Things to make Lit a better site

I had forgotten one suggestion I had seen and just wanted -- the ability for an author to reply to comments. And this would make readers stickier, so is definitely good business practice. But still has an implementation cost, of course. Damned reality.
 
most of the ideas basically can be summarized as "here's what the site could do to make ME happier."

Yes, of course. Without actually running a survey or user study, how could it be otherwise? These are suggestions that, in the opinion of the person making the suggestion, would make the site better. And that person is hardly likely to suggest ideas that they personally dislike.

I for (another) one actively use page counts to choose which stories to read, so for me this suggestion would make the site better. How widespread this user story is (or would be, if more easily available) is effectively unknowable; we can only go by our own intuitions.
 
There are new story 'cards' in beta, and they display story tags (if there are any). There's sufficient room for them to display the word count alongside the rating/views/favorites/comments/lists. I doubt adding it would result in information overload for any significant number of readers (and many probably don't pay a great deal of attention to the data displayed there anyway). I believe Manu mentioned that adding story length was under consideration, but again, in the word count format that it currently uses. I suppose Lit pages might be easier for some folks to interpret, but since the last page might be anywhere from one sentence to the almost 4000 words of the 'normal' pages, I think they're right to concentrate on the most straightforward and consistent measurement of story length, and trust the readers to know about how long it takes them to read 5k or 10k or 50k words.
 
There are new story 'cards' in beta, and they display story tags (if there are any). There's sufficient room for them to display the word count alongside the rating/views/favorites/comments/lists. I doubt adding it would result in information overload for any significant number of readers (and many probably don't pay a great deal of attention to the data displayed there anyway). I believe Manu mentioned that adding story length was under consideration, but again, in the word count format that it currently uses. I suppose Lit pages might be easier for some folks to interpret, but since the last page might be anywhere from one sentence to the almost 4000 words of the 'normal' pages, I think they're right to concentrate on the most straightforward and consistent measurement of story length, and trust the readers to know about how long it takes them to read 5k or 10k or 50k words.
Interesting, the New list doesn't seem to have the meta data row. That's usually where I start looking for something to read. As for showing story length, if they're going to do it, I'd hope they'd do both word count and pages; i.e., 20.6K words (6)

It pretty much comes down to cost vs benefit, and what's higher on the priority list. The only people that can answer those questions are Laurel and Manu.
 
Interesting, the New list doesn't seem to have the meta data row. That's usually where I start looking for something to read. As for showing story length, if they're going to do it, I'd hope they'd do both word count and pages; i.e., 20.6K words (6)

It pretty much comes down to cost vs benefit, and what's higher on the priority list. The only people that can answer those questions are Laurel and Manu.
At the moment, as far as I know, the beta story cards are only being used in the new author profile pages... something about how they both utilize newer code, if I recall correctly. Also, since it's a beta feature, one has to opt-in to see it. Here's what your profile looks like to me, for example.

pic1.png
 
At the moment, as far as I know, the beta story cards are only being used in the new author profile pages... something about how they both utilize newer code, if I recall correctly. Also, since it's a beta feature, one has to opt-in to see it. Here's what your profile looks like to me, for example.

View attachment 2541716
Makes sense. Didn't think about that...

Dueling screen shots... :)

1747763666744.png
 
Dueling screen shots... :)
Not sure why we're dueling... I didn't dispute the way the hubs work, they look basically the same for me, because the new story cards aren't being tested there. I only included the screenshot to show you (and any other interested parties) how the metadata and tags are being displayed in the beta version.
 
At the moment, as far as I know, the beta story cards are only being used in the new author profile pages... something about how they both utilize newer code, if I recall correctly. Also, since it's a beta feature, one has to opt-in to see it. Here's what your profile looks like to me, for example.

View attachment 2541716
The only opt-in I am aware of is the "Participate in early site feature versions beta-testing" in Options, which I have selected, but do not see this. Is there another one to see this newer stuff? Do you have to be on Manu's good side or something?
 
The only opt-in I am aware of is the "Participate in early site feature versions beta-testing" in Options, which I have selected, but do not see this. Is there another one to see this newer stuff? Do you have to be on Manu's good side or something?
Maybe not his good side, but there is a kind of secret quest required. I forget the exact steps... there's a sort of faux-author profile page you have to visit that has the toggle for this particular beta feature. I'll see if I can find the thread to link to it.
 
Not sure why we're dueling... I didn't dispute the way the hubs work, they look basically the same for me, because the new story cards aren't being tested there. I only included the screenshot to show you (and any other interested parties) how the metadata and tags are being displayed in the beta version.
We’re not. Smiley face emoticon usually indicates an attempt at humor. 😜
 
And here is what Manu says is the intended end product (as of when he posted it last year, anyway):

storycardwordcount-png.2359804


PS: Gotta love those tags! :LOL:
 
And here is what Manu says is the intended end product (as of when he posted it last year, anyway):

storycardwordcount-png.2359804


PS: Gotta love those tags! :LOL:
I believe some top-ranked computer games took less development than this one number on a story card, not to mention some other features that were promised years ago.
Who would have known that developing a website is so much more challenging than developing AAA games? :rolleyes:
 
I believe some top-ranked computer games took less development than this one number on a story card, not to mention some other features that were promised years ago.
Who would have known that developing a website is so much more challenging than developing AAA games? :rolleyes:
Pretty sure Bioware and RockStar have a lot more resources that Laurel and Manu, and this site is a lot more complicated than it looks to the untrained eye, especially for a dev team of 1.
 
Pretty sure Bioware and RockStar have a lot more resources that Laurel and Manu, and this site is a lot more complicated than it looks to the untrained eye, especially for a dev team of 1.
Never forget their faithful hamster Josie, who selflessly spins the wheels in her little cage, thus providing electricity that powers the website.
 
I believe some top-ranked computer games took less development than this one number on a story card, not to mention some other features that were promised years ago.
Who would have known that developing a website is so much more challenging than developing AAA games? :rolleyes:
This reads like bitter whining to me. I get that you're not speaking to me so much as to the room, or at least part of it, but it makes it challenging to believe that whatever grievances you're nursing have any legitimacy. That's all I have to say on the subject, as I do not wish to get engaged in a pointless back-and-forth, especially when I have doubts that I was your intended audience in the first place.
 
This reads like bitter whining to me. I get that you're not speaking to me so much as to the room, or at least part of it, but it makes it challenging to believe that whatever grievances you're nursing have any legitimacy. That's all I have to say on the subject, as I do not wish to get engaged in a pointless back-and-forth, especially when I have doubts that I was your intended audience in the first place.
It was a sarcastic remark, one obviously not directed at you but at the platitudes the website offers.
I also appreciate that you don't want to go into a back-and-forth, especially since your post was obviously not a jab at me, like at all.
 
I had forgotten one suggestion I had seen and just wanted -- the ability for an author to reply to comments. And this would make readers stickier, so is definitely good business practice. But still has an implementation cost, of course. Damned reality.

Why can’t you reply to comments?
 
Let me check my calendar, and I'll have to find my knee pads... 🤭

EDIT: Just thought I should clarify. That was a joke. I don't really give free blow jobs.

EDIT 2: Oh, shit, that actually sounds worse, doesn't it?
Make those dollar bills, girl.





kidding
 
Back
Top