So the AUBs have apparently been dumped from the front page in favour of Gamespotting - but if someone could shed some light on what will be done about the its lack of activity and the exact fate of the AUBs, it would be appreciated since there is currently an inactive AUB header on the main forum page.
Gamespotting/AUBs
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I hope this isn't permanent. I liked seeing editorials by Gamespot's community.
First and foremost, I wish GS had better communication practices with regards to changes like this, especially when the AUB was implemented with the new Soapbox emblem not too long ago, and now the priviledges seem to be changing again.
While I don't think the AUB was implemented well (even some AUBers didn't seem to realize that everything they marked as "editorial" would automatically show up on the front page, or they played dumb, and even so I don't want to see the same author consistently post work several times a week, or post film reviews and articles about issues that are not in any way tied to gaming), I think it's sad that it has been replaced by 2-month-old Gamespotting blogs without bothering to include a working link to the "See full details." link sends you here, which contains no pertinent information.
What I don't understand is why, previous to implementing this change, editors did not select a few new examples of what they consider prime Gamespotting material to ensure that the change had fresh links, along with a working link to why this change occurred. And, while it may seem like a selfless plug, why not include the Justicars in the selection of Gamespotting? From my understanding, we were selected to help pick user features since "A GameSpot Justicar is also trusted member of the site, as well as a user who has also proven their writing skills to the GameSpot community."
I'm sincerely worried that GS staff doesn't have the energy to put towards consistently selecting fresh content to put in the Gamespotting slot. If editors can't pick 3 or so new articles to feature a week, I don't think there's much of a point to it taking up space on the front page. Furthermore, there's more than enough room above or below that feature to put the AUB or even Chalk Talk (should it ever be maintained functionally in the future).
In my opinion, this was a sloppy move that was executed poorly and didn't have to be. I hope it is fixed in the near future, GS is really not keeping users' faith, especially those of us who have helped promote this site by our voluntary contributions.
AUB is a great forum for people to showcase excellent blogs, but lately, a lot of people have complained that certain users are constantly posting Editorials on a regular basis. I think there ought to be a system put in place -- something similar to how user game reviews were showcased every week. Plus, they should put more emphasis on Chalk Talk, too. Chalk Talk blogs should be reserved for the AUB space and have more precedence over blogs that might otherwise just appear automatically from people with the Soapbox emblem.
AUB is a great forum for people to showcase excellent blogs, but lately, a lot of people have complained that certain users are constantly posting Editorials on a regular basis. I think there ought to be a system put in place -- something similar to how user game reviews were showcased every week. Plus, they should put more emphasis on Chalk Talk, too. Chalk Talk blogs should be reserved for the AUB space and have more precedence over blogs that might otherwise just appear automatically from people with the Soapbox emblem.
Asagea_888
I thought AUB was alright, it's just that a lot of people were posting generally the same things. I mean, I tried to not do that but there were twenty people talking about the same subjects repeatedly so...
Side note: The idea of a system sounds pretty dumb. Yeah, there was stagnation but at least people could write what they wanted and have a fun conversation about it with their regular readers. Putting in a filter for that would kill a lot of the fun.
I mean seriously, nobody's trying to win a Pulitzer for this stuff.
I'd still rather have it the way it was than what they have up there now, you're right, at least it was a good rotation and you had some conversations going. My suggestion was just there for if it was taken down because of the same users constantly posting everything they ever wrote, at least there'd be a group of people going through stuff instead of GS staff who don't seem to even have time to update their front page feature...I thought AUB was alright, it's just that a lot of people were posting generally the same things. I mean, I tried to not do that but there were twenty people talking about the same subjects repeatedly so...
Side note: The idea of a system sounds pretty dumb. Yeah, there was stagnation but at least people could write what they wanted and have a fun conversation about it with their regular readers. Putting in a filter for that would kill a lot of the fun.
I mean seriously, nobody's trying to win a Pulitzer for this stuff.
THE_DRUGGIE
Personally, here's what I would like. Staff should be left out of highlighting blogs. They're probably too busy with... reviews, previews, their own articles. No one should be tied down to spend time reading through hundreds of user submitted blogs. Let US, the community do that. If someone marks a blog as editorial, it goes to its own page, where everyone can see it. The good blogs get liked, and featured in the top 5, 10, whatever on the main page. The lackluster blogs continue on into obscurity. I really have to express my disapproval in how sloppy this change has been implemented. A few days, I can understand, but it's going on a couple of weeks here. JustPlainLucasThat could be something that the Rangers / Moderators or the Justicars might be getting soon. To assist Gamespot with everything
[QUOTE="THE_DRUGGIE"]I'd still rather have it the way it was than what they have up there now, you're right, at least it was a good rotation and you had some conversations going. My suggestion was just there for if it was taken down because of the same users constantly posting everything they ever wrote, at least there'd be a group of people going through stuff instead of GS staff who don't seem to even have time to update their front page feature...I thought AUB was alright, it's just that a lot of people were posting generally the same things. I mean, I tried to not do that but there were twenty people talking about the same subjects repeatedly so...
