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October, 2024

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The News!

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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
Hey guys,

I've been getting a lot of messages and reading a bunch of posts about the lack of news on the NS home page and just wanted to shed some light on the situation.

- First off, if you want to take a look at the top rated news at the moment, just head on over here https://www.newschoolers.com/news?c=toprated

Click for larger image

- Secondly, news will only make it to the home page if it's popular -- so make sure to upvote something if you like it. Right now there's a few really interesting articles in the system that are worth a read, but nothing is getting the upvotes needed to make the jump to the home page.

- Last but not least... Do something about it! The news system is open to everyone, whether you be an athlete, photographer, writer, brand, resort, media, etc. Every single member has the power to upload a news article. We'll be running contests and initiatives in the near future to promote better content, but the exposure a well-written and researched piece can garner is pretty big. That's basically how I earned my writing chops and made the connections that got me where I am today.
Jun 11 2013 3:10PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
I think the last point is half your issue. You need good news articles not just random stuff from any old user. I want to read interesting articles from people who can write.

Take pinkbike as an example there news section is great, and the way the front page is set out is so much better then ns. News is posted and moves down the page but you can always find things. On ns the top rated things just stay at the top even if they are a few days old, which means new stuff can't always get up there, which means it can't get upvoted.

The forums here are great but the rest of the site needs some work
Jun 11 2013 3:29PM
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Poikenz
Posts: 1480 - Karma: 3,772
I have to agree with tom, if I want news I want the important stuff up front, I don't want to have to go through a bunch of bullshit to find it, and neither do the 200 other people who have to upvote it to make the front page. Hell, maybe they don't like the same articles and the things that I enjoy won't be easily accessible/ cause people to not care about the news because it is too much work.

With the new home page I currently get all my news out of the forums, mostly because I am already there.

I was a big fan of the news module. Maybe if it somehow had it's own box on the front page?
Jun 11 2013 3:37PM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
That's what this page is for. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but if you're complaining that one mouse click is too much work, then maybe reading articles isn't for you.

Newschoolers is about the community. And just like photos, videos, and threads, we don't expect every single member to enjoy every piece of news that's uploaded. We aren't the ones in charge of telling you what's cool and what you should see -- that's completely up to you guys, and in my opinion, that's what makes NS so rad. Did you spend a weekend shooting urban? Why not drop all the photos and a few words in an article? See a cool photo feature on Freeskier? Why not put the link in the news section and share it with the rest of the community. It literally takes two minutes.

Regarding upvotes, it definitely doesn't need 200 to land on the home page. Take the "Julian Carr vs Air Jordan" article as an example. It only has 17 at the moment, but is currently sitting just below the top.

I'm open to the idea of adding some type of constant news module, but I think the first step is ensuring we have more quality news to fill it with. And yes, that's partly our responsibility, but nothing on NS can be successful without the community getting behind it.
Jun 12 2013 7:36AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
I think the main thing you need to change is the way news is submitted and realeased. If you on a daily basis realeased what you thought was news worthy then it would get much more attention. Members could submit news and you can realease the stuff which is worthy of the front page. All the rest could be added to the appropriate section and people could find it like it is. But so much gets missed here. You need to get people to the big events who can give regular updates.

The original reason I found this site wa the old sia coverage. It used to be the best place to come to find all the photos of new kit. Now all that kind of thing has been lost and its just a mash up of home made videos in the front page and forum topics. That kind if stuff is ok but it's not going to attract new members. If you had the best coverage an photos and videos of events it would give people a reason to come here and through that attract more members, which in turn is only ever going to be good for the site.
Jun 12 2013 7:53AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
Just to add, you made a comment saying "see a cool photo feature on freeskier" this I think is half the problem. Rather then linking news from other sites you need to be doing your own features. Give people a reason to come to this site rather then having to look on freeskier ect for news.
Jun 12 2013 8:17AM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
That's exactly what we're trying to avoid doing. Instead of spending thousands and thousands of dollars flying around the world to cover events (which most of the time can be watched from the comfort of your own home), we'd rather spend that money to reward members the community for creating awesome content that people want to see. That doesn't mean Newschoolers can't be the spot to find that kind of content -- and that's why we allow anyone to upload links to our news system.

