For the fans, by the fans

Tell us how to make the site a better place, and we'll pretend the idea was ours all along.....

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Abdoulaye's Twin
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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Abdoulaye's Twin » Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:14 am

Lost Leopard Spot wrote:Can I just say that I don't believe for a second that Dan's report was edited by Tango - (not a single mention extolling the virtues of SKD).
Have you tried reading it backwards yet? Quite resourceful is our Mr Dancer Man :wink:

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by keveh » Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:50 am

Unfortunately the front page has taken a dramatic fall from grace recently, in fact it's probably been over the past couple of years.

Ratbert and Tango have had to beg and plead for previews and reports up until the point where it just wasn't worth asking any more. The same people were doing them over and over which got tedious for them, which inevitably meant they stopped writing them.

The problem we have is that the internet has changed a hell of a lot since we first started out. Facebook had only just launched (to a very small audience) and Twitter wasn't even an idea. Articles are what people used to come to the site for, with the forum supporting it. Slowly over time as information became available the very second it happened the front page and forum swapped roles. I'd be interested in knowing how many people have the forum bookmarked and haven't visited the homepage in a while.

As I said, information is instantly available, if you are on Twitter when a goal is scored your timeline is filled with celebrations and goal descriptions. People are on their phones at games giving live updates. The club has it's own Twitter and Facebook accounts with photos. This forum has updates for those who don't use those services (thanks TD ;) ). There are now more Bolton sites than ever before, people breaking away from others, so the content has become more diluted. So it's easy to see why writing something for the front page will seem something of a chore.

I know all this sounds a bit negative, but it's the truth. Behind the scenes I actually brought up the idea of getting rid of the front page and having the forum only. We had gone three months without something being put on the homepage which is slightly embarrassing to be honest, but if you don't have content you don't have content. We can't force people to write something for us, we definitely can't afford to pay people.

Personally this is I think the front page needs to work. We need to get rid of the preview and report idea and simply change it to articles. I really like a personal account of the day, what you got up to, the sights and sounds. I don't need to know that Eagles crossed the ball and Sordell finished it off, you can find that information anywhere and even watch a video of it.

The way in which this can be achieved is help from the members, rather than posting a long opening thread post, why not submit this as an article? We can then put it on the site and create a thread linking to it. Here are some examples of threads that I think warrant their own article:

Nostalgia! Your top three moments being a Wanderer - Surely this is begging for an article? Even a series of articles?
Didn't we once try to sign him? - Collating these would be great
Holden Back For Wears. - An article regarding how much Stu will make an impact

There are some individual posts that could easily become articles:
viewtopic.php?p=802524#p802524" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
viewtopic.php?p=798521#p798521" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or of course we are open to suggestions about what you would like on the front page. Is there something that you don't think is catered for on other sites?
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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Lost Leopard Spot » Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:02 am

I'm not disagreeing with ^ above and I know the information is out there already but I think it would be a good idea if there was also information on the home page.
For example a listing of all the season's games, with results added as they roll by. I'll compile it if you like, so long as people feel it's a good idea...
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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by CrazyHorse » Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:10 am

Nice idea spotty, but you're not allowed to publish a list of games and results and the league table without permission from (and paying a fee to) the football league.
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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Lost Leopard Spot » Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:18 am

CrazyHorse wrote:Nice idea spotty, but you're not allowed to publish a list of games and results and the league table without permission from (and paying a fee to) the football league.
Ahhh. that's a bummer then.
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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Abdoulaye's Twin » Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:46 am

Fyi... I still land on the homepage and navigate to the forum. Back in the day it was the articles that drew me to the site. That and the fact BB was full of nobs. I'll try and muster some ideas for an article, though to be honest I feel so remote from the club these days I'm not sure what I can summon. Maybe who the manager of the week for postcode will be next week or summat...

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by bwfcdan94 » Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:06 pm

Abdoulaye's Twin wrote:
Lost Leopard Spot wrote:Can I just say that I don't believe for a second that Dan's report was edited by Tango - (not a single mention extolling the virtues of SKD).
Have you tried reading it backwards yet? Quite resourceful is our Mr Dancer Man :wink:
He did not edit it at all other than a few spelling/ punctuation changes from what he said to me. To be honest when I joined the forum (less than a year ago) the first thing I did was read some of the articles and I think to be honest if our homepage looks poor then it is not exactly going to draw new members (maybe that is what some of you want, who knows), no disrespect intended by the way and there are endless reasons why the home page has had a bit of a collapse but I think even just an article every week would make a world of difference. Come on lads and lasses lets get typing.
The above post is complete bollox/garbage/nonsense, please point this out to me at any and every occasion possible.

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Abdoulaye's Twin » Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:35 pm

bwfcdan94 wrote:
Abdoulaye's Twin wrote:
Lost Leopard Spot wrote:Can I just say that I don't believe for a second that Dan's report was edited by Tango - (not a single mention extolling the virtues of SKD).
Have you tried reading it backwards yet? Quite resourceful is our Mr Dancer Man :wink:
He did not edit it at all other than a few spelling/ punctuation changes from what he said to me. To be honest when I joined the forum (less than a year ago) the first thing I did was read some of the articles and I think to be honest if our homepage looks poor then it is not exactly going to draw new members (maybe that is what some of you want, who knows), no disrespect intended by the way and there are endless reasons why the home page has had a bit of a collapse but I think even just an article every week would make a world of difference. Come on lads and lasses lets get typing.
It was fine Dan. Really. We were just pulling Tango's leg. Agree with you on the homepage. How about the low down on some of our young stars next?

