Library Usage Examples and Tips

Lately, I've been getting many requests for certain features for the library system, even though those features already exist in the Library, like update dates and a way to track serial stories.

So in order to address those requests, I've created a page that shows a sample uses of the Library system on the site.

I linked the new page from the various help pages on the site.

The page can be found here.

The new page shows how to use the library for tracking active serials, to remember stories for reading later and for managing bookmarks on the site, on other sites and on your own computer.

Of course, other creative uses suggestions for the library are most welcome.

A small request

The last section of the new page details how to use the library to bookmark stories on other web sites and on your own computer. In that section I give a JavaScript snippet to use as a bookmarklet for adding stories from other sites and from your computer to the library easily.

I created the code, but I must admit, I'm not an expert in coding JavaScript. I was able to make it work on the Mac with Safari (my browser of choice), Camino and Firefox. I couldn't figure out how to make it work with Opera (it does not send the cookie in with the request) and couldn't make it work with iCab either (it wouldn't even initiate the connection despite allowing popup windows). Currently, I don't have access to a Windows computer, so I cannot test the code snippet on IE (theoretically, it should work). So if you have the expertise to change the code to work with the browsers above or other browsers like IE or any of the linux browsers, send me your changes and I'll add them to the list.

Comments

Anonymous said…
THANK YOU!!! It is indeed an honor to have my comment responded to so completely and in such a fashion.
January 06, 2006 1:02 AM
Warlord said…
Greetings

The library is a useful addition to a great story venue

I usually leave it defaulted to active serials -- the ability to track updates is stellar!

Great job thanx

WarLord
January 06, 2006 4:02 AM
Anonymous said…
This is quite an impressive piece of work with a lot of potential for the future.
Who knows, maybe you'll be known as the Ward Christiansen of the online library world.
January 13, 2006 3:52 AM
Anonymous said…
How about a category of COMPLETE stories... no to be continued, just complete finished ended stories.

Thanks
January 14, 2006 2:01 PM
Anonymous said…
What I'd really like to see is some way of seeing the update history on serials, so I can tell the authors who update every two weeks from those that update every few months.
February 10, 2006 10:19 PM
Anonymous said…
What
I'd like is some way of suggesting story lines for authors to take up the stories. I have many ideas but couldnt write for toffee.
May 26, 2006 5:45 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scoring System Changes

Since implementing the scoring system on the site in 1999, it has been the only controversial part of the whole site. Many users found it useful, some didn't trust it and some ignored it. To authors it's even more troublesome. Many authors expect the score to tell them how they did in their writing, they wanted it to reflect the effort that they put into the story regardless of the story's content and its subject's appeal to the readers. Those concerns and expectations are not something that I can really address. Authors need to simply realize that the score simply reflects how much a reader liked the story and whether they recommend that others read it too. It's like a thumbs up signal. However, there is a problem with the scoring system that I can address: Score compression. Score compression is when votes, like they are now on the site, tend to be mostly on one end of the scale. Last check revealed that the median for all scores on the site is 8.62! A median of 8...
Read more

Expanded Voting Form: Wording and Value distibution

I'm working on implementing the new optional expanded voting form referenced in my previous blog entry Final Decisions . I need some feedback about the wording of the voting form. The form will have three separate criteria for the reader to select values for and I want it to be clear enough about the meaning of each. So for each criteria, I need a short, concise sentence that goes under each option, to explain what the reader is selecting. It has to be as clear as possible as to not leave the reader confused about what they're selecting and short enough to be simple. So far I've come up with: Quality: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Spelling and Grammar Plot: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Thoroughness of the storyline Appeal: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Appeal to your personal taste. Also, I can't display all the numbers, so I must combine the three criterias into a single value to display. So far, the relative score is going to be in its own column and the expanded score would be in anoth...
Read more

Derailed

Well, it has been an interesting experience to say the least. If you haven't read my two most recent entries about changes to the scoring system on the site, you should read them. The gist of this blog entry is to tell you that ALL changes to the scoring system have been canceled and reverted. A recap of what happened. For the last couple of years, story scores on the site have been edging up higher and higher due to various psychological reasons. The median for all scores of last year is about 8.87. Which means that half of the stories are scoring more than 8.87 and the other half below 8.87. The results of this median is that story scores are in general, extremely high. Over the last year, I kept hearing from many authors how ridiculous the scores are becoming, and from readers how they can't trust the system to guide them to the better stories. The phrase 'I don't read anything that is not scoring over 9.25' came up very frequently. So, because of these things, I...
Read more