I don’t think “reading more articles in a better way” is a necessarily a goal that Readup’s target group consciously has
I don't find myself coming back to read better, I come back because it's a safe & sane place to discuss & be exposed to opinions outside my own. Empathy & sanity and our ability to cooperate at scale come from being exposed to, and taking time to consider, other opinions, worldviews & thoughts. The articles seed those conversations, but the community takes it further.
Like the latest post for Jeff Bezos' email at his retirement. Tons of different viewpoints, shared generously and with kindness. That's a win, and IMHO a direct panacea to the division we see elsewhere these days
Thanks for your comment Alexa! I also cherish Readup as a safe place for productive and empathic conversation. I find it much nicer to post here than to tweet for example. And that's a benefit that I didn't consider directly in my write-up. It was mostly looking at Readup as an instrument for better reading, not for better conversation. Of course, the write-up was heavily influenced by my own thinking about Readup. But comments like these indeed make me realize that people value different Readup aspects differently. And sometimes, you also need an outside perspective to reframe your own thinking. All of that is super important indeed.
The articles seed those conversations, but the community takes it further.
That's a beautiful way of putting it. Your "takes it further" reminds me of another comment system, on the Dutch news website Tweakers.net. This article for example has 560+ comments now. There is a kind of peer-moderation system in place, it goes from -1 (undesirable) to +3 (Spotlight). +3 is very rare (I had to look for an example for some time, this one has 3 spotlight comments), but it basically means that the community thinks that this comment is an essential addition to the article.
Adding crucial information is only one way of "taking it further", and Readup is not just a news website (thank god). But still. I appreciate that the Readup community can "take it further" in a myriad of ways. And I hope that this will only grow while Readup grows.
OMG I accidentally became Scout on this. Lol. Had no idea until just now. 🤷🏽
Update (2/10/2021):
⬆️ ...and with this comment it is really the first a-ha moment as a Reader here that Scout is whomever reads the article first and not simply Imports it. Dork moment.
🤦♂️
I also didn't understand this! I asked Jeff about it. Becoming a Scout is actually a bit more involved than being the first reader. Here's a synthesized response. It should be in a FAQ on the site at some point:
An article becomes a "community read", which means that it is eligible for AOTD (top/new) and Discover) when one of the following happens:
A reader posts a comment.
A reader posts without a comment (silent post)
A reader rates the article.
A second reader reads the article.
So if you're the only person that read something it will not show up anywhere else in the system. It takes two, like launching a missile on a nuclear sub.
The first reader who posts it (silent post or comment post) becomes the Scout.
I upvote this +1 or whatever, regardless of who wrote it. 🙂
Dig it! Love seeing other opinions around here
I think you're on to something for sure.
I don't find myself coming back to read better, I come back because it's a safe & sane place to discuss & be exposed to opinions outside my own. Empathy & sanity and our ability to cooperate at scale come from being exposed to, and taking time to consider, other opinions, worldviews & thoughts. The articles seed those conversations, but the community takes it further.
Like the latest post for Jeff Bezos' email at his retirement. Tons of different viewpoints, shared generously and with kindness. That's a win, and IMHO a direct panacea to the division we see elsewhere these days
Thanks for your comment Alexa! I also cherish Readup as a safe place for productive and empathic conversation. I find it much nicer to post here than to tweet for example. And that's a benefit that I didn't consider directly in my write-up. It was mostly looking at Readup as an instrument for better reading, not for better conversation. Of course, the write-up was heavily influenced by my own thinking about Readup. But comments like these indeed make me realize that people value different Readup aspects differently. And sometimes, you also need an outside perspective to reframe your own thinking. All of that is super important indeed.
That's a beautiful way of putting it. Your "takes it further" reminds me of another comment system, on the Dutch news website Tweakers.net. This article for example has 560+ comments now. There is a kind of peer-moderation system in place, it goes from -1 (undesirable) to +3 (Spotlight). +3 is very rare (I had to look for an example for some time, this one has 3 spotlight comments), but it basically means that the community thinks that this comment is an essential addition to the article.
Adding crucial information is only one way of "taking it further", and Readup is not just a news website (thank god). But still. I appreciate that the Readup community can "take it further" in a myriad of ways. And I hope that this will only grow while Readup grows.
💯
OMG I accidentally became Scout on this. Lol. Had no idea until just now. 🤷🏽
⬆️ ...and with this comment it is really the first a-ha moment as a Reader here that Scout is whomever reads the article first and not simply Imports it. Dork moment. 🤦♂️
I also didn't understand this! I asked Jeff about it. Becoming a Scout is actually a bit more involved than being the first reader. Here's a synthesized response. It should be in a FAQ on the site at some point:
An article becomes a "community read", which means that it is eligible for AOTD (top/new) and Discover) when one of the following happens:
So if you're the only person that read something it will not show up anywhere else in the system. It takes two, like launching a missile on a nuclear sub.
The first reader who posts it (silent post or comment post) becomes the Scout.
🙏🏼 Thanks for Clarity. Glad to know I wasn’t the only one. 🙏🏼
Nicely put, Jeff
To clarify: I should say that I wrote this 😅 So this isn't an Official Readup Statement™️.
I do understand the confusion though, my name isn't anywhere, and I'm sure that Bill & Jeff are calling each other a lot!