Whatever happened to the news ticker and changing banner?

[agoodusername]

A few years ago, back in the days of my trolling this site before I became a White Knight of TSS and a Black Knight of Kittens, I remember their used to be a news ticker at the very top of the page, along with a banner that would change from Sonic game to Sonic game. If you moved to one page, it would switch to a screen of Spagonia in Sonic Unleashed, then you'd move to another and it'd switch to a screen of Sonic CD. I've been wondeing what happened to those things. They were some of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life, and I think the lack of a news ticker and the static banner seems kind of lazy. Don't get me wrong, I know how hard it is to run a website. But I was just thinking that since they were there, why take them away?

When the site gets it's make over soon, like shown on the front page, I thought it would be pretty cool to fill the space on the SSMB between Sign Out and Search with a ticker, showing the news on the main site making it easier to find a story than having to go click on the 'TSS' tab and search through all the stories.

Is this something that could be done again? I think it's a pretty neat idea if it could work properly.

Edited September 20, 2010 by Edge

[novelty]

A few years ago, back in the days of my trolling this site before I became a White Knight of TSS and a Black Knight of Kittens, I remember their used to be a news ticker at the very top of the page, along with a banner that would change from Sonic game to Sonic game. If you moved to one page, it would switch to a screen of Spagonia in Sonic Unleashed, then you'd move to another and it'd switch to a screen of Sonic CD. I've been wondeing what happened to those things. They were some of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life, and I think the lack of a news ticker and the static banner seems kind of lazy. Don't get me wrong, I know how hard it is to run a website. But I was just thinking that since they were there, why take them away?

When the site gets it's make over soon, like shown on the front page, I thought it would be pretty cool to fill the space on the SSMB between Sign Out and Search with a ticker, showing the news on the main site making it easier to find a story than having to go click on the 'TSS' tab and search through all the stories.

Is this something that could be done again? I think it's a pretty neat idea if it could work properly.

Make it member only and then I orgasm. .

[Guest Miles Per Hour]

I remember a few years back when there was a banner saying "Sonic Riders coming to the Xbox 360 and PS3"

Ah, good times.

[agoodusername]

I remember a few years back when there was a banner saying "Sonic Riders coming to the Xbox 360 and PS3"

Ah, good times.

Yep... nostalgia kicking in.

[bmn]

I don't actually remember random banners, that's news to me.

The news ticker went the same way, at the same time, as the separate Sonic News site did. A scrolling news ticker almost certainly won't be coming back.

However, we do have another ticker-like thing planned. But what could it be...? o_O

[Badnik Mechanic]

However, we do have another ticker-like thing planned. But what could it be...? o_O

Stocks?

[novelty]

Stocks?

So wait, Sonic News is a different website? I did NOT know that, I thought it went along with TSS. Maybe you can base the ticker on the blog posts there (TSS).

Edited September 22, 2010 by Squirtle

[SHAX Hedgefox]

Ahh, I kind of remember that. I visited this site once about 2007 and saw that ticker, after some guy from Sonic Wrecks went on about it. That thing looked cool.

[Dreadknux]

So wait, Sonic News is a different website? I did NOT know that, I thought it went along with TSS. Maybe you can base the ticker on the blog posts there (TSS).

Well, Sonic News is a part of TSS now, but... It's a long story. Sonic News used to be a separate, affiliated website run by a good friend of mine, until TSS and Sonic News merged in 2002 to form SSNG. That project fell apart as soon as the Sonic News guy quit, so TSS came back and was allowed to keep the Sonic News name. For a time, I simply used the Sonic News name as a section of TSS, but then I made a minisite not unlike SEGASonic Radio on the Network and called it Sonic News. Since 2007 or so, the minisite got brought back into TSS as a section there, so that visit counts weren't divided up.

Little bit of history there ahead of our tenth anniversary. The more you know~

In terms of the ticker, we're thinking of doing something with the space up there, but a scrolling news ticker won't be it. It's kind of had its time. From a usability point of view, you don't really want to be seeing a scrolling ticker bar of news when you're on the homepage/news archive with the exact same links, etc. In terms of the site itself, I'd personally rather you visited TSS and SSMB in equal measure - then you won't miss anything important

As for the rotating banners - well! I'm glad there's a bit of love for those. I'll see what I can do...