Forums > MobyGames > Featured articles are gone?
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 2/24/2014 6:39 AM · Permalink · Report
I can't find the featured articles on the new site.
chirinea (47495) on 2/24/2014 7:12 AM · Permalink · Report
They are no longer available since February 4th.
vileyn0id_8088 (21040) on 2/24/2014 12:44 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Seeing as this is the internet, things that aren't linked to pretty much are effectively gone.
I really wish the link would be brought back. A small "Article archives" link somewhere in the right side panel on the main page wouldn't hurt anyone, but if that's too much(?), a FAQ item with a link would suffice ("Hey, where'd the featured articles go?"). As long as the link exists somewhere.
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 2/25/2014 5:51 AM · Permalink · Report
Why not just put it back where it was before?
I think removing articles people were working on for months is a bit disrespectful.
At the very least, please make a link at the bottom like Nelio suggests.
The Fabulous King (1332) on 2/25/2014 10:31 AM · Permalink · Report
A few of those articles could use revising and fixing. I would certainly like to fix some sentences that annoy me about mine.
Maybe we could change the way we think about Moby articles. We could "order" topics that could be written about. Make it into a sort of semi-editorial.
Игги Друге (46653) on 2/25/2014 1:38 PM · Permalink · Report
Perhaps they could be moved into the featured games archive.
Simon Carless (1834) on 2/25/2014 3:31 PM · Permalink · Report
Our position on that has been that - given there are a very small number and they haven't been updated for a number of years - we do not think they should have a space in header or footer on all pages. And we do not want to develop the feature in the future.
However, I do think we're open to a link somewhere on the site - just from a subpage. I could put it on contact but that's TOO far out of the way.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66362) on 2/25/2014 7:40 PM · Permalink · Report
Do please remember to distinguish what kind of "we" you're using when addressing a forum full of people who spent hours writing these articles 8)
Simon Carless (1834) on 2/25/2014 8:01 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Sorry - myself and Reed. We think they are great articles, but MobyGames is not focused on articles. And again, to be clear - there have been two articles published in that section in the last five years. and 13 in the last decade. (If it's not clear, you are welcome to reproduce them anywhere you want on personal websites, etc if you wrote them - we're not asserting ownership of them.)
We will try to find a logical place to link to them nonetheless. (Yes, we care!)
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 2/26/2014 3:51 AM · Permalink · Report
Some of those articles attracted a lot of attention when they were posted and were discussed here and on other websites. I understand you don't want to keep this feature, but please make a link to them on MobyGames - they were written for MobyGames and some of them have historical value. In particular, I was still using Happy Rabbi's article for RPG-related resources.
Simon Carless (1834) on 2/26/2014 4:55 AM · Permalink · Report
I've added a clear/obvious link via the FAQ - http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq6#f13 - which hasn't been updated for about 4 years, so there's a bunch more work we'll need to do there.
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 2/26/2014 8:14 AM · Permalink · Report
Thanks for adding that link, but I don't think it is obvious at all. Could you please add a direct "Featured Articles Archive" link at the bottom portion of the site? It doesn't take much space, it provides direct access to information some people would consider helpful, and it is respectful to those who worked hard on those articles.
Sorry, I'm not trying to criticize your work, but please understand that, as an author of three of those articles who spent days, weeks, and months writing them, I can't help feeling slightly hurt that they are now virtually hidden from plain sight. I didn't write them for the points, I wrote them so that can people can read and discuss them. So did the other authors.
I don't think this is too much to ask, and I hope other contributors will agree with this proposal.
Игги Друге (46653) on 2/26/2014 10:48 AM · Permalink · Report
As a magazine writer, I'm used to having exactly one month of attention given to my articles, and often I wouldn't want it any other way.
However, I don't see why those few articles can't be moved into the featured games archive. That would mean less clutter.
András Gregorik (59) on 2/26/2014 11:30 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start YID YANG wrote--]understand that, as an author of three of those articles who spent days, weeks, and months writing them, I can't help feeling slightly hurt that they are now virtually hidden from plain sight. [/Q --end YID YANG wrote--]
Sadly, that is not a sound argument in itself. How many weeks did you or I spend on writing our 50+ page long Master's thesis at the university?.. And how many people read them today?.. Exactly.
As much as I wish that the site would remain unchanged, I do understand why Simon introduces some of the changes.
Indra was here (20755) on 2/26/2014 2:01 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Well, people do read old articles on websites all the time. Besides, academics do read old research papers and reports...and it's usually not even available online.
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 2/26/2014 8:23 AM · Permalink · Report
On a related note, I don't see why the feature itself (featured articles) should be terminated. The fact nobody has written a new article in the past five years was just one of the many signs of the site's stagnation. Perhaps a more attractive points award and/or heavier promotion would help revitalize and popularize that feature?
People like reading long, in-depth articles. I think MobyGames can only benefit from having them.
Also, the empty space on the right column where featured articles once were just looks ugly :)
Nélio (1976) on 2/26/2014 4:17 PM · Permalink · Report
I'm with the guys on this one. :P
The articles were a labor of love and made sense in time - and even now, as others are pointing out. If you're unsure (or have already decided) if this feature should no longer be supported, then I think it should go to the "Community" section in the footer, as "Article archive". That way it doesn't read as something that is currently being featured as recent.
At least for a while until a final decision is made. I think it would be a compromise solution for the time being.
Simon Carless (1834) on 2/27/2014 4:56 AM · Permalink · Report
I still disagree, but there's a space there - I'll ask Reed about whether he would like to do that, at least. Watch this space.
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 2/28/2014 3:27 AM · Permalink · Report
Thank you! This would mean a lot to me. Watching the space :-)