[Feedback] How do you want your news to be displayed?

[SDS]

Without going into the history of the web, monitor resolution, the acceptance of blogging formats, etc... I would like to hear your thoughts on the news section of SS. This has always been a stumbling block for me as I have tried many times to go to a new design, but never managed to get over changing how we always did things - that includes formatting.

 

Right now, we only feature hand-picked articles from credentialed press journalists. We do this in a tight, compact way that allows the reader to quickly scan the news and go right to the source.

 

Here are the issues to think about:

 

1. How important is the compactness of the feed to you? Compare:

 

http://www.sabrespace.com/

http://www.swingshiftmedia.com/

 

to get an idea of what I am talking about. Is it ok to lose compactness, in exchange for more information?

 

2. What about the inclusion of pics and videos in the feed? This affects #1 above.

 

3. The inclusion of both external and internal bloggers or SabreSpace reports within the feed. Do they need to be easily identified? Separated?

 

4. Open in new window or the same window?

 

5. Can the external link be within the body of the text or does it have to be the main headline?

 

6. How many days do you scan? Practice shows people almost NEVER page back into the previous page's news items (so, this is critical to #1 if we only have 10 stories up and you don't see the other 20 from yesterday.)

 

7. How many items/days do you like to see? How much vertical scrolling is tolerable?

 

 

These are very important user interface issues. Please give this thoughtful consideration.

[dEnnis the Menace]

Without going into the history of the web, monitor resolution, the acceptance of blogging formats, etc... I would like to hear your thoughts on the news section of SS. This has always been a stumbling block for me as I have tried many times to go to a new design, but never managed to get over changing how we always did things - that includes formatting.

 

Right now, we only feature hand-picked articles from credentialed press journalists. We do this in a tight, compact way that allows the reader to quickly scan the news and go right to the source.

 

Here are the issues to think about:

 

1. How important is the compactness of the feed to you? Compare:

 

http://www.sabrespace.com/

http://www.swingshiftmedia.com/

 

to get an idea of what I am talking about. Is it ok to lose compactness, in exchange for more information?

 

2. What about the inclusion of pics and videos in the feed? This affects #1 above.

 

3. The inclusion of both external and internal bloggers or SabreSpace reports within the feed. Do they need to be easily identified? Separated?

 

4. Open in new window or the same window?

 

5. Can the external link be within the body of the text or does it have to be the main headline?

 

6. How many days do you scan? Practice shows people almost NEVER page back into the previous page's news items (so, this is critical to #1 if we only have 10 stories up and you don't see the other 20 from yesterday.)

 

7. How many items/days do you like to see? How much vertical scrolling is tolerable?

 

 

These are very important user interface issues. Please give this thoughtful consideration.

 

1) I like the second link a lot

2) I don't think pictures and videos are important to include in the feed

3) no opinion really

4) I love that the news articles open in a new window, that way I dont have to go back and forth...(I know, there's always holding down the CTRL key as you click...)

5) main headline is better in my honest opinion

6) I tend to only read the articles from the current day, as I am usually on the site every day (minus a weekend day here or there, and I only go back to those days once in awhile)

7) I don't mind scrolling...

 

 

Very nice job with everything man!

[biodork]

1) I like the second link a lot

2) I don't think pictures and videos are important to include in the feed

3) no opinion really

4) I love that the news articles open in a new window, that way I dont have to go back and forth...(I know, there's always holding down the CTRL key as you click...)

5) main headline is better in my honest opinion

6) I tend to only read the articles from the current day, as I am usually on the site every day (minus a weekend day here or there, and I only go back to those days once in awhile)

7) I don't mind scrolling...

 

 

Very nice job with everything man!

 

I'll second those answers -- I prefer seeing multiple headlines from the current day in one view with just the summary since I check most days. Also, as far as content (or lack thereof, as someone else mentioned in the suggestions thread): isn't there a place for users to submit links to articles? I don't use it much but I'm pretty sure I've seen that feature, meaning it's not all on Scott (or Bill Hoppe, or whomever) to find and link headlines. As active as a lot of people are in following Twitter and other sources, I'm sure the bases could be covered if everyone submitted their links through SS as well as posting in various topics, where appropriate.

