07-30-2014, 07:55 PM
We can change it.
We can create a dedicated Alamaze forum section, as I did with some other games. The Alamaze players are likely going to gravitate to the Alamaze forum on the Alamaze website, though, just as the Takamo players have largely gravitated to the Takamo forum on the Takamo website.
For the front page, part of the problem lies in deciding what gets displayed on the front page and what doesn't. Four years or so ago, or whenever it was that I put the PlayByMail.Net website online, there was less information to display. Plus, there's always a limited amount of time to spend, and what free time there is gets split amongst a wide variety of tasks. It's not just this website that I spend my time on or am involved with. Not making excuses, just pointing out what may not always be obvious to others. Sometimes, even many times, I place other things on the priority list ahead of the forum or the front page, here.
The blog could use a different theme. I am not well-versed in editing blog themes. There are learning curves involved with learning how to do such things. Learning curves require time to become functional at, much less acquiring a degree of actual mastery.
The attempts to accommodate social media, if one wants to call it that, are part of a greater, overall approach. Not everyone might appreciate a given part of the overall approach, but I try to look at a wide variety of factors and considerations. Ultimately, the objective is to grow the overall player base of the hobby.
The site was less complicated, before there was a blog, and it was even less complicated before there was a magazine, and it was even less complicated than that, before there was a PBM Wiki. To be certain, what is in place, today, is imperfect. It likely always will be.
PlayByMail.Net is a facilitator, as mentioned on multiple prior occasions:
http://playbymail.net/mybb/showthread.ph...947#pid947
http://playbymail.net/mybb/showthread.ph...d=92#pid92
http://playbymail.net/mybb/showthread.ph...d=75#pid75
So, certainly, I want people who want to post about Alamaze to be able to do so, and for those who are looking for information or postings about Alamaze to be able to find what they are looking for.
But, then again, from my perspective, it's not really hard to find a link to the forum on the front page of the site. It's under the Forum Links section, the first link in that list.
This site doesn't use one piece of software to accomplish what it seeks to accomplish. Rather, it utilized multiple pieces of software, and they are not integrated with one another. Some of the other links on the front page were placed there for the convenience of site visitors to access other features. They could be eliminated, and with eliminating them, other things become less convenient. Which Peter do I rob to pay Paul?
The blog facilitates SEO (search engine optimization). Typically, I look at numbers pertaining to traffic flow several times per week. It's not uncommon for me to look at numbers for other websites, also. The impact of the blog has been overwhelmingly positive. It facilitates people being able to reconnect with PBM gaming. The role that it plays in the overall scheme of being a facilitator is different than the role that the Facebook page for PlayByMail.Net plays. Neither is a mere afterthought. Both are relevant, and their respective relevance is only continuing to increase.
Other factors do complicate things. For instance, I try to craft my approach to facilitating the growth of PBM with a zero-budget or closet to zero-budget approach. It's why I don't have dedicated domain names for the PBM Wiki and for Suspense & Decision magazine.
There's one image on the front page of the site, not counting the background image that displays on both sides of the actual content. It's in the upper left, and is titled Latest Issue. To me, that's one of the easiest things to discern on the front page.
As far as when people can expect the next issue of the magazine, Suspense & Decision, the publication deadline is the same each month - namely, the last day of the month.
To be perfectly honest, I have no desire to set up yet another forum, one dedicated to just Suspense & Decision. It isn't even decided, yet, that the magazine will continue past the initial goal of twelve issues. That aside, though, what should I do? Shut this forum down? Delete it, and install a fresh one from scratch? Should I delete the PlayByMail.Net website, and create a new one, just for Suspense & Decision? It would negatively impact page rank and search engine results.
I visit numerous websites multiple times per month, on average. Do I need one more forum site to visit? Where will the extra time come from? What do I give up, in order to free that time up?
In a nutshell, there are lots of considerations. I will try to give some thought to how to come up with a better approach - which is something that I do on a recurring basis, anyway.
I'm not sure, though, that I want to continue to turn what is a hobby interest of mine into a bigger consumer of my free time, than it currently is.
