TWC Today Forums
TWC Today => TWC Today News => Topic started by: lfmusiclover on August 26, 2007, 01:08:57 PM
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I just want to stress a point that appears to need some stressing. Stephen, Kyle, and myself are the admins here and will take care of any problems that come up ASAP. I believe I speak for all three of us when I say that I don't approve of members taking matters into their own hands. If you see something wrong, report it with that well known but seldom used report button. Do not take it upon yourself to comment on the situation (yet another topic gone OT, etc.), or to reprimand a fellow member for doing something. This only causes more trouble, and sometimes the comments are made AFTER an admin has visibly taken action, which makes the comment totally unneccesary from any standpoint. I am not pointing out any particular person. This is something I want everyone to do. I want you all to enjoy the forums, and to let US do OUR jobs.
Thank yoou for your cooperation on this matter. 8)
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This only causes more trouble, and sometimes the comments are made AFTER an admin has visibly taken action, which makes the comment totally unneccesary from any standpoint.
In other words, don't bring an issue back up when it's already been taken care of. Just ignore it - continue on with what the topic is about. :yes:
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To add to this, complaining about a topic isn't any more on-topic than the problem your complaining about. So, technically, by complaining you too are guilty of making the thread OT.
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This is to let everyone know that I am heavily considering shutting down the site and forum. Contributions have all but dried up (and before anyone says anything, no I don't consider a video you recorded last night a suitable contribution for the site; for the forum, sure, but I can't fill the site up with videos like that), people come to my forum and post the same things they post here and vice versa, and most of the whopping 48 members that I have don't post or visit. And many of those that do visit and post seem like they'd rather be elsewhere. I just don't have the patience or enthusiasm to continue wasting my time any longer. Sure, there are over 10,000posts, but when you dissect those numbers, its really quite shameful. Gil had 2700 or so of those posts, I had 2400 or so, Stephen has 1200 or so, and everyone else had anywhere from a few hundred to 0. IOW, only the big mouth and the admins are posting with much frequency.
I thought for sure TWC Today would succeed because no one else has a site like it. IOW, its filling what I thought (and what the post counts on this particular forum would prove) was a needed service-a site for current TWC stuff. I truly beleive to the core of my soul that the problem is that TWCC is trying to be the Wal-Mart of TWC message boards. Sure, the current content is gone from the site, but the same still remains on the forum (IOW, its the most popular area of the forum, so lets not cut off the hand that feeds us). If people can get their current TWC fix here, why would they go elsewhere? And most have not gone elsewhere. Even though the focus of my site and forum is current TWC, this forum still boasts more (and frankly, better) current TWC discussion.
I will give it one more month. At the end of September I will review the growth of the site and forum, and if its not reasonable, then in all likelihood the site and forum will be shut down.
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If the site and forums are to ..., then where will the videos, music clips, playlists, flavor guide, and all the other goodie stuff go to? Will it all go back to TWCC? I think the site is doing well just some parts in TWCC need to go away such as discussion of local forecast music. In TWCC, other parts such as OCMs, local forecast, programming need to go here. Matt should tell all members that if you want to know the name of the song or who this new OCM , then they have to post it in TWCC since all that info relates to Today. TWCC should be strictly 1982-2000 and TWCT 2000-. Of course, a little of both will be tolerable occasionaly.
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True as it may be that TWCC is a bit out of its boundaries by having current TWC discussions, I REALLY doubt Matt will see things the same way. And it is his site and forum, so its completley up to him.
If the site goes, everything on it goes. Nothing will be going back to TWCC because they no longer cover current TWC.
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Oh man, I don't want the site to go. Maybe I can create a forum, just a forum, to discuss about TWC and its current state. Or I can create a forum for just general TWC chat. What do you think Gary and everyone else? My friend is an expert in making sites, especially forums, so maybe I can ask a little of his help.
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If TWC Today shuts down your free to do as you wish. But I would respectfully ask that you not do anything until then.
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Well, I wish I could run a current TWC site (and I mean a good site, not a free site hosted by Google or Freewebs), but I'm not sure if my parents would be interested in paying fees for running a server.
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As I said, I'm giving this site/forum another month, so I would respectfully ask that no one do anything during that time.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I need contributions! There are some of you here (cough) who have stuff but aren't contributing for some reason. I need EVERYONE'S contributions in order to make this site a success.
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What about that list of past local forecast flavors I sent you a while back? That would be a good thing to do as I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in that.
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Gary,
Hang in there bro. The cyberworld can be a tough cookie.
Please, take this all as nothing but suggestions...I do like the site, very much so.
As far as foruming goes...in my experience, sites with large off-topic sections and a small member base end up self-destructing, simply because members were too busy "chatting" and not contributing to relevant threads.
If I'm just a general TV viewer, I probably don't know what "TWC" is. I know of "The Weather Channel," but I probably don't comprehend that "TWC" is short for "The Weather Channel." I notice that you banner image and site title all refer to "TWC." Changing the title to "The Weather Channel Today: Home" might attract more viewers. Also, a quick statement on the home page explaining exactly what TWC stands for might be helpful.
I love the forum header image...especially because it contains the TWC logo. Something similar for the homepage and corresponding secondary pages would probably look better. This isn't something you have to do...I might be able to come up with something if you wish. (I think something similar to the IntelliSTAR header would look great...and would go along with the theme as well)
Again, this is just a few things that might help a bit. Take it however you wish...it's intended as nothing more than a few friendly suggestions. In the meantime, I'll keep tabs on TWC...trying to catch any odd errors that might become great contributions.
