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Who reads the TSM content site?

Who reads the TSM content site?  

99 members have voted

  1. 1. Who reads the TSM content site?

    • I go to TheSmartMarks.com and read the columns
      24
    • I go to TheSmartMarks.com, but only to get to the forum
      10
    • I only visit the TSM forum
      44
    • TSM has a content site?
      15


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A "big name" columnist sometimes can make all the difference, whether they're actually a good writer or not. Do you think anyone would go to InsidePulse if not for Keith, Hyatte, Scotsman, etc?

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You're overthinking this RRR. Other than that, you're awesome man.

Nah. You have to think like that. If your goal is to hire more writers and have them write more often, then you'll wind up in the same situation as you are now because it won't last.

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You're overthinking this RRR.  Other than that, you're awesome man.

Nah. You have to think like that. If your goal is to hire more writers and have them write more often, then you'll wind up in the same situation as you are now because it won't last.

 

We've got enough guys on staff to pick up the slack for others who are late with work and such. I see no reason to expand the writing ranks at this time.

 

If the revamp would have gone through then I would have looked at possibly adding new names. To the Pop Culture section. But, if the revamp would have gone through then the number of new articles to come out on a regular basis would have already increased without me adding any new Wrestling writers. The Wrestling guys would have supplied more than enough material in a week since we review the major WWE shows and have a couple of guys who could have reviewed other companies as well. Stability was what I was looking for and we would have gotten that with the Wrestling writers line-up.

 

The Pop Culture section would have been the only writing side of things I would have looked to increase after the revamp. Adding new Wrestling writers wasn't something I felt we would have had to do if the revamp went through. That was something I'd have looked at further on down the road.

 

I'll admit, I check out the Comic Books section of InsidePulse but that's only to read JasonX's work. He's the best comic book review guy they have there.

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A "big name" columnist sometimes can make all the difference, whether they're actually a good writer or not.  Do you think anyone would go to InsidePulse if not for Keith, Hyatte, Scotsman, etc?

 

No doubt. I was going to ask Hyatte if he'd be interested in writing for the site after I heard rumblings about his unhappiness with InsidePulse. But, I held off since we didn't even have the front site in order. Not to mention how the writing staff was still "on the bubble" since I wasn't sure who'd stick around or be willing to write.

 

EL DANDY~! once told me he thought TSM was going to become the Yankees of the IWC with all the writing talent we were loaded with. I didn't disagree with him. Except Dames is a way more sane and level-headed owner than Georgie Porgie. Waaaayyy more.

 

I didn't think getting ahead of myself would be in the best interest of everyone else either. Head hunting for Hyatte or someone else wasn't going to happen until way later. Shit, we didn't even have a color scheme picked out for the revamped front site.

 

Myx's post said what I was going to say too. But better.

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You're living in a dream if you think just putting out quality articles is going to get you an audience on the internet and make you distinct.

Rudo, you're right on everything except this point.

 

TSM is apart of a web of wrestling/pop culture websites. I heard of TSM from a wrestling website, WWFWCW.com. It was a word-of-mouth kind of thing. When I got here in 2002, the articles were well written.

 

They weren't grammatically-challenged or of horrible quality. I believe that one of the main reasons I heard about TSM in the first place was the quality of their written pieces. A site can gain a following based upon well written articles and features. I, in turn, told a few of my friends to check out the site. I believe that some others did the same.

 

If TSM plans on writing about wrestling or pop culture with depth and passion, I see no reason that word-of-mouth cannot act as an effective advertising tool. I honestly believe that the hardest part of this equation is going to be the in-depth writing.

 

Write well and they will come.

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I guess it depends on what kind of success you are looking for, but I don't think just writing good articles is going to draw a significant amount of people to the site. At least initially. Like I said, it's possible to get an audience from quality work, but it takes time to build a reputation. Patience is something the site lacks. So this flows over to what the sites objectives are. I don't think there really are clear objectives here. What's the Mission Statement? This is crucial not only for the format of the site, but for the writers as well. If the writers don't share the same goals as the site, then you'll lose em. Then you can't build up the image of a "quality site" because of such a high turnover, there is no "following", and then you can't get more people reading.

