NFBC Message Boards

This has been a long time in the planning and now I'm glad to announce that the NFBC is ready to launch our new draft software for the upcoming NFBC Satellite & Online Championship season. The software will be available to all NFBC members and everyone will have a chance to test it out next week in a free Mock Draft area.



The NFBC draft software will be located right on your team site. You won't need to learn a new password or username to enter the draft room; you just click there and see your options. There will be an area in the green navigational bar that says DRAFTS and you'll have links that show your upcoming drafts, previous drafts, etc. There will also be a MOCK DRAFT link where you can set up mock drafts and invite others to join. The Mock Draft area will be live next week for all members to practice on the new site.



The new site will allow you to download your own rankings before the draft and even DURING the draft. Players are sorted by our default setting and by clicking another column you can sort by your pre-rankings. You can also sort by position, alphabetically, etc., and Search for any player. You'll have a roster grid on the right site and your players will flow in there as you select them. You can actually designate what position you want that player at for your team when you select him if he qualifies at multiple positions. We even have a KDS feature for every mock draft if you want to practice that!! We'll also set it up so that you can pick what draft spot you want to practice from.



I'll let Geoff Stein explain all of the neat features we have on the site because he knows this better than I do. He spent all of this week in St. Louis working on the back-end with the IT department and he's been giving them suggestions on everything. See, I knew there was a reason for hiring Mr. Stein!!



Take it away Geoff. Feel free to ask him any question you want and also feel free to post your suggestions on what you'd like to see on the online software here. Thanks all.

Fanball's going streamline



When you say download your rankings, do you mean upload TO the site? and what file format will it take, excel ?



[ February 13, 2010, 09:07 AM: Message edited by: Quahogs ]

Originally posted by Quahogs:

Fanball's going streamline



When you say download your rankings, do you mean upload TO the site? and what file format will it take, excel ? Let's admit, it makes sense to own your technology so that you can make updates and improvements for YOUR game as you see fit. And we'll be able to do that with our IT staff ready to go.



Yes, you upload your pre-rankings to the site. Geoff can explain how you do that, but again you can do that at anytime during or before the draft.

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:



Take it away Geoff. Feel free to ask him any question you want and also feel free to post your suggestions on what you'd like to see on the online software here. Thanks all. I picture Geoff yelling "Cannonball!! (a la Bill Murray in Caddyshack) with Red Bull, 5hr Energy and some Vodka for a few days...



Just to get the ball rolling..



Geoff,



1. What improvements or major differences do you feel that the new draft software has over other leading sites?



2. Does the new software have the ability to see more picks on the screen at one time without scrolling?



3. Is there an ability to write user notes for any players?



4. Are there options of going full screen or compact mode?



5. Is there the ability to send private messages to just one drafter or is it "all talk"



6. Is it true that Larry the Cable Guy's voice says "Git R Dun" when it becomes the users turn?





Thanks, look forward to the new drafting experience.

First and foremost, let me say that I am incredibly impressed by the technical team down in St. Louis -- getting the NFBC draft software together was the No. 1 task for the week, and they had many "smarter than I" dudes working on it.



During my time at MDC, we were handcuffed by our stature as a small company. Sure, we would've liked to make some of the changes that you folks requested, but we wanted to, you know, stay in business



That's not the case now, however, and I'm incredibly excited to be a part of it. Consider me the middle man between you guys and a very good technical team -- if you need/want something, let me know, and I'll pass it along.



The new software is very good. The Fanball guys did a wonderful job, and picked my brain to many of the things that made MDC successful and many of the things ya'll didn't like.



I'll be around all weekend to answer any questions that you have. Fire away....

Originally posted by Quahogs:

Fanball's going streamline



When you say download your rankings, do you mean upload TO the site? and what file format will it take, excel ? There will be a page to set your rankings where you can save as many templates as you would like, and get to any/all of them during any time of the draft. No more having to choose 20 minutes prior!



Unfortunately, there isn't an easy technical way to do the excel upload option. It would be too difficult to pull off for everyone involved.

Great news!



"NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!"

