Curation Guidelines And The Time To Change

At the time of writing this post we have 717 members in the @sportstalk community of which there are 65 of us who are active. Going through the posts over the last week I was struggling to see where and who can be curated. The honest truth is a majority of the posts are more like a quick sports report with no substance. I stuck my neck out and I hope I don't regret it.

Over the last few weeks I have been fighting our corner to get sports included in the OCD incubation program for curation.This has now happened and they have generously given us their support and we have to fix things from here on in. Incubation means a test period and something that isn't permanent until we prove we are worthy of support. Let us not mess this one up as these opportunities don't grow on trees.

Curation doesn't just happen and you need to be consistent in your offerings. I have seen on discord over the last few months members of the sports tribe complaining about circle jerking with certain members getting upvotes. The truth is you firstly need to put some effort into producing a post consistently in order to gain a following.

I have decided to put in some guide lines so everyone knows what is expected in order to receive some curation. They should be obvious to most of you yet I need to highlight this as seriously going through the posts over the last week there isn't one post that would qualify. Things are bad and had no idea how bad until you start to look. If the tribe wants to be taken seriously then we need to improve and not shit post so many times per day. I am here to help you as I want the tribe to succeed.

Minimum Requirements.

Originality. This means using your own words in your own writing style combined with some personal insight in whatever piece you are writing. Put your own spin on things as there is so much to write about and not just write about a match you just watched, but what made it different or interesting for you. I read the sport columns regularly and don't want to find the same stuff here with none of your personal input. Posts are there to create discussions and talking points otherwise what have you achieved?

Some users(not on sports currently) spend hours or possibly days working on a post and it shows in the finished product. No plagiarism will be accepted and you will be banned from being curated in the future. I noticed some of you have been using Google translate from other languages and not even bothering to change anything. That is not acceptable and you all know this already.

Length I don't expect to see two paragraphs and a photograph as that is more like a comment. A post that has some substance and meaning in the range of 500 plus words or more. This is not a lot to ask really as that is just standard. Put some effort in and you will be surprised that you may be rewarded. A majority of posts are more like spammy reports not worthy of anything. Sorry to be harsh but the truth needs to be spoken and if you want to succeed and be rewarded effort has to be shown.

Sourcing photographs. This is important as you will receive nothing if you don't do this correctly. Always add the source of where you found the photograph if they are not your own. Be careful where the photograph comes from and copy right material is not allowed unless you have purchased their permission. Getty is a perfect example and no they are not one busy photographer but a business who own the rights to those images.If you are not sure ask someone or contact me and I will help you. There are many places to source photographs and suggest looking at sites like twitter. Just glancing through last night a majority of you obviously take your own photographs as there is no source linked. For this you will not receive an up vote and more likely a down vote.

Good use of language and spelling would help, but it is understandable if your first language is not English. Make an effort is all we ask as this will go a long way to helping you grow.

These are just basic requirements for curation with some posts going over and above what is required. Anyone is eligible to be curated as long as you meet these standards. I will be doing this going forward and hope you all improve on what you offer as your post. This is an opportunity for everyone to feel appreciated in the efforts you put forward.

There are some other things happening behind the scenes which I am sure @patrickulrich will inform us over the coming months. This is about getting the tribe back on course and building on what we already have. Don't take this post to heart, but see it for what it is and change whatever you are doing wrong.