MGS Forum Content Poll

[GolfSpy_APH 7,186]

10 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

I was thinking the same thing. However, I also appreciate the regular and ongoing communication from @GolfSpy_APH and @Golfspy_CG2. I assume the mod roles have changed and both are the primary 'face' of the forum mods .

I think overall for us it has been a bit of a abnormal season. Without going into personal details, which I don't know if they would want shared or not ALL the mods have had some big life changes or situations that have impacted time spent on the forum as these life situations certainly had priority. 

I was fortunate that although my work was insanely busy in the summer and had lots of other things going on. I still have had the downtime to put into the site. Added to this although being the newest mods I have still been around the site for over 5 years and have already built that recognition, therefore this is a easier role for me to fall into as I was comfortable taking on some of this (yes the forum testing thread being one of them that kept me up for nights.... I wish I wasn't joking). For me the site is just as much about the membership and people as it golf, testing and such and this is where I have found my role as a mod so far.

Chris @GolfSpy_TCG has done a great job in his new role as Content Hunter as this is still a new position that is being flushed out. The AMA is a major project and he has used some great connections as well as taken on some other mod duties. I have really enjoyed the AMA so far and what its brought to the forum and am looking forward to his other projects that will surely come... but having been on the job for all of 4 months and brought us that I think is a great start. 

Hopefully that kinda clears some of that up... for me on a side note as their schedules lighten mine is going to get busier and as much as I want to be around more I will have time taken up with work, a event in Kazakhstan for a few weeks and soon my first child. Of course this doesn't mean I won't be here, but time will be less as family and other priorities will take some time away from being on the site and I'm sure the others will pick up the slack. 

 

[ST3LTR0 179]

I'm here for the community. One of the best. I don't comment as regularly as I could, haven't made very many friends, but the general upbeat mood from everyone and the help people give is outstanding and no other golf forums compare in my opinion. I appreciate the lack of bickering, the lack of judgement, and lack of attacking you'd find on other forums. Bravo MGS you've made one hell of a forum and I thank you for that. 

[tony@CIC 21,999]

20 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I think overall for us it has been a bit of a abnormal season. Without going into personal details, which I don't know if they would want shared or not ALL the mods have had some big life changes or situations that have impacted time spent on the forum as these life situations certainly had priority. 

I was fortunate that although my work was insanely busy in the summer and had lots of other things going on. I still have had the downtime to put into the site. Added to this although being the newest mods I have still been around the site for over 5 years and have already built that recognition, therefore this is a easier role for me to fall into as I was comfortable taking on some of this (yes the forum testing thread being one of them that kept me up for nights.... I wish I wasn't joking). For me the site is just as much about the membership and people as it golf, testing and such and this is where I have found my role as a mod so far.

Chris @GolfSpy_TCG has done a great job in his new role as Content Hunter as this is still a new position that is being flushed out. The AMA is a major project and he has used some great connections as well as taken on some other mod duties. I have really enjoyed the AMA so far and what its brought to the forum and am looking forward to his other projects that will surely come... but having been on the job for all of 4 months and brought us that I think is a great start. 

Hopefully that kinda clears some of that up... for me on a side note as their schedules lighten mine is going to get busier and as much as I want to be around more I will have time taken up with work, a event in Kazakhstan for a few weeks and soon my first child. Of course this doesn't mean I won't be here, but time will be less as family and other priorities will take some time away from being on the site and I'm sure the others will pick up the slack. 

 

Thanks for the update - figured that's what was going on with the other mods. 

[PMookie 17,027]

I’ve been around this place since the lights came-on, and it’s a very different place from then! Thankfully, it’s still the friendliest golf forum available, with some really great people. My issues have been covered by others in the posts. I’m in agreement that AMA has been mildly interesting, and the changes to the reviews were frustrating. I know that if the site isn’t growing, it’s not able to market itself to the golf industry as competitively as other sites, but I’m always aggravated to get an email to “be a tester”, see a bunch of Twitter/Facebook/Instagram posts saying “click here”. Purest definition of clickbait. Yes, that’s why people come here, for free stuff, but it’s frustrating because I see us as more than just that. Content needs work for sure. Figuring out what that niche is will be tough since we can’t just be like everyone else. Ads that squeeze down my screen and block what I’m typing? Ugh. I can live with it, but Audi and Delta are aggravating to see all the time (I use the mobile site almost exclusively).

