12/22/24
May 10, 2007
Quality of Links Decreasing. Discuss.:
posted by yerfatma to editorial policy at 08:53 AM - 106 comments
FPP descriptions that consist of copying and pasting the first couple lines of the linked story aren't cutting it anymore. I don't want a FPP for the sake of putting something on the front page.
posted by jerseygirl at 08:58 AM on May 10, 2007
what jerseygirl said. This site isn't an aggregator. I get my AP, ESPN, etc in RSS feed as it is.
posted by scully at 09:36 AM on May 10, 2007
Thirded. I mean that Kentucky Derby post recently about OJ getting booted - there was little connection between the first couple of lines (cut and pasted) and the story itself... which made the post nigh-nonsensical.
posted by gspm at 09:50 AM on May 10, 2007
nigh-nonsensical. Nice turn of phrase, gspm. Besides the Pants-The-On being quicker on the kill switch, or instituting some approval process for FPPs, where do we go from here? I will say that occasionally you do find something worthwhile on Yahoo, ESPN, AP, MLB.com, NFL.com, and the rest of the Axis of Evil. Also, yes, the OJ thread is absolute shite.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 09:54 AM on May 10, 2007
The more I think about it, the more I hate that OJ thread. Is it really the best that happened over the weekend of the Derby? That's pretty insulting to A) the historical even itself and 2) all the participants in the actual Derby. I just can't see how Dude1 that you'll never meet gets kicked out of a restaurant by Dude2 that you'll never meet is better than any horse race, let alone, the Kentucky freakin' Derby. It's, at best, a local story. I guess people's irrational hatred of Dude1 that you'll never meet automatically makes his every move a lead story across the nation. There, I said it, now I'll shut up about it. As for what to do about the dwindling quality of SpoFi's FPPs, lead by example. Keep posting quality FPPs about obscure shit and not so obscure shit. If it's going to be an FPP about a not so obscure thing, then make it interesting. Don't post the ESPN or AP newswire version of the story; find articles from local newspapers or local blogs. If you can only find the not so obscure stories on ESPN/Yahoo/AP newswire, then maybe it's not worth posting.
posted by NoMich at 10:08 AM on May 10, 2007
The problem with the Lead by Example philosophy (at least when used to the exclusion of all other things) is that it doesn't improve the situation. That requires us to 1) Increase noise to the front page with moderately decent posts ii. Hope that the resulting increase in traffic somehow makes it clear there should be more quality and less quantity The site goes through stages where people arrive, become part of the community and then feel obligated to post daily. We can plant all sorts of beautiful flowers, but the weeding still needs to be done.
posted by yerfatma at 10:13 AM on May 10, 2007
Link quality comes and goes. It's a constant battle emailing and discussing the site with members who don't quite get why an espn recap isn't front page material. It seems hard for members to get the difference between finding a link that's worthy of discussion and looking for a link that talks about a story they'd like to discuss and posting it no matter the quality. Hopefully soon we'll have a flagging system and one of he choices will be noise or not link worthy. That would help immensely. As for what to do about the dwindling quality of SpoFi's FPPs, lead by example. Agreed. If we take a harder stance on link quality we need more than a blank page. I'm pretty sure some members post simply because there's nothing on the front page and they want to discuss sports. And yeah, the OJ thread should have been deleted. Beyond having little to do with sports (we have quite a few links like that) OJ threads all go the same and should probably be banned unless he returns to the NFL.
posted by justgary at 10:13 AM on May 10, 2007
At this point, I think I would rather have a front page with 4 or 5 sports-relevant and discussion worthy FPPs than a front page littered with quasi-worthy topics with very loose affiliation with sports. It is definitely something that needs to be culled a bit. To echo what yerfatma was saying: One dandelion begets a field of dandelions. I don't know if the answer is more community self-policing or what at this point. Leading by example definitely works, but I don't know if the entirety of the audience is receptive to the leadership. We've sort of all agreed to let lilnemo do his daily NBA playoff wrap-up, right? It looks good, it cuts down on the individual threads and it works. I thought we went over it. Yet today, we've got another individual NBA wrap-up.
posted by jerseygirl at 10:24 AM on May 10, 2007
We've sort of all agreed to let lilnemo do his daily NBA playoff wrap-up, right? I like the wrap up, but to be honest the formatting of the post bugs me.
