Noticed a few times:
* People starting threads with "Following/seen on the front page..."
* Most of the articles on the front page have very few comments on them. Very few.
Why not make each new article on the front page into a new thread title as well. First post containing a brief synopsis and a link to the article.
Continue to show the discussion thread under the article on the front page too, just in case people have navigated in that way.
You'd massively increase the number of people reading the articles ( you know, the "there's a magazine?" types). And you'd get infinitely more comments under the articles.
And people would see the threads on the forum page and pop back in to see what the other 47 subsequent posts have said.
Everyone's a winner.
* Most of the articles on the front page have very few comments on them. Very few
Its an interesting difference between here and Road.cc - obviously here the forum is very busy - there (although I stopped looking there a years ago because they constantly spoiled the results of the TDF in their headlines) although the forum never really took off there seems to be a much more engaged conversation between the site's authors and the readers. A quick skim just now and it seems like its not unusual for an article to have 20 to 50 comments.
Same on PB, the forum doesn’t seem as busy as here, but the comments sections are crazy
Why not make each new article on the front page into a new thread title as well.
Probably because the usual suspects would whine about seeing adverts.
I'll pass on your idea, thanks. (You / anyone can always email Mark directly with this sort of thing. Or indeed, anything.)
comments sections are crazy
You say crazy I say fantastic (and I think their clampdown on the comments has been a force for good) so I come here for the forum and PB for news, comments, videos and podcasts.
Remember STW is a mag that begrudgingly has online content to survive that I support mostly because I love the forum and every one of the staff that I have met (that could be all of them, I’m not sure)
I think the divide is fine as is. Commercial parallel universe with it's Ridiculous Retail Prices and the let's have a ****ing row (heated debate) about everything.
Aren't some articles behind a pay wall? All the non "P"ers would just moan they can't read the article
I like it as it is. We get the links to the site posts on the right. That's enough in my book.
We get the links to the site posts on the right.
Not if you do all your browsing on a phone.
You say crazy I say fantastic
Sorry, meant to say crazy busy
Road.cc – obviously here the forum is very busy – there (although I stopped looking there a years ago because they constantly spoiled the results of the TDF in their headlines) although the forum never really took off there seems to be a much more engaged conversation between the site’s authors and the readers. A quick skim just now and it seems like its not unusual for an article to have 20 to 50 comments.
Road.CC is an interesting one though. Whilst you're right that the articles do have quite a few comments, they're often spread out over several months/years as Road.CC seem to have a habit of just supplementing and republishing old articles - classic example on the home page today - Mavic wheels: check out the brand new 2021 range for road and gravel bikes 40 comments but the first is from 3 years ago, there actually only looks to be one from since it was most recently published.
Not if you do all your browsing on a phone.
Fair point. I never browse on a phone, just a computer or iPad mini. Tried the phone and it was awful.
As to the OP I think it would blur the line between the ‘sponsored’ content and the forum. If a reader picks up on it and posts the link then OK but if STW do it then that seems to be an admission that the website isn’t drawing in the readers.
Maybe better to outlaw links to PB. I’ve often posted links as they will have stories before STW sometimes and I have to admit that Pinkbike is my go to spot for news in one place. Plus the comments are epic.
I think what I’m going to do from now on is if I see something of ‘interest’ on PB I will check on the front page of STW and if the same press release is there I’ll link to that instead.
Seems polite to me.
you know, the “there’s a magazine?” types
Next you'll be telling me there's a Bike section of the forum!
It's interesting to see the responses against this. Personally, while I'm not up for being bombarded with ads for Maseratis and diving watches, the promotion of front page content on the forum is surprisingly restrained to me.
While it would be rubbish if every other new thread was a plug for STW content, and promos for paywalled stuff would be annoying to some, we're probably talking about two or three new threads a day, which would fall out of the arse-end of page 1 pretty swiftly if the forum didn't want to engage with them.
Was going to reply to the concerns raised above about keeping the two separate and not clogging up the forum. Luckily Martin has answered it beautifully:
While it would be rubbish if every other new thread was a plug for STW content, and promos for paywalled stuff would be annoying to some, we’re probably talking about two or three new threads a day, which would fall out of the arse-end of page 1 pretty swiftly if the forum didn’t want to engage with them.
