Rethink of News Section Integration?

[LeGeNd-1]

Let me just say that I love the idea of the news section linking into the forums, instead of having 2 separate discussions going on like previously. However, I can't help but notice there's been a lot of redundant threads being created lately because of this feature.

In AC forum for example, this thread (https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...ssetto-corsas-upcoming-track-released.352762/) could easily be part of this one (https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...uit-coming-to-assetto-corsa-this-year.352616/). In the old days if someone created a thread just to post those images, I am 100% sure the mods will merge it with the existing thread. There are also lots of other examples with sales threads and DLC threads popping up with every news article, when all of them can be lumped into 1 topic each.

Then there's the Thrusmaster TS-PC wheel thread (https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/inside-sim-racing-reviews-thrustmaster-ts-pc-racer.352748/), which could also be merged with this existing thread (https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/thrustmaster-ts-pc-racer-steering-wheel-for-pc.351307/). In fact, the ISR review video was originally posted in the original thread (on page 2). So basically you have thread --> video --> news --> redundant thread.

Forgive me if this feels like I'm telling Jordan how to run his site, but personally I love GTP because everything is organised and tidy. There's no redundant threads, and similar topics get merged so the main forum page is neat. I understand the need to break up humongous threads where posts that are more than 2 pages old are lost forever, but this is overkill IMO. It also makes the forums look a bit "automated" and not human created (I hope that makes sense). My suggestion would be to link similar News articles to a post in the original thread, so the discussion can take off from that post onwards, and avoid making redundant threads.

Another problem is for threads announcing new games, like this one (https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...-coming-to-ios-and-android-this-month.352652/). I actually like a new thread being made here, because the old one is just full of speculations and has run its course. However, as new info comes trickling out, usually this type of thread will have its OP updated to be the "official" thread for this game. Now, I expect 10 other new threads to be made in the upcoming months with each sliver of info that comes out, when everything could just be concentrated in a comprehensive single OP.

My third thought, is the proliferation of non-gaming related articles like the Bentley Continental SS and BMW Self Driving cars. Now this is not an attack at the writer (sorry if you feel that way Calvin!), because they are excellent articles in their own right, but more of what GTPlanet's identity is. I've made a thread a while back saying that GTP should stick to GT News only, and Jordan said that the expansion to other games is good because it brings more traffic and news (let's face it, PD isn't exactly the most talkative dev in the world). OK, I can agree with that. But putting automotive news, even if most of the GTP population are petrolheads, I feel goes to dilute our identity further. Put the hard limit on automotive related games I say, because we are not Jalopnik or Speedhunters. With the Bentley appearing in FH3, maybe put a link in the relevant FH3 news article that goes to the Auto News forum.

I reiterate again that I'm not telling Jordan how to run the site. Just my suggestions as a GTP member for 10+ years. I look forward to every new innovation that each new version of GTP brings, and the News section integration could be amazing if done right. If we can iron out the kinks maaaybe we can make it just a tad better 💡 My 2 cents Jordan and as always, keep up your good work

EDIT: I've noticed some of the recent News are already linking to posts in the relevant thread instead of creating new ones. Whether it's due to my suggestions or not, it's good to see the improvement 👍 Those threads I posted above still needs to be merged though.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

So I've noticed this starting to happen again with the latest NFS and GTR3 announcements.

These threads could be merged:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/new-need-for-speed-title-to-be-released-by-march-2018.353365/
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/upcoming-nfs-game-in-2017.350385/

And these as well:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/simbin-studios-confirms-gtr-3-scheduled-for-2018.353385/
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/gtr3-by-simbin-pc-ps4-xb1-coming-2018.353377/
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...-future-the-return-of-gtr-coming-2018.350405/

@Jordan your thoughts on this and my post above? I don't know if GTPNewsWire is an automated script or an actual human user, but maybe he/she can have a look around in the forums first to see if a thread is already discussing the topic? Obviously it's hard for only one person to monitor all news and all forums. I seem to recall in the past we have dedicated mods for each forum section. Maybe they can monitor and advise GTPNewsWire accordingly?

 

[Jordan]

I don't know if GTPNewsWire is an automated script or an actual human user, but maybe he/she can have a look around in the forums first to see if a thread is already discussing the topic?

@GTPNewsWire is a bot that creates threads when news articles are posted. It is completely automated, and chooses the forum based upon the categories associated with the article. When composing an article, the writer has the opportunity to bypass this functionality and associate the article with an existing discussion thread, but it's entirely up to the author to know about or find those other threads. To further complicate matters, many of our articles are written and then scheduled to be published hours or even days later, so it's entirely possible that another relevant thread could have been created by a community member before the article goes live.

It will never be a perfect system, and that's completely fine; it does not concern me at all. Threads can be merged or managed as needed, and our authors and editors will get better at using existing topics as they get more familiar writing for GTPlanet and using our unique system. If you find some automated topics that you think could be merged, just report them and we'll take a look at it. However, I can tell you that of the threads you listed above, only the first two GTR3 threads are what I would consider "duplicates".

Of course, my distaste for monolithic threads is well-documented, and the ability of news article threads to more evenly distribute discussion around a topic was one of my primary reasons for building it the way I did. Monolithic threads are indeed great for discussion, but they are heavily disorganized, the thread of conversation is easily influenced, and worse—they are intimidating for new users.

Our iRacing forum is a great example of this, where the general discussion thread has over 20,000 posts. I can only imagine how many more posts we'd have about iRacing if all of our discussion about it had not been jammed into a single thread over the last 11 years.

