Knowing When Fiction Stories Have Been Updated

[Guest BreedMeInVegas]

I'm a fan of the different fiction story forums, especially when they have multiple parts and go on for a few pages.  However it's tough to figure out if a story has been updated because it has recent activity, or if that recent activity is simply 25 replies saying "hot story, can't wait for next chapter".  Is there a way to figure out which case it is when a story is showing as recently replied to?

On a different site I visit where they have a story section the way they do it is they allow the original post author to update the post title for the life of the post, and when they post an update they will modify the title to include a note about the update.  For example this could be what you see:

Met This Hot Guy On The Train, and We Spent a Week Having Sex (Updated Dec 12, 2019) 1,2,3...16 

Even if the post was created in 2010 and only had one original part, but it had 16 pages of replies, you would know that there is an update, and wouldn't have to look through 15 pages of comments to find out there wasn't an update.

[Guest takingdeepanal]

4 hours ago, BreedMeInVegas said:

I'm a fan of the different fiction story forums, especially when they have multiple parts and go on for a few pages.  However it's tough to figure out if a story has been updated because it has recent activity, or if that recent activity is simply 25 replies saying "hot story, can't wait for next chapter".  Is there a way to figure out which case it is when a story is showing as recently replied to?

On a different site I visit where they have a story section the way they do it is they allow the original post author to update the post title for the life of the post, and when they post an update they will modify the title to include a note about the update.  For example this could be what you see:

Met This Hot Guy On The Train, and We Spent a Week Having Sex (Updated Dec 12, 2019) 1,2,3...16 

Even if the post was created in 2010 and only had one original part, but it had 16 pages of replies, you would know that there is an update, and wouldn't have to look through 15 pages of comments to find out there wasn't an update.

Some of the older stories seem to be transplants from a site which is no longer hosted by any provider, called bugshare. I tend to go to the writer's profile and click on the "See Their Activity" button, which may be found at the bottom of their cover photo. Usually, this is the only way I can tell if a story has been updated by its original author.

[Twochipigs]

On 12/12/2019 at 11:51 PM, BreedMeInVegas said:

I'm a fan of the different fiction story forums, especially when they have multiple parts and go on for a few pages.  However it's tough to figure out if a story has been updated because it has recent activity, or if that recent activity is simply 25 replies saying "hot story, can't wait for next chapter".  Is there a way to figure out which case it is when a story is showing as recently replied to?

On a different site I visit where they have a story section the way they do it is they allow the original post author to update the post title for the life of the post, and when they post an update they will modify the title to include a note about the update.  For example this could be what you see:

Met This Hot Guy On The Train, and We Spent a Week Having Sex (Updated Dec 12, 2019) 1,2,3...16 

Even if the post was created in 2010 and only had one original part, but it had 16 pages of replies, you would know that there is an update, and wouldn't have to look through 15 pages of comments to find out there wasn't an update.

In the upper right of most BZ pages, you’ll see a button titled “ Unread Content.”  Click on it and any new posts or updates are listed there. Works great to stay updated.

[Pozlover1]

I personally don’t come here for fiction. 

I’d like to see the word “FICTION” added to the new content notifications to save me from clicking on them. 

Thank You

[viking8x6]

On 12/13/2019 at 12:51 AM, BreedMeInVegas said:

I'm a fan of the different fiction story forums, especially when they have multiple parts and go on for a few pages.  However it's tough to figure out if a story has been updated ...

On a different site I visit where they have a story section the way they do it is they allow the original post author to update the post title for the life of the post, and when they post an update they will modify the title to include a note about the update...

I can't see any easy way to figure it out with the tools available here. One way the authors could make it possible is to post the sequelae as separate items. Then you could just keep an eye out for new content with the same title. Still not ideal, but it would help somewhat.

When @rawTOP builds the new site, I imagine he will be able to create this feature, or even have it happen automatically if the original poster adds something to a thread. So treat him very nicely 😉

[viking8x6]

8 hours ago, Pozlover1 said:

I personally don’t come here for fiction. 

...to save me from clicking on them. 
 

They're already posted in their own separate areas. It's pretty easy to follow just the topics that you're interested in. Then you can use the "Content I Follow" feature to see just the stuff you want.

