Hello and welcome, everyone - it's time once again for a newsvine community interview. As part of our hopeless effort to win this round of Newsvine Survivor, Viki and I have agreed to interview each other. She put up her interview of me here, and now it's my turn to publish my interview of her.

This one went all over the place - it might be the most in-depth interview I've yet done. We talk politics, sex, and drugs. I get her to call someone out for the Arena of Death, here and now. We even get a half dozen of her favorite quotes about community. I know this is the most complex interview I've done because it took me a good hour to format it - please enjoy it.

Here goes!

I ask everyone about their username. You were Viki Babbles for a while, now you're Viki Babbles Gonia. Why did you change? Don't you feel somewhat exposed in writing with your real name? Is the "Babbles" temporary to help the transition, or is it going to be your permanent middle name on the vine?

I made the decision to use my real name after Brian Ford's article about pseudonyms. I had been thinking about it for a while. I am a writer, and I want what I do on Newsvine to be representative of my writing. I feel that using my full name gives me credibility. When I first changed, I'd dropped the 'Babbles,' but I felt naked without it, so within an hour I was apologizing to Calvin for being a pain in the ass, and asking him to put it back in. I was slightly worried that no one would recognize who I was, although that's really not giving Newsviners enough credit. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or not. It's part of my identity, I suppose, and it does tie my Newsvine writing to that on my blog.

Plus, I babble.

There are issues inherent with using one's real name on the internet. It's been discussed many times all over Newsvine, particularly within the comments on Brian's article. For me, I find myself unable to be fully honest in some situations when I'm using my real name. Maybe honest isn't the right word. There's some things I must withhold not because I'm embarrassed or ashamed, but because putting some information out for public view would affect people I love negatively.

You are generally known as laid-back and friendly - you stay away from political arguments, don't engage in flame wars and tend to be interested in fostering a sense of community and vague alcoholism. That's why we all like you. But I think it's time, Viki, that you came clean - on serious issues. I'd like you to please tell us where you stand on the following topics, and please feel free to get as detailed as you feel you should. Also, please do your best to surprise and offend people - that's what serious issues are for:

Ah, cripes. I guess I should have added a sarcasm tag when I told you to ask me whatever you wanted. I'll be as honest and detailed as I possibly can. But I'm probably going to beat you up the next time I see you.

Abortion

I've often said that I am a lifer for choice. But that's pretty stupid. I think that most of those who consider themselves pro-choice are pro-life. I've yet to meet anyone standing at a protest with a sign that says, "Let's kill us some babies!" I've had to consider that choice twice in my life, and I made a different decision both times.

In both cases, the fact that I had the choice made all the difference in the world. These were conscious decisions, rather than something I was forced into because I had no options. In the long run, this ability, this right, to have the opportunity to make a careful and considered decision creates the difference between feeling regret and knowing peace.

I want all women to have the opportunity to have a choice, regardless of which choice they make. I want women to have full information about all of their options, and I want them to consider all before deciding. I want women to be able to make their decision free of the guilt heaped upon them by lawmakers and religious leaders. They'll have enough to deal with as it is, regardless of what they choose.

Sometimes, my inner conspiracy theorist takes hold, and I start thinking things like: if they can take away my right to have an abortion, giving themselves decision-making power over my body, then, one day, they can force me to have an abortion.

But here's the thing I shouldn't say, but I will: some people shouldn't have children. And I'm not just talking about people on welfare who have 6 or 10 kids and no job or no husband or what have you. I'm talking also about people with means. People with high levels of education and important, high-paying jobs. Neglect comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms, and there are thousands and thousands of neglected children in this world. Just because you're leaving them with a nanny or a day care center or a babysitter doesn't mean you're caring for them. When you get home from your job, you'd better be willing to sit down and play with those kids, and discipline them, and do everything in your power to make them a decent citizen of the world, regardless of your income or education level. It's part of being a responsible human being, and it is your responsibility as a parent.

Having children requires enormous sacrifice of time and energy. It's @!$%#ing hard to be a parent. Yes, an abortion is physically and psychologically difficult, and you'll probably think about it for the rest of your life. But guess what? Raising a child is a 24/7/365/rest of your goddamn life job.

Science (as opposed to creationism or corporate-funded anti-global-warming-ism, sorry if I'm loading the question feel free to take offense)

I'm a recovering Catholic, but I'm not an atheist. I do believe there's something out there, even if it is just some kind of force made up of the combined spirits of all humans. I do not believe in Creation, I believe in Evolution. I can't fathom why some supreme being would bother creating a world full of humans and animals and plants. For entertainment purposes? Was God just bored or something?

It's a which-came-first question, really. And in my view, the humans came first, and sought an explanation for things they didn't understand, such as how in the hell they came to be. And some wiseass said "Hey, I know! Some invisible, all-knowing power MADE us! Yeah! That's it! Okay, problem solved, next question." All religion is a bunch of made-up hooey, and its purpose is to provide explanations for things that humans do not have answers for.

Then, of course, came science, which is its own brand of religion. It's the same thing, only science has "evidence" and "proof."

Back to the abortion question for a second--why is it that opponents of abortion are almost invariably religious? They believe that the child is God's creation, and killing one of God's creations is a sin, and wrong. The child is the creation of my body joining together with that of a man. Egg and sperm, baby. If God had anything to do with it, then there was some threesome action there that I was totally oblivious to.

Economic issues (Capitalist? Socialist? Anarchist? Something else?)

I'm pretty much a capitalist. Private enterprise makes the world go round.

Social Legislation (Homosexuality, Drugs, Guns, etc)

I love the gays. ;) Seriously, you know what? We should all be free to love whoever the hell we fall in love with, regardless of gender. We should be free to love them, and to @!$%# them, and to marry them and live with them and make dinner for them and get irritated with them and argue with them and make up, and have make-up sex, raise children, worry about money, buy homes, and on and on and on.

Why in the hell does anyone waste their time and energy caring about who people are falling in love with? What does it matter? Who is it hurting? For the love of Pete, find something else to freak out about. I know a lot of homosexuals who are in very loving, solid, long-term relationships. They have the same issues that any standard male-female marriage has, and in my experience, try harder to make it work.

Marijuana, at least, should be legal. I'm not so sure about the rest of it. I've seen a lot of people @!$%# up their lives beyond repair just to get another line of coke, some more heroin.

However, the war on drugs isn't working. And drug education in this country basically consists of some scary movies of kids jumping out of windows on PCP (who even does PCP anymore?), fear and intimidation, and instructions to "Just Say No." Didn't work for me, probably won't work on my kids either.

As far as guns are concerned, I do believe that citizens of the United States should retain their right to own guns. My husband is a hunter, and we eat (well, he eats) the animals he harvests. We also have handguns for personal protection. And also because they're fun to take to the range and shoot.

However, it is entirely too easy to own a gun legally in this country. It's even easier to get one illegally. To get my Illinois Firearm Owners ID card, I have to take a picture of myself, tape it to a form, and mail it in to the state. That's ridiculous. I should have to take a test proving that I know how to handle a gun properly, understand how to keep a gun in my home safely, and understand the laws of my state regarding guns. It should be no different than getting a license to drive a car. Granted, that's tacking on a whole new world of bureaucracy onto the thing, but I don't have a better answer. And there are a lot of people who own guns who haven't a clue how to use them or store them safely.

Politics in General

Damnitall, I just HATE politics. To me, politics is separate than government. Politics encompasses all the bull@!$%# and the power plays and the lies and the manipulations that people use in order to get in and stay in the government. And once they're there, they just protect their own interests. It pisses me off.

Who do you want to see as the next American president? Please explain why you've chosen against the other main contenders.

Right now, I'm really digging on Barack Obama. I don't vote strictly Democrat or Republican (or Independent or Green or whatever). I vote for whoever I think is going to do the best job (of course, I voted for Bush in '04, so I was clearly wrong, but I swear, I was crying while I punched that chad). I haven't seen any Republicans I'd even consider voting for, and I kinda doubt someone is going to crawl out of the woodwork.

It's so early in the process right now, so for the time being, I'm going on gut instinct. I trust this guy. I believe him. I think he earnestly and honestly wants to see this country take a turn for the better, and he'll work hard to make that happen. He's a gifted communicator and staggeringly intelligent.

I may yet change my mind, but right now, it's Obama for me.

Shifting gears rapidly, let's talk about vice. What's the hardest drug you've taken? Did you like it? What's your favorite sexual position? What's the kinkiest sex you've ever had, and did you enjoy it? Have you ever been arrested? Have you ever narrowly avoided being arrested? You told me you'd answer all my questions, so here's one: what question along these lines would I have to ask for you to consider not answering in spite of your promise? What is the answer to that question?

I'm a soft-drug person, truthfully. When a lot of people in high school were snorting coke, I was still drinking warm beer. I couldn't stand the thought of snorting anything into my nose, and it was entertaining to watch my friends turn into these people who thought they were very intelligent and very powerful, but their noses were running or bleeding and they couldn't keep track of their conversations.

Then came college and the Grateful Dead and LSD and mushrooms and ecstasy. This was in the very early 90s. I hated the LSD and the mushrooms. I couldn't let go of control, and that's really what you have to do when using hallucinogenic or psychoactive drugs. I had a few fun trips, but once I watched as my boyfriend's entire head got sucked into his bottle of Weideman's (some cheap-ass beer we'd get in Kansas. It came in short round little brown bottles), I pretty much swore off the stuff (the acid, not the beer), although it took still a few more bad trips to really stop. I always thought that maybe this time it wouldn't be scary. I was always wrong. I always enjoyed it when at a Dead show, but once the show was over, the trip would just keep going. That's the part I didn't like.

Now, I'm just a booze girl. Marijuana is pretty boring, and just makes me tired, and combined with booze it gives me the spins and then I want to vomit. That's no way to end a night. The older I get, the harder it is to recover.

On to the sex…

For a good, late night, "I'm tired and have a slight headache but let's go ahead and do this anyway" love-making session, there's nothing better than missionary. It's the tired-mom's position. But when I'm not tired, I'm up for pretty much anything. I'm not as flexible as I used to be, but I can bend and twist into a pretzel if it feels good. As far as kinkiest, I'd have to say (or at least, all I'll admit to) is a night in a big hotel room when there were several other people present, in other beds, pretending to sleep. For a little while, we tried to stay under the covers and be quiet, but after a while, we convinced ourselves that everyone was sound asleep and just went to town. Hell yeah I enjoyed it. It was slightly awkward when one of the other people got up to use the bathroom in the midst of things, but hey, they could have been sleepwalking. It's been done.

I've never been officially arrested. I came close one crazy Halloween night down in the city. A bunch of guys I was with got in a drunken brawl with a guy dressed up as Raggedy Andy. We were in a restaurant, having a late-night breakfast before heading home, and there were some words exchanged (okay, so we were making fun of Raggedy Andy. He deserved it!). All the guys rushed outside to beat the @!$%# out of each other. Andy's girlfriend, Raggedy Ann, screeched up in her late-70's Pontiac, and popped the trunk, out of which Raggedy Andy pulled a baseball bat and started swinging. We all ended up at the hospital, and during questioning, the cop threatened to arrest me for lying (I wasn't, I was telling my version of events, that's all). That's about as close as I've been to doing hard time.

Honestly I don't know what question you could ask that I wouldn't answer. I suppose if you asked me if, when I was in junior high, I used to sit near the back of the bus and endure having my budding breasts grabbed by horny young boys, I'd have to answer yes, I did. And if you then asked, why didn't you just sit near the front? I suppose I'd have to answer, well, I guess I enjoyed the attention on some level. Sure, I fought them off. But I still sat in the back of the bus, me and my boobs.

Tell us three things you learned and which surprised you at the Columbus Vinemeet.

You sneak. You wouldn't answer this when I asked you, but now you're going to ask me?

The most important thing I learned or realized as a result of the meet was that everyone in attendance was exactly the person I thought they would be. I'm not sure what I expected, but it was a pleasant surprise to me to meet a bunch of people for the first time and instantly feel that I'd known them for a long time. Truthfully, I've spent more time conversing with some people on Newsvine than I do with some of my real-life friends.

But it's a testament to Newsvine and the people who hang out here that the real-life Mykola, Celestina, Eric Atienza, oldfogey, iarnuocon, indecent, Zaki, Yuriy, stolte-sawa, evano, winsomecowboy, (damn, who am I forgetting? I know I'm forgetting people), Corey Spring, who else? Anyway, all of these people are the same in real life as they are on Newsvine. So, by extension, I'd say there's a level of honesty here on Newsvine that you won't find in any other internet community. That was the surprising thing.

What else did I learn? Hmmm. Oh! That purple fairies will walk around a hotel room with a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of Bushmill's in the other. And clowns with accents are sexy.

Pardon me if I get a little meta- here, but let's talk about Newsvine. How did you discover Newsvine? What do you like about it - how has it managed to hold your interest for this long? What do you see as your role in the community? How do you see Newsvine changing in the next 6 months? Year? 5 years? Does it even make sense to talk about a website 5 years down the line? Probably not, that was a rhetorical question and you don't have to answer it.

Oh please, I love me some meta.

I don't remember exactly how I happened upon Newsvine. I read about it either in a news story or in a blog, and was led to Mike D's blog, and then asked for a beta invite. I joined in February of 2006, and it took me a while to get the hang of things.

I'm surprised myself that it has held my interest for so long. I tend to get into things and then move on. I think it's because of the level of discourse, the user community, and the passion that the majority of users have for the site and its community.

I think about my role quite a bit. I spend a lot of time trying to weed out spam and bull@!$%# from the Greenhouse, even though that's not my job and those people aren't going to likely get out anyway (although, sometimes they appear on the front page, which irks me to no end). I was once called a "self-appointed Newsvine culture-cop," although I don't know what the hell that means. It might refer to the fact that I'm known to leave comments containing some variation of the phrase "Stop being an @!$%#." I usually try to say it a lot nicer than that. But there are people on this site who love to play games, and there's just no reason for it, other than their own entertainment, and to bolster their own feelings of power.

I see it as my duty to affect Newsvine positively, to represent Newsvine positively out on the rest of the internet, and to do what I can to help shape Newsvine for the future.

In six months to a year, I expect there to be quite a few more writers doing specific series for which they've received press passes or some kind of exclusive. I believe Newsvine will continue to get attention from the rest of the world, and will certainly attain some level of credibility because of the level of discourse, and the high quality of most of the writing. There are some unbelievably talented writers here on Newsvine, several of which could easily be published elsewhere, for more money and fame. That's my little project, that I intend to expand--to encourage people to submit their work elsewhere.

I see groups changing in purpose, and people finding new uses for them--some of the ideas you put forth in my interview with you were fantastic, and I've been working on my own new idea for the use of groups, although I don't want to discuss it here because it's not fully formed. The thought that each group could be it's own independent column type of thing is ideal. I would love to see that. I think there'd be a lot of people who would visit Newsvine for the content coming out of a specific group, and not pay the slightest bit of attention to the rest of it.

