Preview an upcoming feature and give feedback?

[Manu]

Hello.

We're currently testing an upcoming feature and I would like to get feedback from longtime Lit readers. We're not officially announcing this yet as it may be rolled back a few times before it's officially launched. If you're reading this thread and the option isn't there, it could be because we've rolled it back for more work.

For now, you need to be logged in to test the feature.

If you go to a Story Game Page.
https://www.literotica.com/g/a-bride-for-the-dragon-king

Then go to the Customization Tab of the Story Info Box, you'll see an option called "Story Card Format".



The "Standart" (yes, there's a typo ) size is the Lit Story Card.

If you change the setting to "Condensed" or "Expanded" and then go to the Author Profile Works Page, you'll see different versions of the Story Card. This will only work on the new Author Profiles, not on the New Story Page, Category Hubs, etc. for now.

https://www.literotica.com/authors/PhilipCraddock/works/storygames

Condensed:



Expanded:



These are prototype designs for testing, not final versions (the "Condensed" one should show the Category).

If you have ideas for how to make the "Condensed" version smaller (especially for mobile devices where space is limited) or if there's more data you'd like to see on the "Expanded" version, please share you suggestions.

Thank you.

 

[NoTalentHack]

That's amazing. I'll absolutely do that. Can we get the word counts put on the story card, too? That, along with the lack of tags, are my two biggest complaints about the current setup, and you're addressing one. The only other suggestion I might have is to but the tags in an expandable with an arrow instead; if people want to see the tags, they click on the expandable, and it opens. A tag icon with a mouseover might work, too.

That way people don't have to be spoiled unless they want to, and they can do it story by story. I might, for example, want to know that a story has cuckolding themes if I'm going into LW, but want to be surprised in Erotic Horror or SF/F.

 

[NoTalentHack]

It works, but it still has the problem that all the cards have (at least on the profile screens, haven't checked elsewhere) that cards don't fill the screen horizontally:



Currently running in Chrome (current version), full screen, on a 2560x1080 display.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

The expanded format doesn't work for stories belonging to a series, it shows only for the stories that are not part of any series

 

[THBGato]

The expanded format doesn't work for stories belonging to a series, it shows only for the stories that are not part of any series

Was just about to say that.

Hopefully this might encourage better use of tags...

Totally agree that you should add the word count.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

It works, but it still has the problem that all the cards have (at least on the profile screens, haven't checked elsewhere) that cards don't fill the screen horizontally:

View attachment 2359788

Currently running in Chrome (current version), full screen, on a 2560x1080 display.

Btw, LOL at the stuff you are putting in tags

 

[alohadave]

Can we get the word counts put on the story card, too?

Seconded!

 

[joy_of_cooking]

I have to go to a story game page to configure how stories are displayed on people's author pages? Can this setting be offered in a more discoverable location?

 

[NoTalentHack]

I have to go to a story game page to configure how stories are displayed on people's author pages? Can this setting be offered in a more discoverable location?

I imagine it's there for the moment specifically because it's supposed to be out of the way during testing.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

Could all views (condensed and expanded) display the title, author name, stats (views, favorites, ratings, new/hot/editors choice/winner icons, word count if that is added), category, date, and favorite bookmark icon on the same line when there's enough room?

Given the length restrictions, this should fit on most people's screens, at least on desktop and probably even larger mobile formats (e.g., tablets).

 

[joy_of_cooking]

Thanks for including tags, by the way!

 

[Manu]

That's amazing. I'll absolutely do that. Can we get the word counts put on the story card, too?

It should have word count, but since we're testing on the Story Games, and we're still working on Story Games stats, it doesn't appear yet.

Here is what's supposed to be below the Tags in the prototype.



Font size will probably be smaller than in the screenshot.

 

[NoTalentHack]

Well, I see the reason for the white space on the right, at least.

In the CSS, there's

.page__main {
width: 100%;
padding-right: 230px;
}

for any screen wider than 767. I get why that's on the main Lit screen, since you've got the "submit your stories" and "public beta" cards there, but, unless you're planning to use that space on the author pages, there should probably be a different or nested style set up for it. It just looks weird right now. It also happens on the About, Works, and Favorites pages, I assume for the same reason.

 

[Manu]

We have two groups of readers who send a lot of feedback about Story Cards.

The first don't like Story Cards at all because they want tiny text listings like this:
Story Title - Story description (Category).
Story Title - Story description (Category).
Story Title - Story description (Category).
Story Title - Story description (Category).

And those who want Tags, Word Count, etc.

Making the Tags and extra information "Expanded" cards is possible since we can make the Story Card big for that.

For the "Condensed" one, we're still trying to figure out the best way to make it small, including the minimum amount of information that's needed for readers to make a decision, and meeting modern accessibility and touch standards. We can't just put lines of text together anymore (like we did in 2002 ) since mobile touch standard require a certain number of pixels between all links.

 

[Manu]

Well, I see the reason for the white space on the right, at least.

In the CSS, there's

.page__main {
width: 100%;
padding-right: 230px;
}

for any screen wider than 767. I get why that's on the main Lit screen, since you've got the "submit your stories" and "public beta" cards there, but, unless you're planning to use that space on the author pages, there should probably be a different or nested style set up for it. It just looks weird right now. It also happens on the About, Works, and Favorites pages, I assume for the same reason.

