Welcome to the Street Prophets FAQ To view the dailyKOS FAQ click here.
FAQ Contents
- What is Street Prophets?
- Who are the Street Prophets?
- What is the relationship between Street Prophets and Daily Kos?
- What is the purpose of this site?
- Who speaks for this site?
- Who posts here?
- How can I post here?
- Are Atheists welcome here?
- Are Conservatives welcome here?
- Anonymity
- The ONE Rule
- We Like Recipes
- Cookie Jars: not Tip Jars
- Patience is a Virtue
- Mellow Blue
Basic Navigation
- The front page
- Diaries
- Comments
- User Pages
Basic Cultural Norms
- Do's and Don'ts (derived from The One Rule)
Participation
- Setting up your profile
- Rating "Cookie Jar" comments
- Rating other comments
- Posting comments
Posting diaries
- About your first diary
- Writing diaries
- Diary titles
- Diary drafts
- Tag Guidelines
- Don't forget to post a cookie jar!
- Editing diaries
- Deleting diaries
- The Non-Negotiables
- Controversial Diary Topics
- But what about freedom of speech?
- How we handle trolls
- About prayer*
- Coffee hour
- Friday Random Ten
- Brothers and Sisters
- Monday Vigils
- Noonday Prayer from the Daily Office
- The Prayer Closet
- Progressive Bible Study (P.B.S.)
- Chewing the Fat
- The occasional blogathon
- Uh... what's with all the were-folks?
- Is cross-posting acceptable?
- We don't do "first" comments
- Avoid all-caps
- User Pages
- Hotlist
- Search
- Tag Cloud
- dKosopedia
- Advertising
- Contributions
- Registration and posting privileges
- Trusted Users
- Dealing with trolls
- Troll ratings
- Hidden vs. Deleted comments
- Deleting Accounts
- Autoban
- Sock Puppets
- Webbugs, Scripts, and other mischief
- What's wit dat wittle winged wodent?
- UID numbers
- Time Zones
- Do the numbers on the Street signs have any significance?
Technical
- Recommended browsers
The Basics
Welcome! This FAQ file is intended as an introduction to the Street Prophets website and community. It includes an overview of the site, a guide to reading and posting diaries and comments, and answers to some frequently asked questions.
We have an "official" explanation of who we are (from our "About" page):
Street Prophets is the online forum that mobilizes progressive people of faith to name, discuss and take action on critical political and religious issues. An offspring of Daily Kos, the largest political blog on the Internet, Street Prophets seeks to change the "moral values" conversation by fostering community; promoting informed opinion and moving its members to action. Because make no mistake: we are people who live and vote our values. We are believers in "justice, freedom, compassion and love," in the words of Rita Nakashima Brock. We are progressive, Democratic-leaning and vitally concerned with those whom Jesus called "the least of these." We are the faithful for whom the religious right emphatically does not speak.
Since our small community is so delightfully diverse, each member has his or her own view of "who we are". Some of the more well known views can be observed in this diary.
So come on in and make yourself at home. We believe that most, if not all topics touching on faith and politics are appropriate on Street Prophets. While this forum represents people of widely differing (and often directly conflicting) theologies, our goal here is to focus on forwarding the progressive political discussion that our shared values make possible. Street Prophets was founded by Daniel Schultz, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and by Markos Moulitsas, owner of the Daily Kos site. Street Prophets is a vibrant community of netroots faithful - including a broad range of faiths, including devout Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Mormons, Muslims, and Neo-Pagans -- even those whose deepest faith is in the conviction that there is no God. All who seek to promote a new conversation about the role of religion in America's public life are welcome here.
Street Prophets is an offspring of Daily Kos, the largest political blog on the Internet. We were founded by Daniel Schultz, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and Markos Moulitsas, owner of the Daily Kos site. While Street Prophets is part of the Daily Kos family of blogs, the sites are independent: Daniel Schultz is solely responsible for editorial control at Street Prophets. Getting a registration at one site does not register you for the other. Yet we share the same blog servers, and run almost identical software (our AJAX system.) However, each site represents a different community, with different community personalities, and each site is managed by different people.
