blonde poker forum

Do these images have any place in live updates threads?

Long Live Pussy imo

Are you Mary Whitehouse in disguise ?

Not Mary Whitehouse, but I'm afraid I fail to see the point in using these images. As with the (IMO cringeworthy) photoshopping that appears in most update threads, I feel it undermines the generally very high quality of tournament reporting that Blonde provide.

But given the early poll results, it apprears I am in the minority.

will bet heavily on the yes, i love it selection. Even if people don't they will vote it!

BTW, I voted for lame.

Kitten pic sends me on life tilt.

IMO only - part of the fun of the reports is the quirky humour. Sometimes quirky humour doesn't hit the mark, but in general I think it's a USP for the updates rather than undermining them.

Which is an added bonus. And Kitten pic has been replaced by Floppy pic ages ago..so go away! ;)

I can state catagoricaly that i would NEVER read the live udate threads were it not for the "god kills a kitten pics".

It 's the reason most people read the Blonde updates..Gummy bear invasion update (don't care which tourney it was) was a classic!

More important things to worry about :dontask:

I'm sure if people didn't like the kittencide pics and general funny banter they could go and read the updates provided by other, duller, sites.

I think its what makes the Blonde updates unique, look at a few other (very dull) updates on the net, and then you see why the Blonde updates are so well liked.
Im not fussed about the kitten pictures but the naff photoshopping, lookie likies, and other stuff really makes them interactive and a laugh.

I think the messing about is needed more than ever now that EPTs are dominated by random Scandies that we've never heard of.

I thought the reason most people read updates is to find out whats going on in the tournament. Why not just have a non-live update 'post your funnies here' thread instead?

Its all very well for those people who are immersed in the community, but does it appeal to newbies/casual visitors coming to the site or do they simply go elsewhere to find something less childish?

If the updaters spent less time doing this sort of thing, would they have time to perhaps do video footage instead? If the poll were 'would you rather have video footage of events or photoshopped funnies?', how would people vote?

People (well me) like childish.

Isnt there two updates running, at a Glance for people that just want the facts and interactive which are interactive and enjoyable.

edit- I have always thought videos would be a great addition though.

Yes, but the at a glance threads usually have the occasional info post missing so those of us who prefer it are compelled to venture into the lalaland thread to get the info.

I wouldnt know about that im always in lalalalland ;)

But loads of people watch the updates on Blonde, ..you can see that durng the updates. I don't care about the EPT at all anymore as I don't know anyone that's playing it...most of them are nameless qualifiers and only a few of their mates and their parent care about them. They still get what they want. and the blonde community also gets what it wants..fun updates that get people involved.

Also Video footage might indeed be very popular but I wonder if it would be allowed..after all a few of the tours have sold their telly rights...and there is the "at a glance" thread for those only wanting basic info...easy peasy no?

Sigh, is this thread really happening?

Come on Red, this can be your first poll: "did we need a poll on the god kills kittens pics"?

Video footage - great idea - I have noticed world of poker doing them, exit interviews etc etc and I have watched them and enjoyed them....sorry Blonde......video footage great idea as long as it doesn't include Dana and Snoopys post reporting antics.....

That sounds to me more like a deficiency with the "At A Glance" thread rather than the main update thread.

(http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/128347380320000000conservativecat.jpg)

I've been waiting for an excuse to post a cat picture for ages ;ashamed;

You can sing that!!!  LOVED the Gummy bear invasion!

I feel the pictures and the interactivity of the updates are what sets blonde apart from the rest of the field.

How many times do we see you members posting quotes such as "without doubt the best updates I have found" ?
In the past 20 months that I have been following them regularly I feel the standard has just got better and better, but I also understand that when you have so many people viewing you are in a no win situation, as you can only please some of the people some of the time.

I have never attended a big poker tournament like the ones blonde update from, but I am assuming they get lulls in play and the photoshop that has started to appear is better than having to sit and wait for what might be an age before the next "poker report" becomes available.

As has been said previously, there are generally other updates out there for those who don't like blondes.

These of course are just my views.

rotflmfao

Sigh, why do some people not like constructive debate?

Bolt loves a constructive debate..but only on important issues like "Should Red create a poll" or "Just how lazy is Mr Red that he hasn't created a poll yet"

The massacre of kittens is irrelevant to Bolt :)

LOL that this can even be considerd a "debate" but if it indeed qualifies as such then i think you meant "pointless" instead of "constructive".

no need for photoshop imo

I used the kittens as one element of what I hoped might become a wider debate about the format of the live updates, but it seems too many people on here are far too defensive of blonde to be able to get their heads around the concept of such a discussion.

