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Brad

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Blog Entries posted by Brad

  1. Brad
    I know some members tend to bookmark the one page they like to visit on TheBullsPen.com.  If they start on the main page, they always start on the main page and have an opportunity  to see any changes along the way to the thread they wish to read.  Others start on the Topic index page or perhaps even a particular thread.
    I'm always throwing different things out there to see if people like it enough to comment on the main board or via PM.
    Recently, I put a real slick looking enhancement to display the USF YouTube feed in the right sidebar of the Topic index page.  If you go to any board topic listing, you'll see it in the right sidebar just a scroll or two down.
    Another thing that I'm not sure people are aware of is the RSS board.  There, you can read the latest news feeds of other sites like The Oracle, GoUSFBulls.com, TDS and SportsTalk Florida.  Take a glance at the headlines, if something interests you click and read.  All RSS topics can be commented on as well.  I am having a slight RSS duplication problem I am working on, but it's not a big deal.  I also pull in different RSS feeds from time to time depending on what they are publishing.  Don't let the board's post count fool you.  I manually delete anything over two pages unless there is a comment.
    Here's a look at what is on the RSS board right now:

    Any feedback is welcome on this thread.
    Thanks for being a member of The Bulls Pen,
    Brad
  2. Brad
    Hey, part of our community has been the fun of prediction contests and other things....most recently, raffle style giveaways and bracket contests.  In order to make it a more easily manageable situation for your humble host, I am asking that you complete the Name and Address profile fields added to your Profile. 

    This will make it much easier for me to get winnings out on time.  It's all private, but saves me from having to ask and then being delayed because I do not want to make multiple trips to the Post Office.  Much like the ticket giveaways require you to have a good email address in your profile, you will need a good shipping name and address to successfully participate in giveaways, contests and some newer things we have coming up for 2018.
    You can get to these fields to complete by clicking on your username in upper right hand corner of screen, select profile and then click on the "Edit Profile" text. 

     
    Then, scroll down and enter name and address.  These fields are viewable to you and me.  Permissions are set to private.
    Please let me know if you have any questions.  
    Thanks,
    Brad
  3. Brad
    It's a rebuilding season for The Bulls Pen.  Each year, when possible, I look at the upcoming changes, enhancements and apps that can be added to the board.  I  am looking for the right mix of cost vs. impact and try to find things that make you want to hang out here more.  More hanging out = more talking about the Bulls.  Yes it helps pay the bills, but also attracts more Bulls fans.
    As some are aware, as this boldly posted topic indicated,
    we are going to have our own "economy" where members earn points through different actions that can be used to purchase items, donate, "bet" and more.  There is a lot more to come so stay tuned.  
    I also have collected a few more customizations that hopefully improve your time on the site.  I really like one added today - the current YouTube feed for USF Football - all packaged up nicely, displaying the last three USF Football videos uploaded, including today's Pro Day video.  No more having to check YouTube and create a thread.  We can all find this on the USF Bulls Athletics topics page - in the sidebar - after the countdown to the 2018 kickoff (on desktop or mobile).
    In addition to this sleek, simple YouTube widget and the points economy, there are some other changes upcoming including a board-wide upgrade.   The upgrade will force some changes to how the board emails, its smilies system, the blogs, and more, so I'll get as much of it posted here in advance as possible.
    All "technical" board changes will be addressed on this blog.  Please feel free to ask any questions and make suggestions on how you think the board could be improved.
     
  4. Brad
    With the continued evolution of the code that supports this site, it can now support smilies from your phones and tablets.  With the upcoming upgrade, the board will expand to a greater number of smilies that are released with the upgrade.  In order to avoid having 17,000 smilies I deleted the non TBP and Bulls related smilies for the time being.  After the upgrade, we'lll decide if we need those sets back.
    Brad
     
     
  5. Brad

    Menu Change

    By Brad,

    As you can see above, the menu operation has changed.  Instead of clicking on the main topic like Clubs, Browse, Activity and being presented with a secondary row of options, I've opted for the traditional drop down.  I'm interested in your thoughts, if it works better for you.  I think there was confusion with the old menu, hopefully this makes more sense.
  6. Brad

    Time for a TBP Survey

    By Brad,

    It's the offseason, so maybe not the best time to be asking for feedback, but it provides us time to analyze and evaluate feedback before the 2019-20 USF Athletic seasons.  So, whether you are a new member, or a founding member, please share your insights with us in the site survey.  You can find it and other discussion on this thread:
     
  7. Brad

    Our Fundraising Effort

    By Brad,

    We are in the final three weeks of our $23 for 23 Crowdfunding effort.  I must admit, I thought raising $10,000 for USF Football would have been much easier among the fan base of The Bulls Pen.  Right now, between the Crowdfunding App and straight donating to the effort we are beyond $5,000.  The raffles are helping, by adding more than $500 more.
    With board activity beginning to increase and the anticipation for Bulls football mounting, I still think we will get there.  I will send a note to those rejoining the board to ensure they are aware of the effort.  We also have some nice raffles, I'll recap here.  
    A pair of Club Access tickets to Wisconsin at South Florida, August 30:

     
    This raffle ends Monday at 8:00 eastern.  Please follow the link to learn more.  
     
     
    A Marlon Mack limited and numbered autographed card - in USF uniform:  
       This raffle ends next Saturday
    A team autographed Yuengling hat including all autos for MBB and WBB last season
     This raffle ends Saturday as well.  
     
    Please visit the raffles links to ensure you have the right deadline for purchasing entry tickets.  The raffles close at the posted time, and within minutes the system selects a random winner.  
    You can also expect a few more raffles to be added prior to the end of the drive.  Visiting this page, will keep you up to date on live raffles that are directly in support our our USF Football drive.
  8. Brad
    Below you will find an article written by Brett McMurphy.  It is from August 2006 and you can detect McMurphy's entitlement and his disdain for Coach Jim Leavitt.  Leavitt was being Leavitt, which probably wasn't helpful and the article became about Leavitt.  There were some player issues that brought this on and we know how that worked with the media back then.  Oh and by the way, this is clearly from back when Brett and I were on talking terms.  Towards the end of the article, he piped in how some website operator from TheBullsPen.com was also upset.  😂

    Wed, Aug 30, 2006 – 24 · The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida) · Newspapers.com
     
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