New buyers guides and format?

[Doc]

I am having a hard time determining, when new stuff gets posted. What day each columen is updated or when guides have new information. Even the command center, which I used before is a little confusing. Are there any plans to simplify this process or do I just need to check every section out? Or am I just missing the dates somewhere? Thanks

[RON@HQ]

There is no set schedule for updating the buyers guides. They essentially are going to be daily so long as there is something worth writing about. The problem in the past is that we'd have a weekly column on pitching, for instance, and if something notable happened, we'd have to wait a week for more insight. Now the writers have the freedom to update their pages as needed.

Note that the reports linked at the top of each page are going to drive the content, and those definitely update every day. So you can always check those out to see where players rank.

Finally, the actual format for the buyers guides is going to evolve over the next few weeks as we see what makes sense. So what you see now is nowhere near what these pages are going to be.

[Doc]

thank you for the response Ron. I have to admit the blog format has a lot of potential and does cater to number of fantasy baseballers. It seems to me a large increase in people playing more shallow,mixed daily tranny leagues, forces BBHQ to move away a little bit from thier roots and strenghts which is based on full season numbers. I like your approach. I think it may help to add a forum for this types of league, Ie Mixed typed and have some writers who participate in these types to offer advice. I know we don't want to turn this into a RotoWorld-type instant news site, but I think alot of people new to FBB are into the more shallower, instant gratification games. Thanks again , Eric

[Michael@HQ]

So far I'm disappointed. I like to (i) know where the new articles are and (ii) be able to print them and read them later (typically when I'm not at work). Having a myriad of blogs updated at unpredictable times doesn't meet my needs. I have no idea whether my views are typical.

[Jack Bauer]

Not knowing when information updates is a problem.

Perhaps some type of indicator (Star, Bold, Different Color?) on the list on the left of the front page, or better yet on the Command Center link, that an update occured within the last 48 hours is possible.

[Doc]

yeah, I have to agree. I hate having to click on every section just to see if anything is new. Even then not having the dates always in the same place doesn't allow you to check quickly. I hope they can work this out

[DougD@HQ]

Thanks for these ideas--we are trying out different formats and adjusting on the fly as we go, which might be less than ideal at the moment, but hopefully will allow us to incorporate suggestions.

[Jack Bauer]

[quote=RON@HQ;231295]There is no set schedule for updating the buyers guides. They essentially are going to be daily so long as there is something worth writing about. quote]

No Buyer Guide updates so far today.

I prefered learning something new every day.

[Harvester]

I also hate the new format. A blog is no problem at all, but it would be nice to know when it was updated as opposed to having to click on the article and then scan it for dates throughout the column as opposed to at the top of the page.

[NICK@HQ]

No Buyer Guide updates so far today.

I prefered learning something new every day.

Well, you did learn something new today: There were no Buyer Guides today.

Seriously though, I agree that the new format could work if there was a way to indicate on the home page when each linked page had last been updated. If you update daily, no need for that. If you do not update daily, there is a need.

[Michael@HQ]

Or have one blog to monitor where the header tells us to which buyer's guide it relates. The dates of last posts on the subscriber home page sounds like the best solution for me.

[Doc]

yeah, right next to the guide a date with last update.

[bosfan]

I think the key problem some of us are having with this new format is that it appears to be a "blog" in name only -- it almost seems like someone wanted to get all hip and cool and suddenly decided to start calling some of the site's previously weekly articles "blogs" but neglected to switch to the blogging software required to actually deliver blog functionality.

One key aspect of a "blog" is new information is at the top and the information gets older as you scroll down the page, with older entries rolling onto subsequent pages. The second is that there are numerous entries -- not just what seems to be a single constantly updated massive entry. A third aspect is that each entry is tagged to one or more categories and the entries can be viewed chronologically by category. Commenting ability is also another optional bit of functionality supported on most blogs.

For example, in a real blog format, each player paragraph on the "Power Buyers Guide" would probably be an individual blog entry and tagged to either the "Top Skills," Potential Surgers," or "Potential Faders" category. Visiting the main "Power Buyers Guide" page would display a listing of the most recently added player paragraphs at the top -- regardless of category. From there, the reader would be able to click "Top Skills," Potential Surgers," or "Potential Faders"category links that would then display a listing of the most recently added player paragraphs for that specific category.

The closest thing HQ probably has to a real blog right now is the "Daily Callups" page, at least there the information is displayed chronologically, with the most recent entries on the top.

[RON@HQ]

The new buyers guides are not blogs, and were never intended to be blogs except in some early discussions about possible new designs. Unfortunately, the word "blog" slipped out when the new designs debuted and now folks have unrealistic expectations.

The new BGs are intended to be a resource for when you need to answer questions such as:

I need to find some stolen bases (or HRs, or saves, etc.); who should I target?
I'm sitting on a huge overachiever; is he for real?
My stud is still struggling; is it time to cut bait?

Stuff like that.

These pages are supposed to be live documents, updated regularly, as new names reveal themselves and old names slip off these lists. The design is still evolving and we're working towards standardizing the format among all 5 pages.

[Doc]

I still think the best way is to somehow list the new stuff at the top. I know there are different "sections" of each guide and each "section" seems to be updated differently, but I sometimes can't remember when I looked at something.