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Posted By tdrapeau 4 months, 1 week ago in Science & TechnologyAs we continue to explore ways to improve the Propeller experience, we sometimes come across decisions that benefit one group of members yet hinder the experience for another group. We try to minimize this hindrance whenever possible. However, as of today the behavior of the story headline link is changing, and we anticipate that it will cause temporary discomfort for some.
Here's what changed: Going forward, all logged-out visitors that click on headline links will be sent to the story source, instead of the Propeller discussion page. Logged-in members will also be sent to the story source, but can adjust a "Browsing" preference to restore the Propeller Discussion page as their headline link destination.
You can adjust your preference on your Edit Profile page (login required). Scroll down to the section titled "Browsing" and choose your preference. Your options are "Read Full Story", with which clicks to headline links will take you to the source story, and "Propeller Discussion", the previously default behavior, which takes you to the Propeller Discussion page for the story. Once you have made your decision, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Save Changes". Your preference once saved should be immediately reflected on Propeller.
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Tom Drapeau was until recently the Director of Propeller social news. He now builds other community systems for Aol. He is still a geek. For ...
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tdrapeau4 months, 1 week ago
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As part of today's web site updates, you should see changes in displaying member stats. Specifically, on the community home page, you'll see an updated list of top commenters on the site. The changes were to better reflect lifetime stats, as opposed to recent stats, which should now only be displayed on a member's profile page, next to lifetime stats.
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TimALoftis4 months, 1 week ago
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I like the "Propeller Discussion" preference over the "Read Full Story" and have made the adjustment on my profile page...update works fine...thanks for giving us the option. While I like reading the full story on the link provided, I also think it is important to read the full text as to what the submitter and/or friend thought was important when submitting the article and then the discussion (comments)afterward.. This allows me to continue to do both.
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not2needy4 months, 1 week ago
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I don't like being sent directly to the source of the story, it makes me feel like they are trying to manipulate the story reads so i made the appropriate changes as well, Tim. Like you, i like to see what the submittor has to say first.
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epiphannyy4 months, 1 week ago
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I think the idea of putting the story before the commentary is a good thing. Too many people comment without even looking over the article, blog, etc, they are supposedly commenting on. Personally, I think that is wrong. I also think its valuable to read the story or blog before reading the commentary from others just to ensure an unbiased eye as you do. If you see people slamming or high-fiving a POV before reading it, aren't you more inclined to agree or disagree with it based on who was doing the slamming or high-fiving?
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Although, I do think you made a good point below about the danger of malicious websites sneaking in under the radar. For that reason, I changed my preferences to go back to how it was. That way, we can see what basic domain we are being directed to prior to clicking that link.
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Newperson4 months, 1 week ago
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I set mine back to the way they were. The problem i have is there is some people here that are not here to share stories and hang out and talk. But are trying to sale me insurance and windows or sideing for my home.
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Thanks for the option. I do enjoy propeller and i do thank the staff for ther hard work.-

CRYMTYPHON4 months, 1 week ago
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That is a very profound remark, NP, - and I agree.
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If you want to read more, visit my webpage for home siding insurance.
@ very profound remarks
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jovial4 months, 1 week ago
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I feel the danger here is that people being directly shuttled to a website or blog opens up the door for some malicious members to direct you to a site that may be harmful to your computer. The way it was people had the choice to visit that particular site or not. Again I ask what compelled this change? When using my laptop sometimes while scrolling I accidentally click on a story i didn't intend to open. What a surprise it would be if that happened and I caught a virus or trojan or opened up some porn site.
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not2needy4 months, 1 week ago
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Not only what compelled the change, but why do they feel that it is so "important" as it was explained in the article that accompanies this thread??????? Seems to me they are deliberately trying to direct people to personal blogs, as though this place isn't filled with nothing but opinion blogs enough.
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epiphannyy4 months, 1 week ago
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My first reaction was "great change" because it puts the story before the discussion. Although, after reading some of the comments here, I am seeing the possibility for malicious websites being sneaked in under the radar. I hadn't honestly thought about that. I've put it back the way it was, but I still prefer to read the story before I read the commentary. I'll just stick to the old way though, where I can see the page source before clicking the link.
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tdrapeau4 months, 1 week ago
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There are a lot of thoughtful points here. To be clear, submitted sites that attempt to install viruses or otherwise compromise a visitor's computer are in violation of Propeller's Terms of Use. Once the site is marked as such, all stories from the domain are removed from Propeller and any future submissions to Propeller are disallowed.
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For those concerned about this, I would definitely recommend setting your browsing preference to Propeller Discussion, and please report any stories from suspicious sites for staff consideration.
We wanted to offer a browsing choice that helps us to cater both to those eager for discussion, and those who want faster access to source articles. We're hoping that this change allows for that. -

WikiMap4 months, 1 week ago
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wilsonandrews3 months, 1 week ago
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Use Tigra Hints...easy to install. This technique is done using Javascript, but I think you can also use DHTML.
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