To start, it's worth noting Flayrah has had its share of opinion in the past, explicit and otherwise.
The fact that I currently contribute a large proportion of the content is a problem. The solution must include greater contribution from others. Unfortunately most people just aren't interested in putting in the time.
Expecting objective reporting is itself an opinion on what "news" should be. It's one I broadly agree with, but there are always going to be tricky decisions about what stories are reported, what facts are used to report them, and what wording is used to present such facts. I personally hope to improve in this area over time.
At Flayrah, we assume our story posters will not achieve complete objectivity; not through lack of trying, but because most are laymen and don't know how. This is one reason we don't have anonymous posts. (However, it's not a license to assume a post is biased just because there's a potential conflict of interest.)
Because of this, it's a good idea to test the assertions made in each post – trust, but verify. This is true of any news source. People can "get it wrong" for a variety of reasons, most entirely innocent. When they have limited time to report the news, or are not expert in a given topic, they are more likely to get it wrong.
When I link sources, I'm not saying "this is where I got the story, it might be true or not." I'm saying "here's the sources I chose to base the article on; you may find them useful in evaluating its accuracy and forming your own opinion of the situation." Usually I link a wiki page describing the source, too.
As for April Fools Day, all bets are off. Stories may be serious or silly, factual or fake. Sources may be biased, misleading, or fabricated. I disagree with the opinion that such things must be stated up-front; figuring out what is true and what is a hoax is part of the fun. If you don't enjoy that, skip a day. :-)
To start, it's worth noting Flayrah has had its share of opinion in the past, explicit and otherwise.
The fact that I currently contribute a large proportion of the content is a problem. The solution must include greater contribution from others. Unfortunately most people just aren't interested in putting in the time.
Expecting objective reporting is itself an opinion on what "news" should be. It's one I broadly agree with, but there are always going to be tricky decisions about what stories are reported, what facts are used to report them, and what wording is used to present such facts. I personally hope to improve in this area over time.
At Flayrah, we assume our story posters will not achieve complete objectivity; not through lack of trying, but because most are laymen and don't know how. This is one reason we don't have anonymous posts. (However, it's not a license to assume a post is biased just because there's a potential conflict of interest.)
Because of this, it's a good idea to test the assertions made in each post – trust, but verify. This is true of any news source. People can "get it wrong" for a variety of reasons, most entirely innocent. When they have limited time to report the news, or are not expert in a given topic, they are more likely to get it wrong.
When I link sources, I'm not saying "this is where I got the story, it might be true or not." I'm saying "here's the sources I chose to base the article on; you may find them useful in evaluating its accuracy and forming your own opinion of the situation." Usually I link a wiki page describing the source, too.
As for April Fools Day, all bets are off. Stories may be serious or silly, factual or fake. Sources may be biased, misleading, or fabricated. I disagree with the opinion that such things must be stated up-front; figuring out what is true and what is a hoax is part of the fun. If you don't enjoy that, skip a day. :-)