posted by scully at 10:33 AM on May 10, 2007
I think I would rather have a front page with 4 or 5 sports-relevant and discussion worthy FPPs than a front page littered with quasi-worthy topics with very loose affiliation with sports. Agreed. Just saying that out of the last 6 days we've had only one day where we've had over 3 links. So pruning more will often leave us with a dirt plot. Which is fine, but members are going to try to fill it in a viscious circle kind of way. We've sort of all agreed to let lilnemo do his daily NBA playoff wrap-up, right? I like lilnemo giving us the playoffs in a neat little package, but it's going to be a pain, and a bigger one if the site grows, to start delegating who can post what on the front page.
posted by justgary at 10:41 AM on May 10, 2007
I have a couple of thoughts on this topic, none of which should be construed as being directed towards any particular user(s). 1) I think we should do some education in "what makes a good FPP" that communicates that simply repeating the first few lines of an article after the link (which is just the headline of the story) is not a good link. I like to see the poster's summaries, not some newspaper lede; a summary requires good writing and analysis and makes it more likely that the poster has actually read the article. 2) Because of the general bias (communicated in the FAQ or new user sign-up, I believe) against stories from Yahoo!, ESPN, etc., some posters go to a local paper or other source to find basically the same story (or, in the case of wire stories, actually the exact same story) and think that's okay. It's not okay. Arbitrarily changing the source of a non-FPP worthy story does not make it FPP worthy. 3) We might consider putting some sort of limit on the number of FPPs any single user can post in a day, week, etc.
posted by holden at 11:14 AM on May 10, 2007
The OJ thread did teach me, though, that apparently people hold opinions that they know are wrong. This may not be addressing the specific concern of this thread, but... I get the sense that the "don't use Yahoo, etc." was not intended to send people looking for AP stories from the most remote and obscure corners of the internet. I have been waiting for the inevitable AP story pulled from the website for the public access television station in Aurora, Illinois that broadcast "Wayne's World." Would it be worth mentioning that if the story comes from a local television station -- which generally aren't in the business, that I know of, of creating a lot of thought-provoking written content -- then it is likely to be a wire story of some sort and falls under the Yahoo-quality umbrella even if it doesn't have "AP" at the head of it? On edit: What holden said.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 11:16 AM on May 10, 2007
I'll be honest, I was a little hesitant to post the "Clemens returns" article since it was pretty weak on details about his contract and conditions. However, I thought the discussion about his return (and the affect it would have on the AL East battle, salaries, television ratings and Boston suicide rates) would be worth having. If I could have tagged on the radio commentary audio clip that came later, I would have. Arbitrarily changing the source of a non-FPP worthy story does not make it FPP worthy. It would if the local paper/website added more to the original article. If it had a "how does it affect us here" or "local boy becomes famous, here is his history" flavour to it, then I think that's worth posting (compared to the stale AP details-only post).
posted by grum@work at 11:26 AM on May 10, 2007
I think we should do some education in "what makes a good FPP" that communicates that simply repeating the first few lines of an article after the link (which is just the headline of the story) is not a good link. I disagree. It's either a good link or a bad link, presentation doesn't make a bad link better. I like to see the poster's summaries, not some newspaper lede; a summary requires good writing and analysis and makes it more likely that the poster has actually read the article. Again, I'll disagree. Some members are very good at summarizing. Some are very bad and editorialize. A good link stands on it's own, and many links don't need summarizing. It's difficult enough to simply get quality links. I don't see a need for requiring more. I completely agree with number 2 and 3. (edited to say I do agree good link presentation is wonderful, and I love it when someone does it well. I just think link quality is a much more important goal, and more easily fixed.)
posted by justgary at 11:32 AM on May 10, 2007
Well, okay, I suck and am part of the problem, because I've been holding onto a lovely link for >2 months now, simply because I haven't found the time to nicely summarize it for an FPP (and because at this point, it would mean going back and reading an 8 page article). But I will, I promise, I will.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:46 AM on May 10, 2007
We've sort of all agreed to let lilnemo do his daily NBA playoff wrap-up, right? I like the wrap up, but to be honest the formatting of the post bugs me. I like lilnemo giving us the playoffs in a neat little package, but it's going to be a pain, and a bigger one if the site grows, to start delegating who can post what on the front page. Theres never been an explicit decree that I do the playoff threads. However I've found by doing a wrap-up every few days it cuts down on extra playoff posts and creates a central thread to follow along and comment on series as they progress. Doesn't really matter to me if someone posts about an individual series (so long as the link is more than an AP recap). As for the formatting, I've kept it pretty minimal in order to keep from cannibalizing space from the rest of the front page, also I have a self-imposed rule about trying to cut down on editorializing in my FPPs (one of my bad habits). I have found that in wrap-up FPPs that not every user is going to read about every team and/or series, so I haven't done much in the way of "selling the links". Any suggestions? Comments? Terrapin is it a readability issue, context, or quality of links?
