How to Use the Assignment Desk

Assignments are organized into over 70 "topics" (these range from "collaborative visual arts" to "open source political parties."). You can find these topics either by using the Assignment Desk search tool or browsing the list on our home page just underneath the blog -- where we broke them down into what part of the story they are helping us fill in.

Clicking on the "topic home page" link at the bottom takes you to the home page for that topic, where you can learn what needs to be done, find the editor overseeing the work, and join the team that's doing it. You can join as many teams as you want. Once you are registered and part of the team you can file reporting.

There are two types of assignments. Crowd assignments are signified by a group of people. Single person assignments are signified by a single person icon. You can report on a crowd question right away. Just click on the assignment and go to "report here." Everything is useful, resubmitting your blog content, personal stories, thoughts and quotes.

If you want to do a single person assignment, first you have to apply. Click the assignment and fill out the form on "apply here." Once the assignment is spoken for, a person's avatar will replace the single person icon.

There are plenty of single person assignments and if you haven't found one that's right for you, feel free to contact the editors.