IMPORTANT! Should EN World continue reporting RPG news?

[steeldragons]

I'll preface by saying that I am relatively new to ENworld (less than a year, still, I think). I do not often look at the actual news page, myself, but have on occasion or if I see something referenced.

While links to news in other sites get referenced also, I still think that to eliminate the news page as it is presented here would be a loss.

For the simple fact of convenience of having a site that produces news that is NOT solely concerned with their own or some other single company.

If you want to think of Enworld as a "community" site vs. a "news site", I think that would be totally accurate. But that, in itself, is reason to KEEP the news page. You are assembling and providing the knowledge from our community for our community in a way that other sites do not.

And, from what I've read in other respones in this thread, providing info many if not most ENworld members would not otherwise have access...or would have to click around to every individual company site to get their particular news.

In short, having it is a service to the community.
And I thank you for it.

--Steel Dragons

 

[Thunderfoot]

I think what you are feeling Morrus is the effect of news transmission on the younger generations. We that grew up in the 70s/80s are the last group of people that dealt with the traditional news format. Newspaper, TV, radio and very few sources for these as well.

While EN World isn't a traditional source of information, it is a uniquely NICHED source of information. So most of the time, the info only speaks to certain people. Please don't get rid of the news, because like standard news, very few people may pay attention to all if it daily, but when the really big stuff happens, you want to make sure the means are there to get the word out. Maybe a change of format or reducing the regular posting schedule or something along those lines, but, axe whole cloth, please don't.

 

[TarionzCousin]

I think ENWorld's main page is really useful for finding out Non-WotC stuff, though, and I would miss it if it were gone.

I read the front page every few days, and what I like best about it are its links to non-WotC publishers, products, and people. I use it as a source of information and would really miss it if it were gone.

 

[jeffh]

I'd be very sad to see the news page go. I don't post that often but I've been a reader of this site in its various forms since 1999 and it was the 3E news of that early era that first brought me here.

But, if I'm honest with myself, I'd be sad about this for reasons of nostalgia, not because I get a hell of a lot out of it in its current form. For reasons others such as Umbran and especially Erik Mona have touched on, the news page as it currently exists, while I still find it worth browsing, is just not as interesting as it used to be.

Besides the factors others have mentioned, I'd also have to say there is less need for the kind of resource this site used to be than there was in the early years; all but the smallest publishers are smarter about getting the word out themselves, and the third party market is (with the possible exception of the OSR) just not as exciting a place as it used to be. I'm not saying that such a resource couldn't exist nowadays, and I for one would love it if it did, but the incentives to create one are weaker than they once were. Today's Internet and today's hobby gaming market are just different places than they were a decade ago.

 

[Steel_Wind]

My bookmark is set to enworld.org. I read the news page every day, multiple times during that day, without fail.

I expect the people who indicated they don't read it at all have their bookmark set to the main page of the forums, and so never see the news page.

End Result: This is a bookmark issue, not an news interest issue Morrus.

In order to make the news page more effective, you must make it more accessible to those who bookmark the first page of these forums as their entry point to ENWorld. If not, a large number of forum regulars are going to continue to miss it.

 

[wedgeski]

End Result: This is a bookmark issue, not an news interest issue Morrus.

You have cause and effect confused, at least in my case.

 

[NhojGnol]

Being more of an "Armchair" gamer atm (due to family etc) I find myself reading the news page at least once every other day. I enjoy the ability to find the "Major" news/announcements in one place (THANKS Morrus!!!).

Perhaps it would be easier to do a once or twice a week news update?

just my 0.02c worth
Nhoj

 

[Goonalan]

I check the news page out at least twice/day (since '98 or '99), and although things have slowed down somewhat there's still gold to be found there on a regular basis- every other day (or update) I find something I want to read more about.

I don't go anywhere else for my RPG news- I didn't know there was anywhere else to go...

For the first three or four years I didn't realise you could 'join' a website, and I didn't know what a forum was either- were there even forums here back in 98/99- I'm not very computer savvy- still.

It would be a real shame to see it go altogether.

Whatever the decision is thanks Morrus for keeping it going this long- a fantastic resource that has made my day more interesting on a very regular basis.

 

[Rune]

I have the news page set as my starting page for my browser. I always at least skim what's new.

That said, back in the day, we all pounced on every scrap of information we could get of what 3e was going to be like (with some good speculation and extrapolation thrown right in on the news page--I'm sure I'm not the only one who knew exactly how Attacks of Opportunity worked before the PHB even came out!).

Frankly, I haven't done that in a long time--mostly because 4e's release felt so sudden. There really wasn't a chance to get that excited about it (although I do play and enjoy it).

So, I guess it comes to this. The news is still interesting (congrats on the online game, by the way), but it isn't that important to me, anymore.

 

[mach1.9pants]

I have the RSS feed, so I read it every day. That said it is rare that I actually click to the page to see something. I voted 'I read the news' but would not die of despair if it left, but I do enjoy it.