Habbox news

[OhLiam]

Just wanted to say, I don't really read the news on Habbox I use the values only mostly. However I did read a recent article on the Ecotron and kind of just wanted to say that the information within that article is false lol, The ecotron hasn't and wasn't around since 2000. Your news reporters should really get their facts right before posting a report.

It was released in 2007, with version 13.

[Samantha]

I think people don't consider that he is a trialist and he is only learning, I will be editing the article (or Grig will) soon once I have overcome the lag on all sites and after I have finished eating.

If this was an article that had been on for longer then it would have been more of a problem. Thanks for bringing it up however, it will be dealt with soon!

[GoldenMerc]

So does that mean bogus "facts" are always pulled into news?

[Samantha]

So does that mean bogus "facts" are always pulled into news?

No it's just a lack of investigating by a news reporter. It doesn't always happen.

[MKR&*42]

So does that mean bogus "facts" are always pulled into news?

No it does not. You have to consider that trialists make mistakes and hopefully they'd improve and learn upon those mistakes in the future. As for regular news reporters, Samanfa or Grig (or past seniors/managers) edit any false bits of information placed in an article. In fact, I accidently put some wrong information in an article last night about the wired maze (I thought the rooms were copied from 2 mazes, not one) and it got edited "out". I rarely see people putting false information in, purely because the majority of the articles are about future updates (e.g. the end of plasto) thus making it hard to put false info. in due to only information from genuine sources being used.

As for the first poster who said about Ecotron, I myself did an article about 2/3 months ago on the Ecotron and its "journey" but I did have to look through a few sites to find the information. This person may have simply rushed and thought up a year which means he is at fault, but he has now learnt that the ecotron was actually introduced later.

Tl;dr - People make mistakes, they get corrected by managers/seniors usually. News isn't full of false info :P

[GoldenMerc]

People make mistakes, but not lie about a date of release. a mistake is something you do acidently, not something you do to finish a report.

[MKR&*42]

People make mistakes, but not lie about a date of release. a mistake is something you do acidently, not something you do to finish a report.

Release date of what? Have I missed something here :S

[lawrawrrr]

The information must have come from somewhere, it's possible that he just misread while investigating. Although I do think it is very very VERY important for all news reporters to check that they're right in every aspect before publishing an article (obviously I can't enforce this myself but I know I definitely do it). I, for one, have never made up facts in an article, unless I make it clear that it's an opinion or a possibility instead of a truth.

[Samantha]

I have now edited the incorrect information.

[Chippiewill]

I still don't get why news reporter's articles get published BEFORE they've been edited. It's somewhat understandable for normal news reporters but trialists definitely should not be able to publish an unvetted article.

[Samantha]

I still don't get why news reporter's articles get published BEFORE they've been edited. It's somewhat understandable for normal news reporters but trialists definitely should not be able to publish an unvetted article.

The problem with that might be due to the important information that could be on some reports, they might need to be published immediately and not wait a couple of hours for a senior and/or management to give the go ahead. We trust the reporter's to publish news immediately on the front page and sometimes they do go wrong but admittedly he is still a trialist and he is still improving. We had a report in dire need of removal yesterday and luckily that was edited quickly, it's not to say the information wasn't needed immediately (on the front page) too though.

If you get what I mean.

[MKR&*42]

I still don't get why news reporter's articles get published BEFORE they've been edited. It's somewhat understandable for normal news reporters but trialists definitely should not be able to publish an unvetted article.

That's actually a very fair point lol. The only issue I could see with this, is if a trialist takes an [URGENT] article, so it wouldn't be sensible to keep the trialist waiting for someone to check their article before it is published (if a senior is not online at the time). It's a very good point though, would love to see Sam's/Grig's opinion on this.

---

Nvm about last bit, she has posted her view :P

[lawrawrrr]

I still don't get why news reporter's articles get published BEFORE they've been edited. It's somewhat understandable for normal news reporters but trialists definitely should not be able to publish an unvetted article.

It's a bit difficult (espcially when there's only 1 senior and 1 manager) to be able to get on enough every day to post articles soon after they're first written. They are usually edited ASAP though, they never usually stay incorrect for more than about 12 hours, max.

[GoldenMerc]

I guess raw html isn't allowed at all?
Or hope even

[lawrawrrr]

I guess raw html isn't allowed at all?
Or hope even

It's done in WYSIWYG editor.

