A Word About “Read More”
November 30th, 2013
So what the heck is Joe doing with this new feel of JoeBucsFan.com?
Joe’s read all the reader praise, hate and speculation. Much of it has been quite comical, especially the reader who claimed Joe has added the “read more” thing because Joe has small genitalia. (He’s been banned from commenting for the crime of lying about Joe.)
Joe understands why some regular readers here are annoyed by not being able to get every morsel of Joe’s most recent content on the home page. It was easier for the typical JoeBucsFan addict. The layout was very 20th-century, in-your-face Internet.
However, the great majority of Joe’s visitors neither read most of Joe’s writings about the Bucs nor comment or view comments . They come to JoeBucsFan.com to scroll the up and down the home page to look at headlines, the first few sentences of a story, and then read a post or two that might interest them.
Joe’s new layout lets those readers see more headlines and story openings on the main page faster and easier. And when they do click to “read more,” they’ll automatically be exposed to the comments of hardcore fans and likely become more engaged as fans and readers.
Simply put, Joe’s catering to the masses.
BUT, Joe is not forgetting his die-hards — those who actually are still reading this post right now.
Joe has technological advances coming that will cater to regular readers. You may notice more speed in navigating JoeBucsFan.com in about two weeks. And Joe’s expecting something very cool for mobile-device readers early next year. Joe’s been busy with that lately, and it should be pretty cool when it’s rolled out.
For those who believe Joe’s only doing the “read more” thing to earn more cash, Joe finds that funny. Do you think Joe is a complete idiot and just figured out that concept? Or do you think Joe didn’t want that cash six months ago or, say, in 2010?
Yes, Joe will make some more money, which will allow Joe to produce more diverse content and eat finer quality meat. But it’s not as much cash as you might think.
So there you have it. You can “read more,” or you can protest and go to other sites that offer Bucs content. You know the ones, where they make you click around to read more.
November 30th, 2013 at 6:55 pm
So you changed the format so the casual reader can see one or two more headlines from a day or two earlier? Still don’t get it.
November 30th, 2013 at 7:04 pm
I get it, Joe. I come a few times a week when I’ve got 10 minutes. And I much prefer the way you have changed it to now. If you get an app, which it sounds like you are, I’m sure I’ll be spending more time.
November 30th, 2013 at 7:14 pm
I don’t have any problem with any changes that people are mentioning. I am concerned about potential changes which could change my access to joebucsfan.com. From my experience there are not very many websites where comments are accepted like this site. It being news and comments about my favorite team is just a great thing for a Bucs fan.
November 30th, 2013 at 7:16 pm
He who is resistant to change is destined to perish !!!
From the great movie Hot Rod
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs60CqBYnvg&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DZs60CqBYnvg
November 30th, 2013 at 7:19 pm
Thanks Joe for all the good Buc’s stuff I enjoy your site love to read all your Buc’s Blogs. I respect your right to your opinion about certain things like I respect the other commenters rights even if I disagree it is not the much more work to hit read more and I haven’t had dial up in many many years so it’s one second away and I normally have to click I more time to see the comments anyhow. Keep up the good work love the site!
November 30th, 2013 at 7:21 pm
I’m here several times a day Joe. At first, the “read more” was annoying but I’ve already become accustomed to it. Keep up the good work.
November 30th, 2013 at 7:36 pm
Joe Dudes,
Keep in chugging, you guys are awesome.
I understand the issue, and you’re worth the extra click.
November 30th, 2013 at 7:45 pm
Joe,
In case the regulars haven’t noticed….you have to click in order to post or read posts anyway….so, for them there is no extra step.
November 30th, 2013 at 7:51 pm
Joe, if you tell us first why you are doing something, it is a lot easier to understand.
November 30th, 2013 at 7:54 pm
I don’t understand the issue. I learned how to use the buttons on the mouse (BOTH of them) years ago. :^)
November 30th, 2013 at 8:22 pm
Please be an app..please be an app..please be an app…please be an app.
November 30th, 2013 at 8:27 pm
Much of it has been quite comical, especially the reader who claimed Joe has added the “read more” thing because Joe has small genitalia. (He’s been banned from commenting for the crime of lying about Joe.)
Guess now we know why you have no room in a size 32 jeans.
Try the Duluth trading company’s “BallRoom” Jeans
November 30th, 2013 at 8:40 pm
Wha’s annoying lately is the site redirect me to the appatore even when I don’t click anything so I’m looking forward to the mobile version
November 30th, 2013 at 8:40 pm
As a faithful reader and a programmer/producer for a major sports website I completely understand, it’s the way all content driven sites work, more headlines and story links for quick viewing, my company uses something we call the “sports river”, we actually have no content on our index(home)and arena(major sports) pages, but have a infinite scrolling stream of headlines and story links as well as our covers and headline story links. Believe me, you guys are seeing the targeted ads that the ad networks want you to see without Joe having to drive more clicks, and joe isn’t making much more per click because of the link.
