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One of the things I learned the hard way by making the same mistake over and over again in my early times on the web is to never begin to read a story until that story is posted in it's entirety on a site. While it isn't as much of a problem as it once was, and I don't think it happens here, there are still stories posted here and there that never reach completion.
The thing is, now that I've gotten in the habit, I rather like waiting till a story is complete before I read it because I find it much more fun to binge read a story than to read it as it's parceled out a little at a time.
This brings me to the purpose of my posting. Is it possible when a story is complete to post public notice of that in the new story announcements on the main page? It would look something like this:
The House in the Woods - Chapter 13 by Halceyon (Story Complete)
This may have already been discussed in times past here and perhaps there are valid reasons why it is done the way it is, and if so, I'm okay with that but it would certainly help the reader who prefers to read like I do becasue as things stand the only way to know if a story is complete is to click through to the story page and check every time a new chapter goes up.
Am I being picky? If so it's not intentional 
“There's no grays, only white that's got grubby. I'm surprised you don't know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That's what sin is.” - Terry Pratchett
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13771
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There are at least two things with this
- It is a manual operation, and I would have to go and find all the complete tales and log them
- Sometimes an author extends the tale
That is is a good idea (it is) does not mean I can implement it with any degree of memory or certainty. It would not even be as accurate as a stopped clock.
Some authors submit in dribs and drabs, too. ONe trale is over 200 chapters and rising inexorably and slowly
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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I don't think I would even suggest we should go back and list all complete tales somewhere in some supposedly convenient way. I was thinking more of an idea going forward. It's obvious we know when a story is complete because it is always indicated as such when it happens on the story page itself. It's also obvious that due to not operating the site myself, I don't know the potential difficulties of making note of a complete story in the course of posting the Monday, Wednesday, Friday routine story announcements on the Home Page. In the end, I wouldn't presume to step into that area. It was an idea for my convenience more than anything else! LOL
I administered a very active website and discussion board for a number of years so I do understand the difficulties that can be presented when attempting to accomplish seemingly simple things in a much more complex environment that it would appear on the surface. It became quite frustrating at times when the simplest of ideas couldn't be implimented without spending thousands of dollars and many manhours.
And yeah, I can think of several instance without even trying when an author added chapters after the story was officially complete, and as you say, there's also the stories that the author never intends to bring to a conclusion
Thanks, Tim. So many of us appreciate the work you do and I'm equally as sure that sometimes it seems a thankless task.
[Updated on: Wed, 20 March 2019 02:04]
“There's no grays, only white that's got grubby. I'm surprised you don't know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That's what sin is.” - Terry Pratchett
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13771
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On the author's index page I do list, where known, the number of chapters. If the chapter nyumber has been fulfiulled then we assume it to be completed. If there are chapters yet to be published then we hope they are coming.
What we know is that it is very rare that I start a serial before I have all the chapters, or before the author assures me that they will arrive within the relevant time period.
A current exception is Zach, which started as a short story and caught the author's imagination! I have no idea what awaits us and Zach!
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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ivor slipper
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Likes it here |
Registered: September 2013
Messages: 128
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Some time ago I am across a site that lists 'The Best Gay Themed Stories'. Of course those are only in the opinion of the site owner.
The main reason formentioning it though is because of the large percentage that are shown as 'Incomplete'. At least by doing so he saved me from reading them and ending up frustrated!
Am not suggesting you need to do this Timmy as I know you don't normally accept incomplete tales.
If anyone is interested in this list, a link is below:
http://www.bestgaystories.org/
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13771
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I think I have under twelve incomplete tales on the site. I include those where I am not sure how many chapters remain. Two of those are ongoing for sure. Three may or may not ever be finished, perhaps four. The rest are likely to remaim incomplete. I've no idea how mamy serials we have here. We could find out and work out the accurate percentage. Or someone could, if they like
[Updated on: Wed, 20 March 2019 15:43]
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13771
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Ok, today we have 447 serials. Of these 31 are imcomplete in that I have no idea whether or when they will complete, or that I know they will never be completd. That's a 6.94% oopsy rate. Much of that is historic.
