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#1: Who runs Backwash? Who is Ringman?
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Ringman founded Backwash back in August of ‘97. It started out as just his column with accompanying links, and slowly but surely grew into the behemoth it is today. Backwash is not venture backed and has no outside investors so if you have a suggestion, there is no committee or giant bureaucracy you need to deal with to get it implemented. Backwash earns enough revenue to cover costs (so you don’t have to worry about the site going bankrupt or investors pulling ship).
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Backwash is a community-run site with a very small staff who handle programming, systems maintenance and administrative duties. There is a special message board for columnists and contributors to discuss site development and issues with each other. Most major decisions and policies are arrived at through consensus. Columnists/Contributors are strongly encouraged to actively participate in decision-making and development. There is significant opportunity for those who wish to assume leadership roles in the community and company.
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Please read the About section for more details about Backwash.
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#2: Do I get my own Backwash email account?
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As a columnist or contributor, you receive a free membership which allows you to send and receive private messages to all subscribers.
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#3: What are the differences between the various versions of Backwash?
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All Audiences Backwash (backwash.com) receives the most traffic and includes content that can be read by all audiences. It MAY include content that is rated R or even NC-17 on rare occasions. We created Adult Backwash for people who enjoy more Adult material. We also did this so we could keep this material off the All Audiences site. If you wish to focus on Adult content (pornography) or post an exclusively NC-17 rated column and/or links, then you should do so on the Adult Backwash site. Kids Backwash is targeted at kids thirteen and under.
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#4: Is there an age requirement?
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Columnists must be over 18. Contributors may be any age.
We have found that our highest turnover of columnists occurs with those under 18 and as a result, our policy is that you must be eighteen years old to be a columnist unless you are writing for the Backwash Kids site. Those under eighteen may serve as Contributors instead.
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#5: What is the difference between a Columnist and a Contributor?
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Columnists write columns AND post links. Contributors only post links.
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#6: What kind of content can I recommend?
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Generally, you may recommend anything as long as it is specific and would be of interest to our audience. You may not post explicitly adult content unless you write for Adult Backwash. If you write for General All Audiences Backwash, you may post borderline content as long as you classify it as R Rated content on the admin form.
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#7: What does ‘specific content’ mean?
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A website like The Onion has hundreds of articles available to readers. Link to specific articles on The Onion rather than the front page of the website. Our goal at Backwash is to save people time by directing them to the best content on the net - articles, recipes, games, newsletters, downloads, mp3s, shockwaves, etc. We are not a directory service of the best websites.
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#8: Can I recommend my own content?
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Yes, you may use Backwash to publicize your own work - within reason. If you are interested solely in publicizing your own work, you should become a Backwash Partner rather than a Contributor or Columnist.
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#9: Can I post links/content previously posted by other columnists or contributors?
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You may not post a link to Backwash that has been posted to Backwash in the previous sixty days. If you try to post a link of this sort, you will receive an error message.
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#10: How do you get my column? How do I post links? Do I need to know how to program?
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No, you do not need any programming skills whatsoever. We use a simple intuitive on-line interface. It will take you at most five minutes to figure it out. Because it is an on-line interface, you can access your administration screen from any computer anywhere in the world.
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#11: How do I come up with a title for my column?
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Your title should be catchy and memorable and express the content or personality of your column. Review the Most Popular section or the Column Directory for ideas.
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#12: Who owns the copyright to my column?
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You own the copyright to your journal entries while Backwash owns the copyright to the links (titles, descriptions, etc.). Backwash retains the copyright to all link titles, descriptions and classifications. You grant Backwash the right to use your columns on its website and in any site related publications and/or advertising.
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#13: What can I write about in my Backwash Column?
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In short, whatever your little heart pleases. We welcome your unique contribution. Some people write topically, about books, sports, music, films, etc. Others have a wonderful way of turning everyday family anecdotes into universal life lessons. A number use their Backwash Column to work on short pieces of fiction, poetry, and comics. The space really is yours to do with as you see fit. And everyone does it differently.
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#14: What is the difference between a Backwash Column and a Contributor’s/Columnist’s Journal?
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Imagine you’re at a family gathering. Things are busy, tensions flare, and you have a blow out with a family member. If you just want to get it off your chest, the place is in a Journal. A Column, however, generally concerns itself with the larger issue surrounding the event. Find a way to inject the same details into a comment on, say, stress between family members, and you have yourself a Column. The difference is how much you reflect on the details.