5 years? Hell, I don't know. I hope Newsvine is still around.

It's been a while since we've had a good, down-to-earth, dirty, mean-spirited AoD Grudge Match. Here and now, Viki, I'd like you to challenge between one and three people to a round in the Arena of Death. I think that this sort of sport would be very exciting given your generally peaceful life on the vine so far - but we all get annoyed by someone now and again and the AoD is a great place to blow off steam without starting a flame war. So I'd like to ask you to pick someone who has been driving you nuts and publicly challenge them to a few rounds in the AoD, rules and referees to be determined. You don't necessarily have to explain why the person/people you've picked have earned your ire, but you should be aware that it's considered good form in AoD challenges to be as spiteful and petty as possible beforehand, to maximize anticipation.

You're a rotten bastard, you know that? Good for you.

The first person that I thought of was Ardith. She and I used to be friendly with each other, but something happened. Something twisted in our relationship, and now it's clear to me that there is no going back. I know its good form to be spiteful and petty, but I won't do that now. If Ardith responds in the comments, it may happen there. I kinda doubt she will, though.

What is community?

The concept of community has been on my mind a lot lately. I've been collecting definitions and quotes in my notes, preparing for an article.

Part of the definition of "community" from the American Heritage Dictionary is "Sharing, participation, and fellowship." Those three things are found here at Newsvine in abundance, and are part of what makes this place work, and for the most part, successful.

Some of the quotes I've collected so far:

In every country, we should be teaching our children the scientific method and the reasons for a Bill of Rights. With it comes a certain decency, humility and community spirit. In the demon-haunted world that we inhabit by virtue of being human, this may be all that stands between us and the enveloping darkness.

-Carl Sagan

Yes, our company is at risk because we cede control to the users, but that's how we do our business. If the community decides to kill the business, maybe it deserves to die.

-Jeffrey Kalmikoff, Designing for Community with Zero-Advertising Brands, SXSW 2006

Communities can build amazing things, but you have to be part of that community and you can't abuse them. You have to be very respectful of what their needs are.

-Jimmy Wales, Keynote Speech, SXSW 2006

I sense an insatiable demand for connectivity. Maybe all these people have discovered important uses for the Internet. Perhaps some of them feel hungry for a community that our real neighborhoods don't deliver. At least a few must wonder what the big deal is.

-Clifford Stoll, Silicon Snake Oil, 1995

One would think that if you're anonymous, you'd do anything you want, but groups have their own sense of community and what we can do.

-John Allen, A network called 'Internet', CBC, 10-08-93

Okay, I got carried away there. Sorry. The fact of the matter is that we have the opportunity and the tools to do something extraordinary here on Newsvine--but we can only do that as a community. And every member of the community needs to be on board, needs to support each other.

Have I babbled enough yet?

I've got another interview for you today, this time with the one and only Brian Ford. You know who he is, I won't waste time with an introduction. Read on to get Brian's thoughts on the Newsvine Community, some insights into flame wars and, in response to a reader-submitted question, an explanation of what it's like to be a Newsvine Sex Object.

I ask everyone about their username - you, like me, are writing under your real name. Can I ask why you choose to do that, as opposed to using a pseudonym? You run the risk of exposing yourself to real-life retaliation for some perceived online slight - does this concern you? In your ideal world, would more viners use their real names?

Short answer: I can't think of a good reason not to use my real name -- so I do.

Longer answer: I recently wrote an article on this topic, and it was not favorably received. (Read it here.) My goal was to get other users to consider their online identity, and whether or not they needed to use a pseudonym. While there are obviously any number of reasons to choose to do so, I hoped that those who couldn't think of any reasons would consider using their real name instead.

As online communications expand, my hope would be that the phenomenon becomes less "virtual" and more "real" -- and perhaps some of fears will concurrently subside. I didn't see my article as a magic fix by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought it might at least open a good dialogue. (It did.)

I don't really have any specific concerns as a result of my decision to identify as Brian Ford. I suppose there is a niggling thought that something bad could come of it -- but I tend to believe that the positives outweigh the negatives.

In the end, I want my real name to be associated with the effort I put into my Newsvine contributions; I'm proud of my participation and achievements -- so I'll live with the risks, whatever they may be.

For what it's worth, I've slowly phased out my use of pseudonyms across various social-networks: I'm now Brian Ford on Virb, Flickr, iChat and Newsvine.

How did you first stumble upon newsvine? You are by now a pretty established user - perhaps one of the true Newsvine Rock Stars in terms of sheer popularity. What's the secret to your success? I'd ask you for advice to new users, but your articles on the subject are already the best we have available - so instead, let me ask you if you are surprised by your own popularity. Did you expect to be one of the big names? How do you see your role in the newsvine community at large? What about that community - how is Newsvine different from other online communities you've encountered? How do you see newsvine changing over time? In 6 months? A year? Five years? This question is basically trying to tie up all the meta loose ends - anything else you'd like to say about Newsvine and your role within it?

I received an invitation from Jeff Croft, who was asked to participate in the initial alpha stage. Jeff gave me a rudimentary Newsvine demo at that time.

My participation began during the last stage of the initial beta period. Over a year later, Jeff rarely participates at all -- and I'm more interested now than I was when upon receiving his invitation.

I'm not really surprised by my success -- but this is only because I think anyone can achieve it.

Ultimately, all it takes is a real interest in the Newsvine community, a willingness to learn from others and a bit of patience. I don't look at my earlier contributions much, but I'm fairly certain that my writing has evolved and that said evolution is based entirely on paying constant attention to how the community operates while making the appropriate adjustments.

I hate the word meta, but writing at that level has been huge for me -- and I think this holds true for others, as well: If you look at the most popular contributors, most of them are consistently active within the community in one way or another. On the other hand, it's very easy to tell when someone is using "meta" as a way to get ahead. Writing about the community is just like writing about anything else: Be sincere about it. (I don't see a point, otherwise.)

I don't think a person can come in and "use" Newsvine without engaging the community, not with any real hope of success, anyway. I recall one guy who wrote really great content -- but he eventually stopped enabling comments and that was a deal-breaker for me. He's not writing for Newsvine anymore -- so maybe his decision was a deal-breaker for everyone. Contributing content to a "social-news" community without having an active interest in the "social" aspect of said community seems odd, to me. (Not to mention a bit egotistical.)

In the end, I don't believe it's enough to be a great writer: Lasting recognition (which is probably a better term than popularity) is born of active participation in all aspects of the Newsvine community. Those who think they can get away without "giving back" in one form or another usually don't last long.

My hopes for Newsvine's future revolve around tools which make it easier to contribute Citizen Journalism -- without sacrificing the current setup which allows for varied contributions. (Short articles, long articles, dumb articles, silly articles, etc.)

The community has always been pretty adept in its role as "collective editor" and I don't want to discard that system in favor of a more structured front-page: Anything else would strip the ability for people like me to learn on the job -- and we shouldn't cut those with an interest in "testing the waters" out of the equation, simply because they aren't great writers. (Yet.)

You're one of the more affable writers on newsvine - you tend to stay away from politics and religion, to an extent, and when you do contribute to the discourse in contentious fields I've noticed that you tend to make pretty well-considered statements. You've certainly had your share of brawls, however - I wonder if I can get some thoughts from you about conflict and disagreement on Newsvine or on the net at large. I mean, talk to me about Flame Wars - have you noticed any interesting dynamics at play? To what extent are such conflicts personal and to what extent are they rooted in ideology? Are they useful? I mean we all know that fighting solves nothing, but do periodic flame wars have any sort of positive impact on the newsvine experience? I don't mean here to imply that you're always fighting, it's rare for you to get dragged into such things - but it's an issue on my mind and so I'm asking.

I can already hear a lot of under-the-breath muttering regarding your first sentence.

I guess I don't want to go into too much detail about specific examples -- but flame wars are bound to happen. They happen in real life, and they're going to happen online. My personal take is that I'm not going to treat "person A" differently than I treat "person B" -- and yet it seems that sometimes people expect to be treated with a lighter touch based on some condition or another.

I can be outspoken and I will readily admit that sometimes I type faster than I think. Still, I'm going to type the same reaction whether I'm talking to a girl, a guy or a person of any given racial background. I'm not interested in walking on eggshells and I certainly understand why this rubs some people the wrong way. It's very simple: If people don't like me -- that's fine.

On the other hand, I'm a big proponent of Newsvine's Code of Honor -- right down to the way in which it came about: A few months in, the active community got together and wrote a series of guidelines which have (thus far) worked out remarkably well. The discourse on Newsvine is miles beyond any other online community I've ever participated in.

This is largely the result of an active and involved community.

We're all going to violate the Code of Honor at some point -- in someone's mind.

Because of that, Newsvine isn't without scuffles (some larger than others) but I think it would be unrealistic to expect otherwise: Contentious issues are tossed around, personalities clash -- and grievances are aired. I'd love to be a fly on the wall during some of these clashes as the occur in mainstream outlets (surely they happen there, too?) and I suspect that same fascination with spats and verbal explosions pervades on Newsvine.

Serious flame wars seem to be pretty rare -- 1 or 2 every couple months serve to keep everyone on their toes: I see them as digital forest fires. I think their effect on the community is exaggerated a bit.

If we'd just put up a pole while they occur, we could celebrate Festivus and kill two birds with one stone.

With that said, I think most conflicts are rooted in basic misunderstandings which quickly turn personal. I one up you, you one up me -- wash, rinse, repeat. Some spats are beyond repair, others turn out better. That's the way it goes. I don't think about it much, until it happens. Then, Calvin steps in and everyone moves on. (Until next time...)

You are a graphic designer by trade. Turning your designer's eye for a moment on Newsvine, what do you see that the rest of us don't? Aesthetically, functionally, whatever - what sort of insights does your chosen profession give you? After that, let's get meta again - do your experiences as a designer let you see the community in a new light? How could "usability" of the community be enhanced? If you were going to design an online community, what would you do differently? I realize that this sort of question isn't exactly related to graphic design, but a designer shapes space so I figure maybe you could have some interesting thoughts about shaping the abstract netspace in which we're all playing. If you really did work for newsvine, what would you do differently?

My official job title is Graphic Design Specialist, but "Information Designer" would be a more accurate descriptor. You can read more about what I do here.

To be honest, web design isn't one of my strong points, even though I'd love to be better at it. Mike and the rest of the staff are really good at what they do, and it's nice that they take some of my suggestions seriously -- even if they're never implemented. Beyond that, I'm happy with what they've provided.

I used to try and create an original design or illustration for my articles, but I soon found that my output suffered based on having an unrealistic personal goal: I would opt to not write at all if it meant I had to design something to go along with it. My muse is pretty fickle, and I go through bouts where I'm just not interested in designing something. Every once in a while, I'll still make on original piece for an article, but it has definitely become the exception, rather than the rule.

As a designer, I do analyze the way I format my posts, to some extent. I've worked out a bit of a style which (hopefully) helps to lead readers through some of my longer pieces: I usually write short, two or three sentence paragraphs, and I tend to create a lot of sub-headings throughout my articles.

I don't know if it works, but the goal is to provide a casual flow and a bit of breathing room. (I would compare the sub-headings to chapters in a book.) I also utilize lists more often than I should, but I find that doing so helps if I'm having trouble organizing a thought.

On a practical level, I also find that it's easier to tackle second, third and fourth drafts when I utilize shorter paragraphs.

There are two or three really popular authors (on Newsvine) who I have a hard time following, simply because my attention span doesn't allow for long, sprawling paragraphs. (For what it's worth, this is only the case when I'm reading content on a monitor.) I feel kind of dumb, because I often have trouble reading through to the end of some of Newsvine's most highly regarded content.

I don't normally do user-submitted questions, but one user (she wants to be identified only as "a lonely, sex deprived annonymous newsviner") heard that I was going to interview you and wanted me to ask: How do you keep the girls (and/or boys) at bay? Apparently you're quite the sex object to a certain demographic - you're even giving me a run for my money in Faruk's Hottest Newsviners contest, which is no mean feat given my ravishing good looks. So, how DO you keep the girls and boys at bay?

First: I felt an obligation to clear this question with my wife before answering. I think that alone may answer the question, but I wasn't "cool" in grade school, middle school, high school or college. (I stopped caring sometime during high school.) Because of that, I'm half convinced you've made this person up in order to ridicule me: I suspect that I will soon find myself in a room with nothing on, surrounded by cheerleaders and frat-boys -- all pointing at me while laughing cruelly at my non-toned, non-tanned body. "Sex deprived anonymous newsviner" is merely the bait which will get me there.

More seriously: I write about computers and reality television. I once wrote an article which equated Newsvine's NCAA basketball tournament to a role playing game. I spend all day on Thursday discussing Lost.

I think that about covers it.

As for the boys: I once played in a gay softball league for Missy B's (a dance/gay bar in Kansas City) after being recruited by a cook who worked in the Kansas City Art Institute. My team actually made it to the "Gay World Series of Softball" in San Francisco, but I was unable to attend due to events beyond my control. Not being able to go is one of the great regrets of my life: I hope it was like Carnival -- with bases.

At any rate, the guys on my team seemed more interested in my friend Adam. Being as I'm not gay, that probably shouldn't have bothered me, but it kind of did. Other than that, we pretty much spent the season being the target of "straight" jokes.

What is power?

Power is temporary.

Hey kids - it's interview time! I haven't published one of these in a while, but I have a few stockpiled. Today I'm going to bring you an interview with everyone's favorite cool head and even tone, Celestina. These questions and answers are actually about two months old, but still fresh!

I'm not going to spend a lot of time introducing Celestina, you all know her and you all love her. Now you get to read her thoughts on a range of subjects from Claus Jacobsen's US visit to the universality of indiana jones.

Without further ado, let's begin!

Is Celestina your real name? If so, why do you use it in spite of the privacy risks? If not, why do you use a false name - is it just the privacy issue? How do you reconcile user pseudonyms with an aspiring "serious" news site? If it is a pseudonym, how did you come up with it? How long have you used it? Have you used it on other public websites? Which ones, so your rabid fans can stalk you across the internet? That last one shouldn't have a question mark, should it?

No, Celestina is not my real name. I chose to use a pen name on Newsvine primarily because of my business (which is the sort of thing where people will go to the trouble to research you online, and I wanted to keep my political views separate from my professional abilities) , and secondarily because I passionately dislike my real name and any excuse to use another one is like an opportunity to play dress-up: irresistible. In my view, using a pen name is no different than putting on a suit when you go to work. It doesn't change who you are, and if your work can stand on its own feet using a different name cannot undermine your credibility. If my real name is ever relevant in any way, I will use it. I came up with "Celestina Adams" several years back when I realized that the drag queens had taken over my old one on the web ("Mary Contrary" just was not available anywhere I went). I wanted something which sounded kind of silly, and to my mind combining Celestina with Addams was a bit off. Then a typo cut out the second "d" in Addams, and I just left it. At this point, though, I have been going by Celestina for long enough that even in person I answer to it just as quickly as my birth name.

