Ask the Guides, 2/17/2012

Some of my author trackers don't clear after visiting their site, and some do clear. I just considered it a fluke in the system and ignore it. Sometime I click the minus symbol next to their name and that clears the count.

Sometime I click the minus symbol next to their name and that clears the count.

I guess it's been awhile since I tried this, and I'm wrong here. It does not clear the count, it deletes the author. Sorry with tail between legs

Sorry with tail between legs

Lol, no problem.

I think I would argue probably not, in a way that's maybe analogous to the Miller Test:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_test

Yes, that means squishy and arbitrary, but context and intent matter, and the mods have certainly not shied away from squishy standards when they need them.

spiff:

Seriously. Not Sally, though. She's an almost perfect literalist.

I hasten to add, I'm describing her style, not judging it. Although it annoys me when she applies it to the tiny area of her domain of authority consisting of NV regulars who know each other and have long-time established conversational dynamics, when I contemplate the other 97% of her job I realize that that style is not only defensible, it might even be requisite.

There's squishy in explanation and there's squishy in application. I think both are firefighting tools available to the Newsvine FD.

(Now I kind of want to get green fireman's hats made with a NV logo, and send them to Tyler and Sally.)

Hi there,

Are the numbers that show to the right of the watchlist authors indicate their recent comments?

How do you remove someone from your watchlist?

Thanks in advance.

Thank you, Viki.

No stalk means you're still in the Greenhouse. One of the Guides should be able to spring you.

It looks like a glitch more than anything else? With that many seeds and comments for as long as you've been here even. there should still be a gray stalk with or without berries. I'd report it.

Thanks former pres:)

Viki @ 5.4

Thanks, I sent the report.

I have a feeling the contact form to report bugs does not elicit any response! I got strange emails after I sent a bug report when I ran into trouble uploading something that told me that the administration address was "undeliverable", then it told me it was sent, then I got well, no response! Maybe those messages get caught in the wind!

Okay, I see. Thanks, Viki!

Actually that's why a lot of sites send an automated "thank you for submitting" email when you use a form submission. It's nice to get confirmation that it was actually submitted correctly and that you're not simply talking to yourself.

Might be a good suggestion for the new platform. Actually the entire internal messaging system sucks.

The fact that Newsvine doesn't provide a link to reply to messages sent using the "contact author" form through their servers creates a dangerous situation - the only way to be safe and remain anonymous to other users is to go to the sender's column, and use the contact author form, which is kind of a pain in the ass. Since there's no simple, non time-consuming way to reply, most users just hit reply from their email so a lot of people have each other's real email addresses, which creates a lot of problems, as we've just seen.

This probably wasn't a priority to fix back when the Newsvine community was a lot smaller, but it really should be fixed now. I've already submitted this as a suggestion, maybe a few more people joining in on this one might move it up their list of priorities a few notches.

viki @ 5.7

I've sent two bug reports and still the bug remains. I agree with infohack, there should be a confirmation email when a bug report is sent.

I have also received a very nice email from one of the Guides saying that she personally reported the bug.

Accidentally, I discovered the 'bug' may be bigger than I originally thought. While I have no stem or vine after a lot of seeds and an article, I stumbled across someone who has 4 leaves on his vine and no seeds or articles. Yowsah! laugh

Let us pray for a bug-free new NV, shall we? It seems like the new NV is going to be very promising, I hope so anyway.

Also, I want to make sure people understand that if they use the Newsvine Mail/Contact Author feature to contact another Newsviner, their email address does appear to the person they are contacting (or whatever email address they enter into that field on the form).

That's a good point, I was only thinking about the recipient. That's even worse.

But I just tried a test, and it doesn't even need to be a real email address if you want to keep yours private. You can't leave it blank, and the entry does need to be in email form (xxxx@xxxx.com), but other than that you can enter anything:

Newsvine Mail

Add to contacts
To Infohack
Subject: Test
Name: Infohack
Email: nobody@nowhere.com

Message:
Test

NOTE: This user sent you this message via the Contact This Author link on your column. They do not have your e-mail address. If you choose to reply to them via e-mail, however, you will make your e-mail address known to them.

It's the person who is being contacted who is protected--the person who contacted them only gets their address if they reply.

And that's the same if they reply via Reply, or if they go to the column and send a Contact Author as a way to return the communication. If you speak, they know your address. The only privacy is when you are the one listening, if they use Contact Author to speak to you, and you have theirs, but they won't have yours unless you speak back, no matter what method you use.

I hope they change that language about privacy when they revise, if there is no change to how the Contact Author works. The language is misleading.

viki @ 5.12

I have a vine - with leaves!!!!

Thanks to all the guides who helped bring this about: you, Rottlady and Lauhal. What a team:)

Any grapes?

Aren't grape leaves what Eve wore?

