Folks... we've (and you've obviously) noticed people who assign their posts to the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, etc etc categories, so it would appear in multiple categories on the old recently updated blogs page.
It seems that the switch to the new page has removed the need to tag posts like that, but some folks out there still continue to do it.
So, the question I'm asking you is... does it create a bad experience for y'all to have people using irrelevant categories on their posts? And if so, what would be a good solution?
We've got a few ideas here at the Orbiting FOXSports HQ, but want to hear you thoughts and ideas first.
I doesn't bother me very much. I think that if it concerns sports, then it concerns all of sports. If we really needed to separate every category, there would be more than one sports page. Just my opinion.
But I do think that some articles, even though they may be about someone that's say, a baseball player, such as Bonds, really have something to do with all of sports -- even though they're really about Bonds. I think steroids puts it in the category of all of sports.
Last edited by NorthSider on April 17th at 5:16 PM.
Well, there is not a PGA or LPGA category, so some bloggers use multiple listings to keep a post up like that. There is not a tennis category or others. It appears that bloggers, who are the most industrious sort, will always try to circumvent the system, me included.
Obviously there are posts that have nothing to do with Sports. But are Intresting all the same.
That is going to happen with a popular Blog site like Fox.
My Sugestion would be just open it up.
instead of Fox Sports Blog. Have it Fox Universal Blog.or Fox World Blog. Then Catogrize it, 1 for Sports, 1 for politics, etc.etc.
I like reading about diffrent topics Like Poltics and religion and World Events. I also like the Posts of scantly clad women. These always find a way on here anyway. So, open it up.
As far as Spamming like Selling stuff or being a Nigerian Banker looking for help taking Millions out of their country just give me your Bank account, Etc. I haven't seen it.
Keep up the Good work.
Last edited by HomersSports on April 17th at 6:16 PM.
Personally, I hate it. Nothing annoys me more than trying to look for NFL posts in the middle of #### about God knows what.
I realize the plight of others who want to post things in order to garner attention, but if it is not about the NFL then I think it should be kicked out of that section.
I'm not sure what is so hard about having a section for "other sports" that can cover golf, ping pong or whatever other #### everyone wants to write about. While you're at it, put a misc category in for people who just want to aimlessly vent.
I try to put only categories that apply to at least one comment in a post.
If I mention IU, BYU, the Pacers and the Colts, then it would be Indiana Hoosiers, CBK, Brigham Young Cougars, CFB, Indiana Pacers, NBA, Indianapolis Colts, NFL.
I think this makes sense and it bugs when people assign categories that have absolutely "nada que ver" . Occasional mess ups are acceptable, but by and large, ethics and standards and common courtesy is hoped for.
Maybe we could standardize a relevancy on comments on a scale from 1-10, or other such grading systems?
This could get intersting.
Rating, a la "American idol", visible to everyone!
Transparency! Wow, this is what democracy means!
!Viva la revolucion!
It bothers me when any category has irrelevant articles/posts in any given category; my example would be with the NHL category filled up with Nascar tagged posts et al. If writers want to use tag clouds then tag them correctly.
People on here who are famous for ripping bloggers with typos and slight grammar errors and lack thorough editting tag incorrectly the posts they write. That shows more carelessness than editting after posting mentality for most talented writers that is the best way to edit.
Thank you for time spent on making this site better.
Respectfully
-letsgoredwings
Last edited by letsgoredwings on April 18th at 6:42 AM.
It doesn't make too much difference to me, but I can't quite figure out how things get where they do a lot of the time, anyway. I have a post right now that's included in the CFB section, but I didn't use the CFB tag at all....
Eventhough I attempt to "spam" catagories with my pro wrestling posts, they never turn up there. So I don't know how it's a problem. My wrestling posts show up on the recently updated part, or the MPB if I get enough comments. There is no pro wrestling section so I have to post somewhere. I've refrained from doing this anymore because it hasn't worked anyway. Put up a WWE/TNA or a pro wrestling section and I'll gladly post there. Right now I'm trying UFC/MMA sections to see if that works since they're kind of related.
I don't know that it is a huge problem. But here are some suggestions:
Some posts may actually relate to several topics, perhaps having a separate category for those...such as "general", or "multi-sport topics".
It seems that topics with no definitive category are thrown into the "NFL" category because it is at the top. Would it be possible to sort the categories by most popular? For example, MLB would probably be at the top during the summer...and NFL during the winter.
But in the interest of clearing out space for more blogs to be seen, maybe it would be best to limit those multi-category posts.
just to cite 1 example....johhnystorm writes good wrestling articles almost daily, but unless you catch them in the "recently updated" or "most popular" you dont see them unless you visit his blog, which sometimes, at least for me, gets lost when trying to read the vast number of blog posts that ARE visible on the main pages. i think if you're going to have seperate categories for each sport on the college and pro level, then the ones most often written about should be listed on the main page. what i mean is, since there isnt a whole lot going on with college basketball and football right now, replace them with pro wrestling and golf for the time being. besides the most popular single posts, we should have categories for the most popular, and current sports for the season. either that, or just add golf, wrestling, and a miscellaneous section to the page.
