Whats up with the new banner?

[whywesteppin]

^ Also, in case we make a sudden departure from yuku to a new server, you'll need niketalk.com to find us.

 

[Methodical Management]

And Meth are there any major differences from accessing NT from the .yuku.com domain compared to the .com one?

I have a bunch of NT bookmarks with .yuku.com and would prefer not to bookmark them again with the .com version unless I have to.

There aren't any major differences today, but that could obviously change.  There are only so many ways we can communicate major changes to people.  Twitter works, of course, but only about 1,000 of our users are following the official staff account.  So, if you don't visit every day and something happens, your bookmarks could potentially point to something else and we want to minimize any potential confusion.
We don't want to leave anybody behind in the event of a platform change, for example, or if Yuku is bought by an unethical company they could theoretically try to steal the niketalk.yuku.com sub-domain from us.  Obviously that would be like Youtube hijacking a network's official channel or Facebook trying to run Angelina Jolie's Facebook page without her consent.  No reputable company would ever do such a thing, but you still run that sort of risk when most of your traffic flows through a subdomain belonging to another entity.  

We're talking about hypotheticals here, but we don't want to take any risks with our community, nor do we want to inconvenience our fellow members.  

I don't get why meth just sells nt and makes a new n improved nt with less trolls and atheists

Selling isn't something we're interested in.  We field offers all the time.  Sometimes the offer is laughable, sometimes the conversation begins "name your price."  It makes no difference.  The answer is no.  Granted, we're not turning down millions of dollars here, so it's hardly an act of heroism.  

There would be no point to flipping the site, either.  No buyer wants you to sell them a property on Monday only to compete against them on Tuesday.  They'd make you sign a non-compete as part of the deal.  You don't sell unless you're selling out somehow.  You're literally selling the community, cashing out, and either staying on because you're contractually obligated, or walking away.  In any such scenario, you leave your users at the mercy of the new owner(s) and they'd be able to use the site as they saw fit.  

And anybody interested in buying NT wouldn't be using it to raise money for charity or to maintain the site's independent spirit, I can tell you that much.  

In my mind, it's very simple:  we aren't for sale because we aren't for sale.  NikeTalk, as a domain name and a store of data, may have some SEO value, but it's just an empty shell without all of us around to breathe life into it each and every day.  I'm not for sale.  You guys aren't for sale.  Therefore, NikeTalk is not for sale. 

NKETLK Banner though 

 

 >>>

It's funny, because a lot of people hated the first NKETLK banner, too.  They didn't get it.  They complained about the missing letters.  Many people simply dislike change.  For that reason alone, they're inclined to dislike anything new and different. 

I'm somewhat surprised that so many people liked the NKETLK Japan banner, actually.  Perhaps they're just responding to the intent behind it.  I would've preferred to have a professional graphic designer handle it, but obviously that was very time sensitive.  The statement needed to be made immediately and we needed to get rolling with the fundraising efforts.  I had little choice but to make the damned thing myself.

Those who like it can hang on to it by donating to the Japan relief fund via http://www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/niketalk.  Contribute $10 or more and you'll get a the NT Japan badge below your avatar.  

I wouldn't rule out a return to a NKETLK banner in the future, but we'd need to make sure we achieve a unified domain name before that's possible.  There are just too many uncertainties related to maintaining NikeTalk.com and NikeTalk.yuku.com at the moment and we need to iron that out.  

I know it's kind of confusing, but it represents a legitimate threat to the community and an ounce of prevention, as they say, is worth a pound of cure.  

Possibility for an App? 

I don't know that anything's really imminent on that front.  

Yuku's gonna do what they're gonna do.  If they do a Yuku app, good for them.  They're not going to develop anything for us specifically.  So, it wouldn't really be a NikeTalk app per se.

I feel like we've hashed this out dozens of times as this question comes up pretty regularly, but there are limits to what we can technically do with Yuku and there are limits to what we, as an organization, are willing to do to get an app done.  

In other words, we're not gonna go the route of trying to offset the revenue costs associated with mobile ad stripping by doing some tacky sponsored app, like "Frito's Corn Chips Presents: NikeTalk!"  That's not us.  Yeah, we run ads because that's the nature of the business.  Without that, there's no site.  We don't want to get in the business of shilling, however.  

Without that, it's kind of a loss leader to put it kindly.  Mobile ads are worth a fraction of regular ads, which are, themselves, generally worth fractions of pennies.  Selling the app comes across as trying to squeeze the very people who support and enable your success, and even IF we charged $5 each, $10,000 isn't even going to cover the cost of development, much less offset the ongoing opportunity costs of losing out on those regular ads.  

