Is the UPCOMING QUEUE turning Neatorama into Fark.com?

Posted by Queuebot in Neatorama Only on February 8, 2009 at 12:39 am

Neatorama has is a gem among blogs. I’ve been coming daily for just over a year now. Each visit yielding a myriad of new interesting facts, trivia, cultural curiosities, offbeat artists….. Until now. The UPCOMING QUEUE is wreaking Neatorama, and I’m surely not alone in this sentiment. I’d rather see fewer posts than have the roster bumped up with the very un"Neat" fodder overwhelming the front page. Neatorama has a certain ‘brand’ of post, please don’t let this blog spiral downward via the UPCOMING QUEUE.

Fark has it’s place, and I’ll go there for the silly farklike posts, Neatorama has it’s place, don’t lose sight of it. Please use this post as the start of a discussion in the comments section and let the Neatorama public have a chance to voice. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe people are digging the new system, but let’s find out.

Sincerely yours,
Dan. Neatorama fanboy.

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by rellimz.

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Tags: Upcoming Queue

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COMMENT

137 comments to "Is the UPCOMING QUEUE turning Neatorama into Fark.com?"

GeekyGirl
February 8th, 2009 at 12:39 am
I completely agree. Quality over quantity.
Akiro
February 8th, 2009 at 12:39 am
I must confess I agree as well, although I was first interested in the queue it has become a nuisance. There have already been posts of content previously on neatorama, as well as, stolen or copy and pastes from other blogs. I suppose the ipod may be fueling the influx.

Finally, yes it is completely ironic that this post comes through the upcoming queue itself...
rellimz
February 8th, 2009 at 12:39 am
That irony wasn't lost on me Akiro. It occurred to me that the folks visiting the UPCOMING QUEUE section would by default be fans of the system and subsequently downvote my post. Glad to see I was wrong.
Paul
February 8th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Social networking is part of the current evolution of the internet, it's only right for a site like this to evolve and change with time.

I think the queue is a great method for getting more content to the blog, in the past i have submitted a few things, but it wasn't something i took the time out to do often because there was no immediate reaction to what was sent. i've quite enjoyed being able to share things i find neat too, i've used reddit in the past, and found most things i submit get overlooked easily, but here the smaller community, and more focussed audience coupled with editors that have the final say have meant i've been able to share interesting things which get seen.

I think also the editors are checking most posts themselves before posting, making edits and whatnot so even if something gets all the votes in the world, if it's not really neat and fitting with the site it won't go on.

honestly i think it's a good feature, in its early stages, over time it'll improve and settle in and could become a great part of the site.
Christophe
February 8th, 2009 at 12:39 am
I've been sending suggestions to Neatorama on and off for some time and my rate of success will never make me part of the editorial team
I've been playing with the Queue since the beginning :
I believe there's still an editorial oversight since, as usual, some (most?) of my suggestions got erased quite quickly, even the one I believed truly to be neat

I'm with Jake : " i think it's a good feature, in its early stages, over time it'll improve and settle in and could become a great part of the site."
Johnny Cat
February 8th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Again, I must agree and say, "What happened to the magic number?" It seems that anything that gets over 1 vote gets through. Now, if I'm not mistaken, one vote compared to 15 is a huge difference, statistically speaking. And Alex said the voting would determine what goes to the front page starting in February.

It should be a magic number, and it should probably be less than 15 to make it reasonable. Maybe 9...number 9...number 9...number 9...
Edward
February 8th, 2009 at 12:39 am
The queue is a good idea. Letting items go from it to the front page without editorial over site is not a good idea.

I consider them to be two different blogs. I go to the main site for the classically neat content. I go to the queue for, well, better content than almost any other blog but not quite neat enough for the main site.
Alex
February 8th, 2009 at 12:41 am
Wow - our first "meta" post. Obviously I have an opinion about this, but I'd like to listen to all of yours first.

BTW, I delinked the post, since it went into the archives (I know the original poster rellimz had to pick a URL. It's not a bad one to pick, but irrelevant to the discussion at hand.)
dsfgsdfgs
February 8th, 2009 at 12:55 am
This post alone proves the system isn't working. I liked the old Neatorama.

I come here for hand picked 'neat' stuff but all this user-centric garbage keeps floating up to the main page.
xTivo
February 8th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Personally, I like the upcoming queue as its own thing. its fun to sift through and find things, but i don't think it should be particularly linked to the front page, unless theres something particularly amazing. it should be more like...neatorama jr. not really linked, but cool to look at all the same.
Am i being clear enough?
philliposophy
February 8th, 2009 at 1:06 am
By opening up the front page to user submitted content (even housed in blog format), neatorama is opening itself up to problems that plague sites like digg.com.
Example: From time to time users will submit content, then lobby their friends to press the Neat button. There may be no such thing (yet) as ‘power users’ on neatorama, but with the upcoming queue determining front page content, there’s bound to be manipulation.
I think I've witnessed this a few times.

@Paul, I think you're being overly optimistic. By 'evolving' and undergoing 'change', neatorama is at a serious risk of losing its niche that could quickly be replaced by other quality sites like boingboing. I'd rather see us adopt one of their strategies of allowing 'guest bloggers' to post quality content.

@Dan/rellimz Thanks for posting this. The site is changing and users should talk about those changes on the front page.
Matt
February 8th, 2009 at 1:08 am
I never realized there was this "upcoming queue" thing until just now. Huh. I'm incredibly naive.
ESJ
February 8th, 2009 at 1:10 am
I think the Queue should be kept, but there needs to be a change to whatever formula/algorithm gets used. I agree that the emphasis should be on quality over quantity, but I've seen some really awesome finds on the UQ that I have yet to see on any other "mainstream" blogs (if you can call Neatorama that).
DylanDoom
February 8th, 2009 at 1:11 am
Noooo queuebot!
Youre killing yourself!
Matt Blank
February 8th, 2009 at 1:19 am
Yeah I like the upcoming queue since it's certainly a wider scope of material, but maybe split the RSS feed into two branches so I can devote the time to the UQ stuff when I have time for it. I usually read 95% of what happens on here via RSS, so that would be helpful.
Justin
February 8th, 2009 at 1:20 am
While there have certainly been a whole bunch of great posts from the queue system, the quality of the posts seems to have gone down quite a bit. Even though some of the links I have submitted in the past were destined for the trash can according to the powers that be, I still liked how this website would often create quality posts describing the link.