Originally posted by DoubleX:

quote:Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:



Take it away Geoff. Feel free to ask him any question you want and also feel free to post your suggestions on what you'd like to see on the online software here. Thanks all. I picture Geoff yelling "Cannonball!! (a la Bill Murray in Caddyshack) with Red Bull, 5hr Energy and some Vodka for a few days...



Just to get the ball rolling..



Geoff,



1. What improvements or major differences do you feel that the new draft software has over other leading sites?



2. Does the new software have the ability to see more picks on the screen at one time without scrolling?



3. Is there an ability to write user notes for any players?



4. Are there options of going full screen or compact mode?



5. Is there the ability to send private messages to just one drafter or is it "all talk"



6. Is it true that Larry the Cable Guy's voice says "Git R Dun" when it becomes the users turn?





Thanks, look forward to the new drafting experience. [/QUOTE]1) This is what you guys wanted! I've been working with the NFBC folks for five years -- I know what you like and don't like.



2) There are plenty of ways to view previous picks, yes, in many different formats.



3) No ability to write user notes ... keep your pen and paper handy!



4) I'm not 100 percent sure on that one. I will find out, though.



5) It is all talk, which I think is good for the NFBC drafts. There is no ability to directly message another owner via the software.



6) I haven't heard the alert yet, but I'm guessing it will be a standard noise, such as a "ding." The Larry the Cable Guy option is interesting, but you have to imagine that someone of his talent requires top dollar.

Geoff,



Sorry the Larry the Cable Guy one was supposed to make you chuckle/smile. I will work on the comedy bit before I try it out next time.



Can't wait to try the new stuff out.

Originally posted by DoubleX:

Geoff,



Sorry the Larry the Cable Guy one was supposed to make you chuckle/smile. I will work on the comedy bit before I try it out next time.



Can't wait to try the new stuff out. It got a smile out of me -- can't say that I was expecting to see that name is this thread.



I was also joking when I used the word "talent" in reference to LTCG.

It would be awesome to have a big color coded "virtual" draft board. Not sure if that's in the works.

do you need to have purchased a 2010 team to see the site?

Geoff, I know I mentioned this to you while you were still at MDC, but I always thought that a nice feature would be an audio signal after each selection. Many of us have our heads buried in our own hard copy as we draft online and frequently had to play catch up after multiple selections had been made. Does this new program offer that?

Originally posted by sportsbettingman:

It would be awesome to have a big color coded "virtual" draft board. Not sure if that's in the works. If that's something that would interest others, I'll pass it along to the tech team.



[ February 13, 2010, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: Geoffrey Stein ]

Originally posted by viper:

do you need to have purchased a 2010 team to see the site? No, anyone with access to an NFBC username and password on the nfbc.fanball.com site will be able to use the mock drafting tool.

Originally posted by Spartacus:

Geoff, I know I mentioned this to you while you were still at MDC, but I always thought that a nice feature would be an audio signal after each selection. Many of us have our heads buried in our own hard copy as we draft online and frequently had to play catch up after multiple selections had been made. Does this new program offer that? We've been working on getting the main things working, so we haven't really put much thought into announcing every name.



Once again, if that's something our folks would like, I'll present it to the tech team.

not sure if I would want a name but a "beep" would be nice. That would make it less likely to miss a pick

Originally posted by viper:

not sure if I would want a name but a "beep" would be nice. That would make it less likely to miss a pick I concur with Viper. The name is not necessary, but any audio signal that could alert us that a pick has been made would be helpful.

Originally posted by Spartacus:

quote:Originally posted by viper:

not sure if I would want a name but a "beep" would be nice. That would make it less likely to miss a pick I concur with Viper. The name is not necessary, but any audio signal that could alert us that a pick has been made would be helpful. [/QUOTE]How about a sexy voice (Jessica Alba) saying, "Your opponent has picked. Ignore real life and check out the draft!"

While we are at it, maybe we can see if James Earl Jones will do a voice over for us?

This may sound a bit corny.......but I think the sound of a bat hitting a baseball might be a neat idea.

How about:



"Stop the Draft!!!! I can't find my spreadsheets!!!!!"

If it's too much to do after every pick, how about a laugh track after the really bad picks?

I just got home; gone all day, what did I miss...

Emmett, thanks - got to work in the AM, but that line made my night.



JIM- they are holding a spot for you in another slow draft.