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Small suggestion: Headlines Feature
    #6574190 -

First let me say that I love the Shroomery, it's my favorite website, and the mods and admins here are great.

But out of concern for the image of mushrooms, and the Shroomery being such a visible mushrooms organization (Shroomery comes up #1 when googling "shrooms" and #5 when searching for "magic mushrooms"), I've gotta say that the 'Headlines' feature on the main page really bothers me.

Quote:
Attempted murder probe leads meth 'super lab' [CAN]
Cocaine-filled rock guitars seized at BWI [MD]
$5 million in cocaine found in Naperville house [IL]
Most spiking cases 'just drunk' [UK]
30 pounds of coke seized after high speed chase [IN]
Air Force bases ban salvia hallucinogen
Marijuana Operation Found In Douglas County Home [CO]
Painkiller more available for abuse


I feel like none of this is exciting, out-of-the-ordinary, or even highly relevant to the average Shroomerite. What's more, it gives a negative impression of the Shroomery, and by association of magic mushrooms, to your typical casual visitor who lacks much prior information.

I would suggest that the headlines be adjusted to reflect news that Shroomerites would be seriously interested in and ignore the run-of-the-mill meth busts, grower arrests, and drug use trends. (This is not primarily a drug law site, right?) Basically, if nothing much new is going on, maybe it should be empty? Or, keep the interesting headlines up longer?

I don't know if anybody feels the same way I do but I hope others share my concern that we do our best to portray mushrooms in a legitimate, respectable light rather than highlight their being illegal drugs.


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Re: Small suggestion: Headlines Feature [Re: moeshroom]
    #6575346 -

I am one of the moderators of Shroomery News and I rarely post outside of that forum as I am more of a cut & paste kind of a guy, but I did want to make a couple of comments. I'll be brief, or try to.

The Shroomery is a very diverse community. Most of the forums here are not even about mushrooms. Folks here have interests from Mushrooms, Art, Politics, Porn, Drugs, Cooking, Science, Philosophy, etc. I have no idea what the average Shroomerite might find "exciting, out-of-the-ordinary, or highly relevant". I can't even put my finger on what an average Shroomerite is.

Not too long ago some folks may have been shocked to know that in a city near where they live people were cooking up a couple grams of crank. Now when 6 major multi-million dollar meth 'super labs' are discovered, it is "run-of-the-mill", as you say. This in itself is interesting, to me anyway, on many different levels.

The headlines you reference are different from yesterdays and tomorrows. Members post stories in News that are of interest to them. I post stories that I find of interest. As any registered user can post news items, you also are welcome to post stories that you personally find relevant. Many stories are posted about new research or medical benefits of psilocybin, marijuana, ibogaine, lsd, mdma, ketamine, etc. Most stories have a lot to say about the insane, futile, and expensive Drug War. But sometimes you have to look past the headlines to see it.

Every hunting season there are stories posted about families who have ingested deadly mushrooms. They usually don't get much of a response, but if only one person who reads it thinks twice about haphazardly eating a mushroom in which there is some doubt and asks a mycologist or checks in a field guide, it is worth it.

As far as portraying mushrooms in "a legitimate, respectable light rather than highlight their being illegal drugs", my feeling is this... There are people who want to experience magic mushrooms. They heard about them and come here to research them and get the facts. They may learn how to identify them and gather them if living in area where they grow, or learn how to grow them themselves indoors. Initially they may have some nervousness or apprehension not knowing what to expect. But after eating magic mushroms their whole perspective changes. They realize the mushroom is a gift, to be respected. They may see things they never saw before, about themselves and the world around them. They may receive great mystical or religious insights. They may feel love and a connectiveness with the universe. Sometimes, at this point, they realize that everyone should do mushrooms and want to tell everyone about them, learn to grow them and want to give them away or maybe sell them. They think mushrooms should not be illegal, meth maybe, perhaps H, but not mushrooms... Well, the fact of the matter is psilocybin mushrooms are illegal, a felony, in most places.

There may be headlines occasionally of someone getting caught with mushrooms. And you may think it's no big deal, not interesting, not newsworthy, just some kid growing a few cakes in his dorm or a monotub in the closet. But the puchline often is that he or she is sentenced to 5 up to 20 years in prison. So, regardless of how we may feel about mushrooms, the reality of the current laws are important to keep in the back of our minds.

