META - Board not updating properly
Insert standard gripe about lack of feedback or progress on moving us to something that doesn't require a rain dance to keep the server working...
Here's what I'm seeing. Posts aren't refreshing, while the thread topics show activity. For instance, on my thread about Jake Butt and Jabril coming to Toledo for Autographs the thread forum shows 4 replies with 1 new, including a post by Blue_by_U.
When I go into the thread though, here is what I see.
So as you can see, it's missing 2 posts including the most recent one. I've cleared my cache, tried it in both Chrome and Edge with same results.
February 16th, 2017 at 8:56 AM ^
It might be people who show on the app, but not the site. Those are folks who have been banned. Why they still show on the app, then, is another question.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:39 AM ^
There are frequent commenters who are banned from the web version, the most frequent probably being some guy named Ronnie Kay. He probably made some snide comment from the Great Beyond.
February 16th, 2017 at 8:58 AM ^
I'm genuinely just about done with this site. Axing the HD app has made it pretty easy to drop it altogether since I no longer cehck the site at night or on the weekend. If I didn't follow the MGoFeed account on Twitter, I probably wouldn't come here much at all during the weekday.
Its just poorly run, and I'm tired of supporting a bad product.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:00 AM ^
Good luck finding a better Michigan blog.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:07 AM ^
There's Twitter, /r/cfb, other blogs....I'll be fine -- and so would anyone else that wanted to leave. Killing the app and the general disdain for the overall readership here has just really rubbed me the wrong way.
I've said it before that I enjoy the content on the main page during the season, but the only way we really have of getting Brian's attention to actually do something is to cut down on the traffic that comes to the site. The majority of which is spawned by the message board.
So if I can do something like unfollow the MGoFeed on Twitter, and just generally cut down on message board visits, and others do it as well....maybe things will get better. Not likely given Brian's disposition towards change, but hey, its all we can do.
February 16th, 2017 at 12:31 PM ^
I actually sort of agree with him. I come by far less often than I have in the past. I honestly think that the only thing keeping me around is force of habit and the occasional bit of solid, relevant info that we receive on the front page or on the board.
If people don't discuss this openly, Brian will lose his readership without ever knowing why. I think it's doing Brian a service to be honest and air things out. Shutting that down robs him of valid feedback, which ultimately harms him more than a bit of open complaining.
The quality of the message board posts have simply gone downhill. I'm not really sure why, or how to fix it, but 95% of the stuff posted on here is no longer worth wasting the time to read.
I don't fault Brian or the admins for this. If anything, it's the readership that is at fault. The front page stuff is still quality. It's just... most people on here post boring, mildly funny stuff. I know I don't really put much effort into being thoughtful, so I'm probably part of that group, but it is what it is...
Supposed to end with something constructive, right? Brian - how about this... downvotes count towards your score, but they are not visible on the board. This would allow us to police ourselves without building some sort of idea based circle jerk.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:46 AM ^
I've tried Reddit for college football discussion, but you can't convince me that it's a better looking site. Reddit has lots of discussion but a poor interface. I guess every site has its drawbacks.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:56 AM ^
One thing that I'll say for r/cfb is that there is much less herd mentality than there is here. The echo chamber effect here has gotten almost unbearable to me. Granted, that's just me, but I'm really surprised there aren't more people bringing this up. It's one big circle jerk, and the level of discourse has fallen off a cliff. That's not a good thing.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:50 AM ^
You've been here for a long time, you could be a part of a better discourse. You're a smart guy, but virtually every character typed is just snark criticizing someone else's post.
February 16th, 2017 at 11:29 AM ^
That's not true at all, and it's a bit of a cheap shot. I will concede that over the past couple of months I have been much snarkier than usual. That said, my posting history is there for anyone to peruse, should you be so inclined. I just get really, really tired of all of the "herp, derp, give me mah points" circle jerk threads that seem to have taken over this board.
Generally, if there is genuine intelligent discourse happening, I try to participate. Again, my posting history is preserved for any to see.
February 16th, 2017 at 12:20 PM ^
I apologize if this comes across as cheap. I am hoping to be constructive in offering feedback, something you can appreciate. It remains that you criticize the posting of other posters on this board all the time, and not just the vendetta against WD, either.
It is probable that you have, as you have frequently stated, provided much more in the way of intelligent debate and discussion in the past, and I grant that the fault in being unable to recall those contributions lies with me rather than you. However, for at least the last year and possibly longer it has been largely shots at others. I believe you're capable of better, and you say as much yourself, but you spend much of your contribution remarking on message board content that you believe to be below your standard and not as much actually setting that standard.
February 16th, 2017 at 2:44 PM ^
I guess all I can say is see my above comments, as they address everything in your comment. There is a reason that I have been much snarkier lately.
No need to apologize though, I'm a big boy.
February 16th, 2017 at 11:07 AM ^
Not in so many words, but I agree with the spirit of your post. I've always felt like an outsider since I didn't attend the school so I can look at things much differently.
