How could the Escapist draw for traffic to the forums?

[william1657]

Maybe if they made it more obvious when an article or video gets a forum topic?

Just yesterday I wanted to look at the comments on some article, but couldn't find the link to its forum topic for almost two minutes. All I saw was the "COMMENTS ON facebook" section.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Hold up, I'm fairly certain ZP started on Youtube (and Yahtzee's own blog), and it was this exposure that led to him being signed by the Escapist. That's why he had to stop using copyrighted music in his intro/outro. Also, don't ZP videos debut on the Escapist first and appear on Youtube a few days later? I may be wrong on that last point.

As for the overall cooling effect on the rest of the forum: I think the losses of MovieBob and Jim Sterling have to be factors. Alongside ZP they generated the most controversy and discussion. The new staff writers haven't had nearly the same broad appeal (for example, the cosplay articles).

Yes, Yahtzee did do two reviews on Youtube before being picked up by the Escapist, but once he was his reviews were only hosted on the Escapist until July 21, 2011 when his backlog was uploaded to Youtube.

See:

Yahtzee's first review, The Darkness, Uploaded on Jul 24, 2007

Yahtzee's second review, Fable: The Lost Chapters, Uploaded on Jul 29, 2007

Yahtzee's third review, Heavenly Sword, Uploaded on Jul 21, 2011 (date on the Escapist: 08/15/2007)

He didn't stop using copyrighted music until a good deal into his reviews for the Escapist. Lego Indiana Jones was his first review to use his current theme song and it came out on 07/09/2008, almost a year after he started working for the Escapist.

You are right that they do appear on Youtube a week after they appear on the Escapist, but I don't believe that is enough to cause many people to actually come to the site, not to mention people that would watch through his backlog. And actually, it looks like someone else is uploading the reviews to Youtube as soon as come out.

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, uploaded by Game Pro on Nov 4, 2015.

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, uploaded by the Escapist on Nov 11, 2015.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Get content that'll bring people to the site. After losing Jim, Moviebob, MoS, LRR, etc, they've brought in new content but no-one that's really going to bring in lots of new people. It's good supplementary content for people who are already here, but I don't think any of it (particularly stuff that is just old episodes of stuff already on YouTube) is bringing new people.

Oh, and I'd get rid of the Facebook comments section. Keep the ability to share news on Facebook sure, but the Facebook comments aren't particularly insightful anyway and them commenting there means they probably don't bother to comment in the forums.

 

[IceForce]

Oh, and I'd get rid of the Facebook comments section. Keep the ability to share news on Facebook sure, but the Facebook comments aren't particularly insightful anyway and them commenting there means they probably don't bother to comment in the forums.

Yeah, this comes back to what I was saying earlier about social media overtaking traditional forums like this one.

In the last few threads we had about moderation, I've noticed an increasing number of people saying that they don't need to use this forum anymore because they can post their comments in the Facebook section (which appears on the same page as the actual content does, rather than on a separate page). Additionally, the Facebook comments are not moderated in any way, which some people have said is another reason why they prefer it. (In fact, it's not uncommon to see COC-breaking comments appear in the Facebook widget, right there on the same page as the content.)

 

[FalloutJack]

That's a good question. Sadly, I know what would...but the Escapist would either never do it or never pull it off because of bad blood.

 

[PsychicTaco115]

I hate to say it but staff REALLY needs to do better in terms of completing things and getting out info to the users

Multiple examples but remember the Wicked Halloween Week? Where they would update each picture to link to an article?

Two pictures done out of six and it's been at least two weeks since it's been updated

I've seen this again and again where they say they'll do something but then kind of let it die. It's extremely aggravating to have this happen

 

[CrystalShadow]

I kinda tuned out when I saw SJW there, because every time I see someone complain about it, the complaint is some vague irritation directed at a straw-man. It seems like it's just a new way to dismiss people who aren't right wing conservatives anymore.

Well, how would you suggest we dismiss people who aren't right wing conservatives then?

Well, there is that. But in that case we clearly need another equally mindless empty label to complement it.

So... What is the right-wing equivalent of 'SJW' in terms of being equally annoying and easy to make broad, disparaging generalisations about?

I mean, 'balance' and all that stuff right?
That's, like, important, yeah?

...

