Going Meta - new linking protocol s**ks

by NYERinSF on Jun 26, 2009 12:21 AM EDT

Apologies in advance. I am not sure if "meta" fan posts are allowed, but I have something I really need to say, that is related to the blog, but not to the Giants.

From what I can tell, SB Nation blogs have changed the way they link. So if Ed's post is about Bradshaw, on his name, rather than linking to a source article, it links back to SBNation

I understand that this probably related to Search Engine Optimization - but it really isn't useful to your readers, doesn't add any information, and is radically different from how other blogs (including other blogs in the Kos Media group) handle links

FanPosts are written by community members. This is simply a way for community members to express opinions too long to be contained in a comment.

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SBNation

has it’s own blog

I’d recommend posting something over there. What’s going on is the new system they have “auto-tags” and links to the SBN player/team page. So if I write a blog post, I have to personally link to any outside articles I intend on linking to, but then SBN will autotag any non-tagged player or team that I wrote about. I’m not a huge fan of it, but it is what it is.

by cjmulrain on Jun 26, 2009 1:06 AM EDT reply actions

Thanks for the response

I’ll take a look over there and see if I can say something appropriate.

I hesitated here, and I have been posting here since close to the beginning – I would think twice before making my first post on a blog a complaint.

And I appreciate the response

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by NYERinSF on Jun 26, 2009 11:36 AM EDT reply actions

I'm basically computer illiterate, but if I

understand your complaint, it’s not happening with me. Then again, based on cj’s suggestion, it looks like there’s no if about it: I don’t understansd it. Okay, if Ed (or anyone else, has a link in a post, if I hit the link i go directly to the source., but you don’t?

by blue gonz on Jun 26, 2009 9:43 PM EDT reply actions

Go to the original post in this thread

And click on the “Giants” link – I didn’t put that link in, it was autotagged. Most of the links associated with player names or team names are like that.

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by NYERinSF on Jun 27, 2009 5:39 PM EDT reply actions

I get it

(finally)

by blue gonz on Jun 27, 2009 8:31 PM EDT reply actions

Auto-tagging

OK, so I am back from my little mini-break, and I need to respond to this. I agree that some of the auto-tags are overkill (like ‘Giants’), but generally it is a good thing. SBN offers player pages, team pages, stats, rosters and a ton of other stuff that you used to have to go elsewhere to find. Those items are constantly being upgraded to make them better. Yes, it’s all about SEO and generating traffic by giving you as much info as possible w/o having to go outside of SBN, but why is that a bad thing? If you don’t want to go to the player page, don’t go.

by Ed Valentine on Jun 28, 2009 5:16 PM EDT reply actions

Welcome back Ed, and Thank you for the response

Generally speaking – blogger protocol is that a link in the blog leads you to a “source” type of article
In fact, on Daily Kos there was a big deal about how Frank Rich (political columnist in the NY Times) adopted this linking protocol, rejecting the standard NY Times linking protocol which was to link back to itself. This was met with praise. What SB Nation has done is to take a step backwards, and to embrace a linking protocol that has even been rejected by forward looking members of the dead-tree world. None of the other Kos sites operate this way,

Now that I know, I will click on the links less – of course that means I will go to source articles less as well, since there is no way of knowing which is which. For example, in the “Giants sign third-round pick Beckum” post – the first line says “From the Giants” – there is a link on the word “Giants” That link should go to a source article. Instead, it goes to a page where the first article is about the RAMS!!!! My first reaction is WTF!!!!!!! In fact, I don’t see a link to a source article ANYWHERE in that post.

OK – I have said my piece, I will shut up about this now. I will continue to read BBV, because I value this community. BUT, because I value the community, I thought it worthwhile to let someone in the SB Nation know that they had pissed off at least one reader

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by NYERinSF on Jun 29, 2009 8:06 PM EDT up reply actions