November 30th, 2013 at 8:45 pm
I don’t mind the new concept (or you making more money) it just irratates me that when I click the read more it doesn’t go to the top of the new page but several paragraphes down so I have to scroll up to read the whole article.
Just a thought.
November 30th, 2013 at 8:46 pm
I always find it comical when people complain about changes to something that they get for free.
November 30th, 2013 at 8:48 pm
Everybody should read more. Reading is fundamental ! (RIF)
November 30th, 2013 at 8:51 pm
Need mobile then!!!!!!!
November 30th, 2013 at 8:56 pm
The word I’d use is “misguided.”
November 30th, 2013 at 8:58 pm
Personally, I think the whole thing has been blown out of proportion. I don’t really care about the read more, it’s not THAT big of a deal to me. But I can see how it can be annoying for the ones who visit the site less than I and other frequent readers who check the site multiple times a day. Some people don’t care about the comments and only care about the Bucs news, and would rather be able to read the full article on the home page with the other articles than be redirected to a page that has just the one article. So I guess I can understand where they are coming from, but it’s Joe’s site and again, it’s not that big of a deal to me.
November 30th, 2013 at 9:02 pm
I don’t mind the new format at all. Keep up the great work guys.
On another note. F-L-O-R-I-D-A S-T-A-T-E Florida State Florida State Florida State woooooooooooooooooooo and the NEW #1 team in all the land is who?
That’s right the Noles baby.The Noles!
Wow what a finish in that Bama-Auburn game. I hope that doesn’t fire Cam up to much.
November 30th, 2013 at 9:03 pm
I Don’t like it Joe, but I love the site I tell everyone I know about your site…the site has been running slow, but that has to be because of increased traffic…but this read more option slows it down even more…I hope the speed picks up just as you say…because honestly I’m not reading some of these articles just because I don’t want wait for it to load
November 30th, 2013 at 9:14 pm
As a web designer I know full well that you need millions of unique visitors (or a very large amount) to actually make a pretty penny off of the advertising on the website.
Joe, all I say to you is that when you’re in an area that doesn’t have the greatest internet connection and you’re forced to open up a new page every time you want to read an article….well that sucks…especially when it takes 10minutes for a page to load.
If you come out with an app, then hail you! If not, then please reconsider the way you augment and excerpt your articles….it would be nice to know if I’m going through the trouble to “read more” if there is only another paragraph (it’s not worth the trouble on my mobile and I’ll wait till I’m home to read it on my computer) or if it’s another 50ish paragraphs that would make the reload time worth it.
I’m a diehard for your site and easily come to it 30 times a day (no joke)….while it would be very hard to move to another Bucs site (most of them absolutely suck…) I am letting you know that it is a massive inconvenience to have to keep loading [read more] pages….why that matters for you? Your loyals will be loyals…but I can say that at least 15 people have been turned off by the feature (new users) since I’ve turned them to your site and are now retreating to the dreaded BucsNation for their news…
The exaggerations in every paragraph here are ridiculous. Pretty funny actually. Keep the cocktails flowing. –Joe
November 30th, 2013 at 9:17 pm
I can sum up my frustration in 1 easy sentence…..”If you’re going to upgrade or change the format….make sure you have the solution for the people it messes over (mobile users) in place already”
November 30th, 2013 at 9:28 pm
I think it’s a little annoying since I usually get on the site from my cell phone and don’t always have reception. It won’t stop me checking my favorite site.
November 30th, 2013 at 9:37 pm
Hey ‘Joe’, you need to be very careful the way you treat your diehards (myself included). Your comment to @Drew is uncalled for as he laid out his particular reasons as to why this new ‘read more’ format isn’t good for him. Never forget what got you to where you are. This new format sure seems like it is nothing more than more clicks. Thank you for essentially calling me and all of your loyal followers an ‘idiot’ in your post. Much appreciated.
Tony, Joe read the silliness from @Drew and felt compelled to let the readers here know that was hogwash, in case it wasn’t clear. Look, Joe welcomes complaints but not BS. The only thing that “got Joe where you are” is pumping out Bucs stuff that Joe finds interesting in a way that isn’t boring. That’s the only thing that Joe needs to know. –Joe
November 30th, 2013 at 9:40 pm
I love all the articles you write Joe. I read every one of them, honestly. I rarely listen to the podcasts, and watch maybe 50% of the videos. I don’t love clicking the “read more”, but its no big deal. But, But bottom line, I love Joebucsfan
November 30th, 2013 at 9:40 pm
Hate to be argumentative and accuse anyone of feeding us a line of B.S., but every time I’ve ever seen anyone make this kind of switch, it’s to inflate web-traffic by getting people to click more, so you can make more ad revenue. I don’t begrudge Joe the ability to make a little more coin from the site, but I have a hard time believing that the new format is to appease people who want such a change.