Okay, I see I may have drifted off-topic. As to what headlines are on the main page or why they are even there is a decision of the Administrators, and as you know the Admins are known to be open to new ideas and suggestions.

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Re: Small suggestion: Headlines Feature [Re: moeshroom]
    #6575829 -

I'm not certain how having a news feed with headlines that relate to drugs in general portrays mushrooms in a negative manner, so you might need to elaborate on the connection a bit more for my benefit.


--------------------
:redpanda:
If I should die this very moment
I wouldn't fear
For I've never known completeness
Like being here
Wrapped in the warmth of you
Loving every breath of you
:heartpump: :bunnyhug: :yinyang:

:yinyang: :levitate: :earth: :levitate: :yinyang:

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Re: Small suggestion: Headlines Feature [Re: veggie]
    #6605358 -

Very thoughtful response Veggie. Thank you. I appreciate your point that posting in the news forum is something any member can do, and agree that that means it does indeed reflect the interests of the community.

In no way do I object to the news forum and the stories that make it there, just the Headlines feed.

And naturally, of all the forums, the news one is a sensible choice for a front-page feed. This should not however rule out the other forums as candidates for front-page feeds, right? I do like the Trip Reports being there.

Quote:
Attempted murder probe leads meth 'super lab' [CAN]
Cocaine-filled rock guitars seized at BWI [MD]
$5 million in cocaine found in Naperville house [IL]
Most spiking cases 'just drunk' [UK]
30 pounds of coke seized after high speed chase [IN]
Air Force bases ban salvia hallucinogen
Marijuana Operation Found In Douglas County Home [CO]
Painkiller more available for abuse



OK so here we have a random selection of headlines, taken the day I OP'd.

Basically, I don't like seeing hard drugs like cocaine (3x), meth, and painkillers listed so prominently on the Shroomery homepage.

So, my earlier solution was to have the news feed (but not the forum itself) moderated, but now I see why that would be a difficult thing to do. Your post, veggie, should incite me to post in the news forum as a partial solution to the problems that I see.

The larger issue here is very complex, and that is that most news sources do not report objectively on the War on Drugs, especially in the United States. An exception to this is the coverage of the Johns Hopkins study in July which was quite balance IMO. The result is some very skewed articles in the News forum (which make for very entertaining shroomerite commentary). BUT the topics of the News forum posts (which become the Headlines) are, and correct me if I'm wrong, taken straight from the articles, not paraphrased by shroomerites (which I would probably like better).

The only other thing I can think of is just making the Headlines less visible. I could see a big hyperlink towards the top of the homepage or just moving the headlines further down.

To reiterate, I feel that the Headlines are useful to Shroomery members but I am concerned that casual information-gatherers might be turned off to the Shroomery by the visibility of hard drugs on the main page.

Thanks for listening.


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Re: Small suggestion: Headlines Feature [Re: moeshroom]
    #6605396 -

shrems said:
The larger issue here is very complex, and that is that most news sources do not report objectively on the War on Drugs, especially in the United States. An exception to this is the coverage of the Johns Hopkins study in July which was quite balance IMO. The result is some very skewed articles in the News forum (which make for very entertaining shroomerite commentary). BUT the topics of the News forum posts (which become the Headlines) are, and correct me if I'm wrong, taken straight from the articles, not paraphrased by shroomerites (which I would probably like better).


I think the vast majority of our members can see through the bullshit biases.


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Acid doesn't give you truths; it builds machines that push the envelope of perception. Whatever revelations came to me then have dissolved like skywriting. All I really know is that those few years saddled me with a faith in the redemptive potential of the imagination which, however flat, stale and unprofitable the world seems to me now, I cannot for the life of me shake.

-Erik Davis

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Re: Small suggestion: Headlines Feature [Re: veggie]
    #6605542 -

great post Veggie!~

:grin:


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Laterz, Road

Who the hell you callin crazy?
You wouldn't know what crazy was if Charles Manson was eating froot loops on your front porch!

Brainiac said:
PM the names with on there names, that means they have mushrooms for sale.


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