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WebWord Weblog Posting Posting Date: August 25, 2002 MadMan comment: Go check out this article on MarketingProfs.com. It asks you to register before you can read it. If that annoys you and you close your browser window, the persistent site pops up a window offering to show you the article without registering. If they're that desperate to make you read the article, why not just do away with the darn registration process? This pop-up window also appears if you just press the Back button. Isn't that silly?
Reader Comments...
In case you're wondering, ol' John Rhodes hasn't abandoned this site, nor have I hacked into it. John has kindly allowed Jack, Chris, and me to post news and comments to Webword. Feedback is welcome, of course. ;) Posted by: MadMan on August 25, 2002 03:43 PM
Madman...I've constantly told JR about how excellent the WebWord community is and on one hand, I love the idea of more people having posting-access. On the other hand, I have usually been able to peruse WebWord.com through the course of the day and find enough links to follow up and read on (not mentioning finding the time to post comments on occassion). Would participation from you, Chris and Jack then TRIPLE the amount of daily links off the site? If so, that would change the way I use the site perhaps. That's not a complaint, though...just thinking out loud wondering how I'll be able to scan and browse so much more information throughout the day. Also...WebWord truly emanates John's personality. Will the site begin to feel schizophrenic as more personalities get the rights to post? I'm not stating an opinion either way...just wondering what you think, really... jonathan Posted by: jonathan on August 25, 2002 05:48 PM
MadMan, I gave it a try. How stupid! They sound like needy little children. By the way, I don't think it will work more than once. Go there again, back out, and watch as nothing happens. You only get one chance. Yawn. Posted by: John S. Rhodes on August 25, 2002 06:08 PM
Jonathan, I understand your concerns. One thing I will do is post less on the home page but post more comments. Also, there will be days when the other folks won't add much at all. It'll balance out I think. This is mostly an experiment but I think it will be successful. The reality is that I think it is time for WebWord to move to the next level. I think this is the right path. If I am wrong, maybe it will all go down in a ball of flame. (Probably not.) We shall see! Posted by: John S. Rhodes on August 25, 2002 06:12 PM
Jonathon, you have valid concerns. My response: 1) I usually post on slow news days. I used to send many links to John earlier, which usually got posted. Those links will just have their author changed. 2) I had originally suggested to John that he allow guest posting with moderation, so he could control the quality and flow of items. John, however, has decided to trust us to do the right thing. I'm sure that trust is not misplaced. 3) Webword does emanate John's personality. The Webword community, however, is a product of many personalities who post frequent comments. Those voices, and the community they create, are an integral part of Webword, I would argue. This guest posting experiment will just help in making the site bi-directional, and not just reactionary in nature. Posted by: MadMan on August 25, 2002 06:22 PM
"concern" is probably too strong a term related to my posts...I was just more interested in noting how the community here will change as a result of additional "Gods". In fact, the impetus for this post probably stemmed from my jealousy at not being one of these new gods. Bastards...all of you.
Oh, just come out and say it. You're worried I'm going to fill WebWord with porn and monkey links. Well, this is Day 3 and I've posted only one link, _and_ it was to a site using Flash. I must have been drunk that day. The links I'll post will meet three criteria: 1) important or interesting, 2) not linked everywhere on the sites I frequent, and 3) will generate discussion. You know me. I save the porn and monkey links for private e-mails to John. Posted by: Jack on August 25, 2002 07:30 PM
I don't really care who posts news/ideas/links here - keep them coming. One thing I don't like is seeing comment text embedded in each post that has comments. They slow me down and make the site harder to scan. If I want to read the comments, I'll click-through and do so, thankyouverymuch. Posted by: Shane on August 25, 2002 07:36 PM
Shane has a good point about comments. I tend to get more from the the ones on the home page when they are short, otherwise I want to click on the Comments link. One issue with the standard Movable Type comments link is Comments (0) looks an awful like Comments (10) so it's hard to tell where the conversations are happening -- would be great if we could make Comments (0) a non-link or something that said "Add your comment". Geez, that's a great idea. I should patent that -- or maybe BT has beat me too it... :) Madman, I visited a bi-directional site once. It responded to http requests one byte at a time just like every other site I know. As a matter of fact, I thought *I* was bi-directional once, but then someone explained to me that "right way" and "wrong way" are not considered directions. Personally, I like the guest posting idea -- so far, so good. Keep it up guys! Posted by: Lyle - Usability Guru on August 26, 2002 12:55 AM
Shane, I'm not clear what you mean by "One thing I don't like is seeing comment text embedded in each post that has comments." Could you please explain? Thanks.
OK, Crocmaster, how about this: No comments posted Add your comment Some comments posted Add your comment (5 so far) Nice and consistent labelling, what? It should be easy to hack MT to make this happen. As for guest posting, I seem to have barged in. Jack has only posted one link, and Chris is yet to make an appearance. What I really want to avoid is dominating the site and John getting drowned. Think of us as a side dish, not the main course. A bit of chilli paste with your noodles, if you will.
My suggestion would be to use something other than MadMan comment at the beginning, because John could be typing that in reference to one of your e-mails. What about activating the "Posted by" note at the bottom of each post, before the "Permanent Link" link? This way, people can easily pick out which ones are posted by whom, since that is an area where most people are used to seeing who posted when it is a blog where more than one person posts (like IAslash) Posted by: Lydia on August 26, 2002 02:36 PM
Excellent suggestion, Lydia. I was just trying to follow John's style. A "posted by" note would be the best solution. John, how about it? Posted by: MadMan - the Indian usability king on August 26, 2002 02:41 PM
Right on!! "Posted by" works for me. Of course, I could turn on this functionality right in Movable Type, but as we all know, I don't like to tweak *anything* once it is operating properly. Posted by: John S. Rhodes on August 26, 2002 04:45 PM
what about opening the site up for posting by any registered user? you'd have to leave movable type (maybe use the metafilter system?) though. Posted by: Mick on August 26, 2002 05:35 PM
John, I think that was the idea - using the "Posted by <$MTEntryAuthor$>" tag (I think that is the one, anyway) before the "Permanent Link" link at the bottom of each entry.
Oh, and thanks for being so open to ideas, MadMan. I think within the current guidelines, you are making it pretty clear when you post. Posted by: Lydia on August 26, 2002 07:52 PM
I haven't posted anything for two reasons:
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