Question 8 on the FAQ, “How can I get my readers to submit my articles?”, has the code for Blogger, Wordpress, Movable Type, Typepad, and I’ve just added Javascript, too. There’s now a link to the video tutorial for Wordpress I made, too. I’ve also added a link to this article which should helper Blogger users like yourself. Beyond that, I don’t know what more I can do.

I hear what you’re saying about clicking the title and going to the JapanSoc page instead of the actual blog post, but I have to disagree. I think linking the title to the JapanSoc story page is an extra step between the homepage and reading the submitted articles. Why frustrate readers by making them go through that extra step? If they want to read comments or discuss the article they can click the Discuss/Comment link (just like on Digg.com). That’s just my opinion and I’d be interested in hearing what other users think.

Also when viewing the list of articles/posts, clicking on the post title should take the user to the JapanSoc page about the article not the original post. Instead make it take you to the same page that the “Read More” link takes the user.

Sometimes I’m curious on the comments my posts get but I keep getting sent to my post, not the JapanSoc page. (I know that sounds confusing).

This would also keep users on JapanSoc longer.

Bamboo font FTW!!!

Do you mean that you don’t think there should be any grammar/kanji/Japan-tips? Or are you just saying there should be a balance?

I think categorisation may be the hardest part of running this type of site. The niches are nearly endless (and everyone has there own particular interests) but put too many categories and the site will probably suffer.

I agree about the Latest Comments’ lack of tool tip / readable url. I’ll look into it. Thanks again.

UPDATE: I was able to hack it myself and add the story title as a tooltip for each comment.

The bamboo font “Japan Soc” is a bit cliched.

In the Latest Comments section, it would be nice to see from which stories and/or which users the comments are coming from - at the moment the URL is just a number, so I can’t even see from the tooltip where it goes.

There isn’t actually a duplicate content issue at all. If a url has already been submitted, it can’t be submitted again. The issue was that it’s hard to tell if a particular url has already been submitted unless you actually try to submit it yourself, in which case you’ll get a “Duplicate Content” message if it already exists on JapanSoc.

I know what you’re saying about “junk” stuff, but some people love YouTube clips of Japanese game shows, others are mad about Gundam, and some just want to learn the language. JapanSoc will hopefully offer something to please everyone, but all we can do is vote for what we like and hope others agree with us!

My only worry about JapanSoc is that it will go the way that so many social sites (Digg, etc.) / Japan-related sites do and end up with a group of adolescent “contributers” who have never been to nor intend to go to Japan, and whose interests are…well…adolescent, for lack of a better word. You know what I mean? The offensive content decision you settled on seems fine for now, though. I just remember someone saying that they hoped that the site didn’t become a grammar tips / kanji memorization techniques / how-to _(mundane thing here)_ in Japan guide in a comment thread earlier. I agree. There are other, weirder places it could go, too. I suppose the best way to fight this would be to encourage aggressive burial of junk stuff. And all I can really ask for is my own vote, right?

Is it wrong that I may bury much more than I soc for a while? Ha ha - not to be a killjoy or anything. I just have an idealistic view for what your site could be and really hope it gets there. It’s got promise. Ha ha.

Anyway, regarding the above points, sounds like you’ve got things covered (excluding a way to help avoid duplicate content). I’ll chime in again on the next go-round. Thanks again!