I thought the new layout might have been a data crash of some sort, but it seems to be on purpose.
Are we no longer going to have a index for short stories? I really like that part of BCTS, I am very picky about what extended serials I get into. It is going to make navigation here that much harder I suspect.
So, this is an open question as to what is happening around here.
Thanks.
Can we have the old one back please?
Mixing up the serials and the singles is (IMHO) a huge step backwards.
First
One of the reasons I did this is I got tired of arguments over what constituted a Standalone. Since they were listed in a separate table at the top, some people wanted their story there even if it did not fit the definition. The original idea was just to have a simple way to mark them so people could find them. Okay, the Solo column does that. We'll give it a try.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Solos
The Solos button-like thing on the menu-like thing (I'm so clued in on web design terminology!) still works as a way to filter just the solos out, and I always liked it better anyway since it shows the teasers for the stories instead of just a list of titles - how am I supposed to know which ones I want to read? The thingy for Serials doesn't work, but the Stories one that shows them mixed together does.
Serials
The Serials tab-link brings up the top level of the Outliner, which as you say, is not the same thing as a list of serials. :) Have to work on that someday too.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I Second That, SamanthaMD !
I must apologise first to you Erin, as I know how disappointing it can be when one 'improves' something, only to have the people one did it for complain about the Change. One useful motto, suggested to me by a proper Ophthalmic Surgeon after people with an Eye Test Travelling Van told me I had some deposits (Catteracts) in the lens of one eye that would get worse with time and needed an operation, is "IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!"
When I saw the change I first assumed something had gone wrong with either my computer or the Site. I looked for the short stories and it was not there. Also a lot of strange stuff was inserted before one got to the list of stories.
Apart from a recent New Author who classified a story as a one off and then turned it into a more parts one, it helped a lot to focus on what one was looking for, the way it was.
I suppose there is no chance of getting the option of going back to the old presentation, even if as an alternative ?
I hope this is not just a sign of me having what someone kindly called " a Senior Moment" recently. I did have my 78th birthday a couple of Saturdays ago. I worked at a Horse Show in a local community riding stables, where I manned a tent with hot soup, teas, coffees, sandwiches, cakes, cold drinks, etc all day as we had a Horse Show day, from 8.30 until 5 pm, then had to dash home and wash and change to go to an event called a "Curry and Carrioki", held at 7 pm in a very old building, where my family arranged a table just for us, which included the surprise visit of my first ex and her new life partner. My 19 year old grand daughter came second overall in the events and won lots of rosettes, with her horse that she bought herself with her own money. The "curry" was a choice of chicken in either a mild sauce, or a red one that was more spicy, or an even redder one that was too spicy. On our table we all chose the white one.. But there was also a surprise birthday cake for me, with 18 candles, which I managed to blow out in one breath, and which I took around to give the bar staff and cooks, and all the other guests, a piece of. It was the best birthday I have had for ages, probably because I was allowed to do things for others. Nobody wants to pay me for work at my age so I work for nothing, as it makes me feel useful. I am a Director for a couple of local charities.
I noticed that there were quite a few more who would like it back how it was besides me. We are all grateful for all you do to keep the BCTS site going, and can feel for you over all the work you do. I am sorry if we seem ungrateful, but we, leastways some of us, liked it better how it was.
Briar
New Layout
In the new combined table, the Solos (Standalones) are identified in the far right column. That column will also have links to offsite stories identified with codes. HB for Hatbox, DP for Doppler Press, and others.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Format change
I kinda like it. I'm in favor of giving it a try. Good luck Erin.
Waterdog
PS: John Lydgate said,
“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time"
Thanks :)
Note too that there are 50 stories in the new table when there were only 42 stories between the two old ones. Eliminating one header freed up a bit of space.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I like it, especially since i
I like it, especially since i can find the latest stories more easily, as solos do tend to be harder to notice the change from the ever-increasing serial numbers...
Oh well,
I really did like the old format much better.
I like short stories, they are going to get lost in the noise now. Especially since the flag system is not totally up and going.
I suspect this was done to simplify maintenance. It is a pretty big change, and it is not an improvement.
Just my feedback.
Reasons
There were multiple reasons to do this, simpler maintenance was minor tho, since the internal tables I did the maintenance on were all one table already.
Another big one was to be able to have a column to identify outside story link sources. This will help us with HatBox and DopplerPress and others who have books they want to sell or stories on other sites they want to promote.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Every change takes some getting used to
I think that we will see that the new format is just as good as what we had before.
I might suggest that there is some kind of legend to explain the values in the right-hand column.
Yeah
Probably a good idea. :) Will work on it later today.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
agreed
Overall I like the simplified layout, but I completely missed the new column when I first saw it.
It isn't bad, but one change would help
Adding a sortable link into the new column would help people find the stand alone stories in a smaller section of the listing, or serials.
Just an idea to let people have a slightly closer / less jarring way of viewing the new stories listing.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
Good idea! But...
