Latest News
Mantis-Eye New Season Change-o-rama
Quick check-in with you guys in the waning moments of pre-season 4.2. There will be some minor changes to capsules for this season, and I wanted to see what you guys thought of them. Screen grabs and notes will remain unchanged, but the capsule itself will be split into two parts. More on how that split will work in a bit!
I also want to know what you guys want from the site! Obviously discussion threads will make a comeback since they seem to be pretty popular, but what other kind of stuff do you guys want to see from the site for The New Season? Do you want some kind of live chatting, podcasts, videocasts, streaming commentary, video analysis, magic tricks? Post in the comments or on twitter if you've got an idea! I don't know what I'll be able to do but all suggestions are welcome, even if your suggestion is to stick with discussion threads and don't add any other crap! Let me know!
Update: So after a little deliberation folks decided that the current format is pretty good, so I'll be sticking with that! Inline quotes proved popular and I'll also be attempting to have more images inline. The only real sacrifice will be my attempt to make the capsules less in depth as a way of (hopefully) saving my sanity. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!
As far as the new capsule formatting goes, here are the two parts I have planned:
First we will have a synopsis which will basically be an abbreviated capsule without any quotes. The reason for this is that the capsule is the most time-consuming part of the whole ordeal and potentially the least utilized. They've only gotten more and more detailed over the years and I don't think people do more than skim them.
Second will be a quotes section! This is just like the way quotes are currently done, except in their own section. Basically I will just transcribe the best quotes from the episode and put them in a section. This is because I think quotes are the most useful and popular part of the actual capsule and hopefully you agree. Let me know what you think of these changes in the comments!
That's all for now, thanks a ton guys!
I also want to know what you guys want from the site! Obviously discussion threads will make a comeback since they seem to be pretty popular, but what other kind of stuff do you guys want to see from the site for The New Season? Do you want some kind of live chatting, podcasts, videocasts, streaming commentary, video analysis, magic tricks? Post in the comments or on twitter if you've got an idea! I don't know what I'll be able to do but all suggestions are welcome, even if your suggestion is to stick with discussion threads and don't add any other crap! Let me know!
Update: So after a little deliberation folks decided that the current format is pretty good, so I'll be sticking with that! Inline quotes proved popular and I'll also be attempting to have more images inline. The only real sacrifice will be my attempt to make the capsules less in depth as a way of (hopefully) saving my sanity. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!
First we will have a synopsis which will basically be an abbreviated capsule without any quotes. The reason for this is that the capsule is the most time-consuming part of the whole ordeal and potentially the least utilized. They've only gotten more and more detailed over the years and I don't think people do more than skim them.
Second will be a quotes section! This is just like the way quotes are currently done, except in their own section. Basically I will just transcribe the best quotes from the episode and put them in a section. This is because I think quotes are the most useful and popular part of the actual capsule and hopefully you agree. Let me know what you think of these changes in the comments!
- by Donkiku
- (unregistered id: A4C9665458)
I always check the capsules to see if I missed something but what I look forward to is all the quotes, the screengrabs and specially the Trivia. I've learned a lot about other things beside the show from your trivia.
Oh and I should tell you I visit this site more than 5 times a day even in the off seasons. This place is like digital crack or something.
I'll think about things I would like from this site and come back in a bit.
Oh and I should tell you I visit this site more than 5 times a day even in the off seasons. This place is like digital crack or something.
I'll think about things I would like from this site and come back in a bit.
- by Sidtheskitch
- (unregistered id: 25E65E7B44)
- by Hardy
- (unregistered id: 24A6F8AC45)
You do great work on the site. But I always liked how the quotes fit into the episode....it seems much more appropriate to me...I can go to wikiquote just to see a list of quotes by episode. It'd be cool to keep the capsules and quotes together like you always have on an episode basis but have a new section (on the right side of the site layout) that has the best character quotes. Each major character has a picture and set of quotes (mostly 1-liners).
- by Mike
- (unregistered id: DA1A2954DF)
- by The Mysterious 'H'
- (unregistered id: 3AA91A9BFE)
Yeah, I like the flow of the capsule as is. You have a great prose style and I personally read them all the way through as often as I check the quotes and trivia.
What I'd like to see is more of what you already do- interviews, videos and polls. It'd be neat if there was somewhere to talk about non-VB things but I can understand what you're saying about keeping the focus of the site on Venture Brothers info, etc.
What I'd like to see is more of what you already do- interviews, videos and polls. It'd be neat if there was somewhere to talk about non-VB things but I can understand what you're saying about keeping the focus of the site on Venture Brothers info, etc.
- by cpc65
- (unregistered id: D6D4112C57)
Remember when that counter was at like 185 or so? It was like Christmas when you were a kid (or whatever your main holiday was) that was far off and seemed like it would never get here. But just look at it now. I'm getting all giddy inside! This summer sort of sucked, but VB 4.2 will make it all good! Awww yeah!
As far as this site, I think it is TOPS for any fansite, not just VB! We all appreciate what you do Mike, and the amount of time and TLC it must take. One thing I'd like to be able to do is to edit your own posts as I'm not always the best speller and / or I sometimes post late at night when I'm really sleepy and don't always make sense then. That would most likely mean us having to register and login to this site. I myself wouldn't have an any issues with that.