You first really made a name for yourself when you wrote an amazing, well-researched and passionately composed article in the first tangle debate. I have a few questions to spin off of this one: one, where did you learn to write and research like that? Have you clocked long hours in some humanities grad school, or are you just passionate about the subject and writing about it in the way that makes the most sense? Also, I wanted to ask you about Tangle itself. Obviously the project has kind of died down, but do you think it was originally a good idea? Was it successful, in your opinion? Given all of the changes to the site (friends lists, groups, etc etc etc) what would it take to get Tangle going again?

I never went to grad school, but I did grow up in a terribly intellectual family where arguing was the preferred pastime. Both my parents held philosophy degrees, and were relentless in correcting both my grammar and my logic. In high school, I desperately wanted to join a debate team, but as the big program in my school was Future Farmers of America, debate teams were not available. I got referred to the Model United Nations club, instead, and got sucked into the world of political debate and scheming (rather than the arguments about the existence of God and the parameters of aesthetics to which I had grown accustomed). MUN was one of the most valuable experiences I ever had, teaching me tons not only about research and debate, but also about human nature and the dynamics of diplomacy.

I think Tangle was a great idea, and was successful to a certain extent, at least inasmuch as it started us out with a strong concept that arguing can be both passionate and controlled and factual. I would love to see it surface again, if only for the periodic reminder of what logical debate can be. I don't really think it would take a lot of effort to get it going, though I can see the value in running it more AoD-style: two competitors, a set time limit, and a definitive result delivered. Perhaps simply starting a group dedicated to it and declaring intent and an initial showdown would be enough to get it up and running again. We all hear a lot of complaints about the flame wars and inflammatory posting, Tangle could be a great way to highlight another aspect of the 'vine.

Recently, superviner Claus Jacobsen visited you in Asheville, North Carolina. Can you discuss his visit? What went into the planning? Whose idea was it? What was most striking about Claus? Who else got to hang out with you guys? I'm sure there'll be a bunch of articles about this, so what can you tell me in this interview that you maybe haven't gotten around to mentioning elsewhere?

Claus and I started talking back around the middle of last year after I sent him an "impertinent" email (his term) asking some questions about some comments he had posted around the 'vine. I have this sort of chronic curiosity disorder that gets the better of me, sometimes. So we started talking, and one of the things that became apparent early on in our conversations was that he was not really happy with all aspects of living in Denmark, while I absolutely adore living in Asheville. Naturally, I invited him to visit, and naturally he didn't take me very seriously. Eventually, though, our talks developed into a real friendship, and I just kept repeating the invitation until he gave in and said he would come and check it out. Probably the most striking thing about Claus is his profound sense of self. When he stands on his feet, he is very much centered in the place where he stands. What's more, I have a tendency to pry and delve into people, and Claus never flinched from my questions, instead taking the time to try to answer as honestly as he could. He also has a tendency to talk to everyone, and wound up meeting people and having experiences in my town that I would never have had, myself, simply because he is open to the experience. We got to meet Cassandra and Oldfogey and his wife as they headed through town, and that was a really wonderful, if too short, experience. Sitting there at the table with all of them, it really felt like we might in fact be able to come up with some real solutions to the world's problems if only we had a little more time. Other than that, I dragged him all over Hell and half of yon, introducing him to friends and family and making sure that he got plenty of time to talk to random strangers on the street. As far as the inside scoop...Claus had never eaten a waffle before his visit. It's hard for me to imagine such a thing, but he assured me it was true.

If I remember correctly, your job involves working with animals. What is the nature of your work? What has your work taught you about dealing with people? You have a reputation as level-headed and compassionate, you're one of those people who can elicit rational responses from the most loathsome, ill-bred trolls; has your experience in working with animals helped you to understand aggressive/counterproductive behavior? What sorts of secrets can you share with us in this capacity?

I am a petsitter and dog trainer with my own business. I especially enjoy working with dogs with fear-aggression issues, which sort of puts me in a unique position amongst the petsitting crowd. One of the most important things I have learned from working with dogs is that how you feel when dealing with them is more important than anything you can actually do. That is, it is not enough to simply act unafraid, you must actually be unafraid, because dogs read much subtler body language than we do and any fear you carry in with you will cause you to communicate to the dog that you are either a threat, or you are subordinate, and either one will land you in the emergency room. In my experience, the same applies to interpersonal interactions. Even the tiniest details can escalate an already tense situation, and so the key is to go in actually believing that the other person does not intend to hurt you. Usually, a person acting in an aggressive manner is either afraid on some level, or there has been an invalid assumption made somewhere along the line. Assuming their best intent goes a long way toward finding a solution. Occasionally, of course, people just get the urge to try to pick a fight, but I find that nothing pisses them off more than refusing to be ruffled. It's just not a fun game (for them) if you won't tug back.

You've been instrumental in all sorts of community activities on newsvine, from the aforementioned tangle to the Arena of Death to the infamous NDC. Do you have any plans in the works for future events? Anything we should look forward to? What in your mind is the secret to a successful community event?

Right now, of course, the big news is Oldfogey's planned get-together in Ohio in May. I am planning on attending and seeing how much trouble I can aid and abet. Beyond that, there has been a call for another NDC, and I have promised to try to set that up as soon as possible (sorry, Calvin, I promise to keep it off the front page). I have been involved with the AZ collaboration, and while I have mixed feelings about that particular project, I have put a lot of thought into the potential for the kind of system they want to create, wherein various contributors can utilize their strengths in order to explore more avenues than any one of us may have time for. I think that fostering a strong sense of community is crucial to the success of a site like Newsvine, in that it significantly cuts down on the aforementioned attacks and flamewars, and increases the willingness of participants to continue even if they find themselves subject to the occasional unpleasant interaction. I think most of us who have been here from the beginning and are still here have gone through spells where we got busy in real life, or hit writer's block, or simply felt discouraged about the general state of stupidity in the world...but we came back to the site not so much because we couldn't find our news fix anywhere else, but because we missed our friends and the potential for change that this site offers. I would say, then, that a successful community event requires the opportunity for a group of users to get to know each other a little better as people, rather than proponents of a certain perspective on a particular issue. Whether it is jeering and catcalls (as in the AoD), or drunken rambling and flirting, or the opportunity to discuss how we will approach a certain project, a community event has to give us the opportunity to share a little bit of ourselves and be accepted.

Finally: what is love?

You remember the scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where he is standing on the edge of the chasm and he supposed to take a leap of faith to cross, and it is completely obvious to anyone that he is going to fall to a gruesome death a thousand miles below? And then he takes that step, and it turns out there was a completely solid bridge underneath that no one could see? Love is different for every person every time they feel it, but it is just like that, every time.

In what I hope to make a semi-regular feature here at my column, I bring you the next in my series of community interviews. This week, I metaphorically sat down with newsvine science star Jason Coleman to discuss science, professionalism and his status as father-to-be.

One thing that I've really enjoyed about doing these interviews is the depth of the responses I've gotten. It's always great to (metaphorically) sit down with a member of the community that has a more professional attitude towards their contributions and ask them personal questions. I hope you enjoy this week's result.

How did you get started on newsvine? What made you interested in the first place, how did you find out about it, etc. What do you still like about it? I ask everyone this, but newsvine can be really frustrating at times - why do you stick around? What do you see as your role in the community? How do you see newsvine developing and growing over the course of the next six months? The next year? The next five years?

I first received an invite from a web-designer friend of mine who knew I had been using Digg and some other social link/news sharing sites. Interested? To tell the truth I signed up for Newsvine and when I first logged in, it seemed like there was very little activity there. I actually lost most interest and pretty much forgot about it for a while. A few weeks later though, I heard the "Into the Net" podcast interviewing Mike D. about the site (like so many other Beta users). I figured I'd log back in to see if it had picked up steam and sure enough it had. Further, I was really sick of Digg at that point, as it had become no different that most discourse on the internet: flames, rumors, and non-sense. The sense on Newsvine that this would be my column, somewhere between a MySpace/Live Journal account and Digg (but with more class than any of the above) appealed a great deal to me.

Take on look at most any comment thread on /. or Digg and tell me that this site isn't a more mature and intelligent conversation. Further, Newsvine is a great community and I enjoy the personalities here (yes, even those personalities). I've got nearly 100 friends on my list that I've never formally met and could actually tell you a little something about each of them, or at least their online persona. In areas where some of my friends and family aren't as interested in having an in-depth conversation about various current affair issues, I can come here and see what others are saying. It's great for broadening my perspective to points of view I might not have otherwise considered. But this is hardly my only social life (and I doubt it's anyone else's). Newsvine can be a source of some frustration from time to time but two things keep it in perspective for me: the rest of the internet and the rest of my life. This site is just one extension of who I am as a whole. I'm sure that some try and be someone else online or use their online life to replace another (yes, that's a vast simplification and not the only reason for being vague about identity). However, this 'extension' notion goes to my choice of "user name" and "avatar" here. I'm not trying to do or say anything here that I don't or wouldn't elsewhere (although my tone is different here, generally). It's just me. I think it also tends to help me keep cool, knowing that any stupid comments are going to be digitally etched in stone forever right next to my name, only easier to find as time goes on and search engines get more sophisticated.

I'll get more to my role in a moment, as I think that's what my "strongly fleshed-out user bio" gets at. Online social link/news sites, for better or worse, are going to be compared to Digg for some time. It's growth was explosive and it truly was a new idea. Newsvine shares that idea, in part, but is a much better mix of traditional and social news. It offers a lot, regardless of whether users want a link-log of news, a place for discussion, or just the AP wire. Now, I doubt I have to sell Newsvine to you or anyone else reading this, but I do want to explain why I think Newsvine will be around for some time. What's it going to look like? I have no idea what any of the web will look like in five years, but I can only imagine more media such as video here. I hate to describe it as just 'the YouTube for news,' but I do think that will be something we'll see sooner rather than later. I kind of miss the "Vinecast," but it was related in theory only and I expect Newsvine to have more audio/video submissions in the future. This interview would probably seem a lot more lively in recorded format, wouldn't it? I have no doubt that citizen journalism is taking place on Flickr, YouTube, and so on, but Newsvine really has the potential to be integrated hub for citizen journal that those others could . I have really good hunch that I'm not the first person to think such a thing, though…

I hope to feed the greater system with information to make it something better than it was yesterday. That's the only reasonable goal I can have given the rather unlikely chances I have of making much money or earning much fame here. However, I do get to leave a substantial body of links to information and data, in addition to the information I provide in my own voice, that hopefully is what builds a great social database. Newsvine has the potential to become an open version of Lexis-Nexis; more-so than Digg or even Wikinews, in my opinion. That may not be the model that it's creators had in mind, but it's the use I gain from this site and the area where I can best (so far) contribute my time.

I think one of the critical points of Newsvine's success will be when the community can move past mostly talking about the community here. The spat between user X and user Y isn't "news" really worth anyone else's time and can only serve to turn people away who are just now coming to the site. Just think how Flickr (my favorite Web 2.0 darling) would have likely failed miserably if when you first signed up you saw photos about Flickr and comments only dissing someone else's photographs. I admit it's not a perfect analogy (although we've had a number of discussions here on the bias and politics of news photos, haven't we?), but I think users here have to see the need to move on beyond just discussing one another. So what if user Z always posts crap that you can't stand? Ignore them and move on (both literally and also by clicking that little "Ignore" button)! Let the fancy algorithms that the staff spent all that time developing do their jobs. And please stop leaving comments that the article isn't worth your time or is poor journalism; they only serve the opposite of the intended effect (note these are all mistakes I've been guilty of, too). If we'd all just give the site's mechanics a chance to work rather than complaining about them, we might be pleasantly surprised. At worst, it'll be no different.

You've got a pretty strongly fleshed-out user bio where you outline your mission on newsvine - this is pretty great. I like your manifesto, it states clearly and concisely your interpretation of proper newsvine behavior. How does it work for you? Do you find it challenging to work within the confines you've set for yourself (ie, a specific seeding method, never vote for yourself, etc) or do you find that it helps to have some structure? Do you see these rules as highly subjective - ie they're what works for you - or would you be happier to see them spread across the vine into general use?

I think my User Bio goes a long way to explaining how I view my role on this site in addition to how I try and conduct myself here. In short, I see myself as a someone who can bring a relatively unbiased and rational voice and want to make that goal clear for all. I certainly do have biases, and I don't mean to pretend otherwise. But I'm very sincere and I hope that comes across in what I bring to the site and by being as transparent as possible.

I actually think that having those guidelines (and they are just guidelines, I can't promise that everything I write or seed will always fit into them perfectly) really has helped me. The act of writing down my intentions has always helped me stick to them when a gray area arises. Perhaps that's part of my nature as an engineer. I tried to set up a method where I could clearly delineate fact from opinion, source from personal bias, etc. I wanted to make clear what was someone else's voice and what was my own. It's important that everyone understand that these (generally) work for me. They'll not work for everyone and I have no intentions or desires that everyone use the site like I do. That being said, I wish people would often put more effort into writing articles and not blog posts. Whether it's short attention spans, sticky-note length e-mails, text messaging, or "today I had cereal for breakfast" blogging, I think there's been a shift in what passes for a complete news article. I can remember when USA Today was known for it's overly short articles and those would now seem lengthy by current standards. Two short paragraphs do not make a journalistic effort. If that's all you've got to say, then please just leave a comment on a related post/seed elsewhere. And if you must have a poll then please provide some background on why it's worth my time or how it's relative right now. There are plenty of other sites on the internet solely dedicated to cutesy polls and such. I really think that that sort of "article" is only going to weaken the site's potential for longevity.

Of the highly active members on Newsvine, I tend to fall into the "high seeds, low articles, low comments" set; or at least that's my current aim. I have actually taken quite a bit of joy in watching my name fall off of the Newsvine Leaderboard in most every category. I'm here to share information and news I find interesting and not win, whatever winning means. I have no ambition to be the widest read of authors here nor make a lot of money (I've made $36 to date, about what I made when I sold my old PSOne on eBay and that took far less time and energy). So, I suppose anyone who wants to "game the system" would do well to not follow my lead. However, I hope that people will see some value in what I can contribute here.

That being said, I've been known for have very lengthy and involved comments around the site (and a large quantity of comments, though I'm no Yar). However, I realized that this is probably not the best way to use my time as they cut into my writing my own articles (here and on my own site). I'm hoping in the future to leave comments which are indeed just comments. I'll leave writing rebuttals, further research, inspired tangents, etc. to articles on my column, instead. And to tell the truth, reading my Bio indicates this as what I intended to do all along and just got sidetracked somehow. I think that my recent comment-come-article on Neil Boortz' skeptical piece on global warming is a perfect example of what I should have done first, but didn't. That rebuttal had no business in the comments section, regardless of how well it was received. Further, using the article format allowed me to post-edit to add additional links for reference, which was much better from my point of view. I think the term 'discussion' can have a broader sense and extend well beyond a single article. Currently, many of the multi-article threads on Newsvine are more personal and community in nature (read: euphemism for attacks and rants against the site) and as I've said, that's probably not a good thing.

