Restrict the Blog posts on this site
There are far too many poets putting blog posts on this site!
They are posted at such a rate it is almost impossible to keep up with reading them all and making considered comments.
The number of blog posts has increased massively, the number of comments on them has decreased.
There are so many more new members that more people sould be available to comment but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Solution - Limit everyone to 1 post per week. This would make people think more about what they post, raise the quallity of postings in the blog section, increase feedback via comments, prevent the blog section imploding through being swamped.
(I realise this is a controvertial perhaps provocative post but am interested in your points of view. And before you ask, yes, I am a frequent poster of sometimes poor quality poems)
Winston
They are posted at such a rate it is almost impossible to keep up with reading them all and making considered comments.
The number of blog posts has increased massively, the number of comments on them has decreased.
There are so many more new members that more people sould be available to comment but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Solution - Limit everyone to 1 post per week. This would make people think more about what they post, raise the quallity of postings in the blog section, increase feedback via comments, prevent the blog section imploding through being swamped.
(I realise this is a controvertial perhaps provocative post but am interested in your points of view. And before you ask, yes, I am a frequent poster of sometimes poor quality poems)
Winston
Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:36 pm
Thanks Siren -
My suggestion would also give new members an equal voice to established ones
Winston
My suggestion would also give new members an equal voice to established ones
Winston
Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:25 pm
<Deleted User> (5646)
Winston, i think the reason we blog is to get feed-back. I know i do!
Someone who contributes regularly to this site once told me they blog to receive feed-back then when they're happy with any changes they might want to make because of the feed-back, they transfer their work to their profile page. They also said that once it is there, any further critique is irrelevant and unwelcomed. Time proved otherwise but the principle was there.
I agree some days there are far too many postings to read through and have the time to comment on each one as we might like to.
I would suggest you don't even try to read them all or perhaps just keep the comments to a minimum amount of words to project your feelings about them. Use those dreaded adjectives which adequately describe what you wish to portray in your comments.
Enlarge on the ones you know will appreciate constructive advice.
Janet.x
Someone who contributes regularly to this site once told me they blog to receive feed-back then when they're happy with any changes they might want to make because of the feed-back, they transfer their work to their profile page. They also said that once it is there, any further critique is irrelevant and unwelcomed. Time proved otherwise but the principle was there.
I agree some days there are far too many postings to read through and have the time to comment on each one as we might like to.
I would suggest you don't even try to read them all or perhaps just keep the comments to a minimum amount of words to project your feelings about them. Use those dreaded adjectives which adequately describe what you wish to portray in your comments.
Enlarge on the ones you know will appreciate constructive advice.
Janet.x
Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:00 pm
Janet - My suggestions would increase the amount of feedback rather than carry on along the road of diluting it which we are now on. It would make people concentrate on whats on offer
you have a healthy post to comment ratio
whilst your advice here would help, it will not stop the run away train of the blog post... Maybe we are a victim of our (WOL) own success or maybe its all ok and I am stood on a teetering tower of soap boxes with no firm foundations ! LOL
Winston
you have a healthy post to comment ratio
whilst your advice here would help, it will not stop the run away train of the blog post... Maybe we are a victim of our (WOL) own success or maybe its all ok and I am stood on a teetering tower of soap boxes with no firm foundations ! LOL
Winston
Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:38 pm
Helen Thomas
I quite enjoy doing the blog lottery i.e. I dip in now and again and just see what's been posted. I've read some great stuff by poets I've never heard of or met previously and have gone into their blog archives to read more.
Perhaps a way of just posting links to the poems posted on a particular day would be more effective so that a list of poems could appear like the contents page in a book. Readers could then see more of an overview of what's been posted rather than scrolling through loads of poems and could click on the poets they know and / or titles or poets that they like the sound of. Of course, I know nothing about website design - this could be a nightmare to implement but I'm only a poet.
Perhaps a way of just posting links to the poems posted on a particular day would be more effective so that a list of poems could appear like the contents page in a book. Readers could then see more of an overview of what's been posted rather than scrolling through loads of poems and could click on the poets they know and / or titles or poets that they like the sound of. Of course, I know nothing about website design - this could be a nightmare to implement but I'm only a poet.
Sat, 28 Feb 2009 04:44 pm
Pete Crompton
I too would like to see a better balance between posting one's own work and commenting on the work of others. Netiquette on another site I am familiar with, suggests (but does not compel) that for every post one makes one should leave at least three crits. It seems to work most of the time, and isn't a great deal to ask for the free space and community found here.
There are, of course, those for whom the process, for whatever reason, will only ever be purely one-way.
There is also the competitive approach to encouraging participation - think "Crit of the Month" etc. Just thinking out loud.
Regards,
A.E.