 

I think the articles are the easiest and the hardest thing to do. Initially it's the easiest, as there are ideas flowing and people are passionate. The hardest thing (re)starting up is getting attention. It's tough, as people inherantly desire instant gratification. They put in the work, now where's the pat on the back? When that doesn't happen, how will the writers respond? Do they quit after 2 or 3 articles or do they keep going? A support system between writers and site and even forum would probably be needed. If the promotion is done right, perhaps a few partnerships made with other sites, TSM could attract a large audience within a month. That's when the writing becomes the hardest because you have to build the habit, hold that interest, and keep the articles constant and consistant. In terms of wrestling writing, that's pretty easy. TSM is near the top of wrestling forums, IMO. Only a few would I consider to have more knowledgable people, and I don't think any are able to balance quantity with quality like TSM does. Plenty of people disagree with me on that, which is fine, that's just how I feel. This forum matches what I want.

 

In terms of pop culture though? This place will get smoked. Yes, there have been some really good reviews on this site BUT those are few and far between. A site like AICN is able to do that more often, which is why I go there for my movie stuff and not here, or InsidePulse, or 411. I do like the weekly DVD releases feature, though. It's a good resource. And that's a key feature websites - being a resource. That's how I found all the websites I go to today. I wanted Tape Reviews and I found DVDVRMB, Shootangle ARC, Justin Baisden and Scott Keith (and by extension Rantsyvania>>>TSM) or if I wanted BIOs on certain wrestlers I found TOA. If I wanted wrestling news I found WWFWCW.com ( ;) ) and Crimson Mask and eventually got around to WrestlingObserver. Would you consider TSM today to be that good of a resource? This ties back into objectives and USP and what TSM should be. This was a pretty long process to finally find the right sites for me, and it took me weeding through the bad stuff to find the good stuff. It takes time. I don't think its as simple as "a friend telling a friend", unless that's what the objective of the site is.

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Guest Dazed

Here goes...

 

 

The main page is rubbish.

 

JHawk and PK bring the content every week with Raw and SmackDown, but outside of that, what is there to check out? Bearing in mind, there's 1,000 places online to find out the latest WWE results, what incentive is there to check out JHawk and PK? This is not a knock on them - both are great at what they do - but why go out of your way to check them out when a site like 411 has three perspectives on the show and all the new WWE news and so on?

 

Aditionally, if you want to know the latest on the baseball... I personally don't watch baseball, but I'd go to a dedicated baseball site, rather than a wrestling site that does a bit of baseball. I absolutely wouldn't put TSM down as my first "omg must see for baseball" site. And unless the goal is "get the writers onto a better baseball site", you're wasting your time.

 

As for the wrestling content... I wouldn't downplay it. Look at the search engine stats - everyone who finds the site is looking for TSM or Torrie Wilson. Nobody searches for "new baseball news plz" and gets TSM at the top. It just doesn't happen. Saying that the wrestling writers are good and that's the only reason the wrestling part of the site isn't cut is not moralising. In fact, it says "hey, nobody (including us) cares about WWE, but you're good at writing so we'll let you carry on". That's bullshit. TSM was always about wrestling with a bit of pop culture. Now it's pop culture and we'll let them carry on doing raw and smackdown. When was the last non Raw / SD / PPV column published? I remember when it was all wrestling based.

 

As for these supposed design changes... hahahaha... They were proposed in the summer, and the only thing that has changed has been an update on the links bar on the main page. Good effort boys. I know you're all busy and TSM is hardly a high priority, but if it's that bad, just fucking kill it off and get rid of it. Let it die rather than have it hang around in such a horrible state.

 

Dames tried to put me off covering the New Years Revolution PPV, saying he wanted to do it himself and make it his big comeback. Look how that panned out... it ended up with neither of us covering it, even though I had plenty to say. Thanks D, much appreciated. Just like you reading nothing on the front fucking page unless specifically prompted, and then blowing it off as long as you can.

 

Thanks.

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I rarely ever go to the main page. I just go to my address bar, scroll down, and link directly to the forums. I don't know what's wrong with just having the forum, either. If I want to write a column, it would be better to write it on the site because you're more likely to get feedback and at least you know someone has read it.