I'll see if I can do that. :)
But... I tried it, Only the title and day column are sortable. I can't make the Author sortable without making them no longer links to the author's other pages which seems more useful. And I can't seem to make the code column sortable at all because that is actually info from three different sources and it will only sort on the third of the three – which is NOT the Solo one. :<
I'll keep tweaking.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
nice
I came back to the home page after reading a few stand alone stories and saw the alterations. :)
looks good, though the only on I was thinking about sorting by was the new column.
not actually sorting effectively though, I think the *** is likely the issue
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
Nope
The ••• sorts fine if I make that and Solo the third item in the list of what goes together. But the sorting is done in the database, not the view, and the view is what is putting together the three separate threads of info. It does that at the last second, so it can't sort unless I make those three separate things three separate columns. And if I make Solo the third item then I can't make DP and HB links to other DP and HB stories because I can only do that for the third source, too.
It's like the author list, since there can be more than one author for a story, I can't sort the view by author unless I make each author have a separate line for each story they wrote.
Computers are stupid. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
No muss, no fuss
My front/home page looks as much like the home page from when I first came to BC years ago as I can possible make it! Each new "feature" sends me off to the My Account page to turn it off. My choice.
Really, that's the great thing about BC, you get to choose what you see on your home page. As much or as little information as you want. Its great tool and I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else. Everybody ought to take an hour or three and play with the settings, you'd be amazed at what you can do! This is the real feature of BC and my hat is off to Erin for making it a part of BC! Danke Erin! <3
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
Oops! One Question
The box with the new blogs/forum topics seems to be gone, Is there a toggle for that? I couldn't find anything that looked like it would turn those back on.
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
Newstuff Sidebar
Look for Newstuff Sidebar in the set of buttons. I need to change all those names to make them more descriptive.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Dats It!
Thank You!!!!
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
I vote for the way things were.
Am I the only one not seeing any solos in the new column? I've tried reloading several times and even cleared my cache twice. Still no Solo in the new column.
Now I have to scroll through the chaff to find the wheat.
No likey.
Dayna.
You're not the only one...
I too, do not see any thing listed as a solo. All I see is DP for K.T. Leone's God Bless the Child, and Kelly Girl by Wanda Cunningham, and Book for everything else, even things that I think would be solos, like The Demon Within by Wendy Jean and Today is Another Day I decided not to kill myself by Paul Cousins.
Cicero2K
'Otium cum dignitate'
Needs work
There are 12 to 14 solos identified on the main page on my screen, if that info is not showing up for everyone, I have work to do.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Go back, Go back, Go back to what made sense...
A short story is not a BOOK.
A novella is not a BOOK.
Even a serial is not a BOOK till it's finished.
The only thing that doesn't show as a BOOK is the advertising for DP.
All the new format has done is to move from clarity to confusion.
You have to try new things: I understand that.
The new format is an idea whose time has NOT come; the answer to a question no one asked.
May I suggest a new box showing 3 or 4 of the great stories available from DP on a rotating schedule? Put it up on top where it can't be missed.
The new look makes the site confusing and harder for the readers to navigate.
Thank you, Erin, for your work; for your blood, sweat, and tears, all these years.
Your friend always,
Ole
We are each exactly as God made us. God does not make mistakes!
Gender rights are the new civil rights!
That's a problem
I can't make it do that here, something is wrong. Book is the default entry, so the installation is not showing correctly on your screen. I'll look into it.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Possibly fixed
Piper and I worked on it this morning.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
New Layout
Is there any way to turn the top new block off for serials, solo's etc. I am running Microsoft edge on mobile phone and it cannot show BC correctly as the box is massive fr a mobile screen
I turned that on
It's called: Quick Cuts - Recent Content
But we are going to try to reduce the massiveness for the very reason you give. So look back in a few days.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Tabs column
Given how we now have a tabs column I find this a much better solution in several ways. Although at this time I'm also seeing a bit of a problem still and that concerns Solo's. They are showing up in both the Fiction and the Solo columns. This might be by design, it might not.
Reasons that I like it is that the tabs give an easier way to maneuver through the list, not that I'm looking for more clutter, but less. The tabs provide some. It provides a quick way to look for serials/series, solo's and publications such as at DB or Amazon and so forth.
It also provides a means to where stories that would normally be pushed down faster due to others posting gives a chance for them to be viewed much longer. Of course there will be those who 'suggest' which tab will displayed first thus having a better exposure than the others that are hidden. Blogs and service messages can now be displayed versus hunting down messages on the side column.
Yes many will not like the changes as it disrupts what they see as a form of familiarity. But sometimes changes are necessary for the need of the site.
I understand your dilemma Erin and although its a bit of trial and error, some progress must be made over the comforts of familiarity.
One suggestion and that is if its possible would be to have where one switches from tab to tab, have it where the Story teasers and such follow, thus we are able to view the teasers without having to drill down further or clicking on the story/blog itself if it doesn't interest us.
