We’re actually asking for your opinion about what we do here.
You may or may not be aware that I took over responsibility for putting together the Daily Slop in early July. A number of people noticed the changes in format of the daily links article at that time and commented, most of them favorably.
That said, I know very well that comments represent only a tiny fraction of Hogs Haven readers (or those of any website), and passions and opinions lean in at least two directions, even if you don’t always hear or read them.
When I took on the responsibility for the Daily Slop, I simply formatted it the way I thought it should be formatted — the way I would want it formatted if I were reading it every day.
Now that everyone has had about two months to acclimate to the changes, and with a relatively ‘quiet’ week between finalization of the 53-man roster and the opening week game against the Cardinals, I thought it would be a good time to give everyone a voice in the content and formatting of the article.
Below, I have listed each section of the Daily Slop template that I am using, with a few comments about my thinking and intent. In each section I’ve asked one or more poll questions. I will use the results of those questions to guide the layout and content of the daily links article going forward.
Closed-ended polls are limited in how much information they can convey, and the choices presented may not allow you to state the opinion that you hold, so feel free to add your opinions in the comments below.
Commanders links
Articles
The Daily Slop has always, as far as I know, included links to articles about the Redskins, Football Team or Commanders.
I always include an excerpt from the linked article
From the start, I tried to find a range of publications (newspapers, blogs, etc) that publish Commanders content regularly. I visit a mix of subscription and free sites. There are some subscription sites like the Washington Times and Richmond Times-Dispatch that I can’t access.
If there are any sources of Commanders content that you think I should add or eliminate, feel free to provide details in the comments section.
Podcasts & videos
The internet and its users are changing rapidly. Podcasts have become very popular and provide a great source of in-depth information that can be consumed while driving, exercising, cooking, etc.
I have been including at least one podcast link per day — usually several. I have also tried to link to a variety of podcast styles.
If you think there are any podcasts that should be added to or deleted from this section of the Daily Slop, feel free to list your specific suggestion in the comments.
Photos
The Commanders website publishes photos of OTAs, minicamp, training camp, practices and games, and they are generally high quality. Last year I published articles from time to time during the offseason and training camp with my favorite photos, and those articles drew a lot of positive comments. I thought it would be a good idea to include a link to the photos here in the Slop, with a few sample photos in a small montage.
Tweets
Occasionally, a tweet is very inviting and informative, and an article may not lend itself to a short excerpt (usually because it covers a complex topic).
I don’t do it often, but sometimes I post the Tweet linking to the article instead of the title & excerpt.
Since I also put together the daily Twitter article, I (mostly) avoid linking to ARTICLES in the Twitter post, and I avoid posting tweets in the Slop that DON’T have story links.
NFC East links
For years, I have from time to time published an article titled “Division Links” that linked stories from Bleeding Green Nation (Eagles), Blogging the Boys (Cowboys) and Big Blue View (Giants).
Usually, those articles received positive comments, so I thought it would be a good idea to expand the mission of the Daily Slop slightly to allow for one or more articles daily on the NFC East.
I’ve always loved the film, A Few Good Men, and one of many great scenes in that movie is where Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson declares that he lives by a certain code: Unit, Corps, God, Country.
My fandom follows a (somewhat) similar hierarchy:
- Commanders
- NFC East
- NFC
- NFL
- sports in general
I apply that thinking to the Daily Slop, assuming that Hogs Haven members are more than just Washington football fanatics; I assume they are interested in the NFL in general and the NFC East in particular.
That may not be true of everyone (or anyone, besides me).
NFL league links
Articles