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Annoyed Grunt » Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:28 pm

Site is bookmarked, but not the the front page...goes straight to the forum..

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by bwfcdan94 » Thu Jan 31, 2013 6:53 pm

Abdoulaye's Twin wrote:
bwfcdan94 wrote:
Abdoulaye's Twin wrote:
Lost Leopard Spot wrote:Can I just say that I don't believe for a second that Dan's report was edited by Tango - (not a single mention extolling the virtues of SKD).
Have you tried reading it backwards yet? Quite resourceful is our Mr Dancer Man :wink:
He did not edit it at all other than a few spelling/ punctuation changes from what he said to me. To be honest when I joined the forum (less than a year ago) the first thing I did was read some of the articles and I think to be honest if our homepage looks poor then it is not exactly going to draw new members (maybe that is what some of you want, who knows), no disrespect intended by the way and there are endless reasons why the home page has had a bit of a collapse but I think even just an article every week would make a world of difference. Come on lads and lasses lets get typing.
It was fine Dan. Really. We were just pulling Tango's leg. Agree with you on the homepage. How about the low down on some of our young stars next?
Ok will try to do it at the weekend.
The above post is complete bollox/garbage/nonsense, please point this out to me at any and every occasion possible.

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Prufrock » Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:27 pm

My bookmark goes straight to the forums, has done pretty much since I joined. I always read the articles though, as there is normally a thread started which links to them so I don't miss them. I understand the idea of getting rid of the front page, but even though I don't use it, I'd quite like to keep it, as it is one of the many little things that elevate this place above the generic same template forums you see about.
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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by mrkint » Fri Feb 01, 2013 1:05 am

pru, shalls we do a report for watford?

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by TANGODANCER » Fri Feb 01, 2013 10:00 am

mrkint wrote:pru, shalls we do a report for watford?
Would be well appreciated.
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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Prufrock » Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:27 pm

mrkint wrote:pru, shalls we do a report for watford?
Since when were you a f*cking meerkat?
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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by truewhite15 » Fri Feb 01, 2013 11:05 pm

Good points, well made by all. I think the general air of disappointment and disillusionment that has pervaded the club and it's fanbase for the past 18 months have been a major cause of the increasing lethargy as regards the front page, and the articles.

I've done a few articles in my time on the forums, and now the thought occurs to me, I'm gonna knock one up over the weekend for publishing next week - it's under the working title "Passing The Torch", although it could just as easily work under "Spreading The Misery", or "Misery Loves Company"...

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Dujon » Fri Feb 01, 2013 11:28 pm

For the information of Kev: I always come in via the front page. The main page and the forum are both bookmarked but the latter is only used should I come back to the site for a second time on the same day (which is rarely).

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Hoboh » Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:42 pm

truewhite15 wrote:Good points, well made by all. I think the general air of disappointment and disillusionment that has pervaded the club and it's fanbase for the past 18 months have been a major cause of the increasing lethargy as regards the front page, and the articles.

I've done a few articles in my time on the forums, and now the thought occurs to me, I'm gonna knock one up over the weekend for publishing next week - it's under the working title "Passing The Torch", although it could just as easily work under "Spreading The Misery", or "Misery Loves Company"...
Urrrgh, the thought.

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Hoboh » Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:42 pm

truewhite15 wrote:Good points, well made by all. I think the general air of disappointment and disillusionment that has pervaded the club and it's fanbase for the past 18 months have been a major cause of the increasing lethargy as regards the front page, and the articles.

I've done a few articles in my time on the forums, and now the thought occurs to me, I'm gonna knock one up over the weekend for publishing next week - it's under the working title "Passing The Torch", although it could just as easily work under "Spreading The Misery", or "Misery Loves Company"...
Urrrgh, the thought.

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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by CAPSLOCK » Wed Feb 13, 2013 10:27 am

Dear Admin - you can list the fixtures...only recently, mind

If you google, you'll discover the ins and outs
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Re: For the fans, by the fans

Post by Athers » Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:06 pm

Think the space we occupied for articles has been jumped into by LOVS, Mark who runs it is very prolific (paid?) and has even signed up a few other writers now and then. As an ex-writer/mod I am fond of this place but I'm always up for people writing something with enthusiasm about BWFC, agree or not with the content. As far as I remember we were the only ones doing this for a long time.

I don't want to say "We had a good run" but there does come a point of fatigue for each writer and there's not as much 'thrill' of publication on an internet nowadays where you can microblog or comment to 100s of people instantly. This is probably a shame.

As also mentioned who wants to be enthusiastic writing about where we are now? Maintaining a patient positive attitude is testing enough sometimes.

I agree that match reports are out and what would work may be things like:
- Bigger picture articles (e.g. review of a transfer window)
- Humour
- Memory lane types
- Review of the BWFC finances

I'm sure we have the skill on the boards to do the above, just the enthusiasm is a long way down from when we had dozens competing for a slot in the printed version of the fanzine.
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