Okay, I'll keep my hands off her leaves, but I still want to taste those juicy grapes.

thanks rottlady

I don't know, but every time you click it my dog giggles!

I don't know, but every time you click it my dog giggles!

I'm not even going to ask what that means. ☺

Pat N:

What's the RSS button do?

Here's an article that explains it fairly well.

In short, by clicking the RSS button on a friend's column you will get updates (via a "feed") on what he/she is posting on Newsvine without having to actually log on to do so. You can subscribe to feeds from newspapers, websites, bloggers, whatever.

You'll need a tool to take advantage of this. Some are free, some request a donation to use, some will cost you cool cash.

SharpReader, SnapFiles, Mozilla and so on offer free ones (or donation-request ones). There's one integrated into Outlook 2007 (and later). I use infoRSS 1.4.1 for Firefox; I also have headaches because of it. Sorry if I sound discouraging, but you might have to do some slogging and experimenting until you find the perfect RSS for you.

Awesome. Thanks for the help. I've heard of Mozilla before. Not sure when, where or why...but I remember the name.

One more question: Do you get the updates via e mail? I worry about using the RSS feature too much if you do. Clogged inbox.

Yes, depending on the RSS you chose, you can use your e-mail program to get your feeds.

rottlady, I used Google Reader for a while before I lost my mind and went with infoRSS. I just now took a peek back over there, and it looks like things have improved since I left.

If you want to try it, Pat N, you'll need to sign up for a Google account if you don't already have one, then just search for Google Reader. Once you get to the Reader page, you might find a whole lot of stuff there already. Look over on the left side, and click HOME - you'll find some "getting started" information.

Big plus for Google Reader: it's free.

I really appreciate all of this CrowMeris. I'll play with it a little bit tomorrow.

Ok, here's my question to PatN and Viki! I actually just posted it in the group talk section, but then I found this comment and am attaching mine to it.

How does the earnings part work? I have had increasing traffic to my column, and I got a few cents for my November earnings (my first month on Newsvine) and now it is February, and nothing has posted for December! I don't understand. My column should have generated a few bucks, not much, for that month, but there's nothing. Who is the person or department to contact for this issue? Thanks for any leads.

Which loosely translates into "Could be any day now, but don't hold your breath." :)

Thanks, Viki. I appreciate the info. I will do as ombra translates and not hold my breath! LOL!

"thanks" Viki !

Oh. This is how it works.

Thank you, Viki, and so fast, too. It looks like you have the night shift.

Thanks, Viki. I knew of the option, but was just unaware of this being one of the results of hiding your on-line status.

Sweet dreams.

Al-316

I just went to the page you made an example of above and l got...

Member Since: 8/2008Last Seen: 11/18/2011

It seems his last seed was Nov.7, 2011. I want to thank you for the FR awhile ago, as this is the first time l have seen you. Thank you very much. Nice to know you.

John, thanks for the info.

My guess is that knight-403565, is on your friends list, thus you see his "Last Seen" date. knight-403565, is not on my friends list, thus I am not privy to that info. This would would bear out Viki's explanation.

John, it is good to address you directly. I have noticed and read your comments for a while now and have found that we share common values.

Al-316

No, That person is not on my friends list, but that can be blocked too, but l did read the last seen date easily. I like to keep a small friends list, and not just accept everyone that sends an invite. Some, just send one because they see a name, there are a couple pending, because after perusing thier page, all l saw were political articles, don't need that clogging up my tracker. I have seen you also, on some of the NA articles, which l do have an interest in, and also health articles, and a few of my dear friends articles. Yes we do share some common values. looking forward to seeing you again.

Viki

kinda stuck in the midst of a lot of mud-slinging around here lately,

Saw it, but just observe. In my opinion, you handled it well, and w/class. Glad you saw our exchange pleasant. Thanks for the compliment.

Viki Babbles Gonia

I caught that "mostly" and l do understand.

On the above issue, l did that change 6 mo. ago, but when l went in there 10 mins. ago, l clicked save again and it notified me in the banner above that profile was updated, and l did save it when l originally did it about 6 mos. ago, and l have always seen the same on my column, but never asked anyone else, (a viner) to check it for me. And nothing, as far as online, or last seen, on your column at all, so yes maybe there is a bug. Thank you again, for checking. Really appreciate it.

John, I just checked your home page. I am not told if you are online or offline nor am I told the last time you were seen.

Hope this helps.

Viki (if l may call you that, l always like to ask)

Thank you so much for checking. l just checked it and l can see it, but you said that l would see it, if it was me, but not anyone else, is that correct? Now, l am going to post a different question below to see if you can help with that one too.

Al-316 Thank you so much for checking my page. Yes it does help.

Ok, this is another question.....

