A Bleg: How’s Fault Lines Doing?

It’s almost one month since the birth of Fault Lines.  After a few days, then another week, I tried to whet yer appetite by providing links here to the stuff being done there by writers Ken Womble, Tamara Tabo, Greg Prickett and Cristian Farias, plus the guest post by Ron Kuby and Allan Brenner.

So here’s my bleg: What do you think? Have you read FL? If not, why not? If so, what can we do better, what are we doing well and what are we doing poorly?  What do we suck at?  Is Fault Lines doing whatever you want it to do for you, or is it falling short? To make it the best it can be, I need to know what you really think.  Be brutal. Just don’t hurt my feelings. Too much.

29 thoughts on “A Bleg: How’s Fault Lines Doing?

  1. Pen

    I’ve been reading it! The articles are well-written and compelling, which is always good. The one thing I don’t like: if I accidentally press the left/right arrow keys, the story changes. This is good if I want to scroll quickly, but I can also do that on the Fault Lines category page or at the bottom of each article. It can be a bit disorienting when I’m in the middle of an article and suddenly find myself at the top of another one.

  2. Lil Lord kNiFeNfOrK

    I still go to Simple Justice for my daily Greenfield fix, but shall continue reading Fault Lines until it sinks in.

    T’was a little difficult getting to grips with the Mimesis Law website. I put this down to a lack of info (what I know about Fault Lines I learned from this blog). Maybe a static message on the Fault Lines section of Mimesis Law telling readers what it’s all about?

  3. sburch79

    The articles are great and I enjoy reading them. My only complaint is technical. I don’t like that the RSS feed only shows a portion of the article. I have to open the website to read the full article. Not that big of a deal, but it would be nice if the RSS feed had the full articles.

  4. Robert

    I will move the starting goal post a bit and tell you a little about why I am HERE.
    1) Good insight on a variety of legal topics, most of which are quite interesting. This site always seems fresh, and never bogs down into repetitive hits on the same topics.

    2) Your writing style.. I find your POV and “voice” quite pragmatic, and you do a great job conveying some of the intricacies and tradeoffs that arise when seeing a law being actually used. Showing multiple sides of an issue, like why we have this law, how it is applied, where the verbiage fails (when the point of the law is stretched too far..) I teach English in Asia and I find your posts a great source of inspiration for eager young minds. I have always tried to write this way, with varying degrees of success, depending on how much of a rush I am in. Having concrete example to show others is great!

    Why I did not follow the new blog: Mainly lack of time, as I follow about 100 already, on programming, economics, news, etc. I can not read everything every day.

    Hope that gives some insight into the mind of a random reader.

    Thanks for everything!

  5. RAFIV

    Here are some things that I believe may be affecting traffic to the site.

    1. Routine. Many of us have reflexive browsing habits. There are certain websites we simply check automatically either as part of a morning routine, or periodically throughout the day. Fault lines is new, so like M’Lord Knife’nFork, I have to consciously remember to go there. It is not yet become routine, but I am sure that will change.

    2. Style & Familiarity. Like SJ, FL offers insightful analysis that is well written. Unlike SJ, however, there are numerous authors. There’s a level of comfort and familiarity with your writing style and tone that I have not yet developed with these attorneys. This makes it a little more difficult to read when rushed or “riding the pine.” But, then again, as FL becomes part of our browsing habits I’m sure this will develop as well.

    3. Nitpicks. Where the website appears on my phone makes it a little difficult to navigate and isn’t exactly reader friendly. As I most likely to check the site during the day on my phone, this is a little bit of a turn off.

    I’m sure there are others with more insightful suggestions. That’s all I can really think of right now.

  6. John Barleycorn

    If you are going to stick with the glossy uptown formatting the least you guys could do is provide concierge service.

    For example all these glitzy photos should have a link to amazon where one can purchase the running shoes, personal massage device, or what-have-you featured in the above the posts photos.