I know the old way is more time consuming for the staff at neatorama, but you've already spoiled us with your excellent posts. I guess it just feels like we're losing that unique feel your site offers when it's just purely user submitted and produced content.
Johnny Cat
February 8th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Don't do it, Queuebot! I have the higher ground!

/lava

Also, didn't Winston Churchill make up the word "Queuetopia" to describe communist countries that had to line up to buy things? Just a thought.
dd
February 8th, 2009 at 1:23 am
I don't like the queue for many of the reasons listed here, but also: if I vote on the queue, that means I've SEEN the things that make it to the front page already, along with a ton of things that don't make it and which are either ads, old, or annoyingly bad.

I hate seeing things I've already downvoted make it to the front page, so I get annoyed with Neatorama. I've enjoyed the site very much in the past, but now I barely skim most of the selections because I don't expect the quality to be as good.

I'm all for innovation, but this is a step WAY down in quality for Neatorama.

Also, registering my username has the adverse effect of taking three more steps to actually posting a comment. Is there no way for us to login and comment at the same time?
scbr
February 8th, 2009 at 1:27 am
I think it is a cool idea that should be improved instead of killed.

As I see it it is a way of making the suggestions to the editors public (and maybe make their job a little easier). I mean, some of us we send suggestions from time to time. Those may be picked or not, but I guess that sometimes they are not chosen just because the editors do not have time to check every submission or to write a whole post about them. As the queue shows, people can send anything and everything...

Editors can keep Neatorama "cool" by approving what THEY like NO MATTER how many votes a post receives and -maybe- by having the option to add their own smart or spicy comments to the post once it goes to the main site.

On the other hand, us, the readers, we can totally skip the queue if we don't like to read anything that is not "pure" Neatorama but if we have some time to kill we can go to the queue to take a glance to what is being "suggested" to the editors as we do with other blogs out there.

Another thing that may help would be to have a limit of posts per day per user to have more variety in the queue.

My two cents, San
g.park
February 8th, 2009 at 1:28 am
Completely agree. The Upcoming Queue has downgraded my Neatorama experience. Most of the posts that make it through are things that I've already read on other sites, rather than unique finds.
Either the filters need to improve, or the feature needs to die.
kaitlyn
February 8th, 2009 at 1:32 am
I also feel that the queue should be, at the least, regulated to it's own page. Before, if there were new items from Neatorama on my Reader, I could rest assured I'd see something "neat". Now, it may or may not be. I prefer Neatorama without a queue.
Cordelia
February 8th, 2009 at 1:35 am
I agree with xTivo - keep the upcoming queue but don't link it to the main page. I didn't realize how it all worked until reading these posts, but if you have to vote on something in the UQ tab to get it to the main page that just seems repetitive - why read the item twice?
philliposophy
February 8th, 2009 at 1:37 am
There seems to be two camps.

1. Apologists who trust blindly in neatorama management decision making.
2. and "SHUT IT DOWN!"
mork
February 8th, 2009 at 1:39 am
"Social networking is part of the current evolution of the internet, it’s only right for a site like this to evolve and change with time."

Who cares what other sites do? That isn't a reason to keep queue bot.
Teresa
February 8th, 2009 at 1:42 am
I'm not a fan of the Queue at all. There is such a high signal to noise ratio (or do I mean low?) that it's becoming increasingly difficult to not just press "read all" on Neatorama's feed in Google Reader.
Bruno
February 8th, 2009 at 1:47 am
In all honesty, I rank Neatorama as one of my favorite blogs. I always look forward to see what it's bringing me next. On the other hand, I find the Queue has taken away from this enjoyment.
It's just too much in quantity and not exactly better in quality. At times it has become overwhelming and too often repetitive. I find my self using the 'mark all as read' option in gReader or just skimming over posts, which used to never happen.
I suggest that if this is going to continue, that maybe two feeds should be set up.

Thanks!
TronStuck
February 8th, 2009 at 1:47 am
To fix the redundancy of the UQ (ie the voting then the reading), make the UQ only visible to people registered. So you either have to register, or wait patiently for the next UQ to be moved to the main page.

The hardcore neatophiles will still need to read and vote, but the casual users like me can still enjoy the simple main page.
bri
February 8th, 2009 at 1:48 am
It seemed nice at first, but frankly, it seems like over half the posts are things I've already seen, as compared to when before Queue was implemented and almost everything was novel and cool. However, the new and unknown posts that do come through the Queue seem like they would've been picked up anyhow by the pre-Queue Neatorama (although I could obviously be wrong on that count). Nonetheless, I'm fine with scrolling through already-seen content to look for the gems, especially if the Neatorama staff are happy with how Upcoming Queue has developed.
Moi
February 8th, 2009 at 1:49 am
I'm with xTivo; make it seperate from Neatorama.

Same with GeekyGirl; the original Neatorama was more interesting and had quality posts.
titan
February 8th, 2009 at 1:54 am
it was better before~
AJ
February 8th, 2009 at 1:58 am
Keep the queue, but approve articles sparingly by hand, and rewrite them if necessary. I'm not merely disappointed in the selection of topics getting bumped to the front page, I'm also disappointed in the writing.

Keep user voting, but ignore the results. Let voting be like the disconnected office thermostat that everyone fiddles with thinking they have some power when really it's the janitor who controls everyone's fate.

Or maybe dump voting. Before queue voting began, I accepted everything on Neatorama's front page. If something didn't interest me, I skipped past it without a second thought. But now, it's like every day is election day and I'm sitting here helpless as no good stinkin' weasels get elected to office, and each time that happens I am reminded that my interests aren't as similar to those of the Neatorama glitterati as I'd thought.

(And when it comes to this class of blog, I'm definitely looking for bloggers who have similar interests or attitudes to my own.)
Idaho Dad
February 8th, 2009 at 1:59 am
To put it bluntly, Neatorama has lately become a blog that I am apprehensive about when opening up my Google Reader. My reading time is limited, and in the past I could always count on Neatorama to deliver the very best posts in an efficient manner. Now, it seems like I'm wasting half my time scrolling through clutter.

Neatorama was practically perfect before. I have no idea why you felt like it needed to be changed.
AndyL
February 8th, 2009 at 2:06 am
I too dislike the new Upcoming Queue feature. I did notice a giant influx in number of posts before I realized it was due to the queue. Every day for the past week, I've contemplated taking Neatorama off of my Google Reader, which kills me because it was the first blog I ever read regularly and loved it!

