THE NEW CHYOO (with link)! Also, what features should be part of an updated CHYOO?

[moonblack]

Is anyone able to view the story maps for The Shining Stone and Tharros? Both story maps are not working for me.

Other story maps are working fine, so I guess the problem is limited to very large stories.

 

[GreenBanana]

Is anyone able to view the story maps for The Shining Stone and Tharros? Both story maps are not working for me.

Other story maps are working fine, so I guess the problem is limited to very large stories.

Neither of those seem to appear properly for me. They take a bit longer to load, and then show what appears to be an unformatted story map without any chapters listed. I also notice its creation date is the April 15, but I see no new stories after a story I created on April 14.

Aside from that, shouldn't the button in the upper left read "Chyoa" instead of "Chyoo" in accordance with the website's URL?

 

[Nilth]

Is anyone able to view the story maps for The Shining Stone and Tharros? Both story maps are not working for me.

Other story maps are working fine, so I guess the problem is limited to very large stories.

Already reported a few posts back..there are a lot of stories with that problem, idk if all the old ones or only a part of them.

 

[Friedman]

Already reported a few posts back..there are a lot of stories with that problem, idk if all the old ones or only a part of them.

Thanks for reporting! I will change the algorithm and cache the pages to make it more efficient.

 

[GreenBanana]

For anyone else who may be porting their stories over from Writing.com (my word is that site really down the tubes), when I did so, the formatting of the story on Chyoa appeared strangely. The text was all uniformly spaced, not automatically carriage returned, and placed on a gray rectangle. If you notice this problem with your stories, it might be due to any strange code you copied over with it. For example, Writing.com (yecch) uses "{indent}" to indent your paragraphs.

When viewing this story, this code tag did not show up. In Edit mode, I had five spaces before each paragraph. When I simply erased these, my story stopped showing up in the strange manner described above. It's not the tag itself per se, because I didn't copy that over. Placing indentations at the start of paragraphs can mess with the formatting as the site renders it. It can't hurt to keep an eye out on removing formatting code from elsewhere though, if we're moving our own stories here.

As for suggestions, I noticed tags do appear (without a tally count) on story cover pages, but I feel they might be a bit easier to read if they were in alphabetical order. That way readers can find a tag they're looking for more quickly.

In future, would it be worth the trouble to make the title bar say whether we're reading or editing a story? How many people tend to use the Back button a lot, or do most of us just click forward to get where we're going?

 

[Murakami]

Aside from that, shouldn't the button in the upper left read "Chyoa" instead of "Chyoo" in accordance with the website's URL?

For now, we are sticking with the old label so people can find it. We are still trying to reach the current holders of the site; hopefully when the site is ready to lose the beta tag we will be able to move it to Chyoo.com.

 

[Murakami]

Opinion Time

We need feedback on the new site. There are 2 different ideas about how the latest threads should work, and we would like to know what you think.

As currently implemented, if you look for "recently updated", the site simply puts all the stories in order. Thus you get a result that is every story on the site in order of most recent update (caveat: right now anything not updated since the transfer all has the same date. This will be addressed, so assume it has been in your replies).

The other way this could be done is to have you only see recent things; if only 1 thing got updated during the time window you set (ie. "today", "this week", this month", etc.), you see only one thing. This of course means we need a time window selector (including "since last visit" now that we have cookies). This would be similar to how the kludged update thread from the old site worked: you can scroll through it and when you reach the end you know you have seen all the threads in the last day (http://www.chyoo.com/index.php/main.thread.list/0///1/1/1/1/6/2). I'm not sure what the default behavior of the page should be in terms of the best time time window.

Also, we have "latest stories" (ie most recently stories created) and "Recently Updated Stories" (ie the stories that got new threads most recently), but no "newest threads" (ie direct links to just the newly added stuff like the current kludged page above). Do you guys think we should add something like that, or was it not really useful?

 

[GreenBanana]

I'd say just add some date fields in the Search to figure out how far back you want to see, or to select a range of dates. Useful for if you happen to remember the last day you visited the site. If you're just curious to see them in order, I'd just stop clicking for the next page of results when I got tired of scrolling through them. By default, I'd just leave it showing every story in descending order of when it was last updated. Maybe I'm not quite sure what the issue is?

