View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
|
Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 24391
|
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 1:51 pm
|
|
|
I know this has been a long-standing practise at ANN but I wonder if it is necessary.
What I'm referring to is that ANN will offer two separate articles on the same subject - usually licensing or release announcements. The latest example that comes to mind is:
Quote: | NEWS: Sentai Filmworks Adds The 'Hentai' Prince and the Stony Cat TV Anime |
and
Quote: | PR: Sentai Filmworks Licenses Henneko - The Hentai Prince & The Stony Cat |
Both articles now have their own separate thread in the Talkback forum even though they are about the exact same event.
Does it not make more sense to use a press release as the basis of an ANN News article as opposted to creating an article AND publishing the press release verbatim? As I say, this often results in two different threads covering the same subject.
Perhaps there is some business-related reason for doing things this way that I'm not aware of? All I know is that as a reader, I'd prefer to have only one article that combines info from the press release with whatever additional details ANN feels relevant.
|
Back to top |
|
|
yuna49
Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
|
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 2:25 pm
|
|
|
I've found this practice annoying as well. It splits up the discussion into two parallel threads.
|
Back to top |
|
|
ikillchicken
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7272
Location: Vancouver
|
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 5:40 pm
|
|
|
Yes, this is definitely a nuisance.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dessa
Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
|
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 9:22 pm
|
|
|
On the one hand, yes, it's annoying in the forums. On the other, Press Releases are exactly what the person releasing it wants to say. ANN's articles often include other information from other sources and such. It would be inappropriate for the press releases not to be posted.
What I would prefer, is that if an article is posted regarding the contents of the Press Release, the "discuss this article" link in the Press Release and the Article point to the same spot. So that there's only one thread, but the press release remains as it is intended in its entirety.
|
Back to top |
|
|
dtm42
Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
|
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 11:58 pm
|
|
|
Dessa, newspapers do not publish press releases verbatim - if at all - yet they still manage to tell news and get across the relevant information.
I don't mind ANN having a database of press releases, but I don't think that press releases need discussion threads.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Tempest
I Run this place.
ANN Publisher
Joined: 29 Dec 2001
Posts: 10470
Location: Do not message me for support.
|
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 8:37 am
|
|
|
Hi All,
We'll continue to post PRs and News articles separately. There is indeed a reason for this. What goes into ANN's news is essentially the most important / interesting items we have time for in the day. Which isn't to say that just because we don't have time to cover it, it isn't important.
The PR section was created in order to give us the ability to post press releases verbatim even if we don't have time to write a full news article about them. Of course, if we post some PRs, we have to post them all (all relevant ones), we can't only post the ones that we don't cover.
As for the multiple threads issue, I definitely see the point. In fact, it's bothered me a bit in the past as well, just never enough to do anything. PR's will always have a talkback thread, it makes no sense for a PR that doesn't have an associated news article to not have any talkback thread whatsoever.
What we can do is find a way to merge the talkback threads of news articles and their associated press releases. In order to avoid adding any extra burden on the news team (more work = less news articles), this would probably be set up in the forum allowing moderators to merge the talkback threads (something they can already do) and have the CMS recognize the merged thread (something it does not do).
This might not happen immediately though, right now our development time is focussed on launching ANN 5.0, as well as a few other major projects.
-t
|
Back to top |
|
|
Dan42
Chief Encyclopedist
Joined: 02 Jan 2002
Posts: 3794
Location: Montreal
|
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 9:58 am
|
|
|
If mods merge the PR thread into the NEWS thread while leaving a shadow topic, then both articles will effectively have the same discussion thread.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 24391
|
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 11:50 am
|
|
|
@ Tempest: the merging of discussion threads would be very cool. That's really the crux of the issue for me. I don't really care if there are two items covering the same event - it's having to track the topic in two different threads that's the bigger concern for me. I understand if there are other more pressing developments to take care of first, but it would be cool to have this merging policy in effect whenever it becomes practical.
|
Back to top |
|
|
|