I can't believe you clicked on such a clickbait title! I'm so ashamed of you! But since you're here, I'd like to talk to you about joining the article team.

A member recently pointed out that he finally figured out what the "article team" tag meant next to my user name. It occurs to me that other people might not know either.

If you are like most users here, you probably just click on "new posts" multiple times a day, and then view the threads that catch your eye. However, if you go directly to the Shave Den's homepage, you'll see a couple of threads right at the top. These are the forum's equivalent of 'headline news.' These are 'Articles.'

Sometimes they are basically TSD public service announcements, like the secret santa thread, or a forum support raffle thread. These are posted by @Queen of Blades or other members of TSD.

As far as I know, I am the sole remaining member, active or otherwise, left on the actual article team, which wasn't all that big to begin with.

Something I bring up about once a decade... The article team is always looking for new members. It's not an "exclusive club." If you write reasonably well, can talk about interesting stuff, and can put out an article every six months or so, feel free to join. Send applications to @Queen of Blades via private message, and she will pass them on to @sparky5693 . Sparky is the forum's IT guy and only pops in if there's a problem, which is why it's best to go through Queenie first.

Sparky posted this as a sticky in the article team section of the forum:

"What we want

"While we're certainly looking for shaving related topics, feel free to "pepper" in some other items if you desire. Some things that come to mind are clothing, life stories, current events, product reviews, interviews with manufacturers, etc. Keep everything family friendly.

What we don't want

We'd like to stay away from controversy, politics, etc. We want this to be fun for our members, and we certainly aren't looking to offend anyone.

Please avoid vendors who are not approved at TSD* (vendors altogether might be a good idea). Vendors actively posting in the vendor's corner section are likely approved, but if you need to know a vendors status, before writing an article just ask. While I want you to feel free, I hope you understand why there are a few limitations."

He also posted:

"Welcome aboard. I'd like to start by saying thank you. I think this project will become a really great addition to the forum, and hopefully it will be fun for you as well.

This forum section is only viewable to article team members and myself.

A little about myself:

Most forums have several administrators, but here at TSD there's just myself. I stay pretty busy keeping the wheels on the ride so to speak. It's my job to oversee the moderators, and maintain the hardware/software that we use here. I stay pretty busy, so I don't make it to the public forums as much as some of the other staff members, but i'm always active in the background. If you need me for something or have a question, don't hesitate to ask.

There's way more politics involved in being a moderator/administrator than you would think, and that "grind" is not the best place to start a project based on creativity. This section is only viewable by myself, and the article team (even the mods are blocked out). Looking at this from the inside, you might have the most pleasurable job around here, and honestly i'm pretty envious."

When I joined the article team, it was via invite only, and I cannot remember if the invite came from forum mods or directly from article team members. It's been a few years since anyone joined the article team, so I figured I would put out a general invite to all and sundry.

In case you are wondering what happened to previous article team members... Many of them became mods here. Others have gradually withdrawn from regular forum life.

Writing articles for The Shave Den gives you access to a private area of the forum. That's the only perk. Well that, and you get to become a wet shaving industry (or at least our little corner) "influencer," for whatever that is worth.

If I ever find out that a member of the article team is taking money to promote a shaving product or any other product in their articles, I will do my best to get you permantly banned for unethical behavior.


Have a great day, and think about joining me, and while you're at it, do try to forgive me for my clickbait title.

Feel free to post responses here or even memes. The more posts, the better bait this thread will be.

Come on guys, team effort!

No politics...
No bad mouthing vendors...

Hypothetical example of something I can't say:

"I don't like PAA because the owner is unethical."

Hypothetical example of something I can say:

A while back, the owner of HTGAM/PPF (which later became PAA) was involved in numerous scandals, including mislabeling soap ingredients to make them appear more "natural," posting interviews without disclosing that he was both the interviewer and interviewee, and using his company email to leave fake five star reviews for his products. After the scandal, he buried HTGAM/PPF (How to grow a moustache/Petal pusher fancies) and rebooted the franchise as Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements, which gave him a clean slate and a free pass from the wet shaving community. To be fair, he appears to have kept his nose clean with PAA, and he has created some wonderful shaving tools for the wet shaving community. Does it excuse what he has done in the past? I'll leave that to your individual conscience. Here's the link or those who want to learn more about the "scandal."
https://www.reddit.com/r/wicked_edg...amp&utm_medium=&utm_content=comments_view_all

I essentially said the same thing in each example, but the first one is a personal attack and would be removed by a moderator, whereas the second one is informational, has links and evidence to back up said information, and is not an attack.

Like many things, it's not what you say, it's how you say it, and where you say it.

Edit: I would never do an article on unethical shave vendors. While it would be an interesting and informative read, it would reflect badly on TSD as a whole and would needlessly antagonize the vendors. While I don't give a rat's *** if I irritate a vendor, I do care about having a vendor hating an entire forum because of something I posted as a representative of the forum.

Just a reminder, articles do not have to be wet shaving related. You can do an article on fly tying, or roller skating. You can even pick an obscure razor, research the history of the company and talk about that.

My wheelhouse is 1920's and 30's non-Gillette DE razors. I also have a fairly comprehensive knowledge of Gillette razors.

By virtue of writing an article on shavettes that is a top result on google, some people probably think I'm an expert on those. The truth is, I shave with shavettes and straight razors maybe 5 times a year. I get a good shave, and I don't cut myself, but I prefer to use DE razors.

I just enjoy researching stuff. I get a curiosity bug and I have to follow that trail to the end. Sometimes it results in an article.

Debbie's husband had no idea the The J-hook was going to change the way he shaved when she got up that morning...

What? You think this is some kind of Buzzfeed article?

2. The Gillette Slide.
3. Don't use Bluebird blades.
4. There is no such thing as too much lather.
5. Blade buffing.