And FYI, news isn't submitted or released -- it's simply uploaded and put into the system. Stuff ONLY makes it to the front page if YOU guys think it's cool and give it enough upvotes.
Jun 13 2013 2:56PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
^ well i think thats a real shame. Having journalists going to the events gives much better coverage then just watching the event. It gves you a background to what its really like to go to the events.

For example if we just watch the coverage of the xgames slope, we dont get any real feeling of how the athletes feel at the event, what they really feel about the course, what equipment they are riding (which is usually new at the big events so of interest to allot of people) ect ect. I know i keep refrencing pinkbike but honestly look at how they cover a world cup. First day is pit walks. A photo article of the first day of teh event. New bikes, what riders are seting them up like for the race ect. Day two will usally be photos of the training, a bike cheack, where riders show off there bikes and lastly a vid of training. Day 3 will be the live results from qualy, then photos from the day. The last day is riders feelings, then the live coverage, then a wrap up write up with more pics and what riders did to celebrate. They still have the live coverage but go so much more in depth. Im sure most of the members here would love that type of thing and it would certainly attract new people as there would be actual interesting stuff here which was not available else where. Just watching the event is cool but getting a more indepth look at what is really going on is much much cooler.

If you are saving thousands of dollars not sending people, what are you actually spending that money on?

And I am fully aware that news is not submitted to you currently. I was suggesting that was a better way to do it. A way to vet it if you will. But it will also let the genuinely good stuff guarantee its way to the top. For example much of the really good big mtn stuff gets missed here alot, as many of the members here are very park orientated. But that means for the members who do like that stuff miss it. The fischer team vid was a great example. That vid was awsome but never made its way higher then half way up the front page.

Honestly I really preferred the old front page where you had the news box. Now you just come into the forums to look for news as its hard to find on the front page. If your going that way why not just make the site one big forum?
Jun 13 2013 4:15PM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627
Whoa whoa whoa... You mean we can get compensation for writing interesting articles? Well shit man, that changes everything. Doing it so people will think I'm cool just doesn't have the same allure to me as, say, paying the phone bill and shit.
Jun 13 2013 4:19PM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627
You want NS to talk money? Lol... Good luck with that. They play their cards really close at all times.
Jun 13 2013 4:27PM
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Rogge
Posts: 5773 - Karma: 3,930
I think what people miss is curation. People like the idea of the crowd telling them what's cool, but they also like the idea of having an editor select important pieces of news and bringing them to their attention.


Jun 13 2013 4:38PM
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artrud
Posts: 598 - Karma: 1,471

this

I see the benefits of the vote system and I actually like it, but why do we have to choose between that and the old format.  Can't NS feature a hybrid home page with "What's Hot" content and then one column (or row) on the home page that lists out your "official" NS content?  It could feature news from your journalists, press releases, upcoming calendar events, etc...  Almost like a NS ticker.

Including a separate column that ensures a journalist's content will appear there coupled with financial incentive would likely boost user content.  Shoot, I bet you wouldnt even have to pay ppl to provide it if they had a guarentee it would be up for a brief moment on the home page.  Also, ski companies might take time to generate specific NS content if they knew it woud be there too.

Jun 13 2013 4:43PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
No, they think they do. They're wrong though.

This is exactly what leads to skiing being a brofest of all the same people covered by all the same guys talking about all the same shit.

There is no difference between community curation and editor curation philosophically. Just like a community can have a leaning towards a certain topic, an editor can too.
Jun 13 2013 4:48PM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
Maybe I'm not explaining it properly. Instead of sending our staff (aka, me) to go cover an event, we will hook up a hard working member with that opportunity. So, if you have proven yourself as a great journalist who contributes to the community, then you will be given the chance to go cover X-Games on behalf of Newschoolers. You'll get all the same perks -- lodging, tickets, party passes, compensation, etc.
What are we spending that money on? Our members! Tons of content contributors (video, photo, & words) got a paycheck this year -- and we only plan to expand these programs. We want to help these members grow and develop the skills they need to become professionals in their respective fields.

