New Policy on Sharing News Articles - Links Only

SLC_96

We have a new policy on sharing news articles.

Users may not post any part of a news article—including direct quotes. Instead, please share only the headline and a link to the article.

Posting content from news articles can clutter the forum, decrease search engine visibility and reduce engagement in meaningful discussions.

To share a news article, simply paste the URL of the article. If no preview is generated you may wish to post the headline of the article. Consider adding your own summary or thoughts – instead of quoting, explain why the article is relevant or share your perspective.

A new website feature is rolling out to provide extra context before a user clicks on the link. I hope this makes these links easier to browse.

What happens if someone quotes an article?

Moderators will remove quoted content and may issue reminders. Repeated violations may result in further action.

Can I quote from paywalled news articles?

No, direct quoting from any news article, including those behind a paywall, is not permitted.

What about other content?

This change only applies to news articles and blog posts.

Dks01

Good grief…

SLC_96

Dks01 I see you are surprised. I want to assure everyone that this decision was not made lightly.

Donoreo

Often the comment for an article ONLY makes real sense if you quote some of it, especially when someone is replying and have not actually read it themself. So no quoting at all? Good luck moderators!

SLC_96

Donoreo Yes, no direct quoting. If the link preview is not enough, you would need to add a little more context to your comment.

Hydraglass

SLC_96 I strongly disagree. We have an actual need to be able to put snippets and quotes in our comment. Our personal commentary is uesless if not including quoted text from the article - especially on technical topics where we may be sharing technical details as posted by the news that are security or detail oriented and there is a need to explain or fill in additional commentary. This is simply not a blanket-able ban on all news articles.

SLC_96

Hydraglass This announcement is about sharing of news articles and blog posts. Other web pages such as technical documents are not included.

Donoreo

SLC_96 This announcement is about sharing of news articles and blog posts. Other web pages such as technical documents are not included.

So where is the line? What is acceptable, what is not? News articles, especially here (Security Forum for sure) are often of a technical nature but are news still news articles. I think enforcing it will be a nightmare for the team.

OzarkEdge

SLC_96 This change only applies to news articles and blog posts.

My practice and aversion to data redundancy is to link to external content whenever possible… in case you need a Policy B that is simpler to explain, moderate, and abide by.

Somewhat-Reticent

Paraphrase?

Hydraglass

Somewhat-Reticent that’s not reasonable for something like security holes and zero day exploits, operating system news on patches etc.

Donoreo

Hydraglass hat’s not reasonable for something like security holes and zero day exploits, operating system news on patches etc.

Exactly.

Rook

While I applaud the attempt to de-clutter the site, I think this is a bad idea.

I like the preview feature on links, but sometimes no preview can be generated for a link, or the preview is just an image from the linked site, so no meaningful context is provided.

As an example, look at the second post in this thread: https://broadbandbulletin.com/d/2713-small-plane-crashes-because-of-locked-rudder
The preview is useless, but the forum member provided all of the information needed without me having to click on the link.
You’ll also notice that none of the other links in that discussion have a preview.

I think a better idea would be to limit the amount of text quoted from an article to a paragraph or three. This should provide enough context to the headline so people don’t have to click on the link to understand the meaning of the article (or the purpose of the thread).

That’s my 2 cents.

Donoreo

Rook I think a better idea would be to limit the amount of text quoted from an article to a paragraph or three. This should provide enough context to the headline so people don’t have to click on the link to understand the meaning of the article (or the purpose of the thread).

I agree with this. It is much more reasonable. Overall, I agree with keeping the clutter down, but I have not really seen any threads where this has been a problem. At least none stand out. I do not understand the reasoning.

broknsymetry

How can one just post a link to a blog without quoting it? The information in a blog is constantly changing what may be relevant to a discussion might not be available in the blog a short time later. Here is an example…

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/trump-administration-tariffs-economy-musk-immigration-live-updates-rcna203237

[deleted]

Gotta keep the sheep in line. more rules more restrictions…

Dks01

Hydraglass I agree. If the mods feel that posting copied text poses a liability, say so. A blanket ban based on decluttering makes little sense.

ElQuintron

SLC_96 Posting content from news articles can clutter the forum, decrease search engine visibility and reduce engagement in meaningful discussions.

While I’m not going to apologize for managing the site as we need, I realize this can be annoying. That being said, losing search engine visibility pretty much defeats the purpose of hosting a site in the first place.

dave

This rule will turn the place into a links-only desert. The point of quoting news items today is to call out a particular aspect of some recent event that the poster is interested in talking about. Without that, the discussion is likely to be unfocused.

Is there some reason behind this? Can we be told?

I saw something about “decrease search engine visibility”. That seems like a good thing. Why do we want to be found?