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24 October 2013 at 12:20 #19200
Anonymous @
You may joke (and I’m pretty certain you are 😀 ) but there is at least one example on this site of someone posting an online poll as proof positive of something.
It wasn’t me, I hasten to add…..
24 October 2013 at 12:25 #19203But they [online polls] are good fun and are useful as a springboard for comment/debate.
I think polls are more valuable for the question(s) they ask rather than the votes received. In that sense, I entirely agree that they can be ‘a springboard for comment/debate’.
For example, simply asking ‘Who’s your favourite companion?’, on a forum with members as erudite, detail-oriented, and voluble (!) as this one is, is not much fun nor very useful. But a poll asking a question like, oh, I don’t know, something about ‘where the Hurt Doctor fits into the timeline: a) Zero b) 8.5 c) future d) other’ is more up our street.
That was a bad example, as that issue has already been discussed at length, and is continuing to be discussed, so needs no ‘springboard’. But there are other points which someone might want to ‘spring’ off via a poll.
Would you and @phaseshift consider a poll to be best embedded in a blog? Or free-floating on the Home Page?
24 October 2013 at 12:39 #19204@shazzbot — good question. My instinct would be to put it on the front page somewhere to achieve maximum prominence and for a blogpost to be written based on the results after, say, a week? But you’re right, it’s all down to the question really. That’s the real springboard. The results are just gravy really….
24 October 2013 at 12:55 #19205@jimthefish – I’ll also clarify it wasn’t you!
@Shazzbot
On Polls, I’m interested enough to want to trial them in the future (if they aren’t too much of a problem/too time consuming for @craig) but recognise there are a couple of drawbacks which makes me think “Trial” is the right word. For something like an episode there are sites that use Polls to rate them in the opening comment, and it can give you a snapshot of opinion.
On some sites you will have the sight of an episode poll go up, and people will immediately vote crap or excellent without even seeing the episode, which is bizarre. The biggest problem though is that sometimes polls can be seen as a way of registering an opinion without discussion. I think that is a legitimate danger if it replaces the well thought out comments which we usually get. I’m far more interested in why it did/didn’t work for some people rather than just be presented with “crap/excellent”. That you can only really evaluate if it’s been implemented for a while.
The other way they could be used is a front page gateway on some burning issue of the day or whatever. If we look at the issue of when actual episode footage from the trailer is shown, a jokey poll along the lines of
“I want it NOW baby”
“30 days before transmission”
“14 days before transmission”
“I don’t want to be spoiled! I demand four-minute warnings before any trailer is shown!”Could address the issue, and you could link it to a blog (such as @wolfweed‘s 50th anniversary celebrations one) which could potentially reactivate any discussion there.
It needs some thought, and there are dangers. At the end of the day it’s a risk-reward evaluation. I wouldn’t want @craig to waste a lot of time on developing the tool if, after a month, we decide that they aren’t that useful.
24 October 2013 at 13:16 #19206@jimthefish @Shazzbot @craig @phaseshift
How about a poll about having polls ?
(sorry I couldn’t help bring down the tone of your otherwise fascinating – seriously – discussion)
24 October 2013 at 13:18 #19207I think @phaseshift is right though, in the end it’s @craig‘s call. If it’s going to mean heaps more work for him then it’s probably an idea to put on the backburner….
When it comes to episodes, I also agree that ‘did you think it was crap/good/alright’ questions are often prone to trollery. Maybe ‘favourite bit of the episode’ style questions might be better…
24 October 2013 at 13:42 #19209I think what we’re all feeling toward in this conversation is the fundamental issue of whether polls actually fit with the ethos of this site. They can be fun in context, and they can be springboards for more detailed discussions, with the right question(s) being asked.
But I have to weigh in heavily with my opinion (which appears to be in slight agreement with you two) that simple ‘Loved it? Hated it?’ polls are useless to us. Even ‘favourite bit of the episode’ stylee polls require a lot of thoughtful analysis to create options that people can intelligently vote for … and is it actually possible to have a ‘favourite moment’ in a Moffat episode? They’re packed with gems, hidden or otherwise, many of which could be considered ‘favourites’.
So much of our wonderful conversations come about because different members notice different things – there’s that ‘Oh gosh yes, you’re right, I saw that but didn’t consider it until you mentioned it!’ moment in every thread about every episode.