posted by lilnemo at 11:49 AM on May 10, 2007
I agree with justgary that delegating who can post what will just bring problems. However, I don't think it is neccesary to have a FPP every time a team wins a game in a somewhat dramatic matter. For the NFL playoffs the individual game threads were fine because it was one game, with the winner moving on. Individual NBA threads make little sense unless something extrodinary happens or if one team wins the entire series. As for editorializing in FPP's, my biggest problem is that it tends to pull an FPP in a directing that really isn't neccesary. I've found that the best links are either those that are short and sweet or those that contain links to multiple sources and websites.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 12:01 PM on May 10, 2007
I was a little hesitant to post the "Clemens returns" article since it was pretty weak on details about his contract and conditions. Meh, it was going to show up sooner or later, so I'd rather have it decently treated like it was. Some members are very good at summarizing. Some are very bad and editorialize. Ok, but can we at least ask people to either italicize or put quotations in quotation marks so it's clear the text comes from somewhere else? It's disconcerting to read the Spofi content, click the link and then re-read the same words.
posted by yerfatma at 12:09 PM on May 10, 2007
Ok, but can we at least ask people to either italicize or put quotations in quotation marks so it's clear the text comes from somewhere else? Yeah, probably need to put that in the guidelines. People also will bold text when they should be italicizing.
posted by justgary at 12:17 PM on May 10, 2007
It would if the local paper/website added more to the original article. If it had a "how does it affect us here" or "local boy becomes famous, here is his history" flavour to it, then I think that's worth posting (compared to the stale AP details-only post). Thanks grum, that's exactly what I meant.
posted by NoMich at 12:18 PM on May 10, 2007
I somehow knew who would post the not-FPP-worthy-yet McNair story... I am clearly psychic and have espn.
posted by jerseygirl at 12:38 PM on May 10, 2007
I'm a little upset the OJ thread was closed before I got to give Bperk props on using Modus Tollens during the whole guilty-not guilty-innocent portion of that clusterfuck. I tip my hat to you Bperk, thanks for letting High School Logic class make a come back.
posted by HATER 187 at 12:40 PM on May 10, 2007
Any suggestions? Comments? Terrapin is it a readability issue, context, or quality of links? Formatting only, lilnemo. I am not an NBA fan so I don't read the links you have provided. I am sure they are great links, but I am not sure I could get past the formatting even if I was a fan. As for suggestions, perhaps something like this as the FPP:
"NBA Fans take note. It's time for your weekly(daily?) NBA playoffs update...[more inside]"And then use the first post to write a summary of the series. But it is just my opinion, and I may be in the minority. But I like to think that my opinion is not driven by my distaste for the NBA :)
posted by scully at 12:48 PM on May 10, 2007
I somehow knew who would post the not-FPP-worthy-yet McNair story... I am clearly psychic and have espn. And its an AP story to boot. Double trouble. Do you see someone crying racism in that threads future?
posted by lilnemo at 01:03 PM on May 10, 2007
You have espn too! I see the thread devolving into yet another race dispute. Jeebus help us all if McNair has dogs he's been neglecting, too.
posted by jerseygirl at 01:08 PM on May 10, 2007
Thought the link was relevant, since the last time I checked, McNair was an athlete. If race comes into play, blame the person who brings it in, not the post. While I only comment on a story a few times a week, I do read most of the posts. It seems to me that most of the people commenting on the inadeqacies of FPPs are also people who write on an almost daily basis. If these FPPs somehow come up short of your expectations, maybe they should just be left alone. Maybe just join the discussion about posts that meet the high standards of the Algonquin Round Table that is SpoFi.
posted by tahoemoj at 01:28 PM on May 10, 2007
If these FPPs somehow come up short of your expectations, maybe they should just be left alone. Maybe just join the discussion about posts that meet the high standards of the Algonquin Round Table that is SpoFi. That's not the basis of the guidelines we developed for our community, tahoemoj. That's not how a self policing online community works.
posted by jerseygirl at 01:36 PM on May 10, 2007
Perhaps some people don't understand how AP/wire-service stories work? Maybe a quick explanation would help? Something along the lines of, Wires are services that websites use to get news they can't cover. The most common wire service is AP, or Associated Press. Wire stories will typically be credited to an Associated Press writer, or they'll be credited to a wire service. For example, CBS Sportsline calls them "CBS SportsLine.com wire reports". Or they may begin with "AP"... I can see one or two get-out-of-jail free cards, but repeat offenders need to be dealt with. If they're told they're posting garbage and they continue posting garbage, then what's the point of telling them they're posting garbage? I'm a not a big NBA fan, but I love the lilnemo posts because I can find out what's going on in all the series in about 3 minutes. On edit: Tahoe just proved me wrong. People just don't get what this place is supposed to be. Good luck trying to change that.