For newest threads, what if we had a link included with every recently updated story, to show which thread was most recently updated? The issue then is that the story wouldn't show up twice--but we have story maps that indicate unread threads for this now, which is brilliant.

I still say other criteria based not on time but to promote visibility would be nice.

 

[Zingiber]

View of stories I've contributed to? member.story.list

Is there a view similar to http://www.chyoo.com/index.php/member.story.list in the new Chyoo?

I enjoy having a list of stories I've contributed to in available in freshness order.

-Z.

 

[Nilth]

Also, we have "latest stories" (ie most recently stories created) and "Recently Updated Stories" (ie the stories that got new threads most recently), but no "newest threads" (ie direct links to just the newly added stuff like the current kludged page above). Do you guys think we should add something like that, or was it not really useful?

I think the most useful thing here is to give the user the possibility to easily see (or search for) the latest threads in a *specific* story. I leave to you how to implement it and if you also want to set timeframes.
A *global* "newest threads" is of little use, in my opinion.
Also I'd probably exclude edits from modifying such lists. Maybe (if you think it's viable) give the user another way to see what has been *edited* since *he last saw* a specific thread, but nothing more.


Also I'd like to know if you are going to add a perspective field into the search engine. Even the literotica search doesn't have that, and you'll be another step above it
It's pretty important imo.
Thanks for your work.

 

[mack2028]

does anyone know how to actually add tags to things? and if it seems simple to everyone else could you tell me like i am retarded?

 

[GreenBanana]

does anyone know how to actually add tags to things? and if it seems simple to everyone else could you tell me like i am retarded?

Visit the site.
Click the downward triangle to the right of your username in the upper right.
Click "Manage Stories".
Click "My Threads".
Click "Edit" to the right of the thread which you wish to tag.
Scroll down to the thread's question.
Click "Add a tag".
Type in an appropriate word which semantically defines a theme corresponding to that particular thread.
Hit enter.
To remove a tag, click the "X" next to that tag.
Scroll up and click "Save thread".

Remember, tags are best if they're succinct and definitive, not vague slang (although as we'll see down below, this can be difficult to avoid)! "Ejaculation" is better than "load" because it doesn't rely on assumptions as to what "load" means. Given the nature of our material, it should be understandable why we might object to assumptions of definition. Image gallery websites such as Rule34.xxx have some good examples of tags.

Some good suggestions for themes include actions depicted in the thread, the physical aspects of characters and objects in the thread, the setting and genre of the thread, and the technical purpose of the thread. Actions can be things like sex, fellatio, threesome, gangbang or flirting, because they describe what's happening in that thread. Physical aspects can include things such as the characters' sex, species, orientation or profession, if they're important to the story: male, female, elf, naga, repairman, prince, bisexual, lesbian. Physical aspects also include props such as bed, couch, dildo, vibrator, and so forth. Setting is primarily where the thread takes place, be it a hotel room, kitchen, jungle or cave. The "technical purpose" as I put it would probably be a notation for whether a thread is focused on exposition, dialogue, or erotica. This is mainly useful for people to get an idea of a story's pacing, by seeing on the cover page how many threads include exposition and how many include actual sex acts.

Genre can be difficult, because a genre can describe a vast, overall setting, such as the era or mood. It can be difficult to identify this solely with one thread, because it's a notion that's interwoven throughout all threads in a story. Genres can be things such as science fiction, fantasy, noir, or whatever else we might use to describe the story as a whole. That's probably a separate angle for debate.

Tags should apply only to that thread being tagged and shouldn't delve too much into minutiae. Their purpose should be to make it easier for readers to search for a story they'd particularly like to read. This is why it's especially important to try and keep words simple and consistent between how we all tag them. This can be difficult. Do we use "cave" or "cavern"? Personally, I'd use "cave" because it's more succinct and encompassing. "Cavern" comes off as a bit flowery. We wouldn't need to use "grotto" because it's less common and redundant if we're using the "cave" tag. We should also keep tags to the singular version of the word. A story about two beds still includes one bed, making "two beds" too specific and redundant.

