New Categories, Testing New Home Page »
Posted By tdrapeau 1 year, 2 months ago in Science & TechnologyIn an effort to improve the quality of the Propeller.com home page, today we have added 5 new categories:
Politics-Right: For the conservative point of view
Politics-Left: For the liberal point of view
Politics-Neither: For points of view neither conservative or liberal
Health & Fitness and Religion
You will notice these categories during the story submit process.
We are testing an alternate home page that attempts to strike a better balance with categories than the current home page. Right now, the Propeller home page shows the top ranked stories on the site, regardless of category. Propeller members show a great interest in politics, and this being an election year makes the focus even stronger. As a result, the Propeller home page has been dominated by politics stories. Also, we have noticed an imbalance in the political ideologies represented on the home page. Changes to the Propeller ranking engine, using these new categories, attempt to allow highly ranked stories in each of the Politics categories to co-exist, and the overall balance highlights other categories as well.
Important to note here is that this balance was requested (no, demanded) by you. We have been listening. We hope to have a short testing cycle on this new home page configuration - for those that want to see this alternate home page right now, you can view it here. Also - please start submitting your stories in the correct (in some cases, new) categories, to help us really make the new home page great.
Thanks to everyone for submitting feedback -- it has been monumentally helpful.
Happy Propelling,
Tom
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Submitted By:
tdrapeau
Tom Drapeau is the Director of Propeller social news. He enjoys all manner of geekery and internet foolishness. He has seen every episode of Battlestar ...
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+ Add CommentShowing 51 of 54 Comments (view all)
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Grrr1 year, 2 months ago
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First, the prop I gave this article was me trying to click the teensy tiny 'more>' link from the front page right sidebar of new submits. WHERE'S MY 'DROP' BUTTON?!?
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Second, the reason I was trying to click that minuscule link, I cannot think of anything more ludicrous than trying to divide politics submissions into left/right/neither. What the heck is that supposed to accomplish, other than to make it even harder to navigate stories than if they're all lumped under news. Truly absurd, like much of the rest of the redesign fiasco. Even with all the recent mods, it still takes twice as long to cover half as much ground as the old site. Even with waiting two minutes for server responses. -
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drpolyphemus1 year, 2 months ago
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I think the LEFT and RIGHT thing is a terrific idea Propellor team!
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I think you should also add the categories below to your list. They would go far in fostering the simple minded dualistic world that is favoured by current media. Why should the internet remain a nuanced representation of the multiplicity of views that do exist?
Some suggestions I would like to see:
Right-with-God & Sinful
American & Unamerican
Pandering & Libellous
With-us & Against-us
Good & Evil
You are definitely on the right track since the re-design. -
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Candida1 year, 2 months ago
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I agree with not2needy and Grrr on the left/righ/neither issue. I consider myself a moderate, and even though I rarely post articles, I would probably categorize them as "neither," but I'm pretty sure that the same articles would be seen by the right-wing as falling off the left edge. Why not simply allocate three times as much space for politics than to other topics and let popularity decide what gets on the front page? After all, one can express right-wing, left-wing or moderate views in connection with any article.
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I don't know who complained about equal representation of political ideologies, but I've read enough complaints about nutscape and left-wing Propeller that I can guess. I haven't counted them, but my impression is that the right-wing isn't quite as helpless as they claim when it comes to getting their articles on the front page even when they are just baseless rumors. -
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The_Usual_SuspectComment removed: Retracted by user
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lonelyknightComment removed: Hard Banned
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altnrg1 year, 2 months ago
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Your words are exactly how I feel. The social media is supposed to be the "democratic voice" as opposed to the search engines. The people decide which stories/information interest them.
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Propeller was great before the change in July 2008 it made the balance between less popular categories but did not interfere inside the categories. I wish this balance will be back soon to Propeller.
This story shows that Propeller's managers have good intentions and it is appreciated. -
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obiefrommuskogee1 year, 2 months ago
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Why do we need a balance front page? Isn't the purpose of propeller to have the stories with the most votes rise to the top? So , then, the point of having three different buckets is that what, the stories without the most votes can rise to the top in a different category? Doesn't that defeat the whole idea of Propeller and what stories make the front page. In other words, the ONE WITH THE MOST VOTES wins?
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THe comments section then becomes just one sided. WHy have a comments section if just one point of view is presented. The From the Left and from the right buckets just contain one set of partisan comments. WHere is the debate?
There should be one tab for politics, that's all. And the stories with the most votes should rise to the top, you know like in a DEMOCRACY.
People who are whining about not getting their stories up there aren't really looking for spirited debate. They are looking for a mutual admiration society, a club so to speak, where all the members dance the same. These peopledon't want spirited debate and probably don't belong on propeller. IS this what propeller is to become? Partisan forums for people pushing one candidate or another?
SO you caved. So sad.
OH yeah, and thanks for blocking my posts about Propeller design in the past with the "pot hole" BS. -
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tdrapeau1 year, 2 months ago
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Thanks to all for writing in. This is something we are testing out, if it turns out that it isn't working, I will remove the Left-Right-Neither distinctions and roll all of the submitted stories into a single Politics category. To explain: I have received lots of feedback, both from committed, avid Propeller members, and from casual visitors, to indicate that the home page is being dominated by a single political ideology's point of view.
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I have noticed this myself, and personally, I think a home page with only one point of view represented is boring. Here's the rub though: it is SOCIAL news, right? So we should just let the stories with the most votes win, right? Ideally, yes, but that could very well mean that on election day, a story about a dog water skiing could beat out the election news. Not the best analogy, maybe, but the point being, even with a social news site people want a balance from different categories that doesn't always come from an absolute vote count.
