The Future of Duke4.net "Bouncing off ideas"
#1 Posted 12 May 2014 - 11:14 AM
- New duke4.net frontpage powered by Wordpress
- Serves only as a portal with links to hosted sites, downloads, and archives screenshots (as well as an archive of the old "current" front page)
- Has a feed from the forum
- The feed brings in the most upvoted threads and posts. For example, once a post or thread reaches 10 upvotes, it gets fed to the front page on Duke4.net
This means the community will become the news writers. The admins can still write news, but we'll give strong deference to what gets posted in the forums based on upvotes.
Let's bounce off more ideas!
#2 Posted 12 May 2014 - 11:46 AM
#3 Posted 12 May 2014 - 12:03 PM
As for the rep, system, lol, you are banned with a minus 900, you sure TerminX will go for this? Why not just promote news writing, people will write if it is of their interest.
This post has been edited by Hank: 12 May 2014 - 12:04 PM
#4 Posted 12 May 2014 - 01:24 PM
#5 Posted 12 May 2014 - 01:45 PM
#6 Posted 12 May 2014 - 02:18 PM
#7 Posted 12 May 2014 - 02:44 PM
The threads with high activity idea might work, if it can be set to ONLY focus on the EDuke32/Duke Nukem General areas of the forum, the rest of it has it's place but that isn't the front page.
#9 Posted 12 May 2014 - 03:52 PM
Hank, on 12 May 2014 - 12:03 PM, said:
Don't worry guys, I didn't go for it. The rep system is a joke, always has been, always will be. I'm in favor of pushing content to the front page, but only by way of explicit "submit to front page" links which add a topic or post to a moderation queue.
#10 Posted 12 May 2014 - 04:38 PM
#11 Posted 12 May 2014 - 06:57 PM
Just curious... questions, not judgments or Change-a-Phobia. We all know what happens when something doesn't have a clear direction... even with 14 years of trying.
What about an articles/writers thread for people who might wish to write about a given game-related subject and isolate that thread for linking to the front page. I am thinking of material other than news... like guides or other material that isn't necessarily news, but still might be of interest. Maybe a thread of user typed News and or other postings that would be considered "articles". Is that kind of the idea?
MrBlackCat
**edit**
An example of the kind of material I write periodically (not posted on this forum)... nothing fancy or professional... I write manuals, not articles usually, but still game related.
Anyway... In an example like this, it is kind of stand alone and doesn't need a thread in my opinion, so I generally don't create one just to post this sort of thing, at least on Duke4.
This post has been edited by TerminX: 13 May 2014 - 09:20 AM
Reason for edit: Malformed post tags
#12 Posted 12 May 2014 - 08:57 PM
The only thing going for it right now is eduke and the new android app.
#13 Posted 12 May 2014 - 09:41 PM
As far as updating to a wordpress format... I'm not sure I see the point. Although the current website design does have a few issues here and there. I've noticed some people having a hard time navigating. The old DNF section related to the various "eras" of DNF can be a little tricky to find what you're looking for. Honestly I think updating to a wordpress design would simply make Duke4 look like every other web page on the planet. What the page needs is more general activity. Maybe a monthly podcast. Some retrospective reviews of classic Duke maps and mods, a youtube channel where some of this media can be done not just in text but with members of the community providing a legitimate voice. The problem this community is currently facing is a drought in activity. We want to get people excited about all the stuff we do, and coming back, then it's time to consolidate and get the juice flowing again.
#14 Posted 12 May 2014 - 11:52 PM
TerminX, on 12 May 2014 - 03:52 PM, said:
I like this idea. It has basically all the advantages of the original proposal but allows us to ensure that only appropriate content gets "promoted" to the frontpage.
#15 Posted 13 May 2014 - 04:34 AM
MrBlackCat, on 12 May 2014 - 06:57 PM, said:
to stay relevant while not conflicting with the new 3dr site
#16 Posted 13 May 2014 - 04:45 AM
Having the users post news is a great idea.
The website "Railgun" uses the same concept, where users can write news, and each newspost is approved by an admin.
It's a way of getting a better flow of news, without requiring the time from the admins to write every newspost themselves.
#17 Posted 13 May 2014 - 09:45 AM
Hank, on 12 May 2014 - 12:03 PM, said:
As for the rep, system, lol, you are banned with a minus 900, you sure TerminX will go for this? Why not just promote news writing, people will write if it is of their interest.
