Ask the Guides, 4/17/2011

We're here to help in whatever way we can.

If your issue is technical, you should consider going ahead and submitting a bug report by clicking "Report bug" and choosing "Report a bug" from the drop-down menu. Bug reports go directly to the engineering/tech team and have diagnostic information attached to better enable the team to resolve the issue.

9 votes

#1 - Sun Apr 17, 2011 6:58 PM EDT

We're here to help in whatever way we can.

Umm...I have this rash...

10 votes

#1.1 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:11 AM EDT

rottlady

Is it a rash of trolls?

8 votes

#1.2 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:11 AM EDT

Is this a pimple, or is it a boil?

7 votes

#1.3 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 10:12 AM EDT

It's a boiling pimple.

6 votes

#1.4 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:47 PM EDT

Well, with all of the earthquakes and volcanos erupting, it's certainly not surprising.

4 votes

#1.5 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:50 PM EDT

Help me. Please help me.

3 votes

#1.6 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:20 PM EDT

I'll be right over. Beer or wine?

3 votes

#1.7 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:23 PM EDT

Beer and whine, please.

3 votes

#1.8 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:42 PM EDT

If it (I'm thinking of giving it Glenn for a name) should itch, should I patpatpat or just go for it and scratch?

2 votes

#1.9 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:43 PM EDT

Scratch. With a hairbrush. Sweet relief.

4 votes

#1.10 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:50 PM EDT

You are wise. I will secretly steal my girlfriend's softest hairbrush, engage in orgy of scratching, then surreptitiously return said brush to her dresser drawer.

2 votes

#1.11 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:12 PM EDT

A most excellent secret pleasure.

2 votes

#1.12 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 1:34 PM EDT

Frank-5639384

One question that's come up a lot is: what happened to January 2011 earnings? I've had $0.00 earnings in the past, but there was no information at all about January and no official response that I've seen. Now the February distribution has come out, so it's no longer a matter of just waiting for January's results....

8 votes

#2 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 10:59 AM EDT

One question that's come up a lot is: what happened to January 2011 earnings?

I noticed that myself. I sent admin and email this morning asking what happened to January.

I Know we had a January because I posted 3 articles and 22 seeds that month.

6 votes

#2.1 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 1:12 PM EDT

Gas Pants Press

I have neither January or February earnings posted yet, 0.00 or otherwise. I am still looking at December 2010. I have sent 2 emails to staff inquiring about this and both emails have gone unanswered. I guess I should just shut up and be patient. Right? Maybe this is not the mandate or purview of our Guides, but perhaps they have heard something through the Vine? Could they throw a rock at the windows of the higher ups on our behalf? I know others have this same nagging question.

4 votes

#2.2 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:45 AM EDT

Hi guys, I've been throwing rocks. Hopefully, there will be an answer to this question pronto.

4 votes

#2.3 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:06 AM EDT

I have neither January or February earnings posted yet, 0.00 or otherwise.

The more questions we ask the more questions are raised.

I have seen the February distribution posted since Sunday (4/17) but no January. (?!)

2 votes

#2.4 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:44 PM EDT

Were your February earnings really low? It's possible (and this was raised on another thread) that the January earnings were so low as to be negligible.

Let's keep this part of the UA in mind:

Further, we shall have no obligation to pay User Earnings or Referral Earnings until and unless such earnings exceed $10 in the aggregate. All payments will be made in U.S. dollars by PayPal where possible or otherwise by check or other method selected by us.

3 votes

#2.5 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:15 PM EDT

Frank-5639384

February earnings were nothing to write home about, but as I mentioned, I've had "$0.00" distributions before. It's as though someone forgot to run the distribution script for January.

The UA clause you cited seems to relate to payouts, the actual transfer of money, rather than distribution, or recognition of earnings. The UA does state

We further reserve the right to change or discontinue the payment of Earnings or Referral Earnings at any time. Your continued use of our Site and maintenance of an account with us after any such change will constitute your acceptance of the new terms. In the event that you do not agree to such change, your sole and exclusive remedy is to cease using the Site and to terminate your account with us

...but this doesn't seem to apply since there was a distribution for February's earnings.

3 votes

#2.6 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:26 AM EDT

Were your February earnings really low?

Does that really have a bearing? I've had a month when I earned $0.00, and it was posted. I would interpret the portion of the UA you posted re; "....in the aggregate.", to mean the mininum payment they will pay out via paypal must be more than $10.00, not the minumum they will post.

Could it be that the "February" posting is a typo and it is actually the January distribution that is showing?

6 votes

#2.7 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:48 AM EDT

A side comment -- #2.7 currently shows the checkmark for my vote, but the number tally is zero. I've seen that maybe a dozen times over the past (month?)

ok--edit mode--it corrected. But there's a screw loose.

5 votes

#2.8 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:18 AM EDT

shows the checkmark for my vote, but the number tally is zero

I see that all the time, I think it's just be a delay until the system can record your vote.

I'm more concerned about how Soph0571 on the Past 3 Month Leaderboard can show 16,237 Votes Received and only 90 comments received.

The numbers seem to be backward for all the Newsvine members and posted correctly for all the msnbc members. There are 6 msnbc staffers on the current 3 month board, and IMO their contributions don't seem to warrant the rankings they are holding on that board. See for yourself.