    Or you could go out on a limb and change the post header photo/artwork concept entirely and go with a subtle Anarchists meet Girl Scouts that hangout at Starbucks theme that you change up depending on the post but always splash the photo/artwork with an old school zine frame that simultaneously makes the Millennials subconsciously want to erect tents in the park to smoke pot and hump in while at the same time making them feel uncomfortable as though they were late for something important.

    You do know that graphics are the gateway to world domination don’t you?

    So, the way I figure it….All you really have to do is figure out a way to rob some armored trucks to finance the cash needed to hire me to be your graphics consultant. Then all you and your authors have to do is keep on taking the time it takes to put forth content that strives to neatly disturb the mimesis mirrors and in no time at all you will turn Fault Lines into THE destination of those looking for the time space continuum stargate along the literal fault lines of law today.

    The formatting still has some technical issues that may not be obvious as well.

    For example, you can’t see who the author of a post is if you are reading the blog on an iPhone. This can be a good thing or a bad thing but sooner or later it is going to get someone reading on an iPhone in trouble in the comment section. Plus not everyone writes simply to maintain their blood sugar levels, like you, so it would be nice to see your full pitching rotation get credit for their innings pitched so the cheap seats can keep accurate box score while standing in the beer line reading on their iphone.

    Other than that you should consider throwing a party at your place and dose your fellow authors in the spirt of a team building exercise. Having all your authors take a trip around your neighborhood on your wanna be tractor while hallucinating will help them develop their inner snark as well as prepare them to deal with the comment section once you all become rockstar legal writing astronauts. If you can get your neighbors in on it and shell out some cash for them to wear costumes while messing with your authors it would pay for itself in spades latter on.

    But whatever you do don’t let your authors know what’s up until it’s too late for them to back out and don’t let your neighbors know that patches of their gardens might get mowed over.

    Not even cash will smooth over the aftermath of an author patch quilting a garden while hallucinating.

    Anyway, whatever you do, don’t forget that there has to be a way to communicate as well as educate the up and coming “mad legal minds” of America and the world. So keep on keeping on regardless of what tweaks are needed to get you more links in the twits posted on the twitter beams.

    But in the end if you are going to go there with graphics you must devote some energy to break on through the “uptown” motif while continuing to pound the beaches with worthy artillery content.

    Greatness will follow eventually…

  7. Colin Samuels

    It took me a while to read it more than sporadically (I usually just looked when SJ mentioned it), but the content has always been worth the trip. I added it to my reader and while at first I was looking just for the Fault Lines articles (the one-feed-for-everything was an annoyance at first), I’ve started to find other articles of interest. Overall a very worthwhile effort. Thanks to you and your co-writers for your thoughtful commentary!

  8. David Stretton

    The authors are well-informed and the articles are very well-written, but it’s a bit of a potpourri. I read SJ and other blawgs because I have a fair idea what I’m going to find there; not so much with FL. I’ve been reading it regularly so far, but unless it finds a distinctive voice or focus, I’ll probably just drift away.

  9. Mark Draughn

    It’s in my feed reader, and I glance at it during my daily scan. I tend to look for authors I like, and so far I haven’t yet found any authors there who hold my attention. In some ways this is related to the lack-of-focus issue, to the extent that authors tend to focus on certain topics. I’m hoping I’ll eventually start to recognize the patterns — Hey, it’s another forensic article by Bob Smith! Great! — and become a regular reader.

  10. Nigel Declan

    I like your posts and those of many of the authors on FL. The intellectual property posts seem highly out-of-place and awkward when attempting to read through the blog, the inadvertent arrow-key-post-switching is infuriating, and the overall format and aesthetics of the site undercut what seems like a site with a great deal of potential. I agree with David Stretton that it lacks a distinctive voice, such as the one SJ has developed, but whether that is due to sheer newness or a broader lack of direction is unclear to me at present.

