"Hobby News is Back: The Details" Topic

Yay! Hobby News is back!

As I mentioned in the editorial space, the Hobby News system is up and running in its revised form. There will be few differences from your perspective as the casual reader of TMP, but the new system allows (a) authors to format and preview their news articles and (b) the possibility of multiple editors (to take some of the load off me).

Known problems:

1. The actual Hobby News page is not connected to the new database yet, so no new stories are appearing there (yet).

2. The news search function available through the Manufacturers Directory is not connected to the new database yet, so won't see any of the new stories.

3. Older Hobby News stories have been placed in an archive, and the archive page is not created yet.

4. The system that screens out "adult" headline pictures from the homepage is not updated yet.

5. I haven't implemented all of the intended features… so I have a few more surprises in store. Nothing too earth-shattering, though.

To allow me the time to continue finishing the Hobby News upgrade, I will not be running the full "24 stories per day" that TMP usually handles, and I will only be accepting stories from advertisers for now.

I forgot to mention: You'll eventually notice that the illustrated stories on the homepage rotate in a new manner. News stories are categorized into three categories, and each rotates separately.

So, if you had your homepage configured to show ten illustrated headlines, you would see:

Story #1 (top priority)
Story #2 (top priority)
Story #3 (top priority)
Story #4 (top priority)
Story #5 (medium priority)
Story #6 (medium priority)
Story #7 (medium priority)
Story #8 (low priority)
Story #9 (low priority)
Story #10 (low priority)

And below that are the next ten stories, including any un-illustrated headlines.

I would rather see them in order in which they are submitted Photo or not Priority or not.

Priority???? Is in the eye of the beholder. one persons important is anothers so what.

I have to second that. I really don't want to be searching through the list trying to figure out where each priority starts so that I can see if there's a new item or not.

Priority???? Is in the eye of the beholder. one persons important is anothers so what.

That's why I'm The Editor, and you're not.

In most cases, priority is pretty obvious – new figures release versus webpage updated, for instance.

I really don't want to be searching through the list trying to figure out where each priority starts…

Won't need to – the headlines are sized according to priority.

Bill,

No doubt you'll get a mix of criticism and praise on this, for good or bad, but I'll thrown in my "Yay!", good to see it back. I hope you're (mostly) relieved after the work you've put in.

Regards, TC.

SO, this is why the MBA story "slid" into the middle of the news section…

So I submitted a news story a while back via email. Some of the details are now out of date, and I don't know if you ever got it.

Bottom line – as an advertiser how do I now get my stories back into circulation?

YAy! indeed Welcome back.

KAM

So, do I resubmit the story I sent by email a week ago?

Jaz
6sided.net – Like Blogger But For Gaming Blogs Only!

Must say the Priority posting order would not be my preferred viewing option – rather have it in pure posting order. Today I've come onto TMP and thought that there was no new News, but discovered on another visit that there's been some new News (but obviously of a lower Priority) posted further down the Front Page that I'd missed on the previous visits.

Personally I agree with the priority posting order. No offense to the guys at EM4, but I'll use them as a victim.

I hardly qualify "restocks" as significant news items and stuff like that crowds out stories of more significance to the gaming public.

I am just glad it is back. I can search the news pretty easy. It is not rocket science.

VR
James Mattes

Is it still the policy that only advertisers may submit News items?

Nope, never was. You can sumbit news items I use to all the time. I would find new line or product and send it and links to Bill.

VR
James Mattes

Bill informed me specifically that he couldn't publish my news submissions because I wasn't a paying advertiser. He indicated that that might be a temporary policy. I was just curious to see if it still was the policy.