NWR Interactive => NWR Feedback => Topic started by: Pale on January 19, 2009, 05:32:11 PM
Title: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Pale on January 19, 2009, 05:32:11 PM
I've seen several people make mention of wanting Hot Topic to come back.
I think it's pretty obvious that it wasn't quite as successful as everyone would have liked when it was here the first time. If we do bring it back, I think it needs to be changed a bit...
So, consider this a suggestion thread. What would you all do with Hot Topic?
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: vudu on January 19, 2009, 05:44:01 PM
1. Get rid of the prize. Contests ruin everything. 2. Encourage members to respond to each other's ideas. 3. Impose a 250 word maximum post length. 4. Ask people to only respond if they have something worthwhile to say.
The biggest problem with the old Hop Topic was everyone was trying to "win" the thread so they typically responded to the original question and largely ignored responses by other forum members. Ideas were repeated, they weren't expanded upon, and the conversation didn't progress. It was a bore to read.
However, I liked the idea. If you get rid of the prize people will be more likely to read each other's posts and grow their ideas instead of just saying something in order to be entered for the drawing. I'm also a firm believer that less is more. Impose a limit on the length of the post to get people to trim the fat and boil down the essence of their idea into one or two really good paragraphs instead of two pages of rambling and repeating.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Stogi on January 19, 2009, 05:57:35 PM
1. Change the name. It doesn't have be clever but it shouldn't be HOT TOPIC.
2. The prizes should be substantial. Like a T-shirt or a chance to write an editorial. This will make more people participate, and furthermore, try. Also, it will attract more new users who just float around to actually sign up and join the community.
3. You should be consistent. If your doing it every week, then post a new topic every week. If it's bi-weekly, monthly, or whatever, just make sure you keep doing it promptly.
4. Have specials with special prizes. Don't be afraid to break the regiment with a particularly special Hot Topic. It could coincide E3, or it could come after some baffling news. Make sure it's worth it though.
I understand Vudu's argument about people only responding to original question in order to win, but taking out the prize isn't the solution. All you have to do is award the best comment not the best answer. And that could mean anything, allowing a lot of breathing room. If you take out the prize, you take out the whole reason to participate.
I also don't like his restrictions of 250 words or less. Let people write whatever the hell they like.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: King of Twitch on January 20, 2009, 12:19:17 AM
Eff yea, prizes are awesome keep those.
In the old HT, the rules said something about promoting well-thought out answers..but I know for a fact Pro and I had some one-liners quoted in the results and those were sometimes more fun than the serious ones. I agree that the first few posters usually answered the question, and it became unavoidable to just repeat their ideas (because of broad topics?). Maybe more 'interactivity' is the answer
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Kairon on January 20, 2009, 05:34:29 PM
Didn't the original Hot Topic randomly select a winner from the commenters? There was no judging on quality of post... I sorta liked that. What about you guys? I mean, the competition amongst posters was to get quoted in the write-up, not to win the prize!
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: vudu on January 20, 2009, 05:39:22 PM
I believe your post had to meet a certain criteria set forth by SUPER in order to be eligible for the random drawing. I'm not sure what (if any) criteria he used.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Stogi on January 20, 2009, 08:38:27 PM
Didn't the original Hot Topic randomly select a winner from the commenters? There was no judging on quality of post... I sorta liked that. What about you guys? I mean, the competition amongst posters was to get quoted in the write-up, not to win the prize!
That's dumb though. Why can't we write an editorial? Why can't we win a T-shirt or DVD?
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 20, 2009, 08:55:11 PM
Why couldn't one-liners win?
Putting "SUPER" and "criteria" in the same sentence is laffable.
Why aren't their HAWT TOPICS about HAWT POCKETS?
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Kairon on January 20, 2009, 10:29:39 PM
Didn't the original Hot Topic randomly select a winner from the commenters? There was no judging on quality of post... I sorta liked that. What about you guys? I mean, the competition amongst posters was to get quoted in the write-up, not to win the prize!