Side note: The idea of a system sounds pretty dumb. Yeah, there was stagnation but at least people could write what they wanted and have a fun conversation about it with their regular readers. Putting in a filter for that would kill a lot of the fun.
I mean seriously, nobody's trying to win a Pulitzer for this stuff.
zyxe
Why bother even looking at the content in the first place? The only real concern is that some ban-worthy stuff would be posted but I bet it would get enough attention to get taken down quick anyway. Really, what we had before would be the best-case scenario. Letting a small group of people filter out content on what they think is worthy is a crappy way to go about things.
I mean seriously, the idea of people "going through stuff" on a feature that should allow users to post what they want without some kind of competitive standard kills the fun and unpredictable nature.
I mean, I've been writing on Soapbox for...well, a long time, and I don't get irked when the rapid writers bump my entries down because, after all, this should just be for the entertainment of it all, not some festival of scrutiny amongst a few users to determine what everyone else sees.
I'd still rather have it the way it was than what they have up there now, you're right, at least it was a good rotation and you had some conversations going. My suggestion was just there for if it was taken down because of the same users constantly posting everything they ever wrote, at least there'd be a group of people going through stuff instead of GS staff who don't seem to even have time to update their front page feature...[QUOTE="zyxe"][QUOTE="THE_DRUGGIE"]
I thought AUB was alright, it's just that a lot of people were posting generally the same things. I mean, I tried to not do that but there were twenty people talking about the same subjects repeatedly so...
Side note: The idea of a system sounds pretty dumb. Yeah, there was stagnation but at least people could write what they wanted and have a fun conversation about it with their regular readers. Putting in a filter for that would kill a lot of the fun.
I mean seriously, nobody's trying to win a Pulitzer for this stuff.
THE_DRUGGIE
Why bother even looking at the content in the first place? The only real concern is that some ban-worthy stuff would be posted but I bet it would get enough attention to get taken down quick anyway. Really, what we had before would be the best-case scenario. Letting a small group of people filter out content on what they think is worthy is a crappy way to go about things.
I mean seriously, the idea of people "going through stuff" on a feature that should allow users to post what they want without some kind of competitive standard kills the fun and unpredictable nature.
I mean, I've been writing on Soapbox for...well, a long time, and I don't get irked when the rapid writers bump my entries down because, after all, this should just be for the entertainment of it all, not some festival of scrutiny amongst a few users to determine what everyone else sees.
I get your point but the way the AUB was being run with the "new" soapbox emblem was that you already had to be qualified by a GS staff member through your submissions to earn the emblem to get the privilege to post whatever you want; so, there was already some staff oversight. Thinking a bit more on it, if there was a problem with emblem holders posting things they didn't like or too often or whatever got them in such a tizzy as to take down the AUB and put up an outdated module they aren't bothering overseeing and are running sloppily (as JustPlainLucas pointed out on a nicer level), they could have just revoked certain users' privileges, not take down the whole darn thing.zyxe
Ha, oh yeah I forgot about how I got it in the first place. I guess that amount of oversight was okay with me, but nothing further than staff giving/taking away emblems.
Anywho, I think one thing that kind of killed it was the non-gaming blogs that kept popping up (I think one guy just kept doing film reviews) and staff must have saw that and said "well this AUB thing is just dissolving into an OT board," so they threw the whole thing in a furnace.
As a non-blogger but an active reader, I am glad a change was made. I got sick of the same people seemingly posting anything and everything to get back on the front page of the website. I definately do not think the current system is the answer though. Having the same outdated blogs there full time is stupid. Surely there is some kind of sensible middle ground.
As a non-blogger but an active reader, I am glad a change was made. I got sick of the same people seemingly posting anything and everything to get back on the front page of the website. I definately do not think the current system is the answer though. Having the same outdated blogs there full time is stupid. Surely there is some kind of sensible middle ground.
Hawkeye747
I was surprised when all it took was a Soapbox emblem to get your blog on the front page. I initially thought these blogs had to be considered for review by either the staff of the justicars---which I think should be put in place for the future. There are a lot of great bloggers here who deserve to have their stuff showcased in the front page, but it shouldn't get to the point when people are posting stuff just for the sake of it being on the front page.
[QUOTE="Hawkeye747"]
As a non-blogger but an active reader, I am glad a change was made. I got sick of the same people seemingly posting anything and everything to get back on the front page of the website. I definately do not think the current system is the answer though. Having the same outdated blogs there full time is stupid. Surely there is some kind of sensible middle ground.
Asagea_888
I was surprised when all it took was a Soapbox emblem to get your blog on the front page. I initially thought these blogs had to be considered for review by either the staff of the justicars---which I think should be put in place for the future. There are a lot of great bloggers here who deserve to have their stuff showcased in the front page, but it shouldn't get to the point when people are posting stuff just for the sake of it being on the front page.
Absolutely. My worry is that control goes to the wrong people and the same users keep getting their blogs on the front page regardless of content or quality in each blog.
