Forum: Site Announcements

New Feature — User-Created Lists

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)
Updated:

Today I pushed an update to the sites' engine that added User-Created and curated story lists.

While authors have one 'Favourites' list that they can curate, users could never share anything on the site. Now all users (and yes authors too) have access to a new tool.

Any logged in user can create and curate an unlimited number of lists. Each list can have up to 100 stories. Each list can be a collection (sorted alphabetically) or an ordered list displayed according to whatever order its creator uses).

Logged in users can give lists 'thumbs up/thumbs down' for recommendations and have a couple of buttons for sharing lists on Twitter or via private email.

On the desktop version of the site, it's linked from the main menu bar as 'Lists' after 'Collections' and on mobile it's 'Reader-Created Lists', also after collections.

Bug reports appreciated, as well as any potential feature requests.

Find it here: https://storiesonline.net/ul/

Replies: joyR anim8ed REP AmigaClone Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster) nukedanger

joyR 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

any potential feature requests.

An option for authors to select which pen name they want the list to display..??

So, Anim8ted could choose to make a list as his alter-ego "Re-Anim8ted"

(Made up example)

:)

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@joyR

Thought about it before, however, it complicates things considerably from management of lists to displaying them (code-wise).

Authors have a list by pen name.

I'll keep this one under the nick name only.

Replies: richardshagrin

richardshagrin 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

nick name

Authors with nick names

Holly Rennick
Naughtinicki
Nick and The Ghost
Nick Eastwood
Nick Farrier
Nick Marlowe
Nick Scipio
NickB 16
nicky.allen
nickybaby08
tenicka

anim8ed 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Nice feature, I really like it. Being able to search for stories by author would be nice but not a necessity.

Thank you for all your hard work coding all these great features.

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)
Updated:

@anim8ed

Nice feature, I really like it. Being able to search for stories by author would be nice but not a necessity.

Oops! That was supposed to be in and the code was written, a small bug disabled it.

Fixed. You can now search by author name too.

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

I'm not seeing a search function for the lists. Sorts, yes, but not search. And I have to agree, that if the lists function gets popular enough, a search function would be nice.

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@Dominions Son

a search function would be nice.

If needed in the future, will implement it.

Replies: Uther_Pendragon

Uther_Pendragon 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

a search function would be nice.

I'd think you could download a list by copy&paste. Thenyou could search with whatever word processor you use.

Dominions Son 🚫

I'm curious, how are you going to rank popularity of individual lists? Since one of the sort options is sort by popularity.

Replies: bk69 Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

bk69 🚫

@Dominions Son

I'm curious, how are you going to rank popularity of individual lists? Since one of the sort options is sort by popularity.

Stories ranked by number of lists they'd included in?

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@bk69

Stories ranked by number of lists they'd included in?

It's a sort of the lists themselves, not the stories in the lists, so it would have to some how be popularity of the list in an of itself.

Replies: bk69

bk69 🚫

@Dominions Son

Well, Laz suggested lists could be upvoted & downvoted, so most upvotes with the least downvotes gets first place, presumably.

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@bk69

Well, Laz suggested lists could be upvoted & downvoted, so most upvotes with the least downvotes gets first place, presumably.

No, that's the 'Recommended' sorting.

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@Dominions Son

I'm curious, how are you going to rank popularity of individual lists?

Lists have a hit counter. The more people click a list, the more popular it is.

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

The more people click a list, the more popular it is.

Cool.

Reluctant_Sir 🚫
Updated:

Bug Report

When in the midst of adding a story, I changed my mind and hit cancel. I got the message:

Cancel feature not implemented!

I had some fun with it, posted a list of stories just because! Should be popular with the regulars, I would think, then being able to save a list of favorites. Should cut down on common "I don't remember this story" forum posts too, at least from frequent fliers.

Replies: Dominions Son Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Dominions Son 🚫

@Reluctant_Sir

A Most Frequently Forgotten story list?

Replies: Reluctant_Sir awnlee jawking Keet

Reluctant_Sir 🚫

@Dominions Son

Tell me I am wrong! Heh...

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@Reluctant_Sir

Tell me I am wrong!

I could, but I'd by lying...

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Dominions Son

A Most Frequently Forgotten story list?

Or a list of non-canon Swarm Cycle-type stories ;-)

AJ

Replies: JoeBobMack

JoeBobMack 🚫

@awnlee jawking

I'd like that!

