Help Center

A practical guide for readers and writers on The Manslaughter. This page matches how the site works right now.

This guide only covers what readers and writers use. It skips admin tools and gives direct, step-by-step instructions.

Quick Start

If you are new and want the fastest path to useful results, use this sequence:

1. Browse stories on Home (desktop) or Feed (phone view).
2. Open a story and test the action row: Comment, Story Update, Share, Like, Follow.
3. Create an account (or log in) when prompted.
4. If writing, open the editor and build a draft first.
5. Publish only after your checklist passes (headline, summary, category, and image-or-body rule).

How The Site Is Organized

The same content appears in multiple experiences:

• Desktop pages: front page and category pages (Politics, Sports, Business, Tech, Science, Culture, Oh, Wait, Merch).
• Article pages: full story view with story evolution, comments, and share features.
• Feed: phone-style story stream with buttons at the bottom of each story.
• Editor: where you write, save drafts, publish, use AI tools, and link follow-up stories.

The section you are currently on is shown in red so you always know where you are.

Sign Up, Log In, and Password Reset

Sign Up (Email)

1. Open auth from any prompt or account action.
2. Choose Create account.
3. Enter email + password + password confirmation.
4. Accept Terms/Privacy/Standards.
5. Enter the 6-digit verification code from email.
6. If prompted, choose a unique username to finish onboarding.

Sign Up / Log In (Google)

1. Click Continue with Google in login or signup view.
2. Choose account in Google prompt.
3. If your account still needs a username, you will be asked to set one before continuing.

Log In

1. Use Email Address (or Username) + password.
2. If login was triggered by an action, the app returns you to where you were after successful auth.

Forgot Password

1. Open Forgot? from login.
2. Enter email address (not username).
3. Request reset code, then enter code + new password in reset view.

Profile and Session Behavior

Your account identity is used across comments, follows, likes, and writing attribution.

• Profile updates include avatar, bio, location, phone, and email from account page.
• MY ARTICLES opens your authored list on desktop pages.
• ACCOUNT opens your account page.
• If you are logged out, a login prompt may appear after a short delay.

Reading on Desktop

Desktop pages show stories in three columns, with topic links across the top.

What You’ll See

• A row of section links at the top (Front Page, Politics, Sports, etc.). The page you’re on is shown in red.
• Stories arranged in three columns.
• Sponsored image ads placed between stories.

What the Badges Mean

• DRAFT: saved, not fully live as a normal published story.
• TRUE STORY: a published article in the Oh, Wait category.

Reading in Feed (Mobile)

Feed is the phone-friendly way to browse stories. You scroll through one story at a time and use the button row under each story.

What the Buttons Do

• Profile: opens your profile panel.
• Comment: opens the comments panel for that story.
• Story Update: opens the editor so you can write a follow-up.
• Create: opens the editor for a new story.
• Share: opens sharing options.
• Like: likes or unlikes the story.

Login Prompts in Feed

• If you tap a logged-in action while signed out, login/signup opens first.
• If you stay signed out, the prompt can appear again after a short delay.

Comments

Comments are where readers react, argue, and add their take on a story.

How Threading Works

• The first comment starts a thread.
• Replies appear directly under the comment they answer.
• Replies are shown by default when the page loads.
• You can collapse or reopen replies using the Show/Hide replies control.

Comment Actions

• Post Comment: add a new top-level comment.
• Reply: respond to a specific comment.
• Like: react to a comment with a heart.
• Report: flag a comment for review.

Story Updates (Reader View)

When related stories are linked together, you’ll see a Story Updates row above comments.

• Each tile is another article in the same story chain.
• The article you are currently reading is highlighted.
• Tap or click any tile to jump to that related story.
• The row label reads Sorted by Date.

Share Menu and Reporting

The Share menu gives you everything in one place: export, link sharing, social posting, and issue reporting.

Current Share Menu Items

• Share (first row): opens the square image post builder.
• Messages: opens text-message sharing.
• Email: opens email sharing.
• Copy Link: copies the article URL.
• Copy Story ID: copies Story ID when available.
• Share (X row): opens X sharing.
• Facebook: opens Facebook sharing.
• Report Issue: sends a moderation flag.

Report Issue

• You must be logged in.
• You’ll get a confirmation prompt first.
• After confirming, the report is submitted for moderation review.

Editor Overview

The editor is built for writing fast, revising, and publishing when you are ready.

• You can fill headline, summary, body text, location, date, caption, and categories.
• You can publish with an image, with body copy, or with both.
• After save/publish, you’ll see a success panel with your next actions.

Useful Field Behavior

• A headline is required before any save.
• Do not paste images directly into body text; use upload controls.
• Anything AI generates can be edited manually before saving.

Draft vs Publish Rules

Draft Save Requires

• Headline only.

Publish Requires

• Headline.
• Summary.
• At least one category tag.
• At least one of these two: main image or article body copy.

Save Safety Blocks

• If body text contains pasted temporary image data (blob: or data:image), save is blocked.
• If the original body fails to load in edit mode, save is blocked to prevent accidental overwrite.

AI Tools

AI tools help you move faster, but you should still review and edit before publishing.

What Each Tool Does

• Suggest Story: writes a first draft from your headline and story details.
• Refine: rewrites your current body using your instruction.
• Suggest Summary: drafts a summary.
• Suggest Caption: drafts a photo caption.
• Suggest Location: suggests a best-guess CITY, ST.

Location Suggestion Behavior

• The suggestion is formatted as uppercase CITY, ST.
• If the result is unusable, your current location is left unchanged.
• If confidence is low, you’ll be asked before applying it.

Story ID Linking

Use Story ID when your article is a direct follow-up to an earlier story.

How to Link

1. Copy a Story ID from an article’s Share menu.
2. In the editor, turn on Story ID mode and paste an ID like ART_1234567890123.
3. Save/publish.

Validation

• If Story ID mode is on and the field is empty, save is blocked.
• If the ID format is invalid, save is blocked.

How to Unlink

1. Turn Story ID mode off.
2. Clear the value.
3. Save/publish.

After Save / Publish

After save or publish succeeds, a success panel appears.

• Open Article: opens the live article page.
• Home Page: returns you to the homepage.

Back behavior can vary slightly depending on where you came from (desktop, feed, or direct link).

Troubleshooting (Common Fixes)

I cannot reset my password with username

• Use your email address in the reset form.
• Username-only reset is not supported.

Publish fails but I filled most fields

• Make sure at least one category is selected.
• Make sure summary is filled in.
• Make sure you have either a main image or body text.

Save is blocked with image paste warning

• Delete pasted temporary image content from the body.
• Upload images using the editor upload controls.

Story Update chain not visible on article

• Check Story ID format and save again.
• Re-open the article after save to load the latest chain.

Share menu is missing Copy Story ID

• That option appears only when that page has the article ID available.
• Refresh the article and open Share again.

Auth prompt keeps reappearing while logged out

• This is expected while browsing as a guest.
• Once you log in, the repeat prompt stops.

FAQ

Can I publish without an image?

Yes. Publish succeeds if body copy is present and other required fields are complete.

Can I publish with image but no body text?

Yes, as long as headline, summary, and category requirements are met.

Is location still auto-overwriting account location on publish?

No. The old update-on-publish location prompt was removed.

Can I still use username to log in?

Yes. Login accepts email or username. Password reset requires email.

How do I start a Story Update quickly?

From an article or feed story, tap Story Update, then finish Story ID linking in the editor.

Do comments start collapsed?

No. Replies are open by default, and readers can hide them with Show/Hide replies.