I realize all this might sound confusing at first, because tagging is a highly intuitive process. I'd say not to worry too much about tagging yet, and try and pick it up from how other people are using tags. That's why I suggest perusing a few image gallery websites such as Rule34.xxx which center around the use of tags so that visitors can find content to their liking. It's a way of helping people find stories based on the core, definitive details that make up that story.

What would be amusing would be seeing a random set of tags and then trying to construct a story out of them.

 

[mack2028]

ok so i think i found my problem and it is bigger than tags, i can not edit any of my threads. i go where you said and it gives me the option to change a few things on the stories description (gender, pov, language, etc) but i can't change any of the text areas or get to any of the threads. i also checked the threads and i can't find any edit option, i tried creating a new story on the chance that it was just the stories that were ported that i couldn't change but it seems i can't change any of them.

edit: never mind, i didn't see that there were tabs so i couldn't find any of my threads to edit.

 

[Friedman]

ok so i think i found my problem and it is bigger than tags, i can not edit any of my threads. i go where you said and it gives me the option to change a few things on the stories description (gender, pov, language, etc) but i can't change any of the text areas or get to any of the threads. i also checked the threads and i can't find any edit option, i tried creating a new story on the chance that it was just the stories that were ported that i couldn't change but it seems i can't change any of them.

It seems like you're editing your stories, not your threads. If you click on "Manage Stories" as GreenBanana wrote, and then choose "My Threads", you can click on the edit button next to each thread (but I will also add a direct edit link to each thread in viewing mode).

 

[mack2028]

thanks, i figured it out. Adding a button to allow you to edit your own threads from within a story would help a lot for retagging old stories.

 

[Murakami]

I think the most useful thing here is to give the user the possibility to easily see (or search for) the latest threads in a *specific* story. I leave to you how to implement it and if you also want to set timeframes.
A *global* "newest threads" is of little use, in my opinion.
Also I'd probably exclude edits from modifying such lists. Maybe (if you think it's viable) give the user another way to see what has been *edited* since *he last saw* a specific thread, but nothing more.

I personally find a page like the 'latest threads' from the old site VERY useful, since it lets me find new stories. If I see something with 6 new threads in the last day, I take a look. If it was just stories I was watching, I would never find new stuff. I actually had that new today page as my bookmark for the site, not the actual home page, since it contained everything I needed to see on a regular basis (I would then use the menus to go look at other things).

 

[Xorph]

I've noticed a problem with editing the top thread of a story. It wants an answer to the question on the "previous thread", which obviously does not exist.

Also, is there a way to edit threads written by other people in your stories? I would like to change the {firstname} and {lastname} tags to something better.

 

[Friedman]

I've noticed a problem with editing the top thread of a story. It wants an answer to the question on the "previous thread", which obviously does not exist.

Also, is there a way to edit threads written by other people in your stories? I would like to change the {firstname} and {lastname} tags to something better.

I'm currently working on an update where this should be included. It shouldn't take longer than a few days. By then I post a summary of the changes made since the beta release.

 

[GreenBanana]

I've noticed a problem with editing the top thread of a story. It wants an answer to the question on the "previous thread", which obviously does not exist.

I see no problem to this, because we can edit what that "answer" was. It allows us to add a sub-title for the introductory chapter to a story. That thread can now have a name, whereas on the old Chyoo every first thread of a story was simply labeled with the flavorless "INTRODUCTION" or something to that effect. To me, this ability is an improvement.

 

[Torg]

I've started to use the new site.

One thing I'm missing is the "Here are all the stories with new threads for things you've contributed to" list ('Story' link in the header). It's basically updated stories for things you're interested in.

I suppose you could do the same thing with bookmarks.

Perhaps too lists of stories could have a Simple mode where each story only takes a single line.

Not sure if this is discussed, but a lot of threads are missing from stories. I looked in Thrust and found a thread off the top level was listed as <NO TITLE>. Other threads were also missing.

Also the stories listed as mine are only those stories I created. What about stories I adopted?

 

[Zingiber]

I've started to use the new site.

One thing I'm missing is the "Here are all the stories with new threads for things you've contributed to" list ('Story' link in the header). It's basically updated stories for things you're interested in.

