There are parasites on Diaryland.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, parasitic forms invade any system.

That's parasite, as in "someone who is dependent upon someone else for support without making a useful or adequate return."

In this case, I'm talking about diarists who join a diaryring to get attention shifted to their site, but then fail to provide the links to allow surfers to move on within the ring.

It's a ring folks. That means it is supposed to be continuous, with no closed segments. No dead ends.

I'm quite familiar with parasites, both professionally and personally. I don't hate them. They're just being what they are. But if I find one, I pick it off.

My "unquoted" diaryring has been getting more attention lately. So far I've kept up and visited each and every one of the 60+ diaries that have joined. Lot of good stuff there, probably a reasonable sampling of what Diaryland has to offer. Not all of it is my cup of tea, but it is all unquoted. Only kicked off one so far, which didn't qualify under the single existing rule. But there's a couple others I'm not happy about. Ones that simply provide a link to an outside site. Or diaries that are locked. I'll agree these are certainly "unquoted", but they kind of close the ring (and piss me off).

I can understand the motivation of the "diarist" that simply gives a link to their non-Diaryland site. Just hijacking Andrew's hospitality to direct web traffic their way. Parasitic, but understandable. But can anyone explain to me why someone with a locked diary would even want to be in a ring? Just to count the hits on their sitemeter? To get people to beg for the password to satisfy their ego? Anyone? Please explain?

Humans are not logical.

(But there's an idea for another ring... the "locked" ring! Only locked diaries need apply. Somebody else with a locked diary take that idea and run with it.)

Before this "unquoted" ring gets too large to keep track of and the parasites get out of hand, I figure I'd better expand the rules somewhat. I've looked at Mocksie's, Vlamidala's and Alindala's rules for their rings, and have decided to plagiarize some of their ideas.

The first rule will stay as it is, although it may be reworded. Your diary just can't have been quoted on Quoted.

Second, the diary has to begin with a readable diary page. The first page. The 'index.html' page. No page that just consists of links to other sites, no passwords, just straight to the meat. "Readable" includes that the diary has to load. If your fancy javascript or outside .nu images lock up my near-antique Netscape 4.5, we will have to have a discussion. And don't you dare try to put a pop-up window on it. Despicable.

Third, the ring links have to be there. I haven't bothered messing with Andrew's default ring links, but members can redesign them to their heart's content to match their page, so long as the standard previous, next, random, list and home links are there. I'm not concerned about the Diaryland link, since I'm sure it will be on the diary somewhere. I understand the desire to not clutter a diary with ring links, but the link must be no more than one click away from the diary index page itself. I figure 2-3 days should be a reasonable time to add the links (most folks have them on before I get to their diary).

Unlike many other ringmasters, I am not concerned about diaries that use Diaryland templates. I enjoy a well designed page, but I'm here for your words, not your html skills. I have a couple diaries I read regularly that haven't messed with Andrew's html, and it doesn't bother me. Those of you who skip over template diaries are missing something.

I also was worried about having the ring fill up with dead diaries. But how does one define dead? Are someone's words no longer relevant or interesting if they only write once a month? (Ooooo, a PMS diaryring! Another idea for a ring I'm not qualified to run.) Or two or three times a year? Seasonally? For now, I'll leave that criterion out. But if it gets stale enough to stink, I may remove it. (Of course there's a bobcat head (skull with flesh and fur still attached) that's been sitting and decomposing on our spool for over five years, so you know it takes a while for my sense of smell to be offended.)

I like the criterion that the diary not be hateful, as in racist, bigoted or homophobic. I cannot justify that from a "free speech on the internet" point of view, but so what. I don't like them, and will not link or ring with them.

And on the reverse side of the coin, no fan pages. This is a Diaryring. That implies the content will be a diary.

That's it for now. I reserve the right to make further rules if necessary to ward off parasites, and the right to ignore the existing rules if I find the bloodsucker to be cute or of redeeming value.