A reminder: prior to the redesign on Propeller in July, this is how the home page worked - each category was allowed a certain number of stories on the home page, based on voting, number of comments, age and other variables. What is different about this approach is having Left, Right and Neither options within Politics. I like to think that having these options means that throughout election season, the top stories from each point of view will co-exist on the home page.
Isn't that a good thing?-
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Eagle_Eye1 year, 2 months ago
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You were writing your comment while I was writing mine so I understand a lot more.
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"like to think that having these options means that throughout election season, the top stories from each point of view will co-exist on the home page." Right, as long as it is only 1 from each of the 3 categories it will work, but the home page being dominated by politics like it has been provides a really narrow news selection. Please bring back the old categories with only 2 of the top stories from each TOP category being on the home page.
The old category selection offered a much broader scope of news stories, I can do with out the sex, romance, etc. stuff not on the home page, but there were a lot of other very interesting things brought to our users attention that created a greater range of diversity. I fell that is what we are missing, our "diversity".
Peace, EE -
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gwhiddon1 year, 2 months ago
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The only comment I have - possibly a limit on the number of stories submitted by each contributor - Some submit so many it almost seems like spam. I believe with a limit there would be more variety in the type and, in the political stories, the political leaning of the submissions.
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AntiNeoCon1 year, 2 months ago
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The Left/Right thing is strange to me, how are we going to have all these rabid
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and radical debates if we only subscribe to one side or the other?? Is propeller trying to start a good ole boys club for people who see things with the same biased view? Well it is your call....but I can't see any improvement here. -
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FSU92grad1 year, 2 months ago
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It is a very good thing, Tom....
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However, the scouts you guys have hired like Aidenag and Neophile and some others still work for Propeller and thus have more access and more ability to get THEIR stories on the front page faster than some of us who DO NOT work for propeller....It's blatantly obvious that these two are liberal talking heads and manage to get every story they post on the front page....And with other liberal members like Spadecaller calling for all his liberal cronies NOT to comment on OUR stories to prevent them from being on the front page isn't healthy for anybody...period....And it's borderline sabotage....If they want to have their own "lefty" rah-rah session, so be it, but let us conservatives know so we can go somewhere else....I know the libs are scared of us and engaging in any differing views of opinion because, frankly they don't know how to debate and their talking points are hypocritical....
I mean, what's the point in having conversations are arguing certain points if it's all one-sided which is what Spadecaller and others have called for?
I told GregD this, but maybe you should hire more conservative scouts to offset the plague of liberals who monopolize the propeller forum...At least make it equal....
Right now, it's not....
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Eagle_Eye1 year, 2 months ago
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I really appreciate your efforts at working to make our site better, but, I'm still not finding the home page "Fair and Balanced".
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I love the fact that you added several new categories, but I don't think we need a front page that is dominated by political stories, It wasn't until this morning that I saw your post, it was 15 hours later.
With this being an election period I can understand this being the main focus, but to many good stories get buried under the political stuff. Please cut down the number of political stories that make it to the front page so that other categories can have a chance. It use to be the top 2 stories of each categories made it to the front page, that was far and balanced.
"using these new categories, attempt to allow highly ranked stories in each of the Politics categories to co-exist, and the overall balance highlights other categories as well." I think that separating and creating the right,left and neither will provoke boring non challenging threads that will be doing nothing but slamming the other side.
I think it is overbearing that all I have seen the front page are stories about Palin covering just about every side which leaves me with a overwhelming feeling of why bother. I also don't like it when the threads are just full of sock puppets that are brand new taking over the threads....it is just a empty talking head propaganda where again, why bother reading. I know it is because of the political race and hope this will disappear after elections.
IMHO, I think that it would be best for our site to bring back the "old" Category section, it worked before for us.
Thanks again for communicating with us about the work your doing to enhance our site, I really appreciate this thoughtfulness that you do care about what we say and feel. It feels more like a community than just a cold store front.
Peace, EE -
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mntnman444Comment removed: Spammer, Hard Banned2 Replies
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TimALoftis1 year, 2 months ago
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I like the idea of a 'Balanced' front page...not only in the realm of politics but in other subjects as well. If having people submit their political submissions to a 'Left or a 'Right category allows us to reach that goal, I am all for it. Certainly worth a try! A Diversed Community is not only a happy Community but a more informed one as well!
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I noticed that recently Propeller did expand the front page to include 25 stories again...this is also a good thing.
2 other very quick points...I would love to see the category listed as part of all submissions as a earlier valued member (berkeley) pointed out. I would also like to see the actual web address shown instead of the just 'go to the source'. link. This will assist me in identifying questionable sources in advance. -
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ind061 year, 2 months ago
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I'd like to add my voice to those who are thanking you for your efforts and for listening to our concerns but I believe you will find the "neither" politics category to be a real minefield and something that will be almost categorically abused.
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I'd also like to agree with those who've asked for category headings to be attached to the posts, that was a useful feature and was certainly helpful to me both in my reading and my posting.
Finally, as a matter of clarification, if I were to post a piece of political satire would it fall under humor, or neither politics, or right-wing politics if, say, I was making fun of Barack Obama, or left-wing politics if I was making fun of John McCain? I'd like an answer for this because, again, I foresee myself being accused of sneaking politics in the back door through humor and I'd like to head any such unhappiness off before it has a chance to begin.
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