FanPost Guidelines - What We Are (and Aren't) Looking for
by Brent Brookhouse on Jul 27, 2009 11:07 AM EDT
Email
PrintAs we are in yet another record breaking month for traffic I think it's time for a refresher course on what makes a good fanpost and tips for getting it promoted.
For starters I'll point everyone to Luke's very comprehensive How to Write a FanPost and Get It Promoted article from back in December. Here are the first 4 rules, but there are 10 total...read them, understand them, follow them:
1. Spell and grammar check. The less basic editing we have to do, the more inclined we'll be to both read your post all the way through and promote it.
2. Use multimedia content. Use pictures, video, audio clips, hyperlinks, whatever. Do something to improve the content. Anyone can just riff for 1,000 words. That's not what we're interested in.
3. Try to make them shorter, not longer. Long posts will be promoted on occasion, but it's always with reservation. The truth is good posts do not have to be long. The Internet writing forum actually encourages shorter form writing. Have a coherent thought first and make it succinct second.
4. Be exceptional. And you don't need to be long-winded to do this: have a key point that's well-thought out or researched, make it quickly and get out. That's the key. So many FanPosts are long winded set ups that are too long too read. And when you do read them, people aren't trying to think beyond stage one. Don't do that. Have a point that others haven't already made a dozen times, find a captivating way to say it and be done.
Chris Nelson also had a really good post covering some of the same topics as well as some technical assistance..etc.
Now I just want to take a second and address one last thing.
Please do not rec bad fanposts to be funny. It's not a bannable offense or anything, but please keep in mind that 3 rec's puts something in the Recommended FanPosts section which then bumps something else off. I'm sorry, but bumping a well written post that broke news of a fight being made for a bad post that was kind of funny is not an acceptable swap. In cases where this happens, the "bad fanpost" will be deleted so that the Recommended FanPost section reflects how smart the members of this community truly are.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
26 comments
|
14 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Rec'd
It’d be nice if you could sticky this and/or Luke’s previous post (as well as weo3’s fanpost about SBN shortcuts and functionality).
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
I didn’t pay attention to the jakeshields is hot post, until I saw the recs, but damn I am guilty of laughing my ass off when I read the comments and saw the number of recs it got..
I blame wargods for the community’s love for all things bad.. Haha.. I am guilty for making fun of those kinds of stuff, so sorry..
(i think i only rec’d the brock post) But yeah I get your point, I will try to keep the recs to the funny comments and not the bad posts anymore. Haha.
I will admit...
the jake shields is hot post was a very special case. that was SO over the top that I dind’t mind all the recs it got. It’s stuff like the post yesterday that was a news article from 07 that everyone rec’d because he didn’t do any legwork like…reading to see that it was old as dirt.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Jul 27, 2009 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions
The hbo thing got lots of recs?
I didnt know that.
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 27, 2009 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions
I need a link to this Jake Shields is hot thread. I just see BJJDenver saying it all the time, but was probably overseas when it happened.
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
I can’t link it now cause I’m on my itouch, but if you make a search on jake shields and frank shamrock it’s probably gonna be in the fanposts tab.. Just look for the author named sexysassymmafansomething..
You’re missing a lot of inside jokes by reading that.. But I think you’ll find out that hot family men that are good businessmen are the shits..
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 27, 2009 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions
That was... umm...
Wow.
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
One more thing
If something from Leland is already on the front page, don’t rec it to the top of the PanPosts. It’s redundant and flushes other people’s work down the memory hole.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 27, 2009 1:28 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
*FanPosts
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 27, 2009 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions
I second that. I’ve always wondered why his posts continue to show up there.
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
I disagree..
I’m still sticking to the “if it’s good, rec it” mentality.., may it be on the frontpage or not, if it’s good, give the man his props..
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 27, 2009 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions
If it’s by Leland, we know it’s going to be good. I wish his stuff wasn’t in the fanposts at all to provide more room for the amateur stuff, but if it’s there, we know it’s bumped to the front page anyway. Leave room for the regular users to show of their work.
Shameless self-promotion! http://twitter.com/scb0212
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Jul 27, 2009 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions
He’s on the staff here and almost all of his posts start front page. The only times those need to be rec’d is if the story falls off of the page and there’s a lengthy discussion ongoing.
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
Also...
Using a paragraph structure is a must, and run-on articles are horrendous.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
There seems to have been a huge amount of new posters here and the Fanposts have been a tad lackluster because of it. Hopefully posts like this will improve on FanPosts as a whole, because there is usually alot of good stuff that the community comes up with.
"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate
i gave up awhile ago. never could get pics to upload…. i dont get that…i can upload an avatar pic just fine…
imageshack.us
Upload, copy address, paste in the “image” bar.
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
I’ll say something though I’m not really on the staff anymore. Don’t rush FanPosts if possible. This goes back to rule #. Of course, there are times when you catch a breaking story where you want to get it up in a timely manner. In that case, I would be succinct in lieu of being sloppy. When I’ve done front page stories and FanPosts, I did a lot of proofreading. Sometimes (many times) I still screw up, and I’ve often gone back after publishing to clean up mistakes.
Most of us are human – or at least close to it. Mistakes are inevitable. It’s just a matter of being vigilant about finding and correcting them. Taking proofreading seriously makes a lot of the other stipulations easier to achieve. I know from experience that the powers that be at this blog take professionalism seriously. You can’t expect staffers to clean up a messy post so that it’s ready for the front page. Generally, that’s a pain in the ass that most aren’t going to undertake, and they shouldn’t have to. That’s my two cents.
by Cannon Jacques on Jul 27, 2009 10:10 PM EDT reply actions
An example of screwing up
It should say: “This goes back to rule #1.”
by Cannon Jacques on Jul 27, 2009 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I screw up a lot too.
Especially in the comments where there’s no edit button haha.. I go back and edit my posts even after proofreading it cause sometimes I still fuck up on punctuation, spelling etc..
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 27, 2009 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions
If you dont mind me asking, why aren't you in the staff anymore?
I’ve always liked your work.. Plus, you have the best record in the predictions right? Haha :)
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 27, 2009 10:48 PM EDT up reply actions
My powers of prognostication are too good.
No but seriously, I didn’t get kicked out or anything. I just didn’t feel like I could devote the time I needed to anymore. It does take a good deal of time and dedication to do your part on this growing blog.
by Cannon Jacques on Jul 27, 2009 11:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh okay..
But do keep posting when you have the time! :)
BE needs more international peoples. Haha!
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 28, 2009 2:30 AM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
