Hao Hao Report Submission Guidelines

Here at the Hao Hao Report we attempt to be as open and easy going as possible. In our opinion there's just nothing worse than a fascist Web 2.0 site. However, we're sad to report that this goodwill is sometimes returned with abuse or misuse of this system, and as such we've created these guidelines and FAQ to help add clarity to what we consider the good, the bad and the fugly when it comes to HHR.

The Guidelines

To understand these guidelines, you first need to understand what we hope the HHR community will be - a collective group of people all wanting to share interesting and amusing stories (news, opinions, blogs, etc.) about China.

Must be about China. We know Japan, Korea and India are near by, but if the story doesn't centre around China, it doesn't belong on HHR.
Must have meaning, relevance, and importance to someone other than yourself.
Must be English-language - we're an English-language site.
Must NOT be commercial/selly. We recognize this is subjective, and will be lenient on this if the submissions is something actually useful and related to China (ie. a great new service for learning Chinese, an expat help line, etc.). The price of this leniency is that we ask you present it in a non-commercial way as best you can.
Must NOT be an article behind a paywall.
Must be an actual article of some sort. This includes articles, stories and blog posts. It does not include forum threads, Q&A sites or other content that doesn't centre around an article-type format.
Must NOT be spam. See below for what we view as spam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I post links from my blog/site?

Yeah, sure you can. Heck, you wouldn't have written it if you didn't think it was good, and we're all about the good. The only condition we'll put on this is that you don't spam the site with your stories. If you've written a good post and want people to know about it, cool. If you want to catalogue everything you've ever written, submitted one after another, this will get you disliked. Continue reading for more details on what we feel is abuse/spam.

Why can't I submit non-English articles?

The focus of this site is on English-language stories about China. Though many in the HHR community speak darn good Chinese (as well as a number of other languages, I'm sure), we're sticking to the English bit. This isn't to say the stories can't have another language in them (eg. Chinese learning posts), it just means the focus should be towards an English speaking audience.

Can I submit stories that contain graphic content, violence or nudity?

Yes, as long as they are in adherence with our other guidelines. We do ask however that you flag the post as containing graphic content. You will see checkboxes for this when creating the story. Failure to appropriately flag the content may result in the content being removed.

What do you consider spam?

Links to articles or sites that do not in any way pertain to China are, hands down, considered spam. If you want to share your awesome site about cialis or great seo tactics, please do so somewhere else.

Are multiple postings in a row considered abuse/spam?

No.

Are multiple postings in a row from a single source site considered abuse/spam?

Yes.

How come?

Mainly, because it defeats the purpose of HHR, which is to provide the BEST content about China. If it is from a single source, it is likely that it is being submitted more as an attempt to gather traffic and/or linkbacks for purely selfish reasons. We hate that. But also because when links are submitted to HHR they are displayed on the Newest China Stories page, where they are voted on and promoted to the site's front page. If one person posts a boatload of links (particularly for their own selfish reasons) it pushes down the submissions of other members in an unnatural, and unkind, way. We hate that too.

So I can post a bunch of links, as long as they are from a variety of sources?

Use a discerning mind. If you truly feel that the link you are submitting is something others will take value from, then by all means, post away. If you are just submitting every China-related link you happen to come across, you'll not make many friends here. The key takeaway is to ask yourself if you are flooding the site and hurting the contributions of others. If not, you're golden.

Brass tacks, how many posts from a single source do you consider spam?

The Rule of Ones - Not more than one submission from one source in one day.

Can I sign up with a bunch of accounts and vote my own stories up, because I think they're really really good, or have my friends do it?

We had assumed this went without saying, but experience makes us wiser. No, this is not allowed, and is grounds for immediate account deletion. Should you decide to go ahead and do this anyway, be warned, we have a squadron of rabid hedgehogs standing by as enforcement muscle. They're mean, and they nip.

What if we're a multi-authored blog or group, we can't all sign up?

No problem. We're not going to welcome in one member of the organization and then turn the rest away. We're happy to have you all contributing here. That is, with one caveat: the sole purpose of the multiple memberships cannot be to promote submissions from your organization/site. If you're all active and engaged HHReporters and not just treating HHR like fuwuyuan in a cheap KTV, we'll not have a problem.

What do I do if I see some spam or a violation of these guidelines on HHR?

Please let us know by clicking the " report as violation" link below each story.

So, should I report all stories I think are inappropriate?

No, not necessarily. If you don't like a story, vote it down -- that's the point of the site. The " report as violation" button is strictly for violations of these guidelines. Also, when voting a story down it is common courtesy, though not required, to inform the story submitter why you didn't like it via the comments. We are a pretty tight and friendly community, and all love constructive criticism. Really.

What if my submission was labeled as a violation, but it isn't?

We hope that this doesn't happen, but if it does, please contact us and we'll do our best to fix the problem.

What is a Hao Hao Reporter?

Hao Hao Reporters are quality members of the Hao Hao Report that have illustrated respect for these guidelines, and as such have full site privileges. Among other things, the Hao Hao Report tag means you no longer need to wait for your stories to be approved by an admin. They are automatically published. Additionally, Hao Hao Reporters get to browse HHR in an ad-free environment. If you're not currently a Hao Hao Reporter but feel you should be, contact us.

Why can't I delete a story I submitted?

While you are welcome to edit your submission, there's no way for users to delete a post once it's created. This is mainly due to the Gold Star system, and the community's feelings on its use as a reward/punishment. Essentially if users could delete their posts once it got voted down by a few people, they would be able to circumvent this system and avoid having to more deeply consider the quality of their submissions. Of course this doesn't include spam. Should you need one of your stories deleted for a legitimate reason, please contact us.