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Re: [SUBMISSIONS EDITORS WANTED][5,000LTBc per column]

Actually, the editor selection and training process is temporarily on hold, as stated in the OP.

We have taken on around a dozen trainee editors for LTB and, after investing considerable time in getting them started, coaching them and all that (which slows down the actual editing), we've ended up with just a couple of regulars. That is terrible ROI.

The reasons are various, including people with real potential not bothering to read the instructions and screwing up.

We're rebooting the selection system and revisiting incentives to attract better editors and discourage time-wasters, even before the new editorial system is built out.

I'm locking this thread, at least for the time being. Watch for a new one soon.

Re: Have you contributed to an episode of LTB? Let us know how to get some LTBC!

@Cryptonaut I'm locking this thread. It has probably served it's purpose. Genuine inquiries can use PM. Feel free to open it up again if you disagree.

Re: Article on

@kerneloops

@wildjo @kerneloops I'm new to Trello and wondering how to navigate to LTB boards. No obvious way using iPhone app (raveling and don't have wifi for a bit). Any tips?

You'll have to get invited to the Editors Board, so assuming you want to try out becoming an editor, PM @rotalumis with your Trello name and he'll add you.

Actually, the editor selection and training process is temporarily on hold.

We have taken on around a dozen trainee editors for LTB and, after investing considerable time in getting them started, coaching them and all that (which slows down the actual editing), we've ended up with just a couple of regulars. That is terrible ROI.

The reasons are various, including people with real potential not bothering to read the instructions and screwing up.

We're rebooting the system and revisiting incentives to attract better editors and discourage time-wasters, even before the new editorial system is built out. Watch for a post soon.

Re: How long to hear back from an editor

@phobosbtc It was just looked at and sent back to draft.

Is there issues with markdown formatting and the LTB writing tool? none of my links were displaying and even this post from the front page only has about half the links displaying properly. http://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/post/lets-talk-bitcoin-136-the-head-or-the-horse-1 The ones not displaying properly are in the exact same format that it says to use here http://letstalkbitcoin.com/markdown-formatting and other places on the internet. This is how all of mine are displaying when I hit preview

From our editorial Trello board, I can see @cherapple also sent you some comments. If you are not able to address those issues after discussing them with her and asking any questions you have, a forum post would be a better platform to get the word out and start discussion on your meet-ups with the content you have currently.

As regards the formatting issues, there are still some quirks with the system to be ironed out. In particular, special characters like smart quotes etc. wreak havoc with the markdown.

Also, on occasion, I have fixed posts that looked okay in the wysiwyg editor but displayed badly by copy/pasting them into a new post.

Re: Why someone deleted my topic about "How to find the magic word" ?

Keep in mind that the reason for the magic words is not just to reward listeners and content creators, but also to get a more accurate idea of how many people are fully listening to (as opposed to just downloading) the different podcasts even outside of LTB, on Soundcloud and so on. Any cheating also messes with those statistics.

It's not a perfect system, but it's the most practical method we have come up with so far. Ideas for improvement are welcome, as always.

Re: How long to hear back from an editor

Yeah, me and @cherapple too. :) Adam's busy enough, haha!

Time to hear back from an editor is usually a few days or even sooner. It depends on a number of things, really. Sometimes there's nothing in the queue and at other times we're overwhelmed with a pile of posts coming in all at once.

Also bear in mind that despite training several people as editors (which also takes up our time) it's only a core of two or three regulars right now and they are all voluneers with just a nominal LTBc reward.

@phobosbtc I see you have a post in the system currently set to "draft". If you're waiting on that one, you'll have to set it to "ready" and then save that status, as per posting instrucions for us to get to it.

Re: LTB editing should be de-centralised

@mdw

The back and forth between writer and editor you describe is part and parcel of the system under development, which @adam described further up this thread.

