Frequently Asked Questions

What is DotSpots?

What is a dot?

A dot is a new type of object we're calling a "distributed object of thought" -- a highly portable mini-blog post that is easy to create and share and which can be improved by each person who interacts with it.

Dots can be created on the fly, with a simple e-mail to post@dotspots.com (Try it and see! :)

Dots have some defining properties:

• Dot titles are tweets, limited to <140 characters, so they can easily be shared.
• Dot bodies are instant blogs, and can contain anything (text, pictures, video, media, embeds).
• Dots are wiki-like, but their creator has to approve all edits, assuring each dot evolves along a consistent point-of-view.
• Dots can be connected to quotes, paragraphs of text in the news and are distributed globally into all related articles
• Dots can be voted on and carry a usefulness rating
• Dots get permanent short urls in the format - http://dot.to/ABCDE

What is the purpose of a dot?

Dots allow people to create citizen news pods which connect in depth analysis and perspectives from the blogosphere or add live eye-witness reporting from the scene, directly in context of mainstream news articles on the web for others to see.

How are dots distributed to relevant news stories and elsewhere?

We maintain an index of all news stories from around thousands of news sites and millions of blogs around the world. We use proprietary algorithm to build semantically equivalent clusters which allows us to instantly distribute any dot that is connected to one paragraph to all other relevant paragraphs in articles scattered around the web.

How do dots improve?

Each dot can be added to and improved by anyone who interacts with it by simply hitting the "propose edit" button and suggesting some changes. The suggested changes are sent to the dot creator who can accept or reject them. This ensures that dots can collaboratively improve but are always consistent with their owner's views.

How is a dot different than a tweet?

Dots have a title that can be automatically tweeted, but they also have a body which effectively is a mini-blog post. In this way, they are designed to host and convey one complete thought, but are able to be transported by their title as a tweet which links back to the dot.

How is a dot different than a blog post?

Blogs are not designed to be easily shared and distributed. Nor can they be connected to quotes or text and be placed in context of news sites. They can't be voted on. Finally, blogs are not designed for ad-hoc collaboration, so anyone can help improve each entry. A dot is designed to make it easy to do all these things.

How do dots benefit me as a news reader?

Dots in context of the news allow you to quickly see multiple perspectives, breaking news from the scene and get information that real people have added and voted as important and missing on the page. These people come from around the world have different views, ideas and many times much better information than you'd find using any one news site.

When will you have "such and such" feature?

We are in continuous and feverish development trying to implement all the ideas for making DotSpots as useful a service as possible. Please give us your feedback and ideas here.

Using DotSpots

Registration/Sign-up

The easiest way to sign up for DotSpots is to send an e-mail to post@dotspots.com

That'll create your first dot and sign you up for DotSpots-lite experience in one easy step!

Remember: Your e-mailed dot can contain anything - text, pics, videos, links, embeds. (try it and see!)

If you'd like to get the full experience, download the browser extension.

DotSpots Extension

The DotSpots extension provides you with several additional features and benefits:

• See dots appear inline on news articles
• Access to a sidebar for streaming dot content related to each article that you read
• The ability to add dots directly into the news, by highlight text as you're reading
• Mouse right-click access to features and short-cuts
• and more

Creating a Dot

There are several ways to create a dot:

• The easiest way is to send an e-mail to post@dotspots.com
• You can also create a dot by clicking on the "Create a Dot" button wherever you see it
• Additionally, if you have the DotSpots extension, you can create a dot by selecting text on a page, or by selecting "Create a Dot" from the right-click menu.

Connecting a Dot

Once you've created your a dot, you can connect it directly into the news wherever relevant:

• On any dot, simply click the "Connect" button.
• Enter a quote or paragraph of text you want to attach your dot to
• Dotspots will return all the articles it has found.
• If they look relevant, click "Confirm".
• You can see where your dot is connected under the "Distribution" tab atop each dot.
• If you have the DotSpots extension, you can connect and create in one step by highlighting text or using the right-click button inside any article you are reading.

