"My Thread" and other writers tools

[LizardGod]

So I was thinking it would be nice, in larger multi-writer stories, to be able to have some controls for each writer to make it easier for them to get to their chapters.

Off the top of my head I think the two that would be really handy would be a "My thread(s)/My Chapter(s)" view that shows a story map that only has chapters written by you (Or that link from or to your chapters). Since in larger stories it can be a chore to have to scroll through all the other threads and chapters. Of course the colour coding suggested in other threads could also help with this. I know you can go through your recent chapters to get to the last one but if you write for multiple stories and maybe have not returned to a story in awhile it is still a chore to scroll through them all.

Another button that would be handy, would be one that takes you to your most recently published chapter or more recent draft chapter. Again it is more about saving time from having to scroll through and find the chapters every time.

Neither of these are features that I think are needed right away, they are more quality of life things that would make things a bit easier for writers.

 

[gene.sis]

view that shows a story map that only has chapters written by you (Or that link from or to your chapters).

As a workaround, you could use the search function of your browser and type your nickname. Most browser would then highlight the search term.


Maybe there could be done some kind of filtering/sorting stuff... (a little input field which would search the story map, some ways of sorting (recent) and a button to restore the correct order)

 

[Kaitou1412]

Much of this request has already been facilitated by the "My Chapters" link under the dropdown at the top right of any non-forum page. The only aspect that isn't facilitated is the ability to organize it by story. Rather than redesign the story map to accomplish the same goal, why not adjust "My Chapters" to come with a "Story Title" filter for the "Sort by" parameter instead?

 

[LizardGod]

What I am suggesting is a adding button below a story that would do the things I have suggested. The current solutions still have the problem that I have to click through multiple screens to get where I want to go when I could instead simply got to my profile > open my story list > click the "Go to most recent chapter" button.

Which is faster than the current method either in terms of clicks or time spend scrolling through story maps.

My chapters does help but when you are working on multiple stories, as many writers are, it can be quite some time before you come back to a story so the most recent one may be buried or you may not recall what the last chapter was called so you can't just ctrl + f it.

In the My Stories view it would just be extra buttons under the drop down menu that has the story map and edit buttons. And if you are looking at a story that doesn;t appear under My Stories then it could appear along the bottom along side the story map button. Obviously only when it is actually needed.

As a workaround, you could use the search function of your browser and type your nickname. Most browser would then highlight the search term.


Maybe there could be done some kind of filtering/sorting stuff... (a little input field which would search the story map, some ways of sorting (recent) and a button to restore the correct order)

That is what I use sometimes right now but it really i a work around, what I am suggesting in the case of jumping to the most recent chapter for that story is a short cut rather than anyway to view the story map in a new way.

 

[Kaitou1412]

Which is faster than the current method either in terms of clicks or time spend scrolling through story maps.

Which also means it requires more work to program. This combined with the fact that we already have means of filtering by user means it's wasted effort. If the amount of clicks and time is a "problem," then the simpler answer is to find a method to reduce these things.

My chapters does help but when you are working on multiple stories, as many writers are, it can be quite some time before you come back to a story so the most recent one may be buried or you may not recall what the last chapter was called so you can't just ctrl + f it.

Which is why I suggested we add a "By Story Title" filter to My Chapters. Once again, a simpler solution.

Or better yet, we rework the search function so that any user can operate the same way for others' work. More simply: we allow a thread search to narrow results based on usernames and story titles, something we cannot do at present.

Bottom line: We don't need to create something new when we could more easily modify something that already exists to achieve the same goal.

 

[LizardGod]

Which is why I suggested we add a "By Story Title" filter to My Chapters. Once again, a simpler solution.

Or better yet, we rework the search function so that any user can operate the same way for others' work. More simply: we allow a thread search to narrow results based on usernames and story titles, something we cannot do at present.

Bottom line: We don't need to create something new when we could more easily modify something that already exists to achieve the same goal.

Changing the way search functions works is far more work than what I am suggesting. What I am suggesting amount to a single extra button that tracks a single value, that last chapter posted by a person on a story. It would be much more work to change the whole way searching for stories works when what I am suggesting is the addition of a shortcut so you don't HAVE to use the search function.

Adding By Story Title as a filter is not a bad idea but it still doesn't change what I am suggesting, since what I am suggesting is a way to have a shortcut to one single chapter, namely the most recent one you posted on a story.

 

[Kaitou1412]

Changing the way search functions works is far more work than what I am suggesting. What I am suggesting amount to a single extra button that tracks a single value, that last chapter posted by a person on a story. It would be much more work to change the whole way searching for stories works when what I am suggesting is the addition of a shortcut so you don't HAVE to use the search function.

First, all this amounts to is something similar to how sites like DeviantArt and YouTube allow visitors to input usernames into the search, and it produces solely that user's work in a means that can be further sorted by relevance, activity, and newness without exclusively redirecting to the user's page. Or allowing a story's thread to be displayed in a manner like the search results without intermingling threads from other stories. As is, we're one of the small percentage of sites online that allows this level of deep searching that simultaneously doesn't allow us to restrict the search parameters in such manners.

Second, your method tracks three values: username, story title, and activity. That doesn't change just because you put a button somewhere convenient and minimize the results. Mine tracks three as well but allows the third value to be changed between any of the pre-existing alternatives to activity.

Third, how exactly do you think a website produces a result like that? A site can't produce results without running a search. You're invariably proposing a search. Even if a shortcut were to be produced, my system would have to be implemented into the search engine first.

Fourth, even if my alternative is more work, it also produces a vastly higher return. Your system only works on a single story at a time, after it's been opened, exclusively works for your own work, and only produces one thread. My system works on every story at once, doesn't require it to be opened, allows users to track anyone's work, and produces multiple threads. Meaning:

1.) If an editor fixes a typo in your thread and bumps this above the target thread, you've got a system that doesn't help and puts you back where we are at present thereby wasting your efforts, while I've got a system that allows me to see multiple results that amount to less than 100% of a story thereby producing less work 100% of the time.
2.) If I'm a fan of a certain author and want to see all of its work within a certain story or category, I have the means to quickly find it and you don't.

 

[gene.sis]

Well,
I think, changing/extending the behavior of the search would be less work. (Though I'm not quite familiar with working on the story map yet.)
Some kind of sorting or filtering of the story map items could probably happen on client side without performing an additional database search.