But it's almost a chore these days to sift through the posts. I find myself almost dreading going through Neatorama posts, which is ridiculous! I keep doing it because I know there's great stuff buried in there, but I'm getting sick of it.

I agree with what others are saying: MAKE IT A SEPARATE RSS FEED or at least a separate website. That way, I can continue to read just a few high-quality posts and the people who enjoy the Upcoming Queue feature can enjoy its offerings. How's that?
alexs
February 8th, 2009 at 2:18 am
I enjoy receiving my daily dosage of neat and interesting stuff on Neatorama by RSS. I used to spend a lot of time making sure I read every post which came through because there was so much quality and unique information.

Now, everyday, my reader is stuffed with piles of crap I read elsewhere or simply don't want to know.

So my first opinion was to abolish the upcomeing queue. However after reading comments here and seeing that there are two sides to the argument (some people clearly like reading stuff here, as well as re-reading it on fark, metafilter, digg etc) I see the advantages to creating 2 RSS feeds. One for Neatorama authors, the other for the Upcoming queue.

That way I'll be happy and so will the queue supporters. Oh, and the people who actually visit the neatorama page itself? They can enjoy the best of two worlds.

Simple!
canvai
February 8th, 2009 at 2:24 am
too many youtube videos. although some are quite nice and i'm glad i saw them...
a loyal
February 8th, 2009 at 2:27 am
Ive been coming to this site for about 2 years and i love it, i tell all my friends about it they all love it. We all agree that the queue has ruined the epicness of the site. I agree with others, maybe make the queue a separate tag away from the main page, so that if people want more they can have more. Please! do away with the queue
- a loyal reader
GeminiXtech
February 8th, 2009 at 2:31 am
I was at first excited to see that Neatorama was taking a step forward where everyone could submit different ideas. Since then, I've seen a few quality items come out of the Upcoming Queue, but I no longer spend time to read each individual article, as the articles from the Upcoming Queue are nearly wrecking my Neatorama experience.

However, I'm not saying that it should be entirely taken off the site. Just like Paul said, "Social networking is part of the current evolution of the internet, it’s only right for a site like this to evolve and change with time."

What makes Neatorama better than the rest is its unique perspective of the Internet's constant expansion; the authors from here have helped me find some amazing things, and thus far, while the rest of the Internet is constantly having to change to keep its audience, I still would've enjoyed Neatorama if it hadn't changed, as it is easy to navigate, has a clean look, has friendly people, and always has something that catches my attention.

People have something to say, and like the idea of being able to communicate to the large community of Neatorama readers, but it is growing more and more evident that the new system does not work with the old one. One problem that Neatorama faces is that if the Upcoming Queue is separated as a different part of Neatorama, I for one, along with many other readers, will almost never check it, and therefore there would be no incentive to write your own articles. Another problem is that because it is almost based on random chance or on popularity, as philliposophy put it, not on the quality of the article, fewer people are spending the time to put thought into each post.

From what I can tell, there has been a lot of work put into putting together an UQ system, and it would be a waste turning all that work into nothing. The system has potential; I for one would love to see my articles make the front page; perhaps there needs to be a change in the system.

If there is to be a change, we should definitely wait until this contest is over. I have yet to see Neatorama not uphold its promises, and this would be awful as its first time.

I don't know how difficult this change would be, but my proposal is an idea based on Anonymity. What makes the front page could be judged by the following criteria: a random potential article is shown to several random users who go onto the Upcoming Queue, perhaps ten users. Out of those ten users, none of them having any knowledge of how all the other readers vote, can say whether they liked it, disliked it, or were neutral based on the quality of the writing and the neatness of the item at hand. They would only be able to see one article at a time, and would have to vote to go onto the next one. Any article with a sufficiently high value, such as 5 neutrals and 5 thumbs up, would go onto the front page.

I feel that such a strategy would greatly improve the way articles are written, as quality would be of more value, and I'm guessing that the knowledge of actually making a difference of what articles make it will inspire Neatorama readers to actually want to take part in this system.
andrew
February 8th, 2009 at 2:34 am
I have to agree with a lot of people here: since the upcoming queue was introduced I've considered taking neatorama off my reader on many occasions. There's simply too many posts, and so many of them aren't neat anymore.

Social networking and user generated content is nice and all - but there is definitely still a place for editors in this world! I read gizmodo instead of engadget because of the voice of the blog, and it -was- the same reason I would read neatorama over fark.

I also happen there's way too many posts here in a daily basis. Some of us have jobs, and can't afford to wade through 100 posts of muck to get a few nuggets of neatness.

But I don't think the whole problem is the queuebot itself. I think a LOT of the problem is from the contest. Sorry, neatorama editors, but I think this was very poorly managed. now people are REWARDED by throwing as much junk at this as they can, and copy/pasting pages to make it go as fast as possible.

So, I see a couple solutions: remove the queuebot. or make separate RSS feeds and home pages for each. I miss reading things posted by the great editors here!
alison
February 8th, 2009 at 2:35 am
I like the queue for the influx of new posts (and for the most part they're interesting and well-written). What I hate seeing are posts copied from other blogs, duplicate or old posts, or just general crap that never would've been posted here before. I think the iPod incentive is really hurting what could be a great new addition to this site. It makes it about the number of posts one can submit, and not at all about the content.
Philip
February 8th, 2009 at 3:01 am
I am not sure if this has been said yet, as this discussion is like 800 pages long now, but I would like to see one of two things happen with the upcoming queue:

1) Become its own neatorama associated site (like boingboing's othersites).

2) Have its own, separate feed. This would allow for easy distinction of the content for all people who consume this website via feed (such as myself).
zazie
February 8th, 2009 at 3:21 am
I love Neatorama, but queuebot posts too much stuff that isn't always great quality, and frankly some of them just looked like people hawking their own wares. I don't want Neatorama to be one of those blogs that I end up never reading because there is too much filler on it.
Andrew W H
February 8th, 2009 at 3:22 am
I think the Queue posts should be limited to 1-2 per day. it's a good plan, but the posts by the actual neatorama authors are soo much better.
kate
February 8th, 2009 at 3:48 am
I agree with the "separate feed" camp; I'm doing an awful lot of scrolling down in my Bloglines to find the "real" posts. I actually find myself scanning for the big red Q in order to scroll past those.
imanalchemist
February 8th, 2009 at 4:02 am
What's the point of even visiting the "real" neatorama when I already saw all the content in the queue? The whole point of neatorama simply became seeing what got picked.
Dan Smith
February 8th, 2009 at 4:07 am
i like reading what the original neatorama contributors think is neat. what other random people think is neat, is sometimes, not so neat.

everytime i read a post, and then start thinking "man, this is only kinda neat" i then look to the bottom and sure nuff it's a qbot post.

i agree with dan.
sonja
February 8th, 2009 at 4:12 am
The quality of posts has definitely gone down since the QueueBot arrived.
SenorMysterioso
February 8th, 2009 at 5:00 am
my 2¢

Im not ready to kill the queue, I think its a great opportunity to participate in the blog. I have submitted links prior to the queue but I think this is a little nicer and lets the submitter have a voice on the front page which is pretty cool.

