ANONYMOUS TIP LINE

[Vulture]

I do think all of these questions so far have covered my own, though I do prefer not to touch anything that tracks me too much. There is too much ability for it to be abused by the top.

[Daly]

I only ask because if someone does give a tip, that program can be hacked by whoever has the account login information.

What it does is relay email information that I can only hazard a guess is stored in the newspaper's system. It's actually pretty easy to do.

Again, only concerned about the privacy, so I'd like to reassure anyone using the program to understand it a little better.

I understand. I just checked — only the administrator group has access to the emails used here on Ab. Only reporters and administrators have access to Sarahah, so if any hacking or collaboration was to be done with that information, it’d have to be an administrator who does it, or someone with a lot more computer savvy and time than myself.

What's to stop your reporter's from blasting people who talk shit about your staff or admins or lineage or you to the public other than the integrity of the paper? And say people don't entire trust it, how will you convince them otherwise?

And if it's kept anonymous, will you, staff, lineage be able to retaliate with violence if you want to even though it's all supposed to remain anonymous?

Asking for a friend.

[Ezra]

Will the IPs be visible to the reporters and the admin, or will they be turned off?

I have heard that is an option.

We cannot see the IPs of anonymous tips. They are simply shown as messages with nothing attached to them.

ETA: If people wish to use this tip line simply to insult staff without retaliation, feel free. It’s anonymous. It cannot be verified who it is. However, if we feel it’s not of use and no one is using it as they should, we of course reserve the right to remove the tip line entirely. The community asked for one — we provided the option. No one has to use it.

[Katelyn]

Asking for me-- what's deemed newsworthy? Since the staff here has decided to start running amok since Dae's absence, and has started to delete comments rather than simply move them, what sort of things are going to be considered worthy to be investigated and written about?

I'm just wondering if reporters have this weird version of what certainly feels like a gag order, basically, or if it's only residents.

[Dae]

Asking for me-- what's deemed newsworthy? Since the staff here has decided to start running amok since Dae's absence, and has started to delete comments rather than simply move them, what sort of things are going to be considered worthy to be investigated and written about?

I'm just wondering if reporters have this weird version of what certainly feels like a gag order, basically, or if it's only residents.

I'm not away, I'm gone. I wish Ab all the best and hope they do well - but please be aware that I no longer have any affiliation to Ab Antiquo.

[Liander]

There are a lot of valid concerns here, so rather than quoting everyone piecemeal, I will address everything in general terms.

First of all - yes, we have made mistakes in the last few days. There are no excuses for this. We have undergone a change in management and are still adjusting; things around the staff room have grown a little chaotic since Dae's unanticipated departure. Again, this is not an excuse. It simply is. We are, even as I type this, discussing these mistakes and how best to move forward to prevent them from happening again. The mission statement of this newspaper remains intact, and I assure you all that the second it does not, I will be the first to leave.

In regards to the tip line, the simple fact is this: we can not provide any guarantee it will not be abused in whatever convoluted way we can dream up other than our own word. Our word has sufficed for most of you up until now, though I understand events of late have cracked that trust and we must work to earn it again. As far as our word goes, I promise this: we will not make tips known to anyone outside of staff and we will not seek out or attempt to discover the sources. I will reiterate my earlier point: we have always had sources, this only provides another level of anonymity. If you do not trust it, you are not required to use it. It is a tool that has been put in place for people who do wish to use it and by no means are we forcing anyone to. It is really just that simple.

As for what is deemed newsworthy, that judgment is a personal one to each reporter - as it always has been. We have always had free reign over the subject of our content and that does not change now. Any tips sent in that we do not deem worthy of an article will simply be ignored.

Thank you all for your engagement on these issues and for expressing your discourse in a reasonable manner.

[Admin]

Mod Note: A number of posts that should have been split initially were not; that's been adjusted. All off topic posts should be in the other thread at this point, but if any have been missed, please use the report button.

[Narcisssa]

So just out of curiosity:

Has no one submitted anything?
Has no one submitted anything newsworthy?
Has the idea been dropped?
Did the box get locked and no one quite knows how to open it?


I'm not nitpicking. Just thinking it would be nice to read something new. When Lorrena was doing the Valentines ones we were getting a daily dose, and it was fun.

[Ezra]

So just out of curiosity:

Has no one submitted anything?
Has no one submitted anything newsworthy?
Has the idea been dropped?
Did the box get locked and no one quite knows how to open it?


I'm not nitpicking. Just thinking it would be nice to read something new. When Lorrena was doing the Valentines ones we were getting a daily dose, and it was fun.

Hey, Nar!

Some things have been submitted, the vast majority of which haven't been newsworthy/verifiable in any way. The idea's not dropped, we're just not forcing submissions into articles. It's definitely not a weekly/updated thing like virgo's "What Are You Really Thinking?" thread or Lorrana's Valentine's Day submissions. This is simply a way for people to drop tips if they come across them, and they may (or may not!) be integrated into articles or spur further research on the topic. Hope that answers some of your questions!

ETA: Chances are, if a tip is integrated into an article, you wouldn't even realize it, as we would not use a tip that we could not then go on and verify in some way before writing about it.

[Alex Ayres]

At the time that I was very critical with Ab, I considered the award I was so graciously deemed worthy of winning at the Awards (Less Talk, More Action, or something along those lines), and thought that I might try my hand at starting my own paper.

This was one of the things I wanted to do to set my paper a part. Though, my idea was to pay a reward for any tip that lead to an article if the person wanted to disclose their identity to the writer and only the writer.


It's interesting to me that this idea has received so much criticism. Most, if not all, newspapers have some sort of tip line. As long as the proper research goes into the article.


Anyway, I think this is a great idea. I hope it makes for good reading!