One of my favorite things about this site was that I didn’t have to open up tabs or go back and forth between pages to get from one article to the next.
Rob, Joe never wrote that the change was to appease anyone. Please don’t make stuff up. Joe laid out why the changes were made here as clearly as he possibly could. –Joe
November 30th, 2013 at 9:41 pm
Most readers prefer to read more, it keeps a site looking cleaner and more organized, and it gets more comments going. So it’s a no brainer
November 30th, 2013 at 9:42 pm
Thank you for understanding, Harry.
November 30th, 2013 at 9:44 pm
Thanks ESPO.
Joe wonders if the same people who are upset about clicking a mouse once also lodge the same complaints at TBO, the Times, PR, NFL.com, TheBigLead, Deadspin and ESPN, among others?
Joe still has a “cleaner” site than all of them.
November 30th, 2013 at 9:47 pm
Pretty much sums it up. If Joe was all about revenue, he would surely have gone to the pay-per-read route long, long ago. Just a wild hunch, Joe’s going to take a stab that readers would hate that a whole lot more.
November 30th, 2013 at 9:50 pm
Whoa. First Joe has heard of anything like this. Joe will send this to his IT crew. Trust Joe, he does not have anything set up to redirect people. At all. Maybe if you clear your cookies that will take care things?
Thanks for bringing this to Joe’s attention.
November 30th, 2013 at 10:02 pm
@Buc1987 – Auburn is the luckiest team in the NCAA right now, haha.
November 30th, 2013 at 10:02 pm
I can confirm that app store thing… does it to me on my iPhone – not on the iPad though.
November 30th, 2013 at 10:09 pm
@Joe,
I agree, just please don’t become one of those sites that don’t appreciate their readers. That’s all, love the site and the opinions even if I don’t agree with half of them. I’m sure if you track my visits everyday you’ll see what a dedicated reader I am!
November 30th, 2013 at 10:13 pm
It is annoying, but it at least picks up where you left off reading. It wold be even more annoying if it just scrolled to the first sentence and you had to find where you left off. Besides, its useless to complain about it, if you know anything about Joe he’s not going to change to appease the masses. That’s why we are still reading all of Shaun King’s words of wisdom.
November 30th, 2013 at 10:14 pm
Hey Joe thanks for the response as I am one of the few “why read more button”. I’ve been following you when schiano got hired. I needed more bucs info and I found the holy grail of JBF and a few other sites. The changes are inconvenient but not THAT inconvenient. It’s a change that no matter what I have to deal with. But I’m glad to hear that your changing stuff since everything around us is going tablet/mobile friendly and at the moment your site is not . (no offense).
Thanks for everything Joes you guys always give great information and keep us fans in the loop . Like it was mentioned before a heads up will do . Some people like surprises others don’t. It never hurts to just spread the word. But thanks again for the great work and keep it up!
November 30th, 2013 at 10:14 pm
“Rob, Joe never wrote that the change was to appease anyone. Please don’t make stuff up. Joe laid out why the changes were made here as clearly as he possibly could. –Joe”
Sorry, I wasn’t trying to make anything up, I misread a small section of the rationale and left with the impression that people were requesting the change.
November 30th, 2013 at 10:21 pm
@clafollett
Dam way to hide behind the IT programmer/DB management.
I also work in the IT business and your out of line thinking Joe hasn’t followed in our footsteps. Joe feeds hungry bucs fan news and from what I’ve seen he is aware of what we want and what’s going around. It’s pretty irrational to think that any Joe wouldn’t have thought about improvements when the whole Internet has for the past 5 years. It’s a local site, in the IT Industry you should know local businesses are limited than state or corporate sites and technology and have it more difficult to make it a norm to what other sites do.
Also hey Joe it be cool for like a scoreboard or quarterly score. That just hit me!
November 30th, 2013 at 10:27 pm
@ clafollett
I too have been redirected to that candy crush game when Im on my phone’s browser.
November 30th, 2013 at 10:41 pm
Joe you’re cheating us. Every time I click on one of your stories to read the comments it doesn’t let me go back anymore. What’s up with that? I’m using a mobile device but it doesn’t happen with any other page I look at. It makes me close the page and open it back up on google to view again. Can u please explain this mishap?
