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Good afternoon everybody. It has come to my attention that there are some issues with the incorporation of the new series A Supporter’s View and how much space it takes up on the site. With a re-design of the site coming by the summer, this issue should be addressed in the near future.

For now, here is a compromise. Those of you who do not care to read any of the reader commentary, and just want to see the posts that I generate, or who simply want to filter out the non-news so you can find the news, you can now do so by simply clicking on A-Soccer By Ives at the top of the categories list on the right hand side of the site. This will give you only the stories that I have generated (I have added the past two weeks worth of posts and will look to work further back).

Conversely, if you want to see the A Supporter’s View series, you can also find that in the categories list. I highly recommend making full use of the categories list to help you find what you are looking for, whether it be You Write the Caption, Q&A or Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind.

I hope this helps those of you struggling with the new content on the site. As always, any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Ives

Comments

  1. A supporters view simply needs to not hit the home page. Wrangle them all up and put them in the appropriate category and leave the good stuff, which are your posts. I’ll never read a supporters view for 13 of the 14 teams.

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  2. my suggestion is to have the supporters’ views take up less space on the main page by shrinking the team logos and aligning them to the left or right, and wrapping the text around them. right now every supporter’s view post has a huge team logo centered at the top with a bunch of white space around it, which is not a good use of space. you could also cut down the number of paragraphs or lines of the SV posts on the main page.

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  3. Ives–you are the reporter. I don’t care about other people’s opinions about their home teams. I value your opinion to the extent it is based on your knowledge of unpublished and published fact. I have now made “A-Soccer by Ives” as the only page I view. Thanks.

    As a general comment about web sites, simpler is better. Look USSoccer.com or MLSNet.com for messy websites with way too much irrelevant junk on the home page.

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  4. “and maybe try more to build up more sources so you can get insider info.”

    point of view, are you high? Ives has the best sources around as it is.

    Don’t listen to these fools, just keep doing what you’re doing.

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  5. I recommend increasing the number of “recent posts” listed on the left.

    That makes it easier to see if anything of interest has rolled over off the mainpage and been missed….

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  6. ives,

    i agree with what someone said above about how the only reason to check this and other blogs is not to get some random guy’s commentary on the san jose earthquakes, but rather some information i cant get anywhere else. stop outsourcing the blog, and maybe try more to build up more sources so you can get insider info. that being said, i think you have done a great job, i still enjoy the blog alot. just my opinion.

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  7. This definitely helps. If you don’t want the supporters’ pieces, just click on the first category link and bookmark that address. Of course, I seem to be in the minority that doesn’t mind, so I’ll keep using the main site.

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  8. All Supporters view for the week should be in one post. I have no use for a supporters view as I already have one my own. I come for the Redbull, national team, and Fulhamerica updates! File them some where, you are are the main attraction of this site, we need more of your posts, and less clutter!

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  9. I like the idea of grouping the commentary by match – I only read the ones that were controversial/ high drama. Looking forward to the redesign.

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  10. Ives, any chance the redesign is going to have archived posts? It would be interesting to read all these supporters’ views at the end of the season.

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  11. I don’t mind the supporters’ views. I think it’s pretty cool.

    My suggestion for them wold be as follows:

    1 update/week.

    Space them out so they hit all week, instead of all on MON/TUE.

    Limit them to 2-4 paragraphs.

    Group that days’ supporters’ views all under 1 headline: “Supporters’ Views for Tuesday: DC, TFC, RSL”

    Keeps them involved – especially if they can get some good local info others might not – without them becoming a huge piece that pushes content around.

    WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT SBI:

    You’re willing to try something new, and if it doesn’t work, adjust and move on. But the most important thing seems to be that you respond to the readers, and that rocks.

    My biggest recommendation to the audience: let some of the experiments have time to develop. Everyone’s learning their way thru this together.

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  12. I see you split the running commentary posts away as well. Thats what was annoying to me the most, having the front page full of six or seven separate running commentary posts on match days. Good decision Ives.

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  13. I say, Ives ditch the whole supporters view idea anyway. Its not going to last the summer and to be honest it shouldn’t. I come here to read stuff I’m not going to get anywhere else.

    Anyone with a wordpress account can make a supporters blog,and often do. Most of the established ones are better so far than what I’ve read here so why bother at all?

    Simplicity has its advantages.

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  14. Ives, It would also be nice to split the RSS feed along those same lines, if possible. That shouldn’t involve any real re-working of things. Just a request.

    I guess my annoyance at all of the supporter’s view posts wasn’t just my own – I hardly read the comments on the site anymore just due to the sheer volume (oh, for the good old days of interaction), so I didn’t even know it had become an issue among the masses, but I’m glad that someone brought the subject up.

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  15. John, there is a link to the supporter’s view series, but the problem is the main page. As it stands, everything that appears on the site starts out on the main page, so your idea doesn’t work. Also, not everyone has a problem with the supporter’s view series. It’s actually been very well received and I think it’s only fair that the writers who are contributing to the site get the chance for some exposure on the main page.

    What I may wind up doing is running the pieces two at a time, grouping the teams that just played each other together. That will cut down on the clutter a little bit.

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  16. Classic SayervilleFC!!

    Ives nice compromise, but I still think people are going to bitch for bitching sake. But you already knew that. So along those lines, where the bitch sessions link? If I don’t see one I am going to start bitching in…5, 4, 3…

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  17. Thanks Ives — I like the idea BUT why not have a link for the Supporters View Series instead. I can’t speak for everyone but I would rather have your stuff on the main page with an option to click a link and read supporter views.

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  18. Ives can you do us another Favor… Drop the Chicago Fire supporter’s view commentary…. is really annoying… This is a Red bulls site……!!!!! LOL

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  19. Supporter’s posts aren’t about real news, so Ives’ quick fix is just up your alley. See how he takes care of us? 😎

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  20. Thanks for adding the link. While I respect the effort put out, I haven’t seen much real news in the supporter’s posts–the main reason I come to this site.

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