There are, of course, those for whom the process, for whatever reason, will only ever be purely one-way.
There is also the competitive approach to encouraging participation - think "Crit of the Month" etc. Just thinking out loud.
Regards,
A.E.
Sun, 8 Mar 2009 10:39 pm
<Deleted User> (5763)
Anthony. Just found your post re posting.
Apart from the principle of netiquette, I think it would be a good idea to have some kind of regulation of what is after all, a limited resource, which has to be paid for by someone, somewhere; so I will moderate myself as from now !
Apart from the principle of netiquette, I think it would be a good idea to have some kind of regulation of what is after all, a limited resource, which has to be paid for by someone, somewhere; so I will moderate myself as from now !
Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:31 pm
Well, I started this ugly ball rolling. Still feel its getting more out of control (as predicted). The best idea so far is Anthony's (see below). If we are not to limit things this will at least make it more sensible for now and may even be self limiting, no advice from admin so far ?
I see you see the prob Bill, but you too have a healthy post to comment ratio so don't think thats a problem.
Winston
I see you see the prob Bill, but you too have a healthy post to comment ratio so don't think thats a problem.
Winston
Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:06 pm
It seems to me that the way to please all partys would be to PAY for your posting say 50p
by paying say £5 min to WOL
£!0 - 11 Postings
£15 35Postings..... Let admin sort out the rest.
Discussions board free.
The quality of the postings will, I'm sure, improve.
Also a another possibility worth consideration... membership of WOL...certainly sort the alsorans out.... £50 per annum Less than £1 per week great value.. special rates for proven students and CRAZY poets. they would be £60PA
There is no such thing as a free lunch!
Gus
by paying say £5 min to WOL
£!0 - 11 Postings
£15 35Postings..... Let admin sort out the rest.
Discussions board free.
The quality of the postings will, I'm sure, improve.
Also a another possibility worth consideration... membership of WOL...certainly sort the alsorans out.... £50 per annum Less than £1 per week great value.. special rates for proven students and CRAZY poets. they would be £60PA
There is no such thing as a free lunch!
Gus
Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:50 pm
<Deleted User> (5646)
Well Gus.
I sincerely hope you're joking!!
I for one would be off like a shot if a charge was in operation for using this site. Or any other website for that matter.
Having said that. If i was in a position to contribute a donation occasionally. I would.
As for the quality of the blog posts. They might not all be to your standard or personal taste but everyone has to start somewhere. Poetry, like music is so diverse, everything we read or write will never please everyone or suit everyones taste.
It actually amazes me that wol pay people to attend some of the events and to compere them.
Surely, if these people are going to be there anyway and want the experience of performing or compering, perhaps they could do it for free, or donate the cash back to the running of the site and events costs.
I sincerely hope you're joking!!
I for one would be off like a shot if a charge was in operation for using this site. Or any other website for that matter.
Having said that. If i was in a position to contribute a donation occasionally. I would.
As for the quality of the blog posts. They might not all be to your standard or personal taste but everyone has to start somewhere. Poetry, like music is so diverse, everything we read or write will never please everyone or suit everyones taste.
It actually amazes me that wol pay people to attend some of the events and to compere them.
Surely, if these people are going to be there anyway and want the experience of performing or compering, perhaps they could do it for free, or donate the cash back to the running of the site and events costs.
Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:20 pm
I agree Janet about the diversity thing.
My suggestions are not aimed at improving quality in my opinion or that of any other person here. I think that this is one of the strongest aspects of the blog feature - that anybody can post any style they like, it will make us think about what we post more if we are limited however
Winston
My suggestions are not aimed at improving quality in my opinion or that of any other person here. I think that this is one of the strongest aspects of the blog feature - that anybody can post any style they like, it will make us think about what we post more if we are limited however
Winston
Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:37 pm
Coming late to the topic (nothing new there hey?) maybe I could suggest that people make use of RSS feeds?
As a web designer and owner/admin/caretaker of too many sites, I HAVE to use RSS feeds because I just never get around to visiting all the blogs that people have. I have around 50 RSS feeds that I subscribe to and that allows me to get to things in my own time.
I'm sure they are on the site somewhere and if not....Admins, what's going on? But like I say I'm sure I've seen them somewhere...
As a web designer and owner/admin/caretaker of too many sites, I HAVE to use RSS feeds because I just never get around to visiting all the blogs that people have. I have around 50 RSS feeds that I subscribe to and that allows me to get to things in my own time.
I'm sure they are on the site somewhere and if not....Admins, what's going on? But like I say I'm sure I've seen them somewhere...
Mon, 4 May 2009 03:49 am
Hi Martin
good to see you in Oxton. I think we both enjoyed it. Well since I started this thread, what is an RSS feed and how does it work / help the situation?
