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We're going to try a new capability here after a recent request. Now you can subscribe to your favorite authors to be notified when they post new stories. :) At least, we hope this works. Consider it to be in test mode right now.
When you go to view a story or blog, you will see in the right hand column a new block called "Subscriptions". This block may be down the side somewhere but will generally be just above the Hatbox kitty block. There will be various boxes you can check to subscribe to the content in various ways. This block will be visible only to logged-in members and you can turn off the visibility in the "My account" page if you don't want to deal with subscriptions or notifications.
On your account page you will also find a block for dealing with subscriptions and near the bottom a rollover choice for how you want notifications sent to you. Default is to send them in PMs but you can chose email or simply a message that will appear on the front page when you login.
If this ends up causing problems, this feature might go away but feel free to test it. Just don't go crazy and subscribe to everything. It's a good idea to only check one subscription box for each type of thing you want to subscribe to. That is, check only author boxes, or only category boxes, or only comments. Otherwise you will be getting a lot of notifications for the same thing.
Hugs,
Erin
Comments
Wow
Okay, that is pretty darn handy. Already made four subscriptions and there will definitely be more to come. Thank you as always for your hard work in continuing to upgrade the site and make for a better user experience for everyone.
Now if there was something on the 'my stories' page that showed when one of my stories got a new kudos I'd be pretty darn stoked.
Have delightfully devious day,
Newest Kudos
The Kudos module does not provide that capability, sorry. But not to worry, no one has updated Kudos for the next release of Drupal so, unless we break our rule and do some custom coding, Kudos will be going away after the next update, probably in February.
Our plan right now is to attempt a minimum update on our own of the Kudos module, D7 is not that different from D6. But that only puts off the problem a year, maybe, since D8 is a major rebuild from D7.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Kudos
I figured it was something like that, still you can't blame a guy for hoping, can you?
Hopefully, the kudos update works. Is there perhaps a similar module one that is still being updated? I'd really hate to see kudos go the way of the dinosaur.
Have delightfully devious day,
Kudos "going away"?
Does this mean the Kudos system will stop working and we'll lose all the current counts?
AS I have remarked before, I find the Kudos system a much more valuable system of objectively judging a story's success than comments or hits.
No more kudos
equals= Even less reason to post any new stories here. It is over two years since I posted a story here and here's why. Most readers are either lazy or ungrateful when it comes to an author's hard work around here. Some will even complain first before ever posting a comment. With nothing to show for hours or even days worth of work, is it any surprise then when an author decides to quit this website and others. This is supposedly the good website to get comments at too.
The above is not a commentary on Erin and what she has to do to maintain the website. If kudos have to go to keep BC running, it can't be avoided. I'm just saying there can be fallout from it unless readers take action. Based on past history, I don't expect them to change.
Daniel, author of maid, whore, bimbo, and sissy free TG fiction since 2000
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.- Oscar Levant
I won't be sorry to see Kudos go.
Giving a Kudo requires only a single click. Writing a comment requires at least three clicks, and you have to produce some monologue in your head and translate it into text.
Any person with an ounce of logic can see that comments are much more valuable than Kudos.
A fire-and-forget author who doesn't respond to their commentators is an author who takes their readership for granted.
An author who replies to each comment they get is an author who doesn't take their readership for granted, and likes to integrate with them and get to know them.
If this new development means that the authors who only care about getting Kudos (I have mental images of people counting their money with undisguised glee) and don't give a crap about the effort that their commentators put into their commentary, and don't bother to integrate with said commentators will be leaving, then this October will be the best one in 96 years.
...Except that this one will be bloodless, and will lead to something positive. If I could host a party, I'd invite all the integrative authors and their loyal commentators. ^_^
I will
You're right that clicking a button is easy, but by the same token that means more readers will do it. I've taken (I hope correctly) kudos to be roughly the number of people who finish a story, instead of looking at the first few paragraphs and deciding they don't like it. In general, my number of reads is about a factor of 30 higher than my kudos...
Like you, I prefer comments, but I know we don't get as many. Partly it's more effort, and some people won't do it. Since I've started writing I've tried to get better about leaving comments, but I don't always. Especially if I'm reading a multi-part story I don't comment on each part.
As to interacting back with readers, I'm curious what people like. I've taken to sending PMs back to my commenters rather than leaving my own comments in my story. I have seen other authors do differently, but really don't know what people like. Any thoughts?
Titania
Lord, what fools these mortals be!
...
Looks like we're both in agreement that Kudoing and not commenting is the lazy option for a reader. If I were the author, I'd much rather get nothing at all than a Kudo and no comment.
For an author, it's always a good idea to let a commentator know that you acknowledge and appreciate the fact that they bothered to comment. A PM to the commentator is good, but responding publicly with a counter-comment is better. There are exceptions in which the former is more appropriate, but I'm sure you can work out what those are.
As a reader I tend to lose interest in giving a particular author comments when they don't bother to acknowledge the fact that I bothered to give them a comment. What excuse is there for not being aware of it?
Ultimately, more communication between authors and readers can only be a good thing (unless it crashes the servers). Some users on this site are very close to each other indeed, I think it's safe to say that they didn't achieve this by not integrating with each other...
personally I prefer that a
personally I prefer that a writer reply in comments and I try to respond to all of my readers as well. The reason for the reply in comments is because it allows myself and other readers to reply to your reply possibly starting a conversation.
Well quite.
More integration can only be a good thing. = )
I don't respond to every comment I get...
But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate them.
If I don't feel I can say any more in a response than "thanks for the comment!" then I often won't leave any at all. I do the same thing with commenting on stories -- if I don't feel I have something worthwhile to contribute to a discussion of a story, or even of a blog, other than a "me too!" or "good work!" then I often will simply kudo. The exception to this is when I want to say something more personal or perhaps critical than I feel will be appropriate in a comment; in those cases I will PM.
But, no, I do not and likely will not ever respond to every comment or story I read.
That doesn't mean, by any stretch, that I don't appreciate every last one.
Melanie E.
I don't comment on every story I read.
I exercise discernment. Also, a lot of the stories here actually annoy or offend me. I can't make overly negative comments, because it would count as being unfriendly. I have crossed the line a few times, I have had a few of my comments removed. If I like a story, you'll know by the comment(s) I leave.
If I were an author, I would make time to respond in an individualized manner to every comment I received, since my received Kudos would be merely a measure of how many lazy readers ready my stories. If my commentators didn't come back to read my responses, then at least I'd have the satisfaction of knowing that I did the right thing.
I really do not "get" this whole "fire-and-forget" attitude to both story posting and comment posting that so many people seem to be practicing. As I said to Titania, why don't the users of the site integrate more?
Endangered Kudos?
Our plan is to write our own module if we have to in order to preserve kudos. But even that contingency is months away. No worries.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
FUCK YEAH! :D
Now there's no excuse for not being aware of somebody making a direct reply to one of your comments. = )
Eggcellent
Awesome, I can't wait to use this feature.
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.
Mark Twain.
Leigh Veritas
Sounds great!
And I just made you my first choice! I think this is an outstanding idea as I am constantly checking the site just to see of anyone has posted anything new. This will definitely simplify that process!
Thanks loads!
Dallas
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
thank you
There are only a couple of authors I jones for, but this is a great feature. Thank you.
not as think as i smart i am
I was wondering when, or even if,
the powers that be for this site, would ever even consider something like this. All I can say is, that it is about time. Thank you, Erin, for including this feature.
Love & hugs,
Barbara
"With confidence and forbearance, we will have the strength to move forward."
Love & hugs,
Barbara
"If I have to be this girl in me, Then I have the right to be."