Ideas so far

Discussion of other water gun websites.
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Hunt_and_Annoy
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Post by Hunt_and_Annoy » Mon Sep 05, 2005 7:46 pm

I think that chats aren't too hard to moderate, if someone is bad, warn them, then kick the, then if they continue, ban from the chat for one day, then a week, etc. In the paintball chats I've gone to, I've seen how they are successfully moderated.

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isoaker_com
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Post by isoaker_com » Tue Sep 06, 2005 2:01 pm

Soakerhunter wrote:I think that chats aren't too hard to moderate, if someone is bad, warn them, then kick the, then if they continue, ban from the chat for one day, then a week, etc. In the paintball chats I've gone to, I've seen how they are successfully moderated.

Yup, that works, but only when you have someone around to do the moderating.

Checking forums from time to time, looking for bad or problematic posts, is ok. Chats need to be monitored continuously if the chat rooms are open.
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Neuro
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Post by Neuro » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:02 am

I dunno, I don't think this is exactly the "OMG IDLE AND SUPPORT" IRC crowd. A lot of open source project channels are basically a bunch of people idling, every once in a while someone will drop in and ask a quick question, the project staff usually have mIRC set to flash when a new message pops up. The staff pop open mIRC for a minute, answer the question, and all is well. Takes less time than getting a question answered on the forums by far. Only problem is, I would say forums posts are part of the content of the site - if you can't find an answer on the main site, you search the forums. By bypassing the forums, we detract from the amount of new additions to forum content. Other than that, I think an IRC channel would be a great way to communicate.

As far as the problem of content moderation goes.... it's IRC, you're going to get the occasional spammer. It's not really a problem, that's what we have EggDrops for - server-placed ChanServ's are pretty useless though. Unfortunately, Apis Networks doesn't allow us to run anything IRC-related, so we'd need some sort of shell box. Personally, I dual-boot Windows XP and Fedora Core 3, so my Linux install wouldn't exactly be ideal for hosting an EggDrop. However, I'll be setting up a pure Linux server in my basement soon with an old computer, so that might be a solution to that problem.
Last edited by Neuro on Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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You can pretty much ignore the times on that, I rarely ever have Xfire on when I play. I should, though.
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Hunt_and_Annoy
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Post by Hunt_and_Annoy » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:32 pm

Yea, on the chat we have over at SSN, there haven't been any spam problems, but then again no one has really gone there yet.

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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Fri Sep 09, 2005 11:54 pm

Hunter, Java chats usually are slow and freeze a lot of computers (mine included). I think that has a lot to do with why your chat hasn't been used very much. It is getting adequate exposure, but I don't think everyone is going to keep a browser window open all day to try out the chat.

Apis Networks might be able to provide some sort of IRC server if I ask. They've been the nicest people so I do not see how it couldn't be possible. It might cost a small fee though. I think IRC isn't as important as the newsletter though.

A domain name is my immediate concern... post a bunch of ideas because I'm fresh out.

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isoaker_com
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Post by isoaker_com » Sat Sep 10, 2005 3:30 pm

Soakerhunter wrote:Yea, on the chat we have over at SSN, there haven't been any spam problems, but then again no one has really gone there yet.

I tried going there.. joining the chat failed for me everytime. Couldn't log in, thus can't chat.

As for the domain name, well, perhaps it should be along the lines of whatever the newsletter is being called (as obvious as that is :P ).

I'd avoid using 'Super Soaker' in the newsletter name simply because it makes it appear to brand specific, though may be better for search engines presently. Water Warfare Times/Post/News/Newsletter/Uberlexicon/etc?
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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Sat Sep 10, 2005 8:26 pm

I try to stay away from the words "water warfare" because I haven't seen the word warfare in the top 200 search terms. Water fight I feel is more appropriate simply because it's the third most popular keyword and barely targeted. There's no brand affiliation too, so I don't think using the word Super Soaker in the title would be very accurate (despite my site doing so!). For most, Super Soaker and water gun are interchangable, showing the impact of the Super Soaker brand.