Winston
good to see you in Oxton. I think we both enjoyed it. Well since I started this thread, what is an RSS feed and how does it work / help the situation?
Winston
Tue, 12 May 2009 12:31 am
No, admin is not ignoring you. Just, er, ignoring you. I did think we had RSS facility but have asked technical departments to advise and comment here (as it is all voluntary for them, it may take a while).
I think there are some really valuable ideas here about how to manage the blog-cabin and we need to give that some thought when we get a minute.
I especially like the fact that our charge/no charge dilemma is neatly encapsulated in the contrasting posts from Gus and Janet.
Thank you, Gus, for your realistic take. Yes, it costs us to run this site. A lot, not least in time spent, thus opportunity cost. And yet people seem unwilling - Janet - to even acknowledge the fact, or to contribute to the cost of running the site. We keep finding ourselves asking: why on earth do we keep doing this?
And then we get lovely unsolicited feedback, like this:
Being part of the WOL page and the nights has done so much for my confidence, it may not be obvious but it has.
Can we really let that go? No. We don't want to cease the site's activities, but even thne most motivated volunteers eventually get what is called volunteer fatigue. We assumed people would give generously to our appeal for donations. But, with some generous exceptions, they have ignored it.
We are staking a lot on using the results of the evaluation (which has cost a great deal of money) with a view to trying to get some public funds. But the times are hard, as the poor government has had to divert arts funding to repair their swimming pools and tennis courts, which obviously must take priority over the work that we do.
Some of you have offered to help us and we are going to come back to you and ask if we can formalise that. We are just awaiting the final verdict on our evaluation, but I can reveal to you that the initial feedback is staggering in terms of the difference we make to the world of poetry, particularly in the North of England.
Ah, I have gone on a bit. Thank you for continuing to support each other so generously. Keep writing!
I think there are some really valuable ideas here about how to manage the blog-cabin and we need to give that some thought when we get a minute.
I especially like the fact that our charge/no charge dilemma is neatly encapsulated in the contrasting posts from Gus and Janet.
Thank you, Gus, for your realistic take. Yes, it costs us to run this site. A lot, not least in time spent, thus opportunity cost. And yet people seem unwilling - Janet - to even acknowledge the fact, or to contribute to the cost of running the site. We keep finding ourselves asking: why on earth do we keep doing this?
And then we get lovely unsolicited feedback, like this:
Being part of the WOL page and the nights has done so much for my confidence, it may not be obvious but it has.
Can we really let that go? No. We don't want to cease the site's activities, but even thne most motivated volunteers eventually get what is called volunteer fatigue. We assumed people would give generously to our appeal for donations. But, with some generous exceptions, they have ignored it.
We are staking a lot on using the results of the evaluation (which has cost a great deal of money) with a view to trying to get some public funds. But the times are hard, as the poor government has had to divert arts funding to repair their swimming pools and tennis courts, which obviously must take priority over the work that we do.
Some of you have offered to help us and we are going to come back to you and ask if we can formalise that. We are just awaiting the final verdict on our evaluation, but I can reveal to you that the initial feedback is staggering in terms of the difference we make to the world of poetry, particularly in the North of England.
Ah, I have gone on a bit. Thank you for continuing to support each other so generously. Keep writing!
Tue, 12 May 2009 10:43 am
Hi,
We do have RSS feeds for blogs. On the page
http://www.writeoutloud.net/blogs ,
there are subscribe and podcast links on the right hand side. The subscribe link will sign you up to every post. The podcast feed only includes blog entries with audio.
You can also subscribe to an individual poet's blog by going to their page and selecting the same link, e.g.
http://www.writeoutloud.net/blogs/winstonplowes
has a subscribe button on it which will give you a feed of just Winston's entries.
What we do not have at the moment is a design your own feed option where you can select multiple poets you are interested in and combine them into your own personal feed. This will come in the future.
Regards,
Paul
We do have RSS feeds for blogs. On the page
http://www.writeoutloud.net/blogs ,
there are subscribe and podcast links on the right hand side. The subscribe link will sign you up to every post. The podcast feed only includes blog entries with audio.
You can also subscribe to an individual poet's blog by going to their page and selecting the same link, e.g.
http://www.writeoutloud.net/blogs/winstonplowes
has a subscribe button on it which will give you a feed of just Winston's entries.
What we do not have at the moment is a design your own feed option where you can select multiple poets you are interested in and combine them into your own personal feed. This will come in the future.
Regards,
Paul
Tue, 12 May 2009 11:21 am
<Deleted User> (5593)
Following on from Paul Embersons post here is, hopefully, a guide to using the 'Subscribe' facility. Winston, could you road test this to make sure it makes sense and works for you please.