4 votes

#2.9 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:44 AM EDT

Sorry, I really can't answer because I just don't know at this time and don't wish to engage in spewing a bunch of hypotheticals lest they be taken as fact.

As far as the leaderboard, I don't know what's up with it. I do know that tech is aware of the issues, and I do believe that there are some changes afoot that will likely clear up some of the technical issues you've indicated experiencing.

3 votes

#2.10 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:55 PM EDT

Gas Pants Press

We further reserve the right to change or discontinue the payment of Earnings or Referral Earnings at any time.

I am guessing this is what they did to me (see my comment above at 2.2).

I would think it a professional courtesy to inform active and well-behaved participants if and/or why earnings are discontinued. I have my own guess, and it is not flattering to Newsvine: my earnings are amazingly stuck at $24.99. Just a coincidence I'm sure.

3 votes

#2.11 - Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:40 AM EDT

Again, the hypotheticals don't help.

Let's please keep this thread for questions regarding the use of Newsvine.

4 votes

#2.12 - Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:19 AM EDT

Tumbleweed58

#3 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 1:01 PM EDT

Do you have a question?

#3.1 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:06 AM EDT

Do you have a question?

I think that may actually be one of Administrations answers.

#3.2 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:51 PM EDT

I don't know what that means, either, Jerry.

#3.3 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:16 PM EDT

...Someone who wants to Track this article, but doesn't want to have to scroll all the way to the bottom to click the Start Tracking button.

4 votes

#3.4 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 1:27 AM EDT

On March 6 I sent an email to admin pointing out that the leaderboards are not properly reflecting the "Comments Received", and have not been doing so since last December when there were massive problems with the Leaderboards.

At the time of this posting the Past Week Leaderboard is showing me receiving 168 Votes and only 1 comment. It shows Soph0571 (in #2 position) with 1583 votes and 0 comments. (which is all but impossible)

Yet Carrie Dann, (in #1 position) an msnbc staffer, is shown with 351 votes and 5968 comments.

There have been other strange things going on with the Leaderboards since the December meltdown, mostly relating to missing ranking positions and unusual and seemingly distorted ranking of members, all which btw, began to occur around the time they started blending msnbc staffers into the Newsvine leaderboard.

6 votes

#3.5 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:38 AM EDT

On 29Mar I sent this via Report A Bug

"Over time, the far right column of Comments Received never seems to be turned on. Granted, I rarely check, but perhaps I need to bring this to your attention.
Right now, I show 0 Comments Rcvd for the week, and 3-month cumulative total of 20. Yet articles posted:
31Jan = 34
05Feb = 40
14Feb = 22
17Feb = 18
01Mar = 12
08Mar = 14
27Mar = 1
27Mar = 42
total = 183
Does this affect the formula for our monthly payout, because it's been doing this all along. Can you take a look?"

.........................

Say -- I wonder if MSNBC got paid Jan/Feb. Maybe we just all show up as zero comments -- and it's not about advertising revenue at all.

6 votes

#3.6 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:25 AM EDT

...Someone who wants to Track this article, but doesn't want to have to scroll all the way to the bottom to click the Start Tracking button.

That's very clever.

2 votes

#3.7 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:49 AM EDT

Mmm, it's not that clever. It's actually a little annoying (no offense). Just scroll down and click the button. At the time that comment was left, there weren't very many comments on this thread.

Also, I really don't think that msnbc.com staffers get earnings.

1 vote

#3.8 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:58 PM EDT

Mmm, it's not that clever.

Yeah, but it's progress. Maybe one day they'll discover that the End key is quicker than scrolling all the way down, and that the Home key will take them back to the top. Or that the Page Up and Page Down keys deliver better results in some situations than scrolling.

Also, I really don't think that msnbc.com staffers get earnings.

Probably not, but their inclusion on the Leaderboard is another indicator of the assimilation of Newsvine into MSNBC which will culminate in Newsvine's eventual demise.

Still got your day-time job, right?

7 votes

#3.9 - Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:49 AM EDT

Scott (Scoop) Butki

if they're too lazy to go to the bottom of the page to click track they can always just save the piece to the column so they don't forgot to look for it. That's what I do.

At the time of this posting the Past Week Leaderboard is showing me receiving 168 Votes and only 1 comment. It shows Soph0571 (in #2 position) with 1583 votes and 0 comments. (which is all but impossible)

That IS odd.
I noticed Soph moved ahead of me for the lifetime chart which is pretty amazing when you look at how prolific those just above and below her and me are.

3 votes

#3.10 - Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:40 AM EDT

When a person hits the reply cloud then decides not to leave a comment or that they are in the wrong spot, they don't know how to get out. Some will say oops or wrong place. Others leave a period. It's not clever, it's part of the "not knowing how to do stuff in NV." There are no instructions and no guide book. The guides (thanks you guys) are available but unless someone knows what a guide is or has run across an article like this, it's all guess work.

6 votes

#3.11 - Thu Apr 21, 2011 2:42 PM EDT

warrior wheatman

"not knowing how to do stuff in NV." There are no instructions and no guide book. The guides (thanks you guys) are available but unless someone knows what a guide is or has run across an article like this, it's all guess work.

Excellent. Back in the days ... The greenhouse was where you found answers; now it is full of adds and stuff.

