Bazj Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 No sooner do we get a good run of comments on an important story such as the chief executive getting a big pay rise when everyone else is being cut or losing their jobs altogether......the story gets wiped off the front page to be replaced by stories of football matches being cancelled and a new van for a park ranger..... It is becoming pointless commenting on any story as there are so many coming in all the time. There were comments by Councillors and just when they start to wriggle about such things as pay levels for the top people, the story goes and the heat is off.... Solutions?? as the councillors will obviously not comment on here as it tends to be around a lot longer for them to worry about the backlash! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 No sooner do we get a good run of comments on an important story such as the chief executive getting a big pay rise when everyone else is being cut or losing their jobs altogether......the story gets wiped off the front page to be replaced by stories of football matches being cancelled and a new van for a park ranger..... It is becoming pointless commenting on any story as there are so many coming in all the time. There were comments by Councillors and just when they start to wriggle about such things as pay levels for the top people, the story goes and the heat is off.... Solutions?? as the councillors will obviously not comment on here as it tends to be around a lot longer for them to worry about the backlash! Baz - if people are commenting on important issues how can it be a waste of time. News never stands still - and believe it or not the football stories are just as important to some people. I can honestly say we received more viewings for the football game being rained off than 90 per cent of council related stories. The stories you comment on remain in the news idex and it is quite easy to save a story to your favourites so you can follow feedback if it is that important to you. If we just retained the top half a dozen stories on the front page of the site so people could continue to comment on them we may as well give up reporting local news now! Elected members rarely comment on the forum - so if you want feedback from them other than the comment facility what do you suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted September 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Why not keep say the top two or three stories (judged by the number of posts or responses) on the front page and not let them drift away after only a couple of days? When a story has over 20 comments; surely that should be deemed as more important and "newsworthy" than a story about a rangers van?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 How about just having a 'most commented/comments' section on the left of the main news page rather than the 'you recently viewed' section. I don't know about everyone else but I tend to know what I've read so don't really need reminding It would be nice to see which news items are still getting comments. I didn't know there were now so many new comments on the one about council pay for example as I hadn't read it again since it went off the front page. As for the rangers new van... whoopee I'd have thought they would have got an eco friendly one though considering they are rangers and into green things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Why not keep say the top two or three stories (judged by the number of posts or responses) on the front page and not let them drift away after only a couple of days? When a story has over 20 comments; surely that should be deemed as more important and "newsworthy" than a story about a rangers van?? Because it is run by a content management system which has been designed to do what it already does. Making adjustments to it will cost time and money. But we will take on board comments received and see if there is a simple solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Agree 100% with Baz, it's pointless commenting really because the following day it's all thrown into a virtual bin. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Because it is run by a content management system which has been designed to do what it already does. Making adjustments to it will cost time and money. But we will take on board comments received and see if there is a simple solution. Damn automated technology eh... Gone are the days when real people were slaved over a keyboard all day long updating things manually Thanks Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Perhaps Bill and Baz could help fund the web development to include this new facility like you do Dizzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Oh you do have a short memory or is it that Altzimers thing again. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted September 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 I already pay for three websites Gary...all out of my own pocket with no adverts or requests for payment.... I like to think I add a certain something to the forum that money can't buy..... it may be a worse place without me Gary!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 I already pay for three websites Gary...all out of my own pocket with no adverts or requests for payment.... I like to think I add a certain something to the forum that money can't buy..... it may be a worse place without me Gary!! Do you rely on those websites for your livelihood and business? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted September 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Not at all..... if I did I would charge people to advertise there like you do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Tell you what Gary, without regular posters this forum would probably be as dead as the Guardian’s site and it’d be really nice if you occasionally acknowledged their contributions. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Tell you what Gary, without regular posters this forum would probably be as dead as the Guardian’s site and it’d be really nice if you occasionally acknowledged their contributions. Bill Dear Bill many thanks for your contributions. best wishes Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 No sooner do we get a good run of comments on an important story such as the chief executive getting a big pay rise when everyone else is being cut or losing their jobs altogether......the story gets wiped off the front page to be replaced by stories of football matches being cancelled and a new van for a park ranger..... It is becoming pointless commenting on any story as there are so many coming in all the time. There were comments by Councillors and just when they start to wriggle about such things as pay levels for the top people, the story goes and the heat is off.... Solutions?? as the councillors will obviously not comment on here as it tends to be around a lot longer for them to worry about the backlash! More than half a dozen comments already today - so obviously not a complete waste of time? As Bill has suggested (and done in the past) if you want to keep a debate going you can easily link the story to the forum to keep it active and debate on here and also keep the story in the public eye for people to add their comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Tell you what Gary, without regular posters this forum would probably be as dead as the Guardian’s site and it’d be really nice if you occasionally acknowledged their contributions. Bill Oh and BTW - find me another media business locally (or anywhere else in the country) where the MD actually takes the time to communicate directly with the readership on a near daily basis - and makes themselves available almost 24/7, seven days a week. What was that you said on another website forum not too long ago - they were "rudderless without a ship's captain!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Gary, if you like my analogies, try this one. When I’m at the pie shop and complain about my pie being under cooked, the baker doesn’t ask me if I’ll contribute to his gas bill. If people are telling you something could be better, take it as constructive criticism and don’t be so quick to go onto the defensive. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Can I respectfully ask that the news article about the '20mph rollout' is NOT kept on the front page for longer than a day. Having just read it the nonsense about the so called 'benefits' has just sent my blood pressure soaring, I am also now feeling somewhat stressed and I have just had loud conversation with my pc monitor. Anyway.. back to what you were all talking about, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Gary, if you like my analogies, try this one. When I’m at the pie shop and complain about my pie being under cooked, the baker doesn’t ask me if I’ll contribute to his gas bill. If people are telling you something could be better, take it as constructive criticism and don’t be so quick to go onto the defensive. Bill Apples and oranges spring to mind - when you go in a pie shop you are buying a product. On here you are getting something for nothing. We can not jump to every request to do something. But we take on board comments and do what we can to implement them if and when we can. I am not on the defensive and I am engaging in open and honest dialogue with the readership - again find me another media company which does this on a daily basis. Perhaps a little appreciation from the readers may go a long way sometimes. I wouldn't dream of telling you how to run your company. I think all my responses have been reasoned. There have been several comments in recent times suggesting that if I don't appreciate our readers more I will lose them - perhaps it would be better if I just ignored comments rather than trying to respond to them? There seems to be an opinion from a few people on here that if they left the forum will be dead like the one on another local site. Would that be damanging to my business - I think i could make more money selling pies at the football club than I do from the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 There seems to be an opinion from a few people on here that if they left the forum will be dead like the one on another local site. Who said anything like that because it certainly wasn’t me! It is true however that a forum does need a certain level of activity otherwise it will spiral right down like the Guardian. Sorry if I don't see you as the charitable green grocer giving away free oranges Gary. You’re a businessman first and foremost. If you want an analogy, try doing the beekeeper one. You provide the hive and plenty of flowers and at the end of the day you get the pot of honey but you’d be buggered without the bees. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Who said anything like that because it certainly wasn’t me! It is true however that a forum does need a certain level of activity otherwise it will spiral right down like the Guardian. Bill Yesterday, 08:56 PM Tell you what Gary, without regular posters this forum would probably be as dead as the Guardian’s site and it’d be really nice if you occasionally acknowledged their contributions. Suppose it depends on how you read this - and there have been other similar comments made in the past. Any way I think we have both said more than enough on the matter now - and as usual we will have to agree to differ. Perhaps in another 20 years when I am nearly as old and grumpy as you we will both start to agree on things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 TIME OUT!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Remind me not to be on here in 20 years time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 TIME OUT!!!!!!! You took your time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Remind me not to be on here in 20 years time I certainly won't be - I will be living in luxury somewhere with the millions of pounds I have stashed away - made from the huge sums we make every time someone posts a topic on here or reads the web pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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