I don't know if this would be the simplest thing to provide, but maybe the simplest to use would be a way to view the entire sequence of comments, with the in-line comments each as a box with the highlighted text at the top and perhaps an indication of where the snipped occurs (adjacent words if it's less than four or five words, and a percentage for how far down it is).
I've asked my reviewers not to use in-line reviews.
I'm asking my reviewers not to use inline reviews on my work. I just put this in the story top notes for The Sorcerer's Progress:
Reviewers, PLEASE, don't commit your wisdom to inline reviews that I cannot print out and study at length, to which I cannot reply except in the most fragmentary way, and which are as ephemeral as the pixels on the screen. Your wisdom deserves better and I deserve its full benefit.
Your mileage may vary, your experience may differ, but mine is that no matter how good an inline review, the format makes it impossible for me to study it as a whole or at length. These problems could be mitigated (but not alleviated) by additions to the website. They could be largely fixed by making the 'inline' mechanism a way to --enter-- the text of a single-body review that could be read and responded to as a whole.
Could we skip the BasicInfo/Cover/Content/Publish dance when we are just updating chapters? When I go to edit a chapter, I get put into the process to create the whole work. This might be hard if your data model and matching code aren't just right, so I won't hold my breath. But when my mind is on the chapter, I don't need to have something demanding that I think about the cover and lose what I'm holding in my mind.
A different kind of enhancement: a 'notebook' that can have multiple 'pages' with titles. Each page can hold text, images, and most important of all, links, links to forum posts, links to specific chapters of works (these might not be a simple HTML link format, or if they are, they might be formatted for special interpretation), links to things internal and external.
It the 'pages' could further be organized into titled entries, and if an entire entry could be PM'd to another user, it could be especially helpful. Likewise if a PM received could be routed directly into a notebook entry.
Being able to move entries from page to page would allow the writer to move things not currently needed off into a page for later reference. Of course, this could be elaborated on indefinitely, but this much would add a nice capability.
Searching on titles and content would flesh the whole thing out.
You've got a lot on your plate now, but I wonder how many other people would find this useful in the long run.
At the moment, I see it as a way to clutter other people's home pages with big, distracting images. Since I don't want the clutter on my pages, I won't do it to anyone else.
But that risks the Electric Blanket dilemma: with a two-sided electric blanket, the controls get mixed up. She's freezing, even though she has HER control cranked; he's baking even though he has his side off.
I'm going to be thinking out loud about the groups, business, maybe starting today, maybe not. I'm afraid I'll get a little Aristotelean in the beginning, laying out ground-floor thoughts on then nature of the problem.
I wonder now whether the version number change shouldn't either automaticly repost or provide an option to repost. The copy-paste operation is less reliable than changing the number and editing and I think I'm not the only one to get caught on this, choosing to move forward with edits on the existing base. The version control systems I've known for software always assumed that you declared new versions on edits rather than starting with a clean sheet of paper for each.
The option-to-repost suggestion moves this from bugs to potential future enhancements.
Hmm. I guess elves don't always get along with animals. If Horse survives, Kha could have a little character growth.
Hey, I found my way back-Thanks Amy. I'll have Chapter one done by the end of the week, I hope. I have no title yet except "Book." pretty original, huh? Not rushing into publishing is smart...ducks in a row, and all that. My ducks are a lot like herding cats right now.
ET
Yeah. Amy has a horse named Horse.
John Dickson Carr titled one story The Eight of Swords.
How about The Trey of Chamber Pots?
A well-trained Border Collie can herd ducks nicely. I've seen the demo.
Look at Sol's reply to me over on (I think) the site bugs thread. I'll try his instructions a bit later.
Thanks. Will give it a try.
But how do I give it the same chapter number? I want this to -replace- the old chapter.
As an aside, did you get the HTML/CSS that seems to show why italics aren't showing up here?
On the messages page(s) there's a button marked 'sort'. You have to push it to find that it reverses the sort order. Could we change it please so that experimentation is not necessary, perhaps by having it read either 'Sort Newest First' or 'Sort Oldest First' according to what it's ready to do?
The Ch 2 revision is up, though you have to go look for it until we find why it's not showing up. I'll let you know about future work, but right now I have to do some larger-scale work at the same time, both Book 1 and Book 2, and I do have another project. And reviews to catch up on.
I like the idea of idling neglected groups. There are questions of how to do it, and whether the group should be scrapped or just mothballed.
I also like the idea that Premium and Free--the membership groups--have a different status.
I'm going to think out loud about groups over the next week or two.
Sol,
I posted a story yesterday, and just followed the instructions. everything went well, and I thought I posted it in Fantasy and Science fiction. But I can't find it anywhere, except on my home page. How does this posting work? After I post, do I have to invite folks to review it? I thought when I selected the groups to post it to, it would should up in those groups it's "Beyond the Event Horizon." What did I miss? where did I go wrong?