posted by SummersEve at 01:37 PM on May 10, 2007
Any current or former K5 users here? Their submission and moderation queue is a very heavyweight feature, and there are a number of problems with it, but its one feature that stands out in my memory was the ability to make editorial comments on an article. These comments would be about the article itself, not the article's content. The editorial comments were kept separate from the on-article-topic comments, and were removed from the default view when the article was published. The queue itself was a little clunky, but the editorial comments were a great way to give feedback to the writers, making it pretty clear what made a good contribution to the site. That seems to be kind of what we're looking for: a way to nudge off-balance contributors in the right direction, without (a) getting in the way of the site content and discussion, or (b) getting up in people's faces about it. There would be a number of good ways to go about doing that, but they'd all require a decent amount of work, so I'll let it percolate a little in my head and see if I come up with anything.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 01:45 PM on May 10, 2007
I feel the need to apologise to you all for the OJDerby thread. I thought I had found something out in the weeds so to speak- not an AP or ESPN or Yahoo link, but a local story about an unusual columnist, and the reason why I put it under a Culture heading rather than say, Football. I had no inkling it would degenerate into the whole innocentguiltyracial pit that forced the admins to close it. My intent is always to provoke thought, not anger. I am also guilty of using the first few sentences of the article after the link, but in my defense I was following the format I saw in a lot of posts. I think I have a much better idea now of what you expect in posts, and I will definitely be more selective and original.
posted by irunfromclones at 01:47 PM on May 10, 2007
I almost forgot: Single-link wire service reports are the equivalent of watching ESPN while waiting for a flight. They make sense inside the playoff threads like lilnemo sets up, but the constant deluge of stereotypical sports page pablum isn't interesting to me. Just to clarify for those who haven't read them; there isn't a single ESPN, AP, or wire service link in any of the playoff wrap-up threads. Most of the links point to bloggers who follow a specific team, the rest are generally to local papers or columnists.
posted by lilnemo at 02:01 PM on May 10, 2007
The self-policing is exactly what I was trying to address. I just thought that if people simply let a story go without commenting, that stories like it would no longer get posted. I guess the majority of you don't agree with me on this. By suggesting a story be ignored, I didn't realize I was opening myself up to the ire of the collective. There was no insult intended (my Algonquin Round Table reference, while sarcastic, was meant to include myself as a member.) If my history is reviewed, I made one FPP. It was from ESPN.com, which I can honestly say I didn't realize at the time was considered taboo. In my defense, it did create a lively, good natured discussion. And in defending the McNair link, I just thought it was an interesting story. It wasn't simply an athlete's DUI arrest last week. McNair, a prominent athlete, is charged under a new, and I assume experimantal, law. I thought it would make a good discussion. If the majority of you disagree with me, so be it. I really don't think dismissive comments like those posted by SummersEve and Jersey Girl are warranted.
posted by tahoemoj at 02:07 PM on May 10, 2007
Oh, yeah. And I didn't post it.
posted by tahoemoj at 02:08 PM on May 10, 2007
Most of the links point to bloggers who follow a specific team, the rest are generally to local papers or columnists. Actually, your NBA posts are exactly what I had in mind about instead of linking to an ESPN article, post to local newspapers and bloggers. I think your posts are great lilnemo.
posted by NoMich at 02:15 PM on May 10, 2007
tahoe, I think your post about Claude Julien's firing was fine. In that case, the breaking nature of the news superceded the issue of the generic quality of the AP wire story.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 02:15 PM on May 10, 2007
I think you're really overreacting to what I said to you, tahoe.
posted by jerseygirl at 02:18 PM on May 10, 2007
Saying someone else is overreacting is always a great way to settle a dispute.
posted by qbert72 at 02:34 PM on May 10, 2007
There is no dispute, qbert. He made a suggestion on how to handle bad FPPs and I just replied that it wouldn't work in a self-policing community, citing the creation of our guidelines. How he took that as a "collective ire" from the entire community, I don't know. (As a site, we've repeatedly discussed tahoe's suggestions before. They don't work in this atmosphere. Enter creation/implementation of the guidelines. Enter fixing/using the "contact us" link. Enter the in-process flagging system.)
posted by jerseygirl at 03:08 PM on May 10, 2007
Don't post the ESPN or AP newswire version of the story; find articles from local newspapers or local blogs. If you can only find the not so obscure stories on ESPN/Yahoo/AP newswire, then maybe it's not worth posting. I am one of the guiltiest parties on this one. I work in a factory and don't get too much time in front of the computer. I usually scan through the stories, see something interesting, and post it. If I had more time to find the story in the local paper, I would. Sorry.