Thanks SO much for even CARING to ask for feedback. Sadly, I don’t have many great ideas, and I’m not sure I know what the five year plan even is, but as long as we maintain the true nature of what MGS was designed to be years back when I first signed-up, no matter where we’re headed, at least we know where “true North” is…

[GolfSpy_APH 7,186]

It has been interesting to see some of the results come in and personally I am surprised to see as many use the main page as the numbers show. Ever since I discovered Recent Content I haven't looked back. That being said with this data I've done a bit of work on the main page making it look a little better by adding in some photos for the categories. Hopefully at least aesthetically this makes it look a little better and more inviting. 

Now I may end up regretting saying this, but if you have some good (relevant) photos which you may like to put up for a potential photo to replace one you can send me a PM with it. I can't guarantee that it will go up, but am open to making some changes to some of them. 

Appreciate all who have done the poll so far and it has been great to see the numbers come back and give us some further insight as to how many of you use the forum.

[palvord 3,662]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am forever grateful for this forum. I know that I've been less active this year, but still love and appreciate this place.

Some random thoughts on the forum that I hope is constructive and not just whining for the sake of whining:

I struggled/am struggling to adjust to the new way that testing is displayed on the forum. Granted, I haven't had the time to really learn the new way to navigate through the threads. I'm not sure if it's because I'm acting like a stick in the mud and not adapting, but the user experience is best if it doesn't need lots of explanation on how something is supposed to be used. When I first joined the forum, reading through the testing threads required no explanation on how to read and learn the the thoughts of the testers.

Also, my lower interaction with the forum is also linked to losing the app. The online version of the forum on a cell phone is less than quality, so I only jump on the forum on my work laptop during work hours. Having an app would be a way I could engage better than I currently do.

[GolfSpy_APH 7,186]

21 minutes ago, palvord said:

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am forever grateful for this forum. I know that I've been less active this year, but still love and appreciate this place.

Some random thoughts on the forum that I hope is constructive and not just whining for the sake of whining:

I struggled/am struggling to adjust to the new way that testing is displayed on the forum. Granted, I haven't had the time to really learn the new way to navigate through the threads. I'm not sure if it's because I'm acting like a stick in the mud and not adapting, but the user experience is best if it doesn't need lots of explanation on how something is supposed to be used. When I first joined the forum, reading through the testing threads required no explanation on how to read and learn the the thoughts of the testers.

Also, my lower interaction with the forum is also linked to losing the app. The online version of the forum on a cell phone is less than quality, so I only jump on the forum on my work laptop during work hours. Having an app would be a way I could engage better than I currently do.

I know for some like yourself loosing the App certainly hurt. I will admit I used the app exclusively until I did my first review and then tried to mobile version and never looked back. Again however that is just me. Unfortunately as it stands right now there is no app in progress and at the moment the site software doesn't at this time allow for it. I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of the software side as that is not my speciality, but if and when we are able to have an app again I am sure it is something that will be looked into. Unfortunately with the mobile site and linking it to your home screen functioning as an app I can't say it is very high on the priority list, but is something that is still discussed. 

I am hopeful that with the changes we have made to the testing side of things it is much more intuitive and more similar to the "older" way, just contained within the new section. I'm not sure when you last recently went onto it and if it was recently my apologies, but if you have suggestions as to how to make it more accessible please provide some feedback as this is part of the reason this thread exists. 

[MGoBlue100 2,605]

On 10/9/2021 at 7:45 AM, tchat07 said:

I was a frequent MGS app user and really was only way I interacted. When the app feature was removed it really cut down on my engagement. Even to this day I still struggle with the online format because I use my cell. I liked the ability to go in to the app feed and see everything that was recently posted and then I could engage that way. Now I feel like I have to look for what I want to talk about and sometimes it just feels tedious. I just think it's difficult to stay up on most recent content, especially if you are only able to log in once a day. Theres no real way to see what you've missed.

Really agree with this.  I used the app way more than the main site from my laptop.  Sorry to see that's not an option any longer.

[palvord 3,662]

6 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I know for some like yourself loosing the App certainly hurt. I will admit I used the app exclusively until I did my first review and then tried to mobile version and never looked back. Again however that is just me. Unfortunately as it stands right now there is no app in progress and at the moment the site software doesn't at this time allow for it. I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of the software side as that is not my speciality, but if and when we are able to have an app again I am sure it is something that will be looked into. Unfortunately with the mobile site and linking it to your home screen functioning as an app I can't say it is very high on the priority list, but is something that is still discussed. 

I am hopeful that with the changes we have made to the testing side of things it is much more intuitive and more similar to the "older" way, just contained within the new section. I'm not sure when you last recently went onto it and if it was recently my apologies, but if you have suggestions as to how to make it more accessible please provide some feedback as this is part of the reason this thread exists. 