What I fear is (and I know I’m poking a very specific poll example) is that a poll of ‘what was the best moment of this episode for you?’ is too equivalent to ‘liking’. I’ve had my rants about Facebook stylee ‘liking’ or Daily Mail stylee ‘vote up / vote down’ kind of inane replacement for actual commentary. Our USP is that we have thoughtfully long discussions filled with detail and personal opinion, none of which lends itself gracefully to ‘choose this option on this poll’ kind of responses.
24 October 2013 at 13:49 #19210@Shazzbot — what you say about the site’s USP is definitely true but at the same time we have 600-odd members on the site and the long detailed posts are only really coming from a dozen to a score of people max. There could be a lot more people who would never post but would contribute to a poll. And even if the results get hijacked occasionally it’s still another strand of interactivity and input. And if, as PhaseShift says, it doesn’t work after a trial then we say that at least we tried it and it didn’t work…
24 October 2013 at 13:55 #19212Yeah, @jimthefish, I’m revealing my inner small-c conservative streak here.
This forum was set up for a specific purpose, for a specific group of members, originally. And in this discussion of polls we are actually discussing how this site can change / needs to change in order to accommodate and attract a growing community of ever-more disparate members.
This is one for @craig I assume – what is his vision for its USP in a galaxy of DW sites?
24 October 2013 at 14:20 #19216@Shazzbot–
This forum was set up for a specific purpose, for a specific group of members, originally.
Absolutely. If there’s any danger that conducting polls would in any way upset the core members then I’d say it’s a no-no….
24 October 2013 at 14:37 #19219@jimthefish @phaseshift @craig
This discussion on polls has, in my mind, opened up a larger discussion on the proposed future of this site, so it’s been really valuable. I don’t want my dislike of drive-by internet polling to indicate that I’m resistant to any change in the whole. I’d quite like, actually, to have polls but I’d love those which reflect our site better than what Phase pointed us to in the Radio Times.
And Jim, your mention of ‘core members’ is important. There are definitely core members but with our site’s growth as you’ve pointed out, we are attracting members who know nothing about the genesis of this site, and new members outnumber core members by quite a large proportion. Encouraging interactivity is important. There are plenty of people who sign up and come to On The Sofa to say, ‘I’ve lurked for a while and just now got up the courage to contribute.’
This goes back to my USP issue from before – we have had a USP but do we want to make that a bit more malleable to attract more, and different, kinds of members?
24 October 2013 at 15:07 #19220@shazzbot, @phaseshift, @craig et al–
Just to be clear though that just by being ‘core members’ it doesn’t mean that they should be considered to have more privileges somehow than newer members. Any decisions that affect the site should definitely be as democratic as possible….
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few and all that….
24 October 2013 at 16:01 #19221there is at least one example on this site of someone posting an online poll as proof positive of something.
If it was me, I was drunk.
24 October 2013 at 16:43 #19222@bluesqueakpip – If it had been you, I would have suspected your account had been hacked. 😉
@jimthefish @Shazzbot
I think there are ways we could adapt even an episode poll to our advantage. If you think of an initial poll as an “immediate impression”, it would be good to close out a week later with another which asks – What do you think of it now? Either by replicating the initial one, or a general “more/the same/less”. Does the act of discussing the episode make you realise some flaws, or give you an appreciation that passed you by? In that way (and with enough participants) it would be interesting to see if our discussions actually change the way we view the episodes?
24 October 2013 at 16:56 #19223@phaseshift – in your example, the purpose of the poll is to gauge site-wide opinion (and the changing of said opinions)? To distil the longer conversations into bite-sized pieces? To allow people who might fear coming down ‘into the fray’ to feel they’ve interacted with the topic?
(those sounded vaguely like poll options to vote on 🙂 )
I’m trying to find a line between sounding argumentative, and providing a bounce-back board on the whole poll idea. I fear I’m coming across more of the former and less of the latter, so, apologies. I think I need to be convinced of the overall merit of how polls (of this type, or any type) would enhance our forum, for the experience of all types of members – and indeed, how they would attract new members (if that is part of the plan; which brings us back to the fundamental ‘Where are we going?’ @craig question).
24 October 2013 at 17:16 #19224I love me a good online poll
As you’ve said. 🙂 But not in the context of which websites, and what kind of polls.
I’m interested to hear your meta-thoughts on how introducing polls to our forum will change / enhance the experience for members, and in that vein, the kind of polls that you think would do that.
