Main Board and the 2017 Season

AlNipper49

Huge Member
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 3, 2001
44,851
Mtigawi
The mods have been discussing some changes that we feel will be beneficial for the 2017 season. None of the changes are things which are "WE MUST DO THIS OR THE SITE WILL DIE" - think of these being presented more in the fashion of "These are things are we can tweak which we think could work".

Tweak 1: Collapse the MLB forum into the Red Sox forum.
MLB forum has pretty intermittent usage. Folks like the forum yet people don't always make it a part of their regular stop. By introducing MLB threads into the Red Sox forum our hope is that we can add some more life in there. The Red Sox forum is ALWAYS plagued by megathreads. This may be the season we try to do away with them in another way - by being more vibrant all-around. It will also force things off of the front page a little faster, which gives us lazy folks less reason to necro threads that are days old.

The average SoSH poster visits the site more than once a day, and a large amount are now viewing the site via the timeline/new posts features. Given that, the changes wouldn't be material to a growing number of our members.

The SoSH Main Forum can support about 15 new threads a day and about 40 "active" threads a day given how the typical sosher users the site (these numbers were computed using a very advanced algorithm - I pulled them out of my ass :).... but I do have a gut feel for what subforums can support )

Hey, worst case and it's a huge success and we are "forced" to subforum things again. Not much downside.

Tweak 2: Previews and Recaps
This is where we think the community can be more free-form. Folks seem to respond well to these in other forums, and we've had these in the past with the Sox forum. We are thinking about also working with the .com (WHO ARE NOW ON GOOGLE NEWS) to do some crossover work between our two projects. They'll be increasing the frequency of their recaps (some really cool things in the works), and presumably adding the threads could be a part of the editorial workflow.

Feedback on this is definitely appreciated. My personal gut feel is that it's a good idea but it needs some more fleshing out.

.......

I think we should leave this at two tweaks for now -- lots of other stuff has been discussed, but don't want to leave these two items to be lost in the shuffle. But please please please make a proposal if you think of anything which would help. Also let's try to keep this as baseball-oriented as possible. We're a Sox site and it deserves the laser focus of the community for a few weeks :)
 

AlNipper49

Huge Member
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 3, 2001
44,851
Mtigawi
Would the Yankees threads also come onto the main board? Either way I think it's a good change.
It's been a point of discussion. The Yankee forum mods do have their concerns, and a few alternate ideas, but I'll defer to them in terms of posting about it in this thread
 

Wingack

Yankee Mod
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
34,360
In The Quivering Forest
Would the Yankees threads also come onto the main board? Either way I think it's a good change.
The short answer is yes, they are. But I think we want to gauge whether having a bunch of loose Yankee threads, and threads being started about the Yankees, would go over with the majority of main board posters. This is a Sox site first and foremost, and the Yankee fans around here certainly understand that. But the hope would be that if the MLB threads, and the Yankee threads were brought over into the main board then that would increase the traffic and conversation on those topics.

Since this is a Red Sox site first, we don't want to piss off a bunch of Sox fans that don't want to see threads about the second lefty coming out of the Yankees pen, mixed in with threads about Pablo Sandoval being in the best shape of his life.

We have also kicked around the idea of having all the Yankee threads in a subforum, but making it a subforum of the main board.

What do you all think?
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,054
Hingham, MA
I think there is a potential drawback to bringing the Yankees threads over in that it may encourage a Yankees megathread on the main board. But personally I'd like to see the Yankees threads on the main board. I am but once voice, and I don't post much on the main board any more, FWIW.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Just looking now, there have been 20 threads on the main board that have been posted in since Feb 1, and 11 in the Yankee forum. I think merging them will either irritate Sox fans (understandably) or cut down on the number of Yankee threads started, which to me would be unfortunate. As I said in the mod discussion, I'm personally really thankful for this place as it's pretty much impossible to find much intelligent discussion about the Yankees anywhere else on the web, and I'd hate to see that impacted. So I'm in favor of keeping a separate Yankee subforum, whether that's where it is now or on the main board.

We have examples of already merged forums on the site, the NBA is discussed in the Celtics forum and the NFL is discussed in the Patriots forum. To me, those only end up leading to less discussion about non-Boston teams/players, which to me is a negative (obviously my macro perspective here is different from most members of this community).
 

Traut

lost his degree
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
12,750
My Desk
Putting the Yankee page in the Sox page? Blasphemy! Send their asses back to NoMaas!

In all seriousness, my sports fandom world has shrunk to the point that I follow the Red Sox. Like I have some loose idea of what is going on with other teams but it through the lense of how they relate to the Red Sox. I kind of like the Sox forum as it is. A place where I can just focus on the Sox without clutter.

Then again, I like my beer cold, my TV loud, and my homosexuals flaming.
 

InsideTheParker

persists in error
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
40,371
Pioneer Valley
I just don't get this. I flit all around the site and go into the mlb forum whenever I am interested in all of baseball and not just the Red Sox. It isn't hidden to any users, is it? As for Yankees discussion, on my computer, it's clickable right on the front page within the mlb forum. It seems to me that all the mlb stuff would be less not more visible if subsumed under the Red Sox forum.
 

glasspusher

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
9,973
Oakland California
Huh. Interesting. I was just perusing the MLB forum to find out what's up (if anything) with Bryce Harper making a strong comeback this year after he tanked the second half of last year.
 

barbed wire Bob

crippled by fear
SoSH Member
Tweak 2: Previews and Recaps
This is where we think the community can be more free-form. Folks seem to respond well to these in other forums, and we've had these in the past with the Sox forum. We are thinking about also working with the .com (WHO ARE NOW ON GOOGLE NEWS) to do some crossover work between our two projects. They'll be increasing the frequency of their recaps (some really cool things in the works), and presumably adding the threads could be a part of the editorial workflow.
Is there any way to tie the articles on the .com site to the forum? I know you have a comment section below each article but I think having the comments posted in a tread on the forum would be a better way to go.