I have the same problems with the queue as everyone else
*Massive amounts of front paged post
*Lack of quality posts.
*People submitting content that is not in the vein of what we've come to expect from Neatorama
*Reposts. I dont mind an occasional repost by Neatorama authors if enough time has passed since last posted because more than likely the post is still neat
*Spam

One suggestion I have is to limit the number of times a user can submit to once a day.

I think, like the forum, the activity will die down a lot after the first month. I think a lot of people are motivated to participate in the queue because of the reward, which, I think was your intent. Its cool that folks are playing along but it seems like there isnt much thought being put into what people post. The casual visitor may not notice but the Neatorama regulars can see a big difference. There are a lot of us that comment, submit and post on the forum regularly but I am positive that there are just as many quietly read the blog on a daily basis.

Also, bad posts are Adam's realm. I dont want the quebot taking his place :p
scbr
February 8th, 2009 at 5:01 am
I have to make an addition to my previous comment and that is that they should have for sure separate feeds (I don't read neatorama through RSS so I never noticed the queue was polluting the site).

Back to the list of possible improvements:

1. Separate feeds (a must do)
2. Don't make it about quantity but about quality and limit the # of posts per day per person. So if people want to link to their own site, they will to think harder on what to post -quality wise-, if they are limited to i.e. 2 posts per day. I have seen some people posting everything they have, I guess that hoping "something" will make it to the front page.
3. Don't use the votes to select the postings that will make it to Neatorama, make it an editor's decision
4. Give yourselves the option to add comments.

Now, if you have to choose just one option, it has to be #1. If I was receiving NR via feed I would also be very unhappy of receiving the queue with it!
sirwebster
February 8th, 2009 at 5:08 am
i agree with the post, upcoming queue is ruining this site, i've been coming here less and less since it's implementation, it was a nice idea, but it didn't work out, these things happen. i think it's time to turn it off and make neatorama neat again
AJB
February 8th, 2009 at 5:10 am
I started reading Neatorama because sites with user controlled content were taking up too much of my time with too much stuff to wade through to find the gems. Now that applies to Neatorama.
I'm sure there's a place for the UQ, but maybe it could be relegated to a separate feed, with one or two human approved posts making it to the regular site per day?
melies
February 8th, 2009 at 5:17 am
I totally agree with Dan

I have been a daily reader for a long time now and the avalanche of stuff makes it really difficult to find the good bits now. Up to the point where I tend to lose interest..

UPCOMING QUEUES should be kept under a totally separate tab(for the days when I have A LOT OF SPARE TIME to look at it!) for the sake of clarity and quality
violet/riga
February 8th, 2009 at 5:18 am
It's already been said: Quality of quantity. I'm happy to see the queue evolve into a stream of submissions that goes alongside the main content, but only the very best (ie. top 5%) should make it to the main page.
Rob H.
February 8th, 2009 at 5:50 am
I agree with those who say keep the upcoming Queue but limit the number of posts that make it to the main page to just a couple a day.
Richard
February 8th, 2009 at 6:03 am
The site has been both helped and hindered by the queuebot.

We've seen a lot of neat stuff that might have been missed otherwise, but we've also suffered a certain percentage of dross and repeats.

I'm not one of the naysayers who's going to say 'dump it' because I think it does have a use - but I don't think automagically raising posts that gather votes to the front page is that use - we've already seen it being abused by other communities gathering mass votes to greenlight stuff that doesn't belong there.

Maybe a constructive way forward is to retain the queue, but 'not' on the front page or in the main RSS feed... let the votes raise stuff in the 'league' to bring them to human attention, but retain the human touch that's made Neatorama as neat as it is to actually make the decisions... no algorithm yet written is a substitute for good taste.

R
Wayne Scott
February 8th, 2009 at 6:24 am
I agree completely. The queue provides lots of material, but it is recycled from all the other sites. Please have someone with taste pick and choose content rather than use mob rule.

-Wayne
Cory O'Brien
February 8th, 2009 at 6:41 am
I noticed a change in the quality of the 'rama as well recently. Maybe the Queue posts need to go in their own area, off the main page?
cuimhne
February 8th, 2009 at 6:55 am
Agree with a lot of people on here, the Queue sucks. I used to check out Neatorama at least once a day and now it feels like a chore. All of the UQ content is recycled StumbleUpon finds or just not neat. I'm sick of sorting through all of the crap to find the proper posts. If it's not gotten rid of completely, I think it at least needs to no longer be posted to the front page, so those of us who want to read proper posts can do so without the UQ crap.
lookas
February 8th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Yes neatorama post aren't as neat as they used to be, maybe the solution is a more strict choice of the posts from UQ
JamesM
February 8th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Long time reader here and I'd have to put my bits into the hat along with those who aren't too thrilled with the Queuebot. I know it can be a lot of work to stuff the site with content on your own and I see no reason why the queuebot can't occasionally supplement what is posted by the site maintainers, but certainly not in the volume that it has been posted recently. Scale it back to 25%ish of what it has been and maybe it won't feel quite so overloaded for most of us. The biggest issue with submissions is that it tends to be fueled by statwhores or people who think they're the only ones who read both Neatorama and one of the other aggregaters (be it Fark, Digg, Reddit or Bannination)... Neatorama's previous saving grace was the infrequency of cross-site dupes and quality over quantity submissions.
hedwig
February 8th, 2009 at 7:43 am
I'm not enjoying the queuebot much either. There's just too much stuff to dig through. I'd prefer quite a lot less posts but of interesting stuff- like the Neatorama I got hooked on!
Rebecca Watson
February 8th, 2009 at 7:44 am
I agree with the OP, and this comment from Christophe (@ #5) highlights the problem, to me:

"I believe there’s still an editorial oversight since, as usual, some (most?) of my suggestions got erased quite quickly, even the one I believed truly to be neat"

This person, who I'm sure has read Neatorama for a long time and knows what kind of content goes here, submitted posts he didn't even think were 'neat.' The system encourages bulk posting, increasing quantity and decreasing quality.

