Buzz
These days, it feels like everything is constantly changing! People are returning to their workplaces, businesses are reopening (if they haven’t shut down for good!), and here at Mytour, we’ve been quietly implementing a host of changes behind the scenes. This update is my way of sharing the latest website news with you. Keep reading!
8. The Apology
It’s fitting that I begin with the apology to clear the air before moving forward. As regular readers may know, over the past five years, I’ve experienced significant personal loss: both my parents, a brother, two cousins, two aunts, and two uncles have passed away. During this period, I struggled at times to dedicate the necessary attention to Mytour. Grief often brought anger, and I let that negatively influence my interactions with writers, administrators, and, most regrettably, with you, the readers. Some commenters have even noted feeling unfairly targeted by me. This is unacceptable, regardless of my personal circumstances. I am deeply sorry.
7. Politics . . . Ugh
As we approach the election season, I’d like to kindly request everyone to exercise a bit more self-moderation. I won’t prohibit political discussions, but I hope we can all (and that absolutely includes me!) either avoid bringing politics into the comments unless directly relevant to the topic, or if we must mention politics, do so with kindness toward the person you’re addressing. Mainstream media and politicians have driven us apart; let’s prove we’re not easily swayed and treat those with opposing views with extra respect. It might not change the world, but it will at least create a peaceful haven for us here during these turbulent times.
6. Changes to Payment Policies
Beginning in May, we ceased offering payments to new writers. Previously published authors who were receiving payments will continue to be compensated for future submissions, and all submissions sent before the new policy took effect will also be paid if published. This change only affects new contributions from new writers. After three accepted and published submissions, new writers will be promoted to paid staff. This decision was made for two key reasons:
A. We’ve received over 5,000 submissions due to a surge in lists from individuals hoping to turn writing into a career. Nearly all of these submissions come from people who’ve never read the site and discovered us through YouTube videos or websites promoting us as a 'quick' way to earn money online.
B. We aim to return to the writing standards we had when Mytour launched in 2007. Back then, we didn’t pay for contributions. I handled most of the writing, and occasionally, readers would send in their lists for publication. This approach helped build our incredible community. You might have noticed I’m writing more again, and I’m eager to receive more contributions from you—the actual readers of the site. This brings us to:
5. Priority for Regular Contributors
This applies exclusively to our dedicated readers and commenters: if you’ve submitted a list in the past and haven’t received a response, please email me with the address you used for submission. If you’re a frequent commenter, include your username as well. Your submissions will be prioritized for immediate processing. By the end of May, my aim is to publish content almost entirely from regular contributors like you and our cherished columnists. Please note: as mentioned earlier, all submissions made before May will still fall under the old payment system. Click this link to email me and bring your submissions to my attention.
4. The Appeal
I’d like to reach out to all our writers from the early days of Mytour. If you’re here and reading this (and I know some of you are, right Maggot?), please consider writing for us again. Over the past week, I’ve been working on site code updates related to older lists, and it’s brought back so many fond memories. I’d love to recreate those special moments we shared back then for our newer readers who’ve joined us since. No one writes for Mytour better than someone who truly loves it. Additionally, we’re happy to publish your lists under your site nicknames—you don’t need to use your real name unless you want to.
3. My Personal Social Media
2. The News
Following the recent announcement about virus-related reporting, I’d love to hear your ideas on how we can revamp our weekly news article. Morris M. kept us engaged for years, and Jonathan H. Kantor took the reins afterward, but with the news dominated by pandemic-related topics, it’s become challenging to keep it engaging. Additionally, I’d prefer to minimize political news for the reasons I mentioned earlier. This is your opportunity to share your thoughts: what should we do (if anything) with our weekly news summary? Do you have a creative idea to make it more appealing to a wider audience? If so, drop your suggestions in the comments!
1. The Virus
Starting next week, my home country, New Zealand, will ease lockdown restrictions, allowing restaurants and shops to reopen as usual. I see this as a signal for the site to move forward as well. I’d like to put an end to Coronavirus-related lists for now; I think we’ve covered enough. If something truly unique or groundbreaking arises, I’ll still consider publishing it, but for now, I want to refocus the site on its core purpose: fun and intriguing top 10 lists.