What is this 'Subscribe' that appears on things like 'News'?
What is 'Subscription'?
Firstly, Subscription is free.
You can subscribe to certain parts of the Write Out Loud Web site such as 'News'
Click on 'News' in the above menu and you will see a list of news items, we call this list a 'feed'.
When you 'subscribe' to a feed you put a link to the feed in your browser (internet Explorer, Firefox etc).
A feed can have the same content as the webpage, but it's often formatted differently.
When you subscribe, your browser automatically checks the website and downloads new content
so you can see what's new since you last visited the feed by clicking on the link in your browser.
Try it and see.
How do I Subscribe to a feed?
Click on 'News' in the above menu
Now click on 'Subscribe' and you will see the 'News' feed.
The software knows which browser you are using (Internet Explorer, Firefox etc) and at the top of the page you will see 'Subscribe to this feed' (use the default if it gives you an option)
Type a name for the feed (or let it default) and select the folder to create the feed in and save it.
Now in your browsers 'Favorites', 'Bookmarks' etc you will have a link to the feed. Now when you click on that link you'll see the latest News feed items.
This procedure works exactly the same for any other feeds you subscribe to.
What can I subscribe to on the Write Out Loud site?
News, Poem of the Month, What I do that's new, Reviews and Blogs.
You can also subscribe to an individual poets blog.
How do I subscribe to an individual poets blog?
Click on any blog by the poet you want to subscribe to.
Click on 'Blog entries by [Poets Name]'
Click on 'Subscribe'
What is this 'Subscribe' that appears on things like 'News'?
What is 'Subscription'?
Firstly, Subscription is free.
You can subscribe to certain parts of the Write Out Loud Web site such as 'News'
Click on 'News' in the above menu and you will see a list of news items, we call this list a 'feed'.
When you 'subscribe' to a feed you put a link to the feed in your browser (internet Explorer, Firefox etc).
A feed can have the same content as the webpage, but it's often formatted differently.
When you subscribe, your browser automatically checks the website and downloads new content
so you can see what's new since you last visited the feed by clicking on the link in your browser.
Try it and see.
How do I Subscribe to a feed?
Click on 'News' in the above menu
Now click on 'Subscribe' and you will see the 'News' feed.
The software knows which browser you are using (Internet Explorer, Firefox etc) and at the top of the page you will see 'Subscribe to this feed' (use the default if it gives you an option)
Type a name for the feed (or let it default) and select the folder to create the feed in and save it.
Now in your browsers 'Favorites', 'Bookmarks' etc you will have a link to the feed. Now when you click on that link you'll see the latest News feed items.
This procedure works exactly the same for any other feeds you subscribe to.
What can I subscribe to on the Write Out Loud site?
News, Poem of the Month, What I do that's new, Reviews and Blogs.
You can also subscribe to an individual poets blog.
How do I subscribe to an individual poets blog?
Click on any blog by the poet you want to subscribe to.
Click on 'Blog entries by [Poets Name]'
Click on 'Subscribe'
Tue, 12 May 2009 04:03 pm
hi paul
i will have a go at the feed facility and let you know how i find it.
win
i will have a go at the feed facility and let you know how i find it.
win
Tue, 12 May 2009 09:28 pm
Julian
Iread your comment with intrest.
I am now out of hospital, soon on my feet no more than a week or so... would , as i have stated to you before love to help in any way I can... please contact me soonest... The rent boy idea was not well timed... but I tried.
Gus
Iread your comment with intrest.
I am now out of hospital, soon on my feet no more than a week or so... would , as i have stated to you before love to help in any way I can... please contact me soonest... The rent boy idea was not well timed... but I tried.
Gus
Tue, 12 May 2009 10:16 pm
alright, i be one of them there crazy poets who does sometimes post enough to keep busy, a small team of comedians. but, haveing said that, i just wanna say, OI OI, Tits oot everyone!
Seriously though, i do feel that some kind of membership fee for poets would be good. It will imbue upon people that the aim is to develop, and, it will also be a good way of gaining some costs for the running of the site. i for one, not known for putting my hand in my penniless pocket, would be willing to pay, and i feel, it would as i said, imbue upon people that the site is to be taken seriously, whether a budding poet or not. I would even go as far to say that, 50p per blog entry is affordable and worth it. Mike
Seriously though, i do feel that some kind of membership fee for poets would be good. It will imbue upon people that the aim is to develop, and, it will also be a good way of gaining some costs for the running of the site. i for one, not known for putting my hand in my penniless pocket, would be willing to pay, and i feel, it would as i said, imbue upon people that the site is to be taken seriously, whether a budding poet or not. I would even go as far to say that, 50p per blog entry is affordable and worth it. Mike
Wed, 13 May 2009 11:40 pm