  11. Richard G. Kopf

    SHG,

    Don’t change a thing regarding content. The writers are great. I love Ms. Taboo’s writing. It is especially good.

    I predict Fault Lines will grow. Keep at it. It is worth the effort.

    All the best.

    RGK

    PS I love the notices I get in the e-mail. I scan them quickly to find the articles I especially want to read.

    1. Thomas R. Griffith

      I predict Fault Lines will grow. Keep at it. It is worth the effort.

      Yes. Yes. Exactly what I was thinking all along. And, if I may add? I predict it’ll grow legs and end up being picked up by a network providing a 30 to 60 mins. cable / satellite slot complete with: live & phoned in interviews, appropriate advertisements while allowing comments & responses. Cs’ & Rs’ being transferred over to the site. It might start with a 3:00 AM Sunday testing and grow to a nightly. Of course this all depends on how F/L & Co. responds to those that dare to assume it’s stupid. As always, any & all negative crapola or discouragement begs for a polite GFY & Have a Good Day, mofos.
      *If & when request go out for subscribers to submit a topic, I call dibs on ‘Junk’-Pleas & The Un-Exoneratables.

      Thanks.

  12. Chris Ryan

    non-lawyer here so take the following in whatever manner floats your boat.

    I try to read it every day, obviously life gets in the way, and I will say its turning into one of my key reads for the day (after SJ, Hercules, TechDirt).

    My only comment, is that when this started, I guess I had the impression that there would be writers giving all sides (i believe the first SJ post on it said they would be challenging biases as well as each other). I understand that takes time, and the difficulty finding writers worth reading. So far the current writers do challenge some biases, but I havent seen much challenging each other.

    Overall its an excellent website. I personally find the perspectives provided to be informative without appearing to be overly academic (or worse preachy). I think that is important since its hard for non-lawyers to get good information to challenge our own perspectives, as the lawyer/non-lawyer crowds are not exactly known for mixing well (and heaven help us all if we have to rely on FoxNews and TMZ to get our law interpretations).

    Chris Ryan

    ps I have not taken time to figure out how to get the email the Judge Kopf, but owing to my schedule its not a big deal. I will take the time one of these days…maybe

  13. Neil Dunn

    I signed up and get SJ everyday. If that is happening with FLine, I have not figured how to receive it. I subscribe to a lot of sites so I don’t usually look up sites although I have Mimesis on my icon page. Just need to get it into the routine. When I have read FLine, everything is just fine. Thank you for your effort.

  14. Wrongway

    If I may..
    You always are very good at writing your articles on SJ.. they are thoroughly researched, all links are provided, & you kinda have this ‘Bobcat the Comedian’ thing going on how you apply the law.. maybe not in the courtroom, but here you can do it, .. & it works.. very well..
    but I have to admit, I read all the articles & links, to get to the ‘meat of the salad’..
    the comments or reactions to your post of the day.. from your readers, & your replies to them.. You & I have personally traded insults.. & yet here we are..
    what I’m trying to say is that ‘SJ’ has a character..

    but over at fault lines, there’s this generic ‘Look’ to it.. big picture, big headline, ok now put you glasses on cuz the text is really small.. I go and read every chance I get but it’s like every other site that I can click to on FB.. at the moment, it has no character..
    maybe a bit more interactions in the comment section from the authors.. hell start a fight with me telling me how stew-ped my reply was..
    get rid of the big pic & headline thingy.. make it more real to the person reading it.. write about your passions, but remember that these are people reading them.. & this ‘cookie cutter website’ crap is uninspiring to say the least..

    I love the articles, but not the website..

  15. John

    I read it frequently and have the page bookmarked. I have read 13 of the articles currently on the front page (so about 2/3rds of them). I like it for the same reason I like Simple Justice: it writes about technical subjects that should concern everyone in a way you don’t need technical training to understand. It has the perspective of many authors. I cannot see any theme in what I have chosen to read or not chosen to read. I do not have any suggestions to improve it.