November 30th, 2013 at 10:44 pm
Long time reader, lurker and occasional poster. There “read more” issue is really a non issue. Just about every website is like that now .. I would hate to even call it an annoyance…because either you open it or you don’t. If it is a story you are interested in one could argue it interrupts the flow of the article. But c’mon, just about every news/sports news website is like this now. In all honesty, unless I’ve been living under a rock, I ve never heard of anyone complain about it until a few weeks ago. A big deal? Hardly.
Caveat: When it says “read more” put something substantive behind it.. For example, anything you post or write about with Shaun King, should never, ever, ever, include the words”read more”, page 2 or anything of the sort.
November 30th, 2013 at 10:46 pm
“Rob, Joe never wrote that the change was to appease anyone. Please don’t make stuff up. Joe laid out why the changes were made here as clearly as he possibly could. –Joe”
“Simply put, Joe’s catering to the masses. -Joe”
Look, it is one thing to make up a load of bull and claim you are doing this for any other reason than artificially generating more page views, but there is no reason to flat out lie about what you typed out plainly in the article. And don’t bother trying to argue semantics about the difference between “appease” and “cater to.” It’s the same thing in this case.
Sorry, ChampKind, but the semantics are very important (kind of like you claiming Joe made up “a load of bull.”) Joe’s not “appeasing” more casual readers because they’re not upset. But the changes have been made to “cater” to the majority of Joe’s readers. Sorry you don’t like the semantics. And Joe’s not making things up. Your bitterness is not appreciated.–
Your narrative seems to be going pretty well for you on the whole, and I don’t have any problem with the change itself. I do however, take issue with how you insult your readers intelligence (not to mention how you flat-out insult them in the comments section if they disagree with you.)
Joe only insults readers who misrepresent Joe, lie about Joe, and those who insult Joe. Joe’s been doing that for years. –Joe
November 30th, 2013 at 10:47 pm
@You Go Joe
Not sure how that is hiding. I’m using my credentials prove a little bit about what I know. I can provide some MS certifications, provide client lists and talk shop if you would like more proof? I’ve been working with .NET since Beta 1 and SQL Server since 6.0. C++, C#, VB/VB.NET, Delphi, etc. etc.
Out of line? How so? Joe is a sports writer not a web developer. Did I say something false?
Yes, I read those news articles you mention and do so daily. Even on my 43 birthday on a Sat. night!
“It’s pretty irrational to think that any Joe wouldn’t have thought about improvements when the whole Internet has for the past 5 years. It’s a local site, in the IT Industry you should know local businesses are limited than state or corporate sites and technology and have it more difficult to make it a norm to what other sites do. ”
^^^ Please rephrase… I think I get your comments but you aren’t being very clear.
Look, I know Joe is running a local site. In all honesty, its not Joe’s site which is at issue. It’s Joe’s Ad network. I can’t be more clear here. Joe CAN do something about this though.
Use Firefox, install the NoScript addon and then come to Joe’s site and see for yourself. Heck, just install Firebug and inspect some of these Ads. The nested IFRAMEs will make your head spin.
I’m not here to ridicule Joe nor his site. I love and get 95% of my Bucs news right here. Many times per day from off season, through the draft, into preseason, through the season and beyond. I only want to see this site be the best “NFL team” site ever. If that calls for speaking the truth and putting up with your comments, then so be it.
I don’t comment a lot because I’m too busy doing my Tech job but I try and read every article and every comment – unless the thread gets stupid… then I just have to close my browser.
Irrational? Not at all… Try again.
November 30th, 2013 at 10:50 pm
Yeah the criminoles will be #1. As a lifelong gator fan, I detest both sides of the potential national championship if Ohio State gets in. Go Michigan State. Beat the creepy Meyer and put Auburn vs the criminoles in the big game.
November 30th, 2013 at 10:51 pm
Fundamentally, most people just can’t handle change very well. As a whole they are like children, needing lots of attention, reassurance and hand-holding. Kinda funny.
November 30th, 2013 at 11:00 pm
I love Joes ccandor and blut truth on all thing’s. Keep up the good reporting, and I hope you enjoy the finer cuts of meat. LoL
November 30th, 2013 at 11:10 pm
Gator hate is hilarious.
4-8 is also hilarious. Enjoy more seasons of mediocrity.
November 30th, 2013 at 11:15 pm
I don’t like any of the guys in the National Championship convo. Auburn wouldn’t even be there if it wasn’t for their outstanding luck. Blowing a 20 point lead to a banged up Georgia offense and only winning because the bounce went straight into Ricardo Louis’ hands. Then in the Alabama game the refs called the end of regulation after T.J Yeldon’s big run, but after Nick Saban argued for 1 more second, they gave it to him ironically, and without that one second, Chris Davis doesn’t return any FG attempt for a miraculous TD.
