So You Want To Become An Oldpoetry Mod

Oldpoetry is a free site run by volunteers who enjoy poetry for people who also enjoy poetry.

We want to pass on our love of poetry and give a single point of reference for the many fine poets from all over the world who have contributed to the development of the genre.
That includes well known poets such as Chaucer, Whitman, Tagore and Patterson as well as the thousands of less well known poets whose work has nevertheless given pleasure to many people and, perhaps, influenced them to go on to write good poems of their own.

We have from six to twelve people making regular contributions in their spare time and covering a number of areas.

A. Adding New Poets
There are many many fine poems out there in books, magazines etc by people not yet represented here. Some of our researchers seek out these poems and details about the poet. A brief biography is prepared by the researcher and, provided there is no conflict with the rules of copyright, their name is added to the list here and the biography is made available.

B. Adding New Poems
Once a poet is on the list poems by that poet are identified and added to the collection. This involves checking if the poem is in fact by the person claimed and that it is not already on the site. Then by scanning or typing or other means an accurate version of the poem is prepared and loaded onto the site. Sometimes this will involve translations from the poets mother tongue and these translations also need checking.

C. Translating Poems
Some of the poems that we come across do not have available translations and then, of our researcher is fluent in the language, translations are made by the researcher and added to the site.

D. Researching
Users of the site often ask questions about the poets and the poems and, wherever possible, our researchers try to find the answers or at least to put the user in touch with someone who can answer the question.

E. Composing New Biographies
In the early days of the site many poets were added without first preparing a biography and some of our researchers are steadily going through the lists and trying to produce a basic outline of that poets life.

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HOW LONG DOES THIS ALL TAKE?

Obviously this is no overnight task and in fact the work is never ending but we still think it is worthwhile trying to increase the sites content and usefulness.
Some of our researchers spend time on the site every day, others average once or twice a week. Others may only visit occasionally. Each one gives as much time as they can.


CAN YOU HELP WITH ANY OF THIS?

We are always looking for suitable people to help out with one or more of these tasks. The starting point for most people is to become a Friend of Oldpoetry by joining the group with that name over on the Allpoetry site. http://allpoetry.com/group/show/Oldpoetry%20and%20Friends They make contributions by offering biographies, poems (in a variety of languages), information about poems or even just checking what is already there and notifying us of mistakes. That requires no formal commitment of any fixed amount of time. Each friend just does what they feel able to do.
If you are able to make a regular commitment then you can apply to the manager and offer your service with particular tasks. http://oldpoetry.com/group/info/Moderators
If everything works out you will be invited to become part of the team who can add the poems or poets instead of just suggesting them but obviously under supervision at first.

PLEASE REMEMBER

Our aim is not to replace the work of living poets or those who are still in copyright and being regularly published. We are known as OLD-poetry for a reason!