I wish I could say this article isn't me complaining against ComicBookMovie because as many know I am more than willing to show my support to Galactus, as well as the other editors of this awesome site, but like any thing awesome I enjoy I feel I need to rant about some of the things bugging me and unfortunately, some things have come to the attention, as of recently, to the Instigator in me and I can't help but write this article. I will try to keep this as respectful as possible and I hope this doesn't cause any bad blood between them and me.
Let me start by saying that I respect the editors and what they do but I have to ask... Why does every article any of you write instantly get to go on the front page? It's not all the editors and I'm not trying to be mean, but some of the things you guys write really are not front page worthy.
You even will have articles talking about the same exact thing with the same exact quotes. Like the other day, a couple of people posted an article talking about the same thing. Had the same quotes and source, etc. One was nicely done but was that the one to stay and be put on the front page? Nope. It was an editor's article that had less information and obviously, less time put into it that stayed while the other one was deleted.
"Our rule for deleting dupes is simply this... The best one stays up." Unless your an editor than that rule can be overlooked right?
This goes for everyone. Many of you must be so excited to put out an article that none of you actually double check to see if it was already posted. That means checking articles within the last few days. @#!*% , it's a rule in the "Fansite Style Guide"
"-Check before posting so that you aren't wasting your time doing an article someone else has already done.
I don't wanna get into how many people posted "Allison Mack leaving Smallville" or "Smallville Season 10 to be the last" among other headlines.
My next issue is this... As stated in the "Style Guide For CBM Fansites"
We cannot abide PLAGIARISM!
Or In Galactus' message:
#5 User submissions may be deleted if they are plagiarized, or are duplicates of something already posted, or will just take too much editing time to meet our standards of professionalism.
I have seen quite a few articles from people who basically "copied and pasted" from another website and even when people point it out NOTHING is done about it. @#!*% , they even ended up on the Main frikin Page... This bothers me more than anything. I will also like to say I am going to single out the people who plagiarize from now on...
Lastly, this is ComicBookMovie you guys says that if the movies or articles aren't comic book related then it doesn't belong on here. Then why were all of the Avatar articles allowed on here? I have checked vigorously for a comic book or a Graphic Novel based on Avatar and you wanna know what I found? A whole lot of NO Avatar comic books. Also the articles about Megan Fox and here lame nude photos? Articles like these, I feel, should be moved to Earth's Mightiest or to Comic Book Hotties. That's why we have those sister sites, am I right?
As stated before, I have much respect for Galactus and the editors, but I feel this is a good topic to be brought up for discussion. I am not trying to bash CBM at all, I just wanted to point out things that, as a user, have really began to bother me during my constant visits. Which is if you have a policy for a site then everyone, besides Galactus (he's a God, ^_^), should follow it.
Galactus' Response to Instigator Girl's "I Cry Foul" Article
Below are my answers to Igirl's honest complaints. I hope they satisfy her and those that have voiced similar criticisms of our site. We always want to improve, so don't worry that your article "offended" The Mighty Galactus.
Igirl Question: Why does every article any of you write (editor's contributions) instantly get to go on the front page? ...some of the things you guys write really are not front page worthy.
Galactus' Answer: Editor's are chosen BECAUSE they have shown that they will consistently produce quality contributions that require no editing, so yes, their work automatically gets on the homepage with their upgraded status. Having said that, I do agree that not everything that editors produce is front page material and they have been instructed to be objective--AND CHAMPION USER CONTRIBUTIONS. Of course, MOST people suffer from "my sh*t don't stink" syndrome. Hopefully the fact that you're calling them out on what goes on the homepage will make them think. In their defense, let me point out that we will ALWAYS get the "front page worthy" complaint no matter WHAT we do because that is totally subjective depending on the person. I can only rely on my own likes/dislikes and the opinions of my editors as to what goes on the main--and they all have their own differing opinions, just like every user will have his/her own tastes. I will openly admit that I do try and support my editors even when I don't agree with all their choices. They are doing this work for free you know.
Igirl Comments: ...the other day, a couple of people posted an article talking about the same thing. Had the same quotes and source, etc. One was nicely done but was that the one to stay and be put on the front page? Nope. It was an editor's article that had less information and obviously, less time put into it that stayed while the other one was deleted."Our rule for deleting dupes is simply this... The best one stays up." Unless you're an editor than that rule can be overlooked right?