My friend js-445607 has an article up that was started in Sept. and has been continuously ongoing right up to today. There are, at last count yesterday, 16,025 comments on 82 pages. She would like to lessen the pages by continuing the article, but retaining the comment count of 16,025 to another article of the same title, (maybe #2). Is this possible? I am linking the article here, so you can take a look at it. Not sure if the link will take you to the page l am on now in the article (77), or the beginning, but here is the link.

http://jewel1944.newsvine.com/_news/2011/09/07/7653889-just-for-fun-what-slang-words-do-you-use-what-are-your-favorites?last=1329876998&threadId=3217116&sp=1900&pc=25#last_1

If you can be of any help it would be greatly appreciated, as it is getting harder to navigate. Thanks very much for your time Viki.

Thanks Viki, John is a very good buddy no doubt about it. We had considered what you have suggested so at least we were on the right track. I know the Slang Gang thanks you as well as John and I. This has been a lot of fun and our safe haven when play gets too rough elsewhere on the vine.

when play gets too rough elsewhere on the vine.

When? Anymore when is it not? :(

Al-316

Thank you for checking my page. l appreciate it.

Viki Babbles Gonia

Quite the article isn't it? I quoted your "Holy Moley" comment to JS. I brought the link w/your answer over there to the article for JS to read. Thanks again for your help, much appreciated.

And yes, I cannot see it. You can't see mine. But we can see our own.

Almost sounds like something another viner would say,(won't name names though) about a belly-button. Anyway, l thought that statement was kind of cute, and please don't take offense. It's nice to be invisible sometimes. And my profanity filter, which l turned off, got quite a workout in the last 2 weeks.

jfx @ #12

Hey, don't jump the line!

my³:

Of course I'll jump the line!

It's always about mememe!

Viki:

Well, er, ah ..... I kinda think I was exploiting a bug in the first place. If you have the Write window set on Normal, the only option you have is a Youtube video. But if you switch to HTML and throw in the embed code for other players, it used to work mostly.

Viki:

But why shouldn't the NV code include NBC/Universal embeds? Heck, the Today Show and other similar pages include video on NV-code threads, No?

If they allowed anything other than YouTube, they couldn't guarantee it wouldn't be porn.

They're letting YouTube/Google do their censorship for them.

is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, known to be false and presented as truth, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;

That seems rather speculative.

You're just jealous because you didn't think of it first.

Huh? It's a site bug.

You presented a theory. I just don't think it's necessarily accurate - there are tons of video hosting sites, I don't believe they would exclude all of them simply because of concerns over internet porn.

Just my opinion, I could certainly be wrong. Maybe you have some super-secret insider knowledge of the new platform. I don't claim to.

Huh? It's a site bug.

I think not. The text in the Add Video box is quite explicit:

Paste the URL to a YouTube video or the YouTube provided object code.

And the error message that comes up when anything other than a YouTube link is inserted is just as explicit:

We couldn't recognize the text you pasted.

...

I don't believe they would exclude all of them because of concerns over internet porn.

I don't why you would think that NV has to come right out and say that users can't be trusted.

Maybe you have some super-secret insider knowledge of the new platform.

Don't try to deflect by dragging NV3 into this. We're talking about the here-and-now. I might not have insider knowledge, but I do have intuition and common sense.

Platform feature.

No deflection, I simply misspoke. It was late.

The text in the Add Video box is quite explicit:

You are correct, I haven't used the video feature. Your title as the official keeper of knowledge of all things Newsvine is intact. It is, however, still pure speculation that it's about porn.

I find it much more likely that, since DMCA is aggressively monitored on YouTube and they have a system of automatic detection of uploaded videos that infringe copyright, it provides Newsvine with some insulation from legal liability.

That is, of course, also speculation.

SRO:

NBC/Universal has a custom player for their own videos. Unless they themselves are producing the porn they're afraid of, there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to embed them.

Info:

Same thing from a different angle. Since NBC/Universal owns Meet the Press, owns The Tonight Show and owns Newsvine, there's no copyright to be violated. They're selling the banner ads at the top of my page, paying expenses, then giving me the cut they said they would while keeping the cut they said they'd keep.

there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to embed them.

"Turf." The same reason why the FBI, the DEA, and the CIA rarely work together.

Thanks, Viki.

Viki, point well taken. I have been doing it, but I will stop immediately.

Now, I will have to call them on the phone. lol

pog:

I'd use "politics." In fact, as Luke Wright will attest, putting political/election stuff under "u.s. news" is a bad habit. IIRC, Sally gave him a week off for doing so repeatedly.

I'd say the "obama" tag is okay. Anything about the presidential election is pretty much about obama or his competitors. At any rate, that's how I've been tagging most of my election items and no complaints yet.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I considered the article a personal religious rant and couldn't figure why it came up on my reading list except for being under "us-news."

