• Re: What do the readers of CogNews want? by on Wednesday September 24, @09:44AM

  Just curious as to what people come here to see. I'm not quite sure if people want strictly pointers to news and popular press, editorial pieces like what Ted has given us, or something else entirely. This is in no way commentary on Ted's writing, which is well put together. In the future, should editorials become the fad, it would be a great addition for the community aspect of CogNews, but would essentially transform the site into a forum. Forums don't really have that Slashdot-like quality of recent events. So again -- do people want the front page to be a forum or recent events? Or some of each? Keep in mind that running this site is a lot like yelling at a brick wall. Very infrequently do I hear people's opinions on what would make this site better, so from time to time I feel it's appropriate to ask if anyone is willing to speak up. Thanks for speaking up.

  [ Reply to this ]

• Re: What do the readers of CogNews want? by on Wednesday September 24, @10:04AM

  I think the point is actually whether or not something is of sufficient quality to publish? One way to determine that is to only list articles that are published elsewhere, thereby giving the editorial responsibility to others. The other way is to wield the hatchet yourself. Your site, your call. I can see the logic behind either approach. But I wish this discussion was not attached to the end of an article that I was hoping to get feedback on...

  [ Reply to this ]

• Re: What do the readers of CogNews want? by on Wednesday September 24, @11:13AM

  I think "your site, your call" sums up exactly what I'm trying not to do. If I wanted a blog, I'd be one of the million people out there with a blog, and I'm sure my opinions would be ignored just like everyone elses. What I have in mind for CogNews is a fair representation of state of affairs in cognitive science and a resource for the community. After all, I already know what my opinion is, so other people's opinions are much more interesting to me. My only concern is the fact that this editorial sets the precedent for other people to express their opinions on the front page -- again leading to a chatboard (albeit, with the main subjects heavily moderated), not a news site. And again, my question is do people want personal opinions of the CogNews readers on the front page, strict adherence to current events or some combination of the two?

  [ Reply to this ]

• Re: What do the readers of CogNews want? by on Wednesday September 24, @01:07PM

  Would you feel different if Dr. Minsky was one of your readers, or Dr. Lenat, Dennett, etc? I am not picking on you, because I think you are making an important decision here, but I think you are drawing a line between those that read the articles on the site and those that might publish articles elsewhere. If so, then the criterion I mentioned before would be logical: only allow links to articles published elsewhere. Personally I don't want to read self advertisement, product plugs, lunacy, or pseudo-religious nonsense. Given free-rein, that is what would be published on the front page along with the items of quality. On the other hand, I would be very happy to see anything based in science and logic, whether or not it has been published elsewhere, or is a "mainstream" conformant piece. That takes discernment on your part. If it aint science, don't print it. I don't see alternatives other than either doing the screening yourself, or letting other publishers do it. If you are looking for a consensus opinion on what to do, then you have my vote of confidence to screen out the nonsense.

  [ Reply to this ]

• Re: What do the readers of CogNews want? by on Wednesday September 24, @01:46PM

  I agree with Ted. If you only allow links to articles published elsewhere you up the ante a bit for quality's sake, and would just have to guard against disguised advertisement.

  [ Reply to this ]

I've only been reading CogNews for a short time, but I've been very impressed by its frequent (and relevant) updates. I'm just starting a Cognitive Science course at University and I forsee this site being a great aid for that.

The actual text on the front page isn't the be-all and end-all of the site's content; external linking to news articles makes personal bias much less of a concern.

Besides, I hope that CogNews will grow until it has multiple writers, member registration and so forth. It certainly has the potential.

• Re: What do the readers of CogNews want? by on Thursday September 25, @07:52AM

  Good point about linking from the front page, I had never thought of it in quite that perspective. I also appreciate the suggestions of how to improve the site -- member registration has been on the "to do" list for quite awhile now, but it hasn't been forgotten. As for multiple writers, well here's the link for submitting a story. Anyone is welcome to submit at any time. Feel free to share anything cool you run across, or if you have some spare time read through the news links for something to post.

  [ Reply to this ]