I truly love writing. I love that English language is like a Swiss Army knife made of words and punctuation. I try and hold a very high standard for what I've published here as original articles. Unfortunately, this has held me back in the amount I've ever actually hit the publish button on (there are still almost as many unpublished articles in various stages of draft that I've given up on). I write quite a lot elsewhere, for my personal site as well as on Flickr, and those are in a very different voice than I use here. Here, I try to maintain a very clinical and dry voice as that helps me to distinguish my opinion from facts for the reader (a more technical writing style versus a editorial style). This has probably led a few people to think I don't have much of a sense of humor (or am just really mean), but I promise I'm actually quite different when I'm discussing just about anything else. This has been especially true in my commenting here. This different voice is mainly due to just how difficult it is to express tone in one or two paragraphs of written text. Is he being sarcastic or serious? Was that a joke or is he really trying to be cruel? It can be very hard to tell so I just try and avoid it here. This is mainly for people who don't know me outside of some written discussion posts and could very easily (and often do) mis-read my intentions. I still fall flat on my face a lot, but I do feel it's worth the effort (I routinely re-read some of my own comments and think "God, what an @!$%#."). Anyone who actually met me in the flesh might be surprised by large doses dry sarcasm, though; and I don't mean that in some sort of 'sense-of-humor-is-very-important-to-me' kind of way. No, I'm @!$%#ing hilarious. Honest.

You obviously come from a pretty scientific background. Can you tell us a little bit about your educational history? What can you tell us about the state of the public scientific discourse in America? What about on newsvine - do you see it as analogous to the larger public discourse? Better? Worse? What characterizes, in your mind, a healthy public scientific discourse? How can we as a community improve the quality of the scientific iscourse here on newsvine?

Well, I was raised with a fascination for all things science and engineering. I cannot remember a time when I wasn't amazed by the natural world. I'm formally trained as an engineer (something my "hard science" friends give me much grief over). I hold both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Civil Engineering and serve professionally as a licensed structural engineer. My interests in science and technology go well beyond just my professional field and into a lot of different areas. Then again, I have a lot interests outside of the sciences as well… just not the time to pursue all of them.

On the surface, it would seem that the discourse on science in the U.S. is extremely poor right now (though I also don't think it's exclusive to the U.S.). I think some of that is just popular misconception but there are certainly squeaky wheels that do get a lot of attention. My main concern is that scientists and technical professionals are often held in disdain in favor of 'folk wisdom' and 'plain speak;' instead of being trusted proxies of knowledge and expertise. It's not fair to expect every citizen to be a trained expert in all fields. However, if we're not going to become experts ourselves, we need to be willing to trust those who are. Also, scientists (as well as engineers, medical professionals, etc.) also have to be willing to help educate the public and behave in a manner that is transparent to review. The public must be willing to trust the expertise of those who have gained it and those experts need to dissolve the so-called "Ivory Tower" and speak to the public. Now, I use the word "trust" intentionally, as I could in theory gain expertise evolutionary biology, review data sets and provide my own experimentation to verify someone else's work. That is very different in having "faith" in something that is, by nature, not verifiable. That's the difference between trusting a proxy and holding a belief. Those who claim that science is a replacement for religion (cough Ann Coulter cough) are simply mis-representing this very important distinction and woe be unto them when they say such things around me. That's one lie that really pegs my bull@!$%# meter.

I actually think that Newsvine could benefit from more expertise, but I can also appreciate people's willingness to not jump into the fray. For example, as a structural engineer, I see a great deal of mis-information swirling around, often with regards to the Twin Towers collapse (and related structures) on 9/11/2001. However, I feel a great deal of anxiety about discussing it here (or with anyone I don't know in general) out of concern for my profession and my livelihood. I do my best to point people to the information I trust the most in addition to providing my own opinion. However, in the desire to clearly differentiate my opinion and what is elsewhere, what I have to say becomes very watered down. This is only compounded by the overwhelming practice of applying lay definitions to technical language, either unintentionally or out of malice. It can be very dangerous and scary territory; dealing with the general public. To be blunt, trying to hold a civilized discussion online isn't worth someone causing me trouble with my license because they didn't like what I said. All that being said, I really enjoy reading our resident scientists' input when they provide it. They are great points of data which have benefited Newsvine enormously. However, we shouldn't kid ourselves: this isn't some world-renowned science review body we're all members of here.

A healthy scientific discourse is one where there a lot of questions. We often see questions that are simply meant to instill doubt in the source, and those aren't really fair. However, general inquiry is the heart of science as well as science discussion. I wouldn't expect anyone to just accept a seemingly non-intuitive scientific result without asking some good questions. However, assuming that common intuition is better than actual discovery is extremely dangerous; "what I expect to see" is not as convincing as "here's what I did see." Everyone should note that it's not a new problem to science and it will never go away, but it's about as bad now as it's ever been. In it's most dishonest form, it is a straw man argument (i.e. - everyone knows that a chicken can't turn into a monkey, so evolution must be false) but is also commonly just assuming that 'folk wisdom' is smarter than true discovery (i.e. - someone who rationalizes that because a human being is so small compared to the planet we couldn't possibly be responsible for global warming). It takes a willingness to listen on the part of the public. Science is so amazing and rarely more-so that what you learn is completely different that what you expected.

Briefly, summarize global warming and why it's a problem. How do you know you're right? There have been many calls for hearing "the other side" - is there "another side" or is that a false dichotomy? You've got all of the world leaders sitting down and listening to you, and you have one shot to convinc them to take action - what action do you recommend and how do you convince them? What counter-arguments do you anticipate (not from a "there's no such thing as global warming" perspective but from a more pragmatic "Yes, but there are economic considerations..." perspective) and how do you address them?

Now, oddly enough, I have no idea why I've become a voice for climatology here on Newsvine. Just a open space to fill, I guess. I suppose that I've read more than the average non-climatologist on the subject and as a result have had a lot to share here. In doing so, have only come to the conclusion that upon reading the science (i.e., not the editorial pages), it's really remarkable stuff. It's a very mature and amazing field of science with an remarkably large data set. That's good news, because it affects all of us in a way that few other sciences do. ("Briefly" is a relative term and few would consider I have the ability to do anything briefly. ;) However, here goes…)

Global warming, as the popular name goes, is the observed phenomena that the planet's yearly average temperature has increased by a significant amount. It's a remarkably well documented observation and one that's simply not in question by any informed individuals. Now, this has happened over the past few decades; something that has never happened before; usually climate change happens over tens of thousands of years. We're warming at at least ten times faster than anything previously known so, no, it doesn't just happen all the time as some have argued. Not like this. The problem lies in the fact that a warmer planet really changes the planet as we are used to it and in many less-than-desirable ways. From more water in liquid form (sea level rise) to a change in the ecology of flora and fauna (plants dying off and animal migratory patterns shifting) to a change in regional climate (coastal regions see increase in precipitation and flooding where-as inland areas will be subject to more drought), just as some examples. Now, we should all stop and breathe for a moment. It's not going to happen overnight and it's not going to result in the planet becoming a flaming ball of fire. We need to be aware of what can happen and also why it is happening. There are so many things that can and do affect the Earth's climate that experts have to determine which one's make the biggest differences and what combination results in what we see out the window, so to speak.

Here's where I point out the obvious: it's not me who's rightness or wrongness matters. In fact, if you asked me just a few years ago, I'd tell you that global warming due to man's activities is probably very slim and nothing to be concerned over as we'll be out of carbon-based fuels long before it will affect anyone. Well, that isn't the case as we know now. Climatology is a pretty large field and as with any large scientific field, showing a new hypothesis to be right is one of the big "gets" in science. So if someone could show that the observed warming indeed wasn't mostly man-made, then that person(s) would be in line for some big awards, much more than $10k from Exxon. Here's the thing, out of essentially every research that could be verified in peer review, the research kept coming back to the same source: man-made greenhouse gases is the the only variable that can explain the observations. At the risk of applying my own brand of 'folk wisdom,' this makes good sense: if this was just some natural cycle, we'd likely see it in the paleoclimate records and we'd have seen this rate of change before. We don't and we haven't. A handful of people have tried to argue that some paleo-climate records are wrong (the so-called "hockey stick", which incidentally was vindicated last summer) but then in turn use some "cherry picked" version of climate data from the past themselves. So it comes down to this: trusting an expert proxy, or rather, trusting all the expert proxies. You see, while there are a few hold-outs in the climatology community and even they don't have a valid counter-theory. The overwhelming number of them now agree that the evidence clearly supports the theory of anthropogenic climate change. That is, the theory that most of the sudden spike in global temperatures we see are due to man-made greenhouse gases. Thus: it's simply not a balanced "argument." There is an understandable need in the mainstream press to fairly present both sides of an argument. Unfortunately, not all sides are on equal footing as such a presentation might suggest, and certainly not when it comes to what is causing climate change.

I'm sure that this is not a sufficient answer for those who simply wish to ignore or discount the science, but I'll ask them this: was anything I said going to be adequate for you? Further who did you listen to before you made up your mind and what evidence they give you? Essentially every argument I've ever seen against this theory has come in the form of simply hoping to cast doubt on it and not in real evidence against it. However, I'd like to go on the record stating that I would find it fantastic if there was suddenly new evidence that it wasn't, in fact, a result of man's activity that was warming the planet. I would, literally, be shouting in the streets with joy. It would be like I suddenly learned I didn't really have cancer from smoking cigarettes. Of course, the planet is still getting warmer (and all those problems that come with it) and I'd still have cancer. I could just go on smoking and I could get that Land Rover Defender 110 I've always dreamed about. But that's all just wishful thinking. We know that greenhouse gases warm the planet and we've known that for much longer than we've known that smoking causes lung cancer (ref. Fourier, 1827). Further, we "know" this in-so-much as we know anything in science. That is, the alternate theories have not shown to be as accurate as the theory in question and the theory in question predicts the observations to a high degree of accuracy.

As for policy on global warming, I'm not one for panic. I'm an advocate for emissions credit trading because it's worked very well in other areas previously (the cap-and-trade model). I think that perhaps global warming is just the kick in the ass that we need to stop using energy from countries that really aren't our friends. We just happen to live on a continent with some of the most varied natural resources on the planet and I'm confident we can meet our own energy needs by combining our own resources with improved efficiencies. It annoys me to no end to see various alternate energy industries undermine one-another instead of acting as compliments in the chain. While our physical infrastructure proves a challenge, I don't see it as being as big a road-block as the political and subsidy hurdles in the energy industry. However, none of these are insurmountable. Also, I do understand the economic concern and it's one that I share. But the notion that we could possibly overnight destroy this country due to some shifts in economic and energy policy strike me as completely absurd. We've been around since before the widespread use of fossil fuels for transportation and we discovered electricity, not to mention all the various economic policy and tax changes that have occurred in the meantime. None of those changes were, as far as I can tell, any less drastic in terms of changing our daily lives than the ones we need now and we've only become a stronger nation after each one. For everyone who claims that talk of "global warming" is hysterics, I see the real hysterics over fears of damage to the economy. Sure global warming is a huge deal but even it's relatively fast time-scale is slow enough for something as dynamic as the U.S. economy to not only survive but thrive.

I understand you are soon to be a father - congratulations!! Does this change the way you look at the world? Has the presence of this new visceral connection to future generations helped you to recontextualize any of your views? Or, on a less stuffy note, when is the baby due? Is it a boy or a girl? Decided on a name yet? Aunt/Uncle Newsvine wants to see the baby pictures as soon as you got 'em!

Thank you! It's hard to describe just how huge this is for my wife and I. It's on my mind even more than global warming! At the risk of sounding like every other parent before their child arrives, nope. I'm still me. I certainly feel that we need to be aware of what we leave for future generations, both personally and as a people. But I've really always believed that so I can't say that it's much of a change. Of course, I'm scare @!$%#less about all the horrible things in the world and how they can harm my child but I'm re-assured by the amazing family and friends I have and that people do this everyday around me. The world's a scary place and it's always been that way; I'm not going to make it un-scary. However, if I have one purpose in this world it's to help improve the human condition, even if just one increment. That helps my child just as it helps everyone else's. Although we are going to have to get child-proof cabinet locks for the kitchen.

The baby is due on my birthday, late next August. By far and away it will be the best birthday gift I'll ever get, even if it's the only one that ever throws up on me! We are coming to the end of the first trimester as of this e-mail interview and that means we're out of a lot of the iffy parts of pregnancy. Of course, that also means it's too early to tell the sex of the baby, thus "it." My wife and I discuss names daily and have yet to choose any winners, other than a last name. She wants the child to have my last name (as opposed to hers or a hyphenated name, etc.) where-as I'll just settle for a healthy baby with any last name. We won't get too wild with given names, as we're pretty conservative in that regard. As for pictures, anyone who wants that sort of thing should just click on my website and visit my Flickr account. Just look for anything tagged "baby." This is a huge thing for both my wife and me and there's lots there and loads more coming.

Finally, is there anything else you wish I'd asked? Anything in particular you'd like to say? If you were me, how would you wrap up this interview?

You couldn't have possibly realized how much you'd have already gotten when you wrote that. If I were you, I'd ask me to hire an editor! It's been a lot of fun to answer these questions. I guess I didn't think you'd ask me about global warming, but I also wasn't shocked as it's kind of become something of a niche for me here on Newsvine.

However, in spite of all I've typed so far (and the fact that a lot of people's eyes have long-since glazed over), a fit of jealous rage ensued in reading some of the great questions you've asked others so far. I'll provide some questions in brief with very short (for me) answer:

Religion? I'm a Christian (I know: white guy in the South is a Christian! Stop the presses!), Presbyterian to exact. I've been quoted as saying agnostic Presbyterian and as I don't claim to have all the answers, I'd say that's probably about right. I know religion gets some often well-deserved criticism (I'm looking at you Myk), but in the end I feel that any good in this world I can do more than offsets any 'enabling' my belief gives others who would do harm. I don't feel that religion is some absence of logic and reason, just the philosophy of a faith in something supernatural. I'm okay that I can't prove in the existence of God or the divinity of Jesus, as it wouldn't require faith if I could. On the other hand, it's absurd to me that somehow this is considered to be in contradiction to my support of the sciences (or even my politics) as they all go hand in hand: help make life better for my neighbors, all 6+ billion of them.