Unfortunately we can't please everyone, but I'm going to work as hard as I can to improve the system and find the sweet spot that keeps good news flowing through the system.
Jun 13 2013 4:50PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Wait a second -

I must interject on this. During SIA the homepage was absolutely blanketed with gear coverage. As a matter of fact, there was probably more of it this year than any other year, and it was incredibly successful. Best performing content of the year.

The only difference was it wasn't in a slider.

You are correct that currently its videos and forum topics, but that is only right now. The homepage reflects what the best stuff on NS is right now. During WCS it was a mixture of threads, photos, videos and news regarding the event. During SIA it was SIA. During X, X.

The homepage is way more dynamic, and doesn't force boring stuff down your throat. People who over-glorify the old news system forget that there could be days or weeks where the news was a complete press release-filled snorefest.

I can see it in the analytics. People used to not read the news as much as they seem to pretend like they did.

Jun 13 2013 4:55PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
^ but in essence then you are sending journalists to the events. Its just that you are saying your not because they are a member of the site. But lets be honest, read the forums, there is a very small percentage of people here who can write well, take a decent photo and potentially make a short video too. So really you will be sending the same people to all the events any way.

So why not just employ a few decent journalists who you can count on providing good content. In that way it would give members something to aspire too. If they provide good content maybe in the future they can work for you too. Maybe this is the incentive people need to up the quality of the content? If its more a case of, oh im in aspen that week i can cover it for you, there is no need for people to work on improving.
Jun 13 2013 4:59PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
The old coverage was much better for SIA though. You used to have a post a day, absolutely full of all the gear. It was awsome. Now its just a post of a brand maybe 2-3 pics and a video. Its nothing like as good. It looks like its full as you spilt up all the different manufacturers but the content was lacking. Look at any of the new gear threads and its all photos from other sites at that time, so obviously there is a demand for that kind of coverage still
Jun 13 2013 5:03PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Read Mousseau's point in his last post. We are taking that money and directly giving it back to the content creators on the site - except we're trying to re-distribute it away from the same old shit.

The way that news used to go is that Schmuck would be sitting at the bottom of the X-games slopestyle course. He'd be there with Shay from Freeskier, Rogge from Powder, and god only knows who else. Each of them would race back to the tent to post their article covering the event the fastest. Each site would then have basically the same article about the same event.

What we're saying is that its a waste to spend a bazillion dollars to go to X-games just to write the same article. If Freeskier is there, and they're writing something awesome - we want to have their content up on the site so you guys can read an awesome X-games article.

Then, instead of the $4k-$5k it would have cost us to be there covering that, we dump that money into the monetization programs for Journalists, Photographers and Videographers. My goal is to convince those people to not cover the X-games. If someone does want to, then they better have a different fucking idea than another slopestyle article.

Shit man, I want to take that money and pay someone to write about the Inspired Demo Tour, more about behind the curtain of Stept, the Hood Crew - BMOS - hell whatever the fuck it is other than the same shit.

As a community we can have all the best stuff right in our hands, and empower the entire community of skiing to work together to get content from all over the place.

Some people complain 'why would I write something for free' when throughout the years I have constantly heard people begging for their one super sick buddy to get recognition. Well now, you can earn your stripes as an NS journalist by helping your buddy get the recognition he deserves, you can get hooked up with gear if you're good, and if you're really good you can start making the money.

All the while, we never succumb to brofest because there are 200,000 editors here that will make sure that the community's voice rings true.

Also if you're a news junkie, visit top rated and give shit some upvotes.

https://www.newschoolers.com/news?c=toprated

If you want the latest, use the lateset news section.

https://www.newschoolers.com/news


Jun 13 2013 5:04PM
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snowpocalypse
Posts: 1036 - Karma: 3,525
I think its odd that you asked for input. I feel that all the comments are valid and honest. By telling us as a community just need to get better at it, is a little off the point. Yes you did come off sounding rude. We all live and breath skiing and would love to have access to the latest information available. We understand that the budget does not dictate sending a fleet of writers all over the globe but at least some news that isn't the same stuff I can get from other sites would be worth while. And no, that's not my job on here...It's to make fun of stupid people, tell fart jokes and how I banged your mom in the gondola last weekend. Don't take this so personally, we are all trying to better the site not bash it!
Jun 13 2013 5:06PM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
That is exactly what I'm saying!
Jun 13 2013 5:06PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Because if we employ a few journalists they will have their own slant on things, and we will not be able to properly allow the people's voice to speak through.