Yeah... Perfect.

OT: At the end of the day what made this site what it was in the past was unique, interesting content that you just couldn't find anywhere else.

If that isn't there, then the site simply doesn't really have much to offer.

Why go here, if what you can find here is basically the same thing you can find in two dozen other places on the internet?
Yeah.
Exactly.

 

[Barbas]

I hate to say it but staff REALLY needs to do better in terms of completing things and getting out info to the users

Multiple examples but remember the Wicked Halloween Week? Where they would update each picture to link to an article?

Two pictures done out of six and it's been at least two weeks since it's been updated

I've seen this again and again where they say they'll do something but then kind of let it die. It's extremely aggravating to have this happen

I was told the article "reverted", though I'm not sure what that means. The author must have tried fixing it at least once, but I think they were away at an event afterwards and nobody else updated it. Let thy voice be heard in the Tech Team chat.

 

[Paragon Fury]

Fine. I get the point.

I'll make more boobie plot threads to attract views. Gonna have to enlist some help though.

 

[Zontar]

Bring on more video reviews (like maybe hire "IHateEverything" or "YourMovieSucks") which will bring people coming to see their videos a week earlier then they're posted on YouTube which will likely lead to at least some spillover of new users into the forums.

 

[Dragonlayer]

Well, Jim's gone, Bob's gone, LRR's gone. Pretty much anyone who is ideologically impure has been purged, and look at how much traffic to the site has improved. I mean, they could get rid of Marter since occasional delves into topics certain groups don't like, or Grey, one of the only comic providers.

Get rid of Marter not because he's the ideological enemy - there'll be time for that once my camps are up and running - but because he's boring as feth. Moviebob might have strayed into "Pretentious twat" territory when he worked himself up over Social Justice*TM*, or slobbered over how supposedly perfect and awesome Eva Green is, but at least his videos were genuinely entertaining and informative.

OT

My solution is to ban everyone actively involved with, or opposed to, GG/Anti-GG and also give me lots of money.

Stupid trademark symbol not appearing.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Here's an idea:

Bring back JimQuisition and The Big Picture (Marter has the movies well in hand) but also find and give the same video column space to a commentator the ideological opposite to Jim and Bob and have them do the same item each week.
Give Marter a video space for movies (if he wants it).
Remove the posting rules from Content Creator threads.

That should bring traffic numbers back up a bit

 

[Drathnoxis]

That's a good question. Sadly, I know what would...but the Escapist would either never do it or never pull it off because of bad blood.

Aww, don't be a tease, what's your idea?

 

[Kinokohatake]

I used to enjoy video reviews. It's what seperated them from a magazine. But they have actually regressed. When they should have been doing more and more reviews of movie, anime, video games, or comics, they cut back. Now only big releases get reviews, and those reviews are just text. I want to see what I am going to be playing, watching, whatever. And their breaking news is not very breaking. A movie announcement or game announcement can take hours or even days to update. I see something break on twitter and with a semi dedicated staff a short article should be able to whipped up and ready to go in no time at all. It's almost as if they don't care anymore. Hell I could write articles for the site. The best written article I have seen in the last 6 months was the Fallout 4 review and the ensuing forum posts kept me coming back. You want to drive content or audience participation, take a page from that. The reviewer was able to follow up with questions, concerns, and to mock the "true" Fallout fans that are waiting on a game that will never come out. I checked back on that probably 2 dozen times that day because it was interesting.

The comics here are good. I love Erin Dies Alone. Maybe some more of that. But faster stories are needed and please god bring back video reviews.

As for the forums, I left for a long time after Bob and Jim left and gamer gate poisoned everything it touched. Now that it's over, can the game industry discussion board be taken down? I think that would help with some of the toxicity.

 

[Zontar]

Here's an idea:

Bring back JimQuisition and The Big Picture

While Bob would probably jump at the opportunity to work on a real website again, Jim seems to be doing well for himself, so the bad blood would probably keep him away. At least now the only people he has to play the act of pro-consumer advocate for is his viewers instead of both his viewers and employers.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Here's an idea:

Bring back JimQuisition and The Big Picture

While Bob would probably jump at the opportunity to work on a real website again, Jim seems to be doing well for himself, so the bad blood would probably keep him away. At least now the only people he has to play the act of pro-consumer advocate for is his viewers instead of both his viewers and employers.

