Frequently Asked Questions

Regator is a tool that helps you easily find, read, and share high-quality blog posts about things that interest you. It is available on the web at regator.com and via Regator for iPhone and Regator Premium for iPhone.

What makes Regator different?

Rather than automatically fetching every blog under the sun, Regator uses qualified human editors to carefully select only the most relevant, useful, well-written blogs in each of our 500+ Topics. That means you won’t have to deal with the spammy, poorly written, or irrelevant posts that clutter up many other sites.

What’s a blog anyway?

Blogs (originally called “web logs”) are websites where bloggers (writers or other individuals who maintain blogs) create posts (entries or articles). Posts may consist of commentary, information, links, images and/or elements such as video and audio. The posts on a blog are usually displayed in reverse chronological order (newest on top) and often focus on a particular topic—though some blogs also act as a more personal online diary. The vast majority of blogs allow readers to share their comments about each post.

What sorts of things can I do at Regator.com?

Regator’s aim is to help you find and interact with great blog posts. To do this, you can:

Browse: Choose from more than 500 topics then sort posts by most popular, newest, or those with audio or video.
View trends: See real-time lists of the things bloggers in any topic are covering on every page on the Browse tab or visit the Trends tab to graph and compare trends for any term.
Monitor keywords: Keep an eye on what bloggers are saying about your specific interests (say, your company, favorite band, or local sports team) using the Monitor.
Save your favorites: Head to the Favorites tab to get easy access to posts from all your Favorite Blogs and Topics as well as individual posts you have saved.
Search: Find information about almost anything in Regator’s archive of more than 5 million high-quality blog posts.
Share: Share any post with friends via Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, or email.
Find related content: Related Searches and Related Posts are an easy way to learn more.
Enjoy audio and video: Easily watch videos and listen to audio from blog posts without leaving Regator.

What can I do with the Regator iPhone apps?

Regator Premium for iPhone automatically syncs with Regator.com and does everything listed above with the exception of graphing/comparing trends (you can still view real-time trends for each topic) and sharing via Delicious.

The lite/free version of Regator for iPhone allows for searching, browsing, and Blog Trends but does not feature any of Regator’s personalized features (saving favorites, monitoring keywords, etc.).

How often is Regator updated?

Continuously! Choosing the “New” tab will show you up-to-the-minute posts. Depending on the time of day and day of the week, there may be dozens of new posts within the span of 60 seconds.

What’s with the conservative/liberal bias?

Our U.S. users have accused Regator of having a liberal bias and a conservative bias—sometimes on the same day. Neither is true. Rest assured that, because of the sensitivity to this issue and frequency of this question, our editors very closely monitor the percentage of content coming from political blogs in order to ensure balance. Because some bloggers are more prolific than others, balancing the content may or may not mean having the same number of blogs in each topic. At the time of this writing, Regator had one more blog categorized as liberal than conservative but the percentage of political content coming from those categories in recent days is 28.3% (liberal) and 29.7% (conservative). Balance is a priority for us.

I’m offended by something I saw on Regator! What kind of site is this?

The kind of site that brings together reporting, commentary, and opinion from across the blogosphere. We aggregate the best blogs we can find—no matter which side of the argument they’re on—with the goal of providing interesting, current, well-written posts for people of all backgrounds. We certainly don’t endorse or agree with everything on Regator. Neither will you. Keep an open mind, or feel free to select only topics, keywords, and blogs that you know are consistent with your beliefs.

FINDING POSTS

What’s the easiest way to find posts I’ll enjoy on Regator?

Use Regator’s Setup Wizard to quickly and easily set up your Favorite Blogs, Favorite Topics and Blog Monitor—all of which help you find posts you’ll love. Once you’ve done that, you’ll find high-quality posts on the things you enjoy each time you visit Regator.

I want to find posts on the band Tool but not hammers or the food apple but not the company. How can I do that?

It’s simple, when you do a search, you’ll see lots of ways to refine your search in the right-hand column. Simply click a Topic (Entertainment/Music for Tool the band or Lifestyle/Food & Drink for apple the food) to get the results you want. You can also filter your results by date or by posts with audio or video.

What can I do from the Browse tab?

Choose from more than 500 Topics then sort posts by most popular, newest, or those with audio or video. Select a top-level topic from the green bar then get more specific if you’d like (e.g., select “Entertainment” then “Music” then “Indie” to see posts on indie music). Every time you choose a new topic, the Blog Trends list on the right side of the page will show the terms that bloggers in that niche are writing about most right now.

TRENDS

What can I do from the Trends tab?

Graph how much any term is being written about and compare it with other terms. Type up to three terms in the boxes below the graph to compare them, or click on any trend on the Blog Trends list to see a graph of that term (use the drop-down menu on the Blog Trends list to see Blog Trends for specific Topics). Spikes are labeled with letters corresponding to a list of posts that’ll show you what caused the peaks.

What are Blog Trends?

Found on the right side of the page, the Blog Trends lists are lists of the twenty people, places, and things that bloggers are writing about most right now. Click any term to see posts about it. There is a Blog Trends list for each of Regator’s Topics.

BLOG MONITOR

What can I do from the Monitor tab?

The Blog Monitor gives you a fast, easy way to find posts on your specific interests. You’ll never miss another post on your company, fave television show, sports team, or favorite musician again.

How do I set up my Blog Monitor?

You can either use the Setup Wizard or go to the Monitor tab and enter Keywords you’d like to keep an eye on. Think of your Keywords as saved searches. In other words, be specific: Entering Keywords such as “Large Hadron Collider,” “Brad Pitt,” or “Coca-Cola” will give you better results than “science,” “movies,” and “business.” Regator will show you every post mentioning the words or phrases you enter—even if the blog isn’t in your favorites list. (If you only want us to check certain Topics, we can do that too.)

FAVORITES

What can I do from the Favorites tab?

View posts from your Favorite Blogs, posts about your Favorite Topics, and see posts you have saved to your Favorite Posts. Your list of favorites is displayed in the right-hand column. Click a specific blog, topic, or post to view them individually or view them all together. If you’ve set up folders to organize your favorites, you can also view posts by folder.

How do I save blogs to my Favorite Blogs?

We’ve made it easy by giving you a few different ways/places to do this:

If you’re logged in, you’ll see this button: on every post. Just click it to add that blog to your favorites.
On every Post Profile and Blog Profile, you’ll find an orange button that says “Favorite This Blog.” If you’re logged in, simply click the button.
Go to your Favorite Blogs tab and type a blog into the green box that says “Find a Blog to Favorite.”
As you browse by topic, visit the Blog List tab to see the blogs in that Topic. If you’re logged in, you’ll find this button: next to the name of each blog. Click it to add that blog to your favorites.

I like a particular post, but I’m not sure whether I want to add the blog to my Favorite Blogs. How do I learn more?

Every blog on Regator has a Blog Profile. Get to it by clicking on the name of the blog (located under every post’s title). The Blog Profile shows you that blog’s average number of posts per week, Topic classification, Regator achievements, archive of posts, related blogs, and more. If you like what you see, you can easily add the blog to your favorites without leaving the Blog Profile.

How do I save topics to my Favorite Topics?

There are two ways to do this:

If you’re logged in while browsing by topic, you’ll see the button next to the name of the Topic. Click it to add that topic to your Favorite Topics.
Go to your Favorite Topics tab and click on the large green box that says “Add Favorite Topic.” You’ll be taken to a directory of Topics, where you can simply click those you’re interested in.

What if my favorite Topic isn’t listed?

Please make sure the topic doesn’t exist in our channel hierarchy by typing it into the search box. If it doesn’t turn up, let us know (use the “Contact Us” link at the bottom of the homepage) so that we can consider adding it in the future.

How do I save posts to my Favorite Posts?

There are two ways to do this:

If you’re logged in, you’ll see this button: on every post. Just click it to add that post to your Favorite Posts.
On every Post Profile, you’ll find an orange button that says “Favorite This Post.” If you’re logged in, simply click that button.

How do I remove Favorites?

From your Favorite Blogs or Favorite Posts tabs, just click the or button to remove that blog or post from your favorites. Your Favorite Blogs, Posts, and Topics are also listed in the right column of your Favorites tabs. Hovering over the name of any blog, post, or topic will reveal a button. Click it to remove that item from your favorites.

I’d like to organize my favorites. Is there a way to do that?

Absolutely. When you’re viewing your Favorite Blogs or Favorite Posts, look for the “Add Folder” button at the bottom of the right column to create a folder. Then click this button: next to the name of any blog or post to move it into a folder. Use the same button to remove it from the folder. Remember: Deleting a folder gets rid of everything in that folder.

YOUR ACCOUNT

How long does it take to register?

If you’re on Facebook, just click the “Sign In With Facebook” button and you’re in. If you’re not on Facebook, registering via Regator is easy and quick. We’ll ask you for the absolute basics we’ll need to store your stuff: Username, password, password again. You don’t even have to give us your email address (but if you don’t, hang on to your password cause we can’t help you if you forget it). It has probably taken you longer to read this than it’ll take to register.

Why should I register?

Once you’ve registered, you’ll have access to the full set of Regator tools and will be able to set up your Blog Monitor to keep an eye on your interests; save Favorite Posts, Favorite Blogs, and Favorite Topics; and get personalized RSS feeds of your favorites. Well worth the 15 seconds.

How do I log in?

Hit the bright-orange “Sign In” button at the top of your screen then click “Sign In With Facebook” or enter your Regator username and password.

I created an account via Regator but now I’d rather use my Facebook credentials to log in. Can I do that?