That's dumb though. Why can't we write an editorial? Why can't we win a T-shirt or DVD?
I'm actually not proposing that we get rid of the prizes. I was going for getting rid of judging criteria and just randomly pick a winner from the posters who contribute... probably weeding out the joke posts though. You shouldn't feel like you have to write an editorial, a one-liner, or anything in-between, I say. Just contribute sensibly and you'll be eligible for the prize.
Of course, I guess long essays are somewhat less likely to garner the totally awesome and totally meaningless sense of accomplishment (what we're all REALLY competing for, I think) that comes from being quoted in the write-up.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 20, 2009, 10:47:16 PM
You have to answer in 4 words or less, or less than 12 letters. It's gotta be to the point and from the heart.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Khushrenada on January 21, 2009, 02:03:38 AM
Eh. Here's the biggest problem with Hot Topic. If it was a hot topic, it was most likely already being discussed on another thread in the forum. So discussion would be divided between two topics. Then, since most people were just giving an essay to respond to the topic, it wasn't worth looking through much.
Plus, a lot of the questions weren't that interesting to begin with? Do you think the Wii third parties are lacking? Are you going to get an Xbox 360? Not exactly pressing questions or anything that is going to create inspired discussion. Frankly, I find the Blog's more interesting than the Hot Topics and some of those would make good Hot Topic questions or discussions. What can Sony do now and in the future? Should video game review formats be changed? While it may still result in some petty bickering here and there, questions and discussions like that are more likely to bring forth some interesting comments and people are more likely to respond and add to a person's comment or discuss a person's idea in such a discussion.
Personally, I would leave out any questions that have to do with current news. Often, there is a talkback thread and this news is being discussed in another relevant thread somewhere. A third thread isn't going to produce much more enthusiasm. I think it might be more interesting if the questions were focused on the video game industry in general or things of interest to the NWR site. Questions like: Are video game magazines still relevant? Should video games be turned into movies? Could it ever work? What can be done to increase sales of critically acclaimed games. i.e. Psychonauts, Zack & Wiki, Beyond Good and Evil? Why did Trauma Center succeed and become a successful enough franchise whereas others have not? What do you think of the changes to NWR? Biggest complaint about the site? Best thing about the site?
You can get feedback and you can also make the community think abit and talk about things that aren't normally discussed. We are going to post the latest pics and news about upcoming games. We don't really need hot topics on that. We'll discuss the latest news rumors and speculate about what we think E3 will show. While we do discuss issues like the samples I gave, at least they are not topics we discuss to death or bring up frequently. Well, maybe the part about when we don't like something at the site. That's something we can all be vocal about over time.
If it's brought back, I'd suggest that the direction of Hot Topic be changed from what it was before. Instead of just talking about the latest news, I'd say it should discuss something not currently being talked about. A new subject instead. Sure, there can be times when it does crossover with some big news story or event but I'd say those times should be limited.
Prizes I don't care about. While it is true that it may cause some to post for the sake of it and not bother to add anything to the discussion, I believe that by making the topics different from what is already being talked about and by challenging the creativity of people on here, the discussion will come on its own. By creating topics that are going to bring forth new ideas, then people will naturally bring in their views on a person's comments and a discussion will flow more naturally. The way it was before, people were posting about things that were already talked to death and thus the conversation had ended before it began on those threads.
Crimm was starting to get on the right track with some of his questions but asking if games should all come with fully customizable control schemes and which ones need them isn't quite the same as a topic asking if this generation may cause a shake-up in the video game media world with many cases of bias becoming appearant and the fact that reviewers seem to be having less releveance on the sales of games. Or whether the negative perception of third party games now on the Wii is going to hurt Nintendo in the future or next gen. Those are interesting topics and while there have been some discussion as to the state of third party games or the state of the gaming media, the conversation often doesn't steer down those paths. Why not lead the way?
