Originally posted by rinbergDo we have anybody that's active on digg.com, del.icio.us, reddit.com, or any of the other "social bookmarking" websites? Maybe they could toss a digg our way once in a while if they come across a topic they enjoy.... ... ...
What?!
That's a good question, actually. DOES anybody actually tag stuff using any of those services, and would you like to see us add some code to let you tag threads here? (If you don't know what they are, don't feel you need to answer "no" - I'll take that as a default)
I admit I'm too lazy to do any of that, but that's not saying other people might be almost as lazy, but would click on a link if I put one on the page...
Originally posted by ZundianAs to the gender gap, removing the Banished folder altogether would go a long ways toward making the board more inviting. (a head on a stake keeps the rabble-rousers quiet, but it does the same thing to the tourist economy.)
I don't think I see that. To me if you can seriously look in the banished folder, see the crap that goes in there (other than the duplicate threads), and be dissuaded from posting because of that, I'm not sure that your presence would likely be welcomed by much of the community. I would think that anyone who finds us, happens to check out that folder, and sees that blatant trolling or stupidity tends not to be tolerated would be happy to know they're not going to end up in flame wars with 14 year olds who use PWN~! as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and possibly punctuation.
I will cry if the Banished folder is eliminated. Like a small child who has lost its mother. That stuff is gold. I think the best suggestion for upping traffic around here is more original content. I remember when the Guest Columns folder was eliminated, it really seemed like there were less people posting almost immediately. I understand it was shut down because most of the content could be found elsewhere, but I think people liked it because 1) having it all here served as a content aggregator, which people like, and 2) because even when people like a certain column, they don't always like the website it's on. I always enjoyed being able to read, for example, the RAW Satire without having to head over to Online Onslaught, which I do not think is a very good site.
Could the logo's at the top of the main page be made to reflect the last 10-15 threads posted in, rather than the last 18 posts? Right now if you looked, you would alomst think this is a lost discussion board, on Tuesday mornings, it looks like a WWE board.
By switching it to the last however many thread it would most likely show a greater varity of topics being discussed.
Another thing I have seen work at another board was an Arcade, they have alot of old flash games, you comete against other board members for high score. It inceased their number of hits, and you could stick your adds on the side of the page.
And if you really want to increase traffic you could always advertise on FARK
Originally posted by brickCould the logo's at the top of the main page be made to reflect the last 10-15 threads posted in, rather than the last 18 posts? Right now if you looked, you would alomst think this is a lost discussion board, on Tuesday mornings, it looks like a WWE board.
I kinda like it the way it is, but I'm not averse to trying it that way. Let me play around with the code.
I think about placing an ad on Fark about once a year. So far, I have come to my senses in time. At some point I'll probably put $100 down in ads on Fark and we'll see what kind of havoc it causes.
Many of us here have blogs and websites: what's the harm in posting a banner ad or a quick note, saying "check out www.the-w.com - it's great!" or something?
Word of mouth advertising is incredible sometimes.
I'd also bring back some kind of Guest Columns. They could be any topic of original content with 250+ words. Or just get Excaliber to do more Satires. A Lost Satire would be cool if he even watches that show.
The easiest thing is to e-mail everyone who stopped coming in like my dentist does to me. "haven't seen you a year, how are you, look at our new offices." If I got an emial like that I'd think it was cool, even if "spam."
Originally posted by OliverMany of us here have blogs and websites: what's the harm in posting a banner ad or a quick note, saying "check out www.the-w.com - it's great!" or something?
Word of mouth advertising is incredible sometimes.
Funny, because I was thinking (and intend on doing) the same exact thing.
Originally posted by OliverMany of us here have blogs and websites: what's the harm in posting a banner ad or a quick note, saying "check out www.the-w.com - it's great!" or something?
Word of mouth advertising is incredible sometimes.
Funny, because I was thinking (and intend on doing) the same exact thing.
I suggested it (The W) a while ago...the reaction back then was quite the opposite of what I'd hoped. No harm in trying, though!
Originally posted by samoflangeWhile the random quotes are awesome and incredibly fun to read, 95% of them are wrestling related. I'm not sure how to change that while keeping with the "integrity" of a random quote, but that surely contributes to the wrestling board stigma.
Two ideas about this:
1) I have no idea how hard it would be to implement, but what if the "Random Quotes" in each forum were drawn from only that forum? Then people who never go to the Wrestling forum would see a lot fewer wrestling quotes.