This site is an online forum that mobilizes progressive peoples of any faith to name, discuss, and take action on critical religious and political issues. It is a site where progressives of all faiths - or no faith - can participate in the community of their peers for the free and respectful exchange of ideas, insights, and even prayers and meditations.
Pastor Dan represents Street Prophets. Front Pagers are empowered to interpret site policies for other users, but Pastor Dan has the final say on all matters.
The quick answer is "anyone who wants to". There are a wide variety of people writing diaries and comments on Street Prophets. They include adherents of almost all systems of belief, sometimes including Atheists (see this diary). The majority of people posting here fall on the liberal side of the religious and political spectra. However, people of Conservative views are also quite welcome to come and share with us, as long as they do not attempt to interfere with the site mission. If you are polite, you will be treated politely. Unfortunately, there are some who post comments or diaries with the sole purpose of provoking others. These people are called trolls. Some tips and techniques for dealing with trolls are described below.
First, you need to create an account. The registration link is in the menu of links, or you can click here. Choose a username, fill in the rest of the fields, and send in the form. After a 24 hour waiting period, you will be allowed to post comments. After a 1 week waiting period, you will be allowed to post diaries. These waiting periods are intended to discourage "drive-by" trolling.
Yes, unequivocally. All are welcome here as long as they respect other users. We exist to share ideas and insights. As Pastor Dan notes, "All who seek to promote a new conversation about the role of religion in America's public life are welcome here." Great care has been taken here to be accepting of all members and offensive to none. Users should remember, however, that our site mission includes "mobilizing progressive people of faith to name, discuss and take action on critical political and religious issues." Attempts to interfere with that mission - specifically including arguing with the idea of progressive faith - will not be tolerated.
See above, including the last sentence.
Many people chose to post to Street Prophets under pseudonyms, keeping their real names confidential. There are many reasons why people would choose not to reveal their real names. Revealing the identify of someone who has chosen to remain anonymous is grounds for immediate banning. It is also a morally reprehensible thing to do.
Pastor Dan has provided one simple rule for conduct on this site: Don't be a jerk or a hater. We leave the interpretation of this rule vague on purpose. Don't push your luck, and you should be okay.
A Kossack's Guide to Prophecy Street
Don't panic if someone posts a recipe in your diary! We don't use recipes as troll ratings here. We like recipes. We like food. We post them often, just because we feel like it. Instead of posting recipes in a trollish thread, we throw a party.
We call them cookie jars, not tip jars. Since we can't rate diaries, a Cookie Jar represents an "improvised rewarding device" for diaries we like. To like a diary means we are saying it was a positive contribution to our community. (We can disagree with a diary and still appreciate it. Actually, this situation is fairly common here on Prophecy Street.) We rate people's diaries through giving them "cookies" - not "recommends". (I told you we liked food!)
The pace is a lot slower here than it is at Daily Kos, partly because we are a much smaller community. Don't get bent out of shape if people don't comment on your diary, or respond to your comment, for an hour, or two, or even three. (The advantage is that your diary won't disappear from the sidebar after an hour or two.)
Not only is the pace slower, but the tone is mellower here at Little Blue than it is at Big Orange. That doesn't mean we aren't as passionate about the issues; it just means we express our passion differently. Discourse that sounds moderate at Daily Kos is likely to sound strident here on the Street. Please take that into account when you post here.
Getting Started
Basic Navigation
The first thing that you see when loading Street Prophets is the front page. Most of the stories on the front page are written either by Pastor Dan or by a small set of people designated by him as "Front Pagers". Currently, there are approximately a dozen front page posters at any given time.