 

[Famine]

Obviously it's hard for only one person to monitor all news and all forums.

Nah.

Of course, my distaste for monolithic threads is well-documented, and the ability of news article threads to more evenly distribute discussion around a topic was one of my primary reasons for building it the way I did. Monolithic threads are indeed great for discussion, but they are heavily disorganized, the thread of conversation is easily influenced, and worse—they are intimidating for new users.

Our iRacing forum is a great example of this, where the general discussion thread has over 20,000 posts. I can only imagine how many more posts we'd have about iRacing if all of our discussion about it had not been jammed into a single thread over the last 11 years.

And that's part of the reason I've been working on the Motorsport forum (with some help from the users therein) to get rid of threads that are thousands of posts long and cover a literal decade of a single formula.

If each item of news was discussed in its own thread, we wouldn't have this toxic, 880-page wart of a thread which is essentially 2 pages a day of back and forth ranting about nothing that's impossible to pick apart into actually relevant content and no sane new user could possibly want to get involved with.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

@GTPNewsWire is a bot that creates threads when news articles are posted. It is completely automated, and chooses the forum based upon the categories associated with the article. When composing an article, the writer has the opportunity to bypass this functionality and associate the article with an existing discussion thread, but it's entirely up to the author to know about or find those other threads. To further complicate matters, many of our articles are written and then scheduled to be published hours or even days later, so it's entirely possible that another relevant thread could have been created by a community member before the article goes live.

It will never be a perfect system, and that's completely fine; it does not concern me at all. Threads can be merged or managed as needed, and our authors and editors will get better at using existing topics as they get more familiar writing for GTPlanet and using our unique system. If you find some automated topics that you think could be merged, just report them and we'll take a look at it. However, I can tell you that of the threads you listed above, only the first two GTR3 threads are what I would consider "duplicates".

Of course, my distaste for monolithic threads is well-documented, and the ability of news article threads to more evenly distribute discussion around a topic was one of my primary reasons for building it the way I did. Monolithic threads are indeed great for discussion, but they are heavily disorganized, the thread of conversation is easily influenced, and worse—they are intimidating for new users.

Our iRacing forum is a great example of this, where the general discussion thread has over 20,000 posts. I can only imagine how many more posts we'd have about iRacing if all of our discussion about it had not been jammed into a single thread over the last 11 years.

Thanks for the reply Jordan. Appreciate your time in explaining the process 👍

Shouldn't it be a requirement then, that the author take a look at the respective forums to make sure a thread has not already been created. If there is then just associate the news article with the existing thread. It shouldn't take too long to do, maybe 5 mins max since the News is pretty recent so the relevant thread will not have dropped from the first page.

I'm more than happy to help out here and there. Just wondering who is best to report to merge the threads? Any mod?

The two GTR3 threads haven't been merged as of this post btw.

I agree that monolithic threads can be intimidating. But sometimes it is useful for less popular games that don't have their own subforum to have everything contained in one place, with the OP as a FAQ. The discussion will naturally follow the course of time of what's most recent and relevant. With the GTPNewsWire OP, you can't really modify the OP as more information comes trickling out. So you have a very decentralised bank of knowledge for forum-less games.

Nah.

And that's part of the reason I've been working on the Motorsport forum (with some help from the users therein) to get rid of threads that are thousands of posts long and cover a literal decade of a single formula.

If each item of news was discussed in its own thread, we wouldn't have this toxic, 880-page wart of a thread which is essentially 2 pages a day of back and forth ranting about nothing that's impossible to pick apart into actually relevant content and no sane new user could possibly want to get involved with.

Agreed the Motorsport forum could use some work. Everything that is not F1 gets lumped together into a massive season long thread that is not conducive for newcomers.

The GT Sport thread is a lost cause tbh. I would just lock it if I were you At the same time though I feel it's good for all the rubbish speculations and rants to be "quarantined" in one thread, so the rest of the forum can be used for actual, newsworthy news.

 

[Sanji Himura]

Nah.

And that's part of the reason I've been working on the Motorsport forum (with some help from the users therein) to get rid of threads that are thousands of posts long and cover a literal decade of a single formula.

If each item of news was discussed in its own thread, we wouldn't have this toxic, 880-page wart of a thread which is essentially 2 pages a day of back and forth ranting about nothing that's impossible to pick apart into actually relevant content and no sane new user could possibly want to get involved with.

To be honest here, I personally think that discussion on any particular news subject should be isolated to one thread. In my ideal world, since any Tom, Dick or Jane Doe member of GTP can get the news posted rather quickly and with minimum fuss, any thread that should be started by GTPNewsWire should be locked immediately by a moderator with a link to the topic discussion that was already started.

Furthermore, use of a general discussion thread that contributes basically nothing to the community at large (like the link quoted above), should be locked with the encouragement to have each news article have its own separate threads.

With all that being said, the GTPNewsWire bot can still serve a purpose. I would rather think of a way that any posting by that account would trigger a notification so that it can say "hey, there is news here".

 

[tankuroded]

Considering how moderators were against wishlist threads in favor of the suggestion forums in the past, it is quite inevitable and hypocritical that the latest GT Sport related news "listicles" are inviting wishlist-like replies. Another factor where the current system should have been reconsidered.

 

[Jordan]

It is a great article, it has received a ton of traffic, and it has spawned a lot of great discussion, both here in the forums and across social media. We clearly have different benchmarks for success.