V/r
Ibi
Thanks :)
We're still tweaking it. And yes, having serial and solos both appear in the fiction list along with story links and title pages is intentional. You can sort solos out further if you like with the tab. The fiction list will just have 8 days worth of listings whereas the serials will have the larger of one week or 50 stories and the solos... well I haven't decided yet.
But your suggestion, I can't make head nor tail of what you are suggesting. Sorry.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I like it.
Reading in Firefox on my big tablet. The tabs of the story list seem to do a good job of showing the solos vs. serials vs. blogs.
Janice
new layout
Thanks Erin, had to view my history to get to my settings page as it covered it, I'll check back on mobile in a few days to see what it's like. As I'm on windows 10 mobile and Microsoft edge, if you need any layout checks done let me know
Well Done Erin and Piper
Everyone hates change but personally I fine the new layout to be logical and sensible the use of the tab makes life easier to navigate through the stories.
Over the last few days I have watched the changes as they have progressed sometimes with dismay I must admit.
But if this is the finished article I do like it.
Erin and Piper you are doing an impossible task as you will never please everyone I raise my metaphorical hat to the two of you.
Christina
Sorry, I much preferred the old way
I think it is beautifully done.
Looks lovely, but has made something that was quite simple and easy to use before, to be honest a pain in the posterior to use with buttons for everything.
It use to be, Blogs comments, etc in the small left hand column. Short stories at the top of the middle wide column with the rest down below an advert or two. All you had to do to find anything was scroll down. Now it is a multiple choice nightmare with a button for everything.
Sorry as I know a lot of time and effort was spent making this happen, but somethimes just because you can do something does not made it better.
Best wishes
Sophie
Much the same, but with Options.
All things being equal. Things are JUST as easy and simple as they were before. Forums/Blogs/Links are still on the left hand column. We just added a tab for Blogs on the front middle because we felt some might like more attention to blogs there. And more blogs can be listed than can be listed on the sidebar.
While we did add tabs to single out Serials and Solos, the center column by default shows "Fiction" which is basically "Everything". It is Serials, Solos, and Publications all shown in one communal list with what type of entity they are clearly marked in the "Code" sidebar. If it shows a day of the week, then it's a Serial or similar. If it says "Solo" then it's a "Solo" or "Standalone" story. (Remember, fanfics, and universe based stories still can NOT be "solo"). If it has a 2 letter code like HB/DP/etc then it's a link-off the main site and will take you to the page for that story.
As a side note, we USED to lump everything together just like this in the past, and added the SOLO block somewhat recently (after I joined the dev team). So for those of you that are complaining that we are moving forward and not looking at what we left behind, I offer that instead, we are bringing inspiration from the past.
-Piper
I know...
I know, yes it does look better with it being Title, Code, Author. More BC house style. So I hope no more changes! I still prefer Solos and the rest separate, but both visible. But I will get use to it, and most posting do seem to like it, so I'll just grizzle in the back ground a bit. :)
Sophie
Columns in New Layout
I am struggling with reading the new layout. Underneath the fiction tab it would be easier for me if the titles were left justified and the code column were broken out into two, day of week and code.
It would also appear smoother and more seamless if the column headings and formatting were more consistent between the various tabs (headings vs. no headings, titles left vs. right justified, Author(s) vs. Name, and Day of Week vs. Post Date vs. Date).
Work in progress
Besides doing this stuff, we've been doing all the regular stuff for the site and some other new stuff that is not yet visible. :)
Be patient. The right justified titles were an experiment. I like the way they look and we have gotten few complaints, so far.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
New layout
Do we really need these big indentations on the left side? It may look nice on a big screen but adds way too much "white space" on a small display like my smartphone.
Martina
In process...
As we tweek this, we will have slightly different layouts for different display types. :)
What we are trying to do is bring BC more into line with what my original intent was, it's just been time and resources keeping us from making some of these changes years ago.
So, give a little while, it may be a few weeks but we do want to keep people happy.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Layout changes
I just wanted to be sure that it was done on purpose. ;-)
Thanks for all your hard work!
Martina
New Features
Aside from the complaints I see some new features that have promise. Until 2005, I had never lived in a house that was not a remodeling project. This seems minor by comparison.
Thanks
Gwen
Have you just changed the Font Erin?
Have you just changed the Font Erin?
It looks nice, but the original was easier to read.
Sophie
Font?
As I was reading the print appeared to become uncomfortably small on my iPad.
Rhona McCloud
Experimenting
Should be the same size it was now, but a slightly more open font that will show up the same for everyone with a modern browser.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
No Profiles?
So, I haven't been ask active as a community member for awhile, but didn't we used to have brief little profiles? Maybe its just my focus, but I can't find a way to search members or even find my own information more than a really simple couple entries thing. I might be embarrassed to find I am looking right at something... but I really want to know and also to share a little. Sometimes readers leave comments that intrigue me and I want to learn a little before sending a note. Was it something change in the new look?