Most of the action takes place inside of diaries. These are written by users, and then read and commented on by other users. Diaries can be found in three places. Most diaries appear in the Recent Diary list on the right-hand side of the screen. By default, this shows the last 20 diaries that have been posted; this can be reset as high as 50 diaries using the field at the bottom of the list. Diaries can be promoted to the front page Diary list. These diaries tend to attract a wider audience and more comments than most diaries. The length of time that a diary spends on the front page depends on how many diaries are promoted there. These are the articles that are seen when going to www.streetprophets.com. Front-page stories have two sources. First are diary entries written by Pastor Dan or one of the Front Pagers. In addition to writing their own diaries, Pastor Dan and the other front-pagers often promote interesting diaries from the Recent diary list to the front page. These promotions are at the discretion of the Front Pagers.
Inside diaries and front page posts, users can post comments. Generally, these comments are in response to something in the diary, or are responding to other comments. Next to the title of each comment are two numbers inside a set of parentheses. These numbers are the number of people who have awarded cookies and troll-rated the comment respectively (see the Daily Kos reference Rating comments). Comment rating exists on both sites to reward appropriate behavior (not content!) Please remember that this Daily Kos reference link uses different terminology: They "recommend comments"; we "award cookies". Otherwise, this link is accurate. You can also select how your comments are displayed. See this section for details.
The User Page contains a collection of links gathering all of the diaries and all of the comments written by that user. The 'My Profile' tab on that page is the place to change all of your preferences. From the User Page, you can also add a signature, a short bit of text which will be automatically appended to all of your comments. Do this by going to the 'My Profile' tab and clicking on the 'Account Info' link. The signature field takes HTML code, so if you wish, you can embed links. Don't put images in your signature: besides visual clutter, it's very unfriendly to people on slow net connections.
Basic Cultural Norms
We really suggest that you read the entire cultural section of the FAQ before posting anything, but if you choose to skip it, here's the bare minimum that you should know.
Do's and Dont's (derived from The ONE rule)
Here are some specific ways in which you can avoid even seeming like a jerk or a hater:
- Do post relevant material. We are here to advance the progressive religious cause. Please make sure your post connects to that purpose.
- Don't post material with the sole purpose of advertising you blog, book, or product.
- Don't bash any specific religion.
- Don't bash theism in general.
- Don't bash atheism in general.
- Don't proselytize. It is highly offensive to the rest of us.
- Do respect the full personhood of all people.
- Don't post Bible verses without commentary; especially if said verses 'call out' certain parties (e.g., "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live".) Such postings are offensive.
Does this mean you can't criticize or argue for your opinion on controversial topics? In one word, No. But remember The ONE rule, and accept the fact that the opinions of others are only their opinions.
Also, please remember that calling out other members in comments or diaries is offensive and will not be tolerated.
Participation
All members of this community are granted one "profile", which defaults to blank on initial registration. Whenever you comment on any subject, other viewers can click on your comment signature and see your publicly displayed profile. This gives you a chance to make a statement about yourself - and, should you desire, to make it easy for other Street Prophets community members to communicate with you by personal email. It's a good idea to set your profile up ASAP if you want to interact with others here, individually.
In the top right corner of the home page, every registered member sees a "[your login name]'s" page button. Click on it, and you'll see a form with several tabs: "Diary", "Comments", "Ratings", "Drafts", and "My Profile". Click on the My Profile button and your profile form comes up. Here your publicly readable profile is displayed. Under that comes your User Preference: Account Info section. Here you can enter or change your public email address (which is usually just your real email address, altered to prevent automatic theft by "spambots"; that is, altered to make perfect sense to a human, but not be usable by dumb automated scripts.)
Also in this section is a textbox for editing your publicly viewable profile, for listing your personal homepage, and for setting up an automated signature for your comments. Note that your "sig" line will be automatically inserted into your comments in italics. Finally, there are buttons here to "Save All Changes" and to "Reset Preferences".