 

The sites I go to now are mainly forum-driven, rather than site-driven. That's because the main thing I want is wrestling discussion. Maybe the forum should be polled on what they're looking for when they go to TSM (the results of the poll above say that most people are looking for discussion as well) and what they'd like to see. Of course, I'm not willing to do any of this and am just talking like the rest of the folk in this thread, but when ever anything is going to be done here, I suggest doing some research first.

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Guest Contentious C

Nik just hit the points that really matter. It isn't a priority to anyone - not really. It's just something to complain about. How many other boards was Josh fucking around with at once? What, 3 or 4? And where the Hell is SNKT now? Oh, it's dead, and the time spent on that waste of money and electricity could have gone towards upgrading here.

 

And 'saving the articles' wouldn't have been that fucking tough if people PLANNED. AT ALL. All you have to do is C&P the article into Notepad (I was one of the very few people who actually made HTML changes through ArtMan, so a simple C&P is totally doable) and give the fucker a name. And yes, that's a lot of work...if you're dumb enough to leave it to one person. But if 5 people work on it, and everyone saves, say, 20 articles a day, you eventually get them done. Or tell everyone who's submitted something to save their own articles, and have one person go back through and pick off all the stuff from former writers. Then, everyone is in charge of uploading their own articles when the time comes. But did this happen? No - it became "practically impossible" and no one did anything. Every journey begins with a single step, you know. Have to get off your ass and do it if you plan on getting anywhere. I mean, has anyone done anything to even theoretically prep for a revamp? Are there any designs being floated around or discussed? Does anyone have some idea what they want the site to look like - and I mean down to the details - color scheme, fonts, placements?? Anything???

 

And Hell, the job would be easier now - all the stuff on there is from the same names every time, which makes the "writers deal with their own shit" direction a snap - but again, you've managed to kick up a 90+ post thread rather than get in gear and do something. Maybe a few more meetings about when to meet will get you somewhere though, guys...and hey, maybe you can make a few decisions that don't require extra meetings to confirm those decisions!

 

But, like they say, you want something done, you gotta do it yourself. It's the one thing that makes being a small-fry site MORE than worth it.

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To answer Nik here...

 

Aditionally, if you want to know the latest on the baseball... I personally don't watch baseball, but I'd go to a dedicated baseball site, rather than a wrestling site that does a bit of baseball. I absolutely wouldn't put TSM down as my first "omg must see for baseball" site. And unless the goal is "get the writers onto a better baseball site", you're wasting your time.

 

My arrival here was a case of the site finding a writer, rather than the site filling the position. I am not sure if the Smart Marks would have a different baseball writer in my absense, and personally I doubt it. If you read my columns, you'll find that they are almost never recaps of what's going on in baseball. They are more opinion pieces. I know there is little meaning in being a baseball writer for a small wrestling web-site, but I am honestly just doing what I want to do, with or without a web site. TSM just supplies me with an opportunity to have my work posted so others can enjoy it. I know I don't get as many readers as our wrestling writers, but I feel I do a good job doing what I do, and judging by some of the kind comments in this thread, I think others enjoy my work as well.

 

TSM was always about wrestling with a bit of pop culture. Now it's pop culture and we'll let them carry on doing raw and smackdown. When was the last non Raw / SD / PPV column published? I remember when it was all wrestling based.

 

I agree with this point. Like I said before, there are alot of areas we can address outside show reviews, and there are many, many topics a column can cover, that would offer fresh and innovative content.

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Guest Failed Mascot
You guys gotta make the site profitable, $$$ is a great incentive. Whore out Downhome.

The idea is to make money, not lose it.

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TSM was always about wrestling with a bit of pop culture. Now it's pop culture and we'll let them carry on doing raw and smackdown. When was the last non Raw / SD / PPV column published? I remember when it was all wrestling based.

 

I agree with this point. Like I said before, there are alot of areas we can address outside show reviews, and there are many, many topics a column can cover, that would offer fresh and innovative content.

Al's right-on here.

