If You Build It, They Will Come
Discussion in the Open Talk forum
Comments
Re: If You Build It, They Will Come
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Feb 19, 2009 11:14 AM
| YBS Fan
]
All good points. Many of which I hope to address in this year's site makeover.
On Login Requirements
Requiring login is a topic which I fret over a great deal. I like that all the information and discussion here are open to anyone, anonymously. However, my faith in humanity waxes and wanes, often with the tides of posts to Nichi-Bei in particular.
At some time in the distant past I just got so fed up with dealing with a spambot and a select set of anonymous users that I required login to a number of forums. To my great joy, the annoyances ceased. However, I agree that I also lost a number of good people who, for what ever reason, don't wish to login.
I'm also experiencing pressure from my partner to require login to view more of the site in order to be able to better track how many users we have here. (Yes, I've pointed out that access logs can do much the same thing.) The purpose of such logs would be to have a definitive number of English speaking people interested in NPB that can be presented to The Powers That Be in Nippon Professional Baseball in an attempt to partner with them - to be their official English language site. A wild dream, I know.
On Moderation
One carrot for users to login, so far as I'm concerned, would be to eliminate the need for regulars who know and abide by the rules to get a free pass (no moderation) for posting. It would also be a requirement to allow them to moderate as well.
I did some experimental moderation development with the blogs that I introduced last year so that the blog owners can moderate posts without having to login to a special administrative console. I want to incorporate that into the rest of the forum system with the current upgrade that I'm working on.
A Broken Community?
I do get the impression that some of the measures I've taken the past couple of years have scared many people away to start their own blogs. Japan Baseball Daily, NPB Tracker, Baseball Guru, and Koko Yakyu are a few examples of excellent blogs that were started by people who got their start here at JapaneseBaseball.com but moved on to a place where they had more control. Marinerds and East Windup Chronicles are a couple of excellent examples where people just started writing on their own without starting here.
When I read these other excellent sites, I can't help but wonder what I did wrong to drive these people away? Am I, in my desire to go against human nature's need for conflict, the cause? Is the problem that some people have turned to me to lead, but I tend to be a hands-off leader - feeling that others will just do what they feel is right?
You're right. For the betterment of the community I need to give up some of the control. It's important for other contributors to be a part of managing the site, not just participating in it. I think that the blogs, especially Christopher's, have shown that it can work.
The Next Step
And just to let you know that things are progressing, here is a peak at the look and feel of the site to come.
On Login Requirements
Requiring login is a topic which I fret over a great deal. I like that all the information and discussion here are open to anyone, anonymously. However, my faith in humanity waxes and wanes, often with the tides of posts to Nichi-Bei in particular.
At some time in the distant past I just got so fed up with dealing with a spambot and a select set of anonymous users that I required login to a number of forums. To my great joy, the annoyances ceased. However, I agree that I also lost a number of good people who, for what ever reason, don't wish to login.
I'm also experiencing pressure from my partner to require login to view more of the site in order to be able to better track how many users we have here. (Yes, I've pointed out that access logs can do much the same thing.) The purpose of such logs would be to have a definitive number of English speaking people interested in NPB that can be presented to The Powers That Be in Nippon Professional Baseball in an attempt to partner with them - to be their official English language site. A wild dream, I know.
On Moderation
One carrot for users to login, so far as I'm concerned, would be to eliminate the need for regulars who know and abide by the rules to get a free pass (no moderation) for posting. It would also be a requirement to allow them to moderate as well.
I did some experimental moderation development with the blogs that I introduced last year so that the blog owners can moderate posts without having to login to a special administrative console. I want to incorporate that into the rest of the forum system with the current upgrade that I'm working on.
A Broken Community?
I do get the impression that some of the measures I've taken the past couple of years have scared many people away to start their own blogs. Japan Baseball Daily, NPB Tracker, Baseball Guru, and Koko Yakyu are a few examples of excellent blogs that were started by people who got their start here at JapaneseBaseball.com but moved on to a place where they had more control. Marinerds and East Windup Chronicles are a couple of excellent examples where people just started writing on their own without starting here.