Florida State has a possible sexual offender at QB, and Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes made it past Michigan because of Michigan’s idiot playcalling. I can admire you going for the win instead of the tie, but the play was predictable and awfully played out, which is why it ended up an INT. Plus while Im not a Gator fan, I still don’t like Urban Meyer. He was mysteriously ill? Had to leave the Gators and quit football to be with his family? Only to smack Gator fans in the face and accept a job at Ohio State?
Yep, not really entertained to watch the big game this year, even if Alabama was still in it.
November 30th, 2013 at 11:16 pm
“BucsQcCity Says:
November 30th, 2013 at 8:40 pm
Wha’s annoying lately is the site redirect me to the appatore even when I don’t click anything so I’m looking forward to the mobile version”
Im glad you said this because I thought it was just me.
I consistently have to keep backing out of my App Store as I get redirected there to download some game for some reason when I use my iphone.
Which I use most of the time to check JBF.
November 30th, 2013 at 11:17 pm
Really don’t like it Joe. I am often in places where I get intermittent coverage. The ability to go to your page in preparation for these spots was one of the major things I liked about your site. AVID reader coming multiple times a day -that won’t change, but between this and recent changes that screw up the page on my cell phone browsers, I am not a fan of the recent changes.
November 30th, 2013 at 11:23 pm
This may help, it’s “candy crush saga”
Any idea why?
November 30th, 2013 at 11:37 pm
Thanks man, I’ll do that.
If you don’t mind what kind of functionality would I lose?
November 30th, 2013 at 11:40 pm
I still find it very peculiar that only now do they decide to mention Winston’s sexual offense when the guy is having the type of success he is having, I mean the case has been sitting on their desk for close to a year. Coincidence? I think not. The whole things just smells rotten.
November 30th, 2013 at 11:53 pm
Yeah, it’s very fishy. Some people have known about it for almost a year and only now is it getting attention. Charges could’ve been pressed months ago, but lawyers say the victim was pressured not to testify because of Winston’s status as the starting QB, and how it would affect Florida State’s season. I’m not sure what to buy.
November 30th, 2013 at 11:53 pm
How bout that Johnny Manziel! Lol
November 30th, 2013 at 11:54 pm
Uh oh, Johnny Boy’s about to lose his second straight game unless he can do something about it.
November 30th, 2013 at 11:57 pm
WTH? Texas A&M just wasted a timeout with 2 minutes left.
December 1st, 2013 at 12:02 am
And that pretty much does it for Johnny Boy’s Aggies.
December 1st, 2013 at 12:04 am
The read more doesnt bother me. I’m more $#&&* about the missing Hooter girl from the home page each day. This was probably explained weeks ago to readers but i completely missed any explaination. that has been my biggest disappointment with joebucsfan.
December 1st, 2013 at 12:06 am
Makes sense, I’ll do the same thing than. Thanks.
And so much for that consecutive Heisman trophy “Man”boy jaja
December 1st, 2013 at 12:07 am
Joe is in love with a quarterback who will be playing in the nobody bowl against nowhere state! Then when he wins the nobody bowl Joe will proclaim how Johnny boy should be drafted number one overall
December 1st, 2013 at 12:35 am
You don’t have to be a web developer to understand that the ‘read more’ bit is completely irritating and annoying. Please get rid of it Joe, or at least change it so it happens less often.
December 1st, 2013 at 12:40 am
Joe,
Just as an FYI. I’ve had the issue with being redirected to the App Store a couple of times. I just assumed I had brushed over an ad or something.
December 1st, 2013 at 1:16 am
The Noles have BLOWN out EVERY team they faced this season ranked or unranked. Averaging about 50 points a game. There is no doubt in this Noles mind that they belong in the National Championship game. Fact is I thought they should be ranked ahead of Bama weeks ago and that’s not homerism,
Also let me clue everyone in on the fact that this team as a whole is very very good, not just the Famous one. Oh and the backup QB is quite adequate as well. He was named the true starter coming into the season until Winston beat him out. I’m not worried one bit about winning the title with or without Jameis.
December 1st, 2013 at 1:45 am
HootersCalendar.com girls do not appear on weekends.
That will NOT change.
December 1st, 2013 at 1:47 am
d-money:
That may have done that. Please note Joe has zero control over national ads.
December 1st, 2013 at 1:50 am
Well it safe to say it’s happening to numerous people.
I know for a fact I do not brush over ads when it happens.
I’m sure none of us are.
Just had my buddy go on with his iphone and it did the same thing.
So yea, bring it up to your peeps Joe.
