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Everything Old is New Again
You just typed www.illiniboard.com in your browser, but the site looks different. Where are the banners? Where is the navy blue header? Where are the drop-down menus on the top of the page? Where are the pictures? Where are the five main page stories and all the links to other stories? You might have a lot of questions, or maybe just one: what the hell happened here? Those of you who were visiting the IlliniBoard three years ago probably remember the hectic night when the site became available on the Scout network (then known as The Insiders). I didn't want our new visitors to feel left out of the chaos that ensued on that glorious night, the last night of the twenty-four-hour kegger that was IlliniBoard, so three years later I'm once again screwing up the daily routines of thousands of crazed Illinois fans by leaving the Scout network. Over the last six years, IlliniBoard has grown from a core group of about 100 posters to the current 15,000 people registered to post on the board. And that number doesn't even include the people who are not registered but visit the site to read the opinions of other Illinois fans and learn more about their favorite team. The site has evolved in ways I never anticipated. That evolution is actually what got me thinking about leaving the Scout network. Over the last three years, I have grown to dislike following recruiting to the point that I don't even bother anymore. As someone running a site devoted to dishing the latest recruiting scoops, I didn't feel that I was doing what needed to be done. Actually, I don't think I will ever have the motivation to do that. Breaking away from recruiting gives me the perfect opportunity to bring the IlliniBoard back to what it started out as: a place to discuss the on-court and on-field happenings of the Fighting Illini men's basketball and football teams. So, what does this new focus mean to the site's visitors? Well, for one thing, IlliniBoard is not going to cover recruiting much, if at all. Sure, when someone like Regis Benn commits to Illinois, I am sure there will be a short story that says he committed. But the site will not be covering the day-in and day-out recruiting sagas that change as quickly and dramatically as the direction of the wind in Chicago. I have watched too many of these dramas play out to be one more person to add fuel to the fire. I would rather talk about the players on the court, so that is what I will focus on. If you are interested in a site that reports on Illinois' recruiting efforts in depth, I suggest that you continue to visit the site on the Scout network, as they will be providing all the recruiting coverage you want to read. I would like to reiterate one thing, this isn't a negative reflection on Scout. On the contrary, they have been accomodating through this process, and as a company where many of the executives have built communities themselves understand the reasons behind why we made this move. My experience with Scout was a positive one, and I do encourage you to continue to visit the Illinois site on Scout for all of your recruiting info needs, I just didn't get into this business to cover recruiting. IlliniBoard will still have the three traditional boards that you have grown to either love, hate, or love to hate: the IlliniBoard.com Hoops Fan Forum, the IlliniBoard.com Football Fan Forum, and IlliniBoard2: The Deuce. Old-schoolers who go to the forums may notice that the boards looks eerily familiar, even down to the logos. I am hoping this blast from the past will bring back some more intelligent and focused discussions on Illinois sports, in contrast to the discussions that have been typical of the IlliniBoard.com message boards for the last few years. I love talking about basketball and football, and even the crazy topics that end up on the Deuce, and that is what I want the IlliniBoard to be about again: talking basketball, football, and all other topics in between. This switch in the board is a change for everyone involved. I am making this change because in the long run, I think it is how I can continue to make IlliniBoard.com the best fan site on the Internet. Finally making this decision a month ago has rejuvenated me, giving me the energy to create an even better site for all Illinois fans, including those who post daily on the message board and those who have never posted a message. I think I had lost sight of the fact that the majority of the site's visitors read the board but never post, and it had become difficult for them to weed through the crap to find the information they actually wanted to know. My hope is that now the site's visitors who read daily and never post will be able to access information more quickly and read more discussions that are relevant to the topics at hand. From now on, many things will be different, but many things will also remain the same. The Daily News Links aren't going anywhere, but in the near future they will be improved as I update them to make them more robust. The message boards aren't going anywhere, and I hope that as I see the need for new features and changes to the boards I will be able to make changes at a much quicker pace. The front page stories aren't going anywhere because I am a pretty vain person who assumes everyone wants to know my opinion on Illinois sports. When all is said and done, I am hoping this change brings about one thing for the IlliniBoard: to make it a fun place for me to run, which in turn will make it a fun place for all of you to visit. |
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IlliniBoard.com is an independent website operated by John Brumbaugh, featuring University of Illinois Sports news & opinions. This website is neither affiliated with, nor endorsed by, the University of Illinois or its athletic department. For the official site please visit http://www.fightingillini.com. Copyright © 2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006 John Brumbaugh |
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