Still working on the new website...
Apr. 27th, 2005 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calic0catOkay, folks, I've got a few questions for you regarding my new website design.
1) When looking at story information, as far as character information is concerned, are you only interested in pairings or would you also like to see a list of characters who appear in the story? [edit: Based on feedback so far, I'm ditching the detailed character listings and going with pairing listings only - it's definitely much less work, so I'm just as happy to make the change.]
2) When listing pairings, do you only care about the main pairings or do you want to know about every pairing, including those that are only implied/mentioned or are unrequited or are short-lived?
3) For the GW folks, if sex scenes/citrus (whether of the lime, implied lemon, or explicit lemon variety) are listed in the warnings, is a 1x2/2x1 pairing listing sufficient to cover 1+2, 2+1, 1x2, 2x1, and this 1=2 pairing that seems to have suddenly become popular? [edit: Moot point since it turns out that the eFiction script gets confused by options that are partial matches for another option, meaning that it will match 2x1 with 1x2/2x1 or 1x2x1 (when doing searches and in certain other admin-related functions), as well as with the correct 2x1 option, so I'm just going to use 1x2/2x1 and forget about it. The same problem affects the warnings, which is why there's "Non-Consensual Sex" but "Past Non-Con. Sex". Fairly minor but seriously annoying bug - took a while to figure out what the heck was going on.]
4) Keeping in mind that the current skin is just the default and therefore will be changing, take a look at http://test.calic0cat.net - do the categories seem logical? Do the warnings and genres seem clear and complete? Are there additional warnings and/or genres that should be added?
It's probably still going to be at least another couple of weeks before the site goes live because a new release of the eFiction script that's running things is due out for testing at the end of this week. Since there's some important changes in the script, I want to wait till I have a chance to check it out before going live. Not much point in doing massive customization in order to put things up with the old script if I'm going to have to redo all that work to put up the new one in a matter of a few weeks.
2) When listing pairings, do you only care about the main pairings or do you want to know about every pairing, including those that are only implied/mentioned or are unrequited or are short-lived?
4) Keeping in mind that the current skin is just the default and therefore will be changing, take a look at http://test.calic0cat.net - do the categories seem logical? Do the warnings and genres seem clear and complete? Are there additional warnings and/or genres that should be added?
It's probably still going to be at least another couple of weeks before the site goes live because a new release of the eFiction script that's running things is due out for testing at the end of this week. Since there's some important changes in the script, I want to wait till I have a chance to check it out before going live. Not much point in doing massive customization in order to put things up with the old script if I'm going to have to redo all that work to put up the new one in a matter of a few weeks.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 09:17 am (UTC)2) Other pairings besides the main one are useful to know - I will never forget the time I spent merrily reading a 3x4/4x3 fic when suddenly 2xH cropped up. I've naught against the pairing, it just blind-sided me and I spent too long going 'huh' to focus back on the 3x4/4x3.
3) I have no preference how the darn numbers are put in order *gets a headache just looking at them* I tend towards just saying 1x2x1 or 1x2/2x1 to establish that as the pairing, regardless of how intimate the relationship and certainly regardless of who tops.
4) Categories don't seem all that changed from the old site - they're easy to navigate and let you know what's where. Works for me!
/attempt to be helpful
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 06:56 pm (UTC)Now I just need to figure out which other pairings to add as options... maybe I need to add "implied 3x4/4x3", etc.
Thanks for the comments!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 09:29 am (UTC)2. I do like every pairing listed, even past ones, at least as far as the main characters are concerned. In addition, any other active pairings in the story are nice to see.
3. I'm okay with 1x2/2x1, but I know a lot of people like to know if it's 1x2 or 2x1. Some people don't like reading Heero as uke and others don't like Duo as uke.
4. It looks good to me. ^_____^
I'm looking forward to seeing the finished look. I think you've done a great job with it!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 07:12 pm (UTC)I'm really not sure what to do about #3. If I split the pairing up, I'll have to list 1x2, 2x1, and 1x2x1. And if I go that far, then I'll need 1+2, 2+1, and 1+2+1 as well. Argh. That gets - messy. But I do know that some people are very particular about who's uke and who's seme. Guess I'll have to think about that one a little more.
As for the "look" - right now, the skin is the default eFiction one, with only a few fairly minor modifications, so I really can't take credit for it. Out of the three skins that came with the script, that's the only one that I kept. I really liked the clean, professional look of it.
I've just barely started working on one possible alternate skin, so only the main page is even partially done. I stopped work on it for the moment because the skin templates are one of the things that have changed somewhat in the new version of eFiction. Ideally, I'll probably want about three skins - a default, professional, work-safe one like the current one, then one GW-themed skin and one TS-themed skin. But as long as the default skin looks good, I won't delay launching the new site just because I don't have the custom skins finished.
