Article:

[RWeeksFan23]

Why have these threads suddenly become a thing now out of nowhere?

[brooks_quichenick]

Really clogging up the first page of this Milwaukee Brewers Talk forum, imo.

[Jopal78]

More content equals more "clicks", more "clicks" equals more $$ for the proprietors. 

[Axman59]

2 hours ago, brooks_quichenick said:

Really clogging up the first page of this Milwaukee Brewers Talk forum, imo.

I disagree. Popular threads stay on the front page for weeks as it is. I think the article threads are useful and provide extra reading content rather than rehashing the Hader trade for the 1000th time.

[timpep]

1 hour ago, Axman59 said:

I disagree. Popular threads stay on the front page for weeks as it is. I think the article threads are useful and provide extra reading content rather than rehashing the Hader trade for the 1000th time.

Has there been one with any info not previously discussed in the forum?

That article with no comments I didn't read about Ashby going on the DL that came out 5 hours after it was discussed on the forum was not very useful.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Hi everybody, we wanted to bring more awareness to the writers' efforts and this is the solution we worked out together. If you're not interested in the article content, please feel free to browse on past these threads as you would any other thread that doesn't interest you.

As for older threads dropping off the front page, I've been watching this for awhile now and it takes a thread 5-7 days with no replies before it drops to the second page. Frankly, a constantly-refreshing first forum page is good for the community. It increases user interest and makes participation - especially from new users - more likely.

And the changes are bearing fruit. Overall, engagement in the forums and overall posts have been increasing, as have new user registrations and participation. While the forum is greatly outperforming 2021, it's still lagging well behind 2016-2017 and little steps like this go a long way toward bridging that gap and bringing this community back to where it was a decade ago (and hopefully even beyond that point in years to come).

[Hopper]

If what you are saying is true, and the current forums are outperforming the 2021 forums, I really find that hard to believe.

It sure doesn't feel that way, and it feels more like we have half the participation as years past.

Heck, the game threads are a snoozefest with nowhere near the amount of posts as in the past. (that could be because of the few posters who try to dictate how people post, that becomes a drag)

Or, my perception is just wrong, which also wouldn't surprise me.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 hour ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Hi everybody, we wanted to bring more awareness to the writers' efforts and this is the solution we worked out together. If you're not interested in the article content, please feel free to browse on past these threads as you would any other thread that doesn't interest you.

As for older threads dropping off the front page, I've been watching this for awhile now and it takes a thread 5-7 days with no replies before it drops to the second page. Frankly, a constantly-refreshing first forum page is good for the community. It increases user interest and makes participation - especially from new users - more likely.

And the changes are bearing fruit. Overall, engagement in the forums and overall posts have been increasing, as have new user registrations and participation. While the forum is greatly outperforming 2021, it's still lagging well behind 2016-2017 and little steps like this go a long way toward bridging that gap and bringing this community back to where it was a decade ago (and hopefully even beyond that point in years to come).

I suspect GT participation is down but chalk that up to a couple of things:

1. Game threads tend to be dominated by a handful of users. Remove a couple of those users and participation changes A LOT.

2. The game threads have often been… less than optimal… this season. I find myself checking out of them regularly because the tone just makes my mood worse and I find myself just closing my laptop.

The biggest long term indicators we have right now are users and registrations. Over the life of Brewer Fanatic, we’re averaging about one registration a day. In 2021, it was less than one registration a week. And overall users are up 50-75%. 

[Brewin]

Completely agree w/Brock, the game threads this year are twitteresque as they tend to be dominated by a few overly negative posters and they become very difficult to navigate.

I get that there are many different ways to be a fan, but when it's 1-0 in the top of the first and you see a number of posters saying "game over" it's difficult for myself or many others to engage with that...

 

[Outlander]

Articles are good because they can create discussion. Mass Haas and his rule 5 one in the minors for example or the September opportunity in the main forums. Articles saying a guy was optioned/recalled/put on IL seem kind of lame when already discussed in other posts hours or a day ago but I will take your advice and just scroll past.

[wallus]

50 minutes ago, Brewin said:

Completely agree w/Brock, the game threads this year are twitteresque as they tend to be dominated by a few overly negative posters and they become very difficult to navigate.

I get that there are many different ways to be a fan, but when it's 1-0 in the top of the first and you see a number of posters saying "game over" it's difficult for myself or many others to engage with that...

 

Nailed it! The game threads are dumpster fires normally.

[Mass Haas]

Unfortunately it’s an automated process so every home page article is going to replicate in the forum format regardless of content. I really like the concept though. We are seeing more engagement commentary in the articles, which is the whole idea.

My question for you all - did you regularly check out the home page article content previously, or do you just fly straight to the forums, whether you’ve bookmarked the forums or not?

[brooks_quichenick]

4 hours ago, Mass Haas said:

My question for you all - did you regularly check out the home page article content previously, or do you just fly straight to the forums, whether you’ve bookmarked the forums or not?

I always go to the forums first, (usually Brewers Talk then Minor League Talk) to catch up on previous threads, read the game thread, and check out the most recent discourse/minor league box scores. After that I'll check out some of the article content (there's a lot of great writers here!).

I think this sums up my only issue with the "Article:" threads populating in the Brewers Talk forum very well:

8 hours ago, Outlander said:

Articles are good because they can create discussion. Mass Haas and his rule 5 one in the minors for example or the September opportunity in the main forums. Articles saying a guy was optioned/recalled/put on IL seem kind of lame when already discussed in other posts hours or a day ago but I will take your advice and just scroll past.

[yfinn6]

11 hours ago, Mass Haas said:

Unfortunately it’s an automated process so every home page article is going to replicate in the forum format regardless of content. I really like the concept though. We are seeing more engagement commentary in the articles, which is the whole idea.

My question for you all - did you regularly check out the home page article content previously, or do you just fly straight to the forums, whether you’ve bookmarked the forums or not?

On the old Brewerfan, so like within the last year, the homepage still featured an article about JJ Hardy. 

Is it possible to have a thread topic that doesn't start with: "Article: A Topic Y'all Have Already Beaten Into the Ground"

I mean, like last week there was a topic about how the Brewers were "making a change at the hot corner" and it was about bringing up Pablo freakin' Reyes. 

It's hard to imagine missing these hard-hitting articles. 

Sorry, I'm frustrated with this team and yes, participation on the main page has been down and in-game threads have ALWAYS been a sewer.