Welcome To The New Deadspin

Hi. The place looks different, doesn't it? The sofa's over there now, where the Fillmore West '69 poster used to be. We tossed the Yaffa blocks and the lava lamp, and we managed to sell Magary's old futon on Craigslist, even though the mattress was starting to look like the Shroud of Turin. You like the credenza? Yeah, it's teak.

Welcome to our new big-boy digs. It's your new home, too. Have a look around. We call it Kinja.

You seem a little puzzled. Any questions?

Yeah. What's the poi—

Wait, first, let me say that Kinja 1.0 is about a lot more than just aesthetics. Deadspin now lives on a publishing platform that's open to everyone—yes, everyone, even people who like the Red Sox.

—nt of all this?

The basic idea is to break down the wall between readers and writers. You now have all the same tools at your disposal that we have at ours. You are us. We are you.

What does that mean?

For one thing, you can start your own Kinja blog, hosted on whateverthehellyouwant.kinja.com, where you can finally post all that Bill James-Nate Silver slash fiction you've stashed away on your laptop. (Commenters: A personal Kinja linked to your account will also automatically record all the comments you make here or on other Gawker sites.) Here's one example. Here's another. Want to start a blog devoted exclusively to the Oakland A's? Have at it. Want to write about Javale McGee and nothing but Javale McGee? Do it. Want a place to post nothing but derpy screengrabs of Roger Goodell, captured mid-blink? Well, Deadspin already exists, but you could try it, too.

Your blog will look like any other in the Kinjaverse, including ours. As I say, you'll have access to all the same tools, which include fun new toys like image annotation (more on which later). Any Kinja user can follow you. With the push of a button, you can republish stories from our site; we'll likewise be able to republish stories from yours. Some of you may have some (justifiable) proprietary concerns about this arrangement. Don't worry: You'll get the byline, the credit, and the traffic.

Who cares about all that stuff? I'm no blogger. What does Kinja mean for me, the average Deadspin reader?

Commenting is different, though not dramatically so. The system is more personalized now—you can "star" stories and comments, and also "follow" anyone in the system, including the Deadspin staff. We've added image annotation, which will allow you to comment directly on the photos at the top of a post. (Here's a good example from Jalopnik.) We're also taking measures to weed out some of the spammy and moronic awfulness that has overtaken us of late.

Who do I yell at if I have a problem?

Open a ticket with our help desk. If you have Deadspin-specific concerns, feel free to bother me: [email protected]. You may want to consult our general FAQ first. Keep in mind, too, that Kinja is still a work in progress. We'll be rolling out improvements in the coming weeks.