Every comment gets a date & time stamp when it is first posted. For 24 hours after its posting, the comment is open for ratings. After that period, rating buttons no longer appear. Since we can't rate diaries, a "Cookie Jar" represents an "improvised rewarding device" for diaries we like. "Cookie Jar" comments are most commonly the very first comment after a diary, usually posted by that diary's author so that he or she can accumulate cookies! Often they contain some appropriate witticism or observation and allow people to tell the author "Good job!". To give Cookie Jar cookies is to say "I was here during the rating period, and I liked what you did here." It's good form to give a Cookie Jar cookie, if you appreciated a diary. You don't have to agree in order to like the effort an author invested in a diary! But if you didn't like the diary - then just go on by, and don't leave a cookie. Or - if you disagree (and are respectful) - you can always (politely, of course) express your disagreement through your own comment within that comment thread.
As mentioned just above, every comment gets a date & time stamp when it is first posted. For 24 hours after its posting, the comment is open for ratings. After that period, rating buttons no longer appear. During the rating period, ordinary users can give cookies or not as they choose. Trusted users can also give Troll Ratings. But remember: comment ratings only exist to reward behavior - not content.
Any registered member can post comments. Comments are replies - to something. That something can be a diary or another comment. To reply to another comment, click on the "Reply to This" link at the bottom. To post a comment to a diary, click on the "Post a Comment" link at the end of the diary. Either method brings up the "Post Comment" screen. The top line is for entering your comment's subject. Under that is the comment box, for entering your comment's text. This accepts HTML formatted text, so you can use standard HTML formatting tags. You can even embed links.
So compose your text. If you want to you can select a text area and make it Italic by clicking on the "Italic" button. You can select a text area and make it Bold by clicking on the "Bold" button. Likewise, you can select a range of text and display it in a nifty gray box (like this one!) by clicking on the "Blockquote" button. Whatever you chose to compose, use the Preview button and check out how it's going to look. When you are done checking out the image, you can choose: Click on the "Cancel" button to abandon the whole thing, go back to the text entry box and modify it, or use the "Post" button on the preview screen to post it. If you choose to cancel, the comment entry system will ask for an explicit confirmation before deleting what you have already entered.
Posting Diaries
About your first diary
A first diary can be threatening or exciting. Yet it's a hurdle every new subscriber wants to get over. Perhaps the wisest way to deal with the situation is: Don't push it. Wait until you're ready. Practice - by writing comments. Don't even worry - you will know when you're ready. Don't even try for a masterpiece. Be yourself; and when you have something to say, how to say it will come naturally. Be assured: we have no deadlines here; we have no expectations here, and when you do say something that's meaningful to you, chances are good others will be glad to listen.
"What should my first diary be about? Should it be an introduction? Should I dive right in on a topic I care about? Is there a community expectation one way or the other?"
- The subject will be up to you (It's your diary.)
- Some are comfortable with writing intros; some don't like them.
- If you write about something you don't care about, that will show. Likely, you will do better with a topic you care about.
Some are aching to post a diary that's burning itself into their brain. Some are timid about putting their thoughts out there for the whole blogiverse to see. Here at this site: All are welcome! This means you: GOOD LUCK!
Writing a diary is, in principle, quite simple. Click the 'New Diary Entry' link in the Tools sidebar. That brings up the 'Posting a Diary Entry' page, which contains 'The Rules'. These explain Street Prophet's rules for diary authors.
After that, you have to choose an informative (and appropriate) title. Then you can move into the content of your diary. If you observe the diaries on the front page, you'll notice they have a short introductory section, and most of the entry goes 'below the fold': This is the general model for Street Prophets diaries. Introductory portions go into the 'Intro' text box. The main content (below the fold) goes into the 'Extended' text box. If you want a poll, you can put that into the 'Poll' box, located under the 'Extended' text box.
As soon as you get it put together, you can preview it, edit it, or publish it. Be careful to proofread what you have put together. When you feel it is ready, go ahead and publish it. For your reference, here are some of the guidelines used at Daily Kos. While these rules may be interpreted somewhat differently at Street Prophets, they should be considered authoritative. Regulations concerning "fair use," hotlinking and copyrighted materials must be observed as written. If you have any questions, consult Pastor Dan or another site administrator.
