Forum: Lost Stories

Linking on the forum/lost stories

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Just in case you guys wonder.

I have a script that deletes posts with links to other sites after a short period of time of those posts.

I don't block links outright just to give the asker some time to read the answer and find their story, but I don't leave them on indefinitely.

As anybody with two brain cells can tell, having links on SOL pointing to other story sites isn't a very smart policy. It gives boost to the other sites in search engines and leads SOL readers to other sites. So, you can see why I do it.

Also, asking on the forum here for a story that you know is not on SOL is not very nice (to use a kind phrase). Don't do it. If I see such a thread I would delete it outright.

If you genuinely don't know whether the story is on SOL or not, then it's fine, but to specifically ask for stories that are not here is downright nasty and I frown upon that.

Same policy for story recommendation. If somebody asks for story recommendations, don't recommend stories on other sites. I've tracked few individuals and it seems some around here have a policy of always recommending other sites, even when there are stories here that satisfy the recommendation. Some are so persistent that I'm starting to think that they may be plants by other sites to undermine SOL. So be careful what you link to as I tend to lose patience sometime and may ban you from posting on the forum.

Replies: Jim S Switch Blayde JohnBobMead awnlee jawking Gauthier

Jim S 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

So be careful what you link to as I tend to lose patience sometime and may ban you from posting on the forum.

What you ought to do is bill the other sites for advertising charges.....

Switch Blayde 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Totally agree.

JohnBobMead 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Is it possible to "sticky" this here and in Story Recommendations?

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

I have a script that deletes posts with links to other sites after a short period of time of those posts.

Do you block links to eg Grammar Girl and Wikipedia (spit!) or is your script tailored to a blacklist of other story sites?

AJ

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@awnlee jawking

The script is specific to story sites.

Replies: awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Thank you.

FWIW, that's the way I would have done it too.

AJ

Obliterous 🚫

It makes sense(and doesn't surprise me since I've reposted more than one link), but given that some of us never link to external sites if the works are available on SOL, it seems to possibly be overly broad...

Maybe a more targeted approach,such as banning links to certain specific sites? If they want to pull their stories and take them elsewhere to try and get more money, fine; but there's no reason for you to allow that to be driven from SOL.

Personally, I find the practice of posting and pulling to be abhorrent, and I refuse to read or recommend authors that do it; If I already had license to read it, you cannot justify to me a demand that I need to pay more money to read it again.

Leaving SOL in a fit of pique over how Fake Internet Points are calculated, and then trying to force SOL to send traffic to your new home on the internet is, to me, a bit of wild folly. You may be a good author, but you're not very bright.

This is NOT to say that I agree with everything that Lazeez does, but he's not throwing tantrums either.

(any author offended by this statement is probably in the target audience, and can get over it or get forgotten, I don't care which)

Gauthier 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

I'm one of the guy which take time to add links to his posts. I could change some of my links to quotation with attribution and leave others to be reconstructed.

Still, I'd like some clarification...

Is there a white list or a black list?
Is the ban limited to competitors?

Does the ban include wikepedia, news articles, SOL Authors site, links to SOL Authors blogs?

Wheezer 🚫

Most of these type requests come from 'forum guests' who are not regular participants. Perhaps changing this forum name to 'Lost SOL Stories' might cut down on this sort of thing.

Replies: anim8ed Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

anim8ed 🚫

@Wheezer

Or Lost World Literature Publishing Co. Stories to include finestories and SciFi Stories as well.

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@Wheezer

Changing the forum section title won't make a difference for those intent on doing that.

Replies: joyR

joyR 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Changing the forum section title won't make a difference for those intent on doing that.

Would it be possible (or worthwhile) to block people from starting a thread until they have replied to X number of threads?

It would stop the 'drive by' stuff, and encourage new people to participate rather than just exploit the knowledge base here.

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@joyR

The forum has algorithms to block the drive by stuff. You don't see spam here.

Those who do this have been around for a long time.

I don't want to simply kill links to other sites by default. That's why I do this after the posting and after the asker have had a chance to see their answer.

If it was a significant problem, then I would implement the block on the posting script so that nothing gets posted if it contains certain links.

Remus2 🚫

Some further clarification please.

