The NewsBusters FAQ
Index
Your NewsBusters Account
How can I get a NewsBusters account?
Is it free to create a NewsBusters account?
How do I manage my account?
Can I change my member name without getting a new account?
What are Private Messages and how do I used them?
What does the Buddy List actually do?
What is the Forum and what is it used for?
Commenting
How do I respond to articles?
What can I say in a comment? Where are the rules for commenting?
What if I have a problem registering to comment?
How do I edit my post?
How do I insert a link to other articles or internet videos?
What are Double Posts and how should I handle them?
When I tried to post a comment, it says "Access denied". What happened?
When I tried to post a comment, it says "Page Cannot Be Found". What happened?
How can I change the way comments are displayed on my computer? What are the available options?
What is a troll?
Supporting NewsBusters
How can I support NewsBusters financially?
I can't help financially. How else can I support NewsBusters?
How do I send NewsBusters a tip about a new story?
Contributing to NewsBusters
Who does NewsBusters allow to become contributing bloggers?Advertising
How can I become a contributing blogger?
How can I buy an ad on NewsBusters?
Your NewsBusters Account
How can I get a NewsBusters account?
Its simple. Just click here and follow the directions.
Is it free to create a NewsBusters account?
Absolutely
How do I manage my account?
Click on "My Account" on the upper right hand area of the NewsBusters main page, or "Account" on the NewsBusters title bar. A page will appear that shows your buddy list, displays your profile, and shows your NB History. From this page, you can select "edit" to review and/or change the details of your account. Once you choose the Edit option, you will see the following:
Account information: Displays your e-mail account. You may also change your log-on password in this area.
Picture: You may upload a digital picture or avatar, which will be displayed for other users to see in your profile, and which will appear if you post a Forum topic. The maximum dimensions are 85x85 and the maximum size is 3 kB. Users who select pictures deemed to be in bad taste will be banned.
Block Configuration: "Tools" enables the tool bar in the comment section. Who%....gives you the option of seeing a list of other users who are currently on line when you are on the main NewsBusters pages.
Comment Settings: This is where you can create a "tag line", which will appear at the bottom of each of your posts. Choose your tag with care: it will remain with your post tag forever. If you choose a quote, be sure to cite your source, and it's a good idea to verify the accuracy of your quote.
Private Message Settings: You can choose whether or not to participate in NewsBusters' private mail system by toggling this option.
Additionally, you may request that you are notified of an unread private message via an automated e-mail from the NB system. Choose "Aggressive notification of new messages" if you want to be sent an email each day by our system to remind you to check your private messages.
If you wish to include a brief description of yourself, your interests, or your blog, select "About Me" at the top of your account page. This information will be displayed when another NB poster views your profile.
Can I change my member name without getting a new account?
No. User names are maintained by the site administrators. If you wish to change your user name, you may submit a request using the "Contact Us" form.
Note that multiple user-names are not allowed, and may be grounds for termination of your posting privileges.
What are Private Messages and how do I used them?
You can privately correspond with other NB members using Private Messages. You can access Private messages by clicking on "My Inbox" under your account on the upper right hand side of the NewsBusters page. You must set your account to allow private messages in order to use this feature. See "How do I manage my account?".
What does the Buddy List actually do?
The Buddy List feature at NewsBusters allows you to easily identify which of your favorite posters are currently on-line. To see which of your buddies are currently on-line, click on "My Buddy List" under your account (upper right hand side of the NewsBusters page).
To add someone to your buddy list, click on that user's Screen Name, and their User Profile will be displayed. Under "Buddy Actions", Select "Add User to my Buddy List". A notification will be sent to that user that you have requested the addition. The user may accept or decline your buddy invitation. Once the user accepts your invitation, his/her name will appear on your Buddy List, and you will be able to easily determine whether or not that user is currently on-line.
What is the Forum and what is it used for?