Diary titles
See the Daily Kos Diary Title Guidelines.
New diaries exist first as drafts. When you click the 'New diary' link, a draft is automatically created. Once you have a draft, you can fill in the content you want. A draft stays around for 3 weeks after being created; during that time, the author can make changes, add text, and so forth. A list of all drafts that an author has is listed on the right side of the Street Prophets homepage. Drafts are only visible to the diary's author. Once the author publishes the draft (hit the 'Preview' button, check the preview for any mistakes, and then hit 'Publish'), the diary becomes visible to other people to read and comment on.
See Daily Kos Tag guidelines.
Don't forget to post a cookie jar!
After you finish composing your diary and select your diary's tags you can publish it. The very next thing you need to do is immediately post a cookie jar comment. This gives readers a chance to express their "hello" or approval. It also allows you to add a parallel nuance or a witticism.
Editing diaries
See the Daily Kos Editing Diaries guidelines.
If the edit consists of removing text, it is preferable to use strike-out (use the tags) rather than simply deleting the text.
Deleting diaries
See the Daily Kos Deleting Diaries guidelines.
Cultural
The Non-Negotiables
We do not accept hatred. We do not accept advocacy of hatred. End of discussion.
Diaries on certain topics are likely to generate angry responses. Most of these topics fall under the general heading of "conspiracy theories", e.g., "JFK was killed by Martians". The rule for posting such diaries is "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". The more extreme the claim, the higher the burden of proof that commenters will demand. If you can't provide evidence to back up your claim, it is best not to post the diary.
Diaries arguing the merits of theism vs. atheism (or vice versa) are not permitted. Diaries arguing directly for or against abortion or homosexuality are strongly discouraged because of their divisive nature. Disregarding these guidelines is grounds for banning.
Doesn't the First Amendment give me the right to talk about whatever I want here?
Simply put: No. Street Prophets is a private forum. You are a guest. While we welcome diverse views, we are under no obligation to allow abuse of posting privileges.
We have been pretty lucky here at Street Prophets in this respect. We have not had a large number of trolls show up here. SP is small enough that 'bad actors' can be dealt with on a case by case basis. Still, with trolls planting diaries so hostile groups can subsequently denounce "outrageous" sites, we can expect they may. We should surround them by love - and ignore them. If a diary is so hate-filled its only purpose can be to provoke controversy, that diary can be removed by the front pagers. Troll comments are easily handled by Trusted Users, who can troll-rate them, causing them to vanish. What we don't want to do is swarm in outrage, and thereby add fuel to the fire. Trust in your brothers and sisters here at Street Prophets to recognize it for what it is - and ignore it.
The concept "prayer*" (including the asterisk) is our attempt to expand the meaning of prayer to include non-deistic meditations. It was originally defined by Pastor Dan in the "Brothers and sisters" series as "to meditate, hold in good and active thought". Feel free to substitute "prayer*" whenever you encounter the term "prayer" on Street Prophets.
This represents a virtual Street Prophets "coffeeklatch". Every one is different. The poster often starts a discussion with a short diary, and the community picks up the thread: And then - away we go!
Probably the best description is probably the author's: Welcome to the Friday Random 10, Street Prophet's weekly music discussion group. Grab a beverage of your choice from today's Happy Hour, pull up a comfy chair, and start thumbing through the records, 8-tracks, tapes, CD's and mp3's lying around. Go ahead and hum, sing, or tap your fingers on your knees... you know you want to. If you're not into music, here are some noise-canceling earplugs - they'll filter out our music while you stay and chat with us about other topics that interest you.
It's fun. Check it out!
This is a weekly occasion for community prayer hosted by Pastor Dan that is regularly cross-posted at Daily Kos and has considerably more activity over there.