Plenty of Columnists write quirky, even heart-breaking, accounts of their lives. And some of the funniest Columns come from witty observations of the mundane. The trick is to find the hook that makes your own circumstances appealing to an anonymous reader.
Remember that the overwhelming number of people who visit Backwash daily don’t know who you are. With each and every column, you introduce yourself to the reader. If we need to know the history of your relationships - work, family, romantic, or otherwise - in order to follow along with what you’ve written, then you’re probably better suited to a Journal (unless you are writing a serialized novel). To put it simply, we want your personality more than your personal details.
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#15: Will I get a ton of traffic to my column right from the start?
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Probably not. It takes time to build an audience. Plus your visibility on the site directly correlates to your activity. Each comment you post on the message boards and each link you post to Backwash is hyperlinked to your column. If you moderate a newsletter, channel or community, your hyperlinked userid or caricature appears in tandem with it. The frequency with which you update your column or journal also affects your traffic.
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#16: How much time will it take to serve as a Columnist or Contributor?
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It depends. The frequency with which you write your column is determined by you. We ask you to post a new column at least once a week, though we prefer you update more often.
There is a minimum five link requirement in order to "publish" your column, though again we prefer more links if possible. Most columnists say the hardest and most time consuming part of writing a column is finding good links. In addition, posting a link to the site requires categorizing the link by subject on our special on-line admin form. You can expect it to take about a minute to add each link.
As a columnist, you will have access to a screen consisting of links submitted by visitors to the site. With just a few clicks, you can easily research and then add any of these links to your column. This is a great time saver if you're having trouble finding content to recommend.
There are additional duties you can take on if you so desire. If you decide to moderate a community, it will probably take about thirty minutes a week, though you can split the duties with other columnists. A newsletter can take thirty minutes or more to write each week. And we always encourage you to post comments on your message boards and participate in the chat rooms.
In short, depending on whether you are a columnist or contributor, and how many duties you take on, you can spend as little as a half hour a week on backwash to many hours a day. We of course encourage you to live on Backwash entirely, 24-7.
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#17: Can I edit published Columns?
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Yes, your admin screen gives you the ability to edit all previously published columns.
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#18: Can I remove all my published work from Backwash?
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The Backwash Site Administrators have the ability with one click to make your specific column page and all your published columns become unavailable to the general public. We can do this temporarily or permanently based on circumstances. Anyone trying to access your Column page will automatically get redirected to the home page. If you wish to have your work removed from Backwash, simply contact an admin rather than deleting all the content yourself.
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#19: What if someone sends me hate mail or posts hate messages on my boards?
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Not everyone is going to agree with your personal views and beliefs. If you use your Column as a soapbox, you’ll attract the same kind of energy in feedback on the Message Boards. If you’re up for it, then we’re not here to stop you.
Having said that, Columnists moderate their own Message Boards. We encourage healthy debate. You get your say in your Column, Registered Members get theirs on the Message Boards. Allow them that space. You are under no obligation to participate in threads that have been started off your Column. Do your best to keep people on topic, but remember that the Message Boards are ultimately a social forum. It’s hit and miss. Don’t spend any more time engaging your readers than you feel comfortable with. And if you notice behavior that you consider belligerent report it immediately to Administration. And if you don’t like someone’s comments on your boards, then delete their comments!
Writing a Backwash Column makes you a public figure in a sense. If you wish your work to remain private, then become a Contributor, write your thoughts in your accompanying journal, and make your journal ‘friends only’ or ‘private’.
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#20: Have you ever kicked a columnist off the site?
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Yes. We generally have a hands off editorial policy. However, we have our limits. Plagiarism, hate speech and activities detrimental to Backwash such as insulting other columnists will not be tolerated. Backwash is happy to provide you with a space to speak your mind. We like spice. We like flavor. We like strong thinkers. We don’t like hate. We’re not out to censor anyone. Our tolerance levels are high. But in the words of Martin Blank in Grosse Pointe Blank, If I show up at your door, chances are, you did something to bring me there. If you have a problem with another writer on Backwash, contact Ringman directly.
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#21: Can I take on additional administrative duties apart from my column or links?
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Yes, we will take all the help we can get! Any columnist or contributor who performs administrative duties receives the title Contributing Editor along with some other extra benefits. If you agree to take on additional duties, we expect you to reliably and consistently perform whatever duties you agree to tackle. Interested Columnists and Contributors should contact Ringman for details.
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