And yes, it clogs up my feed reader. I miss old Neatorama.
Largefromage
February 8th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Less is More.

Can do without so much of the Q.
vlad
February 8th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Lets call it que-o-rama
SueDunham
February 8th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Neatorama has been my favorite for many years. I read almost every item. Now with the Queue, I skip most of them. The quality of posts has nosedived. But lets give it a trial for a month or so, and see if some balance can be achieved.
flakie
February 8th, 2009 at 9:14 am
I've been a loyal Neatorama reader for years now and have always enjoyed coming to the site to read and find unique and interesting posts. There are many sites out there like this one, but Neatorama was different, it was stuff you wouldn't see anywhere else, so that's why I came here.

Now with the Quebot, there's just too much content. Many posts are not quality and they are the same content I'm seeing at other sites. Like many others have commented, its just too much work now to come here and have to sift through 'eh' posts to get to the gemmies.

I'm for quality over quantity and that was what Neatorama had before the Quebot.
Geekazoid
February 8th, 2009 at 9:16 am
I think it's just a matter of perception. Sure there are tons of posts that seem familiar and whatnot, but overall I don't think the quality of what's been posted has been that much different from what's been posted before. Artful desserts to quirky videos, it's not that drastically different.

You can't please everyone all the time I guess. Just give it some time.
ChemGuy
February 8th, 2009 at 9:19 am
I'm going to agree with SueDunham - I'm skipping over way more entries now than I did pre-que and finding myself less likely to check in on Neatorama than I did before.

I am, however, willing to give it a month or so to level out.
George
February 8th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I don't like this Queuebot either. Couldn't you just publish wo RSS feeds? One with the bot and one without? I'd like to subscribe to the latter
jenni_purrr
February 8th, 2009 at 9:28 am
I like the Upcoming Queue for a couple of reason. I like having the power to yey or nay a post. I like finding the gems hidden among the rhinestones or the rocks. Yes, there are have been some horrible posts and posts better suited to other type blogs where they would probably fit in perfectly. Neatorama is a terrific place to stop for an hour to browse and learn new things, have a laugh or a cry, play a game find new and nifty things on the market. I must say I look forward to the usual posters, Alex,, Miss Cellania, et all and sometimes I get weary looking at posts that I clicked not for and see them in the line up and yes, I know that all new things have glitches that will eventually work themselves out and so I say keep the upcoming queue....because the pros outweigh the cons..for now.
El Capitahn
February 8th, 2009 at 9:35 am
I have to agree ~ i'm not the biggest fan of the uq, either - for mostly the same reasons people have already posted. I get Neatorama by daily email, and instead of a 15 minute break, it's turned into a 45 minute task. I'm not interested in about 40% of what is coming through these days, and I'm a die hard Neatorama fan. I think the UQ is a good idea, but needs some work to make it practical.
You know
February 8th, 2009 at 9:44 am
I must say, i prefer the old neatorama. Too many videos now and some are not so "neat". I suggest 2 feeds. And 1 post from upcoming queue can only go to the main feeds if someone from neatorama approve it.
seefish3
February 8th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Hven't tried the "Upcoming Queue" but hope to see less "Fark" as well...
Monica
February 8th, 2009 at 9:58 am
I don't like the effect the queuebot has had, and after being a regular reader for twi years (ish?) now I am seriously considering deleting neatorama from my favourites and not bothering with it any more

I like the idea of a place for user generated contnent, but it shouldn't be here IMO

Kudos to Dan Fanboy BTW, for having the with to start this discussion and post it in Q-bot

To summarise - I don't like it, please make it stop
lucapetunia
February 8th, 2009 at 10:07 am
I'm not giving up on Neatorama. But I will say that I don't visit with the same feeling of knowing I'm going to find neat posts. More with the knowledge that I'm going to have to sift through to find the neat posts.

The Queue makes me angry most days.
Minnesotastan
February 8th, 2009 at 10:20 am
It seems to me the reason the queue was devised was to ease the burden of the admins in creating content. In the classic model, the admins sought out and wrote up material, or received suggestions which could then be written up. The queue removes one step by encouraging the great unwashed public to submit copy-ready content which can then be moved in toto to the main page.

What seems to have distressed the long-timers here is not the EXISTENCE of the queue, but its implementation - particularly the automatic bumps to the main page. That could be overcome by letting votes be cast, but have them not be sufficient for promotion - let the latter be purely an administrative decision.

It's true that the current system can be gamed, but I doubt anyone will go to that trouble just to procure a Neatorama t-shirt (however handsome they may be). The only practical reason to get ten friends to vote your submission up is for blogspam in an attempt to gain Technorati authority. That sort of thing should be detectable by the admins, who can deep-six a submission even if it has 20 upvotes.
libertytoast
February 8th, 2009 at 10:21 am
I must say that when they first introduced the queue I was more than willing to give it a try. But when my first (and subsequently only) post was later posted under someone else's name (who posted it after me), I've been looking at Neatorama less and less, and when I do, the quality of the posts aren't as good.
rellimz
February 8th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Wow. It's seems I've started something, glad to see the thoughtful discourse here.

@philliposophy, I don't see it as a camp of pros and a camp of haters. I like the idea that Paul and many others have put forward, that the UQ become it's own thing (a la Boingboing Gadgets). A daily roundup could be promoted on the front page with links to the UQ page.

It's a gorgeous sunny day here in Toronto. I'm going outside to play.
Miss Curly
February 8th, 2009 at 10:27 am
I think UQ is kind of cool. I think it should be kept as Neatorama Jr., and let the front page of Neatorama maintain its' "hand-picked goodness" by the editors instead of the readers.

I have been Neatoramanaut for about three years now. I came from the link on Fortean Times and stayed because of the quality and uniqueness of the blog.
Max Van
February 8th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I've got a slightly different problem: the increased content has rendered neatorama inert for me. I literally watch my connection get bogged down the second I open the front page of neatorama. It's gotten so bad that I avoid neatorama.
now, I'm sure there are fixes for this: but incoming traffic won't care about fixes, incoming traffic cares about whether the site works or not. I tried showing Funny or Die to my parents but the amount of adware scared them off. Now, it won't matter if the content is great or terrible, they won't go back. I'm afraid that if the Queuebot remains as is, it will kill Neatorama entirely for any new traffic.
Mazikeen
February 8th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I think that something people should do before posting is check their grammar. Its= posessive; it's= it is. It amazes me how people no longer know the difference between their there and they're and that nobody seems to be able to get its and it's right.
Parker
February 8th, 2009 at 10:32 am
I agree with this post. Miss you, Neatorama.
Padraig
February 8th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I don't think the queue kills the site, but it does make it function... differently...