  16. EH

    I read all the articles for a while and have since tapered off to reading it only rarely. It isn’t bad–the writing is excellent–but it doesn’t seem as cohesive as other sources, including both single author blogs like SJ and “group blogs” like Popehat. I always enjoy reading it, but rarely feel driven to do so.

  17. Dan Wild

    I suggest a drop-down menu featuring a list of authors. It is difficult for instance to find articles by Ron Kuby. Even your link in the second sentence of this article goes to RK’s website, and not his articles on Fault Lines.

    1. SHG Post author

      As of now, Kuby has a grand total of one guest post. Until he becomes a little more productive, he doesn’t get his own author list.

  18. JD

    I’ve visited twice I think. My not reading it doesn’t have anything to do with the quality but more so that my new job does not allow for the flexibilities that my last one did.

  19. Elizabeth Hammer

    I love to be made less stupid, so thank you for Fault Lines. I’ve enjoyed the majority of the articles I’ve read so far, Ken Womble’s in particular.

    My initial impression wasn’t great, but only because the article I chose to read first was difficult for me to understand. It was, “Sorry, SCOTUS Didn’t Say What You Wanted It to Say in Elonis.”

    There were a few key terms I’d never heard or don’t have mastery of, which was frustrating. For instance, I don’t know what the Model Penal Code is, when it’s used, or how it compares to “Common Law.” I could google, of course, but I trust the internet’s grasp of legal concepts even less than I trust my own.

    I would very much like to understand the issues involved in Elonis, but her article was geared toward those who already understand. Which is fine. I don’t mean at all to demand that every piece be directed at me, only to point out that it didn’t match what I was expecting. If you were serious about being “comprehensible to all,” then a few more lines of explanation, at times, might be appreciated by those of us who require smaller words. I realize what an annoying request this is, by the way. How can you know what I don’t know?

    However, this was the only piece that gave me trouble, and I thought Tamara Tabo’s other articles were wonderful. I absolutely love that there are people like you all who choose to spend so many hours writing things like this for the benefit of strangers. With all the trolls and jerks and snake oil salesmen out there, you all are the ones who keep the internet beautiful. Thanks.

  20. Not Jim Ardis

    I’ll be honest, I frequently forget to check it. Since you posted this, I’ve made sure to actually bookmark the landing page and it is rapidly becoming on of the blogs I open up when I sit down to do my morning harvest of the wiser parts of the internet.

    And I’m kicking myself for not having do so sooner. Great writing, and while not every topic is something that interests me, that is inevitable. There is certainly more I want to read about than there isn’t.

  21. DHMCarver

    I finally (a couple of weeks ago) added Fault Lines to my series of browser tabs that open when I go to the interwebs (SJ has been one of my opening tabs for years now), and I have found plenty of interesting reading. I have one suggestion — though I am not sure how practical it is to implement intentionally, and it might end up being something that develops organically over time. It would be interesting to see some dialogue between contributors about issues, different takes on the same incident or statute or policy debate. (Perhaps this has been occurring and I have simply not read thoroughly enough.) I find I learn a great deal when people who know far more about a subject than I debate with each other, or even when they reinforce each other’s views.

    Keep up the good work!

  22. Not Jim Ardis

    It would be interesting to see some dialogue between contributors about issues

    Indeed, I’m sure our benevolent host would have very interesting things to say about the Segura case in FL.

    1. SHG Post author

      I’m betting this is in reply to something, but somebody neglected to hit the reply button. Amirite, Mort?

      1. Not Jim Ardis

        I swear I meant to. I was sure I hit the reply button.

        I’m never gonna live that nickname down at this rate…

  23. se

    The mobile version is clunky. When you try to open article in new tab, it opens in both new tab and old one. It was annoying me a lot, I usually open many articles in tabs and only then read them.

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