The Forum is an opportunity for NewsBusters members to post their own take on news items, media bias, or just general discussion topics. To access, select Forums on the Newsbusters title bar. The Forum topics are divided into four categories: Internal Affairs; Latest News; Off-Topic Discussion; and the Woodshed. Each category has a description as to what type of topic is appropriate.
If you post a Forum topic, try to place it in the correct category.
Commenting
How do I respond to articles?There are two ways to comment to an article. You may respond directly to the article, by selecting "Post a Comment" at the bottom of the article. This will drop your comment to the bottom (or top) of all of the comments, depending upon how your viewing options are set up.
You may also reply to other posters' comments by selecting "Reply" directly under the comment which you wish to respond. This will place your comment directly under the comment to which you've replied.
Note: You need to be a registered member of NewsBusters to post comments.
What can I say in a comment? Where are the rules for commenting?
Comments should be on-topic to the article and insightful. Follow this link to the Terms of Use for rules on commenting.
NewsBusters reserves the right to remove inappropriate comments without prior notification.
What if I have a problem registering to comment?Contact the site administrators by clicking the "Contact" option on the NewsBusters navigation bar. When this window opens, select "Login/Password Problem" under "Category". Complete the "Message" Section with your particular problem. Note that you may opt to e-mail yourself a copy of this correspondence. Additionally, at the bottom of the form you must fill out the "Captcha" section to preclude spam correspondence before you may submit the form.
If you are asking about a username, password, or login problem, you must include the user name for which you signed up. There is a waiting period between the time you sign up for a user name and the time it is approved for use. Wait at least one week before emailing us about a new account.
Please note that NewsBusters reserves the right to refuse without explanation accounts submitted with user names that are vulgar or inappropriate.
How can I edit my post?
You should use the "Preview Comment" function to review your post for errors prior to posting.
Once you've posted your comment, you may go back and edit it, by selecting the "Edit" function directly under your post. You have the option of editing a post until another poster responds to your post. Once there has been a response to your post, the edit function no longer is available.
How do I insert a link to other articles or internet videos?
Prepare your comment as you normally would. Then, select a word or phrase which you wish to use as your link. Highlight that particular word or phrase. Once you have highlighted the text, the small link icon on the far right of your toolbar (looks like a link in a chain) will become activated. Click on the chain-link icon, and a small pop-up box will appear.
Highlight the internet address of the article to which you wish to link, and paste it into the pop-up dialog box next to "Link URL". Click the "Insert" button, and you will be returned to your comment. The text in your comment which you used for a link will now appear in a blue, underlined font. When you preview your comment, your entire comment will now look exactly as it will when posted, with your hyper-link in bolded, orange type.
What are Double Posts and how should I handle them?
Often, when the NB server is experiencing an extremely high volume of traffic (i.e. there is a linked article from Drudge), users will experience a slow-down in both navigation and in posting comments. Comments will appear to "hang" as you attempt to post them.
When you click the "Post" button, you should get an audible click (presuming your sound is enabled). Once you hear this, your post has been submitted to the queue. Be patient, during high volume situations it may take as long as a few minutes for your post to complete. If you continue to click the "Post" button, you will create a duplicate (or multiples) of your original post.
If you mistakenly create a double post (or more!), simply edit the duplicates with something like "Sorry, double post". Site administrators and moderators may then easily delete these inadvertent posts.
When I tried to post a comment, it says "Access denied." What happened?
First reload the page you are on to make sure it wasn't a hickup. Then double check to make sure you have logged in to NewsBusters.
When I tried to post a comment, it says "Page Cannot Be Found". What happened?
Again, to be sure it isn't a simple hickup reload the page you are on.
Also, sometimes, automatic software updates may change your computer's settings, which will interfere with your ability to post comments. Try restoring your default settings in your computer's Security (i.e. enable Javascript).
How can I change the way comments are displayed on my computer? What are the available options?
There are multiple ways you can organize the comments on a blog entry. The options may be found directly above the first comment in a blog post, and have drop down menus that allow you to select from the following options.