1 vote

#3.12 - Sun Jul 31, 2011 1:50 AM EDT

The Greenhouse is now what it has always been--where new user's seeds and articles are listed. New users are kept there to help keep spam users off the rest of Newsvine. It's never been a place for answers.

Perhaps you're thinking of Newsvine Help.

5 votes

#3.13 - Sat Aug 13, 2011 3:11 PM EDT

luckydog

That IS odd.
I noticed Soph moved ahead of me for the lifetime chart which is pretty amazing when you look at how prolific those just above and below her and me are.

Well Scott, at least you are receiving comments. With 230 seeds in the last 3 months, according to the leaderboard I have received 3 comments. The stats on the leaderboard are absurd as is the earnings which is now 2 months later than usual nor the ridiculously low amounts that users have reported. All help requests (from me at least) are met with an eerie silence. It is almost like nobody is home anymore.

I do appreciate the help the guides give but apparently they are held at arms length by newsvine as well. As long time users and contributors I believe we deserve better.

6 votes

#3.14 - Sat Aug 13, 2011 3:59 PM EDT

Can we celebrate April Fools Day more than just one day a year? The event we did this year was super fun and I wanna do it again!!

Or maybe have more "special event days" where lots of people post on the same topic, like 500 articles on earwigs.

5 votes

#4 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 2:22 PM EDT

js-445607

belle I agree April Fool's Day has never been quite as good as this year. What amazing talent we have among us!

I could write on earwigs...oh how the creep me out and I hate it when they congregate in the damp rag mop!

5 votes

#4.1 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 3:47 PM EDT

Can we celebrate April Fools Day more than just one day a year?

KYPIAKOC had an April Fools article he transposed in the group called The Great Fun House Debate where articles can be posted for satirical commentary and banter.

It's a great group you may want to join.

4 votes

#4.2 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 10:47 PM EDT

Oh I'm there...I just want more opportunities for Stewart and Mikey to give me interviews :)

3 votes

#4.3 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:48 PM EDT

You can do whatever you want. I'd restrict that kind of thing to a group, however. 500 articles on earwigs flooding the front page would be annoying, frankly.

#4.4 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:08 AM EDT

How about 500 articles about how great Viki is and how Stewart and Mikey want to rub their stuffing all over her?

2 votes

#4.5 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:09 AM EDT

I have a question. Say I want to read a comment on an article I wrote last year. Since it timed-out off my front page, under "show more" I have to enter month-by-month of Articles and go thru them until I find it. Or -- I often go to "Edit Article" and filter it down to "Articles" so I can locate the date -- then return to the "show more" so I can select the correct month. Isn't there a more direct way?

6 votes

#5 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 4:15 PM EDT

I also resurrected an article I did last year about the father that ran over his daughter, "HONOR KILLING". I too had to go through my history page until I found it. Needed to do an update because the father was just given 34.5 years.

Yes, sometimes we seed or write articles that people would like to have an update on. Is there a way to streamline this search?

4 votes

#5.1 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:18 PM EDT

bluearcher

Is there a way to streamline this search?

Similar issue regarding "Search". There are times when I know the exact title of an article\seed, type it into search and that article\seed isn't even listed as a result.

5 votes

#5.2 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:31 PM EDT

You can try Ivy Search. Not sure what happened to it tho.. scroll down.

2 votes

#5.3 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:32 PM EDT

The "search" feature supplies only recent results. Very recent result...unless you read underneath the immediate results. Then it's just hunting. I streamline my searches by clipping stuff, but that only helps if I think of it at the time. It is difficult to go back unless you know the month the article was published and by whom.

Great question. No great answer at this time...at least by me. :/

9 votes

#5.4 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:32 PM EDT

unless you know the month the article was published and by whom.

Yeah ..... me!

OK -- I'll copy/paste #5

I have a question. Say I want to read a comment on an article I wrote last year. Since it timed-out off my front page, under "show more" I have to enter month-by-month of Articles and go thru them until I find it. Or -- I often go to "Edit Article" and filter it down to "Articles" so I can locate the date -- then return to the "show more" so I can select the correct month. Isn't there a more direct way?

Can't we just request a list of our own articles (or seeds) other than in the edit mode? My purpose is usually to find a comment/discussion that I want to refer to.

3 votes

#5.5 - Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:38 PM EDT

You can try Ivy Search. Not sure what happened to it tho.. scroll down.

I remember Ivy search, now that you mention it. It is a Newsvine search engine innovated by Aine MacDermot it has a new URL and can be accessed at Stumblers.net

2 votes

#5.6 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:25 AM EDT

Never mind -- I'll just email the Guides.

2 votes

#5.7 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 2:37 AM EDT

SA, I just sent you an email.

Click "Edit Content" in the black bar up above. You'll get a list of all of your articles and seeds, and you can filter by articles/seeds and by month.

1 vote

#5.8 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:09 AM EDT

Already did that before asking question. :-((

1 vote

#5.9 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:55 AM EDT

crispy2000

storyartist, you can use Google to find your articles. For example, if you want to look for something you wrote on apartheid, in the search box enter:

site:storyartist.newsvine.com apartheid

The first part limits the search to articles you've written or seeded (use your Newsvine "domain name"), and the second is whatever search terms will help locate the desired article.

Hope this helps.

5 votes

#5.10 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:11 PM EDT

Sorry, storyartist. I was reading too fast.

crispy's suggestion is also quite good.