You also need a tiny percentage of people to be good enough, way less than 1% of the total users.

Note also, many pro media people are members of NS and participate.
Jun 13 2013 5:07PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Yes, it was split up by brands. If you have a serious opinion about how the SIA coverage should be, you should join the Journalist Network cult and begin openly discussing the preferred SIA coverage.

We'll be selecting a team out of the community to come and do it, so we can do any sort of coverage you guys wish.

Then, if truly that format of coverage is the best, vote it to the top and you get exactly what you want.

Jun 13 2013 5:09PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
I really think the bigger point is that people can tell the stories that exist everywhere out there. Sure there will be massive parts of this community that won't want to partake, but there will be people who would love to become ski media personalities.

Those people now have the opportunity to push forwards. They can build a career. Many people that cut their teeth on here move onto filing the ranks of the big publications.

We ask opinons, because its a community site and its important to know what you're feeling. Its important for those who want to partake to know what you want. Its important to have open discourse, because again - we're not trying to be dictators.

Jun 13 2013 5:13PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
Ok that makes more sense. I guess that is fair enough. Persoanlly I actually like seeing about the biggest events in freeskiing. If it wasnt for events like that there would be alot less money for everyone in the industry. It also leaves me with less reason to come here. Personally if freeskier and you guys wrote an article and it was the same I would still prefer to read it here.

But I can appreciate alot of the members want to know about what is going on with stept. I just feel you need a mixture. I worked in the industry for over a decade and constantly had to defend why I went on NS, to pretty much every one I worked with. It may just be me but I always wanted a bit more mainstream stuff on here too, just to show all the haters that yeah, there is a funny forum, but look you can actually find quality stuff here too. I often surprised people with info from the forums. Onenerdykid for example is awsome for you guys, feeding the forums with great info. It was pretty mainstream, but would often give info people who worked in the industry did not even know about.
Jun 13 2013 5:14PM
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CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5712 - Karma: 20,638
I think this is a fantastic way to approach the news. It allows kids who have no clue how to get a foot in the industry see potential results from their work. It's pretty clear that NS isn't a conventional site with moderators you never see. We interact with them everyday. If someone is willing to put in the leg-work and prove themselves as a knowledgeable, driven, and truly passionate skier, they can appeal to the right people and position themselves to gain some truly practical experience. I love it. If this kind of system was in place when I was seventeen, I would have spent all my time documenting events, trends, and important topics in the freeskiing community. I guarantee I could have pushed my way in.
Jun 13 2013 5:18PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
Sorry to post again, but its perfect timing. Iberg just released a thread about the demo tour write up. That is exactly the type of thing you guys could promote rather then a thread having to be made here. Yes it will get upvoted as people will see it now because of that post, but if that post was not made who knows if it would have got on the front page.
Jun 13 2013 5:27PM
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artrud
Posts: 598 - Karma: 1,471

I see your point, but I think the new format also favors those same brofest bros.  My guess is that over time you will see an increase in content that is meant to catch users' eyes for a quick upvote and less in-depth and well thought out content.

Creating that window of opportunity for the "small guys" to provide content from their local neck of the woods that may get featured on the official home page ticker was huge.  It also said something about the old format of NS when you saw an official article on the home page about a melted out hill in Kentucky that featured a muddy rail jam. It said loud and clear that everyone doing anything related to freeskiing was awesome and we are proud of them.  I know you likely still feel that way, but the new format doesnt necessarily say that anymore.

Jun 13 2013 5:28PM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627
I was honestly unaware of this. Color me interested.
Jun 13 2013 5:29PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
This makes me want to add to the news a lot more. Without this there wasn't much of a benefit to news over threads, and although the chances of me ever getting paid to go anywhere, let alone the x games are slim to nil, it still gives me an incentive, and and incentive to improve.