Lone Liberal? Well, non unlike Indecent, my personal politics tend to go against the grain of where I grew up, where I went to college, and where I live now. However, that has never stopped me from loving those places and the people there (okay, maybe growing up a bit…). I have a great number of friends and family who are far more conservative than I am (and some even more liberal) and as an engineer, it probably goes without saying I'm one of the few progressives I know in my profession. Still, I've found that being sincere and honest gains me respect. It has also given me a great deal of insight into those who think differently than I do. When we all can realize that we all essentially want the same thing: a better world, then the rest is just how we get there. That's politics and realizing that there really is no such thing as an enemy, only someone who believes a different path is best, makes you see only potential in the future. We're all in this together and we all want (and need) the same thing, and none of us are alone. Let's just start talking.

Traveled much? I love traveling! I've been all over the U.S., except for the Northeast, the UK, France, and most recently, the Caribbean. Pretty much everywhere on the planet is on the to-do list, as well. I'm very fortunate that I have a wife who loves travel and exploring as much as I do.

I actually wasn't all that jealous of any of the questions posed to GoReporter. Those were tough. I'd be hard pressed to defend why anyone should read my column. Hopefully it's because I provide links to new information on trusted sources in addition to facts and fact-based opinions in my articles. Those are some of my goals here, anyway. Hopefully others find that to be the case and it makes Newsvine a better place. Then again, I think GoReporter no doubt feels the same way, even though I think our columns are polar opposites.

As much as I've written here, I think that this is nothing compared to what any of us could learn about another if we just spent ten minutes over a cup of coffee or a beer. That's tough to do with people from all over the country and the world using this site but if we'd all just keep that idea in mind, we'll end up treating one another with respect and making a better site for us all. We've all got a great deal in common, much more than what we think makes us different. I hope that you've enjoyed reading this half as much as I enjoyed writing it, which is to say, a lot. Thanks so much for the opportunity.

Welcome to another installment of my newsvine interview series. Today I bring you a conversation with a man who needs no introduction in these parts. Killfile rose rapidly through the ranks on newsvine and regularly tops the leaderboard with his erudite articles, prolific seeds and concise, insightful commentary. I think we can all stand to learn something from Killfile, and I hope this interview is as enjoyable for you to read as it was for me to conduct.

You use a pseudonym. Why? I understand the appeal of anonymity, especially when discussing politics, but there's also the argument that if we want to be taken seriously it would behoove us to post with our real names. How do you feel about this? Any thoughts? Also, why the name "Killfile"? Any sort of an interesting story behind that?

When I signed up for Newsvine I didn't want to just toss my name out onto the Internet. I had some privacy concerns, that's certainly true; but I also wasn't really ready to attach my real name to everything. Moreover, my wife has a career which, while not imperiled by my writing, could certainly be impacted by it. As I've become more comfortable with Newsvine and my family more used to the idea that this is something I do I've eased away from the more protective reasons to use a pseudonym and now favor it for a host of others.

Way back in the day, the car company called Nissan used to be called Datsun. They were popular as Datsun but for reasons that were never clear to me, they decided to change their name. Datsun-Nissan lost massive amounts of market share when they did that - no one connected Nissan, a brand they didn't know or trust, with Datsun, a brand they loved. It was a terrible decision. For better or worse "Killfile" has a modest following. I know that when other 'Viners have changed their handle I've had a very hard time keeping track of who is who. I don't want to "pull a Datsun" on that front and loose the goodwill I've been lucky enough to acquire.

As for "Killfile," it's an old college nickname. I attended the University of Virginia and was part of The Award Winning Virginia (not University of) Fighting Caviler Indoor/Outdoor Precision(?) Marching Pep Band & Chowder Society Review Unlimited -- or Virginia Pep Band for short. The Band had a mailing list and, in a development that should come as no surprise to anyone that follows my column, I posted a lot to that list. Some of our resident Unix junkies used an old trick - called a killfile - to make sure that they didn't get my numerous and verbose messages. It became and nickname and it stuck. I've always kind of liked it.

How did you get started on newsvine? How did you find it? More interestingly, why are you still here? There's a lot to hate about participating in online political debate - it can be very frustrating. How do you overcome that and why do you keep coming back? How do you see your role in the newsvine community? How do you see newsvine developing over the course of the next 6 months? Year? 5 years?

I got started on Newsvine by way of an invite from a Digg user who I've had no contact with since requesting an invitation. There was some conversation going on about bias in media or something to that end and he mentioned that he "got all his news from Newsvine." I checked it out, but it required an invitation so I wrote him and asked if he had any left. I signed up, poked around, and wrote something very shortly thereafter.

That answers how I ended up here, but not why, which is really the better of the two questions. My first University degree was in History, though as it turns out no one will pay you to do that unless you get a PhD or work as an analyst. I went back to school after I graduated and picked up a second degree in Computer Science. I program to pay the bills; and don't get me wrong, I love my job; but I've very little cause to write in it and I really do love to write. For a few years I maintained a blog but it didn't get much traffic and I really wanted more feedback on my work. Newsvine gave me that opportunity.

There certainly can be a lot to dislike in political debate, online perhaps more so. Tensions run high and people certainly have very entrenched opinions; but this is really the stuff that matters. Politics, as Bismark once said, is the art of the possible. I will probably never know if my writing makes a difference in the political opinions or philosophies of a single person out there -- but it's possible.

I'm not really sure how I "see my role" in the Newsvine community. I know the first time I saw my name on the leaderboard I was sort of shocked. The first time it was in the #1 slot I figured Claus had been hit by a bus or something. I know that I've got a reputation as a bit of a liberal firebrand and while I'm certainly ok with that I'd like to think that I can present both sides of a debate and treat them fairly. I think Jerry has effectively claimed the title of "Wise Old Man" so that's out of the running. Perhaps "Epicurean Intelligentsia," historic ironies and all, is an apt summation of my role.

You're very well spoken and educated regarding politics and history - tell us a little bit more about your personal education and background. What interests led you to a study of politics? How does your understanding of world history factor into your current role as Newsvine Rockstar? Is there a particular facet of world history that you'd recommend everyone study in order to get a good understanding of what's going on in the world today? Are some areas of history more applicable than others, or is it more of a subjective field where you can walk away from any history lesson with a deeper understanding of the world around you?

Well my father taught History at Virginia Military Institute throughout all of my childhood. He really got me interested History as a narrative rather than simply a listing of names, dates, and places. I can vividly remember him explaining the intrigue and interplay of European courts and the inner workings of the 3rd Reich and that certainly influenced by interests. My study of history lent itself to political history and I found myself focused in on the Cold War and Ancient Rome (independently of course).

My interest in history was strongly involved in foreign policy, intrigue, and the interplay of nations on the global stage -- militarily and diplomatically. I try to apply my training in those fields to my writings and observations on Newsvine. Scholars have found the same techniques very helpful in understanding events from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Roman Sack of Jerusalem in 79 AD so I reason that they may be equally helpful in understanding, for example, the US buildup to war with Iran. The proof will be in the pudding, of course. Thusfar my record for predictions hasn't been terribly bad though I won't make any claims to Nostradamus status just yet.

Much of my training has, unfortunately, become irrelevant with the rise of the "war on terror." Terrorism doesn't involve states or politicians in the traditional sense and as such literally decades of theory and study fly out the window when we're looking at the interaction of a state entity (like the USA) and a terrorist organization. If you were to study history to really get a handle on what's going on in the world today I'd say two areas really merit consideration. First, you'd want to understand not just the rise of Islam but its progression as both an empire and a religion across Northern Africa and though the Middle East. I don't mean just the dates and places, but the study of how Islam defines and informs the notions of justice and honor in the world. As Westerners, few of us have any conception of what Islam and Islamic culture demands as far as honor and justice are concerned, nor why it demands those things.

Second, study the colonial period of Western Civilization. I don't mean guys in powdered wigs in a courthouse in Philadelphia, but the systematic conquest, subjugation, enslavement, and exploitation of whole nations by Europe and, to a lesser extent the United States. Colonialism created a host of problems which are still working themselves out today and which contribute enormously to the trouble-spots, wars, and genocides we see from Darfur to Iraq.

You are very prolific, both in terms of seeds and original articles. Do you have any advice for newer users? What's your seeding process? What's your writing process? How does one become as well-spoken, prolific and popular as Killfile?

As far as articles go, the hardest part for me is thinking of something to write. Words come easily for me and what eloqence I may have is simply a byproduct of revision. I find that I can really speed my writing process if I jot down every idea I have for an article as soon as it occurs to me. I swear by Google Documents and, almost every time something pops into my head I'll jot it down as an article idea with a few bullets on what I want to say. Jotting it down gives me a jumping off point when I finally do have a moment to write something.

As far as seeds go Google's RSS reader is wonderful. I subscribe to about a dozen papers and magazine RSS feeds and I've told almost all of my friends and family that if they see something interesting they should send it my way. I really see seeding as creating a filtered content stream which separates the signal from the noise. If I filter enough material and you and I see eye to eye on our interests, my list of seeds will interest you and you'll enjoy them. That's all there really is to it.

You tend to have a more structured, formal approach to newsvine - tell us a little bit about Killfile the human being. What kind of music do you like? Seen any good movies lately? What's your favorite work of fiction? Do you think Harry is gonna die in book 7? What's the best star wars movie?

Killfile the human being is married with no kids. I've got two cats named Nikitty Khrushchev and Fidel Catstro (yes, horrid political cat puns) and work in web development. I listen mostly to classic rock and island music, though my wife's tastes in classic country are growing on me, though that might just be something in the water here in South-Western Virginia. I'm your typical late-20s guy as far as movies go. Anything with a decent body count and a multi-million dollar special effects budget will keep my interests for two hours, though I also really enjoyed Thank You For Smoking.

Picking a favorite work of fiction could constitute an entire interview in and of itself. I love science fiction. Neal Stephenson is a god and if my writing ever even thinks about the notion of considering the possibility of approaching his level, I'll die a happy man. Issac Asimov, Peter F. Hamilton, and of course Robert Heinlein all hold special places in my heart though, at the end of the day, I'm forced to admit that I'm a Lord of the Rings junkie.

But I didn't camp out for the movies.

Harry isn't going to die in Book 7. I doubt Ron's family will make it through unscathed though. I'm already counting down the days and I'll probably have to buy two copies so my wife and I won't fight over the book!

The Empire Strikes Back. Duh. :-)

And finally, in answer to the question that you would ask me if I were you asking you (me?) the questions that you're presently asking I.... 42.

In this installment of my interview series, I bring you ScooterDMan. Scooter - or Ryan Meehan - has been a contributing member of this community since January 2006. He's got a Masters in English (which shoudln't surprise you if you've read his prose) and works in education, with extensive experience in journalism and an abiding interest in music.

I chose to interview Ryan for several reasons - he works hard to educate the community about his passions, he has a professional and eloquent writing style and he's not afraid to take strong stances on controversial topics. He is unabashedly secular and liberal - he made a lot of enemies a few months back with an article entitled "Today's moral majority, tomorrow's fools: Christians and gay marriage." In this interview I tried to get a better idea of his motivations and inspirations - I hope you enjoy it.

Like many newsviners, you use what I have to assume is a pseudonymn. Can I ask why you go with an alias rather than your real name? A lot of people just enjoy the anonymity, but there's a case to be made that if we want newsvine taken seriously as a news source it would add a degree of professionalism for members to post under their real names - any thoughts on this? Also, is there some interesting story behind the name you use?

ScooterDMan is a name I've used for nearly ten years in various online communities. To me, it's as "real" as my real name (Ryan Meehan), and I'd imagine that I will have it for the rest of my life. Coming from a background in traditional print journalism, I am aware of the ethical concerns that go along with publishing under a moniker. I am not sure that publishing "anonymously" on Newsvine, however, is as problematic as, say, publishing anonymously a story critical of the government in The New York Times. To me, writing under ScooterDMan is far from anonymous, as I have spent a great deal of time publishing under that name. It is also directly linked to my real name (just Google it), so people who want to know who I really am can easily find out. The same cannot be said for the anonymous print journalist.

The story of how I came to call myself by this name is really not interesting. My dad used to call me Scooter when I was a kid. DMan can be translated to "the man." Yeah. Pretty awesome, huh?

You've developed something of a reputation as a godless heathen around the vine. You are unapologetically opposed to religious beliefs, especially as they enter into politics, and you write very eloquently on the subject. Were you raised within any sort of a religious tradition? Did you have any notable experiences which brought the need for rational, public criticism of religion into sharp relief? Expound a bit about this if you'd like.

The only preschool in the town I grew up in was a Christian one, so that's where I went, despite my parents being non-religious. Few memories stick with me from those days (I was three!), but I do remember being terrified of the hanging Jesus on display in that school — the expression of pain on his face, the blood leaking from his head, hands and feet. That symbol has always bothered me — even to this day. That hundreds of millions of people throughout the world wake up each morning and place a symbol of one of the cruelest forms of capital punishment around their necks strikes me as beyond bizarre.

Why do I write so often about religious issues? Because I think we are unhealthily religious. I know that my columns on Newsvine likely don't change many minds, but as someone who has genuine concern for human suffering, I feel obligated to bring the discussion to the fore. I am also motivated by personal experience. My girlfriend, who is agnostic, is still recovering (and I don't say that humorously) from a long bout of childhood Catholicism. Though religious indoctrination is generally not malicious, and most parents feel that a religious upbringing helps develop highly moral children (and to an extent, it certainly does), to teach your child that a place like Hell is a real, physical place where bad people go is psychological torture. That being said, I don't think the government should regulate what parents can and cannot teach their children, and I don't think religion ought to be banned, but I believe in the power of rational persuasion. If a column I write or a comment I leave makes someone reconsider the lasting consequences of embedding harmful religious fairy tales in the minds of their kids, than I suppose my efforts are worthwhile.

You sometimes talk about your interest in music, and your bio has a link to some of your own work; now, we're all good indie kids around here and wouldn't be caught dead with a Billy Joel greatest hits cd, right? But we all start somewhere - were there any bands you liked when you were younger that when you look back now you have to laugh? Where did your musical taste get started, what did you outgrow and what path did you take to get to your current tastes?

Funny you mention Billy Joel, because I suppose that's where my interest in music first started. As a small child (really small), I remember being pushed in a stroller in the mall and hearing "For The Longest Time" on the radio. And my mom and dad had all his records. So he was really my first "favorite" artist. It's sort of sad that's he's fallen from grace over the past decade or so, but "Piano Man" is still as epic as it was 35 years ago.