I agree Shooter that the Top Sports Title should be rotated. NFL needs to be at the bottom right now just ahead of College football. NBA should be first heading into the playoffs then MLB, after June, it should MLB and NBA last and so forth.
I've been saying this for a while, posts should be with the right catergories. Posts that talk about basketball shouldn't be in the football section unless they mention football. Non sports posts shouldn't be in every catergory, they should get their own section.
I've thought about this before...and I'm even guilty of doing it myself if I want people to read something, but here's my suggestion: put the categories on a rotating basis from top to bottom. For example, since the NFL isn't in season, put the NBA and MLB on top--that would prevent the need, want and desire of placing it in the NFL category. As the seasons rotate and the end of the playoffs or tournaments are here, put those at the very top. After the season's been over for a few days, drop it to the bottom. Just a thought...
***Note: I didn't see you had already written this Shooter. Nice work! Therefore, I'm agreeing with you.
Last edited by MooreSports on April 18th at 9:42 AM.
I have one problem with this blog site. Everytime I sit down to write a post I can't write one. My time is valuable as is yours so when I sit down to write post I want to be able to write.
How does it work? Is it that we can only post at certain times or something?
A solution would be to have a blogger link into that specific topic/category before writing. With drop down menus like for NHL then team and or player(s). And then the blogger has favorites for fellow bloggers; show us favorite categories, teams, players, etc. So we can quick link to category and start writing. If the writer decides to start writing in new category show how many he/she needs for it to become favorite.
Some solutions for making this site the best sports blog.
-lgrw
Last edited by letsgoredwings on April 18th at 11:52 AM.
(Contiued)
Then show us based on your editors opinion what they think our experience is. And in the comments window let the readers rate the post/article. And then the numbers from Fox and the readers would be avaeraged out much like stats are for professional athletes.
Some creative ideas and solutions for you. And that would be the standard by which posts are popular. Criteria: How well the writers thoughts are presented without pictures, and then with pictures, and paragraph and sentence structure, this list could go on. And how well the sports issues are covered and whatever else the staff and you think of.
-lgrw
Last edited by letsgoredwings on April 18th at 12:02 PM.
The idea that the "hot topics" cloud has fixed the tag cloud situation is incorrect. Until the opacity of large orange team names is replaced by the names of bloggers or posts, expect the spamming to continue (and rightly so!)
HAVE A DROP DOWN MENU WITH A LIST OF ALL ACTIVE BLOGGERS NAMES
AND INDEX OF BLOGGERS
i NEVER GOT A REPLY OR comment FROM ANYONE ABOUT THIS IDEA
WHICH I THINK IS A GOOD idea,
BUT IT IS my IDEA SO I AM NOT SURE IF ANYONE ELSE LIKEs THE IDEA
dont KNOW why the people who run this site don't put morer into it
MAYBE.......................... ................................... ................................... ............ THERE ARE ONLY 21 active BLOOGERS AND AN InDEX WOULD BE EMBARRASsISINGLlyY SHORT?
i already did see johnnystorms comment and agreed with it. Instead of skimming read the comments Metswon. I gave them some good ideas and probable solutions to fix the error of spamming categories.
Hey y'all, just want to give my apologies to those who had to go through my contest stuff when you only wanted an epic hockey story CHECK THAT, NFL or MLB story. If there is a seperate miscellaneous category I'd be all over it.
Ok, thanks to me and all of you fellow bloggers, we finally have a WWE section. So why aren't my blogs posted there? I use WWE in everyone of my posts, yet not one of them is listed there. WTF? I don't get it.
I can see why bloggers who post on a sport that doesn't have its own section (or on a general topic) spam so that their posts can be seen. What annoys me more is when there is a post that is clearly about basketball (say a Kobe piece) or football or something that does have its own category where it doesn't belong (say in MLB) just so more people might read it.
i agree completely with what elle is saying. if your post touches on something in basketball and football, i can see adding both tags to your post. but i think 2 sports tag clouds should be the limit. if you want to add player's names, more power to you, but 2 sports categories should be enough to get your post noticed.
i still believe a miscellaneous category would also be a nice edition, as occasionally some of us like to post things that arent directly sports related. this would cut down on spamming even more.
Well, I think moving all of our bookmarks to a different location and not giving us instructions on how to get there should pretty much eliminate the problem with cross posting.
It annoys me when the nascar category is full of posts that do not mention anything remotely related to cars, drivers, or the sport.
I really get steamed when my post, which is in its proper category, is bumped off the page within 24 hours by posts in the incorrect category who are 3 or 4 days old, but who's authors "retagged" them to keep them on the front page - migrating them down the page along with 3 or 4 other posts by them.