Stinks to hear an app isn't in the near future, but I understand priorities. Gotta put the attention into what makes the most sense for the most people.

As to the testing side of things, I stopped trying to poke around after the first month or so of the change. Poking around today things are more user friendly than before. Thank you! It's an initial look, but for me when the change was made, I couldn't figure things out easily, so I stopped trying and that probably lowered my participation compared to previous years. Will be slightly more active now that I can figure things out.

[tchat07 1,854]

8 hours ago, MGoBlue100 said:

Really agree with this.  I used the app way more than the main site from my laptop.  Sorry to see that's not an option any longer.

The advice given to me was pretty solid if you switch it to recent content (the little newspaper at the top of the main page). It makes it similar though not quite like the app.

[Quigleyd 809]

I read a lot more than I post here. But the conversation is always good and the community is nice. 

[DejaGolf 7]

As a relative newbie and hardcore lurker here, I have a few observations.  Mods in the forums are nice, but in a lot of companies they pay someone to sit there and be a presence for the mods, using their handle. Response to questions is the goal, yes?  

Ads are always a problem. There are ways to discover which ads work. IMO it boils down to the types of ads. I'd poll the membership, then encouraage advertisers to offer more value:  discounts, contests, freebies, a membership role in the forums offering expertise and in-line links, advertorial-type write ups that inform and show involvement, podcasts of interviews with people in the business with something to sell that can educate (think of Michael Breed's Club Champion segments).  

I'd be very interested to read a mission statement or the like on the site. Are you GolfWRX or Hacker's Paradise, etc. ?  Do you focus on current topics and news or vintage equipment and ideas?  Seems to me you can't please all the people all the time. I first encounted GolfSpy as a review resource, then was impressed by the expertise they evoked.  Forums rely on the personality of your members.  Nerds over at GolfWRX, fun-loving social types at HP.  I don't get a feel for the membership here (although, I am not very involved yet). 

I get the feeling this has all been hashed over and over already. From the site's POV, it is a branding problem. The site wants to maintain a strong brand, unique expert content, then attract like-minded loyalists. That means engaging members ASAP with new content and personal benefits.  

Polling works to a certain point.  Then, choices work better: Here are 3 homepage designs, choose 1.  Here are 3 ad solutions, choose 1.  etc.

Good luck.

[McGolf 511]

Some of us like providing additional information to ensure golfers keep golfing.

[GolfSpy_APH 7,186]

2 hours ago, DejaGolf said:

As a relative newbie and hardcore lurker here, I have a few observations.  Mods in the forums are nice, but in a lot of companies they pay someone to sit there and be a presence for the mods, using their handle. Response to questions is the goal, yes?  

Ads are always a problem. There are ways to discover which ads work. IMO it boils down to the types of ads. I'd poll the membership, then encouraage advertisers to offer more value:  discounts, contests, freebies, a membership role in the forums offering expertise and in-line links, advertorial-type write ups that inform and show involvement, podcasts of interviews with people in the business with something to sell that can educate (think of Michael Breed's Club Champion segments).  

I'd be very interested to read a mission statement or the like on the site. Are you GolfWRX or Hacker's Paradise, etc. ?  Do you focus on current topics and news or vintage equipment and ideas?  Seems to me you can't please all the people all the time. I first encounted GolfSpy as a review resource, then was impressed by the expertise they evoked.  Forums rely on the personality of your members.  Nerds over at GolfWRX, fun-loving social types at HP.  I don't get a feel for the membership here (although, I am not very involved yet). 

I get the feeling this has all been hashed over and over already. From the site's POV, it is a branding problem. The site wants to maintain a strong brand, unique expert content, then attract like-minded loyalists. That means engaging members ASAP with new content and personal benefits.  

Polling works to a certain point.  Then, choices work better: Here are 3 homepage designs, choose 1.  Here are 3 ad solutions, choose 1.  etc.

Good luck.

Here is a link the the blog site and the over arching MGS mission statement: https://mygolfspy.com/our-mission/

As for the Forum we follow close by the blog site The forum's mission statement: “MyGolfSpy's Community Forum aspires to continued growth while adhering to its core goal of being a place for serious, honest and fun discussion on both golf and life, and a place to go for product reviews - a true online ‘19th Hole’ where all are welcome and all members are treated with respect and friendship.”

