To help those who are writing match previews, I've created a guide on how to add a new Topic in the Discussion Forum.
I've finally managed to add a simple button that you will find in the sidebar at the bottom of the Recent Comments list - but no thanks to the automated sidebar 'Widget' that is supposed to make the task easier but is an absolute nightmare to configure and made a simple task ten times more complicated!
Anyway, hopefully the guide makes sense but if it doesn't let me know and I can add some further clarification.
You can also find it with the following link...
Can I make one suggetion, though? After a match , please leave the next day for us to respond about the just finished match. If you post the next preview immediately after the previous match, some of the comments will be spread over to the two differents threads.
As an example, the draw of the EFL Cup and its comments spread over two previews - most people commented about the next round's draw in the Exeter thread, but some moved already to the next, Plymouth thread.
I know Boro often has three matches in eight days, but still there is time to have a free, whole day before posting the next thread.
Finally, many, many thanks for the excellent previews wrote by the all participants. Long may this great service continue and keep our blog so interesting. I really appreciate your efforts.
Up the Boro!
I would also suggest that if your post is entirely related to the game that has just been played then post it on that thread and not on the preview for the next game - unless of course it was done accidentally after reading a post on the new thread.
Can I make one suggetion, though? After a match , please leave the next day for us to respond about the just finished match. If you post the next preview immediately after the previous match, some of the comments will be spread over to the two differents threads.
As an example, the draw of the EFL Cup and its comments spread over two previews - most people commented about the next round's draw in the Exeter thread, but some moved already to the next, Plymouth thread.
I know Boro often has three matches in eight days, but still there is time to have a free, whole day before posting the next thread.
Finally, many, many thanks for the excellent previews wrote by the all participants. Long may this great service continue and keep our blog so interesting. I really appreciate your efforts.
Up the Boro!
my apologies Jarkko. I certainly didn’t want to squash any discussion of the Plymouth game.
It is a tricky one whenever there has been a midweek fixture or over a holiday period when there may be games every couple of days (Christmas, Easter, New Year).
Even after a Tuesday game people are sometimes already thinking of the game on Friday or Saturday. In fact, from time to time the starter for two matches has been put up before either has been played and we have all coped with that.
I posted my Plymouth starter mid afternoon on Wednesday, realisng there would still be reaction to the Exeter game and from the QF draw which was still to take place, but that some people may already have wanted to say something about Plymouth which would be best posted under a Plymouth starter than in an Exeter one because the Plymouth one hadn't started.
Perhaps the little imperfection that we all post something in "the wrong place" occasionally is one of the friendly human idiosyncrasies of the Diasboro.
Well, that was just an idea. I think there could be a delay between the result of the previous match and a new thread for the next match. I personally are think the evening of of following day is OK, but preferably the following morning.
Of course there are exception like Christmas and New Year when there is hardly a gap between matches. But you see what I mean.
@Selwynoz No need to apologies, mate. This was just my thought and it is far more important to have a new thread! We all enjoy the starter parts for the next match. Especially yours, mate.
Up the Boro!
i think that you posted the new preview at the right time personally. Sometimes and I’ve done this myself! If the previous game has not gone the way of the Boro and we’ve been disappointed like the stoke game or the Plymouth game then I like to move on very quickly.
OFB
There's no ideal answer. I've often found that something from the current game makes me think about the next game and I have never really known which thread to use.
UTB
I'm sure everyone has their own preferences for what they like to do after a game depending on the result but it's probably about getting the balance right.
Since the forum allows multiple topics to be discussed simultaneously it in theory shouldn't be a problem to have several on the go at the same time.
However, the tendency of most people is to gravitate towards the latest topic and just post whatever point they are currently thinking of even if it was about the previous game on another post. It's partly historic due to previously having a blog system rather than a multi-topic forum - I gave up trying to keep everything in the right place a long time ago as old habits die hard.
Though, I came from a curators point of view that people may want to revisit historical posts and then it would look odd to see comments about a topic that existed in a different article.
So I'm probably with Jarkko on this point in that a bit of space to deal with the postmortem of the last game is a good idea - perhaps 24 hours is a good rule of thumb to hold fire on the next game.
That should allow everyone to get their thoughts on the game that has just happened off their chest and perhaps those who would rather forget and move on don't have long to wait.
Of course it's much easier to get the next post ready with lots of contributors now offering their excellent previews - though back in the day with three previews a week I'd sometimes struggle to get the Saturday preview posted on Friday!
That was also a problem when I thought about moving a comment to the relevant thread as often people would mention more than one topic in one post - e.g. Thoughts on Plymouth plus reaction to the Caraboa Cup draw.
I think, speaking generally, the way the Diasboro Blog works is just about right. I agree the point made by Powmill above, in the last paragraph of his most recent post.
I shake my head in wonder how you managed to do three match previews a week !
I bet you wonder now how you did it!
it’s still appreciated
Cheers
OFB
I also wonder as I even did custom individual header images too - well however I did it I did it quietly so Mrs Werder wouldn't notice 😉