Do you have a suggestion for how you'd like to search for your articles? Because I'm not sure how else it could be done.

1 vote

#5.11 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:22 PM EDT

Thanks crispy. My browser is set to Yahoo Search. FYI this doesn't work in Yahoo, but Google brought it up.

Whew -- that saves a bunch of convoluted moves in multiple tabs just to sort out something I wrote or seeded.

Viki---I knew that!! Crispy had your back! Maybe I'm stuck on a burned out brain cell, but I thought there used to be a little designator on the right side halfway down to choose Articles/Seeds and eliminate articles only commented on, like it does now at the top in Edit Mode. But hey -- if we go outside NV to get it on Google, no biggie.

3 votes

#5.12 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:32 PM EDT

I save mine in Documents on my PC before posting. I don't write much and edit a lot. I don't want to lose my work and I want to be able to share it without extra steps.

#5.13 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:44 PM EDT

There are times when I know the exact title of an article\seed, type it into search and that article\seed isn't even listed as a result.

I find my tag cloud is sometimes helpful in finding old articles, it has taken me back to early 2008 when I first came here.

However finding particular comments can be much more difficult. I use Google Chrome which has a search tool I often use to find keywords on a page.

3 votes

#6 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:16 AM EDT

scar_tissue

I've got a question that I know the guides won't have an answer for, but maybe they can poke someone who will.

Why isn't Not News divvied up into columns like everything else? Stuff falls off that pg so fast in its current format & there's good stuff in there! If I skip a cpl days check-in, forget it, it's all brand-new again.

Surely that would be a really simple coding change. I mean, learning how to do tables & columns was basic HTML back in the day. It wouldn't even take that long to accomplish. So who's the pg guy who could implement such a fix, & could he?

5 votes

#7 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:00 AM EDT

I've forwarded your comment to one of the tech guys. I'll let you know what I hear. :)

5 votes

#7.1 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:30 AM EDT

scar_tissue

Thanks! :-)

1 vote

#7.2 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:35 AM EDT

crispy2000

I submitted these already several months ago using the "report a bug" link and got no acknowledgement or response. This may be useful for others, and may bring it to the tech guy's attention.

I have various "viners" on my ignore list, and this streamlines reading articles. However, there are times when I want to see all the comments, even from the "ignored" folks. This is especially true if I'm moderating comments to one of my articles or seeds, or the ignored party wrote the start of a long comment thread. What I'd like to be able to do is globally expand all the comments with one button, including collapsed and ignored comments.

In a related vein, the "next new comment" link doesn't work if the next comment is hidden in a thread started by an ignored author.

4 votes

#8 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:20 PM EDT

Hi crispy2000,

That's a great suggestion. You might send it in by choosing "site suggestion" from the drop-down menu on the contact form.

And no, it doesn't. I know it's been submitted in the past via Report Bug, and I'll go ahead and submit it again.

4 votes

#8.1 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:27 PM EDT

I did this only a few days ago, and sent to Site Suggestion. Exactly what you're talking about. I sent one some time ago about the Ignore clogging up the viewing of "new" posts, and lo and behold, about a month later, it jumps past them now. However, if you have 10 new comments, and only read 7, then you have to back up your page and open each Ignore to locate the remaining 3 new sub-comments that are hidden.

I'm a huge advocate for using the Ignore feature, and thus far I put up with the bugs. But with more Viners coming around to consider it as a way around trolls/whatever, improvements to make it more user-friendly might be in order.

My suggestion was to "unlock" the blockout of the entire thread that an Ignore had initiated (like it does when you expand it -- still hides the Ignored person's comment, but displays all sub-comments.) Give them a shot!

3 votes

#8.2 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:48 PM EDT

I have a suggestion regarding searching for seeds and/or articles. I did find my article that I had in history, and will now also clip it. Bringing it back for those that were interested was much appreciated by followers. My suggestion for the future speed search might work, or might not.

What if a tab was created for seed or articles. Like: Seed - month...........article - month. The month could be a drop down so that you could quickly access months. Alot of us have written many articles, or have seeded many. Those tabs could be put in History, Archives, etc. Any thoughts?

2 votes

#9 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 2:40 PM EDT

Viki,

In case you missed this suggestion during your reading of comments, maybe you could give me your thoughts on this when you have time.

TDR

1 vote

#9.1 - Thu Apr 21, 2011 2:25 PM EDT

I think I did! I'm glad you popped back in.

Can't the same thing be accomplished in the Edit Articles page? You can choose which month by drop-down menu, and filter by seeds or articles, even by published or unpublished.

I think the problem for storyartist above was that sometimes she doesn't know which month something was seeded or written. And also, there's the issue of finding an old article/seed that you commented on, if you want to reference the discussion.

4 votes

#9.2 - Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:56 PM EDT

Thanks for tweeking my senior memory, had a senior moment of forgetfulness, I think. I sometimes tend to do things to hard way, Edit Article has always been in front of these eyes, brain not in gear.

TDR

2 votes

#9.3 - Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:13 PM EDT

You're not alone. I forget about it all the time!

1 vote

#9.4 - Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:43 AM EDT

TheAntiObama

I dont want to be paid for anything, just want to be free to write whatever I feel like writing without interference.