Well, I still want this to be a purely Duke Nukem and/or 3D Realms-focused website, but I do want a lot more mod news to be fed to the frontpage. Modders nowadays do a good job of posting about their mods themselves, so now we just need a system to have those posts fed into the front page without my having to copy-paste or paraphrase them into a new article.
As for the rep system, I feel that even though it's not to be taken too seriously, it's still the equivalent of karma points on Reddit. People still really care about it, and it does to some extent encourage people to write better quality content. However, my idea of having majorly-upvoted posts getting fed into the newsfeed wasn't so much to motivate people to write news, but to allow for the community to show what it regards as most front-page worthy. People would not consciously upvote something because they know it'd go to frontpage--they'd do it because they think it's quality material, and by extension, it'd end up on the frontpage. Just like Reddit. I really love how Reddit works.
gerolf, on 12 May 2014 - 01:24 PM, said:
Finding news writers has always been difficult. I've had trouble with this for the past ten years. I still have PMs saved in my 3DR forum inbox dated mid to late 2004 when I was asking people to be content writers for Duke4.net. Even people who showed interest rarely followed through. Reddit has proven to me that user-generated content is the future (and really, the present) of where the Internet is headed as a whole.
Drek, on 12 May 2014 - 01:45 PM, said:
There can always be an amalgamation of methods. Ranking by replies is interesting, too.
Hendricks266, on 12 May 2014 - 02:18 PM, said:
Yes, but I want the frontpage to automatically highlight the most interesting events in the forums. I guess there's various indicators that can be used aside from # of upvotes or replies. For example, the number of people viewing a thread could be another factor to script into the newsfeeder.
TerminX, on 12 May 2014 - 03:52 PM, said:
A manual submission method would be good, too. But maybe we can allow for other ways to get something onto the frontpage in cases where the content is too good to be forced into a moderation queue.
Mickey C, on 12 May 2014 - 04:38 PM, said:
I intend to always write news stories. I still try to do it (or get Mr. Green to do it) when it's a major announcement. However, I don't want the activity on the frontpage to be solely dependent on the availability of admins. The community should be able to update it, too. As long as there are automatic checks on the system (i.e. factors I mentioned above) to make sure only quality content makes it to the front page, I think it's possible. Again, Reddit is a model website for what I have in mind.
MrBlackCat, on 12 May 2014 - 06:57 PM, said:
Just curious... questions, not judgments or Change-a-Phobia. We all know what happens when something doesn't have a clear direction... even with 14 years of trying.
What about an articles/writers thread for people who might wish to write about a given game-related subject and isolate that thread for linking to the front page. I am thinking of material other than news... like guides or other material that isn't necessarily news, but still might be of interest. Maybe a thread of user typed News and or other postings that would be considered "articles". Is that kind of the idea?
Yes, the website needs to change for a reason. It's not experimentation. It's Web 3.0, which in my mind is heavily based on user-generated content. Wikipedia is another great example of that.
The core website will always remain Duke and 3DR/Apogee, and even adjacent things like Radar Group projects or Shadow Warrior.
Having a subsection for user-typed news, you like mentioned, is great. But my idea is more than that. Some people who might have very valuable things to write might not think to write them in an isolated subsection. Sometimes the most interesting posts are single replies to existing threads, and sometimes the most interesting threads only garner interest after-the-fact. Plus, I want people to still be able to post their threads into the proper categories, so only putting it all into one subsection or one thread wouldn't be practical.
Guides or material other than news is fair game, too. The automatic news feed system I'm proposing doesn't have to be the only way that content is posted. If you become a designated news poster, you'd be able to override the automatic system and post a guide onto the frontpage whenever you'd want. Is that something you're interested in?
The Commander, on 12 May 2014 - 08:57 PM, said:
The only thing going for it right now is eduke and the new android app.
Duke isn't dead. Thousands of unique visitors come to our domain every day, or Statcounter tells me so. Also, you're overlooking Intereceptor.
Commando Nukem, on 12 May 2014 - 09:41 PM, said:
As far as updating to a wordpress format... I'm not sure I see the point. Although the current website design does have a few issues here and there. I've noticed some people having a hard time navigating. The old DNF section related to the various "eras" of DNF can be a little tricky to find what you're looking for. Honestly I think updating to a wordpress design would simply make Duke4 look like every other web page on the planet. What the page needs is more general activity. Maybe a monthly podcast. Some retrospective reviews of classic Duke maps and mods, a youtube channel where some of this media can be done not just in text but with members of the community providing a legitimate voice. The problem this community is currently facing is a drought in activity. We want to get people excited about all the stuff we do, and coming back, then it's time to consolidate and get the juice flowing again.