We can create a dedicated Alamaze forum section, as I did with some other games. The Alamaze players are likely going to gravitate to the Alamaze forum on the Alamaze website, though, just as the Takamo players have largely gravitated to the Takamo forum on the Takamo website.
For the front page, part of the problem lies in deciding what gets displayed on the front page and what doesn't. Four years or so ago, or whenever it was that I put the PlayByMail.Net website online, there was less information to display. Plus, there's always a limited amount of time to spend, and what free time there is gets split amongst a wide variety of tasks. It's not just this website that I spend my time on or am involved with. Not making excuses, just pointing out what may not always be obvious to others. Sometimes, even many times, I place other things on the priority list ahead of the forum or the front page, here.
The blog could use a different theme. I am not well-versed in editing blog themes. There are learning curves involved with learning how to do such things. Learning curves require time to become functional at, much less acquiring a degree of actual mastery.
The attempts to accommodate social media, if one wants to call it that, are part of a greater, overall approach. Not everyone might appreciate a given part of the overall approach, but I try to look at a wide variety of factors and considerations. Ultimately, the objective is to grow the overall player base of the hobby.
The site was less complicated, before there was a blog, and it was even less complicated before there was a magazine, and it was even less complicated than that, before there was a PBM Wiki. To be certain, what is in place, today, is imperfect. It likely always will be.
PlayByMail.Net is a facilitator, as mentioned on multiple prior occasions:
http://playbymail.net/mybb/showthread.ph...947#pid947
http://playbymail.net/mybb/showthread.ph...d=92#pid92
http://playbymail.net/mybb/showthread.ph...d=75#pid75
So, certainly, I want people who want to post about Alamaze to be able to do so, and for those who are looking for information or postings about Alamaze to be able to find what they are looking for.
But, then again, from my perspective, it's not really hard to find a link to the forum on the front page of the site. It's under the Forum Links section, the first link in that list.
This site doesn't use one piece of software to accomplish what it seeks to accomplish. Rather, it utilized multiple pieces of software, and they are not integrated with one another. Some of the other links on the front page were placed there for the convenience of site visitors to access other features. They could be eliminated, and with eliminating them, other things become less convenient. Which Peter do I rob to pay Paul?
The blog facilitates SEO (search engine optimization). Typically, I look at numbers pertaining to traffic flow several times per week. It's not uncommon for me to look at numbers for other websites, also. The impact of the blog has been overwhelmingly positive. It facilitates people being able to reconnect with PBM gaming. The role that it plays in the overall scheme of being a facilitator is different than the role that the Facebook page for PlayByMail.Net plays. Neither is a mere afterthought. Both are relevant, and their respective relevance is only continuing to increase.
Other factors do complicate things. For instance, I try to craft my approach to facilitating the growth of PBM with a zero-budget or closet to zero-budget approach. It's why I don't have dedicated domain names for the PBM Wiki and for Suspense & Decision magazine.
There's one image on the front page of the site, not counting the background image that displays on both sides of the actual content. It's in the upper left, and is titled Latest Issue. To me, that's one of the easiest things to discern on the front page.
As far as when people can expect the next issue of the magazine, Suspense & Decision, the publication deadline is the same each month - namely, the last day of the month.
To be perfectly honest, I have no desire to set up yet another forum, one dedicated to just Suspense & Decision. It isn't even decided, yet, that the magazine will continue past the initial goal of twelve issues. That aside, though, what should I do? Shut this forum down? Delete it, and install a fresh one from scratch? Should I delete the PlayByMail.Net website, and create a new one, just for Suspense & Decision? It would negatively impact page rank and search engine results.
I visit numerous websites multiple times per month, on average. Do I need one more forum site to visit? Where will the extra time come from? What do I give up, in order to free that time up?
In a nutshell, there are lots of considerations. I will try to give some thought to how to come up with a better approach - which is something that I do on a recurring basis, anyway.
I'm not sure, though, that I want to continue to turn what is a hobby interest of mine into a bigger consumer of my free time, than it currently is.