[drscorpio]

2 hours ago, viking8x6 said:

I can't see any easy way to figure it out with the tools available here. One way the authors could make it possible is to post the sequelae as separate items. Then you could just keep an eye out for new content with the same title. Still not ideal, but it would help somewhat.

When @rawTOP builds the new site, I imagine he will be able to create this feature, or even have it happen automatically if the original poster adds something to a thread. So treat him very nicely 😉

Please do NOT do this. I will just put it all back into one thread. That’s the only way to keep the fiction readable. Over time, chapters in different threads get out of order and drift apart. It is not a workable solution. 

[viking8x6]

7 minutes ago, drscorpio said:

Please do NOT do this. I will just put it all back into one thread. That’s the only way to keep the fiction readable. Over time, chapters in different threads get out of order and drift apart. It is not a workable solution. 

Thanks for weighing in @drscorpio <-- Do what he says, gentlemen! 

[Guest BreedMeInVegas]

1 hour ago, drscorpio said:

Please do NOT do this. I will just put it all back into one thread. That’s the only way to keep the fiction readable. Over time, chapters in different threads get out of order and drift apart. It is not a workable solution. 

Yeah, that would be a nightmare of a mess!

[Guest BreedMeInVegas]

18 hours ago, Twochipigs said:

In the upper right of most BZ pages, you’ll see a button titled “ Unread Content.”  Click on it and any new posts or updates are listed there. Works great to stay updated.

You're missing my point though.  Unread content is easy to find, but most of the time the new content are simple replies like "hot", "Can't wait for the next chapter", "This is my ultimate fantasy"...... Etc.

There is no easy way to see if the actual story has been updated by the author which is what this post is about.  You basically have to go to the last page of each post that has unread content to see what the new content is.  Was simply trying to find an easier way to skip the comments, and find the updates which is pretty easy using the method I mentioned I see on another site.

[Pozlover1]

6 hours ago, viking8x6 said:

They're already posted in their own separate areas. It's pretty easy to follow just the topics that you're interested in. Then you can use the "Content I Follow" feature to see just the stuff you want.

Yes but I’m talking about the Notifications or “see new posts” that have a more brief title. A simple “F” would tell us that this is fiction. 

[rawTOP]

I understand what people want. But the software that runs this site wasn't built for stories. It was built for discussions.

Eventually I'll get to coding a replacement for this site. At that point I can give you guys what you want. But that will be at least a couple years off into the future.

[Guest takingdeepanal]

On 12/21/2019 at 11:25 AM, BreedMeInVegas said:

You're missing my point though.  Unread content is easy to find, but most of the time the new content are simple replies like "hot", "Can't wait for the next chapter", "This is my ultimate fantasy"...... Etc.

There is no easy way to see if the actual story has been updated by the author which is what this post is about.  You basically have to go to the last page of each post that has unread content to see what the new content is.  Was simply trying to find an easier way to skip the comments, and find the updates which is pretty easy using the method I mentioned I see on another site.

You can find it if you search the page of the author who created it.

[Guest BreedMeInVegas]

1 hour ago, takingdeepanal said:

You can find it if you search the page of the author who created it.

Several different ways have been suggested, but none of them are as simple as being able to scroll down the page looking for an updated post name that would indicate that it has been updated on a certain date.

 

It is what it is, I was just trying to suggest something I'd seen on a different site that works well.  But in the end this site is run the way it is, and if it bothers me that much, then no one is forcing me to visit it right!  So I'm happy to play with what's offered!

[PG1961Canada]

When I read a story or thread I like... I do in fact hit the FOLLOW button.  However, I noticed when you do that, it asks you if you want a notification immediately, or daily, or weekly etc...

I select DAILY.  

What happens then, is a get an email to my email account showing my Daily Digest.  I can see quickly the 'one word' or... "hot" or "wow" messages and skip right past them.  Actual updates to a story (like the Doctor series I'm following) do show up as larger posts and I can gather quickly that it is new.  Plus, that particular author, numbers his original posts

It ain't sexy - but it works for me and all this is already available on our BZ site.... my three cents.

Cheers all.....