Replies: joyR

joyR 🚫

@JoeBobMack

I'd like that!

So go ahead and start a list. Invite others to send you links to other non-canon stories you can then add.

Should be a popular list.

:)

Replies: awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫

@joyR

This forum thread mentions a couple. There are at least two more whose authors mention 'swarm cycle' in their story descriptions but didn't register them with the universe.

AJ

Keet 🚫

@Dominions Son

A Most Frequently Forgotten story list?

Or a "No longer available on SOL list" to avoid a lot of repeating questions about certain stories. Hard to add stories to a list that are not on SOL though :D

Replies: Reluctant_Sir

Reluctant_Sir 🚫

@Keet

Or a "No longer available on SOL list"

Doesn't sound like it would work in this context, the stories have to be on SOL to be on the list.

Replies: Keet

Keet 🚫

@Reluctant_Sir

Doesn't sound like it would work in this context, the stories have to be on SOL to be on the list.

That's what I said if you read the full post:

Or a "No longer available on SOL list" to avoid a lot of repeating questions about certain stories. Hard to add stories to a list that are not on SOL though :D

Replies: Reluctant_Sir

Reluctant_Sir 🚫

@Keet

Hard to add stories to a list that are not on SOL though

Today is a day for screw-ups, I guess. Mea culpa.

Replies: Keet

Keet 🚫

@Reluctant_Sir

Today is a day for screw-ups, I guess. Mea culpa.

No problem. Back to reading Seraph now, so far (ch3) I like it a lot.

Replies: awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Keet

Back to reading Seraph now, so far (ch3) I like it a lot.

Me too. I like the nuanced main character, reminds me of the writing of Stultus.

Reluctant_Sir has set a very high bar for stories in his new universe.

AJ

Replies: Reluctant_Sir CB

Reluctant_Sir 🚫

@awnlee jawking

Reluctant_Sir has set a very high bar for stories in his new universe.

Shhh... you'll jinx it!

CB 🚫

@awnlee jawking

This story is why I have not gotten any writing done today!

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@Reluctant_Sir

Cancel feature not implemented!

Cancel feature implemented.

REP 🚫
Updated:

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

I can see the number of lists growing. Lists will also be updated.

I suggest an indicator so readers can easily distingiush new lists and lists that have been changed since the reader last looked at a particular list from the lists that have not changed.

Something along the line of the green symbol used in the Forum that changes size and turns gray when accessed. That would be nice, but it sounds like a lot of work to me.

Perhaps something a simple as adding a 'Last Updated Field" to each list and a sort algorithm to sort the list by the dates in that field. The date the reader last accessed the list would also be helpful.

The current list could be structured as 3 fields: List Title, By, and Last Updated. This would permit the listing to be sorted by title, creator, or date of last update.

AmigaClone 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Is there a way to delete a user created list?

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@AmigaClone

For now, no.

However, if you delete the stories from the list, it will not show up.

Any list with less than 2 stories are not displayed.

Replies: AmigaClone

AmigaClone 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Thanks.

anim8ed 🚫

I tried to add Protect and serve to my list but it comes up 'not found; try again' and if I search by author Paul Phenomenon it is not listed. I have other Premium stories listed so that shouldn't be the issue.

Replies: awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫

@anim8ed

Does it contain grandfathered-in sex scenes involving under-14s? That would raise access issues.

AJ

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@awnlee jawking

Exactly. Filtered out stories with such contents cannot be added to lists.

Replies: anim8ed

anim8ed 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Okay, that may be the issue. It has been a while since I last read the story and don't recall any underage stuff. But considering the MC's occupation it may be in there.

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Update: I added some functionality that would be helpful in building lists.

1 - You can now batch add stories from flagged stories in your account if you have premier access.

2 - You can now batch add stories with a list of story IDs, which is usable when for example a thread on the forum has a bunch of links to similar stories, one can copy the id numbers from the page's code and do a list for it.

3 - I added list info line under the link (story count, creation date, update date)

nukedanger 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

how about a sort list based upon age? note if a list has been updated it gets complicates unless you treat the age the way mtime() is treated so you only sort by mtime and only skip display should to mtime from the ctime.

boy its hard to keyboard one handed due to a stroke.

--nukie

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Forum: Site Announcements

New Feature — User-Created Lists

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