Yes but (a) I have to click on a link, which I don’t have to to see the Hot Topics, (b) those links are running some sort of query that takes more time to load than the Blogpen home page, (c) you can only run a search every 60 seconds, so you can’t even pull up the Active Topics and New Posts at the same time. It’s the exact opposite of how the Newsstand / Blogpen work.
Quick experiment - I googled ‘Adrián Beltré Retires, is a Slam Dunk Hall of Famer’ which is the hed of an article currently on the newsblog, the front page, and the hot topics sidebar. Of 33 results for that phrase, some of which are links to news items about sports other than baseball, BBTF is ranked… not on the list.
At the time you posted this, the thread only appeared in the Hot Topics. It had not been posted to Newsblog nor was it on the front page other than being in the Hot Topics bar. I have since released the thread from pending status, and it appears in all those places.
Feel free to rerun your experiment now. I ran it and we were in the top 5, but Google might be optimizing my results different from yours.
The point remains. Dave’s suggestions would be a good place to start. These would be very easy things to do. That things like that are not being done speaks for itself.
I recognize the difference between things that work for me and things that work for other people, but I can only speak for things that worked for me. So, to that effect…
I think the beginning of the end for this site for me was the combination of two things: the isolation of the politics thread, and the movement of the dugout/lounge to the forums.
The lounge really was my favorite place on the site, and while my memory may not be perfect in this regard, I remember it being almost entirely free of acrimony. I can’t follow it now because the interface is just too clumsy… it takes me significantly longer to get through content because of the amount of scrolling. I really wish there were a way to process the content with a different front-end, but I’m not at all sure if that is feasible. It just kills any long thread for me.
The isolation of the politics thread served to take what was a small amount of unpleasantness in multiple threads and make a thread that was almost entirely dedicated to unpleasantness. I always viewed threads on this site as sort of like a cocktail party where there were tons of conversations going on and you picked which ones you wanted to participate in. It didn’t feel like we had much in the way of rules… the conversations just sort of went where they went based on people being interested. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe with just a few basic rules about decency we could have stopped things before they became a cesspool. I regret the degree to which I may have lowered the tone myself, even as I tried to go after arguments rather than people, because there were definitely times when I was pretty heavy-handed. If I come back in any regular fashion, I hope to be less aggressive in my comments.
I miss loving this place. I’m not sure how to get that back but there are some fantastic memories.
Thanks for participating in this thread. Sorry about jumping in late but I was too busy over the holiday weekend to post.
I need to read the Prospectus thread to catch up. When I do, I’ll add my two cents.
Before I go, though, most of the criticism of my recent management of the site are entirely valid. Early on in the site’s existence I had a lot of free time to devote to working on it. That time has been been pretty much nonexistent for about ten years. Since this is a side gig which, as an esteemed colleague once pointed out, isn’t really run as a business, the site has floundered. The status quo simply can’t continue. Change, one way or another, has to take place. I’m open to ideas and fundamental changes to the way things are done around here, both Internet facing and behind the scenes.
Anyway, I will jump back in after I catch up on the other thread and consider the comments I find.
village: I wrote on the other thread but if people are serious then someone or someones need to define who is wanted as a user and anyone is not a good or viable answer. What are the characteristics or traits that this community wants to add to the current user base. And from that a requirements document that fits that user profile. But jumping to configuration based on feedback from current users is not going to help build the new user base. I am trying to help because this is some of what I do but if folks want to politely tell me to #### off I get it, no problem. Good luck.
I agree with this sentiment, but would actually generalize it further: we need to understand what the goals of the site and community are first, and then figure out what changes will get us towards those goals. I question whether attracting new users is actually the most important goal.
Punting all OT topics to the forum. And enforcing a strict “no politics” rule on the main site.
Archives of all current and old Lounges.
Some sort of “Pin this thread/Ban this thread on my Hot Topics sidebar” functionality.
Points 1, 3, and 4 that Fly mentions.
Also, Jim, many in The Lounge* are eager to offer our time, coding expertise, and whatever else is needed to keep the site working. We love what you’ve created here. If you would like help in whatever change may come, please let me know.
*I am happy to volunteer my time and money. My expertise is less valuable.
