Call for guest authors

WE HAVE ENOUGH – Thanks

I have been blogging mostly non-stop since I started this blog in November 2006, with a couple of breaks over weekends, illnesses, and during some travel. WUWT now has over 4700 stories, and half a million moderated comments. As my mom used to say, “that’s enough to choke a horse”.

With the Christmas holidays here, and because this has been an extraordinarily difficult year for my family with medical issues, economic woes, and general overwork, I’ve decided to take a blogging holiday for awhile. This probably starts midday Dec 24th, lasting until around January 2nd. I’m going to remove myself from my online habits to spend time away, time with my family, time not thinking about the issues, time playing with my kids who I’m guilty of neglecting attention to. Hell, I didn’t even get outdoor Christmas lights put up this year. On the plus side, I’m going to score some new cheap after xmas sale LED’s for next year.

I’m also mindful of the many, many, people who visit this blog every day, and I do feel some duty to you, my readers. This doesn’t mean a complete downtime for this blog, we have a few guest authors that will post regularly, I’ll have open threads, and I will from time to time post things. But the pace that I have been maintaining will be less.

As they say, all work and no play makes John a dull boy, and I’ve been feeling a bit overextended lately. I’m sure the moderation team feels the same way. My email is like a firehose, and I’m way behind in correspondence. I also notice I’ve been a bit snippy with some commenters, and that really is a sign that I need some R&R. To be more direct, I’m a bit burned out. Steve McIntyre recently went on hiatus while traveling for this holiday season, and he recognizes the need to step away for awhile. I need to also.

I’m fortunate to have a large worldwide readership and a fantastic team of volunteer moderators and guest authors, so there’s no reason for WUWT to stop while I recharge. The Huffington Post for example, goes on it’s merry way even though Arianna Huffington might be in Maui. There’s no reason WUWT has to rely solely on me with the community we have. The community continues to grow, so let’s capitalize on that.

Despite the projected angst of detractors, WUWT continues to dominate the climate rat pack with traffic, per Alexa’s traffic analyzer:

Rather than let that go into the tank while I’m on R&R, I’ve decided to open up WUWT a bit more. I think it will be a win all around for everyone.

Therefore, in addition to our regulars guest posters like Willis, Bob Tisdale, CTM, David Archibald, Paul Vaughn (who will have a post tonight) and many others, I thought I would extend this opportunity to people that would like to contribute to WUWT as a guest author.

There are a few, and necessary, caveats.

1. If I won’t be able to verify who you are, please don’t apply.

2. If you want to make political statements, please don’t apply

3. I’m looking for relevant material on climate, weather, forecasting, solar science, general science, technology, and relevant humor/satire. I’m not interested in the topics listed on the policy page. Opinions that differ from what I normally post are also welcome, provided they are respectfully presented. If you just want to write a rant about “deniers” like some people we know, then please don’t apply. If you have a point to make, and can do so conscientiously, such opposing views are welcome. A good example is how Ferdinand Englebeen conducted himself with this series on CO2 1 2 3 4

4. You must create an account in the WordPress system as a registered user. I’ll provide instructions on how to do so and get you linked in to WUWT. Read on.

If you are able to write an article, add graphics and references, and would like to get the exposure this blog offers for your ideas, and are willing to sign in to the WordPress system as a registered user, using its editor, then this opportunity is for you. Basically if you can run MS Word or Open Office writer, and can follow a few simple instructions, you can be publishing as a WUWT guest author.

For some of our existing guest authors, who might be signed up to Blogger or other publishing platforms, now is the time to signup to get a WordPress account. Drop me a note and I’ll send instructions.

For those interested, please use this form, all information submitted will be kept confidential (except your name, which will go on posts) and only used in verification of your signup. If you don’t know what your story idea might be, and you just want to help keep up with general climate news, simply elaborate on that.

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