February 16th, 2017 at 12:20 PM ^
I agree with both of you. The echo chamber is obnoxious. Why is it that when one person says something, multiple people have to respond in agreement?
Weak.
February 16th, 2017 at 5:33 PM ^
A lot of the echo chamber is a result MGo points- going after points, endless posbangs, back scratchin' leads to a dumbed down readership.
If you reward posters for stupid stuff, thats what you get more of. MGopoints is like stickers for kindergardeners- it attacts childish people who don't have much to do but collect points. Endless gifs abound saying "looky at me, I'm so funny".
It also creates a "Lord of the Flies" conformity to stab those who think differently with downvotes. OMG "How dare you criticize our glorious coach"- it rewards the worst impulses in people to silence those who don't conform to the party line.
MGopoints has made MGoBlog both idiotic and creepy.
February 16th, 2017 at 2:22 PM ^
The reply function on this board looks like a Jenga puzzle. There is no telling where this post will end up.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:23 AM ^
February 16th, 2017 at 9:35 AM ^
WTF is your problem?
February 16th, 2017 at 9:57 AM ^
He's never really gone, as long as he lives on in our hearts.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:59 AM ^
This kind of comment is really counter productive, if you actually care about the powers that be making the site great again. People are making cogent points, and all anyone wants to do in response is give a smart ass reply for useless mgopoints.
Ugh.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:09 AM ^
February 16th, 2017 at 10:16 AM ^
You're probably right abou that, but those kind of snide comments don't help. Just sayin.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^
You do recognize the comment as the text of one of the infamous Dave Brandon emails, right? It's an insider Michigan sports joke in an appropriate context. I don't find it snide.
February 16th, 2017 at 11:30 AM ^
Yes, I do. That's kind of my point though.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^
I'm pretty sure that's how Brandon thought it was going to work for him.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:07 AM ^
your account and move on then man. You sound like one of my highschool students that "is so done" with everything, yet, somehow isn't actually done with anything. I'll take whatever negs are necessary to make my point. Actually this is more like Michael Scott yelling "I declare bankruptcy", you don't have to declare it to everyone for it to actually happen, you can just do it on your own.
February 16th, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^
Sure, he could just go away. But Brian benefits from seeing why this person hypothetically deletes their account. If they just disappear, how does he understand the weak points in his site? Saying shut up and get out if you're not happy doesn't really help anything.
February 16th, 2017 at 1:28 PM ^
does Brian actually read through any of these "your site sucks" threads? If an MGoBlog user vents his frustration on the blog and Brian doesn't read it, did it actually occur?
Also, I was not trying to be helpful, just sick of people complaining about a free site that does a great job of conveying information about MGoSports.
February 16th, 2017 at 2:15 PM ^
February 16th, 2017 at 2:31 PM ^
and the other mods know what should be done or can be done or will be done. I must be in the minority that thinks those guys don't really owe us anything more than what we already get for free. I guess there are some people out in the blogosphere that feel more entitled than others, which is totally cool, just not my thing. I do think that most criticism of the site comes from a good place. Is it annoying when the site crashes? Sure. It is annoying when traffic causes triple or quadruple posts? Sure. I just think at times our blog can be filled with "first world" problems when it comes to people complaining about the design or functionality of the blog. I appreciate everything that Brian and the mods do and if I really want to know whether or not an 18 year old committed to Michigan for football, I can always Google it if the site is down.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:12 AM ^
Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya. Or do. I don't give a shit.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:15 AM ^
four times last Saturday and six the Sunday before that. Seems like it's not that much of an inconvenience to your weekend for you to use this free site. But that's none of my business.
February 16th, 2017 at 9:37 AM ^
Yup. I have seen his saying more than once "I'm just about done with this blog." So, when will that be?
February 16th, 2017 at 9:43 AM ^
A lot of companies don't listen unless you speak with your wallet. That's just how it goes. People gripe on here, but unless you actually leave or stop buying things, then it probably won't make much of a difference.
I'm not telling you to stop supporting the site. I'm just saying that visiting the site over and over again, making repeated posts on the subject, etc. is only providing more page hits, ad revenue, etc. You're actually helping the site by coming here to complain about it.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:10 AM ^
Brian said he had to kill the HD App because it was causing a massive server load and people couldn't get into the site at all. I have nothing to do with the apps, but I do have to keep us above water and dedicating 60-80% of our year-old server's bandwidth to an unaffiliated app with zero revenue tied to it was unsustainable. We keep this site free because it's paid for with advertising.
We're a small operation of people who care more about 4-3 defenses than business things, but that's always been the case here. If that's "poorly run" I guess it's fair, but I've been to a lot of better run sites who don't care as much about the content and I think that shows too.
I think we need to be more open about what's going on with the site revamp, because we've literally been at this since 2012 and just now finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. I can't explain why Brian hasn't addressed it on the main page--we've all been telling him he has to do so.
The thing that bothers me about your post is "disdain for the readers." I'm the guy here who's supposed to be looking out for our mercantile interests, and I can tell you in no uncertain terms that we've got our readers--advertisers sliders set all the way to the left.
