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FAQ - Submitting Stories
 

Submitting an Article

What kind of articles should I submit here?

The World Forum is like a daily newpaper, except with discussion and debate under every article. If you read an interesting story online in a mainstream or non-mainstream publication, you can write a summary of it, containing one or more links to the original stories, and submit it. You can also write more lengthy articles such as essays, editorials/commentaries or reviews of books and films. As far as topics goes, the topics covered here can be seen by clicking on the "topics" link at the top of the screen. If you think a topic should be added, contact us and we'll see what we can do! As for which section to submit to, submit it to the International section if you think the story would be of interest to everyone, or to a continental section (e.g. North America) or a national section (e.g. Canada). If there is enough demand, we may eventually add subsections to country sections to denote provinces/states/territories, and who knows--perhaps even add cities one day.

How do I submit an article?

Once you have created an account and logged in, follow these steps:
  1. Click on the "submit story" link at the top of the page.
  2. Choose the most relevant section and topic from the dropdowns. Sections are the geographic region (except for Blogs and Site Talk), while topics are the specific focus. However, topics are not the same as subsections, because each topic exists for each section, i.e. they are independent of each other.
  3. Choose the type of formatting. Most people choose HTML, which is the default.
  4. Write an appropriate title in the "Title" textbox.
  5. Write the introductory portion of your article in the "Intro Copy" textbox. This should be one or two paragraphs. If your article is relatively short, the entire article should be in this textbox. Things to note:
    • Check your facts. If you're not 100% sure that something you're saying is true, research it first to make sure. Otherwise you'll be embarassed when hundreds of readers make a point of correcting you.
    • You may wish to write your story in a word processor first, so as to take advantage of the spelling and grammar checking, and then copy and paste it into the "Intro Copy" and "Extended Copy" textboxes.
    • The only allowed HTML tags are: <A HREF="[url]"> <B> <P> <I> <OL> <OL TYPE="[type]"> <UL> <LI> <DL><DT> <DD> <EM> <BR> <STRONG> <BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE="cite"> <CITE> <TT><CODE> and, of course, the corresponding closing tags too.
    • Spam is not tolerated and will be deleted.
    • If you are resumitting a story that was previously rejected, please do not state the fact that you are resubmitting the story for whatever reason, as that will most likely result in it being turned down again, since nobody wants to edit your article to remove that statement. In other words, your article should be written exactly as you wish it to be displayed.
  6. Write the extended portion of your article, if required, in the "Extended Copy" textbox. Do NOT copy the introductory portion here again.
  7. If you wish to associate your own reader poll with your article, fill out the poll question and answers textboxes. Polls are strictly optional.
  8. Click on the "Preview" button to preview your article.
  9. In your preview, make sure that it reads well and that there are no spelling mistakes. click on any links you have included to ensure they are valid. Note that unless you specified your links to come up in a new window, clicking on these links will take you away from this page and you will lose everything you have written. In IE, you can right-click on a link and select "Open in New Window" as a way of checking your links.
  10. Make any changes you want and then hit Preview again. Do this repeatedly until you are 100% sure that your article is ready to post.
  11. When you are satisfied with your article, click the "Submit" button. This sends your article into the queue, and you will not be able to edit it again.

How do I make changes to a story I submitted?

Sorry, too late. If the problem is really serious, you can resubmit your story with the required changes. Or you can send an email to the adminstrator contact in the navigation bar and ask us to make the changes for you.

What section/topic should I use?

Choose the section and topic that is most relevant to your article. Articles can be rejected if they obviously belong in a different section, so please choose carefully. The topics are self-explanatory. As for section, choose International if you think the story will be of interest to everyone regardless of what country they live in, or choose a continental section (e.g. North America) or a national section (e.g. Canada).

How do I know if my story got posted or rejected?

There are four ways:
  • Check your email. Whenever a story gets posted or rejected, you'll receive an automated email saying so.
  • Click on the "Your stories" link in your user box (if you are logged in). If it's there, that means it was posted.
  • Click on the "Moderate Submissions" link in your user box (if you are logged in). If your story is not in the queue, it has either been posted or rejected.
  • Check the Front Page and Section Pages of The World Forum. If it's there, that means it has been posted. Note that not every story goes to the front page.

What do I do if my story was rejected?

First off, please don't get upset and swear never to submit a story to this @#$%^! site again. There's usually a very valid reason for a story not being posted. In the automated email that you received regarding your story, there is a link. Follow that link and You will be able to see the body of the article, all the comments, and also who voted what for you (try to refrain from revenge please). Of these, the comments are the most important, as often the reason the story was dumped is in the comments. Read all the comments, rewrite your story appropriately, resubmit it, and make a small sacrifice to the Submission Deity of your choice to get it through this time. You can rewrite it and resubmit it. If you choose to resubmit, you should first read any comments that might have been posted on your story.

If I want to resubmit, how can I see what I did wrong?

Follow the link in the email you should have received regarding your story. You should see your story, along with comments and who voted which way for you (no vendettas please). The comments usually reveal why the story was rejected, so if you want to try again, take the comments to heart, rewrite your story and resubmit.

What are blogs?

Blogs are your personal space for writing whatever you want -- your thoughts, editorials, opinion pieces, anything. They work exactly like stories, in that anyone can read them and comment on them (and in the future, even vote them to the front page). However, nobody can post to your blog except you and nothing you post can be rejected because it is automatically posted, bypassing the voting queue. You are not required to create blog entries, but if you wish to, simply click on the "New Blog Entry" link in your user box (if logged in) and write your entry in exactly the same manner as you would submit a story.

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