December 1st, 2013 at 1:52 am
TrueBuc:
No clue. Joe doesn’t even want to try to understand how mobile browsers work but Joe has had zee-roe issues with the site using either Opera or Chrome or Safari using iPads and Droids.
December 1st, 2013 at 1:58 am
Regardless it’s clearly an issue
And I’m using safari too
And remember a large part of your readers access this site through mobile device.
December 1st, 2013 at 1:59 am
Noticed no one answer the question earlier so asking again:
Joe wonders if the same people who are upset about clicking a mouse once also lodge the same complaints at TBO, the Times, PR, NFL.com, TheBigLead, Deadspin, ESPN, CNN, FOX and Craig’s List, among others?
Joe still has a “cleaner” site than all of them, with the possible exception of Craig’s List.
December 1st, 2013 at 2:01 am
PRBucFan:
Try downloading a different (free) web browser. Opera mini is good and so too is Chrome.
December 1st, 2013 at 2:04 am
Will do Joe
Thanks
December 1st, 2013 at 2:14 am
Joe’s kind will do whatever it takes to make more money. Joe has such contempt for the people that allow him to watch football for a living.
December 1st, 2013 at 2:36 am
Marco:
This site is a business, always has been. It’s not a charity.
December 1st, 2013 at 2:44 am
Wow, that was extremely unprofessional and uncalled for….let me clarify these ‘exaggerations’, as I wasn’t anticipating actually getting a response this time…First off Joe, I respect you as a journalist and I respect your rather cutthroat approach to giving your opinion. I have no intention of being a jerk on here and spewing out hate towards you, on the contrary, your website is literally my favorite on the internet…0% of that having to do with the actual website. Actually, as I bet most techies on here would agree, we follow you devoutly even knowing the website hits on everyone of my OCD techy nerves….speaking for myself, I love ya’lls opinion that much..so with that being said, here was my OPINION, of how I WAS AFFECTED by your recent changes. You can take them to heart or you can use them as toilet paper, just don’t disrespect a loyal reader. Not caring about your truest and loyal fans, especially when they’re trying to help, is the definition of a sell out…I’m not saying you are that, but please keep in mind that you offended someone who supports you.
1) Hey, maybe you’ve got great local deals and a good enough following on the radio, etc… to make good money off your ads….I don’t know your marketing strategy and it would be stupid of me to assume otherwise.
2) I’m sorry it actually took my mobile browser roughly 6.5 minutes to fully load your website not “10”…the red frame that has your banner “JoeBucsFan” and the space encasing the articles (ad space) loads after a few seconds, but the article section of your site remains blank and motionless for several minutes…as I said….I clocked in at just under 6.5 minutes to fully load the text to be legible.
—-I’m running a Droid Razr Maxx with the current OS and flexing between a crappy 4G/3G network in the mountains
3) There are no exaggerations in the fact that an app would be welcome…and I also don’t think it’s outrageous to suggest that as a reader (who has to make the big decision whether or not to load another page or not…which can be long and annoying for the user) it would be nice to know just how much more of the article is left before clicking on the [read more] link. Something as simple as letting the reader know “hey, you’ve read about 1/10th of this article and there is ALOT more” is a lot more likely to get appreciation of opening a new page than going through the process to find out all that remains is too little (albeit full of content) paragraphs that don’t make or break the story.
—-I get this is nit picky, really I do…but when the framework of your website is roughly 60% ads (total guess, just eyeballing it) and the ads load about 5x quicker than the rest of the site (on a good connection still) than it becomes a big deal to your more tech savvy readers.
4) This part actually is true. I literally may even come to your site more…I’d be happy for you to take note of my IP to see how devout I really am. I might even load your page up more than 30 times a day, its the first and last thing I check in the morning and I refresh it all the time in the offseason for any update whatsoever…it’s that good. That’s a compliment to you, “Joe”.
As for the “15 people have been turned off…and left your site” comment. That’s actually a pretty legitimate number, I can’t say that I took a poll and found out what they’re replacement site was BucsNation, but I’m a tech nerd who loves sports both on and off the field, my friends are from a similar mindset….all I’m saying is that you are severely underestimating how much a user-friendly website matters to people, loyal readers and people who have no idea a Bucs blog exists. To ignore that would be wrong, but you eluded that there was a “mobile solution” in the works…that would be great! From my recent personal experience, I was the only one in my group of friends who had heard of you, a lot of them were females who wanted to learn more. Pulling a Bleacher Report app for the Bucs was A LOT easier than loading your ad ridden site….someone who loves your work tolerates it, others…well thats a crapshoot.
In conclusion Joes, it would have been VERY nice to know ahead of time that you were planning a mobile solution / app / whatever. When you make changes you’re going to hear from your loyal readers who DO NOTICE the little things. If I were you, I would be very appreciative that I got thoughtful and honest advice from my fans…ones who actually care about my work. I’d love to hear your response since you were so entertained by my initial comment, I’ll say that I’m quite entertained by this too.
