Zen and the Art of Webring Maintenance

I've been the Ring Manager for the Buddhist Blogs webring since its inception in February of 2005. This was the first webring I'd ever created or managed, and I'm not sure I've handled all aspects of ring management properly.

One of the things I've struggled with is the idea of standards. As an American, I'm very much "pro free speech." I don't really want to editorialize it by selecting only the rings I think fit nicely into the group or by denying bloggers admittance because I don't necessarily agree with what they have to say. For the most part, I think I've been sticking to the original goal... personal weblogs/journals only... must write frequently on buddhism or a buddhist-take on issues/current affairs... no commercial sites. Those of you who browse the ring... let me know how I'm doing here. Would you want the ring to be more selective? If so, how?

Another thing I've struggled with is how to feature sites, when, and why. On this particular point I could also use some feedback from those willing to give it. It was easy when Tom was writing Blogmandu... it sort of made sense to feature a digest that covers/summarizes Buddhist Blogs and their content. (sidebar: Tom, I really hope you are coming back.)

I guess I'm wondering the following:

1. Would ring members like to vote on Featured Sites? If so, how often? Weekly? Monthly? Quarterly?
2. Should we feature sites based on *hot* current content? One way we could determine what's *hot* is by looking at posts that are heavily commented...
3. Should we do away with Featured Sites altogether?

There are so many Blog aggregation resources available out there... Kinja Digests, Blogrolling, Zen Unbound's Tasty Links, etc. The webring will never include all of the great Buddhist Blogs that are out there... perhaps because people don't know about it... perhaps because they just don't want to join. Given this, is the webring still a valuable resource?

How can we keep it fresh and make it better?

Comments

[Chris]

I think you are doing a very good job at keeping the ring true to its stated beliefs.

If we are going to choose a featured site I think that in the beginning instead of choosing or voting that we should spend a month at a time featuring all of the blogs individually (i.e. go down the list and feature the blog in the order that they joined the ring for a month and then the next and so on).

I think that the ring has the potential to become a tool that Buddhist or people who are interested in the thoughts of Buddhists turn to but unfortunately it won't happen overnight. I will be one of the first to admit that I don't interact as much with the other sites in our ring, but I do visit and read them and I am wondering how we can advertise and promote the site more.

Kind Regards,
Chris

[Robert]

I think it is useful as is...I've directed a person here and there to join it. For a featured site, I like Chris' proposal to go down the list and feature one for a month. It might be a good idea to check with the blogger first, as you don't want to feature a blog that won't be updated for whatever reason.

Thanks for organizing the ring and keeping it up.

[Tom]

Chalip,

I think you are doing a great job with the webring and with your blog and should have no worries!

I think that people using Buddhist Blogs webring or Tasty Links or any blogrolls they encounter have a proper orientation to what they are utilizing. I think that readers know that there is no perfect test of excellence and that opinion varies on what is good or right. Too, readers know they can test any product that is being recommended to them and each reader will quickly determine for his/her-self if the flavor/orientation/mission of the blog that is recommended is his/her 'thing.'

In maintaining Tasty Links I actively make choices, but [as with any blogroll maintainer] I am seldom put in the position of rejecting anyone. That is, I occassionally go fishing for new listings rather than having them come to me.

I do very much think that the Buddhist Blogs webring is a valuable resource -- specifically because it is a different take/angle/way of 'collecting' good/wonderful/excellent blogs.

We might suppose that Buddhist Blogs webring and the blogs section of Tasty Links are superceded by blogrolls, which have been so successful at interconnecting blogs. But directly because they are a little askew, I think your webring and ZU's links page are of value.

As for Blogmandu -- I do hope to relaunch in the fall. The problem with it is figuring out how to better glean all the Buddhist blog activity that is out there and then slash at it, abridge it, condense it and synopsize it in a way that isn't wholly rapacious!

In its first incarnation, I think Blogmandu overmuch cited the blogs that I am most familiar with, neglecting the great many excellent Buddhist blogs that are outside my scope of awareness. When Blogmandu returns, I hope to better use Technorati and other resouces to aid me in 'pulling out' Buddhist blog posts from the web aether that are excellent and deserve widespread attention.

-- Tom

[Amadeus]

Great job on the ring. Thanks for doing it. I think it is great to be able to see who is out there speaking on Buddhist issues and the like.