posted by wingnut4life at 03:09 PM on May 10, 2007
I too have the problem of access and time for interesting stuff. Actually, that's part of the reason I lurk here - because I don't have to take the time to find coolness. You beautiful people do it for me. Frankly, it's not really the 'quality' of the links that is going downhill - it's the subject matter. Provocative-for-the-sake-of-it stories about criminal athletes, steriods and how stupid the American government is that are tangentally related to sports, but mostly just topics that inspire shouting. I'm all for going outside of the bounds of recapping great games, and discussing sports writ large, but I'd rather avoid the soapbox FPPs that are becoming a little too prevalent. No editorializing on the FPP. I think this is easily the most effective way to steer, and therefore ruin, good subjects. So editorialized FPPs should be either edited, or deleted. Whichever is fine by those who actually have to do it. There are some good posts today, though: The Ripken one is good - not becuase of the story, but rather the people it inspired to comment. lilnemo's blog special are terrific posts. I like FPPs with more than one link. Build a complete picture or value-add I say.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:39 PM on May 10, 2007
The Ripken thread did turn out pretty nice. Sweet stories from The Old Man. And bonus: now you got a new nickname out of it... Wendy.
posted by jerseygirl at 03:50 PM on May 10, 2007
I don't want to get into a pissing contest over it. JG, the fine print on your last post would have sufficed. I thought dismissive was a polite euphimism for SE's conceited post, though. I agree the content of the sight could be better, just throwing my two cents in as to a solution. I enjoy coming here and like to think that I am a member who gets it.
posted by tahoemoj at 03:55 PM on May 10, 2007
tahoejoj: I enjoy coming here and like to think that I am a member who gets it. I think you do get it, tahoe. The reason why the "just ignore it" approach doesn't act as a permenent filter on crap posts is that, while crap artists do eventually get bored with the fact that their crap doesn't fly here and move on, the internet has an endless supply of new crap artists to take their place. Weedy: Frankly, it's not really the 'quality' of the links that is going downhill - it's the subject matter. Provocative-for-the-sake-of-it stories about criminal athletes, steriods and how stupid the American government is that are tangentally related to sports, but mostly just topics that inspire shouting. Well, yeah, but I think we're also guilty of letting the good FPPs with less controversial subject matter languish a bit. If you boiled it down, they might get as much real discussion as a 129-comment "OJ raped an Indian mascot and fed a dog steroids" thread, but when that new comment count keeps incrementing, I think it makes people think, "Hmm, neat, something going on here, let's have a look."
posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:36 PM on May 10, 2007
How long is it gonna take for BI to post on Pacman Jones going to a strip club before meeting with the commish?
posted by louisville_slugger at 04:53 PM on May 10, 2007
I'm sorry, I thought that comment over for a minute after I posted it and decided I shouldn't bring that here. When I tried to delete or edit it, it told me I could only delete my own comments. Weird.
posted by louisville_slugger at 04:59 PM on May 10, 2007
I wanna piggy-back onto Dr. John's suggestion from upthread. Editorial comments would be a huge boon to new users. I was thinking that a new section seperate from the Locker Room and the Front Page proper. Perhaps the FPP itself could have a visual indicator showing that it has been flagged with a link to the New editorial section. We could call it . . . THE BENCH - Where your posts wait to be put back into the game. It could be a seperate blog where each thread contains a link to the "Benched" FPP and the reason for benching. The resulting commentary would allow both the post author and the community as a whole a chance to clarify their thinking on the posts formatting, quality, etc. All this while the original FPP and its attendant comments are allowed to continue their course uninterupted and without derails.
posted by lilnemo at 05:20 PM on May 10, 2007
The Old Man's comments deserve their own link in the Sidelines, I think.....
posted by Joey Michaels at 05:59 PM on May 10, 2007
posted by yerfatma at 07:30 PM on May 10, 2007
That's one nasty image, yerfatma.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:28 PM on May 10, 2007
Just be grateful he didn't open a can of whoop ass.
posted by jerseygirl at 08:38 PM on May 10, 2007
Somebody open a window.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 09:49 PM on May 10, 2007
internetfilter: an endless supply of new crap artists.
posted by tieguy at 08:20 AM on May 11, 2007
This link is out of Eric Wilbur's blog in today's (5/11) Boston Globe. I thought about a FPP for it, but since there had been a recent post about the Brewers, I decided against it. It is definitely not from the wire services, etc., is not a game summary, it is sports related, and in my opinion capable of generating some funny comments. So what is the opinion of the community? Would it have been worth a FPP?