Thanks for the comments - an outside opinion definitely helps!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 08:14 am (UTC)I really liked the clean, professional look of it.
I do, too. *is trying not to be jealous* I think what you have planned sounds fantastic. I wish you the very best with it!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 10:02 am (UTC)That '+' 'x' '=' thing makes me nuts. Just tell me who is interested in who and I don't much care beyond that. Friends/lovers/partners... it's all good. ^__~
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 07:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 10:06 am (UTC)2. Just the main pairings is fine.
3. I always assume "1x2" covers all the variations. Some authors do it that way, others do not. *shrugs*
4. The site looks good to me!
I am opposed to too much detail in descriptions, just as I am to too much detail in movie previews. If there's so much detail, what's left for me to discover? Might as well not bother clicking further/spending the $9. And I also regularly skip headers, mostly for the same reason.
I am not an author and am just a miniscule fish in the giant fanfic pond. These are only my opinions, and therefore are worth exactly the price you paid for them.
I think your new site will rock. Carry on! ^_^
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 07:28 pm (UTC)I am not an author and am just a miniscule fish in the giant fanfic pond.
Ah, but since my site is primarily *for* readers - it's not open to general submission by authors, only to guest stories by invitation - your opinion is exactly the kind that matters.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 08:58 pm (UTC)And thank the gods for that! It shows in your insistence on quality and your frequent updates as well. All of which your lowly readers looooove! ♥
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 01:00 pm (UTC)2. That depends on the work, I think. If there's a pairing that is referred to but isn't really important in the grand scheme of the tale, then it probably doesn't need to be mentioned (unless the author thinks it's rather controversial or something).
3. As long as folks are consistent with their use of GW equations, I don't really care. Again, the summary is where I look to get a sense of how that relationship will be written.
4. The layout looks darn lovely to me. I did totally miss the warning on the front page but then again I also knew what I was looking for (yaoi, damn it!) so I just went right over to the navigation bar. If you're worried about folks missing the warning, maybe some sort of welcome banner or bold formatting to bring it out? Your call. You won't hear any complaints from me, in any case!
The site is gorgeous. I'll be looking forward to snooping around on it when you go live!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 07:39 pm (UTC)Thanks for the tip on the warning; maybe I'll have to increase the font size or something to make it at least a bit more noticeable. I don't really feel that it's my job to police other people's kids, but I figure that a simple warning isn't unreasonable. But I'm not *too* concerned about it being noticed, since one of the nice little touches of the script I'm using is that I can turn on a warning box for any rating that I like. I've got it turned on for the "FRM" (R) and "FRAO" (NC-17) ratings right now. Not that it would actually deter any minors, but it's a gesture to placate those parents too lazy to watch their own kids. I've been lucky up till now, but I know a few others who've been hassled by irate parents.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 02:57 pm (UTC)2) I prefer all pairings be listed.
3) 1x2/2x1 works for me.
4) It looks good to me! I can't wait to see the finished site! I think you are doing a teriffic job.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 07:42 pm (UTC)Thanks for the comments - hopefully the new version of the script comes out on time and is stable enough that I can get the site open sooner rather than later.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 02:58 pm (UTC)2. I like seeing all of the pairings listed. Though, err, truthfully...? Mostly I'm only interested in knowing whether Heero and Duo are/will end up together >_>;. But that's just me, so I'll say all n_n;.
3. I don't really care which of the boys tops, so 1x2/2x1 sounds just fine.
4. For additional genres... Maybe BDSM and Master/Slave...?
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 07:50 pm (UTC)Opinions are slightly less unambiguous on #2 and #3; I'm going to have to think about how I'm going to handle those. Probably list most pairings and leave the generic 1x2/2x1 -style pairings listings.
As for #4... well, at the moment I don't really have anything on my site that falls under either of those genres, at least as far as I can recall. Though once I get my personal site done and move on to my other planned project, that will be a different situation...
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 03:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 06:15 pm (UTC)2) I like to know about every pairing most of the time. If they're in the past, unrequited or short lived, it depends. Any pairing in which the two characters have a serious emotional or even casual sexual relationship should go under pairings in my book. I remember one fic where the main pairing was 2x1 but Heero had been sexually abused by dr.J in the past. If I had known, I wouldnt' have read the fic. And if it's a "ooh I'm so in love with Duo but can't do anything about it 'cause Heero would have my balls, thus I will suffer silently" kind of unrequited, I'd like to know 'cause there's serious intent there.
3) I've never understood the 1=2 thing. On the other hand, 1x2x1 actually means an equal relationship between Heero and Duo to me. I mean, some people are picky about which partner is the dominant one. I am to some extent. While a 1x2/2x1 category would probably cover everything, I'd pay attention to the 1+2/1x2, 2+1/2x1 and 1x2x1 indications under pairing.