December 1st, 2013 at 2:47 am
Apologies for the grammatical errors…it’s been a long day.
December 1st, 2013 at 2:50 am
I blame Mark Dominik for the “read more” links. It’s all his fault, as is world hunger, Obama Care, and childhood obesity.
December 1st, 2013 at 2:52 am
Noticed no one answer my question earlier so asking again:
Joe wonders if the same people who are upset about clicking a mouse once also lodge the same complaints at TBO, the Times, PR, NFL.com, TheBigLead, Deadspin, ESPN, CNN, FOX and Craig’s List, among others?
Joe still has a “cleaner” site than all of them, with the possible exception of Craig’s List.
^^^^ In response
ESPN, Bleacher Report, NFL.com, and pretty much all of those sites have compatible mobile versions or apps.
Joe…MOBILE USERS HATE YOUR SITE….people who are on a computer have no excuse…if I didn’t elude to that earlier than whoops! Mobile, mobile, mobile. Your mobile site is rough.
December 1st, 2013 at 2:54 am
You gotta do what you gotta do Joe. I’m not going to stop coming to the site for something minor like this. I will admit, however, that I personally come to the site a little less now, mainly because when I’m on my phone it takes too long to load for my taste (even though it’s not really that bad, I’m just impatient). I end up just waiting until I get home, which is probably better for my professional career:) So while I get the complaints, it is what it is, and we just have to live with it.
December 1st, 2013 at 3:09 am
LOL
December 1st, 2013 at 3:11 am
In a perfect world, Joe would have all stories in their entirety on the front page and in a moment, greet Rachel Watson in his bed.
Sadly, we live in an imperfect world.
(Remember, Joe has to click just like everyone else).
December 1st, 2013 at 3:44 am
I like the change Joe. I read your posts a couple of times a day, but dont often post comments as I am in a waaay different time zone and the horse has usually bolted by the time I get around to checking in. And yes there are often shitty pop up ads associated with joebucsfan – the recent ones that had me not checking in for a week was ‘win a free apple product’. Only happened when on the ipad or phone. Highly annoying
December 1st, 2013 at 6:32 am
I’m primarily a mobile user, except when i’m at work (unless my boss is reading, in which case my account was hacked), and I’ve had a few issues with getting redirected which is a minor inconvenience but ultimately not a big deal. Joe’s said that changes assure coming and they’ve got things in the works that will make things better so let’s see what those changes are before we kill the Joes over the read more issue. I can’t imagine that in 2013 anyone is actually experiencing the latency issues that some of you are describing. Is it really worth your time to complain about the site taking 20 seconds to load instead of being instantaneous when the article you’re complaining on says that they’re going to speed it up in a couple weeks? Love reading what you guys have to say about football and the Bucs but come on guys.
December 1st, 2013 at 7:32 am
Huh. I have almost the exact opposite problem most of the others have. My phone loads almost lightning quick. Takes roughly 4-6 seconds to load the story. The story loads faster than the adds too. So when I see paragraphs, I hit the stop button as fast as I can Most of the time those auto play don’t play. Can still see pic but no noise (thank the lord).
My computer though takes around 45 seconds to load, which is about 45.5 seconds than I would like. Not enough to chase me away.
However I would never ever in million years go to a website that takes 6 or more minutes to load. Not even Rachel Watson and her clone making out would be enough to deal with 6 minute load time. Well not more than once day. 😉
December 1st, 2013 at 7:42 am
While I can appreciate the attention that Ms. Watson gets here, I think that the rookie cheerleader, Micah, is far deserving of some public recognition. Girl is an absolute stunner
December 1st, 2013 at 7:43 am
*Far more
December 1st, 2013 at 7:45 am
I sometimes get directed to the apple store too! From my phone. I would like to see a Thumbs up or down feature in the comment section like PFT.
December 1st, 2013 at 7:50 am
@bucfaninmi – I can see where the thumbs up/down thing would be appealing, I like the current format where if someone agrees or disagrees they have to actually write something and back it up. Helps to bring about some lively debate
December 1st, 2013 at 10:30 am
Hey Joe,
I’m a long time follower and I have to admit that I don’t like the change but I’m sure like most things you just have to adjust. The most annoying thing to me though is after clicking on read more once you are done reading the column and you click on the back arrow to go back to your home page it does not redirect you to the article that you just finished reading? It takes you several columns back which then you makes you have to scroll back down past all the columns that you just finished reading just to get to the next article that you want read.