[Chippiewill]

admittedly he is still a trialist and he is still improving.

Alternatively you could just not allow trialists to take urgent articles and not publish them immediately since they're most likely to make errors.

[Maatt.]

It seems people at this site just complain about everything.. is there anything nice at all to say?
Someone made a mistake. omg sinner.

seriously people

[Samantha]

Alternatively you could just not allow trialists to take urgent articles and not publish them immediately since they're most likely to make errors.

They should be allowed to take any article to their desire. To be honest, the person has been doing articles no one was even bothered about doing thus it's not his fault if no one else will do them. News isn't jam packed all of the time either so if he wishes to do an urgent one he can do.

[e5]

So does that mean bogus "facts" are always pulled into news?

Sticking up for news here.

The facts are 99.9% correct. Sometimes reporters, usually trialists tend not to do their research and put anything and hope noones finds it. Once someone has checked out it and edited it, they are messaged to say so and told of their wrong-doing having it being corrected. They will usually get a polite reminder to research in future. I've always used backed up facts in my reports, and most people did. It's one slip up out of the 100's of reports they produce :P

[OhLiam]

I still don't get why news reporter's articles get published BEFORE they've been edited. It's somewhat understandable for normal news reporters but trialists definitely should not be able to publish an unvetted article.
I agree, if he is still a trialist his articles should be checked by fully fledged reporters or seniors/managers.


It seems people at this site just complain about everything.. is there anything nice at all to say?
Someone made a mistake. omg sinner.

seriously people
Everyone makes mistakes yes, but his wasn't a mistake to come out with a year you need to atleast know roughly but he didn't he clearly guessed.


Sticking up for news here.

The facts are 99.9% correct. Sometimes reporters, usually trialists tend not to do their research and put anything and hope noones finds it. Once someone has checked out it and edited it, they are messaged to say so and told of their wrong-doing having it being corrected. They will usually get a polite reminder to research in future. I've always used backed up facts in my reports, and most people did. It's one slip up out of the 100's of reports they produce :P
Is that 99.9% a fact or a guess?

[Lee]

Sticking up for news here.

The facts are 99.9% correct. Sometimes reporters, usually trialists tend not to do their research and put anything and hope noones finds it. Once someone has checked out it and edited it, they are messaged to say so and told of their wrong-doing having it being corrected. They will usually get a polite reminder to research in future. I've always used backed up facts in my reports, and most people did. It's one slip up out of the 100's of reports they produce :P

How ironic, that your statistic is also incorrect :L

I think trialists should have their articles approved for the duration of their trial. It's like the only solution to this problem.

[Mathew]

We don't need a major reform of the whole department just because one trialist got a date wrong. It was a mistake. It's been edited. Move on.

[Samantha]

No it's not the only solution at all.

Why should trialists be treated different than normal staff, normal staff make mistakes too and you don't seem to say make them have their reports approved first do you?

Oh actually, thought of why they shouldn't go on unpublished before being edited. Habbox only allows 3 articles on the front page, by the time me and/or grig see to it there may be more than 3 completed, I am not going to just publish the say 4 articles submitted after I have edited them due to that jot being fair to the one who posted first. Speaking from experience it is down right annoying when your report doesn't stay on the front page long or doesn't make it at all. That's not fair making the system more fomplicated. If they have no error in them what's the point of havinf it on unpublished also the fact that I'm usually offline by 10pm Sunday, if grig doesn't come on it means we can't edit the article thus it won't he publiahed for their minimum, that's when warnigs are sent out. Again it's unfair.

Managers, seniors, normal staff and trialists we're all the same overall, were all people so shouldn't have different rulea just because they're new to a departmwnt.

[Inseriousity.]

How ironic, that your statistic is also incorrect :L

I think trialists should have their articles approved for the duration of their trial. It's like the only solution to this problem.

It's only a problem if it's something that is constantly happening. As it seems to be a one-off incident, I really doubt something will change. That'd be like changing rules when a moderator makes a mistake. Nope, instead you clarify the rule then move on.

[e5]

So there isn't 100's of reports? :S or even 1000's
How ironic, that your statistic is also incorrect :L

I think trialists should have their articles approved for the duration of their trial. It's like the only solution to this problem.