Galactus Response: If that is truly what happend, then it was an abuse of my rules for editors. I would have to see both the articles to make that judgement. All I can tell you is what I have instructed our volunteer editors. The below is from our "editor's bible" that I make all editors agree to before giving them privileges:
A little competition is healthy unless it involves an editor who abuses his power to promote his own articles over others. We must guard against this so that users do not become frustrated or think we are unfair. As editors, I expect you to champion ALL user contributions as if they were your own. Be sure you check before posting so you are not wasting time duplicating articles already posted by users (or each other). We can’t expect the users to be as good about it as we are, but duplicates are bound to happen to everyone once and awhile. Here are the rules when it does.
THE ABSOLUTE RULE: The absolute rule for duplicates is "the best one wins" NOT "the first one wins".
CAVEAT #1. Always favor the earliest poster when duplicate articles are of similar quality.
CAVEAT #2. If you notice that duplicate articles (of equal quality) are between a frequent contributor vs. an infrequent or NEW contributor, you may want to favor the NEW/Infrequent one so that he is encouraged to contribute more often.
CAVEAT #3. If duplicate articles (of equal quality) involve an Editor, I expect the Editor to defer to the user.
CAVEAT #4. If duplicate articles (of equal quality) involve two Editors, refer to the absolute rule.
Note: An Editor has the option to add his own copy to the user's content if he feels it would help the article. This is the purest form of editing and the most generous thing you can do as an editor.
So, as you can see, the rules are in place. Do they get overlooked sometimes. Probably. If I see that an editor is abusing, I will revoke his privileges. So, I encourage any user on CBM to let me know if you see this happening and I will handle it.
Igirls Comment: This goes for everyone. Many of you must be so excited to put out an article that none of you actually double check to see if it was already posted. That means checking articles within the last few days. @#!*% , it's a rule in the "Fansite Style Guide" -Check before posting so that you aren't wasting your time doing an article someone else has already done. I don't wanna get into how many people posted "Allison Mack leaving Smallville" or "Smallville Season 10 to be the last" among other headlines.
Galactus' Comment: I love you InstigatorGirl! I appreciate user enforcement of our guidelines. It's not like we don't state and restate them over and over again.
See the Contributor Style Guide.
Igirl's next issue: PLAGIARISM!I have seen quite a few articles from people who basically "copied and pasted" from another website and even when people point it out NOTHING is done about it. @#!*% , they even ended up on the Main frikin Page... This bothers me more than anything. I will also like to say I am going to single out the people who plagiarize from now on...
Galactus' Comment: YOU GO GIRL! Shame them mofos into good journalistic ethics! I agree. And you pointed out our style guide rule about plagiarism, but let me add a few more thoughts...
Unfortunately, this is another "subjective" thing, and its even worse for us because we're user-generated and rely on content from contributors of all ages and education. It's difficult to promote and enforce proper journalistic standards to 12-year-olds, and even harder to those who don't give a @#!*% . We will always struggle with this, so again, here is what I have said to our editors--straight from the bible:
Our Philosophy About User-Generated Content and "Professionalism"
Not every user contribution will be Shakespeare, and that's OK. We're not the Wall Street Journal. What is important is that every user feels like they can contribute to the site and develop to the point where they ARE producing real quality content. Having said that, we DO want to present a professional image as much as possible so that we are taken seriously in the entertainment news industry. As an editor, it is your responsibility that anything that gets on the main "what's news" page is the best of the user's contributions. When you edit users, send them an email (through their contact form) to let them know how to improve. And let's have some fun while producing good stuff.
How to Treat Plagiarism
Many Editors have asked how we should treat plagiarism--which is an ongoing struggle when managing a "user-generated" site. In a perfect world I would want us to follow accepted journalistic standards, which we have outlined in our style guide for all to see. But, as a realist I understand that there are various "levels" of plagiarism that our unsophisticated users engage in. Some we can let pass, while others we have to be careful about. For instance, the big boys like USAtoday, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety will NEVER care whether we (our users) cut-and-paste entire articles from them. On the other hand, if we take more than a paragraph (and sometimes less) from SuperheroHype.com (also ComingSoon.net), Mania.com, Coventry Telegraph (Geek Files) or MTV Splash Page, we will ALWAYS get a nasty email telling us to "cease and desist".
Here are my thoughts... In the case of something that is blatantly plagiarized—-meaning it’s a pretty lengthy article and the user made absolutely NO effort but to copy and paste, consider one of the three below options:
1. If it's not worth editing--especially if the source is one of the "anal Annies" mentioned above, simply delete it.
2. If it’s a relevant article we definitely want on the site, edit it down for them to the "proper" size.
3. If it's from one of the "don't care" sources mentioned above, at least make sure the headline and teasers aren’t total rip offs. AND be SURE to email the user about it and educate them about plagiarism. They may just be unaware, but tell them they can't keep doing that and that future plagiarism will be deleted.
