Suggestion: MacRumors Fan non-fiction?

[AlBDamned]

I've been thinking about this idea for a while and how it might work, so here it is: what would people think about a section on the forum where people can post apple-related articles - short or long - and use the membership of the forum to get response and discussion on it.

Think along the lines of fan-fiction, but it wouldn't be fiction. I know there have often been times when I'd like to write something that isn't a question or typical forum post, and isn't really a bona fide article. There are also a lot of people on here with amazing knowledge, insight and experience with Apple and peripheral subjects.

I guess each "article" would be more similar to a blog post, except without a dedicated blog to post it too (or the need to build readership that goes with it) people often don't bother with such ideas. But if there was a place where it could easily be published...

There's a question of moderation and editorship, would it be needed and if so who would do it. But as an editor myself you'd already have one volunteer if such moderation or approval was deemed necessary.

All views and points contained in each article would of course be the opinions of the author involved, with no relation or responsibility specifically towards MacRumors.

You'd have to watch out for plagiarism (from other blogs, sources and similar), but with similar alerts to normal forum posts and strict guidelines outlining what would and wouldn't be tolerated, there may not be need for much more than is already implemented on the forums.

Anyway, it's just a suggestion, but I think with some development it might be a good idea.

Anybody?

 

[bluebomberman]

Honestly? I don't see the point. How does this proposed system benefit readers in a way that isn't accomplished now?

 

[Luis]

The Macrumors User Blog? I think it would be neat, there are a lot of people with different knowledge over here and if the thing gets organized there could be some pretty solid "articles".

 

[AlBDamned]

How does this proposed system benefit readers in a way that isn't accomplished now?

As I said in the original post, I know there have often been times when I'd like to write something that isn't a question or typical forum post, and on this I doubt I'm alone.

However, this is predominantly a discussion forum. Most threads on here are questions, news and peripheral to this just the ocassional insight and pondering suggestion, for example, "here's what I think about the likelihood of new MacBooks this month..." or similar. Or, sometimes a question is posed and the reasons and situation explained in detail. But, 99% of the time it's just a straightforward point, or question and then discussed.

Again, I think there's a massive amount of expertise, knowledge and experience in the membership of this forum, and I know there are some deft writers on here too. To me, a space where those two things can come together would be cool and maybe a nice, small extension of the already superb resource and discussion space that the forums are.

 

[arn]

I've been thinking about this idea for a while and how it might work, so here it is: what would people think about a section on the forum where people can post apple-related articles - short or long - and use the membership of the forum to get response and discussion on it.

I guess each "article" would be more similar to a blog post, except without a dedicated blog to post it too (or the need to build readership that goes with it) people often don't bother with such ideas. But if there was a place where it could easily be published...

Anybody?

I really like the idea behind this, though implementation gets into problems. I've had various iterations of this idea, and I agree. While MacRumors.com itself is a great place to get news/rumors, the real value of it is the community behind it, and there needs to be more ways to leverage that.

The guides were a poor attempt to harness it.

arn

 

[OutThere]

I think it would be cool to have a group of people who have the time and dedication to contribute to a blog on macrumors, ALA CNN.com and some other news sites that have blogs with opinions, mini-articles, news bites and cool stuff that doesn't fit into the main page kind of stuff.

I have no idea how the bloggers would be selected, but it'd be a cool facet to the site.

The idea could also be opened up on a larger scale, however I don't know how it would be implemented. I don't think there's anything on the internet right now to really compare it with.

 

[AlBDamned]

The Macrumors User Blog?

Yeah this is a good way of explaining it in principle, although I'd err towards not calling it a "blog" as such because I think that word carries too much baggage and has almost negative connotations these days.

There are a lot of people with different knowledge over here and if the thing gets organized there could be some pretty solid "articles".

Exactly, although organization and management would be key (it's already one of the reasons MR is so successful IMO).

 

[AlBDamned]

I really like the idea behind this, though implementation gets into problems.

Yes that would be an issue I'm sure, as it's all dependent on the under-the-hood workings of the site itself.

I wonder if something like a submissions procedure could work? Or some sort of one-off approval or invite for each contributor from an overall group of moderators (if neccesary). It's bound to be very different in terms of code development, but something similar as "guest authors" on a blog, that are invited to to write (and equally can be struck off)?

The guides were a poor attempt to harness it.

In my limited experience with the guides I found that the initial learning of the wiki mark-up system was quite hard, plus people may have been less inclined to contribute to a guide if they see it as "someone else's page".

Once set up and as resources I think they're pretty cool. However, I guess you only need look at Wikipedia's number of articles Vs number of repeat contributors to get some idea of the level of participation.

Saying that, wikis look set to enjoy growing use in business in the coming years so maybe it's just a matter of time before more people become familiar and comfortable using such tools.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

Hmmm....I find this to be a very interesting concept that I didn't expect to like at all when I clicked on the thread. Do you happen to have an example of something you've posted somewhere else, or even just an idea for a post that you had in your head, that I could read to better understand exactly what you're thinking of?

 

[Luis]

I am not sure but doesn't insanelymac.com have a system like this (news team or something like that)? Anyone close to that community know how they organize it??

 

[AlBDamned]

Hmmm....I find this to be a very interesting concept that I didn't expect to like at all when I clicked on the thread. Do you happen to have an example of something you've posted somewhere else, or even just an idea for a post that you had in your head, that I could read to better understand exactly what you're thinking of?

I don't have anything I've actually written as had nowhere to post them. However, just a couple of the articles I was thinking about included, "Most definitely, we're now dealing with Apple Inc..." and "The good and bad of the Intel move..." "Apple predictions: how good research can put analysts to shame..."

I've had a few more but those are some reasonable examples.

It's worth pointing out that this wouldn't be about pointless rabid fanboy-ism. Obviously most people on here are Apple fans, and the more people that write the better, but either by way of a simple rating system, or moderation, or pre-approval somehow, you'd weed out the bad from the good.

 

[Killyp]

I like the idea. Should only be opened up for people with more than 100 posts or something. Otherwise we would end up with 'Why Macs suck' or 'First Mac virus' being posted every 10 minutes.

Good idea though, we could even call it something naff like 'YourNews'

 

[Luis]

I like the idea. Should only be opened up for people with more than 100 posts or something. Otherwise we would end up with 'Why Macs suck' or 'First Mac virus' being posted every 10 minutes.

Good idea though, we could even call it something naff like 'YourNews'

The 100 post "rule" is a good idea, that way only "established" members can contribute and not trolls and/or spammers.