NP and its ups and down, the good and the bad and can we improve...

I joined NP in February 2008, http://my.nowpublic.com/paschen,

My first experience was rather frustrating, I tried to post and could not, then as I finally managed to post, Still, I could not edit, and after spending way to much time trying to get it all to work, I finally left and was not going to come back either.

After a few days though, I received a Mail from a former Staff Editor here, Ryan, http://my.nowpublic.com/ryan_nadel, Welcoming me to NP and asking me if I needed some help.

Well, that was nice, and so I came back and tried again, however that was not much better and I left again, dropping in to read every now and then and that was about it. 

Until I had some spare time and decided to give it another trial, I posted and of course it was all wrong, I did not put in a link nor any sources and bag I fund my self wrenched.

I did not really care, since I had not clue what that actually was for. Yet, I received a PM from Jordan, http://my.nowpublic.com/jordan, Very polite and inquisitive trying to find out why and how I got to this news and if I knew what was needed and required here on this site?

I though that was actually fairly nice of him and I responded, he did coach me afterwords and I managed to fix the post, however made another mistake by reposting the updates in a new post rather then adding them to the existing post. 

Eventually, I figured out how NP works and got around to read the fine print and rules. Most Editors and may they be Staff or Guest where always polite, even though, some every now and then blow a fuse. however, I could understand that to a point, since we have all extremes here on NP, from the very polite to the very rude and every thing in between that shows up and there are times it can really wear on one self when trying to help some one and getting insulted in return.

That in part is the nature of the Internet and some seem to feel because it is anonymous to a point, that they can behave in the worth ways one could at times not even have imagined.

I liked NP though and the idea of CJ work as well as its futures and philosophy. However, Many things did bug me at times, such as when the site crashed as I just tried to post, or comments disappeared due to some bug or even worth the CACHA that could drive me insane coming up with every comment I tried to post and then deleting my comment all together and forcing me to start all over again, some times several times for the same comment. One has to be persistent not to leave the site on such moments.

I usually do not say much or at least I used to. However, I realized that by staying silent nothing would ever change, since it could be a mistake or a bug and rather then getting paranoid, I ended up sending a PM to Jordan and asked. Well, what do you know, it ended up getting fixed to my delight. Even though it took a little time. That is understandable though.

Another part of the Internet seems to be that we expect every thing to be instant and we do expect people to read our minds and just know about all the problems and troubles or we believe they are out to get us and try to sensor us. Still, if we are not paranoid and report bugs we expect them to be fixed almost instantly. 

The reality though, is that nothing can be fixed instantly nor can any one know about a problem if they are not told and here, at least at NP there is no such a thing then censorship of ideas or news.

I have seen many members leave as well as many new members join NP, however I have also seen many that left and came back, realizing that NP was actually a great medium and one that they could benefit from and that was especially benefiting form them as well.

Over the course of time I have been criticizing NP on every level and I have been defending members as well as NP it self. Still exercising criticism at the same time and I always believed in constructive criticism rather then just complaining, suggest alternatives and solutions.

Some problems are still around though and other have been fixed. Unfortunately some new once have appeared as well. However, over and all, progress has been made even though we seem to have a few hick ups that keep coming back and could easily have been avoided just by staying consequential and not making exceptions to the rules no matter how tempted or tired one may feel.

The rules apply to all here at NP and that has been made rather clear in the past. May that be any member, Staff Editor or Guest Editor, we all are subjective to the same rules.

In my own opinion though, the rules do not only apply to all. Moreover, we may close an eye every now and then with a member that we know tried hard and still makes a mistake here or there, Reminding then with a PM or asking if we can help.

Yet, we have to be more then ruthless when it comes to Staff Editors and Guest Editors, after all we are the once wrenching and enforcing the rules and trying to keep NP running smooth... We need to enforce those rules with out any exception, not even any lea way when it comes to Staff Editors or Guest Editors.

This may be the singles biggest problem NP needs to address as it did and fixed it as well already in the past. However, it has to stay fixed and we can not make exception at all, concerning Staff Editors or Guest Editors. Those have to be harder on them self, then they would be on any other member and this every single second on the site.

NP is a great site and has great potential as well as many advantages to any other News Site. 

We also have one thing that not to many news sites have, which most here do not seem to value or appreciate though. We have a Forum, a Forum that is accessible to all members, this was not always the case here and was one of the best changes NP made in favour of its members. Free speech and a place to talk about NP, troubles or bugs or even complain or criticize each other or NP. 

This by it self is an incredible tool and privilege, that we need to cherish, appreciate and take advantage off.

Nothing happens over night, not even here on the web or at NP, all things need time and hard work to reach perfection and so does NP as well. We need to be vigilant though and work at it or we may fail to reach our full potential.

We need to uphold the highest ethical and Objective standards for all, however especially for those hat enforce them.

We also need to keep the News True and reliable as much as Humanly possible and acknowledge any mistakes openly once we realize them or find out the news was false or we our self made a mistake. Our integrity and morals as a news site and as members, especially as Staff Editor or Guest Editor depends on it and this does reflect on NP and its own Integrity and moral standards as well.

I for one want NP to be know for its high standards in the News World and its great (Member) postings as well as for its Ethical and moral values being some of the most honoured in the News Media... We can be as good and even better then Any of the renowned and respected News outlets, however they did not achieve their reputation over night either and the only reason they manage to maintain it, is because of vigilance.

Yet, we shall not forget that we are all Humans as well, and to error is with in Human nature.

I accepted to be Guest editor here so I may be able to help other fellow members more effectively, as Ryan, Amy and Jordan once helped me. And so I may help NP reach its full potential as well.

The News does matter and News well and truthfully reported can change the World for the better. We do as members here have a moral obligation  as well as an Ethical one, this to our self's as Members and as well as to the medium and community of this site here at NP.

Respectfully,

Uwe Paschen.