When I was 11, I bought my first CD with my own money, Boyz II Men's "Cooleyhighharmony," and absolutely devoured it (I even memorized the Spanish version of "End of the Road"). The following year, I would purchase Ace of Base's "The Sign". In the song "Don't Turn Around," the bridge features one of the male members from the band doing a sort of rap ("As he walks away he feels the pain gettin' strong..."). I used to put the song in my room, and wait for that part, and then mimic it in the mirror. How's that for honesty? (And I won't even go into my early adolescent adoration for Bonnie Raitt)

In 1994, I wore out Dave Matthews Band's "Under the Table and Dreaming," and I credit that album for launching my real interest in music, even though I've grown out of a lot of the music. My interest in independent music began when a good friend of mine burnt me a copy of Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". I listened to it once, and put it down unimpressed. Six months later, I found it under my desk, and put it on again for the heck of it, and, almost instantaneously, it clicked. I haven't listened to the radio since. If I was stranded on a desert island, and I could only take one album with me, it'd be The Moon and Antarctica by Modest Mouse. Or maybe Crooked Rain Crooked Rain by Pavement. Or Radiohead's Kid A.

Newsvine can be a frustrating place. Why stick around? What do you like about Newsvine in particular that keeps you here? How did you first stumble upon newsvine? What do you see as your role within the community? Where do you see newsvine going in the next 6 months? Year? 5 years?

Newsvine is only frustrating in that it consistently prevents me from doing the things I ought to be doing (or at least delays my doing them). I am drawn to this community because it is replete with intelligent, articulate people, and having been here a year, I truly feel like a smarter person because of it. I am also here because I feel like I have something to offer others. It is interesting to note that despite writing for my college daily (readership, 35,000) for four years and writing more than 60 articles for the St. Petersburg Times (readership, half a million?), Newsvine has, by a long shot, been the most rewarding writing environment for me. Unlike traditional print outlets, Newsvine holds its authors more accountable by providing a forum through which readers can respond to the piece and realistically expect a response back. And that's great for the site's credibility, but it's also great from an author's perspective — who wants to write in a vacuum?

I don't think I have a "role," per se, within the community. I like to think that I am a useful contributor, and I am really going to make an effort to write and seed articles to some of the sparser areas on the Vine that need to be populated. On an exciting front, my good friend and colleague John Nieves (aka whatwasleft) and I have started an interesting experiment. We are currently teaching four sections of Composition for the University of South Florida almost exclusively in Newsvine. Our group is private (it's called Compositionists), and we would love for other Viners to join and perhaps leave a critical comment or two on some our students' work.

Newsvine of the future? Hmmm. I am not sure what the Newsvine Team has in the Master Plan, but I'd like to see some more dynamic features, like the integration of embedded media, so we could attach podcasts, audio clips, video clips or slideshows to articles. I'd also like to see them give us a few more options in terms of arranging the elements on our article pages. I understand there is a need for unity across the site, but as a former layout designer, I crave some diversity in this area. Five years from now? Newsvine runs its first Super Bowl ad.

You're pretty well read, right? What's the best book you've ever read that nobody has ever heard of? Why?

The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris. I picked it up for a dollar at a flea market a few years ago, and It's by far the most fascinating book on human evolution I've ever read. Morris explores child rearing, human sexuality, war, eating and comfort all through the lens of selectively advantageous traits borne out by the long process of natural selection. It was a book that completely re-shaped my world view. From it, I learned the various ways in which the environment exerts pressures on the human gene pool. If you've ever wondered why men are attracted to women's breasts, why our lips are red, why it takes so long for children to grow up in comparison to other animals and why our faces turn red (or worse, white) when we're angry, then you should certainly find this book worth your while.

If you were me, what's one final question you'd ask you? Anything at all. And include an answer.

Question: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Answer: I definitely want to be a rock star, but I'll have to learn a few more chords and I'll have to actually play with other people. Probably have to start smoking cigarettes, too, which isn't really appealing. If the rock star thing doesn't pan out, I'm already a high school English teacher, but that's not what I want to be when I grow up.

At the very least, I think I want to have a job that involves a creative process. I find that I am most happy when I can wake up each day and look forward to making a new creative expression, whether it's a song, a Newsvine article (or accompanying graphic!) or a killer lesson plan for my students.

Welcome to the latest installment of my interview series. Today, my lucky reader, you get to go inside the mind of one of Newsvine's youngest yet most creative and original members, Ansab. Initially we were going to do sort of a silly interview, filled with all sorts of Ansabity, but then we had a thought: Ansab is always sacrificing his time to keep us laughing. This time, why not try a slightly more serious approach?

And so, without further ado, I bring you several serious questions posed to Ansab, complete with responses. I do hope you are all enjoying this series as much as I have.

You have a reputation as something of a funnyman on Newsvine, and with good reason - your column is a perpetual source of wry grins and facepalms. Do you ever feel, though, that people don't take you seriously enough? In other words, are you afraid of being type-cast? Do you have any serious opinions about news/current events, or does everything sort of run through an absurdity filter?

I actually sometimes do feel that people don't take me seriously enough, and over the past two years I have gradually given up trying to act that way. I don't really blame them, for all attempts of mine to put in an opinion without adding a joke generally fail, and it would be unfair of me to demand otherwise of them. Even I don't know if I have any really serious opinions or thoughts, and if I had a psychiatrist, it would be much easier to find out what I really care about. There is sort of an "absurdity filter" in my mind. I cannot hear anything without making fun of it in my head, or being reminded of a song that I start humming right away. It does keep me amused, as I can just sit down with a newspaper and in a half an hour be crying with laughter at the ridiculous happenings in the world.

Whenever I am walking around, I don't think normally. There is always a stand up stage in my head (complete with audience) where I am just ranting away at whatever is happening in front of me, and I love it. Sometimes I'll have some other comedians do it, but no matter what happens mundane stuff becomes a whole lot more interesting, like buying groceries at the local store. I'll see a gallon of milk and make jokes about that, get pretend angry, yell about the absurdity of packaging stuff, condemn the commercialism in the world, declare myself a hippie - and then I'll notice meatloaf and that process will repeat itself. This tends to happen with most of the objects in the known world, and makes driving a blast. Usually Newsvine is great with its odd news and silly politics section with the fun debates that go on. All I need for great Friday night is a bag of kettle corn and the ability to hit the F5 key in a Killfile article.

Let's talk about serious views.did you vote in the 06 elections? ...are you even old enough to vote? Which candidates did you support, and why? Were you happy with the democratic revolution, or did you prefer a Republican controlled congress? How seriously do you take political considerations, given the intrinsically absurd nature of the system?

I did not vote in 06 as I wasn't old enough to. Even now, I'm still 17 (birthday is in December), but I'll vote in 08. I'm not extremely politically active or involved, and I am fairly irritated with most of the politicians. All they have to offer is hot wind and empty rhetoric, waste millions on advertising, and mockingly wave their Ivy League diplomas in my face and make me cry in a jealous rage. But I do prefer Democrats over Republicans and had a party the night that they took Congress. Politics are quite amusing, and I love the fact that a handful of fools choose our leaders. I agree with Plato that the masses are stupid and are swayed by the sophists, and that elections are too important to be left to the people. The "philosopher-kings" should be the ones to make the decisions. It was you Mykola that turned me onto socialism as another possible path to the light and I became a nihilist on my own, so I think that this is quite hilarious that people spend so much time cramming rocks up their opponents' asses when it's all so meaningless. The time could be better spent paying for people to go to clown school.

What about religion? Another hot-button topic, do you have any particular beliefs one way or another? What sort of religious/cultural context were you raised in? How have you adapted that to the human being you're growing into? What sort of views do you have as to the future of religion in human culture? Certainly the nature of religious belief has changed drastically in the global era - relativism has become the order of the day. Do you see this trend
continuing? Do you feel it undercuts the foundations of faith on a fundamental level?

I was raised as a Muslim in Pakistan, though I have lost most faith and a belief in a God and now what people would call agnostic. Out of habit and a need for college money I act Muslim and probably will until I have a steady job of my own. I think that religion will die out, and I hope I'm around when it does. I'm becoming Dawkinish more and more every day, and hopefully will soon be teaching at Oxford. I have no idea what relativism means and nor do I have the patience to find out, but I think that generally faith is dangerous and absurd, and that it would be better if it went out.

How did you first discover newsvine? Why do you keep hanging around? What is it about newsvine that makes it worth your time? What frustrates you about newsvine? What do you hate about it? How do you see your role in the newsvine community at large? How do you see newsvine developing over the next 6 months? Year? 5 years?

Newsvine was first introduced to me during the beta session by my friend Maaz, and I've been hooked ever since. He told me that it was to be used intelligently and seriously, but like with most things in my life, I couldn't keep it that way at all. I tried but I failed and became the Odd News King, with most of my links in the odd news section, and now write more than I initially did. I love having an audience for my antics, and knowing that they're not stupid high school pot addicts on Myspace makes me feel good. I've also gotten to know about some really cool people, and met the man who I consider closest to God. I love the different news stories and the variability of the news on Newsvine, and keep coming back to get educated about everything.

What can be even more fun than the news articles themselves are the debates that go on and I love looking at the different arguments that are made. It does excite me so. I'm not at all frustrated by Newsvine. I don't like to get angry with stuff, and because I don't enjoy getting angry - I don't. It's pretty simple, and I don't see why some stuff bothers other people as much as it does. Because I have that "absurdity filter," everything goes through intense sillification before it is formally presented to me by my brain and I am much happier for it.

I don't really know my proper role in the Newsvine community, and would not like to try and guess it. If other viners would do that I'd appreciate it and would contemplate over different suggestions. I really hope that Newsvine develops more over the next six months and over the years, and the more people that join the more money I make! Haha! But seriously, I think Newsvine is a great tool if implemented correctly, and people should really get smarter there by logging in and seeing what has happened around the world. It would make me happy to see people logging on and reading what's happening, and not getting angry over petty stuff. But what I'd love even more is for people to utilize the chat system. The 'Newsvine Live' is perfect for that, and I hope to see more people in the lobby there in the future. I just hope there's plenty of Ansabity that will carry itself out in Newsvine (read Walt D's article if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Tell us a little bit more about this student newspaper you're starting at your high school. That picture of the big highlander in the kilt in the marylin monroe pose is hilarious. What's the creative process behind this paper? How many people do you have working on it? How are you funding it? Will it be available online?

Though my school has a Newspaper, I don't like it. It's too full of straightforward 'fact' articles. I have written a couple of articles sometimes for the paper, and though they liked them, they were too funny to be put in. So I surrendered to life and moved on. But I had an idea that I could start something like this and I don't exactly know when I spoke of it out loud, but it was around my AP English class students and they didn't laugh at me, and I knew it had to be done. I definitely consider the "Krinkled Kilt" my baby, and if I am the mother, my friend Mike V. is the midwife. It is his job to rub me in oils and herbs, and help me go through complications, and right now he is doing a great job of that.

Finals and Swim season (for which I bleached my hair) have just finished for the semester, and it will really open up time to work on the Kilt. I will work on different articles and so will Mike and anyone else who wants to. They just have to be approved by us and be school appropriate. We're the head honchos of this thing and are going to be overlooking everything that happens with it. Another friend, Greg B, is responsible for the layout and visual elements. He's a prodigy and a genius, and I'm delighted that he's taking an interest in this.

The funding is the hard part and we need money for this ambitious project. Another friend got the price from a printing company, and it will cost us $170 to print an issue (500 copies). If anyone has a printing company that can do this for free I'll take that, but I'm guessing otherwise and will need funds. I right now have no idea how that is going to happen. I need ideas for fundraisers, and donations are gladly welcome. Maybe we can do something through Newsvine to raise money for it. Maybe Calvin should let his green heart grow a couple of sizes and fund it through Newsvine. He did just give away a couple of iPods for the "QOTD." And if it is made, if there is some way I can post it online, I'll try to do that, but no promises yet.

Finally, at the risk of sounding too cliche, what do you want to be when you "grow up"? You're still in highschool, what kind of life plans do you have?

I right now do not know what I'm going to do in life. I'm guessing medicine, as that seems interesting and my mom has a shotgun in my closet if I beg to differ. But I really am fascinated by biology and medicine and would like to study that. I just got my acceptance letter from UW, so if I so desire I can go there for my undergrad and move on to its med school, which happens to be #1 for primary care, and #7 for research, owning Yale in the face and putting up a strong front to Harvard. However, Harvard does have an awesome pronunciation, offers ridiculous prestige, and has the greatest colors ever. It is also better than Yale, and is in Massachusetts. I would also love to follow in winsomecowboy's footsteps and become a clown, but without the alcohol problems. The problem is that I dislike children and find them to be stupid and a burden, and am astounded why people have them. I'll just hire strippers and buy a dog when I grow older.

If there was any job I could do related to comedy and laughing, I'd take it in a heartbeat, but since that's not possible I'll have to find another career. I would also enjoy being a hippie of sorts, and just roam the world eating berries and hanging with friends, and advocate world peace. But I don't know of anyone who would like to do that with me, and doing it alone would be a chore, so I'm not sure. And of course, my dream would be to be an awesome electric-guitar player. I recently had a dream that Jimmie Page came over to my house and hung out with me, and then I was transported to some concert where I started playing like Eddie Van Halen. I then woke up and cried myself back to sleep. But I am from Seattle, which should give me a natural advantage at playing guitar, and Jimi Hendrix is buried at a 30 seconds drive from my house, which for some strange reason is endearing to me.

Looking back at all the possibilities that I have presented, though I would most like to rock out, I am probably going to end up being a doctor, which is a pretty decent fallback occupation. I'll just have to play guitar on the side. And let me tell you, right now I'm practicing, and it is mind-blowingly difficult, so I'll probably have to put the brakes on that dream for a while.

It's time for the next installment of my interview series. I usually upload these in the morning but it's after midnight for me and that's gonna have to do - I'm not even sure I'll have power in the AM given the weather lately and I want to make sure this gets up. Today I have yet more proof that there's nowhere I won't go for my readers: I present to you another exclusive, an interview with our very own Go Reporter. (You can also visit her other web presence here)

Hailed by supporters as courageous, reviled by detractors as dishonest and spiteful, Go Reporter breeds conflict on the vine like Obleo breeds Pigxies in Viva Pinata. She tends to really piss people off, and I wanted to figure out why. Rather than write her off, I emailed her and asked for an interview and she kindly agreed to participate. I tried to ask tough questions, because frankly I've seen her behave pretty reprehensibly on newsvine and I felt that the community deserves tough answers. Below is the Q and A. Please note that when I do this I tend to send out a list of questions all at once and then publish the response - there isn't a lot/any back-and-forth. I found some of these answers to be frustrating or unsatisfactory but I'll leave their resolution up for the comment thread.

Please weigh in and leave your thoughts - but be respectful. I don't care who you are, if you call her Gore Porter I will first report your comment as inflammatory and then I will delete it. That's not acceptable behavior in this column.

Why should I read your column on newsvine? What can I learn from you, if I put in the effort?

Boy, that one hits you right in the face. I suppose I think you'll learn something you didn't already know. With purposeful and sincere intent, I try to make common sense and realistic arguments that no sane or caring person could possibly dispute. (Keyword: sane)

You have a reputation for avoiding serious debate, people tend not to engage with you seriously in newsvine because they feel that you won't respond to them meaningfully. There is a sense that you like to write controversial articles just to piss off people who don't agree with you and to get a lot of page views - would you care to respond to these claims? Is this an accurate portrayal of you, or do you disagree? If you disagree, why do you as a rule tend to ignore serious criticism to your views?

