers dared to take their first steps here and are supported and encouraged!
The BooTrib community will not leave you wandering by yourself, it’s just too small not to notice you are having a lousy day and need some cheers and heads up. The newbie can expect a tap on his/her shoulder and have someone whisper: “Good for you. Let me introduce myself and who are you?”
You will not hear: “mind your step”, because all thresholds have been removed.
An excellent start to get to know the tiny community is my reading their own intros.
See the creativity of some more experienced bloggers and enjoy your stay —
Intro
Home in pictures
Debate
Economics
Environment
History
Passion and Emotion
Politics
Science
Travel
Women Matters
World
For those interested in rules, there is a listing of some no, no’s.
PS I hope you speak your languages because at BooTrib there is a distinct international flavor with wonderful diaries contributed by the world community.
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
I kinda like the rules for Fight Club, but I don’t think that would work well for advertising revenue.
Nanette, I thought I was a suck up. (Well. . .I am, but. . .just sayin’ 🙂
I tend to agree with not over structuring things. Because that seems to be one of the very good things about this site. When I started seeing the words “Mission Statement” and “Vision Statement” I got some really bad flash backs to my decades in Corporate America – and why I left. (Please don’t say “low hanging fruit”.)
But I guess all things should have a purpose, along with a general understanding of civility. (As in – play well with others and don’t be a dick)
Hey now! I’m not sucking up… i’m infiltrating! Soon the site will be filled with bad puns like “Get Your Boo’s Clues to Politics” and “Exclusive BooTips from HotTips O’Boolihan!” and… the frog will be puffy!(shhhhhh)
The “vision or mission statement’ stuff were my words, by the way, not BooMan’s. I didn’t mean to imply a structured thing, but more of an overall vision or just community feeling of what we want the site to be like. Remember, this is mostly going to be for new people coming in, and if they can get an overall feel for the (unstructured) general tone of the site, it’ll be easier on them and us. The civility for one thing, and and so on.
Ya know, I had no recollection whatsoever as to who wrote the words mission statement and vision statement, but as soon as I hit post I pretty much (well. . .just a little bit) regretted it, because I knew darn well that whoever posted the words did so with all good intentions. And there I was ruining it, just because. . . well just because. Please accept my comments with the good natured intent in which I wrote them (and I know you do!) And, in all seriousness, I admire your dedication to the site, and your willingness to take on the project. Really!
In reference to puns – I need to get mine out on the table right now before we’re infiltrated by the “bad puns” (because anything coming from members with IDs under 276 will all be good puns, of course). Having said that – For the past 6 weeks or so, I’ve been Tangled Up In Boo.
And I need to get my tail in the living room, because my husband just yelled for me to get back to watching “House” with him, and I told him I was finishing up a work project. (Ducks from lightening bolt) So I better get settled in because The Shield is on next, and I couldn’t have possibly strayed further off the subject at hand than I already have. 🙂 (But only because I wasn’t trying.)
In closing – what I meant to say was. . .Thank you very much for taking on this project, Nanette. You’re a highly valued contributor within this community and I appreciate your diaries, comments, and support of this site! (I’m about to get busted, so I need to log off for now – or quickly click over to the Word document I keep open for “emergencies” such as this 🙂
We are in the ->Blogging<- business.
Oh yech I remember that stuff.
Every time I heard “Always grab the low hanging fruit, first” I used to think of the World War One British marching song, “Baby, Do Your Balls Hang Low?”
Those who are testicularly challenged may not see the humor, of course.
a wide assortment of topics, made available for the edification of the public, at no cost whatsoever to the reader. No hidden fees, no inflated shipping costs, and never an extra charge for outrage!
From the “Manifesto” at the Global Conflict Forum
You can set up a free email account at any number of places. Please click privacy in the side frame of http://fijifree.da.ru for some helpful privacy links, but please be advised that due to law changes in the United States, their effectiveness may be limited, depending on your individual circumstances..
Attacking ideas as opposed to people is encouraged.
If your skill and intelligence level permits, please try to avoid attacking individuals based on their race, religion, gender, sexual preference, national origin, etc. If you are just not smart enough for that, do the best you can.
The only things that you may not do are threaten other posters, call for genocide, advertise commercial products or services, or post contact information of private individuals without their permission. (Obviously, public figures whose contact information is publicly available do not count.)
If for any reason you wish to contact the Fijian Military Forces, try these numbers: 380-738, 380-000, 380-894
You are welcome to impersonate public figures if that will make you feel better. link
in a word – open. According to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary,
Tenth Edition; #1:” having no enclosing or confining barrier: accessible on all or nearly all sides”…
Pretty good definition for me!
Thanks for being here, many voices are welcome.
I like the way we don’t attack like nerds on steroids every time someone makes a spelling or grammar error. It adds to the “kinder, gentler” atmosphere.
I suspect the spellcheck feature here helps this some, but I’m also guessing that our demographics would reveal a better educated crowd.
(Hey! I just ran spellcheck and it told me that “spellcheck” was spelled wrong.)
But older:
B. Franklin
Diary Policy
One of the features I like about BooTrib is the length of time a diary stays on the front page compared with, well, dKos. I also like the preference given to posters from outside the US.
I would really like to see both of these continue as the site grows in popularity and in the number of bloggers-on. For a number of reasons an overt policy of “Stifle Yourself” isn’t practical and, more important, antithetical to the whole point and purpose of BooTrib.
Could there be something added along the lines of:
Like a fine wine, some diaries need to slowly mellow and age to reach their full potential. For every diary entered a diary is lost from the front page. Please be courteous to those who preceed you as you would like those following to be courteous to you.
a good slogan
I suggest
‘talk or listen – you work it out’
‘We plan for serendipity’ ??
as in ‘conjuctive shit happens’?
In Synchroni City, no two street cars are ever the same
Are there any online video tutorials on the use of Bootrib comment preferences?