Yeah, the front page is still important and I feel like its power is not being adequately utilized as things are now.
Moving to Wordpress has technological advantages for us, and it's also more practical from a web developer's standpoint. All the websites I make for my clients these days are strictly on Wordpress, and I have many good reasons for that.
The design can still be unique (and even look the same as it does now). But as a minimalist, I want to simplify all the links so content can be easier to find. No more tricky navigation, like you said. Podcasts and Youtube videos are great ideas, and I want users to be able to do those things without admins having to post them. Hence the news feeding system.
Frederik Schreiber, on 13 May 2014 - 04:45 AM, said:
Having the users post news is a great idea.
The website "Railgun" uses the same concept, where users can write news, and each newspost is approved by an admin.
It's a way of getting a better flow of news, without requiring the time from the admins to write every newspost themselves.
Thank you! Can you link me to Railgun? Googling it didn't yield an immediate result.
#18 Posted 13 May 2014 - 10:37 AM
Yatta, on 13 May 2014 - 09:45 AM, said:
I quote High Treason!
High Treason, on 12 May 2014 - 02:44 PM, said:
The threads with high activity idea might work, if it can be set to ONLY focus on the EDuke32/Duke Nukem General areas of the forum, the rest of it has it's place but that isn't the front page.
[added]
Sorry, does not work. I tried to imagine E-Craft as a news item, it still needs a writer to explain what it is, and it only got 6 votes so far.
Also, I visited scent 88, the other day. Good maps make front page there on a regular basis. Why not have it for Duke4? Reserve a spot to highlight EDuke32 work. And/Or what is the programming team up to, and what is the latest version and so on. Where are we at with currently worked on TCs, etc.
Just mouthing off rough ideas.
This post has been edited by Hank: 13 May 2014 - 04:44 PM
#19 Posted 13 May 2014 - 02:00 PM
#20 Posted 14 May 2014 - 04:18 AM
James, on 12 May 2014 - 11:46 AM, said:
[HOME] [NEWS] [FORUM] [ARCHIVE]
Welcome to Duke4.net, you're premier source for Duke Nukem news! We're nothing but a bunch of hardcore Duke fans just waiting to take your call!
!!!HOT DUKE NUKEM NEWS FROM THE FORUMS!!!
Upvoted forum post by Protected by Viper on 5/18 at 4:20 PM (13 upvotes):
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Upvoted forum post by Jimmy on 5/18 at 4:19 PM (17 upvotes)
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Upvoted forum post by Forge on 5/18 at 4:15 PM (11 upvotes)
Quote
This post has been edited by Protected by Viper: 14 May 2014 - 04:30 AM
#22 Posted 14 May 2014 - 05:06 AM
#23 Posted 14 May 2014 - 05:16 AM
#24 Posted 14 May 2014 - 07:15 AM
I just hope the new site working and looking enough fine for 800x600...hate a lot of sites like do a 1280x1024 resolution, and I can't even see shit at all unless I scale the whole page down and sometimes I can't read texts because it's too small after scale down.
And no, I won't change to higher resolutions due some my personal problems, like eye hurts when reading small texts/icons on higher resolutions. I know the new Windows has "scale" setting for scale up if these things if they just too small on higher resolution.
But I still prefer use default one, unless one day stupid display driver/OS developers dropped 800x600 for their good.
Just saying, can ignore this pointless suggestion...
This post has been edited by Player Lin: 14 May 2014 - 07:17 AM
#25 Posted 14 May 2014 - 08:40 AM
This post has been edited by MusicallyInspired: 14 May 2014 - 08:40 AM
#26 Posted 14 May 2014 - 08:57 AM
This post has been edited by ReaperMan: 14 May 2014 - 07:03 PM
#28 Posted 14 May 2014 - 10:16 AM
Yatta, on 12 May 2014 - 11:14 AM, said:
- New duke4.net frontpage powered by Wordpress
- Serves only as a portal with links to hosted sites, downloads, and archives screenshots (as well as an archive of the old "current" front page)
- Has a feed from the forum
- The feed brings in the most upvoted threads and posts. For example, once a post or thread reaches 10 upvotes, it gets fed to the front page on Duke4.net
This means the community will become the news writers. The admins can still write news, but we'll give strong deference to what gets posted in the forums based on upvotes.
Let's bounce off more ideas!
Wouldn't it be better to just make the forum the front page then?