December 1st, 2013 at 12:46 pm
Joe, I concur with Hdel3′ s comment that the issue for me is when you try to go back, you aren’t allowed to go back to the home page. Then you have to reload the site and start over from the top. Annoying, but since this is the only site I go to for Bucs news, I’ll have to put up with it.
December 1st, 2013 at 12:52 pm
Im cool with it….and if you make more money, even better! Capitalize on it!!!
December 1st, 2013 at 12:53 pm
Maybe not following what you are saying, but the back button is working for Joe. Joe clicked on the headline of a story, hit the back button, and there was the home page.
December 1st, 2013 at 1:00 pm
.Net, yikes I’d rather stick knitting needles in my eyes than have to work in any MS environment….all hail open source LAMP development….btw, either Akimai (if you are using them) or one of your ad networks is killing the load time of your pages, I know you’re no where near the size we are, but, you gotta do something about that, way to many iframe and external js loads happening for some mobile browsers. I know your targeted ads are workng because all I get is ads for Guitar Center and other instrument sites I visit. You oughta see the feedback we get, when I get a chance I’ll forward. Few, we keep a wall of fame for the best ones…
December 1st, 2013 at 1:25 pm
That is your problem Joe. Find a better network. There are several options that let you filter ads nowadays and provide a superior service to your current provider. Adzerk is one. Not only can you “blacklist ads”, but so can your readers. So if there is an ad I hate, I can block it from being served to me, and the system will find another one to serve me.
Joe was using a generalization to explain why he can’t diagnose and fix problems in a particular ad feed, as they arise from time to time. Obviously, Joe has the freedom to change networks. As Joe wrote in the post, there are good changes coming. –Joe
On the topic of “Read More” and industry trends, the trend now is towards one page browsing, not away.
[Again, if enough people want front-page only — with the full knowledge that doing so Joe will also go pay-per-read, then Joe will do an about face. Once again, we both know the answer to that question, don’t we. — Joe]
December 1st, 2013 at 1:31 pm
And is there really a .NET programmer here talking about web trends? Hilarity.
Joe,
Only two things I’d really like.
1) Ajax comments plugin.
2) Rework your ads so they don’t kill mobile. The scripts for those should be in your footer, or done asynchronously, so they don’t affect the loading of your content.
December 1st, 2013 at 1:36 pm
What a bunch of women on the rag. Joe provides tons of content free and all you do is b!tch. And all dweebs with your cell phones, wah!
You f’ers are so soft.
December 1st, 2013 at 1:39 pm
aj:
1) Ajax comments plugin.
[Only “Ajax” Joe knows is a kitchen/bath cleaner. Joe edits the comments that are dirty. — Joe]
2) Rework your ads so they don’t kill mobile. The scripts for those should be in your footer, or done asynchronously, so they don’t affect the loading of your content.
Thanks for thinking of Joe. –Joe
December 1st, 2013 at 3:43 pm
lol….i use a phone as a phone….i get on the internet from a computer (using adblock plus) that little add-on to chrome works so well 😉
December 1st, 2013 at 6:32 pm
Joe,
The issue that I brought up in an early comment that Greg also referenced is not that the back button doesn’t work. It does bring you back to your homepage yes but it doesn’t take you back to the article that you just finished reading after clicking on read more. When you click on the back arrow you are taken back (several headlines back) where then you have to scroll down the homepage page to find where you just left off so you can continue on to the next article. This was not the case before the change for example before when you clicked on comments on the bottom of an article you could hit the back arrow and it would bring you right back to that same column and you could easily continue on to the next headline. The way that it is now is time consuming.
December 1st, 2013 at 6:45 pm
Hdel:
Honestly, the back button works for Joe unless he totally does not get what you are saying (possible).
For example, Joe just clicked on the headline about Jackson recently posted. There is the article in full, with comments to read (or to comment). Joe clicked the back button (on his browser in the upper left-hand corner) and he is back to the home page where all the articles are there to scroll.
If you want to read the previous article or next article while in the full story/comments, the links are at the top of the page.
What is Joe missing here? Guess he has to see what you are doing to get it.
Look, it is very simple. If people agree to pay-per-read (we all know the answer to that, don’t we?), Joe will revert to the old format. Joe has resisted this for over five years. This site always has been and always will be a business. It has never been a charity. Revenue keeps the lights on for this site, and allows Joe to go to places in the offsesaon to collect stories that you read.
A guy who works for local FOX Twitter Joe today asking why there are so many complains for a free site? Good question.
Again, TBO, the Times, PR, BSPN, FOX Sports and other places for Bucs news do the same thing.
December 1st, 2013 at 6:50 pm
Shutting down the thread. Joe believes everyone has had ample time for kvetching. Joe appreciates the feedback.