2) On the main page, maybe the randomizer could choose the forum first, and then the quote? This would reduce wrestling quotes to 1 out of 16 (I'm assuming Banished and Test don't get quotes) and maybe highlight the less popular forums.
As far as more general stuff -- what if the board was simply more welcoming? I realize that this is a fine line -- I like this board because there aren't a lot of sub-literate goons, and the reason that there aren't a lot of sub-literate goons is that CRZ drives them off pretty quickly.
But I almost never see you (CRZ) saying anything like "Great post! Welcome to the board!" or "Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Welcome aboard!" or whatever. I do see a lot of "Please stop posting," "Please don't start any more threads," and posts with similar sentiments expressed. Now, those of us who have been around a while can look past the veneer and see the boundless love and patience underneath, but people who are lurking or just arrived might only see the sarcasm and the insults and the pure, utter disdain. New arrivals might figure that it's just not worth the effort to figure out how to avoid the (seemingly, to a rookie) capricious wrath of our beloved dictator, and go elsewhere.
Another idea to make the board more welcoming: what about an "Introduce Yourself" forum? When a new person registers, a link could appear on their main page, inviting them to write an introductory post -- clicking on the link would create a new thread in the "Introduce Yourself" forum, the title of which would be the new person's user name (or, alternatively, and simpler, there could just be a single thread, stickied to the top of, say, the "One Question" forum, with a direct link from the front page)? It gives new people a place to jump in, get their feet wet, be welcomed by the regulars...having it prominently displayed would give people an easy entryway, and, once they post and are responded to, if gives them an immediate sense of being part of a community.
Just thoughts.
--K
Last 5 movies seen: Mongolian Ping Pong - The Departed - Over the Hedge - A Prairie Home Companion - Edmond
Originally posted by Guru ZimI think about placing an ad on Fark about once a year. So far, I have come to my senses in time. At some point I'll probably put $100 down in ads on Fark and we'll see what kind of havoc it causes.
That will be a fun month.
How about when this link was green-lighted? Was there any lasting effect (positive/negative) on the board's traffic from that?
Originally posted by AlessandroHow about when this link was green-lighted? Was there any lasting effect (positive/negative) on the board's traffic from that?
Negatory. I believe FARKers tend to click...then close. But who can blame them? If they spent any more time here, they'd fall further behind over at FARK! ;-)
Originally posted by Karlos the JackalBut I almost never see you (CRZ) saying anything like "Great post! Welcome to the board!" or "Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Welcome aboard!" or whatever. I do see a lot of "Please stop posting," "Please don't start any more threads," and posts with similar sentiments expressed. Now, those of us who have been around a while can look past the veneer and see the boundless love and patience underneath, but people who are lurking or just arrived might only see the sarcasm and the insults and the pure, utter disdain. New arrivals might figure that it's just not worth the effort to figure out how to avoid the (seemingly, to a rookie) capricious wrath of our beloved dictator, and go elsewhere.
I think you REALLY have to look to find RECENT posts like that from me, so I can't imagine any newbies really quickly scared off unless their first stop is Banished (and maybe they deserve what they get if that's how they surf). Any positive reinforcement I tend to give out will usually come in the form of a private message.
I guess I could add a blurb to "One Question..." as that's really the best place to jump in, and one of the reasons I started that forum. The only real time I've seen this done is when babetsavant started here, answering a few questions a day for a few consecutive visits, until eventually branching out and moving into some TV threads.
Originally posted by CRZAny positive reinforcement I tend to give out will usually come in the form of a private message.
...and you know, that could be a problem you might want to work on. Perhaps, if lurkers and new people to the board see that you actually don't hate everyone on here, they might decide to stay around longer.
If the guy running the board hates the people using it, why would anyone want to start posting with a bunch of losers?
...not that we ARE losers or anything, you know.
Another thing is that most people on the internet are rather lazy and they don't want to really do anything... like having to sign up to post. Is it possible to make it where some one could reply for a few times at least without having to fill out a form? Perhaps make a few of the forums where it's open to everyone and anyone and have other forums just for people who are logged in.
This might be a hassle, but with all the mods you have, it couldn't be that hard to 'police' if that's what your afraid of. I'm just thinking that after a few posts, if they like the place, they might sign up to see what else we have to offer and stay longer?
Things should sort themselves out 100% in the next 72 hours but there may be temporary interruptions in access to sites that I was hosting DNS for. These include the-w.com and slashwrestling, along with the rest of our internet empire.