Flagging Guide: "Who's waving them... and why?"

One of the benefits of joining NowPublic is that you get to help decide what stories, photos, and videos make it to the front page. Flagging is your way of telling everyone what contributions deserve recognition. Not only can you post stories, photos, videos, and comments to the site, you can also help ensure that fantastic content is seen.

To ensure that the best submissions get attention, all NowPublic members have the power to promote stories with the “Recommendation” flag. We also have flags to identify breaking news, eyewitness accounts, stories that need more news, and flags to suggest improvements, identify questionable content, and zap spammy submissions.

Remember that whoever and wherever you are, you have a say in what will make it to the homepage - so keep those recommendations coming!

Recommendation

On NowPublic, you can recommend stories, photos, videos, and comments that you think deserve to be promoted. When you "Recommend" something on the site, it adds value to it and gives it a better chance of being placed on the front page. It's also a nice way of letting the author know that someone liked their contribution.

At NowPublic, we believe every contribution has the potential to be great. We made the "Recommendation" flag as a way of letting you give public recognition to high-quality content.

• Recommended stories should always include:
  • Original material
  • Use of sources
  • Links
  • Context and author's commentary
  • Associated pictures or video (when appropriate)
• Recommended stories should not be:
  • Plagiarised
  • Only a quoted article or Highlight
  • Boring (Not-newsworthy)
  • Spam
• Recommended photos and videos should be:
  • Original
  • Authentic (not "doctored")
  • Relevant
  • Visually descriptive
• Recommended comments should:
  • Be constructive
  • Add context to a story, photo, or video
  • Update a story with new information

Who can use it? Staff Editors, Editors, Wranglers, Members

Recommendation Weighting:

Recommendations are weighted based on the different types of NowPublic members. To help promote the best content on the site, the recommendations of NowPublic Staff Editors, Editors, and News Wranglers carry a higher weight than regular members and anonymous users.

We are continually tweaking our algorithm to ensure that all members of the NowPublic community are recognized for their contributions, therefore, the current weighting system is subject to change.

• Staff Editors: + 10 recommendations
• Editors: + 10 recommendations
• Wranglers: + 5 recommendations
• Members: + 2 recommendations
• Anonymous Users: + 1 recommendations

Breaking News

If a volcano has just erupted in Central Park and you have a photo, it’ll go right to the top. All over the globe there are really new, interesting news events happening that no one else knows anything about. We’re especially on the lookout for these and when your item gets flagged this way, it means you’ve done a great job. As well, news organizations all over the world are always on the look-out for material from non-professionals. Items that are flagged “Breaking” may ultimately find their way to sites like the New York Times. It happens.

Who can use it? Staff Editors, Editors

Eyewitness

Did you witness something first-hand in your own backyard? Were you on the scene at a newsworthy event? Did you document what was happening around you?

The "Eyewitness" flag identifies a first-person account — a story, photo, video, or voice report — that was taken by someone who was present as an event unfolded.

Eyewitness content should be:

• first-person
• original
• authentic
• current

Who can use it? Staff Editors, Editors

News Wanted

Think of this as a trumpet blast, calling anyone within distance of a breaking or important news event. This isn't just for journalists or photographers, this is for anyone within driving, walking or running distance of this story. Or maybe you know someone who was there?

If you think you can help shed some more light on a subject or story, this is your chance to shine. It's as easy as adding your comments to any existing story, or even just uploading a photo to our site, where other users will link it to appropriate stories to give them context.

This flag also recognizes a story as important or breaking and requiring further coverage.

A story is marked as News Wanted if it is:

• A breaking event
• Important and recent
• Needs local coverage

Who can use it? Staff Editors, Editors

Needs Improvement

Something about this story just isn't quite right... a good report should bring new information or context to something. It should be relevant.

This feeling happens more than you'd think, and that's why we created the Needs Improvement flag. You'll occasionally (but hopefully not often!) see this on stories around the site.

It could mean the story lacks transparency - does the author have an undeclared vested interest in the story? A story may also be marked if it is unclear, short of information or appears only as a link to another site.

For any of these reasons and more, an editor might flag this story as needing improvement. Not to fear! If you make the changes the editor suggests, your story will be unflagged and possibly moved to the front page!

A story may Need Improvement if it:

• Lacks research and sourcing
• Lacks transparency
• Includes only a link
• Is unclear why it is newsworthy

Who can use it? Staff Editors, Editors

Fishy

Uh-oh, we've got a problem! When our editors flag an article or image as being Fishy, it usually means there's some question as to the plausibility of the material. In other words, this story might not be true.

The internet, while a wonderful fountain of information, can also become clogged with fake stories. We get enough of these that we had to add this flag. Simply make the recommended changes and the flag will be removed.

Things that could make a story Fishy:

• Was anything added that was untrue or exaggerated?
• Was the image or text not produced by the contributor?
• Is the author involved in the experience firsthand?
• Is there full disclosure of sources?
• Is there a conflict of interest?

Who can use it? Staff Editors, Editors

Spam

Spam is just what you think: an article or link that has no news value and/or is trying to sell a product. Spam comes in all sorts of sizes and flavours, so while we do have a code of conduct, it's up to editors to determine on a case-by-case basis whether a story falls under this category. Members who use the comments or forums to post spam will also be blocked from the site.

While advertising is the main source for spam, links to old stories or sites filled with advertisements and anyone we think may profit from the story will also be removed. This includes press releases, even if you think your band is really good.

Unlike the other flags, once a story is marked spam it is removed from the site and rarely finds its way back. However, if you think your story has been flagged as spam in error, feel free to (contact us).

Who can use it? Staff Editors, Editors