I could give a shit what character either of them play, as a pure exercise in raising traffic, getting those two back with an ideological opposite (sort of like The Odd Couple) and letting them get a bi-weekly Goldstein moment going would get the numbers up, especially if the Content Provider threads are mod-free zones.

Of course the opposite could happen and the extreme level of shit-stirring circle jerking could turn everyone off in droves. My idea is functionally to set the whole place on fire and see if a Phoenix rises from the ashes or if it at least renders a poisoned well into a smoking crater. I'm personally fine with either one.

 

[FireAza]

I think it's inevitable. I've been a member of many internet forums over the years, all of them have slowly been dying out and have become mere husks of their former selves. They're subsisting a posts made by the same handful of users and that's about it. The Escapist is one of the last active forums in my opinion.

Why is this happening? I think this is a combination of factors:
1) Forums are old-fashioned. Back in the early 2000s, forums and IRC were the only way to chat online. There's now multiple websites that focus just on social interaction and they have more features than an internet forum.

2) Competition from social networks. Like I said above, there's now many social networks in existence and people go where their friends go. Which means FaceBook in other words, pulling traffic away from forums. These social networks are also broader than forums, which tend to cater to a central interest.

3) The user base has aged and moved on. I think it's fair to say the most forums had their heyday when the majority of the users were still teenagers with lots of free time. Cut to a few years later, and they're now adults. Many of them have started families or just moved on from whatever theme\hobby the central focus of the forum was.

It's sad, but I don't think there's anything that can be done to save internet forums. Short of blowing up FaceBook headquarters anyway.

 

[PsychicTaco115]

I was told the article "reverted", though I'm not sure what that means. The author must have tried fixing it at least once, but I think they were away at an event afterwards and nobody else updated it. Let thy voice be heard in the Tech Team chat.

Caramel had already let it be known of the issue almost two weeks ago. Nothing's happened

Stuff like that makes it hard to feel like you actually matter in terms of voicing your concerns

 

[Barbas]

Caramel had already let it be known of the issue almost two weeks ago. Nothing's happened

Stuff like that makes it hard to feel like you actually matter in terms of voicing your concerns

They're working to meet an unrelated deadline this week, so that article (done by someone else) isn't on the current list of priorities. A lot of the recent work has been off-Escapist stuff, related to Defy's sister sites (did you know Teen.com had active forums???), most of which are nearly aesthetically identical to this one beneath the skin. Which is convenient for when you have to poke around for problems under the hood.

 

[Something Amyss]

That's not what I understand the term to mean, I always thought of it more along the lines of having an intentionally misleading title and deliberately bad journalism.

I thought I was clear from the context. Perhaps not.

Click-bait is supposed to be what you said.

When people use click-bait, they apply it to [things I don't like] instead.

I'm sure you can think of other examples of words where the definition is one thing, but the actual use (which would be the effective meaning) is another entirely. A few come to mind immediately.

Hell, since this example happens to be the next thing in my list of responses, I'll use it:

When I hear SJW my thoughts always wander to the Tumblr and Twitter types of Social Justice slacktavists who do nothing to help, but have no problem doxxing and harassing people.

Kind of relevant, really. "SJW" ostensibly has a meaning, but Kyuubi has applied one which meets neither it nor the common "snarl word" usage. This would put the number of meanings at at least three which don't meet the strict definition of the term.

[
Get rid of Marter not because he's the ideological enemy - there'll be time for that once my camps are up and running - but because he's boring as feth.

I'll be honest--I don't really watch many of Marter's reviews. Or Bob's, to be honest as well. I don't really even have a feel for Marter's style. The only thing I know about him is that he seems likable enough as a poster. But movies aren't a big thing for me, so I tend to find myself not caring. He was an example I know of because I watched some people go from praising him to being very angry because he did a review where he called a movie racist.

Anyway, in the spirit of the more light-hearted answer, I suggested privately that moderation be given out in haiku. Here are a couple of samples hastily copy-pastad.

Please do not insult//or otherwise provoke the//Escapist's users
Derailment of threads//like great locomotive crash//shall be discouraged

I can't speak for anyone else, but such care in the moderation process would certainly draw me to the forum.