I kinda enjoyed Neatorama as it was, for what it was. My personal opinion is the site would be better off without it.
elbowyoyo
February 8th, 2009 at 10:52 am
I have to agree with the original poster.

Neatorama is my favorite blog and the UQ is gilding the lily.
Andrew M
February 8th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Neatorama's editorial clarity made it a bit of a rarity in the blogosphere. If I only had a a couple of minutes, Neatorama was one of the blogs I checked first.

Sadly, with all of the drivel leaking out of the queue bot, I've definitely noticed It's no longer on that shortlist. There is just so much crap to sift through.

I also think that one of the hallmarks of a good blog is a high level of user interaction. remember the good ol' days of neatorama? with all the witty bits in the comments section? I haven't seen anywhere near the level of user involvement since the queuebot started up.

I agree with the other users who think the queue should either be scrapped or split into it's own site.
Although, in that eventuality, who would visit the queue site?
cyn
February 8th, 2009 at 11:02 am
I absolutely agree. I liked Neatorama because it only had few new posts every day, of which most were interesting or funny. But this is just flooding neatorama and making it as "good" and unique as any other blog.

But now every morning (since I am in Europe) the blog is full of stuff, of which most is old or not Neatorama-worthy IMHO.

Please Alex, get rid of the queue or at leave it as a seperate section independent of the blog itself.. If you really want to feature a Q-post on the front page, than pick it by hand, not by bot.

Quality over quantity.
Portia
February 8th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Finally! I thought I was alone in this. The quality of content from Upcoming Queue is rubbish and the sheer quantity of it is clogging up Neatorama pages. Please get that off this site. I'm sick of scrolling past so much trash to get to good quality reads. If Neatorama does not take Upcoming Queue off, I'll soon just stop at BoingBoing for quality filtered content.
John
February 8th, 2009 at 11:13 am
How about this as an alternative:

Alex let me start posting about a year ago after I had suggested several links which he posted. In exchange for posting regularly, I get a sweet, juicy Neatoramalanche to my blog once a week.

Alex helped me out using Wordpress and detailing Neatorama's stylistic standards. Then I was on my own.

I don't know if Alex had a formal standard for how many links should be submitted before getting an invitation to join, but maybe he should create one -- and set the bar low enough that we have more people posting than the usual six or seven regular posters.

Obviously these would need to be people who understood what is Neat (maybe we need a formal definition that is intentionally refined every three months), how to use Wordpress, what are Neatorama's stylistic standards, and appear to be (by Neatorama standards) mentally well-balanced.
Miss Curly
February 8th, 2009 at 11:13 am
mazikeen,
well bless yer little hart and thank yew fer teh grammer leson. I'of always had a problem with me its; it's and its and will trie to be careful with my its' incase yew our readind the comm"its". ;>
\trollish, I know, I and accept responibility for "it".
ted
February 8th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Not enough politics or cats on Neatorama.
Mazikeen
February 8th, 2009 at 11:47 am
@ Miss Curly, honestly I was just talking about the post, not your comment. Really I was just talking about internet posts in general. Sorry if you felt that was a personal attack or anything :-\
Justin
February 8th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I'm sure most of you are aware of this, but even if the queue system is taken out there still is a Submit link for everyone to use. The only difference is it acts as a tool for the editors to cut down on the un-neatorama links. It also usually requires them to make a short little paragraph describing the link.

If you go back, you will find that a large number of the posts made by neatorama were in fact user submitted.

Anyways I have a problem with splitting the queue bot into its own section. If you do that then there will be tons of neatorama-worthy posts that will either have to be double posted from there or ignored in an attempt to keep both sites unique. I would probably never even bother visiting the queue section, but I'm sure some people will. For them double posts would be kind of annoying spam.

I'm all for innovation and experimentation. I applaud you guys for being willing to try new stuff in order to give us a more enjoyable website. But I just don't see this working in any sense. Please switch back, but how about making the "submit a link" button much more pronounced. I'm sure many people who visit neatorama don't even see it in the top right.
Jenny
February 8th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I have to agree with the majority of commenters here and say that I'm not enjoying the Queue.

The quality of writing in most Queue posts is too poor!
John
February 8th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Ted has gotten right to heart of the problem.
Luci
February 8th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I like the concept of the Queue, but there are just way too many posts. I can't keep up with Neatorama anymore, and I often end up reading posts days, even weeks after they've appeared on the site. I don't comment often, but if I feel I have something to contribute to the comments on a post that was added weeks ago it seems kindof pointless. I've also found myself skipping a lot more posts, whereas before the existence of the Queue I read almost everything.

As for the whole iPod thing, I think it's great to reward contributors, but I feel that it works better when we don't know what the prize is, or even when we're going to be rewarded. It would appear to me that people are posting as much as they can, regardless of whether it's really relevant or "neat" just to win the prize, and it's kindof annoying. It makes it less of a reward and more of a contest. I myself have submitted a couple of posts to the Queue, but it was because I found them interesting and wanted to share, not because I wanted the prize. I think it is a problem when those who are posting to win take away any chance that might have existed for those who are posting to share. For me, it kindof goes against the spirit of what Neatorama is. Or was.
Christophe
February 8th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
An answer to Rebecca : you didn't read me right (excuse my French, there was some humour in my post #5) ; I don't post unneat stuff on purpose! I truly believe what I post is neat : if it's not choosen or downvoted, then be it. I like neat Youtube videos too, and I don't understand what's wrong with them. If it's not choosen, then be it. I also don't appreciated all the post : what's with the cupcakes??? I don't read those posts, then be it

Neatness is in the eye of the beholder?

I see two main problems :
- pace : even if the post are high quality, some people seems to be needing sleep
- editorial control : before getting bumped up on the main page, a tough mandatory purgatory seems to be necessary (more work, Alex...)

And at last : a suggested read : "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson ;p
atanguay
February 8th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I agree in part. I visit a lot and have seen the difference.

