Ahh the interwebs… Such flames
Posted on February 24, 2010
Filed Under devBlog | 24 Comments
I wasn’t quite prepared to make this post yet, but seeing as my hand has been pressed due the EVE Blogging community being all a flutter over the changes to the Blog Pack, I must.
Roc stated in his blog, his post was his views and his views alone, it wasn’t the views of Capsuleer.
I’ll state in this post, THESE are the views of Capsuleer.
First off lets talk a bit about history (need to start somewhere).
When version 2.0 of Capsuleer was released it came with a fancy new feature. Headlines. At that time the EVE blogging community smaller then it is now. We wanted a way to deliver some of the best fiction and in-game writing to the users of Capsuleer.
Picking the EVE Blog Pack was a natural choice. CK was maintaining a list of great writers who were active and creating content that the users of Capsuleer could enjoy and read. Capsuleer can deliver that content to thousands of readers daily. Its a great relationship, and worked well for everybody.
Flash forward to present day…
Over the year since Headlines first made its debut in Capsuleer the EVE Blogging community has grown considerably. There are MANY more active writers, and the content they are creating is amazing.
CK has decided to revise the Blog Pack and trim some of the blogs that are inactive as well as add more to it.
Good on him. It is HIS list after all.
CK realized that there needs to be change, be it good change or bad change, he did identify that it must happen.
So must Capsuleer.
I will say off the bat (well not really off the bat, cause I have already rambled on for a while now) that Capsuleer will always include the Blog Pack. Be it 20 members, be it 50, they’ll continued to be delivered through Capsuleer.
But (oh I know you were waiting for that) here is where things change on our end as well.
In version 2.1 (The version that is being worked on and tested right now) some changes are coming to the Headlines area. I want to add more content. As the community of writers grows so must the list of content Capsuleer provides.
I have no interest in maintaining a list of bloggers though, policing the content, nagging about posting. Its not what I do.
This where evebloggers comes in.
Just as CK did in the early days, Ga’len and BlackClaw are helping foster the community and help it grow with their awesome directory. Its a great destination for anyone looking for content about (and BY) the players of EVE.
Because of the nature of Capsuleer, it isn’t a generic RSS reader. If you want a generic RSS reader there are lots on the app store. Capsuleer is designed to be your portal to all things EVE. Its designed with speed and ascetics in mind. Because of those decisions I can’t just load any old RSS feed onto the phone.
There is a server process responsible for collecting and processing the feeds, and organizing whats changed. By doing things this way I can deliver a headline update in 10k vs pulling down an entire RSS feed only to realize that there are no new posts.
Its part of what makes refreshing headlines so blistering fast.
This feature isn’t going to change in 2.1. The server will always be responsible for collecting the content.
I also can’t just cram the 500+ blogs that are listed in the evebloggers listing into Capsuleer.
There has to be some kind of middle ground.
I’d love to work with the folks at evebloggers (to that note as soon as I hit publish on this post I’ll be emailing them) to evolve their listing to start categorizing and grouping blogs in a way that will make them easy to add to Capsuleer and easy for people to browse through and enjoy.
Some posts and comments have had great ideas around social network style promotion of blogs and posts, and ways to help the great content bubble to the top and get read by more people. I don’t think I have the bandwidth to code this into the 2.1 release, but its an interesting enough idea that its worth exploring for a release after 2.1. It can help bring the community together, and really help reward people for writing great content.
If you made it this far I am proud. I apologize for the length, but I really felt it was important that I state Capsuleer’s position.
As has been insinuated by a few people, we aren’t out to create elite cliques, or keep the blog community a closed affair. Out goal is to deliver features and content that the players of EVE enjoy using and reading.
I hope I have cleared up a few of the misconceptions with how the Blog Pack changes will effect Capsuleer.
If you have any questions please feel free to post them here as comments, post them on our forums at http://capsuleer.evesuite.com/forums/ or email me directly at pyjamasam@vanguardfrontiers.com. I’ll do my best to answer any and all of them.
And for those of you reading this through Capsuleer… Click here to go and comment :-)
I am PyjamaSam and I approve this message! :-)
chris.
Comments
24 Responses to “Ahh the interwebs… Such flames”
First and foremost, thank you! Capsuleer is my most often used app. As such, it is my main connection to Eve when I’m not logged in. I love the Headlines! I never read a single Eve blog before I downloaded the app. For me, the headlines section IS the Eve blog community.
I consider the speed with which I can retrieve the Headlines to be paramount. I have had no sense that I was missing anything by being limited to the blog pack. In fact, although I read every single post on the Headlines, I have noticed that there is some deadwood. Crazy Kinux is to be commended, not condemned for his reorganization effort. I do not find it surprising that the deadwood has “gone all emo.” In my opinion, it’s just another reason to commit them to the void.
Again, thank you for your wonderful app. Thanks also to the fantastic folks who make the commitment and take the time to blog about our favorite game. I look forward to ignoring Mrs. Strasser’s texts while I read my Headlines for a long time to come.
o7 PS
Keep up the great job guys, capsuleer is a great tool for anyone playing eve, I look forward to the deployment of the next update!
Thanx for the props mate!
Black Claw will respond soon, he is in the au tz and may not be aware of you post yet.
A thought on moving forward. It may be easier to simply have icons on the Capsuleer start page to connect to the google reader shared items pages for the blog pack and the evebloggers feeds. That way you don’t have to worry about render issues, google would take care of that for you. List management would stay with ck and black claw.
