Friday blog-keeping

Okay, among this afternoon’s blog-related items of note:

1. I finally installed a “Commenter Ignore Button,” [edit/update: which we will try on an interim basis /end edit]. If you click a little “X” next to the name of the commenter with whom you have a philosophical disagreement, that commenter should be ignored. If you have any bugs with the plug-in, please let me know as there are several “ignore” plug-in available on WordPress;

2. Ideally, I would like to keep everybody around community-wise, which should be easier with an “ignore” button…

But there were 20 comments that didn’t make the cut due to what WordPress flagged as inappropriate content while I was ill, and when I go through them, I may find some information that requires me to “prune the tree.” I don’t want to do it, but there are some basic rules of decency and polite discourse which apply to everybody. As I’ve said previously, I’m running a benevolent dictatorship here, not a democracy:

3. Regarding the website design and logo design, this is the LAST LAST CALL for any ideas. I’m looking for a 500 px by 150 px “banner” and a 150 px by 150 px “seal” logo…and web design-wise, I’ve got two people who’ve stepped up, but I’ll listen to pitches.

It’s time to get to some fan voting and get that shit done. The logo that ends up getting used will afford me the ability to both make the blog easier to read and to get some business cards to spread the word about the new blog…

4. I am very proud of the fact that I’m earning over a hundred bucks a month thanks to generous readers in terms of crowdfunding, but my goal remains to make $800-to-$1,000 a month (which ain’t all that much, all things considered) without having to resort to embedding ads on the page.

Now that I’m back at 100%, I believe that it’s time to remind you that http://www.patreon/themalikreport and http://paypal.me/themalikreport are available means by which you can support the blog.

I’m not asking for much by today’s standards–I’ll take any denomination from a buck on up, and $5 or $10 would be awesome–but there are about 400 of you who follow the blog on a daily basis, and I need to make a successful pitch to about 200 of you at the $5 level to honestly make this work over the long haul.

It sucks to have to ask for money, but that’s the way this model works, and I’ll have to start asking on a more regular basis. I don’t expect funds to increase by more than $5 or $10 at a a time, but by the end of the year, I’d really like to be making what is a livable wage for me.

Again, if you’re not willing or able to contribute, the best thing I can possibly ask you to do is to tell a friend or family member that this blog exists!

5. Speaking of crowdfunding, I’m going to head to Grand Rapids tomorrow to attend the Griffins’ regular-season finale against the Cleveland Monsters. Gas and supplies for the 240-mile round trip cost about $50, so if you’re willing to lend a hand, cool. Either way, this will be the first of what I hope are many trips to Grand Rapids this spring (and maybe one or two to Toledo?).

This was an awful year health-wise and a difficult year $-wise, so I didn’t get to games as I’d hoped, but I hope to make up for that during the spring playoff runs, the hockey gods willing.

6. Also in the content department, I’m still considering whether to do Wings grades as I don’t want to generate disagreement for the sake of discussion. Thus far, the MSM grades have generated a fair bit of vehement disagreement, but very little in the way of discussion.

As far as I’m concerned, the only way to grade a team with stats as bad as the Wings had this past season and with contracts as bad as the Wings had this past season is to “grade on a curve,” because there are only one or two players who fulfill the expectations created by their contracts, and on a team that had a season’s worth of negatives in the statistical department like the Wings…Things ain’t pretty.

7. Those are all the thoughts on my mind at present (blog-wise)…If you have any concerns, regarding the comments section, regarding content, you name it, please send me a Tweet, Facebook message or email. I respond most quickly to emails and Tweets, and in the constructive criticism and/or venting-about-so-and-so instances, privacy can empower a reader to weigh in with their concerns.