How to Use (and not use) inSierraMadre.com
GENERAL INFORMATION
inSierraMadre.com is an online-only newspaper that provides news and information for the Southern California foothill village of Sierra Madre. Anyone can register to join the online user community, whether you’re a resident of Sierra Madre or someone with a special interest in Sierra Madre, whether you vacation, visit, have relatives, work or do business, or used to live in Sierra Madre, CA.
The editor of inSierraMadre.com has been a Sierra Madre resident for nearly nine years. You can read about her and get her contact information on the About page.
The site is democratic in that anyone can join in, speak up, speak out or share news. The site is also democratic in that the editor is a trained journalist (and former classroom teacher) and will do her best to create a fair environment for people to join in, speak up, speak out or share news.
But, this site is not democratic in that the editor will, without hesitation, kick out anybody who doesn’t play by the rules. It is up to the editor’s discretion to determine who is playing by the rules and who isn’t. In that sense, this site is a kingdom, and the editor is its queen; to wit, a monarchy with the motto “It’s good to be queen.”
The intention is to create an open, welcoming atmosphere for all.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT @ inSierraMadre.com
Play Nice
This site is built on trust, civility and respect. We can treat each other kindly even when we disagree with each other. You may not use inSierraMadre.com to fight with people, to attack or “flame” people or to otherwise engage in any kind of character defamation or libel. Additionally, you may not use this site to spread hate or intolerance of any kind.
Users who cannot operate within these established guidelines can be suspended or banned from the site with or without warning and at any time.
If suspended or banned persons feel they have been treated wrongly, they may take it up with the editor at insierra@inSierraMadre.com.
Let the Editor Take Care of Problems
If you see a violation of site policy, please report it directly to the editor at insierra@insierramadre.com rather than submitting a comment about it through the site.
WHAT YOU CAN DO HERE
You can enjoy the site simply by visiting and reading often.
Or, you can get more involved by participating in the interactive offerings @ inSierraMadre.com. All submissions to the site are moderated by the editor.
Submit a comment
Each news and information entry on the site is open for comment. You must register with the site using your real name and a verifiable e-mail address. We do this to reduce spam and other inappropriate submissions. You can register by clicking “login” at the top right hand side of the site.
Then, when you login, you’ll see a “dashboard” where you can modify your user information at any time. To post a comment, click “view site” at the top of the dashboard window. This will get you back to the main site, where you’ll be able to submit a comment after any post.
All comments are moderated by the editor. This means that an entire comment might be deleted even if one small part breaks the rules stated on this page, if it violates common-sense rules of respectful human interaction or if it doesn’t pass the sniff test for some reason. But, moderating comments does not mean that they are edited — comments are not edited but are published as-is.
A comment could be deleted for any of the following reasons and for other reasons not included here. Comments could be entirely deleted if they are:
>>Snarky, off-topic or even a little antagonistic
>>Anything that can be construed to be a form of personal attack against a person or a group of people
>>Anything that can be construed to be threatening or demeaning to a person or a group of people
>>Complaints about the way others comment (or don’t comment)
The editor will close comments for some features after a certain amount of time has elapsed, so if you have something to contribute, don’t wait!
Submit an entry for the community calendar
The general calendar is open for submissions to all inSierraMadre.com registered users. Check out the submission directions and provide all required information in order to have your event successfully added to the calendar.
Submit an opinion
If you’d like to submit an opinion, you’ll need to register for inSierraMadre.com. Once you’ve registered, when you login, you’ll see a “dashboard” where you can create and submit posts.
Remember, editorials must be identified as such. When you create a post, please select the “opinions” category. Please also follow the guidelines for appropriate content given on this page.
Submit news articles or news tips
If you’d like to submit a news tip or a news article of any length (even very short ones are fine!), you’ll need to register for inSierraMadre.com by clicking “login” in the upper right-hand corner of the site. Then, you’ll be able to write and submit news articles when you’re logged into inSierraMadre.com.
When you create a news post, please select an appropriate category, with the understanding that the editor may change it. If you do not see an appropriate category, just select News, General, and suggest an appropriate category to the editor in an e-mail or within the body of the article itself.
When you submit a story to inSierraMadre.com, the editor may contact your sources to verify or double-check information. Additionally, the editor will edit your writing for grammar, punctuation, usage and spelling. Your story might be edited for length but the substance of the content itself will not be altered. The editor might contact you for more information if necessary.
If your submission includes photos, video or audio, please contact the editor to make arrangements.
Tips for newswriting
>>Objectivity & Transparency
News must be written from as objective a viewpoint as possible. There is a difference between news and opinion writing. Try to achieve a balance of viewpoints in your writing.
Additionally, if you have a personal or business relationship with the subject of an article you’re writing, you should disclose the nature of that relationship up front so that readers are clear about your perspective. But, if you are too close to a subject, you’re probably not the best person to write an objective news article about that subject. Perhaps you should consider writing an editorial instead.
>>Do your own work
Remember what your school teachers always told you about the value of doing your own work? That applies here.
inSierraMadre.com is looking for original submissions – that means your own work, not someone else’s. You must attribute any information you get from someone or from somewhere else, whether it’s someone on City Council, your grandmother, a documentary film, a website, a newspaper, a book, etc.
When attributing something to another website, you should provide a link to that site. You can do this by using the little chain link icon in the window where you type your post.
If you are confused about how or whether to attribute, please contact the editor at insierra@insierramadre.com.
>>NO gifts or money in exchange for news coverage
Do not accept any gifts, money or favors from any person or group in exchange for writing (or not writing) a news story.
*Poynter.org
*Online Journalism Review: , writing, video production (full disclosure – please see the editor’s bio on the About page to see my relationship with this site)
DISCLAIMERS
inSierraMadre.com provides registered users with an opportunity to share news, views and information about community events via an Internet site at the URL http://insierramadre.com. The user is responsible for any fees or equipment necessary to access inSierraMadre.com.
Registered users of inSierraMadre are responsible to maintain the privacy of their accounts and passwords. Registered users are also responsible for all actions that occur within their individual accounts. Users should immediately notify inSierraMadre.com of any unauthorized account breaches.inSierraMadre.com cannot be held responsible for software or server failures or accidents that result in the deletion of comments, stories or personal account information.
Users can be reassured that their e-mail addresses and any personal information supplied via the registration process will not be sold. Additionally, inSierraMadre.com will not use user’s e-mail addresses to send spam. However, inSierraMadre.com will use users’ e-mail addresses to communicate with them about comment and story submissions and also during the registration process for verification purposes.
inSierraMadre.com reserves the right to suspend or completely discontinue the entire website or portions of the website at any time and without prior notice. By registering, you agree that inSierraMadre.com is not liable to you or to any third party for canceling or changing its offerings.
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Originally posted: April 9, 2006
Changed: April 19, 2006