 

Every shitty wrestling site out there does the standard RAW, SD, and B-show reviews. What made TSM stand out was what we did OUTSIDE the normal scope of things.

 

 

My shoots are a good example of that, as shoots were rarely reviewed before I did it. SK did about 4-5 of them, but they were mostly half-assed.

 

 

Doing them on a regular basis attracted one set of readers, as they didn't want to pay for the taped interviews.

 

More readers came in once it became a weekly history lesson that tied together historical wrestling knowledge with the current events of the day in wrestling.

 

 

Some of the more interesting quotes that showed up in the articles were how TSM got a LOT of hits, as Tom Zenk in particular snagged quotes out of the Road Warriors and Vader interviews to support his arguments during his weekly columns.

 

Getting links from Zenk helped bring in a new readership because Zenk was the current darling of the Smark set, as he'd tear the WWF a new one every week while pandering to the Smarks in general.

 

(On a completely unrelated note, I once got asked for Stan Hansen's contact info by a researcher for a Japanese TV crew because I'd just reviewed Hansen's shoot.)

 

 

Someone coming up with something good and innovative could end up doing the same thing. This shits happens randomly all the time on the web, such as Zenk picking up on my shoots or Lance Storm attempting to rip the DVDVR guys a new asshole for their DVDVR 500 list.

 

Given the obvious grasp for history that Loss has, he could easily put something together that would get someone's interest.

 

Maybe a Fit Finlay or Johnny Ace could pick up on something because it covered the history of their careers in Europe and Japan. Maybe Bobby Heenan could read an article contrasting the great managers in history. etc. etc. etc.

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Guest Failed Mascot

Loss should do his damndest to piss off somebody like Hardcore Holly. Shit all over that Sparkplug gimmik and his racing.

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I'll do a weekly opinion piece instead of the other crap I said earlier. It'll require me to watch Smackdown again, but I can take that bullet. I mean, I'm not some wrestling genius, but people already read loads of those anyway. A change of pace would be nice.

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Guest Loss
You need to find a better niche than "pop culture and wrestling".

Agreed 100%.

 

And maybe it wasn't intended this way, but I don't think it's likely that anyone who has anything worthwhile to say about wrestling is going to be intrigued about writing for the site when some of the people behind it would rather move on without wrestling being a part of it at all, just because the Attitude era is over. The pop culture universe is a much bigger one than the pro wrestling one, and if you want to go there, more power to you, but there are going to be hundreds of sites that do it better.

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Guest Loss

BTW, I commend Nik for calling Dames out on this subject, and I really think he should address that here. I think an explanation is owed for why you would disallow another columnist to cover something that you want to cover, only to end up not doing it when someone else was willing and able. Is TSM a site about content or is it about the rest of us propping up Dames's diatribes? Would you rather take a stand on the site and what you want for it or would you prefer to put yourself over for writing a forgotten episode of Smackdown back in 2000? I hate to be so blunt, but people have put a lot of stop-and-start effort into rebuilding this site all year long with no real indication of where it's all going.

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Guest goodhelmet

Sass...

You dropped off the TSM radar, as well as mine, when I was trying to get Chris Coey set-up writing. I had forgotten how you even knew the system set-up. I forget how we even hooked back up again to get Chris and the others set-up. I asked Chris to write for TSM back in February but you and I didn't meet up until like April or so (I think) to discuss stuff.

 

Bro, I was still around. I wasn't here at TSM. SNKT was right around the corner. In fact, I was there frequently.

 

In regards to taking some work off your shoulders, I hated asking you to help set-up *every* new writer. Being a new dad myself, I know what the prgenancy DAYZ~! can be like and you were also teaching too. I didn't want you to get bogged down with TSM stuff. You were the set-up guy and I didn't want burnout to set in with you. It's a thankless job and nothing was forcing you to stick around.

 

It really wasn' that big of a deal. If I was on the comp, I can set a guy up in a few minutes. We weren't setting up 30 accounts a day.

 

 

GTD...

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what the problem is with the site.

 

No it isn't.

 

Out-of-date design. Lack of readers. Poor leadership. Poor communication. The list goes on...