Our goal as moderators are not to be police for the site but to be active and engaged within the site as members, not just overseers of the site. Although we of course take part in moderating threads, managing member accounts, trouble shooting, site management, test selection, site improvements and a whole lot more. We are members here just like everyone else who want to see the forum thrive and continue being a welcoming and engaging community that we are. 

Ads have been discussed in other threads and I'll leave it those threads for further discussion on that matter. 

As for the polls these were for me to get some data and information to assist me in helping to plan the offseason and where some areas should take more focus and others where we maybe can bump down the priority list.

[DejaGolf 7]

18 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Here is a link the the blog site and the over arching MGS mission statement: https://mygolfspy.com/our-mission/

As for the Forum we follow close by the blog site The forum's mission statement: “MyGolfSpy's Community Forum aspires to continued growth while adhering to its core goal of being a place for serious, honest and fun discussion on both golf and life, and a place to go for product reviews - a true online ‘19th Hole’ where all are welcome and all members are treated with respect and friendship.”

Our goal as moderators are not to be police for the site but to be active and engaged within the site as members, not just overseers of the site. Although we of course take part in moderating threads, managing member accounts, trouble shooting, site management, test selection, site improvements and a whole lot more. We are members here just like everyone else who want to see the forum thrive and continue being a welcoming and engaging community that we are. 

Ads have been discussed in other threads and I'll leave it those threads for further discussion on that matter. 

As for the polls these were for me to get some data and information to assist me in helping to plan the offseason and where some areas should take more focus and others where we maybe can bump down the priority list.

(I don't usually quote the whole darn thing like this)

Thanks for the response. Love the mission pages. Reviews IMO are your foundation and biggest asset right now.  

GolfWRX is a community, ebb and flow kind of engaging conversations. They do reviews and media, but it has no punch.  Hackers Paradise is a father/mother to the hordes of kids on their site, clammering for more.  SandTrap is kind of in between and vanilla, with no expertise except a long history and loyal following.

Seems to me the design of the site is less important than its members, which means the content and UX are king for its members. Yeah, I'd listen, pay attention to the polls, with the other ear on revenue and advertising which you can turn around to benefits for the members. Also, publicity for MyGolfSpy is key.  Get the name some life--what does it mean? 

I'll give the site an informal audit and PM you with some suggestions. Might take a week or so. Thanks.

Next day:  I've read a lot on the site and have a better idea of where you are, so I might have been late the party as far as suggestions go. Seems like you're all doing the right thing--gathering viewpoints and tweaking the site. I think it feels pretty darn good.

Edited October 14, 2021 by DejaGolf

[yungkory 10,974]

Not the most senior member by far, but I've been here a minute and I'm just going to echo something that the other folks have touched on -- I miss the old reviews. Yeah, the pick me pick me bros were a little annoying, but it was wayyyyyy more engaging for non-testers previously, and it flowed a little better from announcement, product received, initial thoughts, ..., final review. Admittedly, I barely participated in the CCC this year, and hardly followed any of the reviews because it just didn't feel as connected. Maybe I'm just a forum Boomer and hate change? Gimmie my old bbcode forums and get off mah lawn!

Still the best golf community around, and I've made good friends both on and offline from MGS, stoked to see our membership growing with so many quality people

[GolfSpy_APH 7,186]

3 hours ago, yungkory said:

Not the most senior member by far, but I've been here a minute and I'm just going to echo something that the other folks have touched on -- I miss the old reviews. Yeah, the pick me pick me bros were a little annoying, but it was wayyyyyy more engaging for non-testers previously, and it flowed a little better from announcement, product received, initial thoughts, ..., final review. Admittedly, I barely participated in the CCC this year, and hardly followed any of the reviews because it just didn't feel as connected. Maybe I'm just a forum Boomer and hate change? Gimmie my old bbcode forums and get off mah lawn!

Still the best golf community around, and I've made good friends both on and offline from MGS, stoked to see our membership growing with so many quality people

I know that I have talked a lot on this topic all over the forum, but I think a few things are good to repeat. I should also start by saying having had to work with and on the newer system I am likely one of the most comfortable with it. We have already spoken on the roll out and how it was buggy and there was a lot of work done to it as well as work continues on it. It is night and day from where it was at launch in terms of user friendliness and overall functionality. Since our main changes and feedback taken from our membership the engagement has gone up and I think in part members getting more use to the system as well. 

On top of all of this here are a few other outside factors that assisted in making it a bit more complicated
- Several reviews including CC5 had to be cancelled 
- There are also several reviews where testing kit has been delayed by literally months due to covid and more. 
- Initial engagement and complications soured users on the new system reducing engagement (situation like yours)
- Changes in staff also had an effect and time to explain/answer questions on it all.

