Proposed Main Page Relaunch

[Dr. Tom 0]

I have received several PM's from writers and editors so far, hopefully tonight, I will be contacting you all with login information so you can begin testing things out and familiarizing your self with the back end of the site.

 

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http://thesmartmarks.com/

Above is the link to the testing grounds... Soon, I will have the list of writers/editors done, and will be contacting you all with passwords and such so you can login and begin to fill it with crap. Yes, Crap, as in post whatever you want just to fill the database and test things out. Your actual writing will be put to the test later on. I am looking into the rating system thing, however havn't found much to addon to this software such a thing. Linking back to these forums as the same article is the only thing I see right now.

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If you are wanting to become a writer or editor please PM me ( Admin, not Dr. Tom ) on the forums with the following...

First/Last Name*

Pen Name

E-mail

AIM contact (if you don't have one, an MSN or YahooIM, just let me know which one, or all three)

What you want to contribute to..... Sports?, Etertainment? be as specific or as broad as you want, just some type of input.

If you arn't contributing, tell me you want to be a editor or proof reader...

If there is anything else you would like to tell me, let me know...

 

*First and last name are optional, but it would be nice to know you all on a more personal level than board names, when you write an article.

 

 

This top section will be updated time to time with whatever you guys need to know...

 

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Ok, I just finished reading the other thread about the possible relaunch of the mainpage. I must say that I didn't think there was that much interest in getting it going again. It's encouraging to see several people expressing interesting in writing and contributing to it. It's also good to see that those people are among the brightest of our users, and will probably make the best writers, both in terms of quality content and the finer points of spelling and grammar.

 

I've made this new thread so that those who are serious about relaunching the mainpage can contribute to the discussion here. Feel free to re-post your ideas and points here, and to brainstorm about new ones. Here are some things I've considered, based on reading the other thread, my experiences as a writer and editor of the mainpage here, and my experiences with other sites:

 

-- We should stick to articles, not a blog-style system.

 

-- All articles should have a corresponding discussion thread in an "Article Feedback" section. I've seen a few sites where this is created automatically when the article is posted. This would obviously be the easiest way of doing things.

 

-- Writers should have access to a Writers Forum, visible only to the writers, editors, and mods/admins. Here, article ideas can be discussed, information can be shared, etc. Access would be based on group membership and permission masks.

 

-- Writing articles requires posting them in Article Manager, and also requires knowledge of at least basic HTML. I can setup accounts in Article Manager once we've decided who's going to be writing. The way we've done things in the past was to require all writers to have their articles edited, then approved for submission by an editor. The Writers' forum would help make sure that no article sits unapproved for too long. (This all presumes we keep Article Manager, of course...)

 

-- In addition to writers, we would need capable folks to serve as editors. This could be in addition to being a writer, or someone could simply be an editor (note that anyone with Editor rights can still write and publish articles in Article Manager). It would also be good if we could have a talented graphic artist on board.

 

-- Rudo's comments about writers needing feedback intrigue me. I've always felt writing was its own reward, and was an inherently selfish exercise. Perhaps my view was, and is, myopic. Without adopting a blog system, how can we ensure that writers are having their article read? Hit counters? Discussion threads for each article? Something I haven't thought of yet?

 

-- Existing writers who wish to remain writing for the mainpage are, of course, welcome to do so. Past writers who did a good job and are interested in going forward would also be welcomed back into the fold.

 

OK, discuss away.

Edited January 18, 2006 by admin

[Failed Bridge 0]

It would also be good if we could have a talented graphic artist on board.

Ask Papacita

[Art Sandusky 0]

"(x) knuckleheads have also read this article."

 

Seriously, this sounds like a good set of guidelines. Maybe it'd be a good idea to create the writers forum a few days in advance to assure quality on the launch day. Only one chance to make a first impression and all that good stuff.

Edited December 17, 2005 by Kotzenjunge

[Steviekick 0]

Awesome. I can't wait for the relaunch to start.

[Sideburnious 0]

I thought the idea someone said about maybe having a rating system on the articles could be a good idea. Or maybe just offer it to those people that really want feedback on what they have written. Other than that the majority of points you have raised are pretty good

[KingPK 0]

I offer my services as an editor. Coming back to write is still not in the cards right now, though. I'd rather some new guys get the attention instead. I'm the anti-HHH of writing.

[The Czech Republic 0]

I may have no tenure with the site, but I could do some friendly peer editing here and there.

[Guest]

-- Writers should have access to a Writers Forum, visible only to the writers, editors, and mods/admins. Here, article ideas can be discussed, information can be shared, etc. Access would be based on group membership and permission masks.

Good idea.

[k thx 0]

I offer my writing services.

 

For feedback, a link to a thread in the forums would be more than enough, I would think.

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

Will this site be staying in the realm of Pop Culture/Wrestling, or will the main page be branching out into other fields also? Perhaps into the realm of politics or philosophy...?

[Guest Vitamin X]

I think we could do it on just about anything, really. Which is great.

[Guest Leelee]

Sounds good.

 

About the feedback point, I think creating a forum here strictly for feedback would work. Or, combine it in the "TSM Archive" thread. Renaming the forum, of course.

 

I offer my services to be a writer.

 

Also, please define what we can write about here. I wouldn't like the same mess as last time.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I'd be willing to edit articles and test/program for the site. I'd like to commit to writing as well, but I'm not ready to jump into the water just yet, mainly because I don't know if I can dedicate enough time to it.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Will this site be staying in the realm of Pop Culture/Wrestling, or will the main page be branching out into other fields also? Perhaps into the realm of politics or philosophy...?