@phaseshift – This topic is about polls but could easily be drawn a bit further back to discuss general site changes / inclusions / additions etc. But with my Project Management hat on, I think we need to determine our goals before we decide upon changes that we believe will help us to attain those goals.
@craig – What kind of site do you want this to evolve into? What kind of members do you want to attract, and retain?
Once those questions are answered, then we can determine if (the correctly-worded and timed) polls will do that; we can also discuss other options which either we’ve not yet done, or not yet done with enough fanfare, which will achieve our vision of ‘our perfect’ Doctor Who forum.
24 October 2013 at 17:25 #19225@Shazzbot
To be honest, I’d suspect around the 50th may be informative on where the site wants to go. More members and traffic equals more server capacity = more cost. A look at participation and traffic around the 50th would be useful.
If @craig or you already have ideas, that may also be a good time to put them in a blog article to gauge opinion when the site is a bit more lively.
24 October 2013 at 17:32 #19226@craig, (Emperor) @phaseshift, @jimthefish, @shazzbot, (Time Lords) @ et al,
Do polls inevitably lead to trolls? Perhaps not. But…
There has been some discussion on this thread about the future direction of the website, whether to run polls, whether to keep the site for “core members”, whether to change the site so as to provide more input from the large number of members who rarely post, and so on.
From my own perspective, one of the reasons I come to this site and not others goes back to its origins. It was set up to provide a space (perhaps even a “haven”) from the ugly, trollish behaviour that was so common on the Guardian site. There were a core of posters on that site that engaged with each other with wit, intelligence, and civility. It was, I think, @phaseshift who categorised that core as “Enthusiasts”. And what they had in common was a commitment to ignore the trollish one-word responses like “crap”, and engage in detailed discussion and conversation. Those posts and posters had in common, not only enthusiasm, but wide knowledge (on all sorts of things), wit, and a generosity of spirit; but also, in a very important sense, a type of gentility that was exceptional in the often uncivilised world of web commentary.
And so this site was born. While there is now talk about “who” it should be for, I would rather focus on what distinguishes this site from others. It has been commented upon that while the site boasts hundreds of members only the same few tend to regularly post. That is true, but partly because active participation operates in a self-selective way. Regular posters are attracted to the type of site it is–that is, one with all the attributes I have referred to above. If they wants to engage in the less-civilised rough-and-tumble of other Doctor Who sites (and there are many, all of which provide a slightly different and unique appeal) then they do so. And there are some who contribute here regularly, but also contribute to other sites, just as there are some who only come here. And there are many members who enjoy “lurking” and not actively participating precisely because they like the tone, nature and content of the collective discussion on the site (a number of members have come on once to say just that).
So, in all the discussion, of core members and changing the site to embrace a wider number of participants, I would tend to shift the emphasis from the members to the nature of the site itself.
It remains, for me at least, a wonderful, funny, enlightening, and civilised place. Of course, in some respects, it has already lost some of the brilliance of the conversation that the core members here engaged in back on the Guardian site. I can recall fabulous posts on episodes that alluded to complex scientific theory, literary analysis, and contextual historical knowledge, that is less common these days. Why? perhaps partly because the Guardian site, where so many of us “met”, was only once a week, and only for a few weeks a year. It is hard to be that dazzling every single day (although @htpbdet and @phaseshift come close). And some, like @whohar, and @juniperfish, and others, who were active each week on the old Guardian site for the few times each year it was up, are less regular (but still brilliant) when they do appear.
But this site has also grown in ways none of us predicted when @craig set it up. And yet it still retains all the qualities that the “enthusiasts” brought with them from the Guardian site. That is no mean achievement.
24 October 2013 at 17:46 #19228@blenkinsopthebrave – thank you for that. As a relative newbie myself, I agree with everything you said, wholeheartedly, but didn’t have the history you have to provide the correct gravitas as you did to your argument.
It is indeed all about ‘the nature of the site’. But here is where I’ll defer to @craig, whose baby this is, as annoying and joyful as it must be to him in equal measure. And who knew?!? Who knew, when on New Year’s Eve last, and a few people wanted to continue nattering about a particular episode, that this wonderful site would grow into this behemoth?
24 October 2013 at 18:19 #19230Many thanks for that (and not just the compliment). It’s a heartfelt piece of pragmatism. .