Threaded List - Comments in response to the blog itself are displayed on the far left hand side of the page. Comments in response to another poster's comment are indented to the right of the original comment.
Flat List - All comments, both to the blog itself and in reply to other poster's comments, are displayed on the far left side of the page in chronological order.
Expanded - The comment subject, poster's name, and the full text of the comment are displayed.
Collapsed - Only the comment subject and poster's name are displayed.
Date - Oldest First - Oldest comments, and all subsequent comments, run from top to bottom of the page.
Date - Newest First - In the threaded format, the most recent comments, and subsequent responses, will appear from top to bottom on the page. In flat format, the most recent comments will be displayed from top to bottom of the page in chronological order.
Comments Per Page - Options include 10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 150, 200, 250, and 300 comments per page.
Change your settings by selecting the various options on the settings menus. Save your settings using the Save Settings button. You may change these options at any time.
What is a troll?
A troll is a person who posts outrageous messages to bait other posters. Trolls delight in sowing discord on the threads. A troll is someone who inspires flaming rhetoric, who purposely provokes and incites others into heated discussion, often resulting in name calling and a "flame war".
Trolls try to make believe that they are genuine skeptics with no hidden agenda. They are generally divisive and argumentative with need-to-be-right attitude, "searching for the truth," and often times insult and provoke others into insulting them.
h/t curezone.com ~ "Netiquette Guidelines"
The best way to deal with trolls is to ignore their baiting arguments and to inform other readers that you suspect the person of being a troll. This will save them time from having to take the comment seriously.
Supporting NewsBusters
How can I support NewsBusters financially?
NewsBusters is a project of the Media Research Center's News Analysis Division, the "leader in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias." The mission of the Media Research Center is "to
bring balance to the news media." The mission of the Media Research Center is to bring balance and responsibility to the news media. The Media Research Center is a research and education organization operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax-deductible for income tax purposes.
To make an on-line contribution, download a printable donation form, or participate in Planned Giving, click here.
I can't help financially. How else can I support NewsBusters?
One of the easiest and best ways to help is to share the NewsBusters site with your friends. You can also support NewsBusters by actively supporting and promoting NewsBusted videos on YouTube. From time to time, NewsBusters has special projects which require user input. You can also help us out by posting our stories on social networking websites like Facebook, Digg, Reddit.
You can help us as well by sending out our stories to your favorite bloggers and reporters from other web sites. Please try to keep your emails relevant to the person you're sending our articles to.
How do I send NB a tip about a new story?
Use the "Contact" option on the NewsBusters Title Bar. When this window opens, select "Story Tip" under "Category". Complete the "Message" Section with the particulars of your tip. Be sure to include a link to the story. Note that you may opt to e-mail yourself a copy of this correspondence. Additionally, at the bottom of the form you must fill out the "Captcha" section to preclude spam correspondence before you may submit the form.
Contributing to NewsBusters
Does NewsBusters allow people to become contributing bloggers?
NewsBusters welcomes submissions from qualified writers. Before contacting us, please familiarize yourself with the NewsBusters style guide as well as the MRC's guidelines as to what constitutes liberal media bias.
How can I become a contributing blogger?
Contact the site administrators by clicking on the "Contact" option on the NewsBusters Title Bar. When this window opens, select "Interested in writing for NB" under "Category". Complete the "Message" Section with your contact information, a resume, and two writing samples if possible.
Note that you may opt to e-mail yourself a copy of this correspondence. Additionally, at the bottom of the form you must fill out the "Captcha" section to preclude spam correspondence before you may submit the form with your contact information.
Advertising
How can I buy an ad on NewsBusters?
Please note that NewsBusters does not accept ads that advocate for/against political campaigns, politicians or specific legislation. If your site attracts 30,000 or more visitors a day, Newsbusters may be
interested in a link exchange or content partnership. But if I have such a site and am interested, what do I do? For advertising information, click here.
