Some of you may have noticed your fellow Open members -- and their Open posts -- popping up with increasing frequency on Salon. This is part of a new initiative to regularly tap into our Open talent pool to make Salon a more vibrant, expansive site. The purpose of Open Salon was to provide a platform for our audience -- which we've always boasted was the best in the world. Now we're taking the next logical step; elevating your content onto Salon, and helping make Salon a vaster, smarter, more powerful brain trust than ever before.

Judy, our Open editor, and the other editors of Salon, will be reaching out to you if you've got a post we think would work well on Salon. We'll always ask for your permission first before publishing your post on Salon --  we'll contact you through the Open Salon message system -- and, obviously, you always have the right to keep your post on Open, and only on Open. When we do post your piece to Salon, we'll offer a prominent link back to your blog, to help build your Open audience.

Don't wait for us to reach out, though. If you've got a post you think is a good fit for any of Salon's sections, and think you would like to cross-post, check out our masthead and hit up the appropriate editor.

If you're interested in having a post considered, though, here are some ver basic guidelines of what we're looking for:

Clean copy: Posts with typos, punctuation errors, or anything that requires a heavy editor's hand won't be used. (I should note: This is not a problem for many Open writers, who are sharp and exacting!)

Fast, original takes: Salon's a news site, and we're always looking for sharp, original thinking or information on breaking events or news that matter to our readership.

Well-sourced stories: If you're blogging about something you've read elsewhere, link to it. If you're making a factual assertion that could be questioned later, find the appropriate source and link to it.

Context: For personal narratives, include  necessary background; while our blog fans might know your story, new readers won't. For commentary, unless you're writing on a topic that has dominated the news, make sure to summarize the issue or event you're discussing before launching your argument.

Reliability:  I've read some of you for so long now that if you told me pigs could fly I'd immediately run out and buy a bigger umbrella. We will regularly look to bloggers who prove reliable over time, and reputable in the eyes of Open memebers.

Second, quick answers to some of your possible questions:

Will you ever pay for this?
There may be instances -- say, essay contests -- when there will be payment for having your Open post appear on Salon. But generally: No, there will be no payment. We start each Salon post with a link back to your Open blog; hopefully this helps promote your blog, which you can use to generate some money through Adsense, if you've set that up.

We are exploring different revenue-sharing models for the future; we have not, frankly, found one that would be easy enough for us to implement and worth your while, but we remain on the hunt.

Do I retain the rights to my content?

Yes. You retain the exact rights you have under our Terms and Conditions. You keep the rights -- we also retain some rights for use on Salon. Please re-read the Terms if you're at all unclear.

Will I get to OK any changes to my post before it goes up?

Yes. We'll clear any substantive changes we make to your posts before publishing on Salon.

Can I OK the display copy (headlines, deck) that goes with my post?

Probably not. Those often have size (and style) limitations. But we're more apt to just use your own headline if you conform to one simple rule: Keep it clear -- and as short as possible.