Watch out for Fellow Bloggers
The title has a double meaning. I mean it in the sense of being helpful toward other writers here on AR.
Looking out for each other is an important aspect of being a member of a community. We see it in our neighborhoods. Why not in our on-line networks?
So here are some thoughts on how YOU can watch out for your fellow bloggers:
TYPOS
Let others know about major typos, especially in a title, which are such a smack-you-in-the-face mistake. I'm not suggesting we critique each others' spelling and point out every little typo, but use your common sense to let friends know about those glaring errors that make them look foolish. Yep, spell check is a good thing, but sometimes we forget, and it doesn't catch everything.
LINKS
Point out links that don't work. I imagine many of us check links before we post, but mistakes happen, especially if we type the URL instead of doing the Cut and Paste thing. And sometimes links become a problem later on when the original site changes. Broken links are embarrassing, annoying, and make us look bad in front of our readers. Here's a Broken Link Tool.
POSSIBLE COPYRIGHT VIOLATIONS
Let others know when they may be violating a copyright or terms of use (using images from Image Chef is a good example). If you suspect a more serious copyright issue, it might be best to chat with AR instead - you decide.
DATA ERRORS
Bring up any questions of data that might not make sense or which could be typos. We can all make mistakes when doing our own calculations, or creating charts and tables, especially on those darn market reports.
PLAGIARISM
If you see an article that you believe has been copied without permission, why not let the original author know? It happens more times than we would like to think, and I, for one, want others to let me know if I haven't discovered it myself. It's happened to me multiple times and probably 50% of those times I found out from friends. Thanks!
DID YOU MEAN TO SAY THAT?
Let them know if something they wrote really does not make sense, or is clearly a mistake. I am not advocating criticizing someone's thinking, or belittling their post (we see that often enough) but sometimes a well written post all of a sudden goes weird. Maybe the writer had a brain freeze. They said seller when they meant buyer, for example.
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You can probably think of other ways to watch out for your fellow bloggers. I know I want to know about these things and I don't take offense, and I suspect most will appreciate it, and they may return the favor. It helps this be a better place.
Now I wouldn't do this publicly (i.e., in the comments) but send a private email, since pointing the error out publicly could be a bit embarrassing to the writer. Or perhaps take the opportunity to pick up the phone and get to know the other person a bit, then bring up the issue.
Unfortunately some may not appreciate your efforts to be helpful, and may even take offense. So you do have to tread carefully and decide when to reach out and how. You may be more appreciated by someone you sorta know rather than by a complete stranger who may get annoyed or be insulted, even if your feedback is well intentioned.
Whadya think?
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