My feelings are usually quite obvious after reading one of my articles, I see no point in responding to comments that do not change my view. This is not necessarily the best position to take, I agree; and if I have extra time, and extra things to say, I most certainly do respond. Personally, I would rather just write the article and leave it to readers to do the debating. I do not purposely avoid debate, it has more to do with the quality of the response and the time I have to respond. Honestly, I feel most liberals are, how shall I say this, intellectually challenged. This doesn't mean they don't have an extensive education, as a matter of fact, their liberal education may be precisely the problem with their worldview. While conservatives are generally consistent in their views, this is not true for liberals. A wide spectrum of opinions can be found on the liberal side of the aisle. To me, this represents instability. As far as writing controversial articles, well, of that I am guilty, but I would rather my readers did not think the article was controversial. In conservative circles they obviously would not be considered controversial. The controversy occurs in your mind.

Why the name "Go Reporter?" By this I mean A) why not use your real name and B) why use this alias in particular? Is it somehow meaningful? What's the story behind it? Do you consider yourself to be a reporter, or more of an analyst? Why do people call you "Gore Porter?" I assume it's meant to be derogatory, does it bother you?

-- Short answer: Crazy Internet idiots - I've already had several stalkers.

-- I started a business under that name which has since evolved into something else.

-- I consider myself to be more of a producer, meaning someone who selects news topics for a show or website (part of my job). I like to write, even though I'm not very good at it. Better than some, but worse than others I suppose. But that doesn't stop me, nor should it.

-- Gore Porter is a derogatory name people use against me because they know I'm not a Democrat or a liberal. I don't pay any attention to it really. Once I saw how the name looked in lower case - goreporter vs GoReporter - I've sort of regretted that I chose the name, and will probably change it at some point. No biggie, that's for sure. If you need a nickname, I prefer Go.

Why are you on newsvine? It's a very hostile environment to you, do you thrive on the hostility? Is there a part of you that enjoys "putting liberals in their place" as it were? Do you like the confrontation of it all? How did you get started here? What, in your mind, is the role of a conservative voice on newsvine?

Well, I like it for one thing, I get quite a few emails from Newsviners, conservatives I presume, who really appreciate my articles. They don't want to be a victim of hostility like I am, so they refrain from commenting, which is why my articles and my comments receive so few votes. Either that or I am delusional. The whole hostility thing must be part of my life. I've been in several other situations where somehow I ended up being the bad girl. One was right here in Wisconsin where I live. I'm a MN Viking fan and I live in GB Packer country. I had the fortune of living in Chicago during the last Super Bowl win in 1986 and found the fans there to be just wonderful. Fast forward to 1996 when the Packers won the Super Bowl, and I found myself living in Wisconsin. Packer fans are an awful lot. I was subjected to more hostility and humiliation from being a Vikings fan in Packer territory than I've ever experienced anywhere. It doesn't sound serious to you maybe, but to me Newsvine is peanuts compared to what I went through in 1994 through I'd say about 2001. This was not my fault, just like it's not my fault that liberals say such awful and mean things. Perhaps it should make me run away, but I'm not one for running away from anything. I've been self-employed for about 15 years now and I come from a family of entrepreneurs. We don't quit, we just try harder, get back on the horse, so to speak. It's the American way.

I recently spent nine months in another hostile environment which had to do with evolution versus creation and intelligent design. That siutation compares real well with the Newsvine experience.

I started out not realizing that Newsvine was so liberal, I really had no idea, probably because I didn't bother to check. It seemed like a very nice site, with news clips from a variety of news sites as well as author driven homespun articles.

No, I don't like confrontation, I wish everyone would just agree with me and and tell me how glad they are that I awakened them. (Now that's naive!)

Newsvine should try to treat its conservatives well, because the liberals who are trashing them are ruining the Newsvine reputation. You ask if I enjoy the hostility, I'm basically indifferent to it, I expect it, but I know several people who will not write for Newsvine because they are horrified of the confrontation and abuse they would receive because of their viewpoints. The role of conservatives on Newsvine would be to balance things out.

The reason you ask this question is probably because you think all conservatives are Christians who will turn the other cheek as Jesus counseled. But this same Jesus is the one who went through the church courtyard with a horsewhip! There is a time and a place for everything.

Do you consider yourself to be intellectually responsible? Do you always do your best to make sure that your opinions hold up under scrutiny? How accountable do you feel towards your audience? Do you owe us, as readers, engagement regarding the opinions you publish?

-- Yes, yes, not so much, and no.

-- I do not lie, I am sincere, my opinions are based on the knowledge I have and the research available to me.

-- I am accountable to no one except God and certain individuals whom I choose to be accountable to. Sorry.

-- I do not owe readers anything except an honest article, as far as Newsvine is concerned.

-- That doesn't mean I won't respond to well thought out comments, I intend to do so as often as I am able.

-- I suppose if you really, really, feel that a response is necessary, you could always drop me an email through Newsvine and I will be sure to respond as soon as possible.

-- When you think about it, most 'reporters' do not talk back to their readers, they simply publish the articles, reporting, and then letting the people draw their own conclusions. I'm not about forcing my views on anyone, and when I do respond it seems like that's exactly what I'm doing. Demanding that I respond to what oftentimes is pure drivel, is just unreasonable.

-- Something else you should consider is that other authors on Newsvine, speaking mainly of liberal pundits, do not have to respond to as many opposing views as I do. When liberals comment on liberal articles, they are basically agreeing with or expanding on the views of the author. It's quite difficult to keep up with all the comments I'm expected to keep up with. So what I end up doing is commenting on the ones I feel like commenting on as time permits.

You have a lot of very strong conservative opinions - where did they come from? Have you been conservative all your life? Did you have any sort of "eye-opening experience" whereby you stopped listening to The Smiths and doing drugs and started going to Reagan rallies, or anything like that?

-- Believe it or not, I was raised by socialist Democrat parents. I did not establish my own political views until I met Ronald Reagan. He opened my eyes to politics and to a worldview that was quite different than that of my parents. I do not like labels, I don't run around calling myself a Republican, but I would never vote for a Democrat. Personal experiences, where personal decisions had to be made, always landed on the conservative side. Why? Because they were the right thing to do.

What kind of music/movies/books do you like?

Music:

• Classical
• Oldies
• Soft Rock
• Christmas
• Elvis
• Celine Dion
• Josh Groban
• Andre Rieu
• Herb Albert
• Amos Lee
• Gnarles Barkley

Books:

• Non-fiction
• Entrepreneurial
• Technology
• News & Media
• Religion
• Spiritual
• Educational
• Currently reading: Freakonomics, The Audacity of Hope (Obama), The Annals of the World, Misquoting Jesus, Atlas Shrugged

Television: (Bonus, you didn't ask)

• American Idol
• Boston Legal
• Prison Break
• Jay Leno
• 24
• Numbers
• Monk
• NFL Football
• Fox News
• The Colbert Report
• House
• Las Vegas

Movies:

• Matthew by Visual Bible - an awesome account on the life of Jesus Christ, based on the book of Matthew. I like it because it portrays a Jesus who can smile and laugh.
• Pursuit of Happyness
• Pretty Woman
• Star Wars
• Titanic
• West Side Story
• Forrest Gump
• Superman
• The Sting
• Indiana Jones
• James Bond
• Back to the Future
• Shrek
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• Bruce Almighty

I'm sure this is a partial list, but these are just off the top of my head.

Well, that about does it. Knock yourself out. Not literally. :)

For the second installment of my interview series, I bring you Indecent. Indecent isn't one of the more prolific users - she puts out a dozen or so contributions a month, so she holds her own, but her overall output isn't as drastic as that of some of the other folks I'm interviewing. The reason I decided to put the spotlight on her is twofold: one, in keeping with her tagline ("A lurker with logic"), she frequently leaves insightful, well-written comments in complex threads. Two, she has mentioned on occasion that she is a public speaker. We're all pretty familiar with the ins and outs of some media - television, newspapers, magazines, etc - but if you're anything like me you're not too familiar with the wide world of public speaking.

Since we have an intelligent public speaker among us, I thought that this would be a good chance to get to know a lesser-known but valuable member of the community while at the same time hearing a little bit about public speaking and how it relates to the larger political discourse.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Indecent:

I'm asking a lot of people this question: you're using a pseudonym, how come? I know a lot of people just really value the anonymity of the internet, but there's also the argument that if we want newsvine taken seriously as a news source then there's a good reason to use real names. Any thoughts about that? Also, is there any sort of an amusing story about your username?

Ahh, because I do believe people don't take 'girls' as seriously in matters of politics and news, and using the pseudonym has proved this to be very true for me, even on Newsvine. I use my real name on my blog, and see my male counterparts get far more readership, even when posting similar topics, so when I came to Newsvine in May06, I for the first time, opted to be anonymous.

It proved even more true for me when I changed my avatar from random photos to a picture of myself. Suddenly, more people questioned my motives and my facts - it was actually pretty interesting to see each time it happened. I have no problem with people questioning motives when I deserve it - but for gender? I think it'll be awhile before Newsvine gets above that standard as well. This is also why Einstein's my current avatar :) Thankfully, some of those of us that have been lurking around Newsvine for a while have a mutual respect for each other. I think it may still take a bit for everyone else to catch on.

No amusing story - While registering for Newsvine, in the background of my apartment, I could hear my roommate yelling indignantly "Thats just...plain...oh my god, indecent, thats what it is!" (to this day, I'm not sure what she was yelling about, but I've learned not to ask). I typed that in as my username, and thought it appropriately fitting for some reason...

How'd you get into newsvine? And, more to the point, why are you still here? This can be a really frustrating place in an already frustrating world, so what makes you an active contributor? Why stick around? What is your role in the community, in your own words? How do you see newsvine developing over the next 6 months? Year? 5 years?

I remarked one day that I wanted something better than xanga and other blogsites to post about news and politics in, because the sites were a little too full of 'emo angst'. My friend, who has been on digg for ages, noted that a new site, Newsvine, would be right up my alley in that respect.

And you're right, at times, Newsvine is frustrating. There are somethings you have to learn to get past, like the people who post "By Ann Coulter" on their headlines just to get comments, and the people who write screamingly inflammatory material in order to get earnings - but its the same as any other community in that regard, and much better than many others. There are weeks when the trolls get so bad that you just have to sit back and wait for them to move on to the next site, but I love Newsvine for the people and contributors that make lively discussions about anything and everything.

My role? I don't know, exactly. My tagline is "logical lurker", which is the part I try to act. Im not the most avid seeder or author, but I'm always commenting on stories, and I try to post things to really add to discussions. I love commenting on original articles - I can't believe what a good writing community Newsvine harbors, and what a diverse community we have. Reading about others adventures over the globe is inspiring when reading from my little cubicle.

Newsvine's blown up so much just the past 6 months, over the last year, I can hardly fathom how it'll be in another few months. I can't wait for the active posters to become a larger community at Newsvine, and for more groups to spring up.

Your user profile says you're a public speaker - tell us a little more about this. Do you write your own speeches? Do you have a focus subject, or are you open to talking about whatever? What sort of insights has this given you into public discourse? Should we believe anything anyone says into a microphone, or is it all an elaborate ruse? Who, in your professional opinion, are the best speakers in today's public discourse? Does speaking professionally change the way you listen to other people speak? What do you notice now that you didn't before you started speaking?

I'm a little less into public speaking now than I was a year ago when I joined the Vine. I grew up with it - in Illinois, the sports association, IHSA, has a very avid speech competition all across the state for high schools. There are thirteen individual events, and I fell in love with it back in high school. This is also when I started to get heavily into politics and research to find my own opinion in everything I could - debate was not part of the competition at all, but debates were a fun part of the bus rides to tournaments. We were as geeky as chess club, and we loved it.
I did (and do) write my own speeches - I don't have a focus subject unless I've been hired to speak about one. For SkillPath seminars, a contract company, it was mostly speeches about Human Resources and OSHA, which is fairly boring, but you learn quickly you can make nearly anything interesting. I'm now a judge and coach for IHSA speech for schools and teams in the central Illinois area. During the day, I work in yellow pages advertising (ew).

You should rarely believe anything anyone says into a microphone - if they really know what they're doing, it so easy to twist your audience's focus, and they can't really speak out against you until you've said your piece and done your damage. Even those that don't know what they're doing usually have someone writing the words for them.
The best speakers in public discourse? Wow...nearly every politician makes me cringe. Even Obama, as well spoken as he is, could use a little bit of coaching. I do think speaking professionally changes the way you listen - you catch nuances in tones and voices that make a subtle difference in the way you understand what they're saying, and you can read between the lines-you know what they were thinking when they sat down to write this, and some that have bad intentions are apparent from the get-go in many cases. I'm flabbergasted now when someone manages to fool me with a speech.

Your newsvine photo is Einstein - how come? Just a random smart person sticking his tongue out, or is Albert Einstein in particular meaningful to you? Also, in line with the earlier question about usernames, why not an image of yourself?

I know I sort of already answered this one, but I love Einstein. He was a genius with a true sense of humor. He was self-deprecating and took everything for what it was. As I mentioned above, my photo as an avatar meant a sudden rise in bad attitudes. I've made a little hovel for myself at the vine now, though - I may change it again in the future.

It must suck to be "a lone liberal in the very conservative backroads of central Illinois." Any advice to other newsviners in a similar situation? Do you stay sane or do you just find yourself falling into what feels like an unending and inevitable spiral of dismay and despair at the dismal state of public opinion? What's a liberal survival kit look like for Bibletown, USA? Lots of drugs or just the usual alcohol and subversive music?

Oh, it definitely has occasion to suck on many days. Just yesterday, I heard people in the cubicles a few behind me talking about "Can you believe his middle name is Hussein?" "I wouldn't vote for him if he were the last man on earth" and it makes me want to scream. I can't stand the closed-mindedness that runs rampant around here. On the other hand, I'm a farm girl myself and love the area, so even though most of my family moved to Ohio, I still haven't left.

My advice - for those that really believe in their stances - don't be afraid to speak up and put people in their place, question their reasoning and point out to them how they're behaving. Granted, I don't follow my own advice at all times - had I said something to my team members in the above-mentioned conversation, I'd be frozen out of the team in a heartbeat (though there are some days it sounds like a great thing).

I'm relatively sane, but I think that goes back to the fact I've dealt with it all my life. Even my parents shake their heads in disbelief when I say gays should have the same rights as straights. But I do find myself in that despair at the public opinion - which is why I'm that gloomy cynic that people occasionally enjoy commiserating with :)

The liberal survival kit involves the internet, for sure, because we have to occasionally ensure we aren't the only ones in that despair. I'm a bartender at night, so the alcohol is cheap and plentiful, but my biggest outlet is simply venting. Mad because GWBush had to come into town and ruin your lunch? Write about it on the Vine. Stupified at how O'Reilly can blame liberalism on the Ipod while at the same time advertising for his podcast on his website? Xanga it up.