Heck, might even get a chance to head to london freeze this year, that'd be sweet, and seeing as it doesn't really get shown(being that this is an american forum) I think it'd be pretty cool, there's always a lot of cool british stuff that gets missed out on and I'm a sucker for it.
Jun 13 2013 5:31PM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627
I really like this aspect of it. Everyone has an outlook and nobody's life/pursuits/knowledge/outlook is the same as anyone else so the individuality of the reporting in that case could bring some really cool things to light. Things, people and events that otherwise would never get talked about. That part gets me pretty excited actually.
Jun 13 2013 5:37PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
The new system allows for a freeskier article to go right to the top of the homepage. So that way, you can come on NS, and still know if there is an ultra sweet article somewhere else on the internet.

In a way we're almost being the most mature, because we're willing to tip a hat to the people doing good work in this industry. Instead of competing with them, we send our traffic directly over to their site. That company gets the traffic, loads their ads, and gets exposure for their good content.

So if more people shared and voted on the good stuff, you would have basically your ultimate dream with NS as the portal to it all.
Jun 13 2013 5:38PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Vote that shit up. There is no difference in featuring something than 50-100 people being stoked on something than me forcing it to the top because Iberg is my bro.

We need a touch more critical mass of people that check the latest news section, and a few more people submitting links/writing news and we'll be gold.

Jun 13 2013 5:40PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
oh also @Mousseau, I notice you're controlling the facebook now, in case you're wondering, the amount of posts aren't annoying at all, so don't hold back, I'm glad there's newschoolers posts now, in fact the more the better.

Noticed you just posted an article of news, that's a good idea for getting the news noticed, just whenever you check through the news, if you see something you like, posting it on facebook will get a lot of views+upvotes. especially given ns has 10s of thousands of likes on fb
Jun 13 2013 5:46PM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627
Well it's absolutely true that threads get more looks than articles. Maybe if there was more connectivity between normal thread viewing and the news articles it would promote more news browsing.
Jun 13 2013 5:47PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
We've got some ideas...
Jun 13 2013 5:51PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
I think this sums it up well. As much as people say they want to do there own thing, they do still really want someone to point them in the right direction.

Maybe all you need do is have more of an editor who selects what he thinks is the most newsworthy stuff of the day. All the other stuff would be there still, but if you just have 5 mins on your lunch break you can quickly see what is going on, rather then having to look down the front page to try and work out what is new.

Very interesting disscussing this with you guys. And I really liked your comment bishop about being almost like a hub for all things freeski, I had not thought about it like that.
Jun 13 2013 6:00PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Or what we need is a community of editors (say 20-30 super passionate news people) who together seed the top rated news by curating the 'latest' stuff.

You get all the benefits of a news editor, without having the downside of only one person's opinion.

My best advice if you really care is join the Journalist Network and be part of the curation of the latest added news. It only takes a few minutes to go through and up/down vote based on quality.

Jun 13 2013 6:05PM
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~bagelz~
Posts: 1105 - Karma: 1,067
word up i read the articles in class. you guys write some good shit
Jun 13 2013 7:40PM
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BobYohan
Posts: 3001 - Karma: 375
i dunno, it seems to me that an open sourced news section isnt very different from the forums where there is already the opportunity for anyone to post about whatever they want. and i really don't like to see the word 'news' used to describe articles that have no quality control and oversight around accuracy. at this point i miss the old news section written by actual journalists but i get that this is an experiment and its too soon to tell what it will turn into
Jun 13 2013 9:32PM
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Sklar
Posts: 8864 - Karma: 31,612
THAT"S THAT SHIT I DO LIKE, but for real



Honestly I think the the new system is AWESOME, I was pretty much on the forefront of the program, kind of as it was still developing, but it has given me some awesome opportunities.
Really how I got my "start" was by hitting up Schmuck and asking for him to help me get credentials for the Dew Tour. That led me to meeting a bunch more good people, like people at the AFP, who I worked with at Grand Prix, and that led to more opportunities. Schmuck hooked it up with a little gear, other than that though, I did everything for free.
In short it really started the momentum for me getting into the ski industry, and now I'm working as a photographer at Woodward Copper for the summer.