With how it is now the flow is a lot better, with it still being a fair bit of work on the back end to keep it organized (Testers Wanted, Signup Closed, Testers Announced, In-Progress, Final Reviews). We now have a system and better schedule that is more structured to keep it organized and help the flow as you put. Again the flow has been disrupted a lot due to product delays and other covid/shipping factors which has hurt. The initial reviews on the system are the ones that were effected the most as they were not in recent content, a little more hidden on the main page and so on. However now we have it showing for recent content, a new tab for testers wanted on the main page and more intuitive titles around the site to direct a brand new person to the reviews. For reference I often use my wife being a complete non golfer to try and find it all and see if it flows haha. 

I'm all for suggestions within the new system, but I also don't have the power to change back to the old way and given the resources put into the new one don't think that would be a option at this point and all in all would be better to work on and revise this in order make it more to the memberships liking. 

[MaxEntropy 8,186]

12 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

- Changes in staff also had an effect and time to explain/answer questions on it all.

To me, this is the crux of the problem. The pandemic is a great, catch-all excuse and certainly caused issues, but don't forget 2020 was a pandemic year (albeit with less supply chain issues). In my opinion, it was very poor timing to have so much staff changeover and try to implement a huge change in the way the testing functions at nearly the same time. We all know you guys have careers outside of this place, but that does not excuse the lack of "change management" that went on. We now have 4 new staff members along with "old timer" @GolfSpy MPR and "emeritus" staff @Golfspy_CG2. I have no clue what the other new guys do behind the scenes, but for all practical purposes, you are the face of the staff as you most frequently interact with us. Is there really that much that goes on behind the curtain or did the other guys over-commit by taking these roles which is really limiting their effectiveness? Meanwhile, two very effective staff members (at least from an end-user perspective) were let go to make room for the new guys. The "why" of these changes is none of my business. The only reason I bring it up is things ran much smoother last year (another pandemic year) without the huge changes. Even though I'm approaching old-fart age, I am not resistant to change - I actually like it when it is not change just for the sake of change.

[GolfSpy_APH 7,186]

Going keep the poll open through the weekend and close it off. Thank you all for participating as its provided some valuable insight as well as guidance as to where we can improve and grow. 

[GolfSpy_APH 7,186]

Again I want to thank everyone for participating in the Polling. It did really help us as mods get a good idea for some aspects of the site. Rather then open up another thread or polls on anything I want send this message out as a update and ask a few further questions. 

- To start we are continuing to work on the Testing section. A further addition that will likely be included is a tab where all Tester Wanted (aka signups) will be and another Tab where all the other reviews will be. Does this make sense to break those like that and help sort the reviews a little more? Included will be renaming "Current Tests" as next years although current will be in the same area as all of this years. We want to make it as simple as possible and to cause as little confusion as possible. 

- We have also done (thank you to the dev) some optimization on our end to make the changing the titles more simple and in some cases is now even automated. For those who are curious when the post is originally made it will say Testers Wanted. When the sign up closes it will auto prefix to Signup Closed and then when we choose the testers in the backend it will auto prefix to Testers Announced. The rest being In-Progress and Final Reviews we will still do manually. 

- One of the benefits with this is that we will no longer see Testers Wanted for any signups that have closed or that we may have been a day or two late on changing. 

- We are also working on some other features to add to the site which as we get some more details on we will make announcements about. For all of you who enjoy writing shorter reviews this new feature should be right up your alley and could add in a nice local touch to the community. 

Questions: Please note this is for features, this means we know ads suck and are aware of it and have sent messages to the powers that be to help or assist with this. 
- What features are we missing on this forum in your opinion? Are there other features that other forums have that we should look at adding or incorporating?
- Without getting into previously talked about testing section discussion, how do we look at getting greater engagement in the future?
- Are there Mobile features we should be looking into? (I'm mainly a tablet or pc user and rarely use mobile other then quick checks on the site)
- Are there features we have already that we should be promoting more (ie user groups, profiles, stream feature, gallery etc)

We now have a stable group of mods and now that much has settled and we have more or less found our roles with the large changeover we can truly put a larger focus on site improvements as well as growth and a better overall user experience. 

We truly welcome suggestions whether here or in a PM to any of us as many other users have over past months. Although we cannot guarantee ideas will be implemented, all will be taken under consideration. We have a incredible community here the membership is what makes this community so great, but we also want to see it continue to improve.