posted by Howard_T at 08:50 AM on May 11, 2007
I wonder if Fergie is a Brewers fan.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 09:26 AM on May 11, 2007
Howard, I would think that may be more link dump material that front page worthy, but I could be wrong.
posted by goddam at 09:34 AM on May 11, 2007
Oh man, I love a good Venn diagram.
posted by SummersEve at 09:56 AM on May 11, 2007
I decided not to dump the O.J. thread because I was interested in it personally. My mistake.
posted by rcade at 10:19 AM on May 11, 2007
THE BENCH - Where your posts wait to be put back into the game. This is a really cool idea. I would much prefer to move posts there when they're close to being front page-worthy. It also could be a place for new users and people who are unsure a post belongs on the front page.
posted by rcade at 10:21 AM on May 11, 2007
Oh, the possibilities!
- Have a separate "The Bench" area for posts which aren't quite up to snuff. These posts don't appear on the regular front page. Questions: How do the posts get there? Do posts start on the front page and get "demoted" to The Bench? How? Would posts by new users automatically be directed to The Bench until they had a certain number of approved posts? Would all posts go to The Bench first? (That would be detrimental to breaking-news stories.) How would posts get off of The Bench?
- Have a separate editorial comment stream for each post—i.e. each post has its own "Bench". The posting process stays as it currently is, only users have a place to make comments about the post itself without getting in the way of the actual topic discussion. This comment stream would only be linked to from the post page, i.e. not on the front page. Questions: This achieves the editorial feedback that can be helpful, but to what effect? What about posters who ignore the feedback? Does this actually help the post quality issue?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:29 AM on May 11, 2007
Alternate names for "The Bench": "Taxi Squad" "The Press Box" "The Minors" "The Fourth Line"
posted by grum@work at 11:36 AM on May 11, 2007
PS rcade: I just dropped the Pantheon a note via the site's contact form, which I believe works now. Let me know if I'm wrong.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:46 AM on May 11, 2007
About the form or in general?
posted by yerfatma at 12:00 PM on May 11, 2007
About the form. I have a complex system involving cannons, a giant flag, and Martin Havlat which tells me when I'm wrong in general.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:07 PM on May 11, 2007
How do the posts get there? I was thinking it could be part of the upcoming "flag-pony". Once a SpoFite flags an FPP a script would auto-post a new editorial thread on the post. For Example: If someone found fault with a thread, say, my playoff roundup, they would flag it. Once flagged a small icon would appear next to the FPP. At the same time a thread is auto-magically created on the Bench. The Bench Thread would look sorta like this: Bulls 0 - Pistons 2 Cavs 2 - Nets 0 Suns 1 - Spurs 1 Warriors 0 - Jazz 1
"Comment icon" posted by lilnemo at 5:20 PM CST on May 10 The user who flagged the thread would have to post the first comment in the Bench thread to explain why they flagged the FPP. Or, in the flagging process the user could be redirected to a "flagging form" where they would be required to give a reason why they are flagging the post which would be inserted into the body of the Bench thread thusly: Bulls 0 - Pistons 2 Cavs 2 - Nets 0 Suns 1 - Spurs 1 Warriors 0 - Jazz 1
Another NBA thread? Do we really need more of these things?
"Comment icon" posted by lilnemo at 5:20 PM CST on May 10
There would of course still be some issues:
- Would we want the person flagging an FPP to be anonymous?
- Does the "reason for flagging" belong in the actual post or in the comments for it?
- Should the FPP be pulled from the FP during editing?
- Who's gonna code this mess?
posted by lilnemo at 12:21 PM on May 11, 2007
Alternate names for "The Bench": "Taxi Squad" "The Press Box" "The Minors" "The Fourth Line" The Black Aces
posted by NoMich at 02:16 PM on May 11, 2007
"The Seventh Defenceman" "The Practice Squad" "The Long Reliever" "Manny Mota"
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:44 PM on May 11, 2007
The Rickey Williams thread is going well.
posted by jerseygirl at 03:00 PM on May 11, 2007
Maybe in honor of the Ricky Williams thread we should name it The Smokehouse. I'll leave the motto up to people more clever than myself.
posted by apoch at 03:05 PM on May 11, 2007
Ring Tosser's Lament Elbow Juice Black Tar Asparagus Carmel Cotton Complete Misunderstanding Rich Boy Blues Clown Magic Red Light Midnight Little Orphan Tranny Devices Left to My Own Lab Rat Taffy Snow Angel Downers Minty Armageddon
posted by 86 at 03:11 PM on May 11, 2007
Maybe you could say those posts had been relegated.
posted by trox at 03:14 PM on May 11, 2007
Is that the track list from Hole's new album?