By, "far too defensive", do you mean, "won't agree with me" ?

so why both doing it?

Too many people on here like to have a laugh.

I wouldnt think im defensive of Blonde, I just liek the updates as they are, thats my view.
As i said, videos would be a great addition and At A Glance is already there if you dont want the other bits.

Not at all, that was a broadsiide aimed soley at those people who said that there was no point in starting this thread in the first place, not against people who disagree.

So long as William Hill (sponsers of live updates) are happy with the updates, i can see no reason to change them. If another sponser comes in (or William Hill feel the updates are unsatisfactory) then perhaps Blonde should change them to comply with the sponsers wishes. Personally i like the photoshopping/anecdotes as it provides a continuous flow to the updates which could otherwise proceed very slowly when the tournaments are progressing very slowly.

(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa299/yupko/LolCatRenderer2.aspxtopDOESWANTbottomsize60imagenamecheeses.jpg)

The at a glance updates are a good addition, trouble is that when you are actually doing the updating, you rush up to the press room and post your report then you are straight back down to get more info ... half the time I forgot to copy it over to the at a glance thread ... despite floppy nagging me ;)

As for video interviews, we have talked and talked behind the scenes regarding this, and we are still debating it now... some want it, some dont...so its a work in progress.

I personally hate the kitten pic, as I have said before, it tilts me bad.. now if it said something like "SUPPORT THE UPDATES, PLAY ON BLONDE'S CARDROOM" I would be happier ... ;)

FYP       Lighten up Jon,just attempting to be humorus,obviously i failed.sorry.

Then why not just have the title: "are the photoshop images on the live updates thread a bit tacky"? and then go on to say what your honest opinion about them is.

theres not really any need for a poll(unless Red Dog starts it obv)

I agree that's potentially a proper debate

Its not compulsory to vote you know...

I've only quickly scanned the thread so apologies if it's moved on...

I have no objection as such to the kitten pic, perhaps another banner or blonde produced ad would be more preferable to some?

Personally (only my opinion, of course) I don't like the bad photoshopping, especially as it mainly revolves around in jokes and only a few people (mainly the updaters from what I remember). Most people don't come to read the updates to get bad photoshop or have details about what the updaters are doing behind the scenes...

Fun updates are what blonde was all about and should continue, but, IMO many of these pics in question are lowering the quality of the update as a whole.

Can I ask ? and i am probably way off track, but has this question arisen from your thoughts or those at Blue Square ?

Just interested.

I have to agree with Tractor, I love the blonde updates, they are fun, informative, and unlike other updates, there are items on the thread in lean poker times..

TV idea is great, I came across the AWOP ones at the Virgin Festival, and watched a few from the last gukpt in manchester and they were excellent, and APAT have started doing them in the last tournament, and its a great addition, but it all comes down to cost I suppose.

Kittens can stay IMO, and if people dont like them, then im sure they will use the 'at glance' thread. Not sure how good it is, because I have never looked at it.

wtf kind of question is that? It's not even worth dignifying with an answer.

Have to agree with you Jon, i do find some of the pics amusing but if i want updates now i tend to go elsewhere as i find the reporting to be better.

I have no strong opinion on the cat pics, but I think Jon makes an interesting point when he says could video footage make the coverage better? It may but there are probably more important elements that could improve the coverage, photoshops and all. I actually watch very little of AWOP's video footage, mainly because it takes away from trying to actually follow the updates. Blonde's actual update content is very good - where else can you get a count for the mateyboy you're following - and Floppy I promise i'll actually be able to help you out with one soon. Doing these events can be a grind (i've covered many for print media) and i'm sure the photoshops help the updaters day go that much quicker but in terms of providing useful content then the time could probs be put to better use. Other sites that provide updates such as PokerNews (whom some blonde updaters have done updates for) and THM  have a couple of nice touches that blonde could imitate man power allowing. I'd be surprised in Floppy and the powers that be haven't already considered these but that some problem with the forum framework makes it impossible to implemement

- tags so you can click on a name and see all the posts in the thread related to them
- chip count 'graphs' showing a player's progress thorughout the day (i believe GUKPT site probably already uses this due to Jon Raab's tracking system)
- stickied payout strucutre/blind structure/finishing pos once in the money to stop so many posts asking for them.

doesn't your best pal do the reporting?

