Sports Wiki ArmchairGM Gets Major Updates

ArmchairGM is a sports site with a twist, as it uses a wiki interface (MediaWiki), to allow sports fans to run the show.

It has long offered features uncommon to wikis, including the ability for users to write sports opinion pieces in a blog post style and have them integrated within the rest of the site.

Late last year Wikia acquired the site, and it has now received some major upgrades that should help fans better communicate, share thoughts, and remain competitive.

All together, there are five new features that have made their way onto the site to expand its abilities beyond those of traditional wikis even more. Just in time for the new football season, here is what Wikia's sports wiki now offers:

1. Social Networking

It's just like your traditional social network complete with friends, only they aren't called friends here. At ArmchairGM, it will be all about adding foes.

"Sports fans are, by nature, competitive and argumentative. Yankees fans don't like Red Sox fans; some say Brady, others say Manning; some support Kobe, others Shaq." This accounts for the twist on the name, because you wouldn't want to be "friends" with the fan of a competing team.

2. Messaging Feature

Wikipedia, or even wikis in general for that matter, have never really been known for user-to-user communication. Wikipedia offers the "Talk" page for each entry, that users can update with comments, but that's it. There is no private way to communicate.

Since ArmchairGM didn't think this was "the best for fan-to-fan communication," the site now features a message board, if you will, on each user's profile page. Users posting a message will be given the option to post publicly or privately, and only those marked public will be seen by others.

3. Rating System

Everyone has a different opinion for different teams and players, which led this site to the implementation of a new rating system. Now, "fans can rate virtually every player and team (and even season!) in sports history." This feature integrates right into the wiki concept, so as more pages are added to the site, there become more to rate. The site already claims to have ratings indexes for professional wrestlers, memorable sports moments and even the biggest chokes.

4. Fan Networks

To allow fans to show pride for their favorite teams, ArmchairGM now offers the "fan networks" feature. Networks have been created for each team and each sport, and are intended to allow fans to share their thoughts about their favorite teams.

Users can add a short "thought" to any of their networks, Twitter-style.

5. Games & Polls

ArmchairGM realizes that users may not always want to read through their encyclopedia of sports facts in their spare time. Although there are a lot of features here, there is only so much you can do, so as a treat for bored users the site now features games to either waste or fill up your time.

In the "Picture Game," users must read the short question, analyze the two pictures presented, and select the picture that they prefer. The more interesting choices are probably the "Pick'em Game" which lets fans choose who they think will win that day's games, and the Never-Ending Sports Quiz which constantly asks users question after question to be answered, never to end until the user quits. There is also a growing selection of sports polls for fans to vote on.

All are interesting features for a wiki, and should help ArmchairGM keeps its users on the site longer, as well as allow them to better interact with each other.