[LastPommerFan]

Without going into the history of the web, monitor resolution, the acceptance of blogging formats, etc... I would like to hear your thoughts on the news section of SS. This has always been a stumbling block for me as I have tried many times to go to a new design, but never managed to get over changing how we always did things - that includes formatting.

 

Right now, we only feature hand-picked articles from credentialed press journalists. We do this in a tight, compact way that allows the reader to quickly scan the news and go right to the source.

 

Here are the issues to think about:

 

1. How important is the compactness of the feed to you? Compare:

 

http://www.sabrespace.com/

http://www.swingshiftmedia.com/

 

to get an idea of what I am talking about. Is it ok to lose compactness, in exchange for more information?

 

2. What about the inclusion of pics and videos in the feed? This affects #1 above.

 

3. The inclusion of both external and internal bloggers or SabreSpace reports within the feed. Do they need to be easily identified? Separated?

 

4. Open in new window or the same window?

 

5. Can the external link be within the body of the text or does it have to be the main headline?

 

6. How many days do you scan? Practice shows people almost NEVER page back into the previous page's news items (so, this is critical to #1 if we only have 10 stories up and you don't see the other 20 from yesterday.)

 

7. How many items/days do you like to see? How much vertical scrolling is tolerable?

 

 

These are very important user interface issues. Please give this thoughtful consideration.

 

1. Can you use dynamic HTML scripting (easy if you're switching to wordpress) to compress and expand previous days news and maybe even articles for today's news? you'd be ab;e to keep a lot more on the fron page this way. compactness is important to me, but I'd like to be able to expand at will.

 

2. this is okay if combined with the above dynamic html.

 

3. I would separate blogs from news, and I would promote any internal blogs you decide to use above any external blogs.

 

4. Everything should open in a new window.

 

5. I think the main headline makes the best link, but honestly haven't tried anything else.

 

6 & 7. Again, using a dynamic html, you would allow for the preference of the reader rather than trying to fit one solution to everyone.

[Tom Backyard]

1. I like the current format in regards to the compactness. Personally, I don't need much more lead than is currently given to understand the main idea of an article.

 

2. I don't need pics or videos.

 

3. Separating external bloggers and sabrespace contributors from traditional means of journalism would be welcomed by me personally.

 

4. Opening in a new window or tab is great.

 

5. The link being the headline seems to make the most sense to me, it seems like a natural place to click to read the full text.

 

6. Generally, I only view one days reports. Especially during the season when there are back to back games.

 

7. Being able to scroll down as opposed to loading a different page might make me more likely to go back and look at a previous day.

 

---A side note, I really miss when you used to do the "This Day in Sabres History" pieces at the bottom of the page. I know it was probably a lot to keep up with, but it was very educational, and for us younger (well, moderately younger) Sabres fans who weren't around in the infancy of the franchise, it was a way for me to put the history of the team into perspective.

 

Thanks for all you and the other mods do to keep this community running.

[Foot In The Crease!]

I really like the second link!! Everything just seems to flow together nicely.

[dEnnis the Menace]

1. I like the current format in regards to the compactness. Personally, I don't need much more lead than is currently given to understand the main idea of an article.

 

2. I don't need pics or videos.

 

3. Separating external bloggers and sabrespace contributors from traditional means of journalism would be welcomed by me personally.

 

4. Opening in a new window or tab is great.

 

5. The link being the headline seems to make the most sense to me, it seems like a natural place to click to read the full text.

 

6. Generally, I only view one days reports. Especially during the season when there are back to back games.

 

7. Being able to scroll down as opposed to loading a different page might make me more likely to go back and look at a previous day.

 

---A side note, I really miss when you used to do the "This Day in Sabres History" pieces at the bottom of the page. I know it was probably a lot to keep up with, but it was very educational, and for us younger (well, moderately younger) Sabres fans who weren't around in the infancy of the franchise, it was a way for me to put the history of the team into perspective.

 

Thanks for all you and the other mods do to keep this community running.

