OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/19815/Call_For_Editors_and_Writers Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2013, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:12:31 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316569 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316569 Paid work? Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (flanque) Comments RE: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316570 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316570 Yes, you will get 3 jelly beans a day. NO MORE! Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:59:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (helf) Comments RE: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316575 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316575 I doubt it. The osnews staff has repeatedly made clear (with a certain amount of hostility I might add) that:

1.) They don't want to pay people for contributions. Apparently the editors aren't even being paid.
2.) They don't want to release any financial information.

Personally, I find it somewhat astounding that a for profit company is soliciting donations at all. If osnews was an NPO, I'd have no problem with it, but they aren't. Where's the money going? Would I be spending time writing articles to fund someone's big screen tv? (my guess is that I wouldn't, but without any financial information how can I be sure?) Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:58:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (averycfay) Comments RE[2]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316579 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316579 If your cynicism is that deeply embedded, then don't. Don't comment on this article, don't even use the site. If anything you've already proven that you wouldn't make a good editor with an attitude like that.

There are plenty of others who don't see this as a matter of money, and see it as an opportunity for greater things like furthering their skills and bringing joy to readers who are genuinely interested in the art of computing. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Kroc) Comments RE[2]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316584 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316584
I doubt it. The osnews staff has repeatedly made clear (with a certain amount of hostility I might add) that:

1.) They don't want to pay people for contributions. Apparently the editors aren't even being paid.
2.) They don't want to release any financial information.
...
Would I be spending time writing articles to fund someone's big screen tv?...

Make sure it's plasma and not LCD or Eugenia will moan for days on end. ;-) Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:55:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sbergman27) Comments Maybe I would... http://www.osnews.com/thread?316588 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316588 I really would like to,
but OSnews is so unfriendly
to Lynx users that it
is hard to look at pictures
(yes Lynx can do that),
post comments, etc.
and if you change the
user agent to use the
M*zilla compatible page,
stuff looks weird.Browser: Mozilla/2.8.7dev.8-MirOS (compatible; MirBSD; UNIX) libwww-FM/2.14 SSL-MM/1.4.1 OpenSSL/0.9.7m Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:40:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mirabilos) Comments RE: Maybe I would... http://www.osnews.com/thread?316591 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316591 Or you could just look at the bottom of the mobile page and click that link to give you the full version. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:28:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom_Holwerda) Comments RE[2]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316593 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316593
Personally, I find it somewhat astounding that a for profit company is soliciting donations at all. If osnews was an NPO, I'd have no problem with it, but they aren't. Where's the money going? Would I be spending time writing articles to fund someone's big screen tv?


What money!? The money from the ads!? Everyone in here uses adblock extensions. They can't possibly earn money. Having nonprofit writers is much better - in that way OSNews can keep on being free and independent. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:34:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Ben Jao Ming) Comments Osnews content types? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316594 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316594 What types of news do and don't fall under osnews? In other words what are the criteria for deciding if certain news will be published or not on osnews? Does it have to be about OS's? Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (52lemurs) Comments Comment by Coxy http://www.osnews.com/thread?316597 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316597 Great, but don't hire the guy who wanted to tell everyone why he won't be getting an iPod. Same guy who wrote that he was glad that 'IBM Declined to Release the OS/2 Source'. His articles sound to personal, like they were originally written for his blog, but he decided to send them to OS news just 'for a laugh' to see if they would get published. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:35:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Coxy) Comments I was thinking about writing up.... http://www.osnews.com/thread?316610 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316610 a piece on why I use the distribution that I do. Not because I feel I am all that special, but I do on occasion go on a 'distro shopping spree', so to speak.

That and I've had several people ask me the what and the why for of which distribution I use.

