Loss Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 I'm working on some things that I wanted to share with you all. A select few of you already know some of this, but I saw no need to keep it a secret from everyone any longer. I've mentioned before that I will be putting out a top 500 matches of the 90s. I've decided that instead of just doing a series of message board posts, I would like to make an e-book out of this concept. I will select the 500 best matches of the 90s from my point of view and review all of them in chronological order. As far as ranking the matches, I will save that for a message board post, as I think the contentious debate over the difference between number 388 and 389 will play well here, where I think it would distract from the content of an e-book. In addition to just reviewing matches in the e-book, I also plan to include some sidebar stories on fun/important news items, angles and promos throughout the decade. My hope is to create a viewing companion to watching wrestling all over the world in the 1990s that would also work as a bathroom reader. I'm targeting having this done and available by February. I've also decided that around this time, I would like to launch a front site for Pro Wrestling Only. I have already contacted some key people who I would like to have write content for the site and I will be contacting some more in the coming days, weeks and months. I think I have a good vision for what I want the website to be. I'll share more details as I'm able to nail more of it down, but I think you'll all be very happy with the final product. There are plenty of websites that cover wrestling news, and there are plenty of pop culture and sports websites that cover wrestling as one of many topics. I am aiming for something very different from what other sites are doing. More info on that front soon. Because my vision is ambitious and I want to do it right, I'm doing a lot of preparation and planning before launching, so we're still a long way from the site being a reality. That said, I am very open to ideas. If any of you would like to get on board and have ideas about how you might be able to contribute to something like this, please send me a private message and we will talk it out. Despite all of this, I want the message board that we have all fostered and made what it is to largely remain what it is. Any changes to the board I want to be minimal, if there are in fact any changes to it at all. However, I do want to expand our community and get more people posting here, so you'll probably notice me doing some outreach, both by posting more at other message boards around the Internet and in increasing our social media presence. We currently have over 500 followers on Twitter (please follow us if you aren't already!), but there are other forms of social media where I plan on giving us some presence in the near future. Just know that while I do want to expand, it's not worth expansion to the detriment of the quality of this board. We will continue moderating the board just as we do now to ensure that anyone who posts here isn't making this place a less fun outlet to talk about pro wrestling with other fans. Thanks to all of you for helping make this place awesome, and here's to the future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 The site should reflect the forums in my opinion e.g. with a lot of analysis and debating of minutae and treating wrestling in a more academic, intelligent way. That has been the joy of reading the board, the sheer amount of knowledge and the amount of effort that has gone into a lot of posts. It should function more as an academic journal than as just another wrestling site offering news and opinions. It should have a timeless quality to it rather than week by week scrutiny of booking decisions. That is what I'd like to see anyway on a personal level, I'm sure people have their own better ideas, especially if the idea is to expand the community. Not sure expansion is always a good thing, though. My contributions aren't especially insightful or intellectual, so not really the best person to make the point that having a higher profile and a greater number of posters can dilute the quality of discussion. But that has to be a worry. This place has often been a sanctuary from the stupidity that is endemic on a lot of remaining boards and websites. Even relatively smart sites like DVDVR weren't particularly great when the traffic was highest, and it led to an ultimate decline. Anyway, just my two cents from someone who has been here for almost ten years on and off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Thanks for the support and believe me, I share the concerns you have about expanding too much. It's something I want to do carefully and with thought. I think there's a right way and a wrong way to attract more people to the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exposer Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 This sounds like a promising future. I think the fact that this board is more formal (I don't think that's the right word but whatever) makes it a much better board than others around the net. We've had a lot of very interesting and informative posts over the years from a wide-range of people. Some of those posts include a lot of research. I guess what I'm saying is those kinds of posts are very unique and probably deserve to be put in a place where they can be better admired. The talk about backstage politics and our average wrestling message board stuff can always stay here for everyone to discuss as usual. I'm probably not being very clear. What I'm trying to say is those long, researched (practically academic posts) would be best put in their own place. I'm talking about those posts where Kris and Dylan research attendance records or study the career's of various workers. My point is I think a front site could hold those kinds of retrospectives and research. It can make for a very unique site while being interesting and informative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillThompson Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 I'll say this, I've been very happy with PWO since I became a member a few months back. Had I known about this place years ago chances are I never would have migrated away from pro wrestling for so long. Whether it continues as a message board or becomes something more than just a message board I'll be along for the ride, because this place delivers a high level of discussion that is engaging, thoughtful, and enhances my life as a pro wrestling fan in positive ways on a consistent basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrestlingPower Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 I agree with Exposer, aggregating the top research, high traffic posts onto a main site would help make them more timeless instead of a "popping off the front