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 03:16 PM on May 11, 2007
Okay. I couldn't help myself. Motto for The Smokehouse: Where your posts come to be cured.
posted by apoch at 03:17 PM on May 11, 2007
I have a complex system involving cannons, a giant flag, and Martin Havlat which tells me when I'm wrong in general. I think I have it figured out. When you're wrong: 1) You run to the roof and wave a giant white flag; 2) Cannons sound to alert the general public of the impending rectification; and 3) Martin Havlat kicks you in the groin. You should patent that.
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:33 PM on May 11, 2007
"The Mendoza Line" "Junior B" "Mop-up Duty" "Pittsburgh Pirates"
posted by grum@work at 04:19 PM on May 11, 2007
Uh... how about "The Bullpen."
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 04:34 PM on May 11, 2007
And those people who found themselves in The Bullpen too frequently could be called "BullpenPros". It's perfect!
posted by DrJohnEvans at 05:01 PM on May 11, 2007
Uh... how about "The Bullpen." I'd say okay to that, but there are some stars in the bullpen (Rivera, Nathan), so being there isn't that bad.
posted by grum@work at 06:04 PM on May 11, 2007
"Street Clothes All-Stars" "The Beer League" "SportsFilter Development League" "DNP -- Coach's Decision"
posted by holden at 08:12 PM on May 11, 2007
Ooh, ooh, Healthy Scratch.
posted by NoMich at 08:21 PM on May 11, 2007
I like "Healthy Scratch".
posted by grum@work at 10:18 PM on May 11, 2007
I prefer the ever-present "Flu-Like Symptoms", but I'm oddly fond of hangovers.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:17 PM on May 11, 2007
Ring Tosser's Lament Elbow Juice Black Tar Asparagus Carmel Cotton Complete Misunderstanding Rich Boy Blues Clown Magic Red Light Midnight Little Orphan Tranny Devices Left to My Own Lab Rat Taffy Snow Angel Downers Minty Armageddon 86, How the hell'd you get a peek at my DVD collection? Wait, my softball number's 86! Is it possible that you'r... Sorry, my friend Ricky just left, what were we talking about? I like "Healthy Scratch". Me too, it's just that my wife hates it when it's in church or on the jumbotron. Hey can we "redshirt" posters?
posted by tahoemoj at 04:39 AM on May 12, 2007
How about "Waivers?" You've been cut, rook. Better luck next year.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 01:49 PM on May 12, 2007
How long is it gonna take for BI to post on Pacman Jones going to a strip club before meeting with the commish? There's no need for cheap shots like that, slugger, that's low. I didn't know about lilnemo doing the playoff thread until someone brought it up to my attention. The link that I posted when Derek Fisher came back to play for Utah wasn't just about the playoff game but more about his daughter and what he went thru to get to the game. I don't understand what all the hostility is about. I don't have all the time in the world to look for an article that I think will conjur up some interest. If some article interests me (Steve McNair getting a DUI while not driving) and I feel it might lead to some great discussions, I'll post it (via the Cal Ripken story).
posted by BornIcon at 12:35 PM on May 14, 2007
I'm confused. You said you don't do something, and then you said you do it. So which is it... I don't have all the time in the world to look for an article that I think will conjur up some interest. or If some article interests me and I feel it might lead to some great discussions, I'll post it
posted by jerseygirl at 01:11 PM on May 14, 2007
If some article interests me and I feel it might lead to some great discussions Not the point. The links should stand on their own, not generate discussion. Otherwise there's no point to having the links. We could just do "RED SOX RUUUUUUUULLLLLEEEEEE, YANKS SUX!" and let the fantastic discussion ensue.
posted by yerfatma at 01:37 PM on May 14, 2007
I'm confused . So which is it... Both. The links should stand on their own And both those posts in question did just that.