I like the idea of having a separate Yankee subforum.
 

Harry Hooper

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 4, 2002
34,367
SInce there was a request for feedback, here it is. Given the average user visits multiple times a day, I don't see the problem with megathreads and never have. Something new and highly targeted can be the province of the .com.

Otherwise, I am pretty much in agreement with ITP above.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
SInce there was a request for feedback, here it is. Given the average user visits multiple times a day, I don't see the problem with megathreads and never have. Something new and highly targeted can be the province of the .com.

Otherwise, I am pretty much in agreement with ITP above.
Yeah, I'm agnostic on megathreads but agree that the forums should stay separate. I like that if I want Sox stuff I go to main forum, other teams or general issues I want to check out, I know where to go rather than try to scan it all mixed together. I think stuff would get lost, but that's just my two cents and probably not even worth that.
 

Montana Fan

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 18, 2000
8,879
Twin Bridges, Mt.
I'd like to see the Sox ml talk moved to the main board. ml discussion was minimal last season since Cuz moved to the .com. At minimum, a monthly ml discussion thread on the main board with the adopt a prospect and discussion of where a ml team will be based, remaining in the ml forums.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2006
14,181
I liked the old series previews quite a bit on the main board, as they allowed for quasi gamethreading, commenting on issues germane only to the series, but didn't go full gamethread.

When the main board is all "big issue," or just player threads, it gets bogged down. I like a place to discuss matchups and decisions without having to go to the manager thread, for instance. Or comment on a start without having it be the Price thread.

As for merging MLB in? Eh. Like the April MLB gamethread on the main board?

And I think the yankees threads will need a LOT of moderation if they're right there for every Sox fan to see right away.
 

AB in DC

OG Football Writing
SoSH Member
Jul 10, 2002
13,616
Springfield, VA
Yeah, I don't see the point in merging the forums. There are lots of places on the Interwebs to get MLB news/discussion, but only one good place for Red Sox stuff. Mixing up the two feels like watering down the best part of the site.
 

AB in DC

OG Football Writing
SoSH Member
Jul 10, 2002
13,616
Springfield, VA
I'd like to see the Sox ml talk moved to the main board. ml discussion was minimal last season since Cuz moved to the .com. At minimum, a monthly ml discussion thread on the main board with the adopt a prospect and discussion of where a ml team will be based, remaining in the ml forums.
What about making ml a sub-forum of the main Sox forum?
 

Phil Plantier

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 7, 2002
3,419
With the exception of the Yankee threads, I think adding the MLB and ml threads to the main board makes sense. All three felt moribund last season, and combining could bring more activity.

If people are worried that the Red Sox-specific stuff will be lost in the larger volume, could we bring back tags to denote the content?
 

Spelunker

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
11,860
SInce there was a request for feedback, here it is. Given the average user visits multiple times a day, I don't see the problem with megathreads and never have. Something new and highly targeted can be the province of the .com.

Otherwise, I am pretty much in agreement with ITP above.
I'm agnostic on megathreads for the most part, but personally I really don't want to see good content go to .com. It's great and all, but I'd rather not see it have more of a detrimental impact on the board more than it already has.
 

luckiestman

Son of the Harpy
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
32,618
With the exception of the Yankee threads, I think adding the MLB and ml threads to the main board makes sense. All three felt moribund last season, and combining could bring more activity.

I was going to type nearly the same thing. I like the yankee sub forum instead of one yankee megathread. The other subs are dead and I imagine much if that is due to out of sight out of mind.
 

absintheofmalaise

too many flowers
Dope
SoSH Member
Mar 16, 2005
23,328
The gran facenda
I'm agnostic on megathreads for the most part, but personally I really don't want to see good content go to .com. It's great and all, but I'd rather not see it have more of a detrimental impact on the board more than it already has.
How has the .com had a detrimental effect on the main board? Being a contributor to the .com I'd really like to know.
 

ThePrideofShiner

Crests prematurely
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
10,687
Washington
As one of the Yankees fans, I think making the Yankees area a subforum to the main board is a better idea than putting it on the main board. There are already lots of Sox fans who muck up those threads in a trolling manner, and it would increase a hundred fold if the threads were on the main board.

If they are in a subforum, then the Sox fans willing to just talk baseball - even if it is about the Yankees - can continue to contribute to that area.
 

luckysox

Indiana Jones
SoSH Member
Apr 21, 2009
8,075
S.E. Pennsylvania
I am really against the Yankee forum heading to the main board. Sub forum would be ok, but I don't think it needs equal billing to the masses. I think it would detract from valid MFY discussion, AND from Sox discussion. In fact, I feel that way about the Main board subsuming the whole MLB forum, too. There's value in the Sox content being the headline here.
 

Saints Rest

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Tweak 2: Previews and Recaps
This is where we think the community can be more free-form. Folks seem to respond well to these in other forums, and we've had these in the past with the Sox forum. We are thinking about also working with the .com (WHO ARE NOW ON GOOGLE NEWS) to do some crossover work between our two projects. They'll be increasing the frequency of their recaps (some really cool things in the works), and presumably adding the threads could be a part of the editorial workflow.

Feedback on this is definitely appreciated.
Will these previews and recaps be anything like what (WARNING: Very vague reference about to happen) that one poster used to do years ago with his "Best of SOSH - Date: xx/xx/xxxx"? I can't remember who that poster was, but my recollection is that each day he would start a thread that provided links to some hidden (and not-so-hidden) discussions going on around SOSH, covering all boards.