To be honest, I think its an easy trap to fall into (especially if you have a milk monitor badge) that when the site slows down, you should do SOMETHING about it, whereas we probably have a few more regulars than we did before the episodes started in April and are periodically swelled by people who want to talk around the new showings, and those who pop in when work-life balance allows them to. As long as people want to talk (and as @bluesqueakpip pointed out – some of us can really talk) we’re OK.
24 October 2013 at 20:34 #19234@blenkinsopthebrave – bravo and couldn’t agree more.
How do I thumbs up?
;¬)
I love how this forum has developed organically, spurred by requests, trials and loving attention from @craig who (let us not forget) has a day job and other things in his life, as well as the moderators’ efforts.
Personally the addition of the “All activity” bar has been brilliant, the discussion and implementation of reduced glare (or reduced contrast?) for text, fonts being tweaked as we went mobile – its been wonderful and what an improvement when none of us was expecting it!
Thank you for providing me with so much fun/ stimulation/ bonkersness!
As for any perceived lack of interaction from lurkers, there is a rule-of-thumb that was doing the rounds a couple of years ago called 1:9:90 which could be applied to forum activity – are we so far off? Is it even a reliable ratio (or just consultancy bollocks??).
And as for polls, I’d love us to steer clear of dull ‘crap/excellent’ polls as they don’t really further the conversation (and as Shazzbot says, what are we trying to achieve that the solution is a poll?).
Though if we are to have a poll, perhaps a poll to ask lurkers:
“Do you not post because –
a) you’re shy
b) you’ve nothing to add (but enjoy listening to the conversation)
c) you’re worried about your written English
d) you’re a bot hanging out after a bit of spamming and just loves the chat about Daleks[for me the answer is usually b. I’m sure there’s an e, f, g…]
24 October 2013 at 20:37 #19235@phaseshift @Shazzbot @jimthefish @blenkinsopthebrave @bluesqueakpip and everyone else.
Wow, I’ve had my head down all day trying to build a bespoke site in a day (almost succeeded), and now lots to consider. This site has, admittedly, slowed a bit (only a little bit) but I don’t think that has anything to do with the site, I think it’s really just down to a lack of new Doctor Who. I think we’ve done a great job of keeping interest going, with the Moffat retrospective (thanks Bluesqueakpip), the BG episodes (thanks PhaseShift), and @wolfweed deserves a medal for his news collating efforts. Seriously big praise deserved there. My Mum keeps saying to me “You’re doing a better job than the BBC”. Such has always been the lot of Doctor Who fans.
It has picked up this week thanks to the trailer and will probably go crazy nearer the episode, and then I’ll probably start getting email from the hosts! I do feel there is a momentum gathering as we near the episode, it seems busier day by day and, thankfully, visits and page views per visit have increased by about 30-50% since the redesign, which at least makes me feel the effort was worth it.
As to the direction the site should take, I honestly don’t know. In the words of Indiana Jones, I’m making this up as I go along. But I did the redesign because I wanted us to stand out as a quality site for Doctor Who discussions. We already were, thanks to the many great contributions, but I wanted the design to try and reflect the quality of those contributions (and also make it much easier to read on mobile).
Why do I want us to be a quality site rather than just a general, popular one? For many of the reasons Blenkinsop gives. But that does kinda make us a bit niche as it will put off people who just want to ask (for the millionth time) how Strax is still alive. But is that a bad thing?
It really comes back to the contributions and I think the USP is their quality. You have all made this site what it is. I don’t care about attracting thousands of users but I would like to attract more people who also like to discuss Doctor Who in the same way we do and gain more distinct voices. How we do that, I’m unsure. I am conscious that if the Guardian couldn’t do that more than it already did then maybe we’re a minority and maybe we’ve already found most of our fellow (time) travellers.
As to polls, there are a few poll plugins for WordPress so it wouldn’t take long to implement a trial (I don’t think anyway, famous last words, I’ve not tried one yet). The one on Radio Times was on PollDaddy and there’s a plugin for that so I could probably implement something almost exactly the same quite easily.
I know there’s been a lot of discussion today about polls. I’m indifferent to them in general (don’t think I’ve ever voted on one), but am quite happy to try them out on the site to see what happens.
Have I made a point or just waffled? Sorry, long day. Hope you get the gist.