It not the headline section solution you were moving toward, but from a management perspective, it would make things easier.
Some issues we have encountered with creating a category listing are the duel nature of many of the blogs. Some are fan fiction only, others are a mix.
Mandrill has started to create a category system on his blog for the blogs links, this may be something useful here a well.
Just wanted to add to what Chris has already said. That in addition to our approach with Headlines in Capsuleer, this isn’t necessarily inclusive of everything we wish to do with that section.
I have yet to comment on CK’s post with my list of 20 because I’ll be dammed if I have to narrow it down that far. Now, I could definately turn in a list of a few blogs in the pack that I feel should be removed due to no posts within over a month or more, but that’s about it.
I love the headlines section, and if CK does move forward with the fat-trimming popularity contest, I would be extatic to see Capsuleer step up and include the not-so-popular blogs that have good content and information in addition to the blogging elite. Keep up the good work guys!
Glad to see that we’re all working together and moving forward with this. Also a big thank you to Roc and Chris for continuing to include the soon-to-be-50-member-EVE-Blog-Pack!
Fly safe, or die trying!
I read literally every blog I can get through Capsuleer – more blogs would be more than welcome although I appreciate it would be difficult to have every eve blog. Certainly losing any of them would be a shame.
Thanks for an awesome app!
PS I’m sure i’m not alone in this – I expect the eve bloggers featured on Capsuleer have a few thousand more readers than they are probably getting hits for!
Several thousand.
Hey guys!! First time commenter, long time reader! :P
I, like others, found my first ever blog reading experience through capsuleer. Fantastic app! Much respect guys.
To me, more blogs is always good to be able to read on the go. I am also a software engineer though, so I understand your concerns regarding feasibility of implementing certain changes.
good work guys. Again my thanks for this app. You guys rock!!!! Heh
The app is the first thing I switch on in the morning and the last thing I use at night! Top stuff and can’t wait for v2.1
Great tool! I, for one, trust any decision you make on the headlines. Looking forward to v2.1!
Pj &roc. Sounds like a drink . First off thanks for your work on the app. I would have much less reachand fewer readers were it not for you decision to include the BP initially. Both you and CK deserve much respect. The fact that both things… A larger pack and a larger list is I think an extremely inclusive idea, you should be comended for foresight and wisdom. Wishing you all the best.
Manasi
Heya
Just want to say capsuleer is awesome tool. I have been playing eve online now for one month, and absolutly love it, before that I was one of those wow players. The day I started I thought wonder if there are any eve apps available so typed in eve and found a kinda usefull app that browsed skills but wasn’t really polished. Reading the ratings a few mention capsuleer so I went searching and by god I am glad I did. This app is awesome, the abilty to see your skill queue at a glance, read blogs and even peruse the skills you don’t have yet are great ( would be cool to be able to save skill lists) And the blog headlines are great. I have not found a blog that I did not enjoy, the storys the pvp action ( beyond my humble piloting skills) and all the other content is A grade stuff. Keep it up guys you do an awesome job. One that is well respected by this humble reader.
Heya
Just want to say capsuleer is awesome tool. I have been playing eve online now for one month, and absolutly love it, before that I was one of those wow players. The day I started I thought wonder if there are any eve apps available so typed in eve and found a kinda usefull app that browsed skills but wasn’t really polished. Reading the ratings a few mention capsuleer so I went searching and by god I am glad I did. This app is awesome, the abilty to see your skill queue at a glance, read blogs and even peruse the skills you don’t have yet are great ( would be cool to be able to save skill lists) And the blog headlines are great. I have not found a blog that I did not enjoy, the storys the pvp action ( beyond my humble piloting skills) and all the other content is A grade stuff. Keep it up guys you do an awesome job. One that is well respected by this humble reader.
Bolgar
Sorry for double post
I agree with how capsuleer deals with the headlines area I personally think that there is enough to read through a d the speed it downloads the headlines is great
Love the app. Great blogs.
I am not a iPhone developer in an way, so I don’t know if it is possible, but it would be great to be able to select whther you just want the blog pack or all available blogs. And also be able to select to remove individual blogs from displaying. There are some blogs that I just don’t have time to read. I’d rather just see the bogs I like to read displayed. Maybe allow the user to move the order in which they display. Pretty much just aestetic stuff, so if hard to do then no biggie.
Pete
O/
Like some of the other comments capsuleer is my main connection to the game when not logged in, and I enjoy the blogs that are included. I am sure the changes that CK makes will be good as I have noticed a few blogs that have gone cold. Granted I don’t have the desire nor the commentment to write a blog so kudos to all the blog writers and keep doing what ya do.
Get out and kill somebody o7
Loved this app from the word go. Respect to those that built it coded it and add to it, including all the bloggers. It’s great and what ever the changes bring I’m sure they be great as well. Looking forward to next update. Peace dudes
Awesome… I would not have known about the comunity at all not for capsuleer… If yall ever need any backup, be it iPhone development or any ssl stuf I’m here to help… Just hit me up in game….
I Love Capsuleer. I also greatly enjoy the blogs imported. I don’t know how many others there are like me out there, but it’s my sole way of reading blogs. I love capuleers features and smooth design.
The app is great and I cannot wait for the next release. Item database browsing and planning will help make downtimes seem almost nonexistent! :)
Keep up the good work!
This is a awesome program keep up the great work!
Paul