I'm thinking Waterfightnews.org or Watergunnews.org after iSoaker's comments. Newsletter is a little long, and from my experience in emails about starting newsletters, some people can't spell it. What are other's ideas on naming? I feel naming a website is very important if you want it to be popular.

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DX
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Post by DX » Sat Sep 10, 2005 9:00 pm

"Post" or "Times" would be better than "news." Water Fight makes sense SEO-wise, but doesn't sound very good. I still think "War" sounds better than "Fight" even though it does worse in search engines. I would also not use Super Soaker in the title, it does imply brand preference, or at least to those who do not find super soaker and water gun to be anything near interchangeable.

Whatever the final name is, it will probably be fine.
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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Sat Sep 10, 2005 9:11 pm

I'll wait for some other input on this before buying anything, however, I plan on buying a domain before this weekend is over. I do think we should keep SEO very much in mind if we intend for this to be as successful as possible.

A newsletter and community site seems to be something wanted at the moment, and I'll be sure to give my worth in it's development. ;)

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isoaker_com
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Post by isoaker_com » Wed Sep 14, 2005 12:12 pm

In order to still maintain some of the desired keywords, while they shouldn't be in the name, perhaps a subtitle along the lines of "Super Soakers, Water Warriors, Storm Guns, and Beyond" or something like that can be added as a subtitle in the various page headers, etc. Having a couple or even a few brands will help avoid making the newsletter/site seem brand specific. However, it also would serve to acknowledge the major brands of water blasters out there.

WWT: Water War Times
WWP: Water War Post
Water War Journal
Water War News
Water Fight Digest
Water Fighters Times
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Neuro
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Post by Neuro » Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:59 pm

@Ben:
I don't think our own IRC server is necessary. If you're going to ask Apis Networks for anything, ask them to allow you to run an Eggdrop on their server. I think EFNet, DALnet, or any of the major networks are plenty suitable for our purposes.
"I used to care, but now I take a pill for that."

You can pretty much ignore the times on that, I rarely ever have Xfire on when I play. I should, though.
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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Thu Sep 15, 2005 10:50 pm

I like the name Water Fight Digest a lot, in fact, that's the best one in my opinion. I also like the subtitle/slogan "Super Soakers, Water Warriors, Storm Guns, and Beyond", though I'd like to make a single revision to it: "Super Soakers, Water Warriors, Storm Water Guns, and Beyond". The word water already was there in "Water Warriors", though adding it after "Storm" should increase relevance for the popular term "storm water guns" and the extremely popular term "water guns".

If this project's goal is to help every website and have a popular newsletter, I believe the term "Water fight" should be included regardless of how "bad" the name sounds. Water fights are what many people call water wars, and I truly believe why we don't see more people say "water fight" is because none of our sites rank well in that term!

The domain is soon to be bought (again, I'm thinking waterfightdigest.com). ;)

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DX
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Post by DX » Fri Sep 16, 2005 2:32 am

Water Fight Digest is a very good sounding name. A great way to weave in the search term while keeping the name reasonable in terms of "Is this for us, the people, or is it just to garner search engine popularity?" A good balance of focus to the people and focus to keywords is best. I would go ahead with the domain name, IMO.
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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Fri Sep 16, 2005 10:13 am

Some SEO is good for everyone. Google asked in their guidelines if you would feel confortable telling your competitors that you use such techniques... I haven't had a problem yet. We're not going to go overboard on that, I just wanted to ensure that our site name had an untargeted keyword in it so that we could rank well from the start. This helps with anchor text and a whole bunch more. If we made a site just to please the search engines, it'd seriously look something like sscentral.ne t (which I filtered to fix broken links) because that's exactly what whoever bought it was trying to do.

The domain will be bought this weekend.

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DX
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Post by DX » Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:34 pm

Are we still doing the Newsletter? Cause right now the prospects aren't very good. This is turning out like the Website Awards-great idea, but where's the interest?
Mess With the Best, Get Soaked Like the Rest!

2004 Red Sox - World Series Champions
2007 Red Sox - World Series Champions!

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