posted by BornIcon at 02:00 PM on May 14, 2007
Something I've noticed is you're definitely trying to stay away from yahoo sports and espn as link sources. That's great. I mean, that's part of the guidelines and all. You're obviously giving it effort there! I guess if I could offer you some advice is try to stay away from wire reports like AP and Reuters. Just because they link says canada.com or boise.com, doesn't mean it was written by either entity. Wire reports from AP and Reuters are essentially feeds that espn.com news and yahoo sports pick up anyway. If you heard of some sport news that seems interesting, I urge you to look for the non-wire story. If it happened in Boston, for instance, you might find a local spin on it on boston.com. If it happened in LA, you might find a Times staff reporter's take on latimes.com. You may even have luck on some of the specialized blogs that report on specific team sports (I just googled and there are a multitude). I can only think of a couple occasions where an espn.com or wire report link might be totally welcome -- if it was very breaking news or if it was something original and interesting like what Page 2 of espn offers on the rare occasion. I know you said you don't have all the time in the world to search for stories of interest, and that's certainly understandable. But please understand that was sort of the point of the community created guidelines. We didn't want Sportsfilter to become a generic aggregator/RSS feed of the latest stories. We love to discuss the latest news, but give us something else besides what everyone else has already heard. It needs to be a topic that's FPP worthy and it needs to be quality. And it's not easy to do, trust me. I seriously cut back on my own FPP posting because, like you, I don't often have the time to do the digging required to make a quality FPP... so I just don't do it. Someone usually beats me to the punch before I have time to do it myself. I do applaud that you've tried and hope this provides some help to you.
posted by jerseygirl at 02:47 PM on May 14, 2007
"The Kingdom of Fungi".
posted by owlhouse at 01:00 AM on May 15, 2007
yerfatma is right.... the yanks do sux ...errrrr the post should stand on their own. There is no goal to discuss a thread. In fact, a thread with zero comments could be one of the best.
posted by scully at 06:33 AM on May 15, 2007
Well, my post aside, yesterday was a fantastic day for FPPs.
posted by NoMich at 07:52 AM on May 15, 2007
I agree, NoMich. I'm now wiping my tearing eyes after re-reading the Ken Burns interview with Buck O'Neil.
posted by hawkguy at 09:14 AM on May 15, 2007
After the nth iteration of "innocent until proven guilty", used in reference to matters that are not decided by a court of law, I'd almost favor an entrance exam.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:43 AM on May 16, 2007
These past couple of days have been excellent for posts, in my opinion. I'm tempted to port the current front page over to the Wiki as an example of a great mix of posts.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:18 AM on May 16, 2007
I am trying hard to refine my posts and comments. I have refrained from posting lately and just tried to read and "listen' to the tone and content, trying to get a better feel for whats acceptable material. To that end I would like your opinion on this column. It's not directly about sports, but it does involve sports figures and organizations.
posted by irunfromclones at 06:56 PM on May 24, 2007
It's good for a Lockerroom Link Dump thread, irunfromclones. Those tend to be a bit more low-key, a lot less incendiary. For an FPP, in my opinion, this column might be a little explosive and it will likely just majorly derail into an argument about the law, and not so much about sports at all. Sometimes you have to look at topics from that way, too. "Is this going to cause an offtopic pissing match or interesting sports conversation?" Thank you so much for continuing to put effort into SpoFi!
posted by jerseygirl at 07:13 PM on May 24, 2007
irunfromclones, I thought about that story, too, but decided against it, because: 1) I didn't think it was connected enough to sports, regardless of Hancock's status with the Cards; 2) The horrible frothing brouhaha it would create. I heartily concur with the gentlewoman from New Jersey.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 06:57 AM on May 25, 2007
She's not from Jersey, she just likes the song. I mean, we know it by now, but what about the newbies?
posted by qbert72 at 07:59 AM on May 25, 2007
It's in her profile. Not that newbies look at profiles or any thing.
posted by MrFrisby at 08:53 AM on May 25, 2007
She's been there once, which is good enough for me.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:08 AM on May 25, 2007
Which is similar to why they call me "Yourmomspantsguy"
posted by yerfatma at 10:12 AM on May 25, 2007
Thanks jersey and TBH. I read through it several times and came to the same conclusions. I mainly entered it here for confirmation. Although I have to say, some of the frothing brouhaha is very creative.
posted by irunfromclones at 11:21 AM on May 25, 2007
That's qbert for ya, always looking out for the children. To celebrate Memorial Day Weekend in style, you're all invited over to the house for Clam Shots!
posted by The_Black_Hand at 01:27 PM on May 25, 2007
Excuse me, could you pass me that cheetah. We need to anchor down this picnic tablecloth.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 02:00 PM on May 25, 2007
I hope the Foreman FPP I made is ok, if not will somebody let me know why, instead of derailing the thread please. My email is in my profile, or just do it in here.
posted by jojomfd1 at 11:59 PM on May 26, 2007
Seriously. How about a little meat on the bones? Hit me with something new, something interesting. Single-link wire service reports are the equivalent of watching ESPN while waiting for a flight. They make sense inside the playoff threads like lilnemo sets up, but the constant deluge of stereotypical sports page pablum isn't interesting to me. Anyone else?