4 votes

#10 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:00 PM EDT

You are free to write whatever you feel like writing, provided it complies with the Newsvine Code of Honor and User Agreement, both of which you agreed to abide by when registering to use Newsvine and/or msnbc.com.

I haven't the slightest idea what you mean by "interference," and really don't feel like guessing.

4 votes

#10.1 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:11 PM EDT

Dowser

nice to know that y'all are here!

4 votes

#11 - Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:13 PM EDT

I've recently seen several people doing a copy-paste of a previous comment instead of blockquote.

I've recently seen several people doing a copy-paste of a previous comment instead of blockquote.

Do we have a "how to" for new users? I would rather point them in the direction where they can learn then tell them how and they forget. Worse yet, tell me not to tell them what to do, Bitch.

I would also like a designated button to report suspicion of trolls and reregs. Or do I keep forgetting what, besides report-a-bug, we're supposed to do.

1 vote

#12 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:18 PM EDT

There are a lot of articles that compile the best how-to's written by fellow Newsviners, but as these things go, they fall into disuse because they get old. It's probably time for a new one. Maybe I'll find some time this weekend.

To report your suspicions, click "Report Bug" and be sure to choose "Report spam or malicious user" or even "Other" from the drop-down menu. Include links to the user's column, and anything you can add about why you think they're a rereg would be really helpful.

3 votes

#12.1 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:28 PM EDT

The report bug doesn't seem to get much attention even on the nastiest of trolls. What I see finally gets them caught is the collapsed and author deleted comments. Maybe too many are reporting trolls and reregs that are nothing but new and brash.

If you go back to one of your articles or Brian's and use the article only, not revive it but publish as new, it might get more traction. What I see from META is those who have been here a while. The new people don't know what meta is.

3 votes

#12.2 - Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:25 PM EDT

Viki - would it be Ok to ask you to tell me how you add the message, "Tired of your Crap?" ..lol.. (good one!) ...I'm dumb; spent a whole five minutes with my brain engaged in trying to figure it out - didn't work.

Must be looking in the wrong place for the answer. I checked the sub-sections in the black bar - no cigar! :)

3 votes

#13 - Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:22 PM EDT

rottlady

CL1, go to "Customize Column", and then "Account settings", you'll find it by scrolling down to "One Line Bio: write what you want and save.

3 votes

#13.1 - Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:15 AM EDT

Hi rottlady, ...You are so kind! Thank you!

I didn't notice that, and will try it right now. ...Hope you have a great day. :)

2 votes

#13.2 - Fri Apr 22, 2011 12:09 PM EDT

Heh. I kinda forgot I did that. I'm leaving it, though. ;)

2 votes

#13.3 - Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:44 AM EDT

I like it... :)

Just kinda sums it all up in a nice, neat little 'pile.' ...lol

4 votes

#13.4 - Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:55 AM EDT

6 votes

#14 - Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:30 PM EDT

4 votes

#14.1 - Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:45 AM EDT

4 votes

#14.2 - Sat Apr 23, 2011 5:24 PM EDT

0-: )

2 votes

#14.3 - Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:19 PM EDT

:-D

3 votes

#14.4 - Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:41 PM EDT

4 votes

#14.5 - Sat Apr 23, 2011 11:13 PM EDT

menmy2

Here is a pet peeve of mine - when a comment is deleted, you cannot click the 'New' button and move on to the next new comment. You have to scroll for it. That's not always a big deal, but it is a pain in my ass when it is a loooooong thread - especially when NV pages scroll goofy. . .at least on my laptop.

Off to take an Advil. . .

3 votes

#15 - Fri Apr 22, 2011 2:42 PM EDT

I agree. It was mentioned above, and I'm poking the guys about it.

1 vote

#15.1 - Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:46 AM EDT

Red Wolf

Same thing happens if the next new comment has been collapsed. Not only do you not jump to the top of the collapsed comment, the last new comment within a collapsed comment thread doesn't jump to the next new comment.

I can see the logic in reducing the visibility of crap content, but it's quite annoying if you're trying to navigate through a huge chunk of comments.

7 votes

#15.2 - Sat Apr 23, 2011 4:55 AM EDT

Jimster

Three things.

Whatever happened to the final roll out of the new, and improved, column formatting? I know some users participated in a beta, but have never seen anything beyond that. The new formatting included font selection, colors (I think), and page arrangement, etc.
Why do MSNBC employees appear in the Leaderboard? I counted the other day and seven of the top twenty-five were MSNCB employees. All with massive amounts of "articles" (sometimes 1-2 paragraphs long) written (which were actually seeds of their own or others columns). If the Leaderboard is to act as an incentive to increase usage of all of NVs features, having paid company employees bump average users of the list would seem to be acting as a disincentive. Kinda like workers participating (and winning) in a company raffle designed to attract paying customers.

- As an adjunct to #2- I have never fully understood what all the columns mean on the leaderboard. Can you explain them? For instance - Comments Received. On what exactly? Seeds? Articles? Comments on my comments? Also Votes Received - On what? Seeds, articles, my comments , or all of the above?
  - I had a seed within the last months. which had 336 comments on it, yet my Comments Received column says 0. ?????

3 votes

#16 - Mon Apr 25, 2011 1:27 PM EDT

The leaderboard is screwed up, period. And there are some rather major changes coming that will likely address all of your concerns. Unfortunately, that's all I can say on the subject!