I can see how in the absence of information it might come across like killing the HD app was an incremental revenue decision of the kind that drove us nuts when Dave Brandon was all about that stuff. But it couldn't be further from the truth. Despite growing exponentially from the small, bookish community of Michigan fans it started as, this blog still writes for that tiny demographic. We don't badger you with a front page post just to say Michigan has 14 combine invites and another because Harbaugh tweeted a footrace at practice. We don't insult your intelligence with misleading headlines, or throw stuff written by advertisers into editorial spaces (when one comes in for a mention we write it ourselves and don't give sponsors a say in the final wording). And we skipped that entire era of video advertising despite my network partners literally screaming about the money we're leaving on the table, because we couldn't figure out why you'd want to wait through 30-second ads and a minute of a talking head to get at information we could write in two sentences.
If spit and polish matters more than that stuff, I mean, you should go where you like. But please don't do it over a misunderstanding.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:17 AM ^
Is that why there is spit on the servers again? We've told you time and again: you can't spit-polish a website. That's not how any of this works.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:36 AM ^
You said to stop spraying it with Windex, and I have. What more do you want?
February 16th, 2017 at 10:21 AM ^
Thanks for commenting on it. It is appreciated. I do think you may be misunderstanding some of the vitriol about the HD app though. I don't think people thought of it as a petty financial decision, just a bit tone deaf since the official app sucks balls (sorry, my filter is permanently broken).
February 16th, 2017 at 10:40 AM ^
I hear ya.
February 16th, 2017 at 2:32 PM ^
February 16th, 2017 at 4:05 PM ^
I use the full site on mobile, not the app. I'm merely giving my perception of the complaint.
February 16th, 2017 at 6:36 PM ^
February 16th, 2017 at 10:20 AM ^
Despite what people complain about, content is king. If you want to build a good website, you need to have good writing and/or good information. If you don't have that stuff, then a lot of the other stuff doesn't matter.
There are "flashier" websites that I don't visit because all the videos, ads, etc. take forever to load...but the truth is that their content isn't worth the wait. With all the trouble this site has had (errors, loading time, etc.), people continue to come back. Why? Because of the content.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:55 AM ^
I've started working this way in the last year or two. There are a couple of sites that I never consciously stopped liking, but that were simply too much trouble to access. Constant glitches and reloads on my mobile device, for example, or slow navigation.
In fairness Mgoblog can be like that when it crashes, which has been too frequent recently.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^
I feel like the frustration of everyone was just wanting a bit of a reason of why this stuff was happening. Thank you guys for all you do.
Go Blue.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:42 AM ^
I don't think anyone is saying, implying, or secretly thinking the content is anything other than outstanding.
But you currently have a supercharged LT4 in a frigging Model T body here. This software is the polar opposite of the content; it's just not a bit clunky, it's truly barely useable for anyone who doesn't commit to effectively take a class in its use. And while some may consider having to learn arcane code and/or procedures to embed a YouTube video or Twitter post some sort of rite of passage, the vast majority of your potential eyeballs do not. And that is costing you ad impressions, most of which I imagine are generated from forum posts, not main page articles.
We're not talking about fancy stuff here, I, for example, would just like to be able to get to page 2 of the forum posts.
So my opinion is that it doesn't have to be a Z06, it just has to move a couple steps up from barely useable (except on big news days when it's already not). And a 5+ year software development cycle isn't any more functional that writing UFRs five year after the game.
February 16th, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^
At this point it has to be from the ground up and expensive, and that's what we're up to.
The front page in January was just under 90% of our pageviews, because most people who use the site aren't contributing in the forums. But trusting those numbers ignores how a blog's community works. The forums are massively important to us because that's our core readership, and having that strong community is a big part of being the #1 blog for our niche. They're the people who will come to our events, who will exchange tickets with each other, who will use the services of our primary sponsors because they feel like part of that community. (Also they're the people who will be most likely to provide feedback). So yeah while there are 9 pageviews (and probably 30 uniques) who come by for the front-page articles to every 1 who's on the board, I treat it like the front-page-only folk are coming because the heavy users think this is the place to be.
February 16th, 2017 at 11:16 AM ^
It might be worth taking a look at all the gizmotchery here that never or rarely gets used.
Seems like you need the following:
1. Pro content, written by site employees, with commenting. Drupal and WordPress have this OOTB.
2. Forums. OOTB, extendable with plugins.
3. Point system. Dunno, but I'd bet my next paycheck there is long list of WordPress plugins that will do it.
4. Membership/account system. OOTB, extendable with plugins.
I think it's easy to get into the "we're unique" or "we need a perfect solution" mindset and what you end up with is a development cycle that is longer than the base product lifecycle; you never finish. And while you are busy spending time and money not finishing, it gets more and more difficult to port legacy content to a new system.
I can see the main page thing- I don't even bother to try to get to the site any other way, even if all I want to do is see new forum posts. I hit the main page several times a day, but not because I expect new main page content- I'm looking for new/updated forum posts (at least during football off-season).