Welcome to the new DetroitYES!

**Lowell** · February-28-12, 01:58 PM

Welcome to the new DetroitYES!

Including, but not limited to:

New, cleaner skin
Mobile Support
Our one of a kind Headline News home-page

Dear members and friends of the DetroitYES online community. We are pleased to announce the ‘soft launch’ of the DetroitYES Headline News.

These headlines will be unlike usual front page headlines determined by an editorial staff. Instead they will be determined by you, the most informed and influential online community of knowledge about all things metro Detroit-Windsor.

Over 13 years of discussion, in well over one million posts read by millions of visitors you have demonstrated that [and I paraphrase] ‘Thousands of heads are better than one’.

So much so, that I often remark how 95% of what I know about Detroit-Windsor has been learned from you. Your posts have been cited and quoted in local, national and international media outlets and have actually broken the news many times.

Some time ago I thought, “How fitting that you should determine what the headlines for our great metropolis are.”

You are now invited be the first to visit the DetroitYES Headline News at this unlinked location: http://detroityes.com/sd

Over the past few months my AtDetroit LLC business partner Nicolas Boileau has designed and programmed, and together we have been testing, a ‘smart default’ algorithm for determining the headline news based on your participation and activities.

Our formula queries the DetroitYES database every 15 minutes and scores each thread based on a range of factors, for example views and posts, particularly in regard to their ‘recency’ and activity.

The DetroitYES Headline News will be the top 12 threads according to you and our audience -- not the threads that happened to get bumped to the top by the latest posts.

But wait. “I just want to land on the thread list page as always have for years”. No problem. Simply save a bookmark / or create a favorite for this address: http://www.detroityes.com/mb/forumdisplay.php?3-Discuss-Detroit and click it up to enter the forum as always. Switching between the two will be simply done through a common top menu bar.

Full launch will occur on Thursday. Visitors arriving at www.DetroitYES.com will then be served the DetroitYES Headline News. Clicking a headline will lead them directly into the thread, the same as if one had clicked it from the usual thread list.

We will be happy to entertain your questions and comments. Thanks and enjoy.

**Danny** · February-28-12, 02:00 PM

YAY! Our own community internet newspaper. Congrats Mr. Boileau.

**gazhekwe** · February-28-12, 03:36 PM

This looks interesting. I like to see how news about Detroit filters through the forum.

**401don** · February-28-12, 04:39 PM

Could you add that tele-type sound that CKLW used when we're reading Headline News?

**rb336** · February-28-12, 04:39 PM

cool idea Lowell

**Detroitej72** · February-28-12, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by 401don

Could you add that tele-type sound that CKLW used when we're reading Headline News?

That would be cool!

**Detroit Stylin** · February-28-12, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitej72

That would be cool!

I like this....Unbiased...unbought and un Fox news...

**Jimaz** · February-28-12, 08:59 PM

This is exciting. I hope it doesn't put the local dailies out of business though. LOL!

Under "Welcome to DetroitYES!," "toics" should be "topics," "assesses" should be "assess" and "smart default algorithm" should be just "smart algorithm" IMHO.

Is this based on some similar technology being developed elsewhere or is it an attempt to strike out on your own to create something entirely new? If the latter, this is really exciting!

**Lowell** · February-28-12, 11:46 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

This is exciting. I hope it doesn't put the local dailies out of business though. LOL!

Under "Welcome to DetroitYES!," "toics" should be "topics," "assesses" should be "assess" and "smart default algorithm" should be just "smart algorithm" IMHO.

Is this based on some similar technology being developed elsewhere or is it an attempt to strike out on your own to create something entirely new? If the latter, this is really exciting!

Yikes proof-reading has never been my strong suite so allow me to pull out my old defense. "It's a mighty poor mind that can spell a word only one way." [Andrew Jackson] Thanks for pointing that out!

This is not based on any technology that I am aware of but the WWWeb has taught me that there are often a lot of people thinking about the same things at the same time.

