How Can I Help? Ways Readers can Contribute to the Agnosticism / Atheism Site
Yes, You Can Help the Site Grow:
Every so often I get an email from someone saying how much they like the site and wondering if there is anything they can do to help with it. I?m sure that there are many more who feel the same way but who don?t write. Fortunately, there are several things that you, the readers, can do to help the site grow. All are very easy and most don?t require you to do anything very different from what you?re doing right now!
All of these suggestions can also be applied to other sites you like.
Visit the Site Regularly:
The most important and fundamental thing you can do is, quite simply, to keep visiting the site on a regular basis. Subscribe to the newsletters and follow the links in them. Try to visit the site more than once during the day; there are at least 10 posts every day, so you?re likely to find something new. Check out the Most Popular and Recently Updated pages to find out what?s going on with the site. The more you can visit and read, the better.
Promote Articles You Really Like:
On the right are two lists of 5 articles each: Most Popular, the 5 articles getting the most overall traffic, and What?s Hot, the 5 articles with the biggest recent increase in traffic. The more people who read a piece, the more likely it will show up on one, the other, or both lists ? and possibly the MP/WH lists on the Religion Channel page. Appearing on any of these lists may get others to notice and read them. If you like an article and want others to read it, help it get on these lists.
Tell Others About the Site:
You can promote articles here by linking to them on other sites. Telling people about the site itself is good, but better still is to tell them about specific articles that might already interest them. You can use the ?email to a friend? link or post the URL where it would be relevant to the discussion (like a forum or blog comments). Don?t post or send links where they aren?t relevant, because that?s spamming; instead, post links where the articles might contribute to people?s discussions.
Follow Links to Other Sites:
Following links to other sites helps because it can increase this site?s prestige. Imagine if CNN or another major site regularly saw a lot of traffic coming from here? If it?s possible to comment there on a news story, do so ? let the editors know that atheists are reading their material and that we matter. If the site is a blog, comment on their post to let them know what you think and that their writing is receiving attention. Most authors will appreciate some feedback from readers.
Post Comments & Start Conversations:
Comments have recently been turned on here on this site as well, so don?t hesitate to use them! Keep your comments on topic and civil, of course, but otherwise feel free to use them to agree, disagree, add to the story, respond to other comments, or just start a conversation about the post. For more general discussions, you should consider creating an account and posting in the forum where there is already a large and active community of nonbelievers and skeptics.
Send in News Links & Report Problems:
I basically work alone ? I don?t have a staff, interns, assistants, or others helping me on a regular basis (aside from my wife, who proofreads some material). It?s impossible for me to keep on top of everything, but you can contribute here as well. If you see interesting news stories or blog posts, send me a link so I can consider posting about it. If you see problems or errors with anything on the site, send me an email to let me know.
Submit Your Own Articles:
If you are interested in putting a little more effort into helping, you can always consider writing original articles for the site. There are specific requirements I have to abide by when it comes to things like length, so you should contact me before actually writing anything; however, there is always room for new articles on atheism, religious history, religious art, logic, philosophy, science, politics, and more.
Submit Photos:
I use public domain photos where I can to liven the site up, but those are limited in number. I can?t go everywhere and take pictures of everything I?d like to have images of, but with readers spread all around the world there are lots of opportunities for you to contribute. Ideas: photos of large atheist rallies; photos of churches involved in important news stories; photos of famous churches, ancient temples, and other religious sites so I can create better reference material.
Thanks for Reading and Visiting:
I recognize that most people simply don?t have the time or ability to do much to help with a site like this. That?s fine and I?m not asking that readers suddenly change their habits ? I?ve posted this list because some people are interested and I wanted to make sure everyone is aware of some of the simple things they might be able to do, if they are so inclined. Above all, though, I just want readers to enjoy the site and to find it useful in their studies of religion, philosophy, and atheism.
Every so often I get an email from someone saying how much they like the site and wondering if there is anything they can do to help with it. I?m sure that there are many more who feel the same way but who don?t write. Fortunately, there are several things that you, the readers, can do to help the site grow. All are very easy and most don?t require you to do anything very different from what you?re doing right now!
All of these suggestions can also be applied to other sites you like.
Visit the Site Regularly:
The most important and fundamental thing you can do is, quite simply, to keep visiting the site on a regular basis. Subscribe to the newsletters and follow the links in them. Try to visit the site more than once during the day; there are at least 10 posts every day, so you?re likely to find something new. Check out the Most Popular and Recently Updated pages to find out what?s going on with the site. The more you can visit and read, the better.
Promote Articles You Really Like:
On the right are two lists of 5 articles each: Most Popular, the 5 articles getting the most overall traffic, and What?s Hot, the 5 articles with the biggest recent increase in traffic. The more people who read a piece, the more likely it will show up on one, the other, or both lists ? and possibly the MP/WH lists on the Religion Channel page. Appearing on any of these lists may get others to notice and read them. If you like an article and want others to read it, help it get on these lists.
Tell Others About the Site:
You can promote articles here by linking to them on other sites. Telling people about the site itself is good, but better still is to tell them about specific articles that might already interest them. You can use the ?email to a friend? link or post the URL where it would be relevant to the discussion (like a forum or blog comments). Don?t post or send links where they aren?t relevant, because that?s spamming; instead, post links where the articles might contribute to people?s discussions.
Follow Links to Other Sites:
Following links to other sites helps because it can increase this site?s prestige. Imagine if CNN or another major site regularly saw a lot of traffic coming from here? If it?s possible to comment there on a news story, do so ? let the editors know that atheists are reading their material and that we matter. If the site is a blog, comment on their post to let them know what you think and that their writing is receiving attention. Most authors will appreciate some feedback from readers.
Post Comments & Start Conversations:
Comments have recently been turned on here on this site as well, so don?t hesitate to use them! Keep your comments on topic and civil, of course, but otherwise feel free to use them to agree, disagree, add to the story, respond to other comments, or just start a conversation about the post. For more general discussions, you should consider creating an account and posting in the forum where there is already a large and active community of nonbelievers and skeptics.
Send in News Links & Report Problems:
I basically work alone ? I don?t have a staff, interns, assistants, or others helping me on a regular basis (aside from my wife, who proofreads some material). It?s impossible for me to keep on top of everything, but you can contribute here as well. If you see interesting news stories or blog posts, send me a link so I can consider posting about it. If you see problems or errors with anything on the site, send me an email to let me know.
Submit Your Own Articles:
If you are interested in putting a little more effort into helping, you can always consider writing original articles for the site. There are specific requirements I have to abide by when it comes to things like length, so you should contact me before actually writing anything; however, there is always room for new articles on atheism, religious history, religious art, logic, philosophy, science, politics, and more.
Submit Photos:
I use public domain photos where I can to liven the site up, but those are limited in number. I can?t go everywhere and take pictures of everything I?d like to have images of, but with readers spread all around the world there are lots of opportunities for you to contribute. Ideas: photos of large atheist rallies; photos of churches involved in important news stories; photos of famous churches, ancient temples, and other religious sites so I can create better reference material.
Thanks for Reading and Visiting:
I recognize that most people simply don?t have the time or ability to do much to help with a site like this. That?s fine and I?m not asking that readers suddenly change their habits ? I?ve posted this list because some people are interested and I wanted to make sure everyone is aware of some of the simple things they might be able to do, if they are so inclined. Above all, though, I just want readers to enjoy the site and to find it useful in their studies of religion, philosophy, and atheism.
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