2 votes

#16.1 - Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:56 PM EDT

thanx

2 votes

#16.2 - Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:59 PM EDT

Viki,

Thnx for the answer and info. Maybe after what's new happens, I'll either get out of the toilet, or stay in it!

3 votes

#16.3 - Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:38 PM EDT

TDR dear...it's just our MINDS that are supposed to be in the toilet!

4 votes

#16.4 - Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:40 PM EDT

Belle dear..........along with all that crapola, huh.........LOL

2 votes

#16.5 - Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:48 PM EDT

Yep...like GG stuff :)

Stay cool out there in Arizona, it's coming up on hot season again :(

2 votes

#16.6 - Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:54 PM EDT

Naughtylass Cheryl

Hello, I was recommended to come here to fix my dilemma. I am copying a post I made on Division by Zero's article on re-registering. The post follows:

Well then, what does a person like me do? I am a relative newbie to this site, having started just this year. I must admit that I did not know of what the definition of "re-reg" meant and was confused for the past couple days seeing it in posts as to what they were talking about until I read through the posts in an article.

Maybe a week ago, maybe just a few days before that, I found myself unable to log on to my vine account here for some reason. I did not know what was going on, but I would put in my email addy, put in my password to sign in, and then the page would not bring me to my account but would just come back to the sign in page. After several attempts, I thought to myself, well, Cheryl, you usually remain just signed in to save yourself time and come straight here, so maybe it's been so long that you are using the wrong email addy. Sooo, unlike my usual self, I put in the email addy of my actual and real name, (something I don't like to use for protection) then the password I always use, and then it signed me in first try, but sent me to a different page asking for my name and password again. I put it in, and then it comes up with my name, but a bunch of numbers behind it and red writing about something. My name up here does not have a bunch of numbers behind it. In my head, I am thinking, well, maybe that is how they have me here in their system logs or something and I have my name without numbers because I changed the first time I registered months ago. The only problem is I go to my member page and it is empty!! The name has those numbers. Only then did I realize that I had somehow gotten another account. I was upset because to me, I had just lost all of my stuff that I had been posting and writing, and I don't like the number name thingy. I figured there must be something wrong with my computer.

It wasn't until I did further investigations into my computer, that I realize that the reason I could not sign in the first time with my normal email nick was that my computer was holding back on cookies and supposed certain sites bad that did not meet the standards of security for my computer's security settings. It kept sending me back to the sign in page, because my computer was blocking it. Ahhhh........now I understood what the problem was, so I went and changed my security settings to allow this site to come to my computer. Easy as pie right? It worked, I signed in with my old email nick, and wallah! I have all my writing and posts back. Sigh of relief. I did not even think of the other account figuring that I would never use it anyway........and why? Well, that is because I don't like all the numbers behind my name on the account, which is why I changed it in the beginning when I first registered in the beginning of the year. Notice it says Naughtylass Cheryl, not with numbers following it.

So, what does a person like me do? I don't even know how to cancel an account, as I am not computer saavy, and I have not even finished looking at all the pages on this one, much less the other one that I haven't even been back to, but it bothers me that it has my email addy of my real name. I don't see somewhere where it lists who to email when you want to get rid of an accident like the one mentioned above. What do I do? Does this mean I am automatically banned for my accident?

I have tried to access the account recently, and for some reason, I can not sign into that rogue account. I am unsure if I gave it a different password, which I forgot or what, but I would like to make sure that it is totally out, as it has my real name for my email addy, and I don't want someone else to accidentally get that. It is better if it is off the system. Any help is appreciated.

2 votes

#17 - Sun May 22, 2011 10:01 PM EDT

http://naughtylasscheryl1.newsvine.com/

I take it this is your other account: Naughtylass Cheryl-3459392

Don't touch it.

Use the Contact Form with Other as the subject. Explain the situation, and include the link to the other account:

2 votes

#17.1 - Sun May 22, 2011 10:17 PM EDT

Click "Report Bug" up in the right corner and select "Other." Explain what's happened and someone will note your account.

To delete the rogue account, you must first log into it, click "Account" in the black bar near the top of the page and select "Remove Account." Be sure you're logged in to the account you want to remove when you do this. Once you remove an account, it can't be reinstated, so if you accidentally remove the account you want to keep, you're screwed.

6 votes

#17.2 - Sun May 22, 2011 10:17 PM EDT

Naughtylass Cheryl

Hello Viki Babbles Gonia and Sir Richard Owen:

Thank you for your advice. I will try that now, to see what can be done. As of now, for some reason, I can not log into the rogue account, so I will try the contact form method first. Thank your for your timely response in this matter.

2 votes

#17.3 - Sun May 22, 2011 11:31 PM EDT

Naughtylass Cheryl

To Sir Richard Owen and Viki Babbles Gonia:

I have just finished doing what you recommended on the contact form and included the link you provided me for the other rogue account in the letter I sent. I am hoping this fixes the problem, and my account with all the postings does not get accidentally nixed. In the minutest possibility that I suddenly disappear because it was this account I am on now that accidentally got wiped out, is there any way at all to beg for it to be reinstated, or is that a matter of their software just won't allow it at all? Thanks for the patience you have shown this newbie in this matter.

1 vote

#17.4 - Mon May 23, 2011 12:24 AM EDT

If you're unable to log in to the rogue account, admin can do it for you. As long as you indicated correctly which account was the mistake, you'll be fine.

