Areas in which I could use help.
- We just went from XenForo 1.3.1 to 1.5.0. If someone wants to check out xenforo.com and look at the feature changes from A to B and then add to our FAQ forum, that would be fantastic. For example, I just set up two-step verification for my account using Google's Authenticator. Quick, easy, intuitive.
- Content. Want to write? Doesn't have to be a major article. Quick hitting and straight to the point is good, epic length is fine as well. We're not going to try to be a blog, there are a TON of great blogs out there already. But there are unfilled niches, and we can have fun with them. If you write something that is more article than post, or more feature than article, PM an admin. We can promote them (and you) to the front page. Here's the bonus -- if you write something particularly impressive, you may see it get promoted beyond us to the rest of the USA Today holdings. An article here can literally turn into your name in print or on USA Today itself. We're going to start making smarter use of our partnership.
- Don't want to write? Make and post your videos here. Keep creating images. Promote "family" efforts such as Jwinslow's photography, the Buckeye Battle Cry, BPer's Twitter accounts, etc. Or, ah, you can still kick in and get a donation banner; we're operating well into the red this year.
- Social media. Add us. If there's content you like, "Like" or tweet/retweet it. Hell, I even added the G+ graveyard in case anyone uses that. Let's make an effort to continue to grow our social footprint. We've made big strides there in the last year, and those driving the Twitter and FB accounts (LJB, MD, jlb, myself, etc.) would love to see things (worthwhile things, not asking you to spam the world at all) bounce around. This is a bigger deal than it seems!
- Tees. Brandon Fuss Cheatham's company sort of shit the bed on this one, but we love them anyway. Essentially it came down to fear of OSU's legal team (a team I know well, they're warmer and fuzzier than people say). OSU isn't going to shit on us for making a BP tee. Here's a mockup of what we were going for. Make something better! Then let's figure out how to make a small run of them. It's overdue. Furthermore, it's a moral imperative (I'm watching Real Genius).
- Be family. Squabble, but be able to set shit aside. This is doubly important in the political forum. Is someone getting on your nerves? Block them, even if just temporarily. Don't leave the site (this isn't directed to anyone who may have messaged me about this very issue recently, I wanted to make a general comment), just find the fun in it and don't get drawn down into things that aren't. It's going to be a rough political cycle. We all have wildly different beliefs and perspectives, that's cool. I don't care if you're pulling for Trump, Bernie, Walker, Clinton, Paul, or that Rent's Too Damn High dude. We're still Buckeyes, we're still friends, and I bet the people MOST politically and philosophically opposed on this site STILL have more in common than not. I'm serious about that. Think about it in terms of humans and chimpanzees. Sure, our differences are profound and obvious, but we share more DNA than not. What I'm saying is, go hug a chimp. Just don't get your face torn off, they do that. My damn analogy is falling apart. :/