Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

I use Premium for certain posts (e.g., "I need a futurist/biologist/chemist/geneticist for the year 4017") that logically belong in the sci-fi group, but the experts I need aren't necessarily members of that group. I'm not sure there's an ideal solution for that one.

I think I finally have a clue as to what makes posts visible or not on the home page. I'm betting it works by date/timestamp. A new thread or a follow-up post are probably considered new for a certain amount of time, not based on whether I've read it or not. Can anyone confirm/correct that assumption?

I can practically see Sol's eyes rolling back in his head as he tries to figure out how to make this all work. Get well soon, Sol! :-)

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Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

janet reid wrote:

Here's a fun exercise: try and find all the writing tips topics in this forum as it is now. To do so, a person has to go through all 12 pages of threads. The fun bit is, try not to miss the specific thread from months ago you're looking for. Now repeat this exercise, but imagine it's 1200 pages instead of 12 ...


*jumps off apple crate to start a new thread*

Janet, thank you for that insight. The suggestions make more sense the way you put it. I imagine it would be impossible to find such a needle in the haystack, and this forum did expand pretty quickly. I did a bit more exploring after my last posting. Organizing under tabs might be the ticket.

Write On!
MzP

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Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

Norm d'Plume wrote:

I use Premium for certain posts (e.g., "I need a futurist/biologist/chemist/geneticist for the year 4017") that logically belong in the sci-fi group, but the experts I need aren't necessarily members of that group. I'm not sure there's an ideal solution for that one.

! :-)

Actually there is/was a pretty ideal solution. The central forums from days of yore had a specific category, Ask the Expert. That's where you posted such questions and generally received valuable and useful input from various members with varying credentials and viewpoints. And therein lies the rub. You post such a question now and many will never see it or when someone asks something similar later you can't find the original thread to refer them to so folks end up repeating the same answer offered previously or else decide the hell with it, I just answered that question last week. And on and on. Take care. Vern

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Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

KHippolite wrote:

Is the forum all we can talk about as a community? I find it tiring and if so I'm leaving this group. I mean, aren't there a million other things more important? The last four chapters I have posted don't have a single review and all we can talk about is the forums?

Hey cobber. You're a great reviewer, and it would be a shame if you left... but reviews and forums aren't as separate as it might first seem. You see on the original site, the forums were our only way of interacting. Anyone who paid for the old site conditioned ourselves as that being the priary means of discussing writing... therefore it was our primary means of connecting, and therefore building reviewing relationships.

You're an important part of the spectrum. Between you three (incl  Flo and Tom Oldman), I see one of your reviews on pretty much any piece of new writing that arrives on this site. However this can be a two-edged sword, because new members are not yet conditioned to the recip system and won't necessarily review more than a few chapters before their membership expires and they vanish into the ether (If they recip at all).

I'm on Sol's back about changes that will encourage new members to build themselves into the economy, but until then, reviewing them is a throw of the dice.

Well put, K. I like what you're saying and I'm in agreement. Main street, like a main forum is where the goods are, the alleyways are for genre shops.... Yes, the economy functions best when an entire community is interacting in a democratic broad scope of ideas and innovation.

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30 Reply by max keanu (edited by max keanu 2015-06-14 01:02:25)

Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

amy s wrote:

There is something similar to what you are all requesting that is already in place. Ex: if I want to see what is new and yet to be viewed on my current group list, I will go to Medieval Magic and Fantasy, and then about five selections pop up to organize the listed posts. If I click 'Forum' then the new posts appear with a dark blue box next to the left of them. Once viewed, the box will disappear, indicating that they have been reviewed by me.

This system isn't perfect. It only keeps track for about 12 to 24 hours. Then I have to go back and scroll through each to see if there is new material. However, since these are organized by the most recent, I can guess which ones are new. 

The only thing I would find helpful is to have the most recent commenter listed after each topic. We used to have that on the old site, so it might not be a big deal to change. That way, if it isn't my name, I know to check out the post.

I did investigate this, Amy, and I am very impressed. I started four groups, but only because I felt the site needed them, and I wanted to make some cool graphics. I'd really like to hand off all of them, except HORROR.  My illness is unpredictable and usually cuts my time short. I want to develop one active site and I will definitely take cues from your excellent example.

However, a main forum page that is exceptional, and uses the best aspects of WWW2, might put tNBW ahead of all the other writing sites that are the competition, thereby gaining the population of aspiring writers in all genres, not just medieval/fantasy types. The other aspects of this site are real hum-dingers, but without a growing membership that can gather, ruminate and prognosticate in a main forum, about their future best sellers and fabulous wealth, of dreams and glory, well, only an encompassing community forum can foster that.

Seeing your page almost temps me to dig into a medieval plot of murder and hand maidens and mayhem. I am descended from a Viking marauder of a great name and fame and fortune and of course romance.

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Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

If there's a way to make some or all of the improvements suggested, it would be a big help. Also, maybe a search or sort option in the forum would be nice.

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Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

I've been attempting to communicate with Sol in email about this topic. I'm not sure what, if anything, will come of it, but he doesn't appear to be keen (at all) on going back to a static header styled forum despite the need/desire.  I did suggest that perhaps he could consider giving us a choice in group creation for having that type of forum. Then at least group communication wouldn't have to suffer the needle in a haystack scenario.

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Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

I've been attempting to communicate with Sol in email about this topic. I'm not sure what, if anything, will come of it, but he doesn't appear to be keen (at all) on going back to a static header styled forum despite the need/desire.  I did suggest that perhaps he could consider giving us a choice in group creation for having that type of forum. Then at least group communication wouldn't have to suffer the needle in a haystack scenario.

I'd love to give every group the ability to have that type of forum but it's technically not doable within the constraints of this site or most other sites. Perhaps if I had the resources of Facebook this would be possible but even their site does not do this.

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Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

Sol, what about Lucy's suggestion of searching across forum topics (or even content)? A simple results page of links, organized by groups, would probably do.

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Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

Sol, what about Lucy's suggestion of searching across forum topics (or even content)? A simple results page of links, organized by groups, would probably do.

This already exists. In any forum, click on the link that says See Your Posts. From there, click the User Defined Search, enter your term, and go.

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Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

Holy cow! What a phenomenal hidden gem. Sol, I strongly suggest putting a link to the advanced search on the home page, perhaps in/above the Visit Your Groups control. You'd get a lot less grief about groups if people knew that existed.

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Re: Can we improve the list of posted threads on the home page?

Or put it in the Groups menu at the top of the page as Search Groups.

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