To me the technology is secondary. The WWWeb, I've learned, is far more about sociology than technology -- understand the sociology and the technological solution becomes apparent and directed. After that is just a matter of code, albeit very difficult code.

This idea arose from a genuine curiosity as to what would be anointed as the 'news' if the patterns of interest and actions of a large informed audience were weighed and measured.

It will always be a work in progress and unforeseen issues are probably guaranteed. So far, however, I find what rises to the top is interesting and often surprising.

**Jimaz** · February-29-12, 12:10 AM

Originally Posted by Lowell

...This idea arose from a genuine curiosity as to what would be anointed as the 'news' if the patterns of interest and actions of a large informed audience were weighed and measured.

It will always be a work in progress and unforeseen issues are probably guaranteed. So far, however, I find what rises to the top interesting and sometimes surprising.

I can't offer enough encouragment as is deserved but maybe my traditional Republica - Ready to go approaches.

Godspeed, DetroitYES. Break all the barriers. Bring us back from the brink!

**canuck** · February-29-12, 06:35 AM

Your art and your craft are in the details Lowell! Bravo!

**Detroit Stylin** · February-29-12, 11:29 AM

If you need any designers Lowell I am available...

**hamtown mike** · February-29-12, 04:54 PM

This just in... "Awesome."

**RaumVogel** · February-29-12, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by 401don

Could you add that tele-type sound that CKLW used when we're reading Headline News?

http://www.ilovewavs.com/Effects/Wor...%20Machine.wav

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · February-29-12, 10:30 PM

I hope it's a huge success! Everyone talks about what businesses need to move to Detroit. I think the renaissance will truly hit when the entreprenuers that are already here take off. Thanks for leading the way!

**Traxus** · March-01-12, 02:51 PM

Including, but not limited to:

New, cleaner skin
Mobile Support
Our one of a kind Headline News home-page [[read about it here)

**Meddle** · March-01-12, 03:35 PM

This ain't gonna work at all.

Layout is ALL screwed up, squeezed together. Too much wasted space on the sides. Sorta like the eBay boards. 30% of the screen real estate is wasted. What's there overlaps itself.

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Size: 18.2 KB

Half the links don't work, New Posts, Private Messages, FAQ, Calendar --- all non working.

BRING BACK VB4 DEFAULT!!!!

**old guy** · March-01-12, 03:46 PM

It's all working for me, but wow, go away for a couple hours. New is good.

**rb336** · March-01-12, 03:47 PM

I like it -- all the links I clicked on worked. I enjoy the newspaper-style layout, and being able to see a bit more of what's in each thread. Good job guys!

**old guy** · March-01-12, 03:48 PM

I like the orange highlight on the rollovers too.

**rb336** · March-01-12, 03:55 PM

oops -- the non-detroit link doesn't work. wouldn't mind a button up top for that either

**Lowell** · March-01-12, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by rb336

oops -- the non-detroit link doesn't work. wouldn't mind a button up top for that either

Sorry about that. We have corrected the footer links. Also one can navigate to the other forums by clicking All Forums in the top menu bar or clicking 'DetroitYES Home' in the breadcrumb menu that it at the top of every thread.

**Wesley Mouch** · March-01-12, 05:03 PM

The site look is great.

The ads are more obnoxious, but I guess that's the price we all pay. Hope they're making you good money.

Thanks for all your efforts.

**douglasm** · March-01-12, 05:29 PM

I like it....so far. The only complaint is that the link to SDF is at the bottom of the page now instead of at the top.

**Lowell** · March-01-12, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

The ads are more obnoxious, but I guess that's the price we all pay. Hope they're making you good money.

Yeah sorry about that. Regrettably there is great expense in running this site and clicking ads helps defray our costs. We will be offering a subscription plan in the near future where those wishing to donate to the costs of the site will be served an ad-free forum in return.