Come the weekend, my amazing roommates and a few old friends from high school will meet up and discuss the idiocy around our country over shots and playing pool. That may be a big factor in keeping me sane as well.

If you were me, what else would you ask you?

I'm liking the state of questions, as it were. Kind of refreshing to not have a myspace-ish survey tossed at you, asking what your favorite colors are and who the last boy you kissed was - thanks for that, a lot.

Welcome to the first installment of Interview Week. Keep tabs on future interviews by watching the Mykview tag.

I'm opening things up with a bang - I have nabbed for you, my dear readers, a newsvine exclusive: an interview with the illustrious Claus Jacobsen. You all know him, you can't live a day on the vine without stumbling across 15 of his seeds and 3 of his articles - he's like a one-man-watchlist-clog, and by the time you read everything he's got for you he's already tripled it. And the truly amazing thing is, he never wastes a word.

So, without further ado, here's a behind-the-scenes look at Claus Jacobsen.

How did you come across newsvine?

I was invited by Keld Bach. He and I belonged to the same left wing front in the Danish blogosphere, largely united in fighting the neo-nationalist and anti-Muslim revival in Denmark. So, at some point I basically realized it was part of a much bigger issue and started writing on Newsvine to connect the dots on an international scale.

As perhaps the single most prolific and well-known international user, what do you think a site like newsvine can teach us about international relations?

Newsvine can teach us pretty much everything, if we are ready to learn, Mykola. I think the first and most basic lesson is that "international relations" hardly exist. They may be forming, as we are speaking, but historically the world has been characterized by "international alienation", unless you consider fierce competition, frequent wars and colonial exploitation "relations". Sites like Newsvine, but most importantly Newsvine itself because of its particular news oriented social structure, offers an opportunity to create new relations, international, and not based on a financial or academic elite, or on political manoeuvring. In the long run Newsvine can give us knowledge about other customs than our own, serve as a mirror to our own cultural traits, and point towards ways of cooperating.

Do you feel frustration towards the generally US-Centric content on newsvine or are you cool with that, given the youth of the site etc?

Well, I am frustrated about the US-centric line of Newsvine, but West-centric is a more appropriate term. As a European I am not above or beyond what I call political "myopia". I would like mention of Africa to go way beyond poverty or AIDS, and these topics removed from the entertainment pages where they often end up because it is fashionable for celebrities to promote charities. I would like to see Central Asia mentioned as anything else than the usual trouble spot, China investigated as more than "rising Asian superpower", etc. etc. You could say that I would like to see more interest in regions outside the Transatlantic Alliance, as much as I generally think clichés impairs our outlook and political thinking.

What do you see as your role in the community?

I have had different by-lines, such as "Continental Op" or "No unconditional loyalties", and they describe pretty well the role I have given myself. I strive for truth, and so do many, but I find that disloyalty is a prerequisite for truth-seeking. I should explain this: If you give in too far to loyalty to any political party or agenda, religious belief or social movement, you jeopardize your objectivity. I have seen left wing activists do a full 160 and end up siding with right wing extremists because it served an immediate interest. We have all observed how revolutionary movements often develop into petrified authoritarian regimes. So, I try to be loyal to people and facts, but disloyal to ideas, programmes and agendas.

How do you see Newsvine developing over the next 6 months? Year? 5 years?

The first rule of futurism is that the inaccuracy of human predictions grows over time. Obviously, the more stable prognosis you are able to create on short term and medium term development, you fare better also on the long term. So, six months from now I think Newsvine will hit what I call critical mass, where out-flow or passive accounts closes in on in-flow. Usually, you say that after a year a company runs out of free publicity. We hit that point on March 1 2007, if we count by the official Newsvine launch. This is where the Newsvine staff should consider restructuring the website to accommodate a larger user base, and engage in more proactive marketing and the expansion to the global market. A year from now Newsvine should have features for other languages, even if it only the major language groups in the Americas and Europe, such as Spanish, German and Italian. Discussions could revolve around character sets, like Arab and Chinese. I don't see Newsvine ever turning from being predominantly American-English. In five years Newsvine will be an established media brand. Generally speaking online stardom may have reached new levels, where it penetrates other media, a reversal of the existing order by and large. Newsvine, depending on its ability to expand and keep its universal appeal, could possibly even be a superbrand, even if personal column revenues are still humble.

You disappeared for a while. Where'd you go? Why'd you come back?

Well, I had three months away from Newsvine. The time I spent on Newsvine was funnelled into other online activities. I created a number of accounts, such as a Flickr account, a YouTube account, a Second Life account and a couple of online dating accounts. I mainly studied online group dynamics playing a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), where I found a lot of similarities to Newsvine behaviour. I returned when I felt I understood the nature of socialization in social websites from another angle, as a game or a vanity contest. I never really disowned Newsvine. Sometimes, in an RPG, you create a character so powerful that you get in trouble when you face certain boss fights, because you are too specialized. Then you have to go back and skill up or develop more diverse equipment.

More explicitly: newsvine can be irritating as hell sometimes, so what keeps you around? What do you get out of newsvine that you can't get anywhere else?

I read trends, partly for a living, and partly for my own amusement. I am like that cool-hunter, you mentioned in your article about William Gibson. The most interesting thing about Newsvine is what you can read between the lines. I can't say that Newsvine is always cutting edge, neither in comparison to established media or the blogosphere in general, but it has a decent "precog level", meaning it is not too far behind the game, and a rather wide scope, meaning it is more convenient to use than random surfing across online media and blogs. You just have to watch that your input doesn't become too limited to Newsvine topics or your mind infected with "green speech" (meta-talk).

You're sharp as hell, well-read and well-educated. Tell us a little bit about your education, both formal and informal. Where (speaking both geographically and temporally) did you learn the most? What has most contributed to your growth as a human being?

I didn't go to school every day, to say it diplomatically. I never got my college degree, but got heart-struck half way through the last semester and bogged down with a romantic crisis. On the other hand I have always studied a lot on the side, so I am an autodidact on many topics. I did manage to get a degree in journalism, which is somewhat comforting to my family. But I learned the most from drifting through worlds, at home and abroad. I have always managed to get friends in all environments, and I have been a factotum in various industries. There is nothing that compares to real life experience, and I think I achieved the 100 mile stare about four or five years ago. Without sounding too coarse I would also say that women have taught me most about being a human being. They have unwittingly saved my life, psychologically speaking, had a generally humanizing influence - as well as rendering me near unconscious from time to time with the crazy stunts they sometimes pull.

Have you travelled much?

I have been to most countries in Europe, not counting the new Eastern European countries, and a little outside Europe, but not nearly travelled enough - yet.

You are famously uncompromising in terms of article length and quality. By that I mean you refuse to give in to the soundbyte culture - you write long, demanding articles that stand out on newsvine for their depth and relevance. In comparison, many articles on newsvine fall short in terms of both quality and intellectual rigour - do you see yourself as a role model?

Generally speaking, I would advise against taking me as a role model. Quite the contrary, people would fare better not doing what I do. When comes to academic rigour I have read far more than most journalists I know, even those with a secondary bachelor or a master, so that could explain why I am such a stiff. I consider myself something of a dying race, the old fashioned intellectual who works with theories and ideas outside the limited scope of academic faculties or short term political agendas. People should only pursue this course, if they are forced to do it and have the ability to invest their lifespan in it. If I didn't feel I met both criteria I would surely get myself a scuba diving license and meet up with Calvin for a couple of drinks on a boat in the Caribbean.

Do you wish more people would write like you? Do you get frustrated by shorter pieces with less scope and less research? Or, on the contrary, do you appreciate the diversity of newsvine content?

I appreciate the diversity on Newsvine. Some of the shorter articles are very poignant and succinct.

How do you feel about creative writing on the vine?

Well, I barely ever read the AP news. The formula is too narrow, too boring, and I find most of the news I look for seeding from other sites. I think the individual columnists who write are much better at involving the reader. Occasionally I stumble across something that really qualifies as creative writing, either through the sheer beauty of the language or composition, or due to innovative ideas. I feel that contributions that require a lot of blood, sweat and labour are not always fairly rewarded, but short life-span and limited attention span are characteristics of any outlet, as well as our day and age in general.

You are one of the all-time top seeders and I doubt anyone else has contributed half as many words of original material to the vine as you have. Would you like to talk a little bit about your seeding process? About your writing process?

I have two or three different methods that I change between. Most of my life I have had a theme, a red thread or topic that I felt was crucial to investigate. I encounter a question, for instance "why does freedom seem to be a problem for so many people in the free world", and then I start researching the topic. Every now and then I come across articles that relate to this topic, one way or another, whether it is about meditation, sex, eating disorders or private economy, and if they are current I seed them. Later I use observations derived from my research for an article. That was one method. Another is what I call divination. I surf randomly to find a "path" or a unifying concept for many different news events, debates and tendencies, and at some point in the process of investigating synchronicity I sum up and reach a conclusion, like concluding that "reality once again has a liberal bias" to use an easy example. The articles that align themselves around this unifying concept I seed, and if I can say something not too trivial about a subject, I do the article too. The last method is heuristic. If I find serious imbalances, like the way a group of people or a topic is mechanically trivialized, I aim to modify perceptions towards a more realistic perspective.

What kind of advice would you give to some idealistic young newsviner who hopes one day to achieve Claus Jacobson status?

Again, don't try to achieve Claus Jacobsen status or, more realistically, any other status one might fantasize about. People will be far happier doing just about anything else. Writing, and particularly as a serious venture, is the craziest and least rewarding thing you can do. Most popular authors have found that their fame in this life robbed them of their spontaneity and inspiration, while the best of authors usually are only recognized post-mortem. Writing for a blog, a paper or a news forum you have better check your vanity at the door and be very pragmatic, aiming for results rather than recognition. I try not to think about rewards, but stay focused on that inner voice telling me what to write, and by "what to write" I mean, what I CAN write. If I CAN write it, I generally take it as a sign that I SHOULD, and I never write anything that isn't already finished in my mind before I lay it out on "paper". So, listen to your inner voice - whether it is your body telling you to go to the toilet before your bladder explodes, to quit your job before you hit your abusive boss or to write that damn article or short story that won't leave your mind otherwise.

Name five works of art that have had a profound influence on the way you see the world. Narrative, dance, sculpture, whatever. How did these works change your perception of the world around you? Would you recommend these to everyone, or were they more subjective in that they spoke to your and your life circumstances specifically?

It is unfair to artists everywhere to single out just five products, so I have tried to find some that are largely overlooked or make points that are ignored, and from different categories or genres. I would recommend a lot of things, if that was the primary question, so I will restrain myself to mention some of the works that have made a great deal of difference in my way of thinking.

1. Koyaanisqatsi - The earliest memory of some "life changing" experience through art was watching the movie "Koyaanisqatsi", a lyrical epic based on the philosophy of the Hopi Indians. I never turned my back on Greenpeace like so many seems to have done, and I still think the future will condemn the destruction of the earth and natural resources as one of the major crimes of indifference in our age. The first part of the movie is composed of astonishingly beautiful imagery of nature in motion. At some point an oil pipeline cuts through rain forest and we are transported to menacing urban environments in escalating high speed renditions ending with the collapse of Challenger mid air.
2. The Process, Franz Kafka - This novel can be read a lot of different ways. Some consider it a revolutionary anthem, while others prefer to interpret it in psycho-analytical terms or as a comment on anti-Semitism in Europe. To me, before I ever got around to reading Hobbes, it meant the realization that a society that closes all doors to justice for a group or a person offers nothing but despair, even if it may be a reasonably ordered society viewed from another perspective. Murder of justice is the most terrible crime imaginable, because it leaves no hope of intervention on behalf of the individual. People should consider this, also in relation to "home-grown terrorism". To an individual the future may look so bleak that death is not that frightening an option. In a very broad historical perspective you could argue that of the entire literary production of Western civilization only Don Quixote and The Process are essential works in the sense that they produce and summarize crucial new insight - Don Quixote for satirizing heroism and The Process for pointing out that justice itself can be a destructive force. Even Les Miserable that reverses the order of hero and villain does not produce any significantly different morale than what can be derived from a liberal reading of the Bible.
3. Hagakure, Way of the Samurai - There is a story in Hagakure that never left me: An ageing samurai who has stopped carrying a sword is at the market place. As he walks home the sun is going down, and he is stalked by a well known criminal who aims to rob him. The old samurai produces a flute he carries in his garment and starts playing joyfully. The robber follows him to his home, astonished about the old man's peace of mind. The old man enters his house, while the robber stays outside and contemplates breaking and entering. Then the old man returns to the door with a purse full of coins, some neatly folded clothes and provisions of food, generously offering it all to the robber. The robber accepts the gifts and apologizes for his evil intentions, offering himself as no less than a servant to the old man for live. The old samurai sends him off with his freedom and an admonishment to seek to change his ways in the future. I think the story is meant to describe the pinnacle of achievement when following the code of the samurai.
4. When We Were Kings - This is basically the only movie I always find invigorating and inspiring to watch. I don't put on Ghandi, Schindler's List or Hotel Rwanda to cheer me up, but this documentary about The Rumble in the Jungle always infuse me with new energy to meet the challenges of life.
5. "Are You Experienced" by Jimi Hendrix. - The album is great, not just a milestone in rock music, but in musical history as such. When the world comes to an end, in violence or through a major transformation to a new state of being, we will all want to reacquaint ourselves with the music of the age, and nothing will be more appropriate than Hendrix. They should play the title song at my funeral:
   

   Have you ever been experienced?

   Well, I have

   Let me prove it to you, yeah

I hereby declare the week of 2/5 through 2/11, 2007, to be interview week here at darkside.newsvine.com.

Over the past few days I've sent out interview questions to a handful of newsviners who struck me as interesting and/or interview-worthy. I certainly haven't invited everyone who is interesting and/or interview worthy, so don't feel bad if you didn't get picked - if ya'll like my questions and my interviewees answers, let me know, and I'll be sure to turn this into a recurring series.

Calvin, yours is coming. I haven't forgotten, and I have that whole slew of interesting questions submitted by the readers. I just have had a hard time sorting through it but I'll get to it soon. ;)

As far as organization of this process goes, I'm going to use tags to make my growing database of interviewees easy to peruse: every interview I post will include the tag "mykview" as well as a tag containing the interviewee's username. Thus if I were to interview my brother, Comrade Andrew, I would tag the article with both "mykview" and "comrade-andrew." It would then be easy to find - just go to http://www.newsvine.com/mykview+comraQ-andrew . Capiche?

So, watch the tag mykview today! You won't regret it, I've really got some great interviews coming up for you.