That said, we do need a category for things like golf, WWE, etc. And we need categories that are non-sport related - like a current events.
And we need a list of bloggers so you can find someone you like to read.
I'd also propose that a blogger only get one post (the most recent) placed on the listing page - regardless of how it is categorized, not the one post per category standard that is currently set. In my mind, that would (hopefully) encourage correct labeling, and would definitely encourage frequent posts.
Kareem and Fox sports staff- thank you for the picture of Steve Yzerman that greeted me and the readers and blogger this morning also for the great article.
The NHL section probably has it the worst, disputedly being the least updated section with posts and blog entries actually pertaining to the sport.
But my own gripes aside, my suggestion would be to force bloggers to choose one of the "popular" sections when they choose their tags for their blog entry to appear in. Sure, they can use every single tag known to man if they want, but maybe setting up an option where they can only choose one of those tags to be used when placing the entry in a certain section would be an interesting idea.
I think you should only post under the appropriate category..it is annoying when trying to read about Carmelo Anthony and I end up on a blog about joe sakic firing the game winning goal. here is another category for that story, called NHL, colorado avalanche or joe sakic, not Carmelo Anthony
I agree completely with Norcalfella, in that I think there should be sections labeled "Other Sports" and "Miscellaneous" to allow people to share or vent on those topics.
Changing the entire blogging site to have sports as a minor focus, on the other hand, is somewhat ridiculous, seeing as the website is "Foxsports.com"
I think as far as categorizing your blog entries, it should be limited to what the focus is about. If you mention Tom Brady in one sentence in your post, do not add him to the categories. If the entire article is about him or the Patriots, then that is fine.
(I will humbly add that I was forced to abide by this rule myself, going back and deleting the category "New England Patriots" from a post about the Yankees and Red Sox)
On occasion, I have felt compelled to do it, for a simple reason.
Allprevious incarnations you have had highlight people who get a lot of replies, but there are a lot of quality posts that fly under the radar. Just because they don't put up 150 pictures, they get no love.
If Fox Sports could consistently highlight people who put out quality - but do not necessarily get a ton of hits, this might help.
Also, some items tend to cut across sports. So some spamming bothers me, but people who do NOT get the love they should bother me more.
I've been there, and I know. Countless people have told me - I never knew you was out here!? Spamming might help me. Maybe...
I discuss this issue in depth on my blog, Verbal Battles are more fun and less painful. I think it is wrong if you want to read more about what I think please read my blog, I have it posted in daily notes, nhl playoffs, playoffs, sport, barry bonds, nba playoffs, edmontone oilers, who shot mamaba, boobs, and in a couple I can't remember.
LLLLOOOOOLLLL
I believe it would be an easy fix if you made every entry post with a single catagory, (from a drop down window,) and then let them use the tags as an addition to that catagory. Each post would allow the writer to choose a single catagory section, and then tag that entry all they want. Then the posts would appear in the catagory they choose, but can be searched through the tags. I believe it would even out the playing field. Thanks!
You guys need to fix categories, it is freaking ridiclous seeing non-NFL posts in NFL section and such. It's a cowardly act and it screws over the bloggers that actually write about the NFL.
Kareem: I'm new on your site, and I know this is an old post from last year but I hope it will get through. You have a problem with people putting different categories on their posts. I don't want to have to filter through football #### in the college basketball category. When I search all college basketball posts and get anything from football to hockey, and can't even find my post, it's a problem. If my posts aren't out there, how can I let my voice be heard? As a newcomer, it seems to me that the same people are dominating the topics and I'm tired of their old worn-out ideas. Thanks for letting me vent.
I do it to make sure a piece I have worked so hard on will be seen. I mainly write about basketball and even though I may add NFL as the last category, that is always the one it appears in and no others. I tried a post omitting NFL and just listing the specific category it belonged to but it was never up. It ALWAYS appears on NFL when I add it to the categories. The odd thing is, the article I wrote about the NFL appeared in college basketball!! However, if you want me to stop, I will! Just let me know. I am a nice southern gal ;)
the fact is youre not gonna please evrybody .. no matter what system you put in place ppl are gonna find a loop hole or a way to exploit it thats just how it gos you cant blame ppl for that .. you gotta take advantage of any advantage ya canm find to get noticed and so that ppl will read youre blog esp if its a blog that you feel you have worked hard on .. you cant put ppl down for that or call it " spamming "
What we have is a paradox of interesting conclusions of what is a blog category?
Ones subjective views posted may not actually be of the category determined by what is a proper category even though the user may have felt that proximity might have been correct at the time of conjecture.
To list multiple categories in the vein it was intended may lead to the programming parables of inconsisent filtration of the articles given contex.
Thus you will have the quagmire of the missing or lost essay of issues predicated.