 

 

^^ what he said. While i'm not exactly political, I like the idea of it branching out to cover whatever topics writers so choose.

[Art Sandusky 0]

I know I'm going to write about any and everything.

[Fökai 0]

Here's a free idea that people may remember - ditch the seperate RAW/Smackdown reviews, and bring back "The Booking Report" article, which pitted each show's segments against each other for the week at hand.

 

It was a unique take that allowed me to skip the recaps at other sites and get a general feel for how the week played out.

[k thx 0]

Here's a free idea that people may remember - ditch the seperate RAW/Smackdown reviews, and bring back "The Booking Report" article, which pitted each show's segments against each other for the week at hand.

 

It was a unique take that allowed me to skip the recaps at other sites and get a general feel for how the week played out.

Or, even better, both.

 

I first get into this site for the Raw and Smackdown re-caps back when I didn't have cable. I think having both would definitely work.

[UZI Suicide 0]

I'd like to volunteer to write for the site if you need some writers.

 

I think one of the main things to make it successful is to make it different. There needs to be something to seperate this site from 411, InsidePulse, etc. which are all pretty much the same type of Wrestling/Pop Culture sites.

 

Bravesfan's idea of bringing back "The Booking Report" was a good one, also have some "gimmicky" things like Round Table Discussions, or if you watch ESPN and PTI or Around the Horn, have a couple of columnists go back and forth on wrestling/sports/pop culture stories each week or day. Put someone in charge of rating posters in the different forums and then whoever they feel is the "Best" poster of the month or week gets to write a column on the front page about whatever they want concerning the topic of the forum they post in.

[Fökai 0]

Having a daily Around The Horn article, although it may be wishful thinking, would be sick.

 

Host a chat, have a set number of guys go in, run with a few topics, then post-edit the transcripts and post it up. It doesn't have to be done every day; to achieve the effect, it only has to be done after notable events (Monday morning, post-RAW/Smackdown/MNF/PPV/big event).

[Guest Leelee]

Daily ATH/PTI isn't plausible, and would lead to overkill, plus how much is there to talk about everyday... but, weekly/bi-weekly would be badass.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Will this site be staying in the realm of Pop Culture/Wrestling, or will the main page be branching out into other fields also? Perhaps into the realm of politics or philosophy...?

 

Here's my question. If you're already putting together a relaunch of Wrestling/Sports/Pop Culture for the site, where exactly would this stuff fit in? If you put it in an "Editorials" section, all on its own, then TSM has to make it worthwhile to keep that section up with articles that, somehow, don't fall into those first three categories. Politics could work (Thumbtack's "Red vs. Blue" essay would be a nice standard) and maybe some discussions on psychology can fall into place, but what else would be put in that hodgepodge folder to make it worthwhile?

 

And by worthwhile, I mean "enticing enough for a user to visit the section repeatedly."

[Nighthawk 0]

Religion. I could talk about that. I hesitate to volunteer, because I couldn't do hard deadlines, just occasional "Special Appearance By" type things.

[Failed Bridge 0]

The Milky Testament

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Milky 3:16 says "I just shit on your daughter and now she calls me ''lord satan'..."

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Will this site be staying in the realm of Pop Culture/Wrestling, or will the main page be branching out into other fields also? Perhaps into the realm of politics or philosophy...?

 

Here's my question. If you're already putting together a relaunch of Wrestling/Sports/Pop Culture for the site, where exactly would this stuff fit in? If you put it in an "Editorials" section, all on its own, then TSM has to make it worthwhile to keep that section up with articles that, somehow, don't fall into those first three categories. Politics could work (Thumbtack's "Red vs. Blue" essay would be a nice standard) and maybe some discussions on psychology can fall into place, but what else would be put in that hodgepodge folder to make it worthwhile?

 

And by worthwhile, I mean "enticing enough for a user to visit the section repeatedly."

 

There are some facets of pop culture that aren't necessarily "pop culture" as they fall into other categories. For instance, talking about whether or not Homer Simpson is a good role model for humanity is based on a pop culture subject (The Simpsons) while actually getting into more of a sociological discussion. It falls into the sociology realm better than the realm of television and it wouldn't look right sitting next to a review of the latest episode of "Lost".

 

 

(sorry about the double post)

[JHawk 0]

You know I'm in.

 

Hell, I've got two articles I'm still trying to work on.

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

You could also have featured articles show up on the main page, then on the left(or wherever) have a button that is a "Writers" link. Behind that link you'd have just a list of the names of the people that write for the site. For example:

 

KingPK - Wrestling, Wrestling Round Table

 

Kotzenjunge - Wrestling, Pop Culture, Wrestling Round Table

 

I Drink Rats Milk - Religion

 

etc etc etc.

 

That way you you have a featured article (or a few) on the front page for immediate content to hook the viewer right away, and gives an easy navigation option to get them into all the content.

 

or....

 

[Wrestling] - Why WWE will suck in 2006 - [article author] (Read More)

 

[Politics] - Why Canada must annex Peru IMMEDIATELY~! - [author] - (Read More)

 

[Pop Culture] - Who is Jack Bauer? - [author] (Read More)

 

The second example I personally find a lot easier to look at and decide my intentions for.

[Dark Age 0]

I would do Velocity/Heat, if given the opportunity. I would be game for a few random match/show reviews here and there, too. From there, who knows!

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Proposal:

 

Crossfire type dealie w/me & Jerk & I3K & Justice & Vyce, (etc.), if they're up for it.

Edited December 19, 2005 by bigolsmitty

[Failed Bridge 0]

I'd do a Mock Draft and Sleeper Picks thing if people here wanted that. That would be something down the road though.

 

Still, the offer is there.