Can someone explain the difference, or know a way to combine them all?
I have always been confused by this, and with a few recent posts with a large amount of comments/discussion it has been difficult to follow along. I was curious about the distinction, but could not find anything about it in the editorial policy. Can anyone explain it to me? Or does anyone know a way to view a post with all the comments mashed together?
Contribute to article means just that. If you are fact checking or adding details left out or sharing what you saw (you know... reporting, that thing that Indymedia is for) then you want Contribute. For example if someone posted the wrong time for a demo or forgot to add it or you went to the demo and saw something. Add comment to discussion is for sharing opinions or reactions to ideas in the post or debating (what blogs were created for). If you want your comment to appear in Contribution make sure that you post your discussion-type content in Discussion, separate from your contribution/reporting.
This is because a lot of people complain about the blog feel created by discussion and want more emphasis on first hand reporting. But also a lot of people can't get enough of discussion & debate. This is the compromise between the 2 camps. Also it used to be that comments with no contribution were hidden. This model prevents a lot of content from being removed because there's a place for it now.
Editorial Policy quote:
"If you wish to contribute info to or refute info in an article you may use the "contribute to this article" link. These will appear directly below the article. To comment on the ideas in a particular post, use the "add comment to discussion" link at the bottom of that article. These will appear through a link at the bottom "view discussion from this article". The free-wheeling discussions that take place through such comments are another interactive feature of the indymedia website."
This is because a lot of people complain about the blog feel created by discussion and want more emphasis on first hand reporting. But also a lot of people can't get enough of discussion & debate. This is the compromise between the 2 camps. Also it used to be that comments with no contribution were hidden. This model prevents a lot of content from being removed because there's a place for it now.
Editorial Policy quote:
"If you wish to contribute info to or refute info in an article you may use the "contribute to this article" link. These will appear directly below the article. To comment on the ideas in a particular post, use the "add comment to discussion" link at the bottom of that article. These will appear through a link at the bottom "view discussion from this article". The free-wheeling discussions that take place through such comments are another interactive feature of the indymedia website."