From a technical standpoint, as long as we're on Yuku we have no say in anything mobile.  It's a locked down, proprietary platform.  From a financial standpoint, even if we were on another platform we'd need to overcome some of the challenges that make those apps a losing proposition unless you achieve tremendous scale.  NikeTalk isn't Facebook.  Our cost structure is very different.  It's a challenge for us to stay online, provide the best service possible, and continue to improve without taking the easy way out and bending to the whim of sponsors.  We have to be very selective about what we're willing to do to fund the site and our donations, because we don't want to damage the integrity of the site.  At the end of the day, that's a large part of what makes NikeTalk unique.  We always try to be transparent about that and clearly demarcate paid promotional content (stuff running in ad units) from legitimate user generated content.  While advertisers can book campaigns in the ad units, we don't rent out Dirtylicious to pitch Captain Morgan rum.  We don't, as a staff, brand, or community, endorse anything ourselves.  What we use and enjoy, we legitimately use and enjoy.  It isn't pay for play like it is on many other sites.  

If people talk about the new Jordans, it's because our users find the new Jordans interesting, not because we're paid to feature the product.   And we've never afraid to call it as we see it.  

I want mobile optimization, too, but it has to make sense for NikeTalk as a whole.  It can't come at the expense of our integrity and I'm not really interested in shaking you guys down for cash.   

Almost everyone does some mobile web browsing these days, so it is very important and it will happen eventually - but we're not there yet.  

I'm pretty sure they said Niketalk.com was faster than Niketalk.yuku.com, but don't quote me on that

^ Also, in case we make a sudden departure from yuku to a new server, you'll need niketalk.com to find us.

It's not really a speed issue.  I think if you were to time it, the difference would be negligible.  It's just about making sure you're always going to OUR site.  

At the end of the day, niketalk.yuku.com is a subdomain managed by Yuku and NikeTalk.com is a site managed by the NikeTalk staff.  After all these years of seeing how each respective entity performs, which one would you trust more? 

 

[cucumbercool]

Originally Posted by Lstylez23

why didnt they go with this one??

change the font and I'd like this... Put it on a t shirt and I'd even wear it

 

[quik1987]

Rough draft
In honour of XII years of NT

 

[iYen]

Originally Posted by cucumbercool

Originally Posted by Lstylez23

why didnt they go with this one??

change the font and I'd like this... Put it on a t shirt and I'd even wear it

I can only imagine how confused people would be when they saw a shirt like that, let alone trying to explain its meaning.

 

[trunks206]

I cant express just how proud I am to be a member of this site when I read stuff like what Meth posted in his last reply. The staff is ALWAYS out to do the right thing not only for the site but also in ways far beyond our community here (donating ad revenue to charities). 
I cant thank you guys and girls on the staff enough for all the effort behind the scenes which makes this site what is is. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[365k]

Man I miss the simplicity of EZBoard, although I know Yuku IS EZBoard.

NT 06' FTW for me.

 

[sn00pee]

Originally Posted by Method Man

I'm constantly appreciative of and impressed by the creativity of our fellow users.  So, if you guys would like to submit something, that would be great.  No promises, obviously, but in order to consider it the following basic criteria would have to be met: 
1) Use the NikeTalk.com branding.  (The tagline doesn't have to remain 100% as is, but the basic imperative must remain the same.)

2) The image, and you know this but I need to make it clear for everyone, must consist of original artwork and cannot contain any copyrighted elements. 

3) The banner may be no larger than 600x200 out of consideration for all of the various devices used to access the site.  

sweet. Would you consider placing multiple banners during the "regular" banner season?

 

[calibeebee]

Originally Posted by Method Man

Just sending a little message.


There's some inconsistency in the way Yuku handles our domain.  Some people still visit through niketalk.yuku.com and we'd like to keep the branding consistent and make sure everyone's logging in and bookmarking niketalk.com rather than niketalk.yuku.com.  
Just think of it as getting back to basics.  

I was still visiting through niketalk.yuku.com  I wasn't aware of any other way, just had it bookmarked from forever ago.  Should I update? And what are the benefits?

 

[elpablo21]

Originally Posted by iYen

Originally Posted by cucumbercool

Originally Posted by Lstylez23

why didnt they go with this one??

change the font and I'd like this... Put it on a t shirt and I'd even wear it

I can only imagine how confused people would be when they saw a shirt like that, let alone trying to explain its meaning.

