Bugs & Maintenance Requests (Page 4 of 5)

Hola! Hi Sol, long time no chat, eh? Yeah, I've tried everything I can think of to make Tropical Cancer one of my top two in the Order column and it never shows up. I thought I had it licked by moving it down to 1 (and 2) instead of 0 (why is there even a zero on an order list?) but it still doesn't show up on my profile page. Did the reset and all that but... no. Likely it's just something I'm missing? Hoping you can put me on the right path to figuring this out. Thanks, Mitch.

Sol,

The help documentation still refers users to support@thenextbigwriter.com rather than contact@thenextbigwriter.com. Also, last I checked, the site references the support email address when new users are trying to sign up and have to verify their email address. If they have an issue at that point, they won't be able to sign up, and we'll never know it.

At a minimum, is it possible for you to set up a simple forward of support emails to the contact email address, so that it's at least being monitored? The latter approach seems like it would involve less work.

However, the help documentation also still references the obsolete phone number, which should simply be deleted.

Thanks
Dirk

Hi Sol.

Sorry to nag, but I retested the way the site pays/charges points for posts, and the ratio is still 5-to-1 (costs 1 point for every 324 words posted but only pays 20% of that back to reviewers). Of course, that means we have to review 5 average-sized chapters (e.g., 2000 words each) to be able to post one average chapter of our own, which I'm virtually certain is higher than it used to be before the site crash/restore (you had estimated 4-to-1 long ago).

We had discussed changing the ratio to 3-to-1 to make it easier to acquire and keep new members. Most long-term members probably have a lifetime supply of points, so it doesn't affect many of us. At 3-to-1, it should then cost 40% less to post than it does now yet still pay the same in points as it does now, which would apply to all members (not including poetry, where the math differs).

We know that using this site successfully involves establishing and maintaining a network of reciprocal reviewers, so points really aren't as important as they once seemed, although we still want to require members (especially new folks) to do at least some reviews before they can regularly post. If they aren't interested in doing a mere 3 reviews for every 1 post, then this site clearly isn't for them.

Please let me know when you or one of your elves has had a chance to change this. I'd be happy to test it.

Thanks
Dirk

Good point. If I didn't already have 261 points from the last time I was a member, I don't know if I could have stuck it out to publish a 69 chapter memoir here.

Hi Mitch. Yeah, it's a bit aggressive with the new lines. It's a very old bug, but everything should still be readable. Not sure if a fix is available.

Dirk

Don't blame the computer.  Blame the programmer.  And not necessarily the app programmer either.  Things that are done through web forms are a mix of the tech standards for HTML, etc., and implementations that often try to match one or another specific need, rather than remaining general.

Stupidity seems to appear out of complexity by spontaneous generation in the layers and layers of services of which these things are wrought.

I'm in a lot of writing groups and would love to push this site (in fact, I just did today), but the ratio is a huge turn-off and why I left the first time. I had 136 points which is why I'm back now.

Hi Sol,

Here is the follow up message I received from the guy I recommended the site to:

Hey Lauren,

I tried to post on the next big writer, but you need A LOT of points to post it seems. But I finished my rewrite! I got a handful of beta readers through a freelance website called Fiverr. It's a good way to get more eyes on it and it's a lot quicker than swapping

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So we are absolutely losing writers to the points problem. I suggest we also maybe start them off with 25 points instead of whatever they have now so they can give them a chance to post 3-4 chapters, get addicted, and then read some stuff to stick around. Just a thought. I know I wouldn't have come back if I didn't have 136 points in the bank, and I might not stick around once I run out. I read every day and I'm down to like 115 points even with that big of a lead.

Thanks for your time and attention to this matter,
Lauren

Marilyn,

I checked the word count for your chapter 6, and you have a little over 3400 words, so it should cost somewhat over 10.6 and pay 20% of that for the moment. Could you please recheck the posted chapter from your account? The numbers look correct from my account.

I agree with everyone else on this thread, though. A ratio of 5 to 1 is still way too high compared to the 3 to 1 ratio Sol agreed to after we began working to revive the site. It's not like we have countless active members to fall back on.

I've been trying to help new members come up to speed as quickly as possible so they find the site less daunting/onerous, and although they may stay a month or two after the trial, most of them have since stopped posting (in many cases, that was many months ago).

I don't see the point of all the effort we've been doing, when several of the half dozen or so maintenance items originally identified/agreed as needing to be done to help us revive the site still aren't finished a year later.

I'm wasting my time doing this, and I don't see a reason to keep going. The site is once again back to running on fumes. Pardon my grumpiness, but I'm worn out from banging my head against a brick wall.

Sol, any update (ETA) on those items? The points ratio is obviously the most important.

Lauren, one issue with increasing the number of points given to new members is that they'll post however many chapters they can, then sit back and wait rather than engaging with other members and beginning to trade reviews. I see that frequently with trial members. They hope they can get all their posts reviewed without reciprocating.

If we ease the points ratio, it would be a lot easier for trial members to do reviews in order to gain points and keep posting. At 3 to 1, they'll have to do three reviews for every one story or chapter they want to post (those are round numbers, of course, since the ratio is based on words, not whole reviews). If they're unwilling to do three reviews, then this site isn't for them.

Dot dot dot to keep this open so Sol can see it.

Bill, does it happen with deleting the account too? I've been kicked out before as well, although I can't recall which operation I was trying to perform.

I had been suspending accounts because it looked from the list of accounts that that's what you were doing, but after you and I discussed it, I thought you were deleting them, which isn't what I saw, but I rolled with it, and resumed deleting accounts.

You usually get to them before I do, so I don't encounter this bug much, but it does get annoying.