Some thoughts on the MFP site

I want MFP to have two different sides - one like the forums at The Star Press and other newspapers (a little informal), but also have another side that is more serious.

So, we have two basic ways to submit information to Muncie Free Press. First, you can click the 'Post to Blog' link on the left on the homepage, and on the right on most inside pages. (is moving it confusing?) All of these stories are collected under the 'Blogs' label (in the top navigation).

Second, you can click the 'submit story' link. Clicking this one, your story goes into what we call the Story Queue. There, it is (hopefully) edited by the person who wrote it, fact checked, etc. Then, when it's ready (or 2 days pass), people are able to 'Vote' on the story and whether or not it is published on Muncie Free Press.

When you submit a story to the queue, you have the ability to choose a topic and section for it to go into. This bit is confusing and a little difficult to explain, but the system works well. The topic is the type of story it is - for example, an objective news piece, a review, an editorial or opinion piece, an essay... The section is the subject of the story - politics, sports, the MFP website, education, entertainment, etc. So, basically, we'll have all of our content stored as - what type of story it is / what the story is about.

Now, not everyone will be 'into' the Story Queue and moderating, and for them, there's the Blogs section. For people who want to take their interest in Citizen Journalism a little further, though, we're also offering opportunities for them.

That's the quick basic lesson for today. Now ... how to simplify all the above into a 300x400 graphic? ;)

Seriously, though, let me know what's confusing (as some of you are) so that I can fix it. Thanks.

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