 

While the lack of quality wrestling these days hurts, I believe there are ways we can work around it. Historical projects such as the ones Loss has banded about are excellent ideas. There particularly is a lack of good wrestling information pre-1990. Also, I think it might be a good idea to explore issues beyond the current product. What really draws fans, etc.? If we could get some good analysis that digs to the heart of professional wrestling, that could really benefit the site.

 

Agreed 100%

 

I think we could use some new writers to beef up the content of the page. Cover undercovered areas, such as NWA-TNA. Perhaps have someone write up a weekly wrap-up, so that those of use who don't watch as much can still keep up with current storylines and developments quickly.

 

This is a problem. Who is going to write them? Do you put someone on staff for the sake of covering something? Do you sacrifice quality? Who is going to edit the work? The initial goal was to have all bases covered. Sadly, you spread yourselves thin when that happens.

 

To RRR...

Agreed with almost everything you said.

 

 

NIk...

JHawk and PK bring the content every week with Raw and SmackDown, but outside of that, what is there to check out? Bearing in mind, there's 1,000 places online to find out the latest WWE results, what incentive is there to check out JHawk and PK? This is not a knock on them - both are great at what they do - but why go out of your way to check them out when a site like 411 has three perspectives on the show and all the new WWE news and so on?

 

Agreed 100%

 

Aditionally, if you want to know the latest on the baseball... I personally don't watch baseball, but I'd go to a dedicated baseball site, rather than a wrestling site that does a bit of baseball. I absolutely wouldn't put TSM down as my first "omg must see for baseball" site. And unless the goal is "get the writers onto a better baseball site", you're wasting your time.

 

Agreed but what TSM does offer is a site for these guys to work on their writing... even if they don't get the most readers or even if the bread and butter of the site isn't baseball.

 

As for these supposed design changes... hahahaha... They were proposed in the summer, and the only thing that has changed has been an update on the links bar on the main page. Good effort boys. I know you're all busy and TSM is hardly a high priority, but if it's that bad, just fucking kill it off and get rid of it. Let it die rather than have it hang around in such a horrible state.

 

Agreed 100%

 

Dames tried to put me off covering the New Years Revolution PPV, saying he wanted to do it himself and make it his big comeback. Look how that panned out... it ended up with neither of us covering it, even though I had plenty to say. Thanks D, much appreciated. Just like you reading nothing on the front fucking page unless specifically prompted, and then blowing it off as long as you can.

 

This is fucked up! And this is where leadership comes into play. You have a perfectly good writer WILLING to cover a show but the show doesn't get done because you tell him you are going to do it... then don't do it??? That is some bullshit.

 

DAMES! WHERE ARE YOU??? There are 4 pages of a thread discussing your website and are nowhere to be found! Hell, even I came out of the woodwork for this. This nik story reminds me of ROH. In the beginning, ROH was barely covered and most people had to get reviews from Baisden... hardly a reliable resource. You were going to review the tapes. ROH was your puppy. You broke up with your girlfriend and we got a whopping two reviews. Jhawk was willing to do it and it took a near mutiny for you to agree to let him give it a go.

 

Is the website a vehicle to promote Dames or a vehicle to promote new writers and get some wrestling discussion going? That is another reason I stopped working on the website. You and I clearly had two different visions of what we wanted TSM to be. When Sass came aboard I was ready to jump into it again but the same snafus and BS had to be dealt with. It took a group effort to convince you to feature the Cr-unch, the shoots and a history section. Were you upset we didn't ask or request a Dames section?

 

 

Al...

My arrival here was a case of the site finding a writer, rather than the site filling the position. I am not sure if the Smart Marks would have a different baseball writer in my absense, and personally I doubt it. If you read my columns, you'll find that they are almost never recaps of what's going on in baseball. They are more opinion pieces. I know there is little meaning in being a baseball writer for a small wrestling web-site, but I am honestly just doing what I want to do, with or without a web site. TSM just supplies me with an opportunity to have my work posted so others can enjoy it. I know I don't get as many readers as our wrestling writers, but I feel I do a good job doing what I do, and judging by some of the kind comments in this thread, I think others enjoy my work as well.