When I read these other excellent sites, I can't help but wonder what I did wrong to drive these people away? Am I, in my desire to go against human nature's need for conflict, the cause? Is the problem that some people have turned to me to lead, but I tend to be a hands-off leader - feeling that others will just do what they feel is right?
You're right. For the betterment of the community I need to give up some of the control. It's important for other contributors to be a part of managing the site, not just participating in it. I think that the blogs, especially Christopher's, have shown that it can work.
The Next Step
And just to let you know that things are progressing, here is a peak at the look and feel of the site to come.
Re: If You Build It, They Will Come
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Feb 19, 2009 8:36 PM
| HAN Fan
]
I'm impressed by the new site - will all these guys contribute to this site as well?
On the subject of moderation by participants - it works on other sites and so I think would work on this one. It certainly works on the Tiger Tails blog - I don't have banning powers but I can and do delete posts I consider a waste of time or offensive.
I do not necessarily think that your approach is bad - rather think of yourself as a nurturer. As people discover and contribute to this site they either stay or move on inspired to create their own sites. They still stop by but I would say that this site is responsible for inspiring the growth in the online Japanese baseball community.
On the subject of moderation by participants - it works on other sites and so I think would work on this one. It certainly works on the Tiger Tails blog - I don't have banning powers but I can and do delete posts I consider a waste of time or offensive.
I do not necessarily think that your approach is bad - rather think of yourself as a nurturer. As people discover and contribute to this site they either stay or move on inspired to create their own sites. They still stop by but I would say that this site is responsible for inspiring the growth in the online Japanese baseball community.
Re: If You Build It, They Will Come
[ Author: Guest: Terence | Posted: Mar 6, 2009 4:55 PM
]
FYI, I like this site and have looked through it and posted twice. I would "hang" out here more if the posts were posted immediately. I think you should require a login to post, but allow the public to read your site. That way you don't have to worry about spammers/racists, but still aloow those to read.
My $0.02
My $0.02
Re: If You Build It, They Will Come
[ Author: Guest | Posted: Mar 7, 2009 2:54 PM
]
I agree with Terence.
The reason why this site is so inactive is because the posts are delayed. But yeah, it's your site, do what you want.
The reason why this site is so inactive is because the posts are delayed. But yeah, it's your site, do what you want.
About
This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
Copyright (c) 1995-2024 JapaneseBaseball.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.
I wanted to post a message to see what everyone thought about an article I read on ESPN dot com about some of the grumblings coming out of the Mariners' camp concerning Ichiro. This isn't the place I generally look for discussion on MLB issues but I've been a Dragons' fan since I was 17 and have liked Ichiro just as long -- it's a regional thing. I wasn't going to log on and talk trash on him.
Going to the Nichi-bei forum, I was informed that I had to log in. Whereas in Open Talk I did not, I chose to. I am wondering what the reason is. I can understand Westbaystars-san not wanting trolls, but looking at all the forums and the dates of the posts (each forum has multiple January posts on it) I can't understand such paranoid measures.
Why don't you just ask some of your faithful posters to act as moderators? There are several posters who contribute to this site. Guys on both sides of the world who work at their computers and care about the sport. Even Christopher would be an ideal choice for a moderator. He would be quick to ban someone, which is a good thing I think. I frequent many a page where discussion is encouraged; racism and threats are not tolerated, such posters are banned. I rarely stop by this page anymore because there is no discussion.
I know it's the off-season and all, but I'd rather just read Sanspo and then talk to my friends over here and agree: "Yeah, foreigners don't give a d*** about Japanese baseball." This site is testament that it is not true.
Why don't you help make this into a livelier forum? I'm sure you'd help build interest in the sport. NPB needs all the help it can get at the moment.
I hated Field of Dreams: but if you build it, [they] will come.