Complete guide for users and administrators
This documentation will help you understand and use Destroying Colorado, a curated artifact management platform for tracking Colorado politics, legislation, and policy issues.
Destroying Colorado is a comprehensive platform designed to:
The platform has three user roles with different permissions:
Submit new artifacts for review, view analytics, and manage your own submissions. Perfect for team members who want to suggest content.
Approve/reject artifacts, edit content, manage tags and artifact types, and use AI features. Ideal for content managers and moderators.
Full system access including user management, scheduler configuration, and the ability to delete content permanently.
Here are the main areas of the platform:
Use the search bar with filters to quickly find specific types of content. Combine artifact type and tag filters for precise results!
Visit https://destroyingcolorado.com/admin.html
Use the username and password provided by your administrator
You'll see the admin dashboard with tabs based on your role
Follow these steps to submit a new artifact:
Located in the Artifacts tab of the admin panel
Enter the title and URL of the content you're sharing
Choose the appropriate category (e.g., CO State Bill, Local News, etc.)
The form will show custom fields based on your artifact type. Fill these in with relevant details.
Write a brief summary or click "Generate with AI" to create one automatically
Select relevant tags to help categorize your content
Your artifact will be submitted for review (or published immediately if you're an editor/admin)
Artifacts you submit will have a "pending" status until an editor or admin approves them. You'll be able to see your pending submissions in the Artifacts tab.
The platform can automatically generate summaries using AI:
AI summaries are a great starting point, but always review them for accuracy and context specific to Colorado politics.
To edit an existing artifact:
Both the public site and admin panel offer powerful search capabilities:
All users can view click analytics:
As an editor or admin, you can approve pending submissions:
Before approving an artifact, verify:
Artifact types define what custom metadata fields appear when creating artifacts of that type.
Click on the "Artifact Types" tab in the admin panel
Opens the artifact type creation modal
Name: Display name (e.g., "CO State Bill")
Icon: Font Awesome class (e.g., "fa-solid fa-landmark")
Color: Pick a color for the badge
Click "Add Field" to create custom fields for this type
Key: Internal name (e.g., "billNumber")
Label: Display name (e.g., "Bill Number")
Type: text, textarea, number, date, or select
Required: Toggle if mandatory
Your new artifact type is now available!
| Type | Use Case | Example |
|---|---|---|
| text | Short single-line text | Bill number, Author name |
| textarea | Multi-line text | Description, Notes |
| number | Numeric values | Year, Price, Quantity |
| date | Date picker | Publication date, Hearing date |
| select | Dropdown with predefined options | Status, Chamber, Category |
Tags help categorize artifacts and make them easier to find.
Admins can create and manage user accounts.
You cannot edit your own admin role or deactivate your own account. This prevents accidentally locking yourself out of the system.
Use the Settings tab to test the AI integration:
The scheduler can automatically generate content at scheduled times:
AI features require a valid Perplexity API key configured in the system environment. Contact your system administrator if AI features are not working.
Admins can permanently delete artifacts:
Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Consider rejecting artifacts instead of deleting them to maintain an audit trail.
Create custom artifact types with their own metadata fields. Forms adapt automatically!
Generate summaries automatically using Perplexity AI. Save time and maintain consistency.
Three-tier permission system ensures proper content workflow and security.
Real-time search with multiple filters. Find exactly what you're looking for.
Track engagement with every artifact. See what content resonates with your audience.
Auto-generated RSS feed keeps subscribers updated automatically.
Organize content with colorful tags. Filter by topic with one click.
Works perfectly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.
Artifact types are pre-configured categories with custom metadata fields. Here are the default types:
| Artifact Type | Icon | Use For | Custom Fields |
|---|---|---|---|
| CO State Bill | Colorado legislation | Bill Number, Chamber, Status | |
| Local News | News articles | Outlet, Author | |
| CO Environmental Report | Environmental studies | Organization, Report Date | |
| X/Twitter | Social media posts | Author | |
| Research Paper | Academic research | Authors, Journal, Publication Date | |
| YouTube | Video content | Channel, Duration | |
| Blog Post | Blog articles | Author, Site | |
| GitHub Repo | Code repositories | Stars, Language |
Every artifact uses a redirect URL that:
The platform enforces a quality-focused workflow:
The RSS feed is automatically generated and includes:
Subscribe at: https://destroyingcolorado.com/rss.xml
Contact your administrator to reset your password. For security reasons, password changes must be done by an admin.
The Users tab is only visible to users with the Admin role. If you need access, contact your administrator.
Artifacts must have "approved" status to appear publicly. If you're a Contributor, your submissions need to be approved by an Editor or Admin first. Check the Artifacts tab to see your submission's status.
Contributors cannot delete artifacts - only Admins have this ability. You can edit your submissions or ask an Editor/Admin to reject or delete them.
The platform uses Perplexity AI to analyze the content at the URL you provide and generate a 1-2 sentence summary. You can always edit the AI-generated summary before saving.
This usually means the Perplexity API key is not configured or has expired. Contact your administrator. You can still manually write summaries.
Only Editors and Admins can create and manage artifact types. If you need a new artifact type, contact an Editor or Admin with your requirements.
Add 2-5 relevant tags per artifact. Too few makes filtering less useful, too many makes tags less meaningful. Focus on the most important topics covered.
Summary is public and appears on the artifact card. Comments are internal notes visible only in the admin panel - use them for editorial notes or context.
Yes! Editors and Admins can edit any artifact at any time. Just click the edit button, make your changes, and save. Changes appear immediately.
Visit fontawesome.com/icons, search for an icon, and copy the class (e.g., "fa-solid fa-landmark"). Paste this into the Icon field when creating an artifact type.
The scheduler (Admin only) can automatically fetch and create artifacts at scheduled times using AI. This is useful for daily content generation, but requires careful configuration.
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If you're experiencing issues not covered here:
If you're the system administrator troubleshooting server issues, check:
./manage.sh status./manage.sh logssudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log./fix-permissions.sh