---------- Post added 21-05-2012 at 10:10 PM ----------

very much a fact. I know that news work hard to use solid, backed up facts or asked not to use them at all unless clearly stating its a rumour or they are unsure.

I agree, if he is still a trialist his articles should be checked by fully fledged reporters or seniors/managers.


Everyone makes mistakes yes, but his wasn't a mistake to come out with a year you need to atleast know roughly but he didn't he clearly guessed.


Is that 99.9% a fact or a guess?

[lawrawrrr]

Oh comon everyone knows that when you say 99.9% it means nearly all of the time. Stop nitpicking. You never notice when other articles get edited, although I'd say at least half of them (yes im guessing) have at least one minor change. It's not a big deal, the article was only a few hours old when it was picked up on and changed STRAIGHT away.

[GommeInc]

I think people don't consider that he is a trialist and he is only learning, I will be editing the article (or Grig will) soon once I have overcome the lag on all sites and after I have finished eating.
He's not going to learn if you edit the article. Hide it from the public and suggest he re-writes it so it contains all the necessary facts. Just cutting the false bits out gives you more unnecessary work and deems all these trialists or junior writers a bit useless if the senior article writers/editors seem to not want to relinquish their duties. Otherwise you may as well just have senior editors and not bother with trialists or juniors.

[xxMATTGxx]

He's not going to learn if you edit the article. Hide it from the public and suggest he re-writes it so it contains all the necessary facts. Just cutting the false bits out gives you more unnecessary work and deems all these trialists or junior writers a bit useless if the senior article writers/editors seem to not want to relinquish their duties. Otherwise you may as well just have senior editors and not bother with trialists or juniors.

The reporters who has changes done on their articles do actually get a PM telling them what has changed and how they can improve it and so on. I also know that at certain times if articles do go unpublished they get simialr feedback and then they go back and make those changes.

[Samantha]

He's not going to learn if you edit the article. Hide it from the public and suggest he re-writes it so it contains all the necessary facts. Just cutting the false bits out gives you more unnecessary work and deems all these trialists or junior writers a bit useless if the senior article writers/editors seem to not want to relinquish their duties. Otherwise you may as well just have senior editors and not bother with trialists or juniors.

Grig is partly away therefore I'm mainly doing the edits. As matt said they get a pm and a recent occurrence did require me asking two reporters to rewrite the whole article.

[GommeInc]

It still doesn't seem like you're teaching them anything other than informing them of their mistakes :/ In order for them to learn, you really should have them edit the article. Do you just remove the offending information or do you allow them to edit the article at any given time to give updates or fix any wrong information? I imagine you don't have a system where they can only post articles and that's it - that would be pretty daft but Habbox does have some wonderfully bizarre systems in place :P

[lawrawrrr]

It still doesn't seem like you're teaching them anything other than informing them of their mistakes :/ In order for them to learn, you really should have them edit the article. Do you just remove the offending information or do you allow them to edit the article at any given time to give updates or fix any wrong information? I imagine you don't have a system where they can only post articles and that's it - that would be pretty daft but Habbox does have some wonderfully bizarre systems in place :P

It's a nice idea, but if we waited for each person to come back online before editing, who knows how long it'd stay unedited on the home site. We generally just edit the incorrect information or SPAG and PM the (offending) user. If a news reporter notices something wrong with their own article, they can edit it at any time.

[CaptainAce$$]

Wow. First people moan about habboxlive and now news. Come on people pull yourselves together, people make mistakes. It's not the end of the world. The whole point in being a trialist is to learn. You can't learn if you don't make a few mistakes. If you think you can do better, become a news reporter when apps open :rolleyes:

[nvrspk4]

People make mistakes, but not lie about a date of release. a mistake is something you do acidently, not something you do to finish a report.

A lie means he intentionally did it, or knew he was wrong...how are you absolutely sure that's what happened?


I imagine you don't have a system where they can only post articles and that's it - that would be pretty daft but Habbox does have some wonderfully bizarre systems in place :P

This will make you cry: that used to be how it worked. Before I was an AGM I believe (not that me becoming an AGM changed it, it's just how I'm classifying time). When you found typos or problems, you had to PM someone with editing access. It was because CuteNews (I believe it still was, or maybe we had switched to Joomla, but pretty sure it was CN) only recognized edit or no edit, and edit allowed you to edit all articles, therefore only seniors and managers were trusted with that level of access.

