IMPORTANT! Should EN World continue reporting RPG news?

[Kid Charlemagne]

I'm not here that often any more, so my opinion shouldn't count for too much, but when I found ENWorld back in 2001/2002, I came here primarily for the forums. I never had the front page/news bookmarked and always skipped past it. I concur with Erik Mona's point that the news as constituted now isn't that compelling; its a compilation of quick blurbs and news releases. If there was actual in-depth reporting going on, that would be extremely cool and compelling (i'm reminded of when Xath and DangerGirl did a report from one of the Cons, and of course Eric Noah's original work on this site back in his day), but I'm not sure if any RPG site out there even attempts to do that.

 

[buddhafrog]

The first thing I do when I visit Enworld every-other-day is check the news page. I will open a link occasionally (once/week), but even for those that I don't open, I like knowing what's happening. Not necessary as it won't change my Enworld visits, but it's nice to have here.

 

[buddhafrog]

I'm not here that often any more, so my opinion shouldn't count for too much, but when I found ENWorld back in 2001/2002, I came here primarily for the forums. I never had the front page/news bookmarked and always skipped past it. I concur with Erik Mona's point that the news as constituted now isn't that compelling; its a compilation of quick blurbs and news releases. If there was actual in-depth reporting going on, that would be extremely cool and compelling (i'm reminded of when Xath and DangerGirl did a report from one of the Cons, and of course Eric Noah's original work on this site back in his day), but I'm not sure if any RPG site out there even attempts to do that.

I don't disagree. It could be outsourced to various members above a certain XP level so that it doesn't take more of paid staff time. I'd be interested in this type of thing as well.

 

[questing gm]

In my busy schedule, I always drop and check the news page. Sometimes it's all I can afford for the day without even dropping by the boards.

 

[Scott DeWar]

I read it, osmetimes more then once per day. I also get depressed when i see something I would like, but can't scrape any scratch. I must pay the rent and all that.

 

[Morrus]

I don't disagree. It could be outsourced to various members above a certain XP level so that it doesn't take more of paid staff time. I'd be interested in this type of thing as well.

Heh - we've tried the volunteer approach a half-dozen times over the last decade. You'd be surprised how quickly a group of active volunteers goes from 20 to 10 to 5 to 2 to 1 to 0!

We've got a number of paid columnists now, though - Erik Mona, Ari Marmell, Ryan Dancey, plus an official reviewer.

 

[nedjer]

Heh - we've tried the volunteer approach a half-dozen times over the last decade. You'd be surprised how quickly a group of active volunteers goes from 20 to 10 to 5 to 2 to 1 to 0!

We've got a number of paid columnists now, though - Erik Mona, Ari Marmell, Ryan Dancey, plus an official reviewer.

Maybe forum postings RSS feed box at the top with recent comments showing latest post summaries.

Then RSS TRPG/ TRPG news category links with sell through for thsoe after pictures, feature posts . . . IOI or similar comes to mind though I've know idea if it'd intergrate alongside vBulletin - but you've a cPanel so a redirect off a Wordpress front page might suffice.

For those who ain't keen, perhaps, dude gets bored doing repetitive chores, dude hates neglecting gorgeous new wife . . . eats into dude's love of the hobby . . .

 

[Zil]

The News page was the only thing I looked at for the first few years I came to En-World. Now the forums are the stronger draw, but I still go to the news page first before checking the forums. I think I would sorely miss the news page as it's where I get a lot of RPG related news, even if some of it is just official announcements of various products. Sure, I could probably pull the news out of the forums, but it's nice to see a compiled list of interesting news on the front page.

 

[thalmin]

I ordinarily check the news page every 2-3 days, plus checking the newsletter when I get it.

I have been checking more frequently now looking for info from the GAMA Trade Show. (Normally I have attended the show, this year things got in the way). So far, no news. Anywhere!?!

 

[Ranes]

The news used to be the first thing I read with every visit. The ENworld home page is still my browser bookmark. But news is no longer the first thing I read. That era came to an end with the launch of 4e. Nowadays, I clock the headlines but then head to the forum. Once I've lurked long enough, I read the columns. However, I would rather read RPG news on ENworld than anywhere else. Should there still be a news page when 5e is on the horizon, I'd definitely pay closer attention. (Then 5e would come out and I'd stop.)

All I'm saying is that, while I appreciate the work you've put into the news over the years, I wouldn't be upset if you chose to concentrate your efforts elsewhere. Thanks for asking us our opinion, too.