4 votes

#17.5 - Mon May 23, 2011 9:15 AM EDT

I noticed a new button on the front page header, concert series. WTF is that?

2 votes

#18 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 11:07 AM EDT

rottlady

I noticed it too, I'm sure it's something upcoming but I have no clue. Watch for something from Newsvine Blog, I hope.

3 votes

#18.1 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 11:11 AM EDT

It's MSN junk -- Today Show Concert Series :(

4 votes

#18.2 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 11:14 AM EDT

I noticed it too because it bumped "more" into our "Home" spot making it difficult to access.

belle, what's Today's Concert Series about? A place to buy tickets and read reviews or some such?

2 votes

#18.3 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 11:28 AM EDT

Just a bunch of free mini-concerts in New York so performers can push their new albums -- blatant advertising

4 votes

#18.4 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 11:32 AM EDT

Just a bunch of free mini-concerts in New York so performers can push their new albums -- blatant advertising

Booooooooooooooo!

5 votes

#18.5 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 11:55 AM EDT

Hmm, New York performers, interesting. I wonder if it will be a feature that Viners will use? I can't say that I will, in fact, probably won't. Maybe it will help raise the payout? lol ..from 20 cents to 30 cents!

2 votes

#18.6 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 12:49 PM EDT

Weird...I don't have that button. Huh.

2 votes

#18.7 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 12:53 PM EDT

It's dark grey right now, as opposed to the light grey of the house, name, etc that it displaced (on the black bar above)

2 votes

#18.8 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 12:56 PM EDT

I wonder if it will be a feature that Viners will use? I can't say that I will, in fact, probably won't.

Me either. Strategically placed, no doubt. All those accidental clicks. Annoying... have they no shame?

It'll be up for just the summer, I'm sure, until they replace it with something else they are promoting. ...

Weird...I don't have that button. Huh.

The 'More' categories button has also moved next to 'Concert Series' for me. It's not next to 'Odd News' anymore.

3 votes

#18.9 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 1:24 PM EDT

I bet you're right, Ben. It's probably a summer promotion. Although, they could use it for winter stage plays, maybe. Ahhh, the changes ... they will be coming soon!

Yes, they bumped "more" into my 'house' and I always use that spot to go back 'home.' :(

2 votes

#18.10 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 1:34 PM EDT

Red Wolf

Likely only rolled out on a couple of servers to test before going fully live.

3 votes

#18.11 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 5:34 PM EDT

pass along that it gets a big thumbs down from users and to never bring it back!

3 votes

#18.12 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 5:36 PM EDT

Ben and all,

Did you notice that it's ("more") in the way of the house on our home page, but they have fixed it when you're on someone else's column by making the tab area longer vertically? ..Maybe they will make our column look that way after they've played with it a little more.

2 votes

#19 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 2:24 PM EDT

Apparently, it's gone now.

3 votes

#19.1 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 3:33 PM EDT

Confirmed. On my end too. And I had trouble logging on about 20 minutes ago. Somebody burp the servers.

2 votes

#19.2 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 3:35 PM EDT

Ben, same here. The programmers must have been experimenting. My guess is that the elongated tab section is going to be a 'keeper.' :)

2 votes

#19.3 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 4:11 PM EDT

Now we all look like @!$%#s for complaining about it. :)

2 votes

#19.4 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 5:47 PM EDT

Hahaha.

Atleast, what I saw for awhile was "more" was moved up above the house; a better spot for it.

#19.5 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 6:00 PM EDT

I didn't see that. It was in the worst possible spot though. Hey! MOVE OVER! We're self-promoting!

#19.6 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 7:41 PM EDT

Yep!

#19.7 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 7:51 PM EDT

If they really want to promote concerts, why just New York? Geez, what about all of us that don't even live anywhere near New York? Why don't they set it up with all the major cities across the US with upcoming events/concerts? Now I think I know why Tyler has been around so much lately, or maybe I have just been seeing a bad movie.

1 vote

#20 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 3:01 PM EDT

It's the ones they televise on the Today Show -- which tapes in New York. Like today it was NKOTBSB concert. It's famous artists who don't NEED more publicity. It's just an attention grab by MSNBC to promote their television network show.

3 votes

#20.1 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 3:03 PM EDT

Ooops!! Sorry, I don't watch that news station, I see enough of those peacock feathers every day, all day long, here on the Vine. I prefer Good Mornin' America concerts/news and CBS. Watched fantastic 1 hour Lady Gaga Concert in Central Park last week. (no peacock feathers around) LOL

1 vote

#20.2 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 3:09 PM EDT

just an attention grab by MSNBC to promote their television network show.

Ahh, makes sense. The Newsvine format is a very effective tool for advertising as we have already seen. We can most likely expect many new tabs as outlets for bringing attention to all of the various venues of the Conglomerate.

3 votes

#20.3 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 3:21 PM EDT

So many complaints about our parents and we wonder why our pay is so low. Keep bitchin' ya'll and our allowance will be cut off completely. LOL

I watch Today because I like Matt Lauer and a few others. Our local NBC affiliate is my fav, too, for local coverage.

1 vote

#20.4 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 10:54 PM EDT

Don't you mean our conquerors? I didn't ask them to be my parents!!

