Ideas for improvement

Recruit Recruit Recruit....im tired of reading most of drivel that has taken over this site. While I prolly wont be here this summer just like your favorite sitcom, ill drop by as for layout leave it be....i hate changes

I think the layout is fine. People (including myself) need to write more, edit more, and comment more. The summer will see doldrums, but next fall I think we can hit things hard.

But when there is competition to get an article upgraded, when there are 50 comments in an an article, that's when AGM is at its finest.

Yo this goes for anything you want changed about the site. Things that really need to be updated, new things to add to the main page, new ways to try and spur activity, etc.

Yesterday I thought we had lost AGM for good, and i was disappointed that it was going to go out in such a bad way. I know y'all have ideas because I know you're bitching (rightfully so) about inadequacies involving this site, and i want to help.

Things I cannot do:

• add brand new features that would require actual programming (ie i can't make a new game or something like that unless someone knows a programmer)
• fix major bugs with the site (although please feel free to message me about them because i can find help if I can't fix it myself)
• As of now, i am not sure how to edit the main page, but i'm working on figuring that out
• basically anything else that would require legit programming

smh....you guys are just too much sometimes lmao

And this entire conversation right here shows why AGM is where it is. Not that this conversation is bad or wrong, but we cant even stay on course enough to speak about the problems and lack of numbers on the site. I gave AGM a chance just opening this post and was hoping to see some new thoughts and ideas instead all I saw was mindless political dribble that has nothing to do with anything and will turn more people off.

Well, since no one seems to want to have any fun, here's what I suggest you do...

Do a google blog search and find blogs you're interested in. I suggest searching by favorite teams, players, sports, etc

I think I found SJ by searching for Jimmy Rollins (or something?) and now we've got a new regular.

I did it to maybe 50 people and a few stuck for a while (remember those other Philly fans)...

Also, feel free to spam mass message boards (ESPN, CBS Sportsline etc)...jsut toss up the message on the area of the board you wanna recruit from and you'll get something...

its all copy/paste and very easy

It boils down to writing. Writing is why most of us joined the community in the first place. Writing helps recruitment. Writing drives the exchange of ideas. Writing drives conversation. That leads to a community and in a community you can talk about whatever you want with people you respect.

Yesterday, there was a threadjack about the Phillies that turned the conversation to music. Why? Because the community was interested in talking about music. (I was anyway.)

I like the idea I presented (not my idea), but it requires that we have people that are committed enough to their writing to want a front page spot everyday for a week. That is something we don't have right now. Get out there and recruit your blogger friends.

FP- I have no brilliant ideas to make the site better. I like the layout and I like the features. Maybe bring back showdowns and challenges. Can we make a split page? One writer on one side and another on the other side? In retrospect, that's a silly idea as there are work-arounds by putting one writer first and the other second rather than side by side.

Sorry FP, I think the coding is fine. We all need to contribute more. I'm glad to see Rawb writing again. I'm glad DAndrew resuscitated the cookie. I'm glad Pup is still writing. We even have a couple new writers in MrLister and Bravesgirl. (/brain dump)

There is nothing wrong with this site that can't be fixed by what is here now. This is not to say that I would not welcome new users - exactly the opposite is true. I always hope to see new contributors.

For my 2¢, here's what I think:

(1) AGM is dead. People, please stop saying this. It is not dead, but if this sentiment keeps coming up, then this will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I may not contribute every day, but I plan to contribute. I hope others will as well.

The way I see it, if you feel this way, you have four choices:

a) Write b) Comment c) Leave d) Say nothing

If you are inclined toward c and d, then I am saddened by this. If you are inclined toward a and b, then let me (and all other writers) have it.

(2) Flame wars. I hope we've seen the last of these. I know these get me off threads.

(3) Read, vote and comment. I have been reading some basketball articles lately. I haven't commented because I am not knowledgeable, but I have read and voted.

Someone suggested a while back that users should read articles about sports in which they may not be interested. I think this is a great idea. I wish there would be some articles about cricket or premiership soccer, as there were a few months ago. I wonder if there had been comments or votes on those articles if we'd be seeing more today...?

(4) Thread jacking. I have absolutely no problem with this. If it keeps a conversation going, then all the better. Please, comment comment comment.

(5) Perhaps a prize? Maybe AGM admins should award users gift each day for the article that gets the most votes and another for the article with the most comments. For comments, it might be wise to not count the writer's comments, because I know that I tend to comment on my articles quite a bit, and this could be considered ballot box stuffing.

And finally, an aside. I almost walked away from this thread, but I couldn't. Something really bothered me, and I hate to call someone out, because I think this person is a talented writer and a good contributor.

It was the "im tired of reading most of drivel" comment. Let me say this with there being no doubt about it: THERE IS NO DRIVEL ON THIS SITE. Shall I say it again? I have read questionable articles and articles that wandered a bit....but I have never read anything that I would consider drivel.

It's this kind of thing that troubles me most. If non-members see this kind of comment on this site, from a user....what the hell are they going to think? And then we may lose some good contributors. People, there is no drivel on this site.

For those who contribute, I thank you. I enjoy reading all of your articles, even if I disagree with the sentiments. Please keep writing. And send a positive vibe about AGM. This may be a little zen (and I am far from a zen person), but think good thoughts. The rest will take care of itself.

How about we interview other bloggers. Here we are in the midst of the NHL Playoffs. Why don't some of us hockey fans find a well respected blogger from the remaining teams and interview them. Put the interview on both sites with links to each other. This would definitely add some traffic and maybe even a few new users. I see tons of people over at Pensburgh (remember FrankD) writing "fanshots". I think they would jump at the chance to get their articles read by more fans. Just throwin it out there.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

The showdown thing I can definitely put together. The challenges can be done unofficially.

I'm emailing Pean right now to figure out how to edit the main page because they've done something funky so that i have no idea where one would even go to edit the main page. If I figure out how to do that, the whole featuring a newer user thing would be possible

I suggest creating an old fashioned webring. Create a jpg crest that can be placed on sports blogs/sites that redirects here. Open a wikia page that lists "AGM Recognized" sites as part of the webring. Everyone these days is looking for a little love and recognition. A win-win for everyone. Individual sites get noticed and we get re-directs.