As far as this site, I think it is TOPS for any fansite, not just VB! We all appreciate what you do Mike, and the amount of time and TLC it must take. One thing I'd like to be able to do is to edit your own posts as I'm not always the best speller and / or I sometimes post late at night when I'm really sleepy and don't always make sense then. That would most likely mean us having to register and login to this site. I myself wouldn't have an any issues with that.
- by Mike
- (unregistered id: DA1A2954DF)
- by Roscoe
- (unregistered id: D3BBAB044C)
Agreed, I've always thought a forum would be nice on the site, for off season, and random-news-type stuff.
That said, I've ALSO always thought this site was Top-Notch! No other fan site of ANYTHING comes close to being as informative, thurough and friendly as this one, so I say just keep up the good work, Mike.
That said, I've ALSO always thought this site was Top-Notch! No other fan site of ANYTHING comes close to being as informative, thurough and friendly as this one, so I say just keep up the good work, Mike.
- by Mike
- (unregistered id: DA1A2954DF)
Yeah people have requested forums before but I actually intentionally don't have forums here for a number of reasons. I think forums are great but the site is intended as a news/info site and I want people commenting on the news/info. Second is that the site is 100% custom built so I'd either have to find a way to integrate some pre-existing forums which I think would feel disjointed or be a huge amount of work, or I'd have to write my own, which I don't really want to do because forums are immensely complicated.
But I think the main reason is that this keeps things 'fresh', so to speak. There's a news thing, or a discussion about an episode and people say what they need to say for however long and then move onto the next thing. With forums things can fester, or you end up with a lot of off-topicy stuff (which I am not against, mind you). When stuff hangs around there's also more potential for silly drama.
I also want the point of entry to the site to be pretty low. There aren't even any user accounts, you just enter your name and post and that's it. The current system seems to work pretty well and it's actually pretty low maintenance. I'm the only person with any sort of admin/moderation abilities and I barely ever have to kill posts and I also think a forum would suck up a lot of time.
I will say that I have some plans for the future of the site (I don't know when, after 4.2 wraps for sure) that will give you guys more interaction and stuff to do, which will hopefully be cool, but that's kind of off in the distance for now.
Also if you want a VB forum PRoV is a super good place to go to: http://forums.venturefans.org/ Everyone is pretty friendly there and the forum format allows for lots of stuff that I can't accommodate like fan art and reviews and stuff (that's sneak peek at some of my ideas for yet another site revision for those of you who bothered reading this).
So yeah, forums probably won't happen, at least not in the immediate future!
But I think the main reason is that this keeps things 'fresh', so to speak. There's a news thing, or a discussion about an episode and people say what they need to say for however long and then move onto the next thing. With forums things can fester, or you end up with a lot of off-topicy stuff (which I am not against, mind you). When stuff hangs around there's also more potential for silly drama.
I also want the point of entry to the site to be pretty low. There aren't even any user accounts, you just enter your name and post and that's it. The current system seems to work pretty well and it's actually pretty low maintenance. I'm the only person with any sort of admin/moderation abilities and I barely ever have to kill posts and I also think a forum would suck up a lot of time.
I will say that I have some plans for the future of the site (I don't know when, after 4.2 wraps for sure) that will give you guys more interaction and stuff to do, which will hopefully be cool, but that's kind of off in the distance for now.
Also if you want a VB forum PRoV is a super good place to go to: http://forums.venturefans.org/ Everyone is pretty friendly there and the forum format allows for lots of stuff that I can't accommodate like fan art and reviews and stuff (that's sneak peek at some of my ideas for yet another site revision for those of you who bothered reading this).
So yeah, forums probably won't happen, at least not in the immediate future!
- by Marcus
- (unregistered id: E1236BDA28)
I definitely respect your opinion, and I see exactly where you're coming from. Ultimately, I disagree, but I assure you that I do so with the greatest respect.
I also want to stress that the site is great, regardless of whether or not I want a forum or some other gadget or doo-dad. In the end, it keeps me coming back, and I enjoy visiting it regularly. So thank you. :)
I also want to stress that the site is great, regardless of whether or not I want a forum or some other gadget or doo-dad. In the end, it keeps me coming back, and I enjoy visiting it regularly. So thank you. :)
- by Mike
- (unregistered id: DA1A2954DF)
- by Joe
- (unregistered id: 4C8DFADE17)
Mike,
You've got an awesome site and I love the capsules, especially because as mentioned above, you've got a great prose style, keep it up!
The Trivia is always fun, and almost always needed by me after watching a new ep, especially with the downright esoteric references that Jackson and Doc pack their scripts with.
You've got an awesome site and I love the capsules, especially because as mentioned above, you've got a great prose style, keep it up!
The Trivia is always fun, and almost always needed by me after watching a new ep, especially with the downright esoteric references that Jackson and Doc pack their scripts with.
Trying to vote on a comment, eh? You need an account to do that! You should totally get one! You'll get your own username and can participate in community stuff. It's awesome! Already have an account? Log in above!