Also for work purposes, I'm sure it'd help someone out there wanting to know which is easiest for installation, maintenance, etc. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (leech) Comments RE: I was thinking about writing up.... http://www.osnews.com/thread?316620 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316620 Well... it's not that I'm lazy, I just don't care. :-) No, honestly, I would like to contribute with some articles (UNIX topics and mainframe stuff, as you can surely imagine), but I don't think my English is good enough for this. Furthermore, I don't think OSNews is a suitable platform to publish articles that would better be placed into HOWTO-like discussion boards or scientific papers. Reviews always include the risk to start a flame war "which distro is better" or "Linux isn't ready" or "mine is longer than yours", and I think discussions reveal that there are enough topics of this kind. Call me stupid, but I do prefer OSNews articles that are more of a technical or scientifical nature (e. g. Thom's usability topics, for the last kind), I don't read the "average user in focus" that intensive because... I don't care. :-) Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:37:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Doc Pain) Comments RE[3]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316622 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316622 I dunno. I have Adblock plus installed but I never ever use it...

somehow I just manage to totally ignore pretty much any ad.. I don't think I've ever knowingly clicked on one!

I have clients who run very small, very niche sites who make a pretty decent amount of money from ad revenue - i.e. several 1000s a month.. these are low volume, very niche sites too... But hey, we're all geeks here, so maybe we just don't click ads as much as other gullible people do? Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:41:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (netean) Comments RE[2]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316624 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316624 Editors? What editors? I've given up asking Eugenia to get somebody to proofread her English.

As for a for profit company taking donations - who cares? The only difference if they were a NPO would be that you could get a tax deduction for your donation - meh.

If you like what they are doing and want to support it - donate. If not, don't. There is nothing magical about a non-profit that makes it any more financially responsible or accountable.

I doubt it. The osnews staff has repeatedly made clear (with a certain amount of hostility I might add) that:

1.) They don't want to pay people for contributions. Apparently the editors aren't even being paid.
2.) They don't want to release any financial information.

Personally, I find it somewhat astounding that a for profit company is soliciting donations at all. If osnews was an NPO, I'd have no problem with it, but they aren't. Where's the money going? Would I be spending time writing articles to fund someone's big screen tv? (my guess is that I wouldn't, but without any financial information how can I be sure?)
Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:55:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (joshv) Comments RE[3]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316627 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316627 I don't know why you got modded down. It seems like a perfectly reasonable response to me. Much like open source, we contribute articles here.

The profit of the site is intended to cover bandwidth, network administration (backups, DNS, etc), hardware and servers, and administrative stuff. OSNews is certainly not the first site to do so and most definitely won't be the last.

Anyone who has ever written a post on IMDB or Netfix, written a book review for Slashdot, etc, has contributed to someone else's profit too, but I don't hear the whining there. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:24:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adam S) Comments RE[4]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316634 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316634
OSNews is certainly not the first site to do so and most definitely won't be the last. Anyone who has ever written a post on IMDB or Netfix, written a book review for Slashdot, etc, has contributed to someone else's profit too, but I don't hear the whining there.


However, the free MacBook Pro every two months and the use of the company Ferrari helps. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (fretinator) Comments RE[4]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316636 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316636 "Help! help! I'm being repressed!"

Meh, I don't mind. The replies to the thread were only ever going to be complaints, and people with a grudge to bear. Anybody who took it to heart to contribute would have just sent an email as asked rather than bothering to reply to the thread. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Kroc) Comments RE[5]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316639 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316639 Dude, you're totally off the mark there. We don't ever get presents like that, and we sure don't get a car like that. Come on man, sheesh, lame flamer.

Ferrari, pshhh. We have an Aston Martin. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:09:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom_Holwerda) Comments RE[5]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316643 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316643 You have to wait TWO MONTHS for your new MBP? Sucker. I get a new one every 2 weeks and use the old ones as step ladders around the house. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:34:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adam S) Comments RE[6]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316645 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316645 When OSNews staff shut down a computer, it goes in the bin and a new one used for next time. ;) Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:40:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Kroc) Comments RE[6]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316651 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316651
Dude, you're totally off the mark there. We don't ever get presents like that, and we sure don't get a car like that. Come on man, sheesh, lame flamer.