This is the key thing here. The threads could have a standard prefix on them so the "ItReallyPissesMeOffWhenTheOwners/ProvidersOfThisForumTryToCoverTheirCostsAndTryToMakeALivingFromIt" types can ignore them from the start.
And each thread will live or drop on its merits. Once people stop being interested in it they stop posting, at which point it organically drops off the page...
The threads could have a standard prefix on them so the “ItReallyPissesMeOffWhenTheOwners/ProvidersOfThisForumTryToCoverTheirCostsAndTryToMakeALivingFromIt” types can ignore them from the start.
True, of course if more people subscribed and didn't use this resource for free then they wouldn't have to do that would they?
FWIW... I feel like the comments on our stories are usually to the point and relevant, often adding specific personal experience to a review or asking a supplementary question, whereas the forum threads and other sites are more of a debate and the germane info can get lost in the funny ripostes and so on. So personally, I quite like the balance we have here. That said, I always like to get comments on a web story because it shows that someone read it and was actually interested. And when there's a link in the forum to another site when I've spent time producing the same story on STW it makes me want to weep. Other sites have whole teams just selling ads that are as big as the entire STW staff body, but we do out best to cover as much as possible!
FWIW… I feel like the comments on our stories are usually to the point and relevant, often adding specific personal experience to a review or asking a supplementary question, whereas the forum threads and other sites are more of a debate and the germane info can get lost in the funny ripostes and so on.
It's not an either/or. You can have sensible comments from real people on the front page, and invite all the other arseholes to comment on the forum. 🙂
@martinhutch I feel like I should be able to monetise the arseholes list. Mark and Chipps can treat it like presidential pardons and I can be the lawyer that charges for access.
Monetising your arseholes is fraught with danger.
Hmm. I think I get your point about your worthy content being dragged into the gutter by the forum. 🙂
You can have sensible comments from real people on the front page, and invite all the other arseholes to comment on the forum
Isn't that the current model?
Front page, no comments
Forum thread with link and pertinent question
2nd post do you even how much brahh
3rd comment something something tory lizard overlord vi former
4th - 8th Something moaning about e bikes despite the article being on shoes.
A few posts on brexit.
Remains of 20 page thread discuss grammar of 3rd post.
Can't see why there isn't 3 sections: Bike forum, Chat forum, front page forum. Would stop the issue of things disappearing off the bottom of the screen.
I can be the lawyer that charges for access.
Okay Rudy. 😁
And when there’s a link in the forum to another site when I’ve spent time producing the same story on STW it makes me want to weep.
I personally wouldn't object to such links being moderated and the STW story being popped in there.
I can be the lawyer that charges for access
Okay Rudy
It can't fail.
And when there’s a link in the forum to another site when I’ve spent time producing the same story on STW it makes me want to weep.
I've occasionally posted a link to Road.cc and felt a bit guilty doing it as it felt like cheating on STW. Next time I'll imagine Hannah crying and stop......
I personally wouldn’t object to such links being moderated and the STW story being popped in there.
See my post from up there.
Maybe better to outlaw links to PB. I’ve often posted links as they will have stories before STW sometimes and I have to admit that Pinkbike is my go to spot for news in one place. Plus the comments are epic.
I think what I’m going to do from now on is if I see something of ‘interest’ on PB I will check on the front page of STW and if the same press release is there I’ll link to that instead.
Seems polite to me.
There’s a magazine?
Oi STW, a simple thanks would have been nice... you know just to say you've taken on the idea and implemented it.;-)
Whilst we're clearly on something of a roll please oh please can we remove the bloody timelock on threads too?
Cheers
Sorry to disappoint but the plan to implement a forum comment plugin has been in the plan for slightly over a year 🙂
The 1 year lock on posts is actually an anti spam measure. We could look to extend it a bit further though and see what happens. We have another plan for an archive forum of classic threads. We are working out the criteria for what constitutes a classic thread. Suggestions on that?
Whilst we’re clearly on something of a roll please oh please can we remove the bloody timelock on threads too?
Cheers
Start a thread with the same title, add 2.0 or similar to the end of thread title and link to the original thread?
The moderators can and usually will unlock an old thread on request. You can use the Report Post link even, that will include the thread URL. It's not just for the nasty things in life.