 

Al, I don't think Nik was attacking you personally. I think it was just to illustrate how the site has lost focus of what it is... a wrestling website!!! It is the offspring of a wrestling site, the forum is still wrestling-centered. Nearly everyone, regardless of their current interests, got here in one way or another because of an interest in wrestling at one point.

 

Loss...

And maybe it wasn't intended this way, but I don't think it's likely that anyone who has anything worthwhile to say about wrestling is going to be intrigued about writing for the site when some of the people behind it would rather move on without wrestling being a part of it at all, just because the Attitude era is over. The pop culture universe is a much bigger one than the pro wrestling one, and if you want to go there, more power to you, but there are going to be hundreds of sites that do it better.

 

Once again, wrestling is the bread and butter. It is what this site has a foundation in.

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And where the Hell is SNKT now? Oh, it's dead, and the time spent on that waste of money and electricity could have gone towards upgrading here.

 

Bitter much?

 

Actually, your comment is more misinformed than anything else. The only administrative link between TSM and SNKT was IllustriousOne and, while Ill competently dealt with the occasional SQL/webhosting issue at SNKT, it's not like he burned such a huge portion of time that he somehow was incapable of being an administrator here.

 

Furthermore, he allowed us to share his hosting for SNKT, so long as we paid for our part of the rent (which we did), but neither he nor TSM ever paid a dime for any of SNKT's operations. I paid for the first year of SNKT's web hosting, CJ took his turn for the next abbreviated year.

 

So, if you're calling Ill out, you're wrong. If you're not calling Ill out, then you're misinformed, misguided, or just plain stupid. In either case, please take your foot out of your mouth before you try to talk about a forum that you were banned from months ago. Thanks.

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Oh, and for a side note, it's kind of funny to see all everybody involved with the site airing their dirty laundry in the public forum WDI-style. You guys do have an administrative folder, right?

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Guest Loss

Well, the topic was started here and it just sort of evolved from there. And yeah, looks like we're all getting our word in. All except the Unfuckwithable Owner, anyway.

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Well, he pays the bills and checks in once a month to make sure the place hasn't burned down so, unless you have his digits, why don't you move it into the administrative folder until he can view it at his own leisure?

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Guest Failed Mascot

I don't feel like quoting shit and what not but when its comes to alkeiper's pieces I'll tell you why I enjoy reading them more than even the stuff the ESPN.com writers write. He doesn't favor one team and make it obvious. He's a Phillies fan but is completely honest about where they are or where the rest of the league is. Its not like Buster Olney who is breaking down off-season deals and telling you everything the Yankees did was gold while the Red Sox(mostly) and the rest of the league took whatever scraps Steinbrenner allowed.

 

You have a good baseball writer. Just because this isn't a premiere baseball or even sports site doesn't mean he should be taken for granted. Somebody with the power to give him a position on one of those sites is going to notice him sooner or later, so appreciate what ya got while ya got it.

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I don't want to rag on Dames for not putting in the time here. The guy has different priorities now, and TSM doesn't appear to be on top of the list. That's fine with me, I come for discussion on the forum and that's what I get. I don't need an explanation. The vast majority of people on this site, if the poll here is accurate, feel the same way. I do, however, feel a lil bad for the writers of the site. They put the time and effort in supporting the site through their articles and columns, and the site really isn't supporting them. I think that maybe Dames should give them an explanation. Maybe he should say what his objectives and goals for the site are, because I don't really see a point in watering to a dead plant. If it won't bloom by spring, you should just throw it away (if that's the case). If Jhawk and Nik and Peter and Dr. Tom (etc. etc.) like doing the columns and find it a rewarding experience, that's great, continue on doin what yer doin, I just don't see things improving over the next year.

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Dames tried to put me off covering the New Years Revolution PPV, saying he wanted to do it himself and make it his big comeback. Look how that panned out... it ended up with neither of us covering it, even though I had plenty to say. Thanks D, much appreciated. Just like you reading nothing on the front fucking page unless specifically prompted, and then blowing it off as long as you can.

 

This is fucked up! And this is where leadership comes into play. You have a perfectly good writer WILLING to cover a show but the show doesn't get done because you tell him you are going to do it... then don't do it??? That is some bullshit.

