Comments | corinna_5: Lunchtime poll!

corinna_5

Lunchtime poll!

Jan 23, 2007 12:36

So, after quite literally years, I am finally updating my fic site. I'm also tweaking the site architecture a little, to accomodate the writing I've done in that time. There are a couple of decisions I've gone back and forth on, so rather than decide arbitrarily, I thought I'd ask ( Read more... )

website

Comments 65

abbylee January 23 2007, 19:58:32 UTC

I'm home sick and cranky, so you get a mostly rambling reply :)

I prefer all stories on the same page, as long as that doesn't result in a *giant* page, because I'm much more likely to read stories in my minor fandoms that way.

I like knowing how long a story is before I click on it. I don't care whether that is given as an approximate word count, file size, or just descriptive.

Oh, um, something else that I've totally lost now.

corinna_5 January 23 2007, 20:53:43 UTC

Hah, still useful, though! Thanks.

How about date of posting vs. alphabetical listing?

abbylee January 23 2007, 21:31:01 UTC

Oh, that's actually a tougher question than you think it is ( ... )

abbylee January 25 2007, 21:33:02 UTC

I'm also remembering my love of size-ordered listings. When I've never read much of an author's work before, I like to start with the small stuff and work my way up to the long pieces. Most importantly, I hate ending with a small story, because I'm unreasonable and end up feeling shortchanged.

But, I feel the same way about my daily reading, which I solve by opening up multiple tabs and choosing their order based on the scroll bar size, so it's not like I don't have a completely workable solution that I use on a particular author's site.

Also, I wanted to thank you for bringing all this up, because it reminded me of some things I needed to add to a friend's website that I had skipped out in our haste to get it up and running.

Thread 6

pun January 23 2007, 22:14:48 UTC

I'm glad you did this because I have been considering adding an LJ link to my stories. It's good to know that people are in favor.

I really strongly prefer a single index page, and I'm surprised that so many people don't.

corinna_5 January 27 2007, 18:45:53 UTC

I wanted to put one in just for you, but it's too much work! I'm making the navigation between fandom indexes really easy, though, promise.

pun January 27 2007, 19:11:42 UTC

Really? Just for me? I feel so special!

I'm sure the new site will look great.

Guess what!! I am commenting to you from my brand new Mac Book! This is my very first LJ comment with my Mac book! It's black and very pretty! It has a 2 GHZ processor, 120 GB hard drive, and 1 GB of RAM. And I bought an ipod nano too, because I thought it might need a friend!

corinna_5 January 27 2007, 19:21:06 UTC

Whooo!!!!!

I am writing to you from MY MacBook! Which has only a 100GB hard drive ("only"!), and is white, but it's so happy to make a new friend. You tell Sir Pun that you were just waiting for them to introduce Macs with an Intel chip before you switched.

Nanos rock. Enjoy!!! WHOOO, new computers!

Thread 6

diluvian January 25 2007, 20:23:10 UTC

Joining in on the vote for one page if the list of fandoms & stories is relatively small, and separate pages if it gets unwieldy.

One thing I *definitely* appreciate is grouping stories in a series all together, by their chronology (*not* by date they're written unless they're truly sequential), and then the one-shots listed in a separate section.

corinna_5 January 27 2007, 18:46:47 UTC

Hm! I've currently got the one series I ever wrote all grouped together, but maybe I should call them out as a group as well. Thanks!

celisnebula January 25 2007, 21:05:14 UTC

I like a nice clean front page with a welcome to whatever site this is and then everything else done in links. The first page should be easy to navigate, one size so you don't have to scroll down and organized.

For the actual page with a story I like a thin side link with the user panel, a way to get back to the home page, and a link to each fandom index. The rest should just be the story.

corinna_5 January 27 2007, 18:47:25 UTC

"User panel"?

Thanks for the feedback!

celisnebula January 27 2007, 22:50:28 UTC

A user panel has links to your account interface if you are a logging member. For example, on Sycophant Hex where I write fan fiction, my user panel has the log in and log out link, a link to help, and a link to my account area where I can load a chapter, edit a chapter, read reviews, edit my preferences and profile, read private messages, check the queue status of a loaded (but not posted) chapter, and manage my stories.

corinna_5 January 28 2007, 04:48:47 UTC

I get it - you are thinking of larger fic archives, not personal ones, which are just regular websites. But thank you for the interesting insight, and the new vocabulary word!

angiepen January 25 2007, 21:11:05 UTC

[Here from metafandom. [wave ( ... )

corinna_5 January 27 2007, 18:48:22 UTC

Yes, but conversely, too many links and cross-links get confusing and hard to navigate! Believe me.

I don't have any chaptered stories, but if I write one, I'll keep this guidance in mind. Thanks!

angiepen January 27 2007, 19:41:18 UTC

Yes, but conversely, too many links and cross-links get confusing and hard to navigate! Believe me.

Oh, sure. [nod] It depends how you organize it, and on an independent web page where the maintainer has complete control there's really not much excuse for making it ugly or awkward or tangled up. Sleek and clean, with proper labelling and grouping is the way to go; I think too many baby web designers try too hard to go for "cool" and "flash" and end up sacrificing organization and usability.

Angie