Yeah i don't think the problem is with the staff its with the tools they have, like has been said a camera would be a great addition and if blonde could do something like the pokernews updates or whoever it was that did the wsop it would be great.

Thanks to Jon for raising the question. All stuff that is discussed a lot with myself and my colleagues.

My views are

1 Videos: yes would love them. Have worked with them on APAT updates and they add a lot IMO. Cost isn't a huge issue but manpower is....given the time needed to produce videos of good enough quality and upload them, the updaters feel that some reporting would be lost without extra people involved. With more and more events, lasting longer and longer, this commitment would be a strain to our funding of the updates..as 3 person updates for 6 day events recently has sown when we've come to pay for them!

2. Photoshopping: In moderation fine. Personally I believe it may have gone too far in terms of quantity and has turned something quirky into something OTT and a little clique-y (ie to a casual observer who might not "get" some of the humour and merely wants to be kept updated on freends/the event as a whole). Then again I am old and traditional and would like a bit more plain vanilla reporting sometimes.

3. Kitten pics. Enough already, done to death. However I flick past them quickly enough.

chip count graphs, text messaging to the update for players, tagging etc...all have been trialled or being prepared when IT resources and priorities allow

Couldnt the payout structure/finish positions be in the updaters signature? Just a thought.
then everytime they post it would be there.

I have to agree with Jane when it comes to too many photoshop pics of the updaters.  It's funny when they do them using the players in the tourney, but 20 or 30 pics of Dana, Snoopy and Floopy in various skits?  It might be hysterical for them as they banter on in the background, but to the 100+ readers it means nothing.  The the odd one or two is grand, but after that it's gone beyond 'a bit much'.

I still stand by the Gummy Bear Invasion though.  That truly was hysterical during the down time!!!

Please accept my apologies as no offence was meant.

It wouldn't be so much of a problem if we had attractive updaters.

Enough with the Kitten IMO, just change it, the idea and motivation is good but can't believe its not used as a card room/forum advert TBH.

As an aside:- Please bring back blind levels into the update's - the live clock is great but of little help when reading an update the next day.

A great thread, full of interesting feedback, which we need, & we listen to.

blonde Updates are designed to be entertaining, quirky, & informative. Trying to get the balance right between those criteria is a neat trick, though. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't.

The Kittens. I love 'em. others hate 'em, each to their own. The debate is not about Kitten Pics really, that was just the "hook".

Video Footage. Rich & I approved the finance to purchase the kit a good few months back, but when we came to implement, we realised - or were made aware - that an extra person was needed to do the Video work, & that in turn added a significant % to the Updating Costs, already our largest cost, & not by a long chalk covered by Sponsorship.

In the next week or so, fingers crossed, the means to fund these extra costs will be available. Whether we will implement them is another matter though - feedback on this thread will be taken into account, but we'll also be reviewing the whole cost-effectiveness of them. If their costs get too far out of step with our income, we'll be faced with a very tricky decision.

Update & Forum Traffic on blonde has grown significantly recently, but we want to keep the spirit & mood, too. The Updaters, Rich & myself wll discuss this thread collectively.

Many thanks to everyone for their input.

OK, you can get back to having fun now, Mr Grumpy Old Man has go to go fight some fires. Or, on second thoughts, go to the Diaries & see whats happening. Then fight the fires. You never know, they might have gone out by then. Slow Firemen rarely have much to do.

An interesting thread and plenty of good points have been bought up. Personally I don't care either way for the kitten pics and just scroll down to the next entry on the thread, but like some people have said its a great opportunity to try and get new clients to join the card room although I'm not sure if William Hill as sponsors would allow relentless spamming of the Blonde card room on an update thread that they are sponsoring.

Back to the updates as a founder member of the NAS the more norkage pics the better IMO and if Blonde do go down the video route interviews would definetely enhance the updates, obviously money is tight and as TJ has stated it becomes a lot more expensive to finance an update with video content.

I'm sure Blonde are looking to better their updates regularly and the actual content I believe is improving each time and like many others have stated if you want just the facts visit the At A Glance thread if you want the interaction then Blonde is the place to watch updates and take part in.

Norkage on video! Sounds good to me.