Also, I'm impressed that I was able to remember the name of CuteNews.

To the original poster: good catch. Good to know that it has been fixed, I think this particular issue has been put to rest. However it is worth at least discussing the merits and demerits of having trialist articles unpublished until a manager or senior can review it. Obviously it's management's style choice at the end of the day but user feedback and debate couldn't hurt. That said I would suggest the creation of a new thread, then the discussion can be solely focused around that issue instead of getting derailed by people like me still quoting arguments from page one :)

[Samantha]

GommeInc; actually it really does teach them, when I or Grig first inform them what they've done wrong they ensure that most of the time (near enough all of the time) they don't do it again. Having them edit the article could be feesible and I have thought about that before, but 1. They might not do it, 2. They might not be online thus it will be incorrect for longer and 3. It's a Head News Reporters role to ensure perfection in articles, this is done by editing and such. Don't get me wrong, if there is something that I cannot fix myself I will ask the person who wrote it to edit it themselves, such as an image the other day, I had to unpublish the article and ask him to redo said image due to the content.

When I first came to news, I honestly thought that we could only post articles then not edit them as I got told that by an ex manager, this turned out not to be true and although I didn't edit my articles afterwards I have no problem with normal staff doing so. I'm sure they could easily read their reports over and see mistakes and go back to them, I feel the Head News Reporter and myself are also there for when they have missed an edit out or something like that.

CaptainAce; thanks for the advertisement ;) News Applications are open though woo! :D.

Also I agree with nvrspk4; I will happily answer any feedback threads made about News and I love to hear positive and negative opinions as I do wish to improve news to be the best it can be. If that means changing some things or implementating something else then I'm all for it! I just need your views to do that.

[CaptainAce$$]

Oh well sam, that was good time for an advertisement pmsl.

[Grig]

I actually caught that fact, and I did say I would edit it but ended up getting smashed off my face with friends, that's life.

It is a pretty silly error and reporters are usually informed as soon as possible about these, particularly if its something factual that needed amending as that should never be the case. Such errors prop up much more rarely, but they do happen sometimes.

As for the system, that works fine. I remember back in 2009 we had an article approval system, but that was ineffective and meant that one would have to wait for a manager before the article was actually approved. It is frustrating when people ignore handbooks etc. but as a new reporter people sometimes need an article or two to get used to the system. Though they are hammered for silly mistakes, as there's nothing I hate more than silly mistakes that would take a minute or two of proof-reading to amend.

[GommeInc]

This will make you cry: that used to be how it worked. Before I was an AGM I believe (not that me becoming an AGM changed it, it's just how I'm classifying time). When you found typos or problems, you had to PM someone with editing access. It was because CuteNews (I believe it still was, or maybe we had switched to Joomla, but pretty sure it was CN) only recognized edit or no edit, and edit allowed you to edit all articles, therefore only seniors and managers were trusted with that level of access.
When I used CuteNews you could modify it so you could give access so only reporters can edit their own articles, and this was back in 2005 I think :/ But I guess Habbox may not of done that because a) They did not know of official modifications and b) They were affraid of security. Thankfully that doesn't exist now or I would cry :P

Also, I think it was CuteNews. Joomla! is pretty recent in Habbox history, if you were an AGM when I think you were. I strangely remember logging into a CuteNews system to leave comments.
Samanfa; It doesn't really solve the problem, especially when you have stated "they might not do it" if you inform them. Obviously if the article is of great importance then common sense would be to remove the untrue information, but you should promote the idea that they should add the actual facts to the article when they're next available.

Obviously this is not a big deal and the problem was solved quickly (all media companies post untruths, some on purpose and some by accident) and eagle eye readers pick up on this, so kudos to them. Just something to think of if trialists are not strongly promoted to edit their articles later to post actual information. I think some informal websites post updates at the end of articles, so you could do this.

EDIT: Alternatively, you could have a small italic reminder at the top or bottom of the editor saying "Is everything in this article correct to the best of your understanding?". But it seems this is a rare event where trialists get things wrong. Some tools I use put tiny reminders like "Have you read the guidelines and followed them?" etc etc.