4) the way you have your old site set up is easy to navigate and pretty logical. Your new site right now is pretty good too.
sorry for babbling on.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 08:07 pm (UTC)For pairings, I think I'm going to have to add options that would make it clear that it was a past or unrequited pairing rather than a serious pairing within the story's timeline.
I agree with you on the 1=2 versus 1x2x1 thing; I always thought that 1x2x1 meant an equal relationship between Heero and Duo. Six separate pairing possibilities just for Heero and Duo (1+2, 2+1, 1+2+1, 1x2, 2x1, 1x2x1) seems a little ridiculous, but combining 1+2 and 1x2 doesn't make much sense, since once you start breaking things down that far, 1+2 basically translates to Heero liking/loving Duo but not having his feelings requited, while 1x2 is strictly a matter of sexual dynamics. And then of course, there's the eternal debate of whether a story with Heero and Duo in an established sexual relationship but without any explicit sex scenes is actually 1x2/2x1 or 1+2/2+1. My personal take is that the relationship makes it 1x2/2x1, while a 1+2/2+1 is strictly a get-together fic where their relationship never moves beyond light making out, if that.
*sighs* I'm going to have to think about this one...
sorry for babbling on
Don't be! I know what *I* like in a site, but since my site is for readers, not for me, it's important that I be aware of what different readers are looking for. Your comments definitely help.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 08:19 am (UTC)It's supposed to, but some people feel that what usually happens in 1x2x1 fic is that Heero is seme 90% of the time, and Duo is lucky if he gets to be seme 5% of the time. I'm paraphrasing what I've seen other people say, but I think that's the gist of it. 1=2 came up as a way of saying that the relationship is totally equal. Duo gets to top as much as Heero does. ^______^
no subject
Date: 2005-05-10 09:04 am (UTC)lol.. you asked for it...
Date: 2005-04-28 08:52 pm (UTC)but you're right. The whole multiplication or cross symbol usually indicates R and above with sex whether explicit or not and your categories make sense. People who visit your site will catch on quickly and if you really wanted to make your categories clear, you COULD write a FAQ. People will catch on quickly. Or you could ask the GWAddiction people how they classify their stories. I think most people in the GW fandom are familiar with the site and the ratings there so if you model your work after theirs, it should be an easy transition for any GW reader.
Incidentally, I'm actually quite picky about stories that have one dominant partner and one "submissive" partner though. Like Akuma's stories are VERY 2x1 to me. And someone like Stormy is more 1x2. Jana's stuff would be more 1x2x1. I dunno. Fics where one half of the pairing is openly (or overly) submissive and the other is clearly dominant... well, I like to know about that 'cause for some reason I'm not fond of 2x1's of that type as a general rule.
In any case, the whole category thing doesn't have a rule. You use your best judgement and a little bit of a recommendation from the author themselves and you're probably good to go. ^___^
Re: lol.. you asked for it...
Date: 2005-05-10 09:17 am (UTC)Well, you don't have to worry about much of that on my site. I'm not overly fond of 2x1's with extremely submissive Heeros and extremely dominant Duos myself, generally speaking. That being said, I don't usually care for excessively dominant Heeros and excessively submissive Duos either. I generally like things more well-balanced in their relationship as a whole, even if one tends to "catch" more frequently than the other.
It looks like the multiple pairing listings issue is a moot point anyway. The current version of the eFiction script mucks things up royally if one option forms a partial match to another. For example, if I use 1x2x1, 1x2, and 2x1 as categories and someone searches for 2x1, they get all the 1x2x1s *and* all the 2x1s. Which kind of defeats the purpose. There's a few other things that get kind of messed up too, so I've gone back to just 1x2/2x1, etc. for the pairings.
Re: lol.. you asked for it...
Date: 2005-05-10 02:47 pm (UTC)exactly.
I've gone back to just 1x2/2x1, etc. for the pairings.
that's ok. People will find their way around. It's not like people in the GW fandom aren't used to getting a hang of certain sites.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 10:23 pm (UTC)Don't need character roll call.
Do like warnings tho, hate to read deathfics mostly but have read some very good ones. Just like a heads up there be _____ here.
The site is nice, I like it alot.
NOt much help I'm afraid, but you know I do enjoy your site any way I can get it.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-10 09:49 am (UTC)So, if I warn for death because there's a lot of it, that doesn't mean that the story's a deathfic for one of the main characters, only that death plays an important enough role in the story (due to a massive death toll, death of minor or major canon characters (other than Heero and Duo), graphic death, or a particularly disturbing death such as the death of a child) that I feel it's necessary to warn for it. I'm counter-balancing the death warning with a reminder on the front page of the type of stories that I like to read and write, which will hopefully be enough to let people know that things will turn out okay for Heero and Duo in the end. Not an ideal solution, but hopefully a compromise that everyone can live with.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 10:30 pm (UTC)I think you've done a wonderful job! Everything looks clean and very clear as to content and genre... How long until it's finished??
no subject
Date: 2005-05-10 09:53 am (UTC)Nice work!