page" situation. I'm thinking about like HOF discussion threads on various candidates, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 A front site that has a clear section for "What to listen too" re: the podcasts is great for getting all the shows more exposure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badlittlekitten Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 My dream has always been to have a book like Garry Mulholland's This Is Uncool: The 500 Best Singles since Punk and Disco, but in wrestling form. That Loss is doing something similar is thrilling. I'm stoked for this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 My dream has always been to have a book like Garry Mulholland's This Is Uncool: The 500 Best Singles since Punk and Disco, but in wrestling form. That Loss is doing something similar is thrilling. I'm stoked for this! I modeled this after other "500 songs" type books for sure, but wow, I Googled this list and I am having fun discovering all kinds of great music. Thanks for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCampbell Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Loss, this may sound old-fashioned, but, please consider *not* having a comments section a la 411, Inside Pulse, Keith's blog, etc. Unless they're heavily moderated, it's pretty much a breeding ground for trolling and flame wars. Either delinate a section of the board to it, or just have the writer's email linked, so people can send feedback that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 If we do comments, I'm thinking something worthwhile and heavily moderated. Think Green Greenwald when he worked for Salon, if any of you read him then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 It's all about the moderation. Bloody Elbow's comment section is dramatically different from the vast majority of MMA sites because it's moderated really well. AV Club has great comments. Wrestling sites are a different animal, sure, but if you moderate it and foster a community that keeps everyone in check, you'll do fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zep81 Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 How does one gain access to the 'Projects and Lists' section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Does anyone here have any real world editing experience? I would appreciate someone who would be willing to take a look at what I've written so far for the e-book and do the following: * Ensure that I'm being consistent stylistically (Use of first and last names vs just last names, past vs present tense, even use of hyphens vs dashes) * Look for phrases or talking points that may be repeated too often and bring them to my attention, sometimes suggesting alternate wording * Double check me on spelling and grammar We're probably looking at 250,000-300,000 words in total, of which I've written about 40,000 so far. I can't pay anyone unfortunately, but I can give you a free e-book when it's completed along with an editor credit. Please PM me if you're interested. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 Found someone. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 Loss, this totally slipped my mind, I can also take a look if you want another pair of eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 It's all about the moderation. Bloody Elbow's comment section is dramatically different from the vast majority of MMA sites because it's moderated really well. AV Club has great comments. Wrestling sites are a different animal, sure, but if you moderate it and foster a community that keeps everyone in check, you'll do fine. This is a month and a half later but I'd like to see a feasible alternative to Disqus (and certainly alternative to Facebook) for comments. AVClub has seen a noticeable quality dip since all Disqus comments went "uniform" and certain articles and reviews have been overrun by trolls and brigades from other sites, as just happened with the Dinesh Disouza America docu review. Granted, "pro wresting only" is a bit more isolated than a pop cultuer site, but the last thing I want is some site vs. site "war." Baseballthinkfactory has its own commenting system and is also well-patrolled, and that leads to generally intelligent and informed discussion even in divisive threads, which is the ideal I think we want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I think that BillThompson post above pretty much sums up my love for PWO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 It's all about the moderation. Bloody Elbow's comment section is dramatically different from the vast majority of MMA sites because it's moderated really well. AV Club has great comments. Wrestling sites are a different animal, sure, but if you moderate it and foster a community that keeps everyone in check, you'll do fine. This is a month and a half later but I'd like to see a feasible alternative to Disqus (and certainly alternative to Facebook) for comments. AVClub has seen a noticeable quality dip since all Disqus comments went "uniform" and certain articles and reviews have been overrun by trolls and brigades from other sites, as just happened with the Dinesh Disouza America docu review. Granted, "pro wresting only" is a bit more isolated than a pop cultuer site, but the last thing I want is some site vs. site "war." Baseballthinkfactory has its own commenting system and is also well-patrolled, and that leads to generally intelligent and informed discussion even in divisive threads, which is the ideal I think we want. What do you mean by when Disqus went uniform at AV Club? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Fuck, I don't even know. What I was TRYING to say is AVClub comments switched to being the same Disqus you see across every other website that uses it, with centralized all-purpose accounts instead of accounts exclusive to AVClub, allowing anyone with any Disqus account anywhere to run in and comment on an article, and for anyone to see where any account had commented elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Agree with PeteF3 that my favorite comments site (avclub) has really went by the wayside with their new comment integration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 While working on the e-book, I'm finding that one thing that is slowing me down immensely is some of the research and fact checking. Are there any volunteers that would be willing to help me with this aspect of putting the book together? It's mainly confirming which issue of the WON something came up in for the first time, which town a match happened in, whether or not a title was at stake in a match ... that sort of thing. PM me if you are interested. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I have found someone who can assist me with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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