Sharing a Dot

Dots are designed to be easily shared with friends via Twitter, Facebook and E-mail

• Simply click on the respective icons to share any dot you see
• Use the "Sharing" settings page to link accounts and auto-share your dots

Editing a Dot

Dots are designed to be improved by anyone who views them:

• Click "Propose Edit"
• Add or edit information, links, photos, videos, embeds, etc.
• Your edits go to the dot owner for approval
• If approved you are given credit as a helper under the "Editors" tab

Voting on a Dot

Voting allows the wisdom of crowds to help determine the quality of a dot

• Dots can be voted up, down or off topic
• DotSpots uses votes to determine which dots to feature and which to remove
• So, please vote on every dot you read!

Replying to a Dot

Replying allows people to reach dot creators with their comments

Contributing Content

Can I contribute content anonymously?

You must have a DotSpots account to contribute content. However, you can set your Name to an alias or "Anonymous" if you do not wish to be identified.

Is there a limit to the length of my contribution?

There is currently no limit to the length of your dot; however, we are defining dots as useful units of information. Therefore, we feel that the community will judge the usefulness of a dot on how concise, informative, well-written, accurate and grammatically correct it is. That said, the community will ultimately decide the usefulness of your dot.

Can I add references to support my findings?

You should always add references wherever possible. These should include sources and links for additional reading. Of course, if you connected an idea from a blog, then the full article should be referenced as a courtesy to the creator and in order to avoid copyright issues.

When I publish a dot, will my contribution become visible to all or public?

Your dots or contributions will always be visible to all or 'public'. If you would like us to develop a "private dot" feature, please send us a feature request through this feedback form.

Can people reply to my dots and will I be notified on those?

Each dot can be voted, shared with friends, and/or replied on, and you will instantly be notified on any replies through email.

Spam

How do you ensure that a dot is not spam?

We are committed to allowing anyone to contribute to DotSpots, but rely on the good will of people like yourself, and the wisdom of crowds (much like Wikipedia or Digg do), to take care of the quality and appropriateness of our content with tools to vote up dots that are useful, and vote down and out dots that are not.

How do I report a spammer on DotSpots?

Generally, you should vote their dots down, or mark the dots "off topic." This will bring their content to the attention of our community moderators. If the situation is beyond that and you feel that it's a systematic abuse that needs to be reported, feel free to report specific accounts/actions that require further investigation by sending a quick note to the support team (with a 'Reporting spam' subject line), and we'll look into it accordingly.

Can I use DotSpots to promote my site?

Dots are distributed objects of thought and their purpose is to inform and connect. If the site that you are promoting does not add any value or is off topic, then the community will not find it useful and mark it 'off-topic'. Misusing dotspots for advertising purposes will cause your account to be terminated. Please read our Anti-spam Policy and Community Guidelines to find out more.

What can cause my account to be suspended?

• Spamming: Unauthorized use of DotSpots to promote a specific Web site, product or service
• Posting objectionable content
• Harassment
• Violations of the Terms of Service or Community Rules

DotSpots reserves the right to remove any account from our service for any reason, at any time.

What does 'Mark off-topic' do?

It helps dots that don't contribute to the discussion, and members who may be violating our Terms of Service.

Technical Requirements/Troubleshooting

What are the system requirements?

Our website and e-mail interfaces are universally compatible. However, at this time our extension is available in Firefox (2.0 or above) and Chrome. If you'd like to us to develop the DotSpots extension for another platform, please send us feedback.

I installed DotSpots in Firefox, but I don't see the icon on my toolbar.

If you haven't already done so since you've installed DotSpots, close and reopen your browser and see if you see the icon then. Otherwise, follow the steps below:

1. In the top menu of Firefox, click:
   View » Toolbars » Customize
2. In the window that opens, scroll down until you see the DotSpots icon. Drag it to your desired position in the Firefox toolbar. Click done.

How do I uninstall the DotSpots Extension?

Firefox users: On Firefox's top menu, click Tools » Add-ons. Click on DotSpots. Then click the Uninstall button.

How can we keep up with your progress?

The best way is to follow our blog for our periodic updates. Click here for our Blog RSS. Or, you can follow us on Twitter.