Articles FAQs

A look at some frequently asked questions about the Articles on Experts Exchange.

Do Experts Exchange Articles undergo a formal editorial process?

Yes, unlike many user-generated content sites, all of Experts Exchange's Articles undergo a formal editorial/review process by Page Editors who know the zones as well as anyone in the business.

Before being published and promoted on the site, Articles are thoroughly edited for grammar/punctuation, technical accuracy and must adhere to EE's Article Guidelines.

Unverified Articles are typically approved for publishing within 48 hours of submission, although the publishing process may take longer for Articles that need considerable edits.

Articles are not promoted on Experts Exchange until they have been manually approved by a Page Editor, and multiple Page Editors must sign off on an Article before it earns EE Approved or Editor's Choice recognition.


Who are the authors?

While many of the top Experts and authors in the Experts Exchange community know one another well, new and non-members may not know who Mestha or angelIII are.

That's where the About the Author section comes into play. This is where authors should include a short bio about themselves and may link to a portfolio or company site. This not only lets the community know more about the author, but adds to the author's credibility and while allowing them an opportunity to promote themselves and their off-site efforts.


Who owns the rights to my Article?

Authors retain the rights to their content, but by publishing on Experts Exchange, the author grants Experts-Exchange.com a royalty-free license to publish the content. For additional details, please see the Content License of the Member Agreement.

How does the points breakdown work for articles?

  - Publish article: 500 points, pending editor review
  - Community pick: 500 points, determined by editor or 10 net helpful votes
  - Helpful votes: 50 points for every Yes "This article was helpful" vote
  - EE Approved: 4,000 points
  - Editor's Choice: 5,000 points
  - An Article used in a solution earns the question point value minus the multiplier

Who edits the articles and awards points?

Experts Exchange has appointed Page Editors to oversee content in their areas of expertise. Portions of the points and publishing process are also automated. Page Editors have the ability to edit articles, award points and also contact authors about changes that need to be made to their article.


What should I do if I find something wrong with an article?

General comments that do not require admin attention, can be made in the comments section below an article. If an article requires additional assistance, or violates EE's member agreement, guidelines or contribution agreement, use the Request Attention on the Article page.


How long does my article have to be?

In most cases, an article should be 300 words or longer to be considered for points.


What topics should I write about?

Users should focus their articles on IT and tech-related ideas. Remember, Experts Exchange is a solutions site, so articles geared toward resolving tech problems are encouraged. Objective reviews on software and hardware are also welcome.

Here are the types of articles you can write on EE:
  - General
  - FAQs
  - Tips/tricks
  - Tutorial
  - Review
  - Resource
  - Best practices


What are the reasons an article may be deleted from the site?

  - Explicit, defamatory or malicious content
  - Libelous content or statements that violate third party rights
  - Content that outlines illegal, unethical activities
  - Spamming, flaming, soliciting, promoting, advertising for commercial purpose
  - Plagiarism, posting copyrighted content
  - Clear misuse of the EE points system
  - Content that has considerable errors, information that is intentionally false or misleading

What types of images can I use with my Article?

Because there are so many licensing and fair-use issues out there, stick to photos you took yourself, product images or logos (used with permission), or images from royalty free or creative commons sites (and credit the source/owner just to be safe).