Thanks again - this column is great! I don't really want to get the person in trouble, I'd just like it not to be done by that person or others. And I don't want to overload any moderators, either. I'll think about reporting it. Oh, bother. Then I'll have to see how to do that.

Thanks again! Duh, I don't know how I missed that, but I don't plan on doing it very often. I feel sorry for the moderators here and am grateful for any guides and people like you.

I'd love to see a Help forum, where users can help each other out, and also search topics where they might find an already stated answer to their question.

Isn't that what meta is for?

next question I find confusing is why isn't the word guide next to your name Viki. Even if you are the author shouldn't you also have a the word guide and compass on that line?

We were working on writing a more comprehensive Help section and FAQ. I don't know what happened to it,

Emily was working on that, but... My, how time flies...

I'd love to see a Help forum,

The only one that's linked to by the Help button is Brian Ford's Newsvine Primer article.

it seems that B.R.I.A.N.F.O.R.D. really know his Newsvine if he also has a primer article.

Arnold - See 3.3, or click the (-) sign next to the author or group in your watchlist.

Thanks - I'm working on it now. I had been trying to open the Watchlist, itself, and Account Settings, and just all sorts of unnecessarily complicated stuff.

I appreciate the help.

On a separate subject, Viki, I think you did a fine job with the latest meta explosion (Dennis, PatN, etc.). Lots of harsh words, hurt feelings, and accusations. I've followed this from pretty much the start, and I sure hope it's finally wrapping up. I've never really understood gratuitous meanness and pot-stirring, and there was a lot of that there, too. You really helped to keep the level of nastiness from spiraling out of control, in my opinion.

Do you even get paid for doing this? I sure hope so.

Viki:

Don't thank him yet:

:^{)>

Viki:

I'm just teasin'. Things feel quiet.

Shhhhhhh...

I like it better quiet...

Now that feeling I can remember....

Fortunately here, I don't have to take anyone to the hospital.

Top of the Vine

Comment 11.8 says one article had 82 pages and 16,025 comments and is still going.

I don't know of anything that's beat that.

And I was wrong...

ombra - Do you mean that you actually did have to take a trip to the hospital tonight?

No, that was from when my children were young, and my son's nickname was Crash. If it got too quiet, he was up to no good and usually got hurt.

He's being rewarded for all that now. He has his own children. :)

Okay, good. When you said, "And I was wrong..." I was afraid there had been some unpleasantness.

As for "Crash," in the small town where I grew up, my little brother gave the local emergency room plenty of opportunity to practice treating closed head injuries. Nearly killed him twice, and he spent time in the hospital on a handful of other occasions. No sense of personal danger whatsoever.

The "I was wrong" referred to my answer to the most comments article. SRO got the correct answer.

Sir Richard, Thank you.

My nickname has always been "Buzz" (actually it was "Buzzy" in the beginning). How did you get from "Crash" to "Babbles"?

Learned to talk?? :D

Thanks rottlady. Your advice was so clear, I followed it, and now it is gone.

It was so obvious that I feel stupid, but you made me smart. Thank you, my friend.

Click to the black bar where it says "account." On the left side there is a list of options, one is "password." Click there and you will have to sign in with your current PW then you can change to a new PW.

thanks, but it said "oops an error occurred". Did not have any other tabs or windows relating to NV at the time either.

That's weird because I tried it before making the comment. Did you try again? The error could have been a hiccup. OR You do have to be logged in before hitting account. When you click on password you have to enter your PW a second time.

must of been a glitch tried it again now it works.

Good. Now what is your new password? I promise to keep it secret. ;-)

wtfismypassword

about right I almost forgot it this morning.

See the number in your comment to the bottom left (24)

Mine should be 24.1. And the reply word should disappear in your comment box.

Comments run sequential to your comment if the person clicks the "reply" word before posting.

The very first comment is the beginning of thread 1 and the following comments in that thread are 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and so on. If you want to reply to a comment on thread 1 you will click on the last one in that thread. Each thread has a new number. You will see the first and last comment on each thread have a reply cloud.

You comment is the beginning of thread 24. I clicked on the reply on your comment and mine is 24.1. If I had not clicked the reply, mine would have started a new thread 25 and would not have made sense hanging out there by itself. Hope this helps.

Buzz @ 25: One way to make sure your response can still be relevant to the original comment is to first of all put in block quotes the words to which you are responding, but if those words are ones with which you disagree, then those word show up as if they are your own comment on your personal column (which is a problem of which I complained long ago). Better to start your comment by directing it to the number of the comment to which you are responding, and the name of the origninal commenter.

Good point, Buzz. I noticed that a while back. Couldn't figure out why my comments were showing up opposite of my views until I went to the article. Now I try to remember to use the person's name or comment #.