Ferrari, pshhh. We have an Aston Martin.

Well guys, I guess this post sort of constitutes "financial disclosure". ;-) Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sbergman27) Comments RE[7]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316653 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316653
When OSNews staff shut down a computer, it goes in the bin and a new one used for next time. ;)

OSNews runs on Windows? ;-) Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:47:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sbergman27) Comments RE[2]: I was thinking about writing up.... http://www.osnews.com/thread?316657 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316657 Your English doesn't have to be perfect ;) Heck, 99% of native English speakers can't use it correctly... Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:56:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (helf) Comments Gone with the wind http://www.osnews.com/thread?316661 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316661 In recent times, I have found that the quality of articles posted in OSNews have gone way downward. Or I am getting older.

Too many meanless fan wars, not enouch tech.

PS But if it was the opposite, maybe OSNews wouldn't be this popular.Edited 2008-06-02 15:09 UTC Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dimosd) Comments RE: Gone with the wind http://www.osnews.com/thread?316665 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316665 It's turned into OSCogs. It's not enough that lame comic is on the front page - a while ago 8 out of 20 stories on the front page were either written by Thom or submissions of his that were actually mini-editorials stressing his opinion not the story. One further entry was actually submitted by someone else but ruined by Thom's ranting (it dragged in his Fiona Apple obsession for some reason.)

In b4 "love it or leave it" Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:34:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Tyr.) Comments RE: Comment by Coxy http://www.osnews.com/thread?316677 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316677 Hey, it was about why I won't buy an iPhone ;-)

Thanks for your continued support. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:02:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (rhyder) Comments RE[2]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316686 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316686 This is an area of debate amongst freelance writers -- should people do unpaid work?

I see both sides of the argument. People working for free decreases the demand for paid work. I have no doubt that some publishers would start paying for work or pay more than they already do if the pool of unpaid workers were smaller. This is particularly true in the music press, for example.

On the other hand, most professions have a concept of internship. I had seven articles published on OS News before I started going after paid writing work. I was happy to do the work and I feel that I benefited from it. Getting my work in front of an audience and receiving feedback for it was a valuable part of the learning experience.

Apart from anything else, you need a portfolio of published work to make reference to in order to go after other work.

As long as you are getting something out of it -- such as building your profile as a writer, or developing your skill set -- unpaid work has its place, in my opinion. Naturally, the people who get to read your stuff are getting something out of the situation too.

As with most things, I think that a good balance needs to be found. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:39:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (rhyder) Comments RE[2]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316687 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316687
Would I be spending time writing articles to fund someone's big screen tv? (my guess is that I wouldn't, but without any financial information how can I be sure?)


You're right! ZOMG OH NOES! Now that you mention it, I've never seen any documentation proving that OSNews staff don't regularly dump babies into woodchippers. Not that there's a single shred of evidence that they do - but I'm completely justified in assuming it (since they haven't explicitly stated otherwise). Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (StephenBeDoper) Comments RE[5]: Paid? http://www.osnews.com/thread?316689 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316689 "Come see the violence inherent to the system!" Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (StephenBeDoper) Comments RE[2]: I was thinking about writing up.... http://www.osnews.com/thread?316691 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316691 Dont let that put you off, judging by all your past posts, you have an excellent grasp of the English language, and its grammer. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:48:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (raver31) Comments Kool!!! http://www.osnews.com/thread?316696 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316696 Im verry intrsted in this poisition. Im the koolest guy at all the computter stuff, and I rilly like argueing about GPL vs. BSD lisenses and stuff. I think i"ll rite and articel about how kool Ubuntoo is! Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:57:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (fretinator) Comments RE: Kool!!! http://www.osnews.com/thread?316772 http://www.osnews.com/thread?316772 Moulinneuf! Is that you? Tue, 03 Jun 2008 05:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Chicken Blood) Comments