How Can We Make StateFansNation Even Better?

Over the past few years, Statefans Nation has been the leading blog devoted exclusively to NC State sports.   We have quite a robust community of users, some that go all the way back to the days of the old ACC Boards and statefans.com to others that found us and like what they saw and keep coming back.

With all due respect to the denizens of the two big NCSU message boards, I think it fair to say that StateFans Nation has the most intelligent discussion areas, some of the best analysis by the article writers and as was the case with the search for Coach Sendek’s replacement, a good source for news as it broke – and to be honest, SFN broke a lot of the news that was later reported in the traditional mainstream media.  Not bad for a bunch of guys that created this site and continue it because they love their school and its teams.

This morning, a few folks got together to brainstorm the future of Statefans Nation, specifically asking, how can we make it even better?

We had quite a number of ideas, and over the next few days, some will be implemented pretty quickly.  We’re going to update the site’s appearance, add new things like game schedules, things that are pretty easy to do and can be done quickly.  Others, we’re still talking about and have to make a decision on whether they will add value in the long run.

That’s where you come in: I’d like to ask you guys to toss out your thoughts and to share your ideas of things you’d like to see or possibly things you might like to see changed.  The best of the ideas that come forth, we’ll implement if it’s at all possible.

So fire away: how can we all make Statefans Nation even better?

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38 Responses to How Can We Make StateFansNation Even Better?

  1. Rusty 10/03/2008 at 7:56 AM #

    First, great site content wise. Honestly, besides toning down some of the vitriol, the writing is superb. So, I wouldn’t offer much suggestion as far as content except maybe to encourage a little more discussion of x’s and o’s. There’s a lot going on as we transition from Amato’s insanity to TOB’s fundamental style ball and Sendek to Lowe.

    As far as suggested improvements, here’s a great fan site that has a lot of cool features SFN could pick up. http://nationalspride.com/home/

    Already mentioned are schedules and new look, but other suggestions could include regular features, pictures from games, roster info, etc. Someone called it a GameDay preview, and I think that’s an awesome idea. Along those lines, a great article was done a few weeks ago about the number of players currently injured. A roster that gave current player status as it relates to injuires and/or position on the depth chart would be great.

    Myself being an out of state fan that doesn’t get to many games in Raleigh, a section on the stadium/arena with tailgating info, parking info, etc. would be great. GoPack’s got a few things, but can be difficult to navigate.

    Lastly, what about interviews with folks inside the programs. Don’t know if it could happen, but interviews with assistant coaches or other folks involved in the system could be interesting.

  2. wufpup76 10/03/2008 at 8:40 AM #

    ^Some really good suggestions above and mine would be to KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) … Not that any of you guys/gals are stupid 🙂

    Like highstick said above, the site certanily isn’t broken so don’t go fixing it TOO much!

    Content of the articles/posts and a vibrant, active, and intelligent (except for me) community make this site one of the best around (at least when it comes to NC State and sports in general) … As long as you have these features you should have visitors flocking …

    There is some concern about the boards/comments sections turning into “idiot boards” (hey, I’m here!), but hopefully a lot of the long-standing visitors/commenters can help keep that to a minimum … Perhaps if it starts to get too much you could have user/community mods? (Not necessarily owners/authors, but trusted community members to help keep discussions fresh and on-topic)

    Keep up the great work 🙂

  3. RAWFS 10/03/2008 at 10:28 AM #

    Some more replies

    1. Popups: this site DOES NOT use popups. You may once in a while find a new window link in an article, but bottom line, we DO NOT embed pop-up code. I know, I manage the code. I loathe pop-ups as much as you…and I sweep the site for code changes on an hourly basis. (It is automated and sends an email report to me.)

    If you are getting popups while on SFN, I strongly suggest to you that you go to Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html) and install and use their software to ensure that your machine is clean.