This series covers a large variety of topics. In their own words:
Monday evenings, at 5pm pacific, 6pm mountain, 7pm central, and 8pm eastern time, some of us meet to focus on something positive, something good. All are invited to participate. All are invited to write the focus diaries. We've had a great mix of traditions in the diaries and look forward to more mix! We've developed quite a body of work since this Monday meeting began -- a library for inspiration and continued meditation. See this diary for a more complete description of topics.
This thread reflects traditional Episcopalian/Anglican worship. It is devoted to inspirational music (hymns), and usually inclues a description of the music and a listing of the lyrics. Each session is different.
This thread is for requests for community prayer for specific needs and/or sharing of favorite prayers or meditations. Again, the best description is probably the authors: Please join our community in prayer. Just leave your prayer requests and pray for the requests of the community. I welcome all people to join in as the power of prayer/good energy is undeniable.
Progressive Bible Study
Fairly self-explanatory: Bible study from a progressive perspective.
In the author's own words: This diary series is intended to be a safe and comfortable space for members to explore healthy lifestyle changes and find support. There is no one diet, no one program to follow. No matter if you are currently following a weight loss and exercise program or thinking of introducing changes in your life, all are welcome!
A blogathon is a method for creating a deep community dialog on some subject. This tradition was originally given momentum by JCHFleetguy, who originated the first one, on forgiveness. That discussion worked out so well that the community was inspired to continue the practice. See this diary.
In computer-speak, it's called virtual lycanthropy. Yet this is not an easy question to answer simply. It means something a bit different to each of us who play about, here at SP. Quoth one furry denizen: "I don't think any of us takes it completely literally, but we do each in some way feel a sort of connection to the animal we associate ourselves with. This is, as I understand it, part of the Pagan/Wiccan tradition. It is related to the American Indian idea of totem animals, an inner strength or protector personified." It's a way some of us give our imaginations free reign while we romp about on Prophecy Street.
Yes. Don't forget you are limited to two diaries here per day. You are quite welcome to post on your own blog, and then provide a link in your post here.
Anyone participating in street Prophets should keep this in mind: At times discussions here can get heated. Many Street Prophets are people with strong opinions. It's acceptable to hold a contrary opinion. What is not acceptable is to shove that opinion in somebody else's face - or to become obnoxious about it. If your exchange isn't producing new understanding, or if others are telling you that your enthusiasm is a bit overboard, it's probably time to let it go. This is particularly true if your conversation is sidetracking the main thread or making it difficult to carry on the main conversation. It's rude to insult or swear at a conversation partner, and is never acceptable to threaten physical violence. Doing so is grounds for immediate expulsion. If you can't get through a conversation without telling the other person to go **** themselves, or threatening to hit them so hard their vertebrae come popping out like Chiclets, it's probably time to walk away from the computer. A good guideline is to treat people as if meeting them at a diner, at least until getting to know them: be polite, don't make assumptions, listen carefully to what they have to say. They may be the biggest jerk you've ever met; but they may also have something to teach you.
On many sites, such as Atrios, it is a tradition for the first commenter on a new thread to post a message of 'First' or similar. That tradition is not followed on Street Prophets. Here a first comment is more likely to be a "Cookie Jar".
There are some folks here who only find the use of all-caps text difficult to read. But they are only a small minority: By far, most readers find it's like shouting at them. Please don't shout.
Oh - do you mean our FAQ mascot Clarence, the flying hamster? Pastor Dan thought him up in this diary, and suggested the slogan. Marko said "SP is into helping flight challenged rodents of all varieties!" and brought him to life. We love our Clarence. (Do you know of any other FAQs with a flying hamster for a mascot?)
Yes and no. They are original to the user-contributed photo of a lamp post at a certain well-known intersection. But there's no real significance to the photo, other than that it made for a good logo.
An extensive list of terms and acronyms can be found in the Kossary
Bye bye
CONGRATULATIONS for getting here! Clarence sez: the same way my old friends Bugs & Porky used to close matters - "That's all, folks!"
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