24 October 2013 at 21:13 #19236@blenkinsopthebrave – a lovely summation of everything that is good about this site. Personally, I used to lurk regularly on the Guardian blogs, usually too late to the conversation to join in. However, the one word summations and the ‘Steven Moffat ate my childhood’ attitude of some really detracted from the insight, analysis and enthusiasm provided by those of you who @craig made this site for, so my lurking quickly migrated.
I was a little wary joining in – almost as if I was intruding on a private conversation – but was made to feel very welcome. The ‘core’ users do a fab job of drawing new members in (and keeping trolls out!) I wonder though, if polls were available, whether I’d have used them purely as a way of expressing my thoughts, and not taken the next step in contributing. I hope not, because I enjoy inflicting my inane ramblings on you all and I worry that polls would inadvertently be a barrier to others taking that same step.
I can see that it would be interesting to consider the different theories about possible themes of the 50th – the identity of the HurtDoctor, the involvement of the Time War, the significance of the Policeman, the possibility or type of reset etc etc – and see if the hive mind of the site can predict what it thinks will happen (or would like to happen) in the anniversary special.
It would have to be done in a way that promotes consideration though, perhaps rating contrasting ideas on most to least likely rather than just straight questions. However, by its nature, that type of poll would have to be the exception, rather than a weekly feature, so I’m not sure the development required would be justified by the use. In the end, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and this site is far from broken.
24 October 2013 at 21:38 #19238Some interesting thoughts on here, and thanks @blenkinsopthebrave in particular for eloquently expressing what we’re about.
One thing @craig has always stressed is that it is about “we” ie EVERYONE who is a current user of the site has a right to state an opinion about it (so long as it’s civil and not trolly). The “flavour” of the site changes from time to time depending who is posting (see work/life balance etc). That’s not a bad thing, and I think it’s a way of drawing some lurkers into conversations when they see new people posting. I agree though, that it may sometimes appear quite daunting and look like a private conversation (as @osakahatter pointed out) – that’s not a criticism, just an observation. And sometimes people just like to watch.
I’m not mad keen on polls (mainly because I don’t think they tell you very much – people have all sorts of reasons for voting) but could be a fun addition if they’re kept light, maybe a fairly flippant intro to a blog topic or just a bit of fun, like @wolfweed‘s Crazy Captions. It could be a way of including people who prefer to watch, but could also encourage them into more participation.
I think it’s good to find ways of drawing people further into the site (mwuhuhuh 😈 ) but I really don’t think we should be worrying about overall numbers. If we want the site to retain its inherant friendliness it’s all about attracting similarly minded people, doesn’t matter about the number. The amount of posting will ebb and flow, but that’s got more to do with how much Doctor Who is actually being shown. The bonkers theorising comes back every time there’s a new development like the annoncement of Capaldi and the trailer. I’m amazed the discussions and postings have kept at the level they have! And I’m so grateful for having such a cosy space to retreat to to discuss all things Doctor with other enthusiasts, and without the trolls. (All hail our mighty Emperor and his Timelord cohorts for keeping vigilant on the gates!)
PS
there is at least one example on this site of someone posting an online poll as proof positive of something.
Same as @bluesqueakpip! (If it was, then I was drunk too 😉 )
24 October 2013 at 21:42 #19239PS @craig I’ll let you off with wrongly attributing the origin of the Moffat Retrospective idea! 😉
24 October 2013 at 21:50 #19241@craig – Thanks for the medal! (You deserve one too, btw… thanks again for all your hard work.)
24 October 2013 at 22:56 #19250@scaryb I do apologise, my memory is a bit wine addled. Big thanks to you for the Moffat retrospective!
Cheers @wolfweed (you never cease to amaze with the pics) 😀
And I’ve just re-read my post and although I mentioned some people and not others it was just supposed to be representational – I now feel like Cher at The Oscars for forgetting everyone except her dress designer (or was it her hair dresser). To the mods (Time Lords), thank you so much for all the work, to all the bloggers, nothing posted has ever been anything but excellent, and to all the contributors, you make this site what it is, so a huge thank you to you all.