 

That sounds pretty cool! A lot of work...but pretty cool

[SDS]

1. Can you use dynamic HTML scripting (easy if you're switching to wordpress) to compress and expand previous days news and maybe even articles for today's news? you'd be ab;e to keep a lot more on the fron page this way. compactness is important to me, but I'd like to be able to expand at will.

 

2. this is okay if combined with the above dynamic html.

 

3. I would separate blogs from news, and I would promote any internal blogs you decide to use above any external blogs.

 

4. Everything should open in a new window.

 

5. I think the main headline makes the best link, but honestly haven't tried anything else.

 

6 & 7. Again, using a dynamic html, you would allow for the preference of the reader rather than trying to fit one solution to everyone.

 

This seems a reasonable post to respond to:

 

1/2/6/7: Yes it can, I'm exploring ways to do that, but keep in mind some people can barely turn on the their computers and they like to read about the Sabres too. The front page has to be simple to deal with or it is functionally broken for many. For reference, I am an iPhone guy, not an Android. So that is where my personal perspective lies.

 

3. But how? One set above and one set below? Left and right (which destroys the smaller, but very functional sidebar)? Who gets top billing?

 

5. I can probably make this work, I just want to make sure I don't break internal or external search engines in the process. Also, it functionally constrict how much info can get posted if someone was cross-posting an article for instance. They may want a teaser larger than the current front page, but smaller than the full article. These are the issues that drive me insane....

[wnyguy]

Man just keep it like it is. Too much just adds to my confusion.

[SDS]

Man just keep it like it is. Too much just adds to my confusion.

 

You would need to clarify that.

 

SOMETHING is going to change because we are moving to a new system, so maybe the look can be imitated, but new content has to be displayed somewhere. Please clarify what you mean.

[wnyguy]

You would need to clarify that.

 

SOMETHING is going to change because we are moving to a new system, so maybe the look can be imitated, but new content has to be displayed somewhere. Please clarify what you mean.

 

 

Okay I go on sabrespace, I see the article headlines and a brief detail of the article, if I decide to read it I click on it. It's fast and easy and I don't get caught up in trying to navigate around the site looking for stuff. But whatever you do just know I'll be there looking for the articles.

[LastPommerFan]

This seems a reasonable post to respond to:

 

1/2/6/7: Yes it can, I'm exploring ways to do that, but keep in mind some people can barely turn on the their computers and they like to read about the Sabres too. The front page has to be simple to deal with or it is functionally broken for many. For reference, I am an iPhone guy, not an Android. So that is where my personal perspective lies.

 

3. But how? One set above and one set below? Left and right (which destroys the smaller, but very functional sidebar)? Who gets top billing?

 

5. I can probably make this work, I just want to make sure I don't break internal or external search engines in the process. Also, it functionally constrict how much info can get posted if someone was cross-posting an article for instance. They may want a teaser larger than the current front page, but smaller than the full article. These are the issues that drive me insane....

 

 

1/2/6/7- everyone (almost) is familiar with facebook, which is the original proliferator of DHTML posting. I would simply put a more... at the end of each short teaser that would automatically fill the div with a longer teaser. To compress the previous day's news, I would put three (if possible, the three most clicked) or so articles out automatically with a see all [the date]'s news... that would then expand the div to show all the news like it was for today.

 

3. I would make the blog section low maintenance for yourself. three or so blogs from sabres space at the top with most recent post and a short teaser. below that 4-5 external blogs updated with rss to show simply the title of the most recent post. I would put this at the top of your current sidebar as it has original content that advertisers love.

 

5. Most search engines read any hyperlinks as plain text anyway, so I wouldn't spend to much worrying about how it will affect your SEO.

[Eleven]

1. How important is the compactness of the feed to you? Compare:

 

http://www.sabrespace.com/

http://www.swingshiftmedia.com/

 

to get an idea of what I am talking about. Is it ok to lose compactness, in exchange for more information?

 

I think it is ok to lose compactness to get more information. I really like the font in the second one, but there was more information in the first one.

 

2. What about the inclusion of pics and videos in the feed? This affects #1 above.

 

I would skip it. If it's a video, maybe the link could just say "VIDEO: Ruff Beats on Smith" or something like that. That way, we can see more on one page.