    As for “questionable” material, all I can say is that sometimes the language gets a little salty, and that’s something the authors need to individually consider. I realize that kids read this site, and while I am no prude, I personally try to be pretty conservative and not put parents in a dilemma.

    I come from an age where cursing in front of the parents was a major mistake usually followed by a swift kick or a groundin’…and I would hate to put a kid in that position. I’ve listened to a few games that were on TV with a radio pressed to my ear, and that’s because my folks didn’t take kindly to something I did or didn’t do and gave me my deserved punishment. Knowing Thompson, Towe and Burleson were on the set kicking some Tar Heel behind and not being allowed to see, well, it sucked. Anyway, if you see an article that’s over the top from a language perspective, I personally think you should comment on it and make your feelings known. Fair enough?

    Regarding Safe-for-work, see above. SFN has a pretty good history of not using the cheap trick of using hot photos of the ladies to drive traffic and I can’t recall any picture salty enough that I wouldn’t have minded my late Grandmother seein’ it — and Grandma was pretty devout, if you know what I am saying.

  4. jmartineau 10/03/2008 at 10:44 AM #

    Lots of great ideas here folks. In an attempt to assist with the use of real estate, can we relocate all of the blog links to a separate page and use the full width?

  5. WolftownVA81 10/03/2008 at 11:32 AM #

    I can’t offer any positive suggestions because 1) the technology involved in running a blog is foreign to me and 2) I really like the current format and content. I was really pleased with the new ability to edit entries. Thanks and keep up the good work guys.

  6. ruffles31 10/03/2008 at 2:02 PM #

    RAWFS, thanks for all your hard work. The only I would investigate is why the archive doesn’t work that well. If I click on Older at the top of the SFN page, it goes to page 2 of 131. If I click on Older again, it gets frozen and never goes to page 3 of 131. I have seen this for a while and never understand why it doesn’t work properly. I have seen that if I click on a blog entry, I can go back in time one post at a time, but not one entire page through the Older button.

    Thanks.

  7. StateFans 10/03/2008 at 2:06 PM #

    ruffles, thanks for the heads-up. To be honest, I am not going to take a look at that until I do a site upgrade, which I may put the coffeepot on tonight and accomplish. Certainly in the next few days.

    You folks may have noticed that we migrated to a three-column style this morning and with a slightly wider page. Hope you like that.

  8. Trip 10/03/2008 at 2:20 PM #

    Wider page and 3 columns = Good. My monitor thanks you. =)

  9. StateFans 10/03/2008 at 2:29 PM #

    Trip, hang on, change is coming. Not the stuff you hear the presidential candidates talking about, but JB34 and I are kicking around some really cool redesign termplates that are way better than this one. No target date yet, but it is in progress.

  10. wufdog 10/03/2008 at 4:00 PM #

    I happen to like the summary rather than the whole feed. Often I am reading this at work and the summary is bettersuited for my time constraints. I say it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

  11. wufdog 10/03/2008 at 4:03 PM #

    Did someone mention meeting and having a beer. I am all for that. Say the word and I am there.

  12. highstick 10/03/2008 at 9:44 PM #

    Gotta make a trip to Raleigh Monday. Where are we meeting for the beers??

    Alpha, if I’d known you were missing out on some of the greatest games ever with TB, MT, and DT, I’d have rescued you! Got to see most of those games live. I think I even rushed an ER doc at Rex to get my head sewn up fast so I didn’t miss one of the State-Carolina games. I’d split my head open with an overhead light fixture. Never would have guessed DT would have been there a few weeks later after making that awful crash on his head!

  13. EverettBeez 10/04/2008 at 11:03 AM #

    I’ll proceed slowly with changes, mainly cause I am that way and really like what you all have created.
    I actually like scrolling through the comments. They can get long sometimes, but I actually read what everyone rights on topics I am following.
    Keep up the great work and I look forward to your changes (like the photo section that was announced today) and maybe even contribuiting one of these days.

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