Can we assume the ban does not include hard copy book references, or is that assumption in error?

Replies: Dinsdale

Dinsdale 🚫

@Remus2

The script is specific to story sites.

That would seem to be explicit enough. Memo to self: if I really feel the need to point the requester at another story site, a DM may be the way to go.

Replies: Ernest Bywater

Ernest Bywater 🚫

@Dinsdale

Memo to self: if I really feel the need to point the requester at another story site, a DM may be the way to go.

Now that the DM capability is active I think it is the only way to go if the story is not on SoL, FS, or SciFi.

Replies: Dinsdale

Dinsdale 🚫

@Ernest Bywater

Now that the DM capability is active I think it is the only way to go if the story is not on SoL, FS, or SciFi.

Together with a note to the Forum saying there was a DM reply. Then ten other posters march in saying "me too" or "me three", I'm still thinking about that one.

Luckily I've never felt the need to browse LitNeurotica or McStuff, on other sites stories easier to find without providing links.

Replies: PotomacBob

PotomacBob 🚫

@Dinsdale

a DM reply

what's "a DM" other than that mysterious little thing at the bottom of forum topics.

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@PotomacBob

what's "a DM" other than that mysterious little thing at the bottom of forum topics.

Direct message/mail.

Keet 🚫

Actually there is no need to post links. Most search engines support the nifty Google "site:" directive which allows you to search specific words only on the specified site. So mention the correct keywords and just a reference to what site to search and there's no need to post a link. Not posting links is important because these support those sites through the search engine crawlers that pick up link references. And as Lazeez mentioned: SOL is not an advertisement platform for other sites.

Your query in the search field should look like this:
"site:storiesonline.net your search words"

What also works:
"site:.xxx your search words"

And if you are familiar with boolean operators you can use AND and OR to fine tune your search.

I wish people would spend just a little time investigating what else is possible. For example searching for certain file types. (torrents, images, music, docs, etc.)

richardshagrin 🚫

One exception to the no other site rule may be the Clitorides stories. If an award winner is on another site, SOL will give you a way to get to it, except if it is no longer there. Another oddity is when the story is withdrawn from SOL and later reposted here the Clitorides listing doesn't know it is back. JRiters stories for example.

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@richardshagrin

Another oddity is when the story is withdrawn from SOL and later reposted here the Clitorides listing doesn't know it is back.

Two separate sites, two separate databases.

The clitorides' database isn't linked to SOL's or any other site.

I guess I'll have to fix those links for him manually now.

ChiMi 🚫

Is only the link unwanted or the whole mentioning of the story?

I often recommend stories in genres that don't have a good representation here. Like Kingdom Builders, LitRPG, and "harry-potter-like-magical-school-setting" stories.

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)
Updated:

@ChiMi

Anything that takes the readers to a different site is undesirable, I think you can understand why.

Now I'm not very rigid, but it's simple common courtesy not to send readers away from one site to another using the first site's facilities like SOL's forum to send readers to another competing site.

If you think there are story genres that are underrepresented here, instead of boosting them on other sites by encouraging people here to read them, the appropriate thing to do is to encourage those authors on those other sites to cross post to SOL.

Replies: ChiMi

ChiMi 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

I understand that from your view.
As a reader, I want to recommend the OP the best stories I found enjoyable from the parameters that he included.

But I know, you must make a living.

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@ChiMi

If you feel compelled to share something specific that's not on SOL, then send them a direct private message.

awnlee jawking 🚫

but we can still refer to Spearfishlaketails, dotB's, and BTFH, can't we? And what about Grammar Girl ,

The first three sites were mentioned by someone else in response to the possibility that shills were deliberately publicising stories on other sites.

I mentioned Grammar Girl etc because they're not story sites.

Neither of us were complaining about Lazeez's action: leaving links to other story sites up for a time is generous compared to some other sites/forums I've subscribed to.

AJ

Replies: docholladay

docholladay 🚫

@awnlee jawking

I admit I don't post many links and when I do they tend to be the author's page first then the story itself. In my bookmarks I have links to several writers pages on different sites some are different blogs on different sites which I keep an eye on since not all of their stories are available on sol.

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Forum: Lost Stories

Linking on the forum/lost stories

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