 

DAMES! WHERE ARE YOU??? There are 4 pages of a thread discussing your website and are nowhere to be found! Hell, even I came out of the woodwork for this. This nik story reminds me of ROH. In the beginning, ROH was barely covered and most people had to get reviews from Baisden... hardly a reliable resource. You were going to review the tapes. ROH was your puppy. You broke up with your girlfriend and we got a whopping two reviews. Jhawk was willing to do it and it took a near mutiny for you to agree to let him give it a go.

 

Is the website a vehicle to promote Dames or a vehicle to promote new writers and get some wrestling discussion going? That is another reason I stopped working on the website. You and I clearly had two different visions of what we wanted TSM to be. When Sass came aboard I was ready to jump into it again but the same snafus and BS had to be dealt with. It took a group effort to convince you to feature the Cr-unch, the shoots and a history section. Were you upset we didn't ask or request a Dames section?

Alright...

 

First off, in response to Nik's comment, I initially did have plans to write up a Diatribe for New Year's Revolution. Nik told me about his intentions as well...and I did NOT tell him NOT to write one. Last Sunday, after the PPV, Nik IM'd me and gave me his opinion on the show, in what seemed to be a prep for his review for the show. In fact, I even told him that night that I probably wouldn't be able to do it and he said that he'd have it up in a couple of days, so quite frankly, his comments came as a shock.

 

As for TSM being solely a vehicle for my work, if I wanted a Dames section, I would have requested one. I wouldn't have bothered reading TONS and TONS of articles when the site first started and turning down half the damn forum if I just wanted it to be about me.

 

Will, you know exactly why I couldn't review the ROH shows and I even went as far as selling you the master copies of which I NEVER viewed because of how I felt. I have not watched a ROH show since the one I reviewed. Did it take a while for me to ok JHawk to review them? Yes and I felt really bad about that. I admit that I should have just been man enough to allow JHawk to step in and review them instead of hamming and hawing about whether or not I was ever going to do it.

 

About the site itself...

 

I still love TSM. It's something that I will always and forever be proud of, because it's something that we all put a lot of time and effort into and obviously, people feel the same way. I feel like I should take most, if not all of the blame here since I haven't been around.

 

This entire year has been difficult for me. It was difficult for me to leave my family, my friends and the work I did here behind for months, but I knew that I could count on those I left in charge. Granted, it was mostly for the forum more so than the site itself and I understand that, but I am very grateful for the work that has been done in my absence and I do sincerely apologize for being gone 90% of the time.

 

But Rudo is right. When I was back in NY, TSM was by far, my number one priority. After my big break up with my ex and losing my job(s) in NY, I threw everything I had into writing my columns, meeting with you guys in chats to discuss things and just be on the internet in general. Now, I'm barely online and the difference has been notable. That's not to say that I don't care at all. I just don't have the time that I used to in order to pump out as much material as I was doing and simply keeping an eye out like I was before.

 

Now, in terms of the future...as I told a couple of people already, I can't just bury TSM and start over. This has history. Regardless of how many people have left, or how little interest there is in the product itself, we ALL helped build this. This isn't just my baby. Will, Dr. Tom, Sass, JHawk, PK, Nik, Loss, the list goes on and on of those who have put a shit load of time into this place and to just bury TSM and start fresh would feel like giving up and shitting on all that effort to me.

 

So, the main question here is...what are we going to do about the site?

 

A revamp is clearly in order here. New logos, new colors, new site layout, everything. However, if all of this were easy, we would have done this a while ago. We need a gameplan, we need to stick to it and execute it.

 

This shouldn't be just my decision here. Many of you helped me when TSM first started, in many ways and you guys have just done SO MUCH for the site that to simply exclude everyone from the decision making process would be a huge slap in the face to all of you. We all need to seriously put our heads together and figure out what we can do here.

 

My first step is to try and be around more often and try to bring back a semblence of what coordination we used to have.

 

Dames

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Guest The Winter Of My Discontent

i'd so more or less embarrassing for everyone involved. maybe I just don't take it *that* seriously

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