 

3. The inclusion of both external and internal bloggers or SabreSpace reports within the feed. Do they need to be easily identified? Separated?

 

Separated, please. With all due respect to the talented bloggers and posters we have here, I primarily want information on the front page to come from professionals with access to sources within the various teams, the league, etc. I can get the blogger/poster opinion from The Aud Club.

 

4. Open in new window or the same window?

 

No matter to me; I use tabs.

 

5. Can the external link be within the body of the text or does it have to be the main headline?

 

I find it easier if the headline is clickable but this is not a strong preference. It will save room, though.

 

6. How many days do you scan? Practice shows people almost NEVER page back into the previous page's news items (so, this is critical to #1 if we only have 10 stories up and you don't see the other 20 from yesterday.)

 

I might scan back a day to see opponent news coverage if there were back-to-back games and I couldn't visit on one day. Otherwise, I keep it current.

 

7. How many items/days do you like to see? How much vertical scrolling is tolerable?

 

Vertical scrolling is totally tolerable. I think a couple of days' worth of news on the main page is enough.

 

 

 

Thanks for considering all of our opinions, Scott.

[thesportsbuff]

1. My opinion is the more compact the better. From reading the title and only the first several sentences you can generally get the idea of what the article is about and know whether or not you want to click it. Also I like it better on Sabrespace.com where you click the link, and it opens the website the news article is from... instead of, on your preview site, you click the link, which then takes you to another page within Sabrespace with the title article and says "BY: VanekMan" or whatever -- kind of implies that these are all your own material. It's probably not plagiarism since you source them at the bottom, but it's a little shoddy. Just my opinion. (This might be what you meant for #5... my fault)

 

2. I don't need or want pics/video in the news feed.

 

3. This doesn't solve ALL your questions but just a quick diagram i put together to better voice my idea lol

 

4. Custom Content open in current tab, External links open in new tab

 

5. I would prefer external link to be main headline. just my opinion

 

6. I generally only look at the past day or two. To be honest I don't frequent the front page too much for news, because my quick link goes directly to the forums and also because most noteworthy news stories are going to be discussed on the boards or i'll hear them through WGR/Buffalo News/etc. But if SabreSpace had more custom content I would definitely start checking it out more often...

 

7. Scrolling doesn't bother me and would probably be better than clicking to go back a day or whatever. Maybe do the last 4-5 days.

[SabresFan526]

My humble opinion to the following questions:

 

1. How important is the compactness of the feed to you? Compare:

 

to get an idea of what I am talking about. Is it ok to lose compactness, in exchange for more information?

I am okay with compactness. I don't need to see the bulk of or the entire article, I'm cool with clicking on the link and going to the content. I am a regular user of Google News, and that format generally works with my style of browsing the internet.

 

2. What about the inclusion of pics and videos in the feed? This affects #1 above.

Pics, I'm less interested in. I'd be cool with video feeds that may display player interviews, highlights, etc. I prefer more interactive content rather than static content like pictures. I'd also be cool with giving me the link to view the video if it is being sourced from a separate site, so that you can manager real estate on the SabreSpace page without embedding the video file onto your website. I'd be okay with that. Additionally, I'd also be cool with you guys getting audio links to Radio Station interviews on WGR or other radio stations (if you can source them) as they relate to Sabres hockey and give me a link to open up the interview and listen to them.

 

3. The inclusion of both external and internal bloggers or SabreSpace reports within the feed. Do they need to be easily identified? Separated?

 

My general policy, especially during the summertime when there isn't a lot going on, is to get as much Sabres news as possible, both internal and external. I always enjoy reading the insights and analysis from people as it relates to the Sabres, so I do appreciate access to blogs and opinions. It would make my life a lot easier to have that available on SabreSpace as this is generally the first page I go to before I go to other pages to get Sabres news. The tricky part is discerning the crap from good stuff. However, I'm cool with discerning the crap from the good stuff myself so long as there is a central place I can go to for all of my Sabres news. I prefer that being SabreSpace because I always come here first.

 

4. Open in new window or the same window?

New Window or New Tab for sure. This is one of the issues I have in the message board as well because I like to open a link that someone posts, read it, and then respond to it without having to push the back button. I can respond immediately if it opens in a new Window/Tab. That would be my preference both on the SabreSpace news page as well as on the MB.