I suppose you could do the same thing with bookmarks.

Sounds like we immediately noticed the same thing for the same reason.

Perhaps too lists of stories could have a Simple mode where each story only takes a single line.

I'd also appreciate compact list views so I can scan them more quickly. The new site seems heavy on whitespace.

-Z.

P.S.: Super happy to have the new site coming together.

 

[dkgooner]

It's looking good! Got to get used to the new layout and how to navigate, but when I get the time it shouldn't take long to adjust!

I'll add a few bugs (don't know if they've been mentioned before, haven't followed this thread or read through it all yet! ) - I get an security certificate error (I'm on an old ass Explorer on an old ass desktop today, which might play a part, but still!)

… (on the old site) is … on the new site, on (my) thread titles. In the text it seems as if every symbol (", ', …, etc.) is now ?, a questionmark. A bit annoying to say the least, for the readers!

Great work to those of you taking the time to do this! Hope you get the bugs sorted soon enough!

 

[Zingiber]

Remember, tags are best if they're succinct and definitive, not vague slang (although as we'll see down below, this can be difficult to avoid)! "Ejaculation" is better than "load" because it doesn't rely on assumptions as to what "load" means. Given the nature of our material, it should be understandable why we might object to assumptions of definition. Image gallery websites such as Rule34.xxx have some good examples of tags.

Some good suggestions for themes include actions depicted in the thread, the physical aspects of characters and objects in the thread, the setting and genre of the thread, and the technical purpose of the thread. Actions can be things like sex, fellatio, threesome, gangbang or flirting, because they describe what's happening in that thread. Physical aspects can include things such as the characters' sex, species, orientation or profession, if they're important to the story: male, female, elf, naga, repairman, prince, bisexual, lesbian. Physical aspects also include props such as bed, couch, dildo, vibrator, and so forth. Setting is primarily where the thread takes place, be it a hotel room, kitchen, jungle or cave. The "technical purpose" as I put it would probably be a notation for whether a thread is focused on exposition, dialogue, or erotica. This is mainly useful for people to get an idea of a story's pacing, by seeing on the cover page how many threads include exposition and how many include actual sex acts.

...

Tags should apply only to that thread being tagged and shouldn't delve too much into minutiae. Their purpose should be to make it easier for readers to search for a story they'd particularly like to read. This is why it's especially important to try and keep words simple and consistent between how we all tag them. This can be difficult. Do we use "cave" or "cavern"? Personally, I'd use "cave" because it's more succinct and encompassing. "Cavern" comes off as a bit flowery. We wouldn't need to use "grotto" because it's less common and redundant if we're using the "cave" tag. We should also keep tags to the singular version of the word. A story about two beds still includes one bed, making "two beds" too specific and redundant.

I realize all this might sound confusing at first, because tagging is a highly intuitive process. I'd say not to worry too much about tagging yet, and try and pick it up from how other people are using tags. That's why I suggest perusing a few image gallery websites such as Rule34.xxx which center around the use of tags so that visitors can find content to their liking. It's a way of helping people find stories based on the core, definitive details that make up that story.

What would be amusing would be seeing a random set of tags and then trying to construct a story out of them.

Tags tend to be useful when there's a more standard pattern of usage, or if it's possible to navigate among synonyms. Different people will start with different intuitions. An editor might have a preferred set for within their story.

This could end up a useful "tips and tricks" area. We'll probably pick up a pattern of usage. I expect a bit of a mess (synonyms, collisions, misspellings) based on prior experience. Some of the oopsies may acquire their own meanings. Filksinging, anyone?

Looking forward to seeing the tag clouds! Or a Wordle over all the threads of a story. (mumbles happily about a query API...)

-Z.

 

[GenocideHeart]

Just went to the new site this morning. It looks really spiffy. Keep up the good work.

I just wanted to reiterate what Torg and Zingiber were saying before about having a list of stories you've contributed to. I really only had one story I made myself (which I am terribly embarrassed about), and the rest was just adding to other people's stories, so it would be really helpful to know if a story I've worked on is still active or when it was last updated.

 

[Torg]

Is there any way for the Literotica people to change the front page message to point to chyoa.com? Or are those passwords gone?