Synergy Beta - Give it a whirl!

Hey folks... We've decided to try a new forum modification called Synergy, which we hope will result in busier traffic on the site. We do not yet know if this will become a permanent fixture to our site but we'll give it a whirl and monitor the stats to see if it has any positive result. Here's some general info:

The idea is to submit good threads to the system so that people on other communities like ours can read them. Once a thread is mirrored to other forums, then people across the internet vote on which they feel are best. The best threads get to the front page which causes them to be read by even more people. If you author a lot of good threads, you might become well known across forums as a "Top Author".

If you read a thread you like on Synergy, simply click on the vote link next to it. Vote totals are tallied across all forums and updated about once a minute. Keep in mind that threads aren't always ordered by votes because the Synergy algorithm takes a lot of factors into account when ranking a thread. But votes are very important, so vote!



There are a variety of thread categories that cover pretty much everything you might be interested in.



If there are categories you're NOT interested in, simply select the options link as shown below.



After selecting the options link, you'll be taken to the screen shown below. Unchecking boxes next to categories you're not interested in will stop them from showing. If you aren't interested in threads from other forums, you can hide them with a single click.



If you author a thread that gets to the front page of Synergy, then you get one point. The top authors of threads from around the internet are listed as seen below. Create great threads and become well known!



By default, Synergy shows you the most popular threads. At the top, you can change the sorting options so that you see the newest submitted threads to the system.

 

If you find a thread on AlienSoup.com you think would be good to add to Synergy, simple click on the in the postbit of the first post in the thread. That will take you to a submission screen where you write a short description. Once you submit that, it will go into a moderation queue for us to approve (or deny). Your help finding the best threads to submit is appreciated! Let's show the rest of the internet how good our community is.

Here's some more information
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How to submit a thread to Synergy

Step 1.

Go to the specific thread you want to add to Synergy, click on the thread tools dropdown menu, and select "Add to Synergy Queue"




Step 2.

You will then be taken the screen shown below. The thread url and title will already be there, you just have to write a short description (please check your spelling!) and select the proper category for the thread.




Step 2.

Once you submit the thread, it is added to the queue. Every x hours (it changes), the top thread from the queue will be added to the global system. You can edit, delete, or change the order of the threads on this screen.



Please be sure the thread doesn't violate the submission guidelines!

 

Quick Summary: When viewing a thread on Alien Soup, if you find it to be pretty cool, hilarious, zany, or even educational (shudder!) you can submit it by clicking on the "Z" that is attached to the very first post in that thread and it will be submitted to the queue after you choose a small blurb/description. Threads submitted don't necessarily have to be brand new.

If site admins find no issue with the thread, then it will go out to the network and countless sites will be able to see that thread and will visit our site to read and we hope at least occasionally join and post. Don't forget to vote on the Alien Soup threads!

 

This looks really cool...but FYI, on the front page, it says "wtf.com"

*edit* so I went to try it and I did it wrong will try again later.

 

Good catch. Just a case of a copy-paste-o. :embarass: