How do weblogs manage multiple authors?

This is a splendid question, and one that I recently discussed in email with my friend and colleague Robert Glen Fogarty, Editor of the popular Lockergnome site. Let me share our discussion:

Robert, there are a number of different weblogs that work with multiple authors, including a number that I contribute to, including businessblogconsulting, blogbusinesssummit and, of course, Lockergnome. There are various issues about having multiple authors that complicate managing a blog, issues that don't arise with a single author site. Some are just ignored, like consistent author voice, but others are discussed behind the scenes, notably editorial position and general consistency of entries.

Indeed, each of these joint blogs also has either a formal or informal back room where contributors can chat about recent postings, swap gossip and even debate specific points relevant to the site's topic.

But none of them are doing what you're doing with Lockergnome, Bob. To manage the editorial content of the many areas of the Lockergnome weblog, you're actually forcing authors to queue their articles upon submission, not publish them directly. Can you explain why you're doing this and what you and Chris Pirillo, titular head of Lockergnome, are thinking?

Bob: I try and think of Lockergnome as a digital magazine with a duty to both its readers and its contributors to present information in a way that is fair to both. The reader wants good information served up in an easily-navigable manner and the contributor wants to share his or her content with a public eager for more. With a fairly vast network of contributors, it's important to try and maintain clarity and consistency among so many different voices while preserving what makes those voices unique. From correcting formatting disparities to making sure there's a balance in the quality and quantity of content to checking spelling, grammar, links, and facts in any given collection of entries, an editor can log in a pretty busy day! For a succinct answer, though, Chris really says it best:

I hope that inside information from the team at Lockergnome is useful!