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: vudu on January 21, 2009, 01:56:25 PM
That right there is why I propose a 250-word limit. No one wants to read that ****.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Khushrenada on January 22, 2009, 12:06:48 AM
Sorry.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: vudu on January 30, 2009, 03:58:05 PM
Told you no one wanted to read your long-winded post. You killed the thread; nice going.
I think the discussion currently going on in the Mushroom Men review thread (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=27274.0) would make a good Hot Topic ... topic.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Khushrenada on January 30, 2009, 06:30:16 PM
Don't make me kill it again.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Ian Sane on February 02, 2009, 07:47:31 PM
I like Khushrenada's idea about general topics like those blog examples he used. But I think current news should also occasionally be the topic. If both are possibilities then that makes for more possible topics.
I like the idea of prizes though I won one of them once so I supposed I may be biased. ;) If it's a cost issue I have no objection with no prizes but otherwise why not have prizes? Who doesn't like winning stuff?
I suggest that joke posts not be allowed for it though as that kind of goes against the whole point of having a hot topic. You should be expected to provide some sort of opinion.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: nforums on April 27, 2009, 07:33:52 PM
1. Get rid of the prize. Contests ruin everything. 2. Encourage members to respond to each other's ideas. 3. Impose a 250 word maximum post length. 4. Ask people to only respond if they have something worthwhile to say.
That could fix most of the internets messages boards!
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: vudu on April 27, 2009, 08:05:16 PM
One small step for NWR, one giant leap for teh interwebs,
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Khushrenada on April 30, 2009, 01:35:02 AM
What the heck? I thought I killed this thread. Let it rest in peace already.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Stratos on May 01, 2009, 08:17:47 PM
You didn't kill it. I read your whole mega-post. If you write well I'll read the whole post and even if someone didn't write one very well I will still read it to try and understand what it being said.
I like your thoughts about the matter, Khush. I never partook in these since I was merely a lurker when they came and went, but hearing about them has piqued my interest in them.
Prizes can very easily ruin things like this. The closest thing to a prize should be seeing your quotes placed in the article. If someone needs a prize to motivate them to think and converse then I question whether or not they would have anything unique or relevant to the topic at hand. I could be proven wrong, but that's a general rule of thumb I've seen.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: that Baby guy on June 09, 2009, 03:48:48 AM
Why can't news be the "Hot Topic," in this sense: Publish worthwhile, insightful forum posts. Publish them at the bottom of the original article, make a weekly round-up of the chosen comments and related articles, even. There's no reason to limit the hot topic to something that has to be planned out and has gone stale on the forums already, and this method would offer a true sense of editorial voice to forum members, particularly those interested in Nintendo-related news. Part of the prize is seeing your own name on some of the news, and knowing that you've said something worth reprinting. Tying those posts straight to the news story, publishing an insightful voice on a front-page article is a nifty, and attractive thing.
I've said this back then, and I'm saying it now: A big draw of PGC was the "______ says '________________________'" feature every article and news clip had. Why not embrace the forum by making them a part of the front site, rather than limiting the scope of what they can have published to a limited, individual topic weekly. Of course, I'd hope that most staff members would be able to affix posts to the front page when they choose, since it would be a heavier load of reading than one single weekly thread.
Edit: Not to mention, this could help strengthen staff/forum-goer relations, as it would allow some of the more news-oriented staff members to be involved with, and see more from the forum-goers. The members of the forum would more-or-less see that insightful and thought-out posts are being noticed and given attention from staff and site visitors. Seems like a win-win on that front.
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: DAaaMan64 on June 09, 2009, 11:42:11 AM
where the hell have you been
Title: Re: Bring back Hot Topic??
Post by: Khushrenada on June 09, 2009, 04:37:44 PM
He finally escaped my elaborate death trap. I thought I had him this time. That's what I get for leaving him alone for 110 days without checking back to see if he was actually dead.