24 October 2013 at 23:01 #19254@craig You know I was only teasing. @bluesqueakpip had a lot to do with it as well 🙂
Slainge 🙂
25 October 2013 at 03:08 #19263Well, this has turned into a bit of a mutual appreciation society. If this is what you guys are like sober, goodness knows how you’ll be when you all meet up and get leathered. 🙂
I can almost hear it now: ” I love you Craig, your my favourite Emperor, honeshhht.” (only jealous ’cause I can’t be there 🙁 )
25 October 2013 at 03:47 #19264I can almost hear it now: ” I love you Craig, your my favourite Emperor, honeshhht.”
Are you kidding??? @craig has power of life and death over posts. 1 keystroke from him and a bonkers theory could disappear forever. Not to mention timely rescues from the spammers’ corner 😉 Of course we’re sooky 😉
25 October 2013 at 09:43 #19271@whisht – I know that the Guardian has on a couple of occasions run a similar poll asking people who don’t contribute why that is. (Unfortunately, it turned out that they took the results of those polls and introduced The Nesting Consciousness [(c) @bluesqueakpip] which drove me and quite a few other regular commenters away.)
@craig – should our Resident Marketing Whore ™ @phaseshift be sent down into the Guardian trenches with his net, snaring more likely candidates into our clutching maws? 🙂
@osakahatter – “if polls were available, whether I’d have used them purely as a way of expressing my thoughts, and not taken the next step in contributing.” That was one of my fears, too – that having polls might allow people to feel they’ve interacted with a subject but without having contributed anything at all really.
@scaryb – “And sometimes people just like to watch.” … … … oh, heck, I’m not going to go there. 😀
25 October 2013 at 11:34 #19286@Shazzbot
Re the Graun & the Nesting Consciousness ( 😉 ) – as you say it drove some folk away, making the experience much less pleasant, but presumably it gets a lot more people interacting. The Graun needs the click numbers for advertisers.
OTOH I don’t think we should worry about numbers, it’s quality we want (LOL). What I mean is we’re not a commercial site – we’re like a cosy little local pub at the moment. We’ve moved from just the back room to the whole pub now but I don’t think we should be rushing to be a part of a big commercial chain! (Our resident marketing whore has already done a great job. (It’s not about being complacent, but the next month will probably see us grow quite a lot as DW interest intensifies – so I’d say it’s all hands to the deck for that to keep the ship steady and repel trolls!)*
But getting more of the people who are on the site to intereact would be great. Let’s break @whisht‘s 1:9:90 rule (apologies if I’ve misquoted the fig) – let’s be groundbreaking for quality not quantity 🙂
*apologies for the mixed meetaphors 😉
25 October 2013 at 12:42 #19295This has been a very interesting discussion and I’ve been giving it a lot of thought overnight (definitely a three-pipe problem a la Sherlock Holmes and of course @chickenelly)…
re. polls. I’m starting to come around to the view that they might not really add anything like a quality contribution to the site and if there’s a danger that they’ll adversely affect the quality of existing contributions then we probably shouldn’t use them. Part of me still thinks they might be an entertaining aside though. I’m still not convinced that sticking one on every new episode is the way to go though for the reason outlined above. Maybe the way to go is just the very occasional one — end of series review perhaps or other one-off Who events that seem to merit it?
Agree with general consensus though that it’s quality rather than quantity that counts. Personally, I don’t think really that there’s any pressing need for a dramatic change in policy or anything. (I certainly don’t think we need to ape the Guardian in any way as since it’s changed I’ve noticed that the quality of debate has become much more confrontational. I definitely feel that it brings out the worst in me these days.)
25 October 2013 at 13:38 #19300@Shazzbot
“oh, heck, I’m not going to go there.”
I would just like to point out that Heck is a village in North Yorkshire, south of Selby and sandwiched between the M62 motorway and the Aire and Calder Navigation Canal. 😉
25 October 2013 at 15:37 #19302Correction on my last post:
“Navication” should read “Navigation” but the web site went down before I could correct my post.
25 October 2013 at 15:42 #19303Hi all, apologies for the site being down for about an hour or so. Apparently there was a network problem that affected the connectivity to the server. The problem was due to failed network equipment at the host’s upstream provider. Their engineers have now replaced the failed hardware and connectivity should be back to normal.
25 October 2013 at 15:43 #19304@steve-thorp – corrected 🙂 .
Btw Steve – funny reply to my comment. I’m a Yorkshirewoman now – and a NORTH Yorkshirewoman to boot (the best kind) so I think I should have known about Heck!
(and I might indeed go there some day … 🙂 )25 October 2013 at 18:22 #19314@shazzbot
I’m a Yorkshirewoman now – and a NORTH Yorkshirewoman to boot (the best kind)
Can I just point out, as a West Midlander who has lived more of his life in Yorkshire than any other area, two important facts:
- You’re not a Yorkshireperson unless you were born there. Michael Parkinson is more Yorkshire than I am, and he’s only had extended weekends in nearby Counties since the 1960s.
