Don’t tell anyone, but there is way too much cool stuff stashed in the Mixx categories. At least that’s what our resident news junkies tell us—something about forgetting to check the news until it was no longer, well, news. We admit that we were …

Sorry for the multi comment posting before, i had an error and wanted to correct it and i tried to stop the page but it was submitted. also sorry for earlier typos.

Andrew can you explain how a press release is sprinkled with anthrax?
and do you work with techcrunch?

Paul’s Soapbox is a regular feature of TechConsumer where I sound off on various tech topics/products that I’m interested in (or hate). This is just my $.02, so consider yourself warned. This week’s subjects? Vista, Mario, and Kevin …

I think its only a matter of time before the original early adopters jump ship if they have not already gone.

Mixx is so unlike other social news sites that I can’t believe it. Not because of their features (though the features are great), but because of the folks behind Mixx.

They participate on the user-created forum. They appear on the fan podcast. They answer emails and feedback, and get this: They actually listen to what we say and incorporate it into the site!

There is hardly a week that goes by without them tweaking their site based on user feedback. Not all are worthy of a post or considered a new feature. Some are as small as changing the way mixx mail works or making it easier to only get the email notifications you want.

But I realize that does nothing to allay people’s fears about the “Super Mixxers” mucking everything up. I know people are worried about voting rings and coalitions to front page their stories. I know people wonder if the people wearing the “Super Mixxer” badge really deserve it. I think I can address those issues.

The staff at Mixx doesn’t just base their SM designation on folks with high “karma” or popularity. It’s not even slanted towards people who submit more than others. It’s a combination of many factors. Most importantly, the mixx staff review the comments, feedback and output of the people they want to give the SM status to. They consider the person’s overall value. Meaning, they don’t award it based on certain parts of a user’s history; they consider the user’s contribution as a whole. Or so it has been explained to me.

Look at me, for example. I’m not a top submitter. I have a decent amount of karma, but am in no way near the top. I don’t care if my stories hit the front page at all. I joined mixx to find interesting articles, find some interesting people and share stories I thought people would enjoy. People could offer me a lot of money to use my limited powers for voting rings or such, but it would be a waste of effort on their part.

I can’t speak for all Super Mixxers, just myself, but I can say this: Every person I’ve seen with a SM badge has proven themselves to be decent, thoughtful user. Users who participate on the user forum, submit feedback to the staff and share their responses with the community, leave thoughtful comments on articles they like and consistently submit great stuff. I’ve interacted with them enough to feel confident that they would also not abuse this SM status.

Will is always be that way? I can’t say. No one can predict such things. But the staff at mixx has yet to disappoint me, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. If I were a betting man, I wouldn’t bet against them.