The part we still need to work on to fully decentralize editing is this:

Regarding other Blogs The Front Page is going to become just that, a front page - Individual stories are going to be posted to specific blogs that operate within the LTBn ecosystem and the managing editor or front page curator will have access to a "Front Page" check box that if checked puts the piece's image/content card on the front page and opts-them in for the Proof of Publishing disbursement.

I would like to see the role of managing editor limited to overseeing that posts on the front page meet the LTB guidelines (no hatred, weapons, nothing illegal, and all that), and let the community curate the front page and decide what shows by means of up/down votes. We've been discussing how to implement this and the issues of people trying to game the system. When there is actual monetary reward for reaching the front page (and possibly also based on how long your article stays there) there is a huge incentive to cheat and the potential funds to pay others to help you.

Hopefully we can find ways to work around that.

Re: LTB editing should be de-centralised

@joeylucia I have to ask you once again to please be fair.

Your article was originally titled "Conventional Living - One Week of Bitcoin", and yet there was nothing about the week itself. There was no indication that it was to be a multi-part article and I only thought that might be the case because the intro was relatively long. However, I still understood you intended to start writing about your week in that same article, based on your title.

I had read in your application to become an editor a few days earlier that you were a professional writer and I didn't think I had to explain that your writing must deliver on the promise in the title (to talk about your week using bitcoin) or else your readers would be disappointed. All along, I was sure you knew that and thought it would be condescending to point out such a basic point as I do with other writers.

My impression was that you had probably pasted just the intro by mistake or inadvertently set the article to "ready" before completing it, and my original comments were based on that.

Re: LTB editing should be de-centralised

@joeylucia (cc @adam @cherapple )

I have just seen your OP and I have to say it is most unfair.

First of all, please bear in mind that taking on new editors and decentralizing editing is precisely why things move at a slower pace. Of the eight editors I took on as a first batch, only two were active last week, which is a bummer when you consider it takes way more time to get new editors started than to just do the editing yourself.

That is not the reason I said you're being unfair, though.

On July 18, Mike Roncone added your post to the editing Trello board. (The same day you uploaded it)

On July 19, I wrote to you in the editors' communication thread to say " it seems like you only have a short intro pasted in there."

What you resubmitted was no different. Still just an intro, just a little longer at around 600 words, if I recall correctly. Many people do that. They just make a couple of quick changes and resubmit and hope their article goes through. I frankly don't have the time (or inclination) to reply in those cases.

On August 9 Cheryl contacted you on her own initiative to find out where you stood with your article, and you replied that you had expanded it and would publish the rest in a second part.

On August 12, Cheryl reported that she edited the first part extensively and discussed it with you. She told me that it was still an introduction, and wanted to run it past me.

Your article is indeed longer, but in my opinion it is still an intro that lacks substance. Instead of adding more content and starting to talk about your week, you padded it out. What the piece boils down to is:

"My husband and I decided to try and live on bitcoin for a week in our hometown, so we bought some BTC (so as not to tap into our savings). Then we checked reddit for places to spend it. /r/melbourne were jerks. /r/bitcoin were cool. We also looked up Coinmap and tried a couple of test transactions to prepare for the big week."

That's probably not very interesting, compared to what the rest of your week on bitcoin must have been like. If it took you 1000+ words to say that (instead of the first couple of paragraphs), I have no idea how you plan to write about your whole week's experience in the last two parts.

I'm afraid you probably ought to think a bit about writing concisely and making every word pull its weight before you can get started with editing, Joey. I'm sorry to have to be so matter-of-fact about it.

Re: LTB editing should be de-centralised

@adam

@joeylucia

Thank you for your offer, I've delegated this part of the workflow to @rotalumis, I believe he's back now or soon (he was on a brief vacation).

That's right, Joey. @cherapple and I are working through the list of applicants. Thing is it takes a lot of time to test and train new editors, so we have to do it in stages.

In the meantime, keep in mind any feedback you get on your writing, as it will be helpful for when you're editing too.