3 votes

#20.5 - Fri Jun 3, 2011 11:17 PM EDT

OK, now that January has finally been resolved, I thought things were going to be back to normal (ish) -- so why exactly has March been skipped? Same (lazy/unorganized/unmotivated) people in accounting not doing their work? W T F!!!

3 votes

#21 - Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:26 PM EDT

You're expecting some kind of windfall for the... 2 articles / 0 seeds you published during the month of March?

2 votes

#21.1 - Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:48 PM EDT

Nope, but I'm expecting at least a $0.00 notation on the account so TPTB acknowledge the month exists.

4 votes

#21.2 - Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:51 PM EDT

Red Wolf

Doesn't work that way. If you didn't earn anything, there will be no entry. I can tell you that the April distribution is so low that few people will see anything.

Unfortunately, from your side of the fence this just looks like payment is really late. It would be helpful if the earning page had a note at the top to announce when the last distribution was issued, so you know what's go on.

4 votes

#21.3 - Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:05 PM EDT

No Guarantee. Newsvine does not guarantee that any user will receive any minimum level of payment as a result of the placement of Ads on our Site. Newsvine has sole discretion as to the selection and placement of all Ads and the look and feel of the Site, including any Subdomain. Earnings are paid as an incentive for the continued use of our Site and are not in consideration for the submission of any User Content. We reserve the right to add, remove, modify, rename, move, delete or discontinue the Subdomain or any Materials or User Content therein at any time in our sole discretion. We further reserve the right to change or discontinue the payment of Earnings or Referral Earnings at any time. Your continued use of our Site and maintenance of an account with us after any such change will constitute your acceptance of the new terms. In the event that you do not agree to such change, your sole and exclusive remedy is to cease using the Site and to terminate your account with us. Any such termination will not alter any of our rights under this User Agreement, including our license rights described above. -- Newsvine User Agreement

I made a little prediction about a year ago. People laughed back then. The way I see it, things are still moving right along.

2 votes

#21.4 - Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:15 PM EDT

Gulp!!!

1 vote

#21.5 - Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:21 PM EDT

Thanks Red -- but over on TDR's article about April, someone mentioned that they DID get a $0.00 notation for April. The fact still remains that March has been sucked into the Newsvine Time Warp with no knowledge of if/when it might return to existence.

2 votes

#21.6 - Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:27 PM EDT

Frank-5639384

Doesn't work that way. If you didn't earn anything, there will be no entry.

Must have been a change, then. I've had a couple of months last year with $0.00 entries.

It would be helpful if the earning page had a note at the top to announce when the last distribution was issued, so you know what's go on.

...Or just put entries for each and every month, even if the amount is $0.00 -- it's probably a one-line change in the software.

4 votes

#21.7 - Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:35 AM EDT

Wow. I'm gone for over a month and look what's changed around here. Absolutely nothing.

4 votes

#21.8 - Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:01 PM EDT

Nope, we're still all sex-crazed whiners, me included :)

1 vote

#21.9 - Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:03 PM EDT

I can tell you that the April distribution is so low that few people will see anything.

I got paid $0.0069230769230769230769230769230769 per item for April.

3 votes

#22 - Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:26 PM EDT

luckydog

Despite the fact that I get thousands of page views every month according to analytics my last 3 months totaled a 1.58 with April being just .19 cents. This is in sharp contrast to what I have earned for years. Several possible explanations come to mind none of them good.

One- is that Newsvine is not selling advertising but since I am still seeing the ads this seems unlikely.

Two- There is something wrong with their tracking software and they simply don't have a clue how to fix it or maybe even know that something is wrong.

Three- They have changed their policy and have failed to inform us Newsviners for whatever reason.

As a longtime loyal user and contributor to Newsvine, I hope they can resolve this soon.

7 votes

#22.1 - Mon Jul 4, 2011 11:22 AM EDT

NorthstarDFL

Hello, have two very basic questions. When I post on any site I get this yellow post box and the word you in upper right hand corner. When I post on FirstRead on MSNBC my post box is normal and no "you" word.

What is going on? I have sent numerous emails to newvine using contact, report bug .Never hear from them.

#2question: How long does the numbers stay behind my name? I have requested that my new status be updated and the numbers be deleted.
Again, no response.

thank you for any help to answer my basic questions.

1 vote

#23 - Mon Jul 4, 2011 10:55 AM EDT

I get this yellow post box

It's color coding. Yellow helps you find your posts. Blue is friends. A different blue is MSNBC journalists. Brown is Newsvine Guides. Green is Moderators.

no "you" word.

Dunno. Maybe it's something they took out while trying to help thread continuity.

How long does the numbers stay behind my name?

During your first 90 days you can go to your Account page and change it.

5 votes

#23.1 - Mon Jul 4, 2011 11:27 AM EDT

NorthstarDFL

Wow, thank you for the quick reply.

So I can go to my account page and just edit the numbers after my name? would it be in my account profile or under customize tab?

Happy 4th of July

1 vote

#23.2 - Mon Jul 4, 2011 3:44 PM EDT

just edit the numbers after my name?

There are 2 pages of "northstar" related accounts. You might have to pick something else. If your screenname is still in an input box on the account page, you can change it. If not, you'll have to request a change. You can only do that once.

4 votes

#23.3 - Mon Jul 4, 2011 5:32 PM EDT