Those who don't know don't deserve explanations

I want to attempt to make a legit banner this time

I have a few ideas...

 

[Methodical Management]

sweet. Would you consider placing multiple banners during the "regular" banner season?

Sure.  The community exists for the sake of its members, after all.
At the moment, I just don't know how large of a window we're realistically looking at.  The site's overdue for a redesign and whether that takes place here on Yuku or not, it's possible that the existing banner format/standard won't really mesh with the refresh.  

It's also a pain to switch these on Yuku.  I have to contact a member of their support staff and ask them to update the code for us.  They really don't need to have me adding to their workload.  It's not something we can just swap in and out at a moment's notice like in the old days, when I could just edit the header code manually. 

So, no promises - but I'd love to see what you guys come up with and if there's something there that really resonates with you guys, effectively conveys the essential message, and fits well with the overall look and feel of the site then I'd definitely be interested in running it.  A great individual concept or piece won't necessarily fit in well with the look and feel of the site.  At the end of the day, the banner exists to complement the true focal point of the site: the discussions you guys contribute to around the clock.  

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

I was still visiting through niketalk.yuku.com  I wasn't aware of any other way, just had it bookmarked from forever ago.  Should I update? And what are the benefits?

[/font]


I've discussed that at length already, but I'll try and simplify it:  NikeTalk.com is the only "foolproof" bookmark you can create at the moment, because it isn't linked to a subdomain that's ultimately subject to another party's whims (Yuku.)  If you don't visit every day, don't follow us on Twitter, and suddenly something were to happen, visiting through an outdated URL could leave you out of the loop.  

Our goal is to unify the domain address, and the earlier we can break people of the bad habits created by this outdated URL structure the easier it'll be for all of us.  

Think of it like this:  right now, your current bookmark is like giving a taxi driver a specific building address.  If you wanted to see the Knicks play, you'd be saying "46 Pennsylvania Plaza."  But that's only valid as long as the place you're looking for stays at the same address.   If you just tell the driver, "I'm going to the Knicks game," they know the city or, at the very least, they can punch it in on their GPS and they can take you to the right place easily, even if the address changes.   That's what you're doing by going to niketalk.com.  You'll always be taken to the right location.  

Man I miss the simplicity of EZBoard, although I know Yuku IS EZBoard.

You say that now, but a lot of that is nostalgia talking.  I loved the NBA during the 80's and 90's, but it would've been even better in high definition.  
In the old days, we could only store 20 pages worth of topics per forum.  Can you imagine that with our current traffic?  It just wouldn't work.  You couldn't embed videos at all.  To post an image or format your text, you had to manually enter "ly as they are now.  Without new users, you'd just see the regulars slowly fade away until you had nothing left.  How many fans would the NBA have if you had to watch a 50 year old Dominique Wilkins play a 55 year old Larry Bird in standard definition and monaural sound?  Guys growing up today won't adequately appreciate MJ & co., just like kids growing up in 2020 won't think LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were anything special.  

Our goal is to try and carry over all of the best aspects of NikeTalk in its early years and incorporate that spirit of that into the current and future iterations of the community.  

We're long overdue for a technical upgrade here on NT.  Whether that takes place here on Yuku or not is something that will be decided in the weeks to come, but we're committed to providing the best experience we can to our fellow members and that means we can't afford to rest on our laurels.  Neither should our tech providers.  

 

[mycoldyourdone]

Originally Posted by SpeakUp23

@OP

hahhahaaahha im dying

 

[lstylez23]

Originally Posted by Elpablo21

Originally Posted by iYen

Originally Posted by cucumbercool

change the font and I'd like this... Put it on a t shirt and I'd even wear it

I can only imagine how confused people would be when they saw a shirt like that, let alone trying to explain its meaning.

Those who don't know don't deserve explanations

I want to attempt to make a legit banner this time

I have a few ideas...

bruhh thats as legit as you have to make it 

 

 

[jayhood23]

It's just a banner, sheesh

 

[tero]

put Dr. MLK back

 

[dipsetgeneral]

It's whatever to me, I guess.

 

[dead stokc]

Originally Posted by Frank Mucus

I like it. Much better than NKETALK or NKTLK

NO. I like the vagueness. Now people will kno what site Im on from feet away.

 

[khemikalali1]

should be...

NIKETALK-come at me bro!

 

[calibeebee]

METH QUOTED ME!

Best day of my life