I suck at trying to stay out of controversy. :( but...
Wow... it sure looks like they really did rig the front page. I shouldn't be shocked, but I am. Sapphire Dragon just messaged me the old code. Here's how their page used to start:
<div class="rssFeed">
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function(){
var feed = new Array;
var i = 0;
var title = '';
var descp = '';
title = "Aptera Founders Ousted In Showdown ...";
descp = "Aptera Founders Ousted in Showdown With Auto Vets: ReportReutersThe co-founders of Aptera Motors, Steve Fambro and Chris Anthony, did not leave the three-wheeled electric car startup by ...Rift Reported Between Founders and Board at Futuristic Carmaker ApteraXconomyAptera Loses FounderssocalTech.comAptera Founders Ousted in Boardroom ShowdownWired NewsAutoblog (blog)all 7 news articles »";-
feed[i] = '<img src="/i/rssFeed.png" alt="rss feed" width="25" height="25" class="rssFeedImg" style="margin: 0 5px 0 5px;" /> <a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters .com%2Farticle%2Fearth2Tech%2FidUS2214791706200911 16&usg=AFQjCNFjKBnl-xj1d0o_RQ59ujqO04Q0JQ" title="' + descp + '" target="_new">' + title + '</a><br /><span class="rssFeedDate">Nov 16, 2009 9:01 PM</span>';
i++;
title = "Three-wheeled Aptera Is Striking, B...";
descp = "Three-wheeled Aptera is striking, but concept is not entirely newLas Vegas Review - JournalAptera 2e -- A wingless airplane native to California that zips along paved highways on three wheels. Aptera company founder Steve Fambro and CEO Paul ...";
feed[i] = '<img src="/i/rssFeed.png" alt="rss feed" width="25" height="25" class="rssFeedImg" style="margin: 0 5px 0 5px;" /> <a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lvrj.co m%2Fdrive%2Fthree-wheeled-aptera-is-striking-but-concept-is-not-entirely-new-69949877.html&usg=AFQjCNFILexyM0weOluPPE1lQmxX zxveQQ" title="' + descp + '" target="_new">' + title + '</a><br /><span class="rssFeedDate">Nov 13, 2009 10:07 AM</span>';
That continues on and on for all news entries. Then it concludes with the javascript that cycles through those:
i = 1;
var is_chrome = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf('chrome' ) > -1;
if(($.browser.mozilla && $.browser.version.substr(0,3)=="1.8") || is_chrome){
$.timer(8000, function (timer) {
$("div#FeedSpace").html(feed[i]);
i++;
if(i >= feed.length){
i = 0;
}
});
}else{
$.timer(8000, function (timer) {
$("div#FeedSpace").fadeOut("slow", function(){
$("div#FeedSpace").html(feed[i]);
$("div#FeedSpace").fadeIn("slow");
i++;
if(i >= feed.length){
i = 0;
}
});
});
}
});
</script>
<div id="FeedSpace">
<img src="/i/rssFeed.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" class="rssFeedImg" style="margin: 0 5px 0 5px;" />
<a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fa rticle%2Fearth2Tech%2FidUS221479170620091116&a mp;usg=AFQjCNFjKBnl-xj1d0o_RQ59ujqO04Q0JQ" target="_new" title="Aptera Founders Ousted in Showdown With Auto Vets: ReportReutersThe co-founders of Aptera Motors, Steve Fambro and Chris Anthony, did not leave the three-wheeled electric car startup by ...Rift Reported Between Founders and Board at Futuristic Carmaker ApteraXconomyAptera Loses FounderssocalTech.comAptera Founders Ousted in Boardroom ShowdownWired NewsAutoblog (blog)all 7 news articles »">Aptera Founders Ousted In Showdown ...</a><br />
<span class="rssFeedDate">Nov 16, 2009 9:01 PM</span>
</div> </div>
So, see all those news entries and javascript? Now, here's that *entire* section now.
<div class="rssFeed">
<div class="rssFeed">
<div id="FeedSpace">
<img src="/i/rssFeed.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" class="rssFeedImg" style="margin: 0 5px 0 5px;" />
<a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4337060.html?nav=RSS20&src=syn&dom=yah_buzz&mag=pop" target="_new" title="Aptera's Rumors of Founders Ousted - Aptera Founders Aren't Fired, They're on Vacation - Popular Mechanics »">Aptera's False Rumors: Founders Not "Ousted"—On Vacation</a><br />
<span class="rssFeedDate"> November 16, 2009</span>
</div> </div> </div>
Gone. Only one hard-coded option. No javascript to rotate it. Ugh.
Come on, Marques... this afternoon I decided to give you all a chance to prove your sincerity, and within 12 hours, this? Rigging the newsfeed to remove negative stories? I had even stayed out of speculating whether it was on purpose or not when the issue came up, and hesitated to even mention that you could just compare the old code and the new code.