 :goodpost: ;iagree;

They can kill as many cats as they like as I hate the pesky things lol.
Some photoshops I like but a lot are tacky.
Instead of spending time on those spend a bit more on the seat draw and chip count posts i.e space it out so the are easier to distinguish and read.
I would also concentrate on more local festivals too rather than some of these obscure EPT locations which only have a handful of british players in. There were only about 10 viewers of one of these EPT events so I think the interest insnt there for all of them anyway
TBH since the EPT started doing their webcast I tend to watch that instead.

God doesn't kill them, them try to do it themselves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5Ilq3kFxek&feature=related

can't belive that 'in a thread about cats' no one has posted the will the cat make it pic! So i will.

IN DEFENCE OF THE KITTENS -

Sorry, don't really have time to reply to this properly as I'm in a motel in Ohio and have about 25 minutes to get out of here, but just wanted to say that I post the kittens once per update, at a point when it looks like we have a lot of guests viewing the thread, in a bid to get some of them to sign up to blonde. Recent updates such as Monte Carlo, when I think we got 30 or 40 newbies signing up, show that my kitten-y tactics work - a good number of them during the week wrote on the thread or in PMs to me that my gentle, kitten-based encouragement was the catalyst for them signing up to blonde. In recent updates I've also made an effort to mention the blonde cardroom and all it can do for everyone in terms of loyalty bonus etc. The kitten picture/Floppy picture are just sort of a shorthand for me, and more eye-catching for the casual update reader than a couple lines of text.

As far as photoshops are concerned, we like them and think they add to the updates. Sometimes we go a little bit crazy with them, but generally we construct the more complicated ones the night before so we have them ready to go for the start of the thread or when there's a slow point in the play, and during breaks in play etc. I don't think we ever spend time photoshopping at the expense of serious reporting - they tend to come out in force when there's not a great deal to report on - eg an incredibly slow bubble or some such. Video would definitely imo require an extra person if we're going to do it well - I've messed about with the video editing software on my laptop and it's shockingly time-consuming if you're going to make something good a la Siktilt etc - doing video with only two updaters or three at a larger event would mean that we'd go long periods of time without anyone watching the action. We're not against video in principle, but I do believe that the quality and particularly the quantity of hands reported etc will suffer if we attempt to do video with our current manpower in a way that it doesn't with a bit of photoshopping.

Regarding the at-a-glance thread, I can say right now that I make an effort to include every bit of actual information that goes into the interactive thread on the at-a-glance thread too, as well as occasionally a few of the better photos, but barring the First Photoshop Of The Day that we sometimes start the thread with, I try to keep the at-a-glance thread a photoshop-free zone. Presumably everyone who is not keen on the photoshopping will not be keen on the random chat that the interactive thread becomes filled with either, so I think we have have something for everyone there...

lol this whole thread is ridiculous.

Final Days of last 2 live update tournaments:

GUKPT Manchester:

Kitten Picture posted ONCE.

Photoshop Pictures: NONE

Total Posts: 165

Monte Carlo

Kitten Picture: NONE

Original Photoshop pics TEN

Reproduced Photoshop (used again by interactive posts) TWELVE

Total Posts. 280

Only a small sample but it doesn't appear over excessive IMO

Here's a suggestion. Record some interviews but edit them overnight. That way it only eats into photoshopping time not reporting time. The vids will keep to be posted the following day. Most take very little time to edit once ur familiar with the software. Most are a single clip with no fancy edits.

I agree with this. Dogs FTW.

To be constructive for once, I think that it would be good if the blind level was actually reported in the live update thread (as it always used to be), as the way it is now you only know the blind level if you read the update in real time. If someone reads the updates the next day, there is no indication throughout the thread what the blinds are at any time.

Ah, thanks..I was going to do this as I didn't think the nr of photoshoppies was very high. Case closed, no?

not often i agree  with aj,   but feel he is spot on here.

a few years ago, i criticised the updates in a   pm, which was politely  but strongly  defended.

from that came the  at-a-glance thread         so problem resolved.

by listening to blonde members, the forum evolves strongly            .

well done blonde.

Photoshopping, 8 out of 10 cats (and me) prefer it.

Please note:

Are you sure that's a cat?

Has the poll result transpired yet. I dare not look.

I never saw this debate b4, I suppose we could always seperate the two, maybe have a new thread called " Post Your Pussy's", but I think we would attract the wrong sort.

I love pussy pics. But there's all I want over at lolcat (http://lolcat.com/).

Hasn't He smited the moggie yet?

 ;dingdell;

?