Vi, I’m not really upset with that thread closure. I was just curious about what happened to it when I couldn’t find it and in a moment of online paranoia (yeah, I still occasionally think I tick people off but they remain silent about it in front of me,) I thought that Jim might suspend me or ban me for participating in an 86’d thread. I don’t know why I worry about stuff like that. I haven’t had much time to hang out here lately.
Harold can be a fun sponge - 26 November 2018 07:02 PM
Master of the Horse - 20 November 2018 03:36 PM
village: I wrote on the other thread but if people are serious then someone or someones need to define who is wanted as a user and anyone is not a good or viable answer. What are the characteristics or traits that this community wants to add to the current user base. And from that a requirements document that fits that user profile. But jumping to configuration based on feedback from current users is not going to help build the new user base. I am trying to help because this is some of what I do but if folks want to politely tell me to #### off I get it, no problem. Good luck.
I agree with this sentiment, but would actually generalize it further: we need to understand what the goals of the site and community are first, and then figure out what changes will get us towards those goals. I question whether attracting new users is actually the most important goal.
And I agree with that too. Let me take a shot at it:
The primary goal of the site is to provide a place where a community of baseball fans engages in intelligent discourse about the game. Specifically, it distinguishes itself from other sports fan sites because it’s a go-to place for information and ideas, rather than just being a fan bloviation site.
The tools the site provides to create that community involve some original content, and a newsblog which allows users to chime in about current events in the game. Game chatters too. The community aspect is realized where people become friends and interact IRL and get to know one another—the site provides spaces for that to happen.
Finally, a healthy community is one where people feel safe about being present and contributing, and can engage in a discussion without someone veering it off the rails. Content that threatens that state is managed via moderation. This has been an issue on the internet for decades, and it isn’t going away, but sites manage this by segregating off personal and off-topic discussions, and by correcting bad behavior.
Really I think this site has actually done a decent job of achieving this, but it wasn’t organized to be what it is. The site was designed for a vision from twelve years ago and it hasn’t been adjusted since. This is very limiting. I’m not worried about the site being bigger, or more of a money maker (I’m not against it). I would just like it to be better.
Jim: it’s up to you. You have members volunteering their time, expertise, and money. I’m going to pony up a little myself ($) after I finish typing this. I totally understand where you are with regard to the site and your personal time and priorities. I think everyone here gets this. I think the solution is clear: take advantage of these offers. We’ve had these discussion before and it’s time for a succession plan. I am thankful for what you set up here and always will be.
Frankly, I like the forum setup better than the Mainland setup.
I’ve been busy over the past few years, so I sought out forums with less posts per day to satisfy my internet jones while not being in fear of missing out on some posts due to time constraints. One closed down earlier this year and the other is for roadgeeks. But they have no spark. If Joe Sheehan thinks this place is USENET stripped of its spark, he should read some of those threads.
I don’t know if the site loses revenue if it migrates to the forums, but it would work for me. It’d be easier to find topics or discussions of interest than it currently is on the Newsstand. I count 30 threads on the first page and 15 Hot Topics and there not organized by topic. It’s a lot easier to search for a specific keyword here than it is on the Mainland. And (this may be a plus or a minus from your POV,) anyone logged in member can create a topic and it will show up right away; no waiting for the thread to be approved.
BTW, it is really confusing that threads can show up on Hot Topics before hitting the newsstand. Hence my posts in that 86’d thread.
I asked in a mainland thread if it was poor form or bad site etiquette to comment in un-published threads in order to get them active in Hot Topics. There was no official response but people seemed to think it was OK.
I stumbled across a six year old thread here where Jim said some of the most viewed content will get little discussion.
One other advantage to the forums: You can see how many views each thread gets. This may be balm for folks are linked to or who post threads that get no replies.
One more thing. The tagline for the Baseball Lounge/Fantasy needs updating unless it’s for a historical DMB League. “Should I draft Alex Rodriguez over Scott Servais? Should I release Lenny Harris?”
Also, Jim, many in The Lounge* are eager to offer our time, coding expertise, and whatever else is needed to keep the site working. We love what you’ve created here. If you would like help in whatever change may come, please let me know.
*I am happy to volunteer my time and money. My expertise is less valuable.
Please let us all know. My expertise is not relevant and my time is nonexistent, but I would definitely throw some dollar bucks at a cohesive, sensible BBTF Five Year Plan.