I think it gives people like me who are motivated to make it happen the opportunity to do so.
Jun 13 2013 10:26PM
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gpitcher
Posts: 2626 - Karma: 1,691
I think that a lot of people want more legit paid news coverage and articles. So basically NS would pay people to attend the event, get pics, and write an article. I know this is already done for some things such as SIA, each Windell's session, and other big events. It personally doesnt bother me either way, but its just a thought. I have no idea if its in the budget or not?
Jun 13 2013 10:40PM
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TheClap.
Posts: 21665 - Karma: 4,145
No one will think youre cool, ever
Jun 14 2013 12:58AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Tell me this -

What is the difference between an open news program and an open freelance submission program?

Everyone keeps saying that a paid staff is the difference, where they decide what is and isn't legit...

But why is that so different from an organized community of journalist curators who judge content based on their votes? I mean a photo editor at a magazine takes all the photos they get from freelancers, puts them in lightroom and then basically rates each one. The software helps them curate.

Our software just allows groups of people to do the same thing. If we are careful about maintaining structure and strict rules to our news culture, I think a group of people could actually perform the editor's job better than one person alone - You can always down vote something to perform quality control, and to voice your opinion on oversight and accuracy.

On your first point, the only difference between forums and news is how structured the first post is.
Jun 14 2013 8:53AM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627
Hence my reluctance to write for such purposes.
Jun 14 2013 9:09AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
I think the main issue is you are relying on people having the time to go through everything and vote on it. That simply is not feasable for most people. What having an editor does is give people the chance to view things quickly. Keep the voting system so if the community disagree with the editors views they can show it. Therefore if the community is regularly disagreeing with what the editor believes is news worthy it is easily identified.

I really like your idea for how it should work and if we all had time to view everything it would work perfectly but unfortunalty that is not the reality for most people.

Jun 14 2013 10:07AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Your logic has a fallacy I'm afraid. This works flawlessly in Photos and videos. How can people not have time to vote if they already do it in other sections of the site?

Jun 14 2013 10:27AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
^because it only takes a moment to view a photo and unfortunately there is more desire to watch a video rather then read an article with many members here. Look at the amount of use of dint read meme if its more then about 10 lines long
Jun 14 2013 10:45AM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,248
This is good feedback! It's definitely helpful to promote stuff outside of NS too, and the FB page is a great way to do it.
Jun 14 2013 10:46AM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,248
The great part about the new system, is that anyone (cool, or possibly not cool) can write an article. And now everyone has the option to decide how well the article does. So sure, one asshat like yourself can give it a downvote and think they're really sticking it to the loser, but then 15 other members can upvote and promote it because it's probably good stuff. It's not up to just one person and their bias to say what does well and what doesn't, there are checks and balances.

Seriously, have you seen some of Huck's adventures this year? Stellar stuff coming from this guy, and it's not your normal park adventures. I love it
Jun 14 2013 10:50AM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627
Well with all do respect, that's really what it's about- killing some time by perusing the hot sheets. If you don't have the time to read an article now and then or don't care enough to, I'd argue that you are probably not worth customizing the entire layout of the site to appease, y'know?

We're not talking about a wall of text in an OP, we're talking about telling a story, sharing an experience or reporting news so it seriously has to be more in depth than that simply by definition IMO. Pandering to a shrinking attention span can only be taken so far until it defeats it's own purpose, and the threshold of diminishing returns is immediate IMO.

I say keep the layout, keep it crowd-sourced, and keep the same recipe for the pro articles as they are actually quite good most of the time so you really get both flavors. The only thing would really add is some way to keep a news story at one click away no matter where you are on NS. Maybe a ticker tape, or stumbledupon-style roulette corner window that would show a random top-10 story from this week? I don't know what would be least annoying, but I think that would go a long way to bring people into the News section more.


Jun 14 2013 11:09AM
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HWW
Posts: 3084 - Karma: 3,436
One crucial point which I don't think has been mentioned is the fact that "Pictures" & "Videos" tabs in the bar at the top contain a link to "Latest", whereas the "News" tab doesn't, which just means extra clicks.

I think for people who don't check for news every day anyway, this would offer at least some easier access, and maybe help to get more people reading the news.
Jun 14 2013 11:17AM
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