I do like the increase in volume...but I would say some pretty 'un-Neat' stuff has been getting through a bit...see: 100 depressing photos of Detroit homes. I would just like to see a bit more editing.

Other than that, I think a lot of the posts have fit into the site well.
Thats unpossible
February 8th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I concur!
Leokins
February 8th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
I agree with xTivo,
the upcoming queue should be it's own section of the site, not something which adds content by itself to the front page. I'm thinking a "Top # of the day/week/etc" side bar where the top voted things in the queue are shown in small format, list-like with tiny icons of included pictures. It could just be an extension/transformation of the already existing "write your own neatorama post" sidebar.
Having it as a voted sidebar would still give people the exposure and immediate gratification they desire, and add the whole web 2.0 vibe, but still leave the essence of neatorama's front page intact.
lek14
February 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I read Neatorama on a reader, and I've started skipping over so many more posts than I ever did previously. All posts were usually high-quality, interesting, and quirky. Now it's just one more thing clogging up, and eventually causing me to "mark all as read."
Geekazoid
February 8th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I think the problem for me in submitting stories is that quite frankly I am not that great of a writer like Alex or the rest of the professional staff/editors at Neatorama. I'm being honest at least. A lot of the posts are like that also. Not so much that they aren't neat but that it could use some editing help.

I've noticed a huge difference between the stuff I submitted and wrote as compared to when Alex edits it and posts it. Plain and simple I am not that great of a writer.
Geekazoid
February 8th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
And quite honestly, I don't really care about prizes and whatnot, ever since I've been visiting Neatorama, I've been submitting stories I think were neat or belonged on Neatorama (I think Alex and company can attest to that!). It's not like because of the queue I'm submitting more or less because of the desire to win anything. I just like sharing things I think are neat.
shagoth
February 8th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I must concur that the queue has watered down the tasty goodness that is neaorama. It's still tasty but not the concentrated goodness of before.
DaveL
February 8th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I like the queue for the social and supplemental content aspects. However, it waters down the original content which is the primary reason why I visit sites like this and Uniquedaily. It's understandable as people are just contributing stuff that they think is neat from their travels around the net... unfortunately the danger is that viral and spam media can seep in. Anyway, I trust the Neatoramians (Neatoramites?)to make good use of the constructive criticism provided to tweak the queue.
Alex
February 8th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Wow - over 100 comments overnight, that's quite something!

First of all, please let me thank rellimz for submitting the post and all of you who commented for the feedback. I want you to know that I read every single one of the comments, and am going to post a response after a cup or two of coffee to make sure I'm thinking straight.

A lot of you have raised similar concerns: the sheer quantity of posts that made it to the front page and the quality of those posts. I gather that for the feed readers, seeing their "unread posts" number from Neatorama shoot through the roof must be kind of unnerving (that's the reason I stopped using a feed reader, by the way, and simply visiting my favorite blogs in their native environment).

A number of you also raise the issue of sifting through a lot of unneat post to find the gems in the Upcoming Queue.

I'll be sure check this post again to read new comments.
Maus
February 8th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I agree, The content hasnt turned completely uninteresting. However, I find my self not caring or just scrolling past a much larger number of posts. Used to be I would read every single post and then visit about 80% of the links that went with them. That has now decreased significantly.

But, I dont think the UQ is a bad thing. I think it needs to be policed heavily, and there needs to be a high quality standard. Otherwise I fear I may loose interest in this site eventually.

-=[MauS]=-
Frau
February 8th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
What G.Park said > "Completely agree. The Upcoming Queue has downgraded my Neatorama experience. Most of the posts that make it through are things that I’ve already read on other sites, rather than unique finds.
Either the filters need to improve, or the feature needs to die."

That day that yahoo users submitted lots of stuff, really killed the UQ for me.

"The quality of writing in most Queue posts is too poor!" - Jenny
I have had several "neat items" but do not feel that I am that great of a writer to post something to the Q. Which was why I have never posted something to the Q.
However, some of the items posted in the Q were neat, yet they failed to garner my attention due to their poor writing.
Tux5
February 8th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Yes, quality over quantity gets my vote. I would rather see fewer but better posts.
Luci
February 8th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Geekazoid kindof said what I was trying to say, only better, thanks. I don't really care about winning a prize either, but I do think it'd be fun to get one for the right reasons. Prizes should be a nice side-effect of contributing, not something people actively strive for.
philliposophy
February 8th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Since this was posted (around midnight, Saturday night) there have only been two Queubot posts in twelve hours. It seems that Neatorama management has witnessed the fury of its user base and modified its approach.
I love you again Neatorama. Good compromise to limit the posts. Keep it up.
cuimhne
February 8th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I just think that UQ is changing Neatorama into any of the other user-submission based communities online. They already exist, why turn Neatorama into something that already exists? Losing Neatorama to UQ sucks because the great thing about Neatorama was its uniqueness.
lisahall
February 8th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Haven't read the 100+ comments to see if this has already been said, but I have to agree with the original poster. As a regular reader who takes in your site by RSS, since you started the upcoming queue thing... well, your feeds are nearly impossible to keep up with it. Won't be so bad if it was all great stuff, but so many of these links aren't that great, and are stuff people are just pulling off of other sites like Boing Boing, Metafilter, etc...

Please, be more strict with what gets through so we're not just get a bunch of duplicates from other sites, and my bigger request: please create an RSS feed which just offers your regular content for those who don't want to have to see the entire upcoming queue stuff. It makes your site impossible to keep up with, as it is I'll probably have to unsubscribe soon if it doesn't change, simple because I don't have the time required to get through ALL these new postings every day. Sometimes less (and better) is really more.
philliposophy
February 8th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
@cuimhne, Exactly!
N-rama occupies such an amazing niche. Sacrifice that for convenience?!
lisahall
February 8th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Oh yikes, I just saw the comment a few up from Alex of Neatorama suggesting that too many posts in RSS readers is why he stopped using RSS. That might work for you but with the many sites I need to keep up with on a daily basis, that's just not going to happen. RSS is a necessity for me, so if any webmaster want me to visit their blog, they need to provide an RSS feed... and make sure it doesn't get too overwhelming or obnoxious.

