Clarifying popular rules and unwritten culture

34d ago ... Hi folks, given that many rules have become embedded into the unwritten culture at TechSpy and other Newsboiler websites, this post should help clarify a number of issues that occur on a frequent basis. 1) ====Story Format==== - Title - Must be the same as the original story (minus words such such as BREAKING, EXCLUSIVE, etc.) Also it would be nice if you removed the exclamation points si...

No April Fools' Posts (with exceptions)

50d ago ... Hi guys, as customary, we don't allow blatant April Fools' posts, but you can submit: - A story covering XX company doing an April Fools' Prank where there is some kind of declaration in the story that it's a prank. - A story covering compilations of April Fools' pranks. Thank you.

Why Approving Posts Is Important

93d ago ... Hey folks, I know most of you all who contribute stories do it to promote your websites, which is all well and good, but given that TechSpy is mainly community driven, it's really important that you approve other stories from time to time. Approving stories is not a staff responsibility but we've been forced to do it quite a bit in the last month or so because no one else does. I'm sure you'...

The real problem behind CES

127d ago ... Being a first time attendee to CES, it's been quite the experience seeing the number of products on display by both small and big names. Even though a number of gadgets on display have actually been introduced some time before, it's still mind blowing to find out that they actually exist. Had it not been for CES, I might not have known about them otherwise. CES is obviously still a relevant...

Detecting Spam

152d ago ... Hey guys, I've noticed that even though spam posts occasionally get through the Pending Section, no one really takes note. Here are some tips to help stop spam posts from getting approved. 1) Actually read the story. It doesn't make sense just approving for approving sake if the content behind the link is not up to par. Just remember that while you may not fall for such a trap, there are oth...

Updated: Site Downtime

170d ago ... Hey guys, for those wondering what's going on with the site, we'd like to let you know that there is indeed a few bugs under the hood but top level administration is taking care of it. It will result in downtime for a few days unfortunately. We know you all are eager to get to your contest but we're making sure the experience is better for everyone in the long run. We apologize for any issues,...

Reviews: What are they?

179d ago ... Hey all, just a short post about posting reviews on Techspy. First of all, a review actually requires that the writer physically test the product under discussion. Basing posts of other reviews or just making assumptions based on specs does not count. It's pointless to do that because it doesn't give us the readers a true hands on opinion about the product. A company can boast superb specs,...

A World Where Computers Think For Us

296d ago ... Before you go any further, take a look at the video below. All done? Alright. With Google Glasses being the next big thing, I seriously fear for our present and future generation. Obviously with human evolution comes technological evolution as well, but shouldn't we draw the line somewhere? Instead of trying to navigate our way around a map, we now have GPS systems with the ability to plot r...

Technical Difficulties

332d ago ... Hey guys, Some of you (including myself) are experiencing technical difficulties when using the website. The top level admins are aware of the situation and working on it, so hang in there until it's sorted it. In the mean time, have a slice of cake.

Let's Get Approving!

398d ago ... Things have been slowing down a bit, so here's a friendly reminder to start managing again. This doesn't mean you should go out on a mass approving spree. Always check your stories before approving. You'd be checking for things like duplicate stories, the story's age, whether the link works at all, and the story quality (e.g. bad english, too short to be considered an article, etc.) Approvi...

TechSpy and April Fool's Day

415d ago ... Hey guys, I don't expect this to be a big problem but let's avoid submitting April Fool's stories. By the I mean stories that are crafted to seem real, but are just fake. (e.g. Richard Branson heading to the center of the Earth). If you'd like to submit posts about how to carry out some techy pranks or highlight pranks carries out by technologically-related firms and individuals, then that's...

Suggestions?

492d ago ... Hello fellow TechSpyers, as we get underway this new year, I'd like to open up a suggestion thread (here) so we can get some ideas on how to make the experience more enjoyable. I'd like to hear your problems and suggestions that you might think may be of benefit to TechSpy and the community. There is no guarantee that all the suggestions can be implemented, but we will consider all and put...

Why My Stories Sit In Pending Forever

505d ago ... Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, hope you guys had a good one :) Anyway, getting to the issue at hand, the usual PMs have come in where contributors complain of stories not getting approved in a timely fashion. This post should once again address those problems. TechSpy, like N4G, is a user driven community. The staff can't be the only ones doing major approvals to get things cleared out...

Story Description Rule Change

522d ago ... Hey guys, here's a quick rule change which will take place as soon as this blog post goes live. We're now asking that you include the name of the site stories are published from in the description for ALL stories. We understand that users were only required to include the name in the description for a limited number of scenarios, but we are taking a similar note to that of our sister site Fi...

TechSpy on Google+

561d ago ... Hey fans of the Goog, we now have our own Page on Google+ so make sure to put us in a circle to keep up to date with our daily stories. We'll also post about our contests and any other important announcements. Well what are you waiting for? Circle us! https://plus.google.com/113422119961655804663

Call of Duty: MW3 Steam List Exchange

561d ago ... As requested by a few members, feel free to post your Steam names so we can meet up for the launch of Modern Warfare 3. Post your username in the comments section if you like. Mine is: carthusiast - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BizzCat

Stories on the home page are old or My stuff isn't getting approved...why?

605d ago ... Hello my lovely members and guests, here is another blog post about community etiquette and well being. Recently I've been barraged by personal message gunfire and thought maybe I should once again express my viewpoints in a single place rather than explaining the situation every single time. ==Why do stories take so long to reach the front page?== I always get asked that and people m...

How to deal with a Failed Story

705d ago ... Are you a contributor? Has one of your submitted stories been failed? Do you feel like it did not deserve to be failed? Wish to get some more clarification? Rather than sulking and cursing the mods and admins at TechSpy, why not take some steps to find out why your story was failed, so maybe you could understand what and what not to do in the future. We are not out to target anyone or just remo...

Gaming and other content with regards to TechSpy

755d ago ... Hey guys, just making this post to help you guys clarify what is considered as acceptable content and what won't make the cut. Over the past few days, there has been quite a variety of content making it to the Pending Section, but a lot of it just couldn't make the cut, due to it not falling in line with what we focus on at TechSpy. If you remembered a while ago, N4G relaunched their websit...

Article Content Quality

770d ago ... Hey guys, just another blog post to clarify a few things and boost the standards around here. Recently, Syko restated the rules about submitting content, and mentioned that articles can be based off news stories to allow for new webmasters to get a chance in the spotlight, which is fair enough in my opinion BUT it seems users have been abusing that privilege by trying to pass off half-arsed...