EDIT: I just want to add...this site has quite a selection of music, videos, and other interesting items relating to TWC. You've done a brilliant job thus far, and I would love to see the site continue.
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What about that list of past local forecast flavors I sent you a while back? That would be a good thing to do as I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in that.
Its still something I intend to do at some point.
ErnestoAlert, thank you for your comments and suggestions. If you'd like to work on a better banner for the site and/or forum, your welcome to do so. And that goes for anyone else who might be interested in doing similar graphics work for the site. I like some of your suggestions, and ill look into implementing them ASAP.
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Though I'm nowhere as experienced in graphics as people like Tyler or Chazz are, I'll see of I can make better graphics for you. B)
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Thank you! Your help is appreciated! 8)
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Gary,
I don't want to come off as rude, but creating a "now" site for anything is harder than a "classic" site. With a classic site, you have that opportunity of someone having a tape with a ton of rare footage (OH OH STAR II CLIPS W00T!!!), and boom...cool stuff. And that happens all the time. With a new site, you gotta ride the waves along and see what happens, because people don't have that "special tape" of stuff. Who knows...the FCC could all of a sudden force the IntelliStar, XL, and Jr. into retirement, and require everyone use the 4000. :)
I hope this site stays along. I wish you the best.
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So let me get this straight..you think there's a better chance that people will randomly happen to have a tape of classic footage, then that they'll happen to randomly have a tape of footage form say 2003? I don't see how. I'm not taking your comments as mean, just....a bit short of logic?
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So let me get this straight..you think there's a better chance that people will randomly happen to have a tape of classic footage, then that they'll happen to randomly have a tape of footage form say 2003? I don't see how. I'm not taking your comments as mean, just....a bit short of logic?
Well...um...no...someone out there might have some good footage from 2000-now, but there's more of a chance for an older site (reference TWCC, 1982-2000). The probability lies in the sheer amount of time that's been covered. Trust me...if I would have had clips (or anything for that matter) from that time period, I would have contributed it a long time ago.
If I thought no one would have a rare tape from now, I'd have written you off and laughed at you and said you would have no chance of succeeding. I genuinely don't think that. Heck, I didn't even get into TWC until a couple of years ago.
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So let me get this straight..you think there's a better chance that people will randomly happen to have a tape of classic footage, then that they'll happen to randomly have a tape of footage form say 2003? I don't see how. I'm not taking your comments as mean, just....a bit short of logic?
Well...um...no...someone out there might have some good footage from 2000-now, but there's more of a chance for an older site (reference TWCC, 1982-2000). The probability lies in the sheer amount of time that's been covered. Trust me...if I would have had clips (or anything for that matter) from that time period, I would have contributed it a long time ago.
If I thought no one would have a rare tape from now, I'd have written you off and laughed at you and said you would have no chance of succeeding. I genuinely don't think that. Heck, I didn't even get into TWC until a couple of years ago.
I just can't understand how you figure that there's more of a chance that a classic site has a better chance. There are several factors which (one would think) would severely impact the probability that an classics site might get footage. First, time. The footage given to TWCC is anywhere from 8-25 years old. For a VHS tape (which is where most footage comes form) thats like a gazillion years. Most are no longer even viewable after that kind of time. Then there's the matter of the weather itself. I could be wrong, but its my opinion that there have been far more weather events this decade so far then in the last two combined. With so many huge weather events taking place over the past seven years, people have certainly taped stuff.
I personally think its a simple matter of luck. Anytime someone comes forward with contributions, its luck. And either type of site could easily have such luck.
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Actually, with advancing technology, there's a greater chance of someone having a rare clip from the "modern" era. VHS tapes lose quality over time...and 20 year-old tapes are not young, by any standards. They will degrade over time.
IF we see a US-landfalling hurricane this season, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll have plenty of clips from it.
Gary, you and I both know that there are tons of videos on YouTube of modern TWC coverage. Is there any way to politely invite them to the site? I know some may hesitate to contribute due to the threat of video-stealing. Another idea I came up with is posting an article or a link to an article on the main page on how to create your own watermark and edit it into your video. I've got a link I learned from...but the software is a bit annoying. I'm still searching for alternatives.
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I had brought up the idea of watermarking, but it was met with great hostility. Apparently folks don't want to take that route. IF there was a way to convince folks that that route is the best one, then I bet I could get more contributions.
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My software doesn't accept certain Windows file types (such as .wmv), and only exports as .avi or two other unknown file types. Meaning, I can't edit in Movie Maker prior to adding my watermark...so I have to save the entire recorded file again. This takes SO much time. Otherwise, anything and everything I had would be watermarked.
A simple add-in in Movie Maker can cut-down on stolen videos tremendously. Unfortunately, I'm afraid many would turn their nose at that as well.
Some folks don't get it...you can't completely lock out the thieves, so take measures to protect yourself. In this case, that would include slight mods in WMM or watermarking your videos. :(
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Gary- also take this to thought. Many of the members on here are teens, who are , or soon to be back to school, which mean the site will definately be less active. Plus the homework, and if we have jobs, or some other school activity.
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I've not forgotten that Kyle. I know that things are going to get slower at times because of that. 8)
Ernesto, I agree completley. I tried to make that very point to everybody, but the main arguement that I got back was "well, its not going to stop them". No it may not completley stop them, but at least your taking steps to protect yourself.