Thanks.
ErnieIt looks like you didn't post it into the group. After you select the group, make sure you save the selection by pressing the red Update Publish Settings button. Just checking the group box will not automatically save it. To fix this, do the following:
1. Go to portfolio
2. Find the title and under Actions click Publish Setup
3. Find the group(s) you want to publish to and select.
4. Press the red Update Publish Settings button.That should do it.
Let me know if you have other questions.
Sol
I've done those things. My update/revision 2 of chapter 2 of The Sorcerer's Progress Book 1 is not appearing anywhere. I was wondering if it's because I have to change my billing info (unexepected change in c-card info) but since you won't let me see that now I don't think that's it.
Is there a problem if I revise ch2 on the site w/out having done anything with ch1?
You're certainly right that we don't know how to use groups. We've got duplication or semiduplication with two different fantasy groups. Was each too specialized? I don't know.
We also have connections. They do several different things, hooking up announcements, putting stuff in each other's home pages, and enabling private messaging. These things don't seem to me to be quite congruent, so I'm at a loss to guess what the are meant for.
I'm not going to try a full analysis here, but I do think that at some point, when the less fuzzy things are fixed, you should take a look at how people are and are not using these things.
When you are displaying a multi-chapter work for reading/review, the chapter scroll bar at the top is full width. The one below is flanked by Previous and Next buttons. Could we make the top bar like the bottom bar? I suppose this might count as simplification, too, but I chose to put the request here.
Aw, c'mon, njc. Building walls? That's not what we're about. The purpose of groups is to gather like-minded writers together to share ideas, discuss issues related to the particular genres. At least that was my motivation for starting a group. Most of the time, though, the group just serves as the place to post a story appropriate for the genre. A place for those who like that kind of story to go to and find a story to their liking. How can it be clique-ish if anyone can join a specific group if they think it suits them? And join more than one group? We're a family of writers, each member trying to achieve a success that meets the individual's definition of it. So have some fun and take advantage of the wealth of talent available here - in whatever group(s) meets your fancy. The paranoia you expressed is misplaced, in my view.
If building walls were not an express purpose of groups, why is it possible to create a private or invite-only group? Those capabilities are wall-builders.
What this suggests to me that -both- capabilties are present in the design. The problems that we are having figuring out how to use the things might or might not come from having both openness and closedness as part of group function, but it's a question this sometime software designer feels should be asked.
It's only paranoia in the sense that having a system test team to hammer on the product before it ships is paranoia. You =always= expect bugs, in requirements, analysis, several levels of design, coding, integration, configuration, and in packaging the product to ship or go into service. It's best if the designers and programmers expect the bugs, and design/code them out before they happen. But that's a discussion for another place and time.
When I copy-paste story text, text decorations--specifically italics--don't make it through. This happens whether I paste directly or or use the "from Windows" form. It doesn't matter whether the italicized section at the beginning or end of the line or in the middle. I'm copying from Open Office Writer.
BBcode italicization isn't working for me in the forums, either. This should be italicized.
Okay, I've just looked into the page with the DOM Explorer. The section marked for italics has <em> ... </em> set. Evidently, somewhere <em> is not defined to produce italics.
Okay, the computed-styles display suggests that enhanced-mode and italicization have been cancelled by something. I have another screencap. I'll be sending a bunch soon.
I have posted, and it's not showing up. I'll have to goose Sol again. (But first, I think, more edits.)
No, Chapter 2 on book one, the one with a very plain and enigmatic cover. (Your grandmothers might be able to read it.)
BBcode doesn't seem to be italicizing, either.
I'm a long way from that. Just trying to scope out what's out there. Thanks.
I wonder if there aren't two different motivations between the notion of a group: the ability to gather and share with people of like interest AND the ability to create closed communities with their own rules. They seem like the same thing but when you look at what they entail, the one building bridges and opening communication and the other building walls and closing gates they don't seem quite so similar.
Sol, this is the rewitten chapter: http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/content … /version/2 . Thanks for taking a look at this.
On the list of new works for review, could we add the date when it was put up and the chapter and revision, if any? Just to help us keep track?
Okay, I've edited a chapter of Sorcerer's Progress Book 1: Children and Beasts, creating a new version. Now I don't see it listed as updated anywhere. Is this because I don't see my own work on the highly personalized lists, or is there some magic utterance that I'm not seeing? I tried to follow the 1=>2=>3=>4 buttons, even creating a cover image (and the website did not respect my minimal print/display size) but I have no indication that the revised/reversioned chapter 2 is being presented to anyone.