4) Congrats on the new site, though I sure will miss the old one. It was a bit more unique, you couldn’t mistake it for any other . . . (listen to me, nostalgic already :D ).
The new design is very nice and sleek, but also a bit “standard” . . .
The warnings are ~very~ jumpy . . .
do you really think there’s need for a separate warning for every chapter after the initial one?
(I’d, personally, would have preferred to go through an additional warning page at the entrance of the site and not to get those pop-ups.)
Oh, and I think I misunderstood the searching fields in the beginning of sections. Do you search through ‘that’ section only? It’s a bit too elaborated for little stupid me :)
A big two-thumbs-up on the “completed/not” kind of a comment. Maybe you’d even consider a section for a “not-completed” stories only? It’s always been very important to me to know that the story I read have a closure . . . (I blame CYT for all my traumas, and maybe Maldoror – “incomplete: 40 parts”! good grief woman . . .ahm, sorry).
Anyway, congrats and keep on writing ol’ that good stuff :))
^stranger^
Re: Nice work!
Date: 2005-05-03 11:05 am (UTC)About the symbols... I just don't get them. +? x? and "="(that one is funny), I don't undersand!!! Maybe it's because I really don't care, but what I really care is about some warnings like extreme angst or death, I mean, I don't like them to die!!!!!!!! Angst is very good if there's a happy ending somewere.
Your current page is great, the new one, I still have to check...
Good Luck!
Re: Nice work!
Date: 2005-05-10 11:37 am (UTC)Don't worry, there will be a more customized version of the site eventually. I just want to get everything in place and working correctly before I start customizing the layout. If all goes well, there will eventually be a Gundam Wing skin and a The Sentinel skin in addition to the very sleek and professional-looking one. The rather "standard" skin will probably stay as the default, however, since it's very "work-friendly". *grin*
The warnings are ~very~ jumpy . . . do you really think there’s need for a separate warning for every chapter after the initial one?
(I’d, personally, would have preferred to go through an additional warning page at the entrance of the site and not to get those pop-ups.)
By default, the warnings occur on every chapter with an "FRM" (R-equivalent) or "FRAO" (NC-17 equivalent) rating. Not really a problem for something like LWH where each chapter is rated individually and only a few chapters are rated that strongly, or if someone is reading a story one chapter at a time as it's posted, but rather annoying for stories that are rated as a whole and multiple chapters are read at once.
Since the overall story rating is the rating of the first chapter rather than the highest rating of all chapters, there isn't really a way to trigger the warning only once per story. At least, not by default. I may see if I can hack the script and mod it to only warn once, but I need to get everything else working first.
'Cause those "enter here" pages in front of a site are one of my pet-peeves (especially the ones that force you to read the whole thing and click something weird in order to get in). I believe in making access to stories as easy as possible (bookmarking the author or story page directly should always be possible - therefore, no evil frames (*ick*) or forced point-of-entry), then warning at the story itself.
It's not like I actually think the warnings will deter anyone. I just want something to point at and say "not my fault, you/your kid were/was warned" if and when someone complains about encountering a graphic lemon scene.
Oh, and I think I misunderstood the searching fields in the beginning of sections. Do you search through ‘that’ section only? It’s a bit too elaborated for little stupid me :)
I actually had to go look and see what you were talking about since I've only really used the admin search! If you were searching from within one of the categories, then, yes, the search is limited to that category. You can limit the search by pairing (up to two choices), genre, etc.
On the main search page, you can either do a simple search by author, story title, etc., or you can do a more advanced search and limit the pairing, etc. In this case, you can also limit the category if you wish.
As for the "completed/not" - glad you like the notation. I'll probably either end up adding a page specifically for completed only or making it easier to search for completed stories only. The only catch to *that* is that things like LWH and The Holiday Series are always going to be incomplete since they're ongoing series, yet they can still be read and enjoyed as they are. I may need to add an additional category specifically for that type of story. I'll have to wait and see.
the new page
Date: 2005-05-04 10:10 am (UTC)Go on!
Re: the new page
Date: 2005-05-10 08:20 am (UTC)Random GW Fic
Date: 2005-05-10 12:54 am (UTC)~ari~
Re: Random GW Fic
Date: 2005-05-10 08:17 am (UTC)Re: Random GW Fic
Date: 2005-05-10 08:27 am (UTC)~ari~
Re: Random GW Fic
Date: 2005-05-10 08:31 am (UTC)~ari~
Re: Random GW Fic
Date: 2005-05-10 10:34 am (UTC)