- North Yorkshire/East Yorkshire have far more Tories than most. If that’s your definition of best, I present to you David Davis as exhibit A. This resident of the Peoples Republic of South Yorkshire asks you to take it to the pub. 😀
25 October 2013 at 18:35 #19316@phaseshift – well, they’re not as proscriptive in my area as most, then. Because I chose to live in this part of Yorkshire, I’m accepted locally as a Yorkshirewoman. (Accidents of birth are fine ‘n dandy, but I am the least likely Los Angelena on the planet, yet I have the birth certificate to prove it … 😉 ).
25 October 2013 at 21:12 #19333A new (old) Doctor on the front page!
And an excellent rendition of Troughton, no less!
Hats off to all responsible!
25 October 2013 at 21:27 #19335@blenkinsopthebrave It’s one of @jimthefish ‘s great works. We’ll be featuring more of them every few weeks. Plus others from anyone who wants to contribute.
25 October 2013 at 21:35 #19336many thanks to @blenkinsopthebrave for the kind words and thanks to @craig for using one of my doodles. Hope to see the contributions of others soon too. But I’ll continue to post some more now and again via the fan creativity page. (Might be a slight delay though as my graphics tablet has gone on the fritz at the moment….)
25 October 2013 at 23:24 #19337Oh, I love the new Home page pic. Thanks @jimthefish And in honour of PT too 🙂 Very appropriate for this month of found episodes. (Still embarrasingly overexcited about being able to watch these again 😳 )
Was thinking a bit more about polls, and luring lurkers on to the dark side of being regular posters. I’m not detecting a great love for polls from many people, but what about something similar to @bluesqueakpip‘s recent blog – 50 Bonkers Reasons Why There’s No Trailer – that’s been really popular, and a lot of fun. (Not sure it’s pulled in many non-regular posters, but if it was a recurring feature it might). Doesn’t have to be 50 all the time, tho it could be fun to do some more on a 50-theme for this year.
You could start with 50 bonkers blog themes! Or 50 fave companion moments, 50 favourite monsters/aliens, or 50 Dr Who recipes, fave Doctor sayings…
A bit like a poll but with a lot less trollbait
26 October 2013 at 13:47 #19359I am about to change my attitude to polls…sort of.
While I think polls on the show would be a bad idea(for all the reasons discussed), a poll on which is the best of the 50 excellent bonkers reasons for the non-appearance of the trailer might be fun. (has this been suggested? Apologies if so)
Maybe if it was set up so: 1. No one voted for themselves, 2. One vote only, 3. A result after…100…200…300 votes.
And then no more polls…for a while.
26 October 2013 at 18:49 #19378I definitely second @blenkinsopthebrave‘s suggestion for a poll for the 50 Bonkers reasons blog answers (maybe to vote on “favourite” one rather than “best”). And you’d need to have a category for the most groanworthy pun (why would I be looking at you @whisht ???! 😉 ) (Enter the no rather than the phrase)
And thanks again @bluesqueakpip for blogging
31 October 2013 at 01:29 #19669@craig –
I’ve just lost 2 posts (a reply to PhaseShift on ‘The Sofa’). The posts are actually the same. After the first one disappeared into the ether, I made a second attempt (luckily I’d typed it up in Word so it was a cut ‘n’ paste job).
Any sign of it/them floating around?
31 October 2013 at 02:07 #19674Multiple posts from badlydrawngirl on multiple threads (I’ve not put the @ on the name deliberately). The link posted is to a Website that claims to have a life size Tardis as a prize but requires only that you fill in Name, email and other personal details. Might just be over-enthusiam on badlydrawgirl’s part but there’s a whiff of trouble about it – you may want to investigate.
Thanks.
31 October 2013 at 07:46 #19683@fatmaninabox I’ve ‘unspammed’ your post. We’re having a bit of an issue at the moment. I use Akismet (WordPress’s anti-spam service) but in the last week or two it has begun to throw up more false positives than normal – maybe they’ve changed the algorithm a bit. I’m keeping an eye on it and may stop using it if it continues.
@whohar Thanks, I’ve deleted all but one of them and will keep an eye on it.
31 October 2013 at 09:10 #1968531 October 2013 at 10:33 #19687 -
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