There will eventually be "Author Widgets" in that space. We rolled out the Author Profiles before those widgets were ready. There will be things like "Award Winning Stories by This Author", "This Author is the 10th Most Popular Romance Author on Lit", "Send Feedback To This Author", "This Author Is Active on Patreon", "Featured Comments On This Author's Stories", "This Author Recently Entered The Summer Lovin' Story Contest", etc.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

We have two groups of readers who send a lot of feedback about Story Cards.

The first don't like Story Cards at all because they want tiny text listings like this:
Story Title - Story description (Category).
Story Title - Story description (Category).
Story Title - Story description (Category).
Story Title - Story description (Category).

And those who want Tags, Word Count, etc.

Making the Tags and extra information "Expanded" cards is possible since we can make the Story Card big for that.

For the "Condensed" one, we're still trying to figure out the best way to make it small, including the minimum amount of information that's needed for readers to make a decision, and meeting modern accessibility and touch standards. We can't just put lines of text together anymore (like we did in 2002 ) since mobile touch standard require a certain number of pixels between all links.

I think you're saying that the wasted vertical space I was complaining about is in fact a feature?

 

[NoTalentHack]

There will eventually be "Author Widgets" in that space. We rolled out the Author Profiles before those widgets were ready. There will be things like "Award Winning Stories by This Author", "This Author is the 10th Most Popular Romance Author on Lit", "Send Feedback To This Author", "This Author Is Active on Patreon", "Featured Comments On This Author's Stories", "This Author Recently Entered The Summer Lovin' Story Contest", etc.

Nice!

 

[NoTalentHack]

There will eventually be "Author Widgets" in that space. We rolled out the Author Profiles before those widgets were ready. There will be things like "Award Winning Stories by This Author", "This Author is the 10th Most Popular Romance Author on Lit", "Send Feedback To This Author", "This Author Is Active on Patreon", "Featured Comments On This Author's Stories", "This Author Recently Entered The Summer Lovin' Story Contest", etc.

Speaking of “this author is on Patreon,” will we eventually have the option of linking to more than one service that we’re on? And can we get some others like Ko-fi, OnlyFans, SubscribeStar, etc. added? Failing that, maybe a linktree option?

 

[MillieDynamite]

So, being a card-carrying idjet, I'm a bit confused about what this is all about. Is this for writing a 'chose your story' story?

 

[alohadave]

So, being a card-carrying idjet, I'm a bit confused about what this is all about. Is this for writing a 'chose your story' story?

The screenshot in this post is what you'll see: https://forum.literotica.com/thread...ture-and-give-feedback.1613040/#post-99075564

 

[Bamagan]

Hello.

We're currently testing an upcoming feature and I would like to get feedback from longtime Lit readers. We're not officially announcing this yet as it may be rolled back a few times before it's officially launched. If you're reading this thread and the option isn't there, it could be because we've rolled it back for more work.

For now, you need to be logged in to test the feature.

If you go to a Story Game Page.
https://www.literotica.com/g/a-bride-for-the-dragon-king

Then go to the Customization Tab of the Story Info Box, you'll see an option called "Story Card Format".



The "Standart" (yes, there's a typo ) size is the Lit Story Card.

If you change the setting to "Condensed" or "Expanded" and then go to the Author Profile Works Page, you'll see different versions of the Story Card. This will only work on the new Author Profiles, not on the New Story Page, Category Hubs, etc. for now.

https://www.literotica.com/authors/PhilipCraddock/works/storygames

Condensed:



Expanded:



These are prototype designs for testing, not final versions (the "Condensed" one should show the Category).

If you have ideas for how to make the "Condensed" version smaller (especially for mobile devices where space is limited) or if there's more data you'd like to see on the "Expanded" version, please share you suggestions.

Thank you.

I think the expanded version is a significant improvement!
One suggestion I would make is trying it on an account that has series, to make sure there aren't any unexpected problems with the expanded/combined controls for that.
I'd also suggest adding the total number of votes to the rating, the way it's done on the top lists, if that's possible. I don't personally find it to be a very useful guide, but a rating of 4.7/100 is a bit more meaningful than 4.7/10, and shouldn't disrupt the minimalist style of the condensed version.

 

[Bamagan]

Well, apparently the setting applies to any profile now that it's active, so I can report on how it works with series.
Tags for standalone works display as expected, regardless of the expanded/combined settings, but even on the expanded version, no tags appear for any of the collected works in a series. Obviously it's impractical to combine the tags for the series card, unless maybe it only lists the most common/repeated ones, but I would hope that the story cards in-lined beneath would get their tags displayed in the final version.

 

[AndersonsBiographer]

So, being a card-carrying idjet, I'm a bit confused about what this is all about. Is this for writing a 'chose your story' story?

That's what it sounds like to me.

I used to love those as a kid.

Let me know any way that I can help.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Love the concept. Hope it will become the standard Story Card across the site. Also agree with requests for word count.

 

[ElectricBlue]

What's the size of the reader demand for these "choose your path" type stories? I don't get why development effort is being put here, when there are similar improvements which could be done for the basic story format first. Or have I missed something?