 

5. Can the external link be within the body of the text or does it have to be the main headline?

I suppose either is fine. Main Headline generally works with my Browsing Behavior and is what I am conditioned to based on other websites.

 

6. How many days do you scan? Practice shows people almost NEVER page back into the previous page's news items (so, this is critical to #1 if we only have 10 stories up and you don't see the other 20 from yesterday.)

Almost never do I scan more than 1 day old. So, if you posted 2 days worth of news (e.g. today's at the top and yesterday's), that would be enough for me. Beyond the previous day's news it becomes old and dated extremely fast. In fact, more often than not, the previous day's news is too old anyway, so I don't need it.

 

7. How many items/days do you like to see? How much vertical scrolling is tolerable?

I believe SabreSpace could use more items. I'm cool with 10-15 items (but I might be in the minority here). Like I said, I try to soak in as much Sabres news, insights, video, interviews, analysis as I can and if it's all located in one place on SabreSpace, it would make my life a lot easier and it would no doubt increase my frequency to the website and likely increase other people's frequency (who are not regulars to the SabreSpace page) perhaps generating more display ad revenue for you (although, I'm pretty sure that's not the reason you run this website anyway).

 

All-in-all, you guys do a great job with this site, and I come here everyday, especially the news page, even if I don't post everyday. My life would be a lot easier and I think it would make this site the #1 Sabres fan site if you were the single and definitive source for the Sabres world on the Internet and it will really get a lot of people here. Just my thoughts, though.

[nfreeman]

1. Can you use dynamic HTML scripting (easy if you're switching to wordpress) to compress and expand previous days news and maybe even articles for today's news? you'd be ab;e to keep a lot more on the fron page this way. compactness is important to me, but I'd like to be able to expand at will.

 

2. this is okay if combined with the above dynamic html.

 

3. I would separate blogs from news, and I would promote any internal blogs you decide to use above any external blogs.

 

4. Everything should open in a new window.

 

5. I think the main headline makes the best link, but honestly haven't tried anything else.

 

6 & 7. Again, using a dynamic html, you would allow for the preference of the reader rather than trying to fit one solution to everyone.

1/2/6/7- everyone (almost) is familiar with facebook, which is the original proliferator of DHTML posting. I would simply put a more... at the end of each short teaser that would automatically fill the div with a longer teaser. To compress the previous day's news, I would put three (if possible, the three most clicked) or so articles out automatically with a see all [the date]'s news... that would then expand the div to show all the news like it was for today.

 

3. I would make the blog section low maintenance for yourself. three or so blogs from sabres space at the top with most recent post and a short teaser. below that 4-5 external blogs updated with rss to show simply the title of the most recent post. I would put this at the top of your current sidebar as it has original content that advertisers love.

 

5. Most search engines read any hyperlinks as plain text anyway, so I wouldn't spend to much worrying about how it will affect your SEO.

Wow. I disagree with you on a number of roster issues, especially Pommer (and I have a GD Pommer jersey, BTW), but these are 2 excellent posts.

 

I am okay with compactness. I don't need to see the bulk of or the entire article, I'm cool with clicking on the link and going to the content. I am a regular user of Google News, and that format generally works with my style of browsing the internet.

 

2. What about the inclusion of pics and videos in the feed? This affects #1 above.

Pics, I'm less interested in. I'd be cool with video feeds that may display player interviews, highlights, etc. I prefer more interactive content rather than static content like pictures. I'd also be cool with giving me the link to view the video if it is being sourced from a separate site, so that you can manager real estate on the SabreSpace page without embedding the video file onto your website. I'd be okay with that. Additionally, I'd also be cool with you guys getting audio links to Radio Station interviews on WGR or other radio stations (if you can source them) as they relate to Sabres hockey and give me a link to open up the interview and listen to them.

 

4. Open in new window or the same window?

New Window or New Tab for sure. This is one of the issues I have in the message board as well because I like to open a link that someone posts, read it, and then respond to it without having to push the back button. I can respond immediately if it opens in a new Window/Tab. That would be my preference both on the SabreSpace news page as well as on the MB.