I'd love to stay subscribed to your feed so I can see your website and content... however, it's just as easy to unsubscribe and never come back when it gets to the point where your site just becomes a waste of time. Please... do seriously consider the impact that all of these upcoming queue posts are having on your RSS feeds, and in turn, your subscribers. Not using RSS might work for you, but I'm not about to stop using it just to keep up with one website and a bunch of frivolous user submitted links.
ayuanaur
February 8th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Well honestly, I think I'm the exception here. I've been coming to neatorama for more then a year now, and I'm totally addicted to it. I love to check it 3-4 times a day to read all the new posts and check everything out.

Sure, there's stuff that's not as good as before, but even before I didn't read everything. As long as the original posts keep coming, I love the huge mass of neat stuff coming at me. Sometimes I even sift through the Queue pile and read the ones that I know won't make it to this page becuase of the negative votes.
ayuanaur
February 8th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
and btw, Alex also has a life. Everyone saying that you should check everything that gets on here... well, I like that about q-bot, you get some free time instead of thinking about the blog and working on it so much!
Isn't that what technology's for?

or maybe you should first autorize the people who put stuff in the queue? Like, autorize some 10-20-50 people that first fill out a survey with examples of what they'd put? something like that to filter out the really bad stuff
Alex
February 8th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Just published my "official" response - please check it out here: Improving the Neatorama Upcoming Queue

For those of you who want Queuebot-less RSS feed, here it is (simply copy and paste):

http://www.neatorama.com/feed/?author=-5587

Thank you for your feedback, everyone! Please feel free to comment in the new post - we'll continue to listen.
The Other Parker
February 8th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
I don't have much to contribute here other than agreement that the Upcoming Queue has made Neatorama worse. I'm far from an anti-change curmudgeon, but this change was particularly bad, I feel. Though as a web developer myself I totally recognize and appreciate the work that went into building it, and it must be painful for all that effort to be greeted with such resistance from the Neatoramanauts.

I'm all in favor of enhancing and expanding the site. The new forum is cool and could be integrated more tightly into the rest of the site. More detailed user profiles would be great, and an ability to rank comments up or down for quality like I've seen on many other blogs. Ranking forum posts as well would be a great addition to that idea. Perhaps rewards for highly-ranked commenters, or something else to encourage quality of quantity. This will keep Neatorama neat. And as someone above said, maybe the submission button should be made more prominent.
The Other Parker
February 8th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Oops, Alex posted while I was typing my comment; I'll go read the page he linked to now.
kelly :)
February 8th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
i agree
obsessivetwilightfansbro
February 8th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I agree with posts #1, 2, 3, 9, 11, 18, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 33, 36, 38, 39, 41, 46, 49, 59, 60, 65, 73, 74, 76, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 91, 92, 96 ,97, 99, 106, 107, 108, 110, 111, 112, 113, and I feel geekazoid's pain, and I hope Mazikeen believes that my comment is correctly punctuated because I agree with he/she 100%
obsessivetwilightfansbro
February 8th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
him/her*
Ant
February 8th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Digg.com, fark.com, etc. already do this. Use queue for submissions and have editors check.
matt
February 8th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I was thinking exactly the same thing. I suppose I can just skim over all the not so neat posts. Neatorama used to have a higher concentration of quality posts.
sprowc
February 8th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
All agreements are seconded!
sam
February 9th, 2009 at 12:54 am
I also concur. The promise of free content and a site that can be run in a more hand off manner is indeed attractive to a site owner, but it is the 'net equivalent of "selling out."

I still read Neatorama, but as I see it it is only a matter of time before I unsubscribe.
sam
February 9th, 2009 at 12:55 am
...but it will lead to an overall greater success for Neatorama, I'm sure.
Shon
February 9th, 2009 at 2:24 am
I have been visiting this site for 2years now. I can't believe that this is happening. I read the site every day. The site takes much longer to load, and the posts, although more, lack the quality and uniqueness as before. Please do something about this.
pocketlama
February 9th, 2009 at 7:24 am
I'll second the thirds/ninths/thirties and say the queue is a bad idea that should be scrapped.

Thanks for asking us and giving us the space to give our input.
theglamlife
February 9th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Too many posts with the Que system. And the quality lacks. I guess I will just stick with Bits and Pieces, Zoomdoogle, and Miss Cellianna who filter the best from here anyway. Time to unsubscribe from Neatorama. Maybe I will be back if they drop this self publishing thing.....
Matt
February 9th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
I used to love Neatorama, but since the Queuebot began the site has gone downhill quick in my eyes. I used to enjoy reading the posts daily, but now it seems there are repeats, and posts that have already saturated the internet by the time they get here.
shiny
February 9th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
#1: I used to come here because it was a nice alternative to the self-obsessed and shallow 'boing boing' crew. Then Neatorama somehow got bamboozled into posting 'boing boing' content. Sad.

#2: Next, a flood of unfunny, uninteresting user-submitted content of the type that shows up in my spam folder from relatives that just got on the internet 6 months ago. Devastating.

#3: Um... If it's not broken then don't fix it... ?
ukanduit
February 9th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Agreed! I have read (well at least looked at) every single post and would like this blog to stay the way it was!
Carbonfish
February 9th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
The queue diminishes Neatorama. More reader input editorially is definitely not necessarily a good thing. Save it for the comments. If the editors at Neatorama are interested in maintaining the blog's individual character, they should abandon the queuebot sooner rather than later.

Keep your editorial integrity and find the good stuff. If your readers could do that, they'd have their own successful blogs.
Adam Stanhope
February 10th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Thank you, SenorMysterioso!
mrmark
February 10th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Agreed
Brent
February 13th, 2009 at 2:50 am
I wholeheartedly agree as well. I started coming to neatorama as I found it to be a wonderful collection of neatness, every post handpicked for perfection in that regard. Then the UQ came and it seemed to become diluted.

It's like going into your favorite sushi place for premium toro and they hand you, instead of your two pieces of toro, six pieces of maguro – the maguro is okay and more plentiful, but it is not that little bit of perfection that you came in for.
Josh
February 17th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
It's the nature of all things alive to change. This blog has a life of sorts.

It was neat and special, looking at the web with childlike wonder. It shone a quirky and distinctive light on the world it lived in.

With the effortless joy, it swam through the shark infested waters of the internet and was never bitten.

We got to enjoy the web through it's eyes. It never followed. It wandered where its fancy took it, and the internet followed along, knowing with the confidence of repeated experience that a road trip with Neatorama would be a new kind of unexpected fun every time. Great times.

But nothing lasts forever. We should be happy it lasted as long as it did. We have been spoiled up until now. We had it very good for very long, and I for one want to say thanks, Neatorama. It's been really, really great.

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