[Grig]

When I used CuteNews you could modify it so you could give access so only reporters can edit their own articles, and this was back in 2005 I think :/ But I guess Habbox may not of done that because a) They did not know of official modifications and b) They were affraid of security. Thankfully that doesn't exist now or I would cry :P

Also, I think it was CuteNews. Joomla! is pretty recent in Habbox history, if you were an AGM when I think you were. I strangely remember logging into a CuteNews system to leave comments.
Samanfa; It doesn't really solve the problem, especially when you have stated "they might not do it" if you inform them. Obviously if the article is of great importance then common sense would be to remove the untrue information, but you should promote the idea that they should add the actual facts to the article when they're next available.

Obviously this is not a big deal and the problem was solved quickly (all media companies post untruths, some on purpose and some by accident) and eagle eye readers pick up on this, so kudos to them. Just something to think of if trialists are not strongly promoted to edit their articles later to post actual information. I think some informal websites post updates at the end of articles, so you could do this.

EDIT: Alternatively, you could have a small italic reminder at the top or bottom of the editor saying "Is everything in this article correct to the best of your understanding?". But it seems this is a rare event where trialists get things wrong. Some tools I use put tiny reminders like "Have you read the guidelines and followed them?" etc etc.

But you can't start saying that as we really rarely had a 'problem' and as trialists progress they learn and do not make similar errors, as it's all analyzed and broken down for them in a feedback PM.

Not sure why you think it's a problem.

[GommeInc]

But you can't start saying that as we really rarely had a 'problem' and as trialists progress they learn and do not make similar errors, as it's all analyzed and broken down for them in a feedback PM.

Not sure why you think it's a problem.
Which bit are you talking about?

[Grig]

Which bit are you talking about?

For them to edit facts or errors. That method, in my view, would have a few flaws such as an extremely long and tedious process of actually getting the errors checked.

Also, by never had a 'problem' I refer to the fact that for the past two times when I was in a senior position at news, we never had a problem with the editing process as reporters know perfectly well that if they keep making the same mistakes management wouldn't be happy and warnings would even be considered (and most want to genuinely improve and do well). So they take in what has been said and improve upon it and I've seen countless of reporters become better and better with this method.

[Nick.]

I don't see why there is still a discussion going on about this, I don't think one ever should have began anyway. A simple PM from the OP to senior news staff would have sufficed - does one error, made by a trialist, really require members begin criticising the entire department on the way it works? Get over it seriously, I'm sure the news department are very sorry if this error has affected your life in such a way. Do you not have better things to be doing than moaning about Habbo news errors?

[dbgtz]

People actually read the news on Habbox? Lol well I agree with above.

[Grig]

People actually read the news on Habbox? Lol well I agree with above.

Yes they do, particularly when we're going in the direction of sites like HabboTimes and Phukethingy in reporting news NOT on Habbo and exclusive sneak peaks and previews.

[Hecktix]

I felt quite uncomfortable reading the first half of this thread knowing that it was started because of one person's mistake - a trialist. I do hope that said trialist hasn't seen this thread as the public moaning about you whilst you're on trial can't be too morale boosting.

Whilst this thread has turned into quite a reasonably worthwhile discussion, it was initially essentially a complaint about one individual member of staff and their work and I don't think that's something that should be done in a public feedback forum.

[Samantha]

I felt quite uncomfortable reading the first half of this thread knowing that it was started because of one person's mistake - a trialist. I do hope that said trialist hasn't seen this thread as the public moaning about you whilst you're on trial can't be too morale boosting.

Whilst this thread has turned into quite a reasonably worthwhile discussion, it was initially essentially a complaint about one individual member of staff and their work and I don't think that's something that should be done in a public feedback forum.

And he returns xx.

Also I know a previous mistake made by said trialist didn't deter him in anyway he took it on the chin and humoured the person talking about it by not taking it seriously as the context wasn't a serious one. Although I don't agree that one person should he singled out it was a good feedback thread when talking about how news is ran etc.

[GommeInc]

Also I know a previous mistake made by said trialist didn't deter him in anyway he took it on the chin and humoured the person talking about it by not taking it seriously as the context wasn't a serious one. Although I don't agree that one person should he singled out it was a good feedback thread when talking about how news is ran etc.
Quite enlightening in fact :P The news department rarely gets talked about!

[Hecktix]

I wholeheartedly agree :)