 

7. How many items/days do you like to see? How much vertical scrolling is tolerable?

I believe SabreSpace could use more items. I'm cool with 10-15 items (but I might be in the minority here). Like I said, I try to soak in as much Sabres news, insights, video, interviews, analysis as I can and if it's all located in one place on SabreSpace, it would make my life a lot easier and it would no doubt increase my frequency to the website and likely increase other people's frequency (who are not regulars to the SabreSpace page) perhaps generating more display ad revenue for you (although, I'm pretty sure that's not the reason you run this website anyway).

 

All-in-all, you guys do a great job with this site, and I come here everyday, especially the news page, even if I don't post everyday. My life would be a lot easier and I think it would make this site the #1 Sabres fan site if you were the single and definitive source for the Sabres world on the Internet and it will really get a lot of people here. Just my thoughts, though.

I agree with all of this.

 

My answers:

 

1. compact view

 

2. yes on video and audio. yes on pics too, but not the google news feed of 45 different pics for the most recent game -- only if someone comes across a really good picture and wants to post it.

 

3. I feel the same way about bloggers as I do about photos. There is more crap out there than quality. I would certainly be happy if you linked Sabres Edge, Blue Black & Gold, Kukla's Sabres Observer and others of that quality (and Puck Daddy and Globe on Hockey if you wanted to link a few league-wide blogs).

 

4. New tab (and I agree with 526 that I would prefer a new tab from the message board as well).

 

5. main headline, but no biggie either way.

 

6/7. 3 days, but LastPommerFan's suggestion about a "see more" with a quick facebook-like opening sounds great.

[SDS]

8. What do you think about NHL items in the feed that are of league wide importance? Like rule changes or discipline changes, etc?

[BuffaloSoldier2010]

8. What do you think about NHL items in the feed that are of league wide importance? Like rule changes or discipline changes, etc?

Much like you have a box featuring discussion with the aud club, It would be awesome to see a box labled "Around the league" That would basically serve up news stories carrying league wide importance.

[Eleven]

8. What do you think about NHL items in the feed that are of league wide importance? Like rule changes or discipline changes, etc?

 

I'm ok with it, but I suspect that stuff will show up in the league-wide thread, anyway. I'd prefer the news section to concentrate on news (sorry, again, news but not blogs) about the Sabres and their opponents.

[Weave]

8. What do you think about NHL items in the feed that are of league wide importance? Like rule changes or discipline changes, etc?

 

 

Absolutely include those. IMO if it affects the Sabres in any way, it belongs.

[SabresFan526]

8. What do you think about NHL items in the feed that are of league wide importance? Like rule changes or discipline changes, etc?

Yes, I believe it is of value to Sabres nation.

[Doohickie]

What news section?

[Marvelo]

Drudge Report is about the most popular site online for news. I think that's a good template. It's simple ... nothing fancy about Drudge...it's the content that matters.

 

About the 2nd link, I don't like the headline typeface. (swingshift) Too "tall and skinny". Not very readable as a headline IMO.

[iliketofrolic666]

1. Keep it is the way it is now, just add a "more" link that expands to a longer description as someone already stated if lots of people want it.

 

 

2. Too much clutter, linking to an article with video is okay, but keep it out of the feed

 

3. Only if the sabrespace blogs are lower quality or different format than the other articles, if they are comparable to the news/opinion pieces already available no separation would be needed IMHO.

 

4. Doesn't matter I middle click the links anyway (opens in new tabs).

 

5. main headline

 

6. Depends how many days since I last checked the site. I usually only go back 2-3 days unless there was a big news event that happened a few days ago that I really want to read about

 

7. The current format is great as is. I hate when websites shorten the first page too much (i.e. google search results, online newspaper websites with second pages for articles)

 

I really hope you keep the frontpage the way it is when you make the change on your backend.

 

 

Also be careful when designing based on the posts of a handful of frequent forum users as the people who post everyday/often, may not have views representative of the majority of your site visitors. To get a more representative survey of your viewers you might want to run one of those survey scripts that some websites like to use (I think they're called score card research/ comScore)