Thanks and Introductions

Posted by Dan Feder - February 20, 2004 at 6:08 pm
It’s almost a week now that we’ve been online here, and I thought it was about time I introduced myself and said a few things about how we’re doing so far. I’m the Narco News Webmaster, in charge of the technical aspects of this experiment, or forum, or publication, or community, or war machine, or whatever you want to call it. I’ll be using my reporters’ notebook here, in part, to discuss the evolution of this site into what we all expect to be a really unique and vital space for all authentic journalists. I’m also calling Mexico City – perhaps the biggest center of political and media power in Latin America - my home at the moment. So aside from all the geeky web stuff, I’ll being doing my best to report what I see of history marching through this, the biggest city in the whole world.

A few people have been absolutely vital to getting the tech side here up and running, and deserve many, many thanks. The Indymedia tech folks, especially Kellan and Evan, have been volunteering their advice and expertise since I started this gig. Voxel dot net is the best webhost in the free world, and their support team has been amazing. More recently, the developers’ community (especially Janra) behind Scoop, the software on which we’re running The Narcosphere, have been heroic in their willingness to help when I’ve been stumped.

This site, like most dangerous and exciting ideas, is a work in progress, and will be for some time. For instance, the biggest challenge publisher Al Giordano and I are working on right now is breaking the language barrier here. Readers have probably noticed that while “classic” Narco News  is a fully bi- (and often tri-) lingual site, we’re still just talking to each other in English here in the Narcosphere. Rest assured that we’re working hard on this and that the coming days will find many more voices able to join this space from all across América.

I want to encourage everyone, readers and copublishers alike, to  voice their questions or suggestions. Already, many of you have, and the site is already getting better every day. Our copublishers can comment freely in this site’s comment forums, and all readers are invited to write me at webmaster@narconews.com with questions and comments about the site.

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About Dan Feder

I was a member of the Narco News team in various capacities, from webmaster to Editor-in-Chief, from 2002-2008. Since 2006 I have also been a member of the International Peace Observatory, which performs human rights accompaniment for Colombian campesino organizations in conflict zones. I am now living in Boston and working as a website developer for DigitalAid, Inc.
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All Hail the Lord High Webmahster!

Submitted on February 21st, 2004 by Al Giordano
First, thanks to Dan, who has put in round-the-clock days over the past 10 days, since we first got our new mega-server donated by Voxel.net, and in fact he worked overtime in the weeks prior to design and plan this Narcosphere.

Because we believe in labor rights around here, I've given Dan a couple days off (yeah, I know, what you peeps call "weekends" are a luxury around here), so I'm your mechanic-in-residence for the next few days, which is a scary thought because I'm all thumbs when it comes to technology.

Some of our copublishers are still reporting tech problems getting in the door. Some never received their temporary passwords (a glitch, probably related to individual email boxes "spam" filters, but we have ways around it). If you're a copublisher (i.e. you filled out the application and you've already met the minimal requirements) and haven't received your password yet, or if you have any such problems entering The Narcosphere yourself, or questions about how to do it, write to me at publisher@narconews.com and we'll get you in here.

If you haven't yet applied, what are you waiting for?

An invitation?

It's already clear that this place is kicking up serious dust across the hemisphere and blogosphere alike... and we've only just begun to kick.

Who gets to post stories?

Submitted on February 27th, 2004 by Jules Siegel
I notice that a few people have been granted (I think) story posting rights. What are the criteria for this?

more threads for stories

Submitted on March 31st, 2004 by Benjamin Melançon
I recently posted two pieces of new information (on Bolivia and Costa Rica throwing out Carlos Ortega) for which I could not find fitting threads, so I used the open thread.  I don't think that's a good place for them-- to be found originally, to be followed up or commented on, or to be usefully accessible as part of the modern history the Narco News reporters are writing and we try to add to.  So, fellow co-publishers, I ask for your opinions and ideas.  Here's mine:

Should we create a thread for each country in Latin America, so we'll nearly always have a place for any on-topic news or discussion items?

A note on 'Rate All'

Submitted on April 4th, 2004 by Benjamin Melançon

Technical FYI: the 'Rate All' button next to each comment rates ONLY all those comments on the page for which you've actually selected a rating.  So rate all the comments your going to rate, and then click any 'Rate All' button only once to submit all your ratings.  Easy, right?  I've been on the NarcoSphere since day 1 and it took me until a few days ago to figure that out.  (I read the Scoop admin manual, searched the web and Scoop forums, and couldn't find anything.)  Fortunately, the obvious eventually hit me.  And I share the insight on the off-chance one person out there is as slow as I.

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Our Policy on Comment Submissions: Co-publishers of Narco News (which includes The Narcosphere and The Field) may post comments without moderation. A ll co-publishers comment under their real name, have contributed resources or volunteer labor to this project, have filled out this application and agreed to some simple guidelines about commenting.

Narco News has recently opened its comments section for submissions to moderated comments (that’s this box, here) by everybody else. More than 95 percent of all submitted comments are typically approved, because they are on-topic, coherent, don’t spread false claims or rumors, don’t gratuitously insult other commenters, and don’t engage in commerce, spam or otherwise hijack the thread. Narco News reserves the right to reject any comment for any reason, so, especially if you choose to comment anonymously, the burden is on you to make your comment interesting and relev ant. That said, as you can see, hundreds of comments are approved each week here. Good luck in your comment submission!

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About Dan Feder

Biography
I was a member of the Narco News team in various capacities, from webmaster to Editor-in-Chief, from 2002-2008. Since 2006 I have also been a member of the International Peace Observatory, which performs human rights accompaniment for Colombian campesino organizations in conflict zones. I am now living in Boston and working as a website developer for DigitalAid, Inc.