Chapter numbers should clarify their route

Discussion in 'Site Feedback' started by Guromancer, Jun 14, 2023.

  1. Guromancer

    Guromancer Experienced

    Chapter 15 at the top of the page means needles in haystacks when stories with literal thousands of chapters, reaching an occasional few hundred consecutively.

    If it's intro then option X (say 2nd down on the first page), you got I.2.
    "I" being the actual first page, a chapter 0 of sorts, and 2 being the 1st chapter, or the 2nd page, or ( call Intro the first chapter it really doesn't matter, the second page the 2nd chapter, whatever,) but if you select the 2nd option down 5 times on a row, it would look like
    I.2.2.2.2.2, compared to it's cousin, I.2.2.2.1.2, or it's siblings I.2.2.2.2.1 and I.2.2.2.2.3.

    Page 4.1.1.1.2.1.3 looks bad at first glance compared to "chapter 7" but it could have a dozen seven's on the map. Using a search function, obviously only one of these is useful.
     
    insertnamehere likes this.
  2. insertnamehere

    insertnamehere Really Really Experienced

    Currently, if you open the story map from a certain chapter, that chapter will be highlighted on the map. However, on very large stories the user will still need to search for that highlighted chapter, so this would be a good UI improvement.
     
    Guromancer likes this.
  3. gene.sis

    gene.sis CHYOA Guru

    Not sure if
    I.3.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1
    is really helpful.

    I guess I would prefer an option like "Collapse/Expand to Current"
     
    huginn and Nachtlicht like this.
  4. TheLowKing

    TheLowKing Really Really Experienced

    Yeah, those numbers don't mean anything to me as a reader. If I'm in chapter I.1.1.1.2.3.1.1.1, I have no clue what that '2' means. Is that when I decided to open the chest that turned out to be a mimic? Or is that me flanking the goblin raiders? Wait, or was it getting drunk in the local tavern and picking a fight with an entire squad of the city guard?
     
    huginn likes this.
  5. huginn

    huginn Really Experienced

    Also links and linking chapters mean that the number representing the route is not unique. We could well have both I.1.1.1.2.3.1.1.1 and 1.2.1 be the same chapter.
     
  6. insertnamehere

    insertnamehere Really Really Experienced

    It's useful to have a unique identifier for each chapter other than meaningless number used by the website's database
    This isn't true. If 1.2.1 links to 1.1.1.1.2.3.1.1.1, then clicking onto 1.2.1 will automatically take the user to 1.1.1.1.2.3.1.1.1. If you have the relevant privileges, you can actually see the link chapters as a separate page, which just say something like "This is an empty link chapter that will automatically redirect readers to X chapter."
     
    Guromancer likes this.
  7. Guromancer

    Guromancer Experienced

    Okay so you guys are just idiots well sometimes so am I but you know, not everyone who can be idiotic likes to make it everyone else's problem..