I realize that this way of thinking is "lowering the standard" somewhat, but I'm cognizant that you're all volunteers and don't have oodles of time to redo every article that appears. I also want users to see that we are TRYING to feature their contributions and encourage them to improve. As long as we are making an honest effort to stay out of trouble, then I am OK with some of it getting past. This is reality right now, and the worst that can happen is that we are contacted and remove the offending material. Note: We have a disclaimer on EVERY article posted to cover our @#!*% . Hopefully in the future we can hire some of you to do this full time and the standards will rise.
Igirl's Comment: Lastly, this is ComicBookMovie you guys says that if the movies or articles aren't comic book related then it doesn't belong on here. Then why were all of the Avatar articles allowed on here? I have checked vigorously for a comic book or a Graphic Novel based on Avatar and you wanna know what I found? A whole lot of NO Avatar comic books. Also the articles about Megan Fox and here lame nude photos? Articles like these, I feel, should be moved to Earth's Mightiest or to Comic Book Hotties. That's why we have those sister sites, am I right?
Galactus Response: I'm agreement with you here, especially since we now have EarthsMightiest.com up and running for the non-CBMs--thanks to Ed Gross's awesome help. Still, the problem is the same. EVERYBODY wants their contributions seen on CBM because this is where the action is. And try as best as we can to promote EarthsMightiest.com it is a constant struggle to enforce the CBM theme when MANY users (and editors) have their own opinions about what is related to comic book movies. Let me again show you what I make the editors read and agree to:
Our Vision for the Site:
ComicBookMovie.com went online in 2003 to report breaking news about comics to movie adaptations. Today we are the leading news source for the genre and rank #1 in all search engines. We also have the most active community in the genre, and in 2008 we opened up our site to user-generated content which has made us unique among all entertainment news sites. Because of user interest we have also allowed SOME expanded coverage into most SciFi, Fantasy and Horror (see next topic below). We feel that our continued growth is dependent upon user experience and their ability to contribute and feel a part of the site. To that end, we have adopted a liberal policy concerning user contributions--meaning, we like freedom of speech, heated debate, and even a little controversy once and awhile--as long as it doesn't get ugly. In our view, it only makes the site more interesting. Of course, as editors you will decide what is out of bounds, but in general we want you to enforce the free form leanings of the site.
Comic Book Movies ONLY?
Until we opened up our site to user-generated content, we only reported on comic book movie news. But so many users wanted to post other "related" genre news that we have relaxed that standard somewhat to allow most anything in Scifi, Fantasy and Horror. We've made some buttons in the newsgroup section where we house "off topic" news that is of interest. We also changed our logo to "CBM" to reflect wider coverage. But even though we have broadened our scope, we do NOT want to lose focus on our theme of comic book movies. The first page 'what's new' section should NOT get overrun with non-comic book movie news even though there may be non-comic book movie news that we move there on slow news days.
To further advise the editors on what is acceptable as a comic book movie, I have stated time and again that we should focus only on comics to movie adaptations, and at a stretch, movies that later get made into comic books or graphic novels. Of course, there are those stories that get past. For instance, your Megan Fox mention. She's been in at least two CBM's so does that make EVERYTHING she does newsworthy to this site? Maybe not, but I'm not going to pull down a contribution if the contributor makes the connection.
Igirl's Comment ...if you have a policy for a site then everyone, besides Galactus (he's a God, ^_^), should follow it.
Galactus Response: Thanks for your honest criticism, and ending it thus. When it comes down to it, I have to be the final word or chaos will rule. And yes, sometimes (very infrequently) I even break my own rules for my own reasons. There is no way around it. But that is the privilege of owning the site. We do try and be fair, and hopefully my comments have proven that we care and are always cognizant of our users.
In conclusion, I'd like to make a comment myself because we have been getting an influx of user complaints. I hope you all don't take it as being snarky or whining. I mean it only FYI. CBM is going through a growth spurt. We have over 90,000 visitors a day currently, and hundreds of contributors. We have around 10 unpaid volunteer editors and of those maybe 3-5 of them can help out editing on a consistent daily basis. Even the Mighty Galactus is hard pressed to manage and catch EVERY single mistake or injustice that occurs on the site, but we do the best we can. We will strive to improve, and only ask your help and patience as we undergo our inevitable growing pains. We have always valued your input, your contributions and support. Thanks!
Galactus - CBM God