Story types

This describes the story types (akin to departments in magazines) used by Civilities to drive the layout, and help the reader know what's what. This is in contrast to the all-content-is-blog-posts mentality pandemic through the blogosphere.

The categories were fixed in October 2005; this document has been updated in January 2008 to reflect those changes. Five departments are top and show only headlines; the ones at bottom show the teasers as well.

the Lighter Fare

Shoot First is the basic "blog-style" post, which is written relatively quickly (relative to the other pieces). I came up with the name to complement the following section, and also to riff on the "shoot from the hip" style of blogging.

Ask Questions is a channel for posing questions I don't know the answer to. More often, they reflect my search for the answers.

Out Sourcing is where I hit the road and do some first-person reporting. This output to this channel has slowed in recent years,

Word Play are poems and humor pieces.

Course Corrections are announcements about the site.

the Heavy Stuff

These are fairly self-explanatory:

• Responses & Reviews
• Ideas & Proposals
• Series - Drupal "book" pieces which comprise multiple parts 
• Analyses & Summaries
• Definitions & Explanations

Usage

In addition, by properly classifying content type, readers know how to clearly engage the stories. The types are ordered from lightest to heavist. Lighter types take less time and effort to put together and will be shorter. Heavier types demand more rigorous critiques. Ideas usually proceed from lightest to heaviest, but sometimes it is necessary to jump to creating a definition first (like here). I want to track the type of writing that is being produced, and to ensure that it leads to a proper balance. The lighter pieces are easier to do, and the heavier pieces may be less read. But they all should support each other.