As for the questions:

1. Would ring members like to vote on Featured Sites? If so, how often? Weekly? Monthly? Quarterly?

Answer: No and Never. Leave the popularity contest garbage for the political bloggers.

2. Should we feature sites based on *hot* current content? One way we could determine what's *hot* is by looking at posts that are heavily commented...

Answer: No. If people can't take the time to read others blogs to comment on, then what does it matter.

3. Should we do away with Featured Sites altogether?

Yes--Let your own mind feature what needs to be. If an individual likes a site, then they do. Group think is boring.

Again, Thanks for maintaining the ring Chalip.

~Amadeus

[nick]

I tend to agree with Amadeus. I really like the Blogring -- it gives me a nice way to stroll through the other blogs out there, and gives me at least a little peace of mind that i'm not floating alone in the electronic goo.

i say keep up the good work!

nick

[Nacho]

Chalip: Joining the last bit of chorus here... I agree with Amadeus and Nick also. Thanks for the webring. It is nicely done. Rings tend to be more passive than dynamic, but what they do they do quite well, and no need to mess too much with them.

You've done a good job of making it unobstrusive, which I like. One of the biggest annoyances about webrings is that they want you to place this unsightly graphic on your pages! Then again, it does need to be visible. If you come up with other designs let me know. In my redesign of the site I might place the webring toward the top. Thanks again Chalip.

[Mermaid]

Thank you Chalip for the work you do to give us the vehicle for getting to know each other. I am not familiar with what blogrolling is or how it differs from web rings.

I like the idea that anybody who identifies as buddhist can join our ring. I vote for least restrictive guidelines. I do not write too much overtly about zen but it runs through my posts simpley because it is me and I write the posts. I like this ring precisely becuase it does have personal blogs.

Featured site? How is that?

I am easy going with whatever you do. :-)

deborah

[Gareth]

Hi,

I think you're doing a great job, I don't know how you could make it better - I think that's good thing, it seems to be working for me.

I'm going to think about moving the links to make them more visible on my own site, the next time I do a redesign, or maybe I'll even tweak the position before then.

Anway, as others have said you're doing a great job, thanks :)

[chalip]

Thanks everyone for responding. This webring thing is a journey. I'm glad you all are a part of it.

Chris, as I wrote this post I considered featuring sites as you suggested... one a month, cycling through the ring. I thought it would be the "fair" thing to do...

But reading the comment from Amadeus... (love the line "Group think is boring," BTW) I find myself in agreement. I'm going to take the pressure off of myself... trying to figure out how to do it "right" and just not do it at all...

The webring simply is what it is. People will use it or they won't. I don't know what I've been expecting. Membership in the ring is growing... It's not unusual to have a couple of sites join a week. For such a specialized topic, that is probably a high rate of growth.

Nacho, I agree about the webring images. A lot of rings give you this HUGE table-based navigation code to put on your site. I tried to make one as small and unobtrusive as possible... leaving in all of the basic features. I'm open to any suggestions about how to make the ring code work better for everyone...

Tom, those all sound like good ideas for Blogmandu... Blogmandu itself is a great idea... so I hope it does continue in the fall...

Chris, Robert, Amadeus, Nick, Nacho, Mermaid, Gareth... I really enjoy your blogs. I may not comment often but I'm checking in frequently and I'm so glad you are out there...

I feel you, Nick... it does give me some peace of mind to know I'm not out here alone.

[matthew]

Only just joined and am in hospital so I can't really comment. I am the category editor for DMOZ personal Buddhist sites however and I am sure there is some crossfertilization we can do when I am out of hospital and more active. General comment though is that anything tht adds to the connectivity of all the wonderful Buddhist resources and comment out there can only be a great thing so keep it up.

[chalip]

Matthew, I'm sorry to hear you are in the hospital... I will chant for you. I agree, we should be able to do some crossfertilization. I appreciate your sentiment and thoughts. Be well.

[Tor]

Hello,
And thank you for maintaining the ring. I apologize for taking so long to respond to your email, but the real world has a way of intruding on the electronic.
I generally am in favor of loose definitions of Buddhism and what qualifies as a Buddhist blog. Probably less than five percent of my posts deal specifically with Buddhism, but of course my practice hopefully informs the others.
I specifically prefer the fact that most of the other blogs on the ring that I have visited disagree with me on so many issues, mostly political. Disagreement leads to discussion leads to understanding leads to peace.
Peace,
Tor