Forum:Site banner 2014

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Note: This topic has been unedited for 3836 days. It is considered archived - the discussion is over.

I'll be honest - this is probably a forum more directed towards the admins who change this, but I want to make sure it's open to all.

I guided a work colleague on to Lateral thinking puzzle the other day, as we were discussing these at work. She saw the site banner and said "What's VFH?", clicked on it, and realised it was not really an accessible item for her, so she started to click away from the site completely.

I wonder how many users we have had previously that we have lost almost immediately by having something that is very much an internal community communiqué being the front and centre of our site? Do we need to have this communication up there continuously? Does it have any impact on it's designated audience (ie, me and people like me), and what impact does it have on our wider audience?

So I'm wondering if we should remove the banner, or change it to something more general audience appropriate. Maybe a plea to get casual browsers to create an account and start editing, or to visit one of our featured pages (or even that days featured page).

My thoughts. Yours can go below. They can also go above, but that would be confusing. They won't fit in the middle, unless you have very small thoughts.                                • Puppy's talk page • 04:14 am 04 May 2014

Agreed with what has been said. Change banner to something for whole community although god knows what that'll be! Sir ScottPat (converse) VFH UnS NotM WotM WotY 07:06, May 4, 2014 (UTC)

Do you people know how long it took me to get somebody else to create the appalling zebra punch image? How many zebras I have punched since putting the banner up? It's like you don't even care! I demand redress of some sort. Oh, I'm fired am I? Well where's my goddamned golden parachute? You can't do this to me; I am this website! I'm not leaving without some kind of compensation. See these pens? I'm taking them with me in exchange for the 5 years of my life I've poured into this community.

As an aside to the above, what do you suggest to replace it Puppy? --ChiefjusticeGameCube 07:22, May 4, 2014 (UTC)

Maybe something like:

UNCYCLOPEDIA NEEDS YOU!

As the last remaining bastion of truth and reliable information on the interwebs, we rely upon you - yes, YOU the reader - to keep us strong.

Create your own account today and start writing the next great featured article.

Just as a rough idea. Could potentially swap around Oscar for Sophia or Uncle Sam, or something else iconic but suitable.                                • Puppy's talk page • 08:04 am 04 May 2014

I think that we do need internal communiqués, but general readers don't need to see them. Is it possible to make registered users see one banner and everyone else - another? Anton (talk) 08:11, May 4, 2014 (UTC)

Not possible. Maybe we could have something like a site newspaper. You know, something we could deliver on a weekly basis which keeps regular users informed of whatever is going on. If only we had something like that...                                • Puppy's talk page • 08:20 am 04 May 2014

Thanks to a combination of easiness in editing, modernisation and the lack of votes backing UnSignpost's proposed drone delivery service, the UnSignpost now requires the user to go to its main page to keep up to date with news. If people actually wrote news article ideas in the press room I could wave a magic editor's wand and make an article about that topic appear. Sir ScottPat (converse) VFH UnS NotM WotM WotY 14:22, May 4, 2014 (UTC)

I rarely check out the latest news now, so I would prefer to go back to the drone-esque delivery service. But the need to create the issue that we deliver is a labour. There are a significant number of issues in USP's history that have had a sole editor/contributor (mainly me, UU, or Chief). Keep in mind though that we are a community of writers, for the most part. I found that after a few issues delivered the problem was not so much getting contributions, but making sure those contributions were of a standard.                                • Puppy's talk page • 08:41 pm 04 May 2014

The current format enables a web page style news page where news is updated as it happens (at best) and a monthly paper is sent out usually covering everything in that happened in the month anyway. It is easier than filling up Anton's and my time scrounging around for some half-baked news to fill up a bi-weekly paper. Sir ScottPat (converse) VFH UnS NotM WotM WotY 05:32, May 5, 2014 (UTC)

That's pretty much exactly what we used to do, and we did one every week for a year! --ChiefjusticeGameCube 08:18, May 5, 2014 (UTC)

Yep. There was almost always filler in each edition, but there was always something newsworthy. A push to vote for VFH is a newsworthy item - even if it is news we've covered many times before.                                • Puppy's talk page • 08:44 am 05 May 2014

Yes but we still deliver a monthly newspaper anyway. One that people would take more time to read instead of bombarding them with 4 a month. Anton and I did a bi-weekly newspaper for about 5-6 months (or something like that) but then we came up with the idea to change it and revolutionise it into its current form. I think it gets the best of both worlds. Easier for editors to edit and make up-to-date news on our front web page and less spam for readers but when the spam does come around it is good quality spam. Sir ScottPat (converse) VFH UnS NotM WotM WotY 09:07, May 5, 2014 (UTC)

I have no objection to the way it currently works. Especially given I helped put it together in my own small way. I was only bringing it up as I think communication to regular users is best done via USP. The site banner (what started this forum) is probably better suited to our fuller audience. Much the same way we tend to avoid in-jokes as features, if you can see the parallel.                                • Puppy's talk page • 09:26 am 05 May 2014

I agree with you there, yes. Sir ScottPat (converse) VFH UnS NotM WotM WotY 11:03, May 5, 2014 (UTC)

I think that the new USP format thing came because we didn't have enough issues. Last month, for instance, we didn't have any. It would be great if we could get back to the bi-weekly UnSignpost (or even a weekly one), but it seems quite improbable at the moment and I am not sure enough people are even reading it. We've just heard from Shabidoo, and it was good to now that he read the articles, but it doesn't happen very often now. Sometimes, readers' pressure also influences what we do. Anton (talk) 18:29, May 5, 2014 (UTC)