Agreed, but I still think the previous AUB was better than the current GameSpotting feature. It really seems that there was a real push when GS revamped the Soapbox Emblem and sort of introduced the AUB back in October, and in my opinion, the emblem appears to have been given out quickly to promote this feature and make it popular. I'm not sure any of us even know what the criteria was for receiving the emblem, even though some of us on this board have it. Also, even though I received the emblem, I never got any posting guidelines to go with it, such as keeping posts on the topic of gaming or at least something closely relatable, which seems to be one of the sore points among readers.
What's interesting is that this article apologizes for a LOT of the things it did to the Soapbox feature that it's once again doing to the AUB:
@LarkAnderson writes:
"...the Soapbox module was scrapped and the page buried, and though we really did want to get around to improving it so it delivered on what we believed its true vision was, we never did. "
With complete lack of direction to the emblem holders, how was this ever going to be accomplished with the new AUB? The PM I got when granted access to the board was simply as follows:
"You've been granted access to have special blogs you post to the Awesome User blogs module on the front page. All you have to do is flag your blog as an editorial and it'll show up there. Thanks!"
First, as regular users--yes, I'm counting Justicars who aren't Rangers as regular users since I am unaware of any additional instruction or insight given to us beyond what the regular users have been given--we really have no clue WHY the AUB was replaced, but my personal speculation is that some users abused the privilege by posting constantly, or posting non-gaming related blogs, or posting blogs as "editorials" that really weren't up to the standards that earned them the emblem in the first place. If these are reasons why the AUB has been replaced, how was it ever supposed to succeed in the first place with zero direction?
Another apologetic statement is made regarding how "sections were ripped out and cast aside, seemingly never to return--such was the fate of the Soapbox module."
So the solution is to do the same thing again, without any real explanation; this seems highly inefficient.
"There were a few reasons, really, why this happened. It wasn't performing particularly well at the time."
Why not? Were the same issues present with the AUB that were present with the previous Soapbox feature? If so, how was the launch of the AUB so different in content (beyond putting user blogs in the limelight)--basically, how was the AUB set up to succeed where the Soapbox feature failed? I'm having a real problem figuring this one out, and it seems like an important issue to understand if GS wants GameSpotting to succeed.
"We needed to make the room."
Maybe on the previous site design, though I don't recall the Soapbox feature taking up more space than the AUB, I thought it was shoved down in the corner, and with the new design, it could have easily been located where the AUB is now. As far as the AUB, there's plenty of room below the GameSpotting feature to put this module back.
The apology about the Soapbox feature being "scrapped and buried" and apologizing for it is what gets to me the most, because now GS has seemingly scrapped and buried the AUB.
"Though there were users who cried foul and asked for it to be brought back, we were never able to."
Not being able to and choosing not to are very different things. If there's a reason to not bring it back onto the front page, that is valuable information that the community can use. I do not believe GS was "never able to" bring it back until the Soapbox feature was reimaged into the AUB, I believe it was a matter of priorities. I can deal with that on some level, but a complete lack of honest communication is what really irks me about this whole thing.
The bottom line to me is that, once again, a new feature has been rolled out that is not being set up to succeed and is, in fact, repeating many of the same mistakes that I believe killed the two previous iterations of this sort of feature, which is ridiculous. Users are being asked to buy into this "new" feature with their time and effort, and it does not appear that much has changed from either the Soapbox or the AUB. This is exactly how to alienate faithful users who really believe in GS and put their energy into helping it succeed only to have their efforts taken for granted or wasted.
What would help this new feature succeed? Keeping promises, such as Justicars getting their promised level of input into user features just like this one, and some modicum of honest, up front communication about changes that help users set realistic expectations! Prior to implementing the GameSpotting feature and removing the AUB, a system for getting more updated blogs into the new feature should have been implemented. And, as soon as the AUB was taken down, an article such as the one posted above should have been released, not the broken link talking about GameSpotting that took users to a generic feature page saying nothing useful. Users, especially Soapbox emblem holders, should know why their privilege is being changed or virtually removed.
But that's just my take on it. I really do want GS to succeed. I don't think it will ever really fail, but it sure is never going to reach any decent portion of its potential when these kinds of issues are perpetuated.
[QUOTE="Asagea_888"]
[QUOTE="Hawkeye747"]
As a non-blogger but an active reader, I am glad a change was made. I got sick of the same people seemingly posting anything and everything to get back on the front page of the website. I definately do not think the current system is the answer though. Having the same outdated blogs there full time is stupid. Surely there is some kind of sensible middle ground.
Hawkeye747
I was surprised when all it took was a Soapbox emblem to get your blog on the front page. I initially thought these blogs had to be considered for review by either the staff of the justicars---which I think should be put in place for the future. There are a lot of great bloggers here who deserve to have their stuff showcased in the front page, but it shouldn't get to the point when people are posting stuff just for the sake of it being on the front page.
Absolutely. My worry is that control goes to the wrong people and the same users keep getting their blogs on the front page regardless of content or quality in each blog.
Looks like even Gamespotting won't be a front page thing? That would mean no user content (at all) has front page possibilities? Or am I wrong?
Maybe I'm just prematurely assuming.
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