Sure! Click the bright-orange “Sign In” button at the top of the homepage then find the "Link Existing Account With Facebook" link and we’ll walk you through the rest.

How can I change my account settings?

Click “Settings” at the upper-right corner of your screen to access options such as the number of posts displayed on each page, whether posts open in a new window/tab, whether to display a count of unviewed posts in your Favorite Blogs, and whether you’d prefer to filter out foul language. You can also use this screen to change your email address or password.

OTHER FEATURES

How can I share posts with my friends?

Just click “Share” on the post to see the symbols for popular sharing options: then choose whether you’d like to share via Facebook, Twitter, email, or Delicious.

What are RSS feeds?

You don’t need to understand RSS feeds to use any of Regator’s features. We handle all of that behind the scenes for you. RSS is short for Really Simple Syndication and is a format used to publish frequently updated works, like blogs, in a standardized format. Regator uses RSS feeds to access posts from Regator-approved blogs.

Can I get an RSS feed of my Regator Blog Monitor and Favorites?

Yes! Look for the RSS symbol () in the right column of your Favorite Blogs, Favorite Topics, Favorite Posts, and Monitor tabs to access your Regator feeds from any feedreader. You can even get RSS feeds for individual Keywords from your Blog Monitor.

BLOGS

What criteria do Regator’s editors use to judge blogs?

Editors carefully review posts dating back three to four months before determining whether a blog meets Regator standards. The blogs selected are:

Updated regularly: Blogs that were updated regularly when added to Regator but have since stopped posting will remain in Regator’s archive (with a “Retired” marker on their Blog Profiles) as long as their links remain active.
Topical: Regator-approved blogs stay on topic (for the most part). Most blogs digress occasionally but if a blog is about health, we expect the vast majority of posts to be about health, not what the blogger’s cat had for breakfast.
Well written: Good grammar is good for you.
RSS feed–equipped: This seems obvious, but you’d be surprised. If your blog does not have a working RSS feed, do not submit it to Regator. RSS feeds are what we use to access your posts.
Original: Blogs that simply scrape content from other sites without adding original content of their own will not be considered.
Not spammy or primarily promotional in nature: Regator users expect posts to provide great content. Besides, if your blog is spammy, it’s probably not getting much love from anyone.
Awesome: We aren’t just putting any old blog on Regator. That’s a big deal because it’s one of the things that makes us different from other sites. Every member of Regator’s editorial review team is or has been a professional writer and reserves the right to reject any blog for reasons not listed here.

My favorite blog/my blog isn’t on Regator. How can I submit it?

Regator is creating the leading collection of high-quality blog content on the web and is highly selective about the blogs that are added to our database. If you have a great blog, we’d love for your work to be a part of Regator. You can nominate your blog for editorial review by filling out this form in its entirety. Regrettably, due to the volume of nominations, we are not able to respond personally to every nomination. Submitting a nomination does not guarantee inclusion on Regator. In fact, at the time of writing, only about 18 percent of blogs nominated are approved. If your blog is approved, you will receive a welcome email and link to a badge you can display on your blog.

How do I get achievement ribbons for my blog’s Blog Profile?

Blogs get ribbons based on four different types of achievement:

The number of posts featured on Regator: Blogs get green ribbons at 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000, 10000, and 15000 posts and receive the top golden ribbon at 25000 posts.
The average number of posts per week: Blogs get green ribbons when their average posts per week reach 10, 15, 25, 40, 50, 75, and 100 and receive the top golden ribbon at 200+ posts per week. These ribbons are based on a blog’s current average and, therefore, may change as the average changes.
Crowd favorite: Blogs receive green ribbons after 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% of Regator users have added the blog to their Favorite Blogs. The golden ribbon is achieved when 10% of users have added that blog to their favorites. Because these ribbons are based on percentage, these ribbons may change as Regator’s userbase grows.
Number one post: This ribbon is awarded when a post from the blog becomes the number one most popular post on Regator’s homepage.

What’s my blog doing on Regator? Take it off!

Okay, we lied: This isn’t a frequently asked question. It’s rare, but we still want to answer it. Take it as a compliment. More than 80 percent of blogs nominated for Regator are rejected. Being selected for inclusion in Regator’s database indicates that your blog has high quality, original, well-written, regularly updated content. Regator gives potential readers another way to find your posts. We understand the value of your content, and that’s why Regator does not host the full text of your posts. Our users must click through to your blog to read the entirety of any post. It’s a FREE opportunity to increase your exposure, get more traffic, and enjoy the prestige of being among the blogosphere’s best.

OTHER

Can I advertise on Regator?

Yes! Please contact for rates and information.

Do you have an API I can use to access Regator’s data?

We are in the process of finishing an API. Please contact us (404-939-7181 or email ) to discuss how we might be able to help with your needs.

I’m a member of the media and would like to learn more about Regator. How can I do that?

Thanks for asking! Please visit our Press Page, call 404-939-7181, or email .