[Updated on: Wed, 20 March 2019 17:11]
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Perhaps I'm being misunderstood. I'm not being critical of the completion ratio. In fact it never entered my mind. I realize that most stories here ARE complete with rare exception, not taking into consideration the ones currently running.
Maybe I should rephrase things by asking a question.
Is there currently a way for a person to know, by looking at the three-times-a-week posting of new chapters on the homepage, when the final chapter of a particular serial has been posted? If not, how difficult would it be to note that completion?
If it's a difficult thing I'm okay with that. Truly. I'm not trying to stir the pot! lol
“There's no grays, only white that's got grubby. I'm surprised you don't know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That's what sin is.” - Terry Pratchett
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luvtwinks
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Likes it here |
Registered: August 2018
Messages: 175
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"timmy wrote on Wed, 20 March 2019 09:19"
A current exception is Zach, which started as a short story and caught the author's imagination! I have no idea what awaits us and Zach!
--
Zach caught my imagination too. I look forward to what awaits us!
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13771
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"Teddy wrote on Wed, 20 March 2019 18:43"Perhaps I'm being misunderstood. I'm not being critical of the completion ratio. In fact it never entered my mind. I realize that most stories here ARE complete with rare exception, not taking into consideration the ones currently running.
Maybe I should rephrase things by asking a question.
Is there currently a way for a person to know, by looking at the three-times-a-week posting of new chapters on the homepage, when the final chapter of a particular serial has been posted? If not, how difficult would it be to note that completion?
If it's a difficult thing I'm okay with that. Truly. I'm not trying to stir the pot! lol
--
We went off on a tangent, Teddy.
There is 'a' way to know. Look at
There you see when the last posting of a tale was. It's the Change Log. When you see the fact that a tale is no lionger there it;s likely that it has concluded.
Adding the fact that a particular tale has concluded relies on my memory and the frailty of my memory coupled with the time I have available.
Probably the best answer is "Not really easy to achieve reliably despite my goodwill"
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Mark
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Likes it here |
Location: Earth
Registered: April 2013
Messages: 279
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"Teddy wrote on Wed, 20 March 2019 12:43"Is there currently a way for a person to know, by looking at the three-times-a-week posting of new chapters on the homepage, when the final chapter of a particular serial has been posted? If not, how difficult would it be to note that completion?
--
Just to add a bit to Timmy's comments, I think the most likely way is to look at the author's page on the site (by clicking on the "Story Shelf" link on the left side of the main page and then clicking on the author's name). Multi-chapter tales will generally have something along the lines of "All chapters complete" or "A tale in X chapters" (with "X" being however many chapters Timmy has been told by the author that the tale will be) underneath the story's title. If it matches the individual number of the most recently posted chapter, then it is, of course, a completed story in and of itself (although there is the occasional sequal for some stories). Usually, if the story is incomplete (and has been for some time) and Timmy doesn't know if it will ever be completed (often because we've lost contact with the author), he will state that somewhere on the author's page, though another good indication is if the last posted chapter number doesn't match up with the number in the above-mentioned "A tale in X chapters" line and the posted date that's next to each chapter is several years ago, then odds are we may not see any more chapters (and of course, continuing on with that, even if you can see that the last chapter hasn't been posted but you can see that the listed date of the last posted chapter is recent, then there's a good chance we'll see more chapters soon).
The only other way I could think of to know for sure is to e-mail the author and ask them directly (and hope they're still around).
[Updated on: Thu, 21 March 2019 15:01] |
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13771
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"Mark wrote on Thu, 21 March 2019 14:59"
"Teddy wrote on Wed, 20 March 2019 12:43"Is there currently a way for a person to know, by looking at the three-times-a-week posting of new chapters on the homepage, when the final chapter of a particular serial has been posted? If not, how difficult would it be to note that completion?
--
Just to add a bit to Timmy's comments, I think the most likely way is to look at the author's page on the site (by clicking on the "Story Shelf" link on the left side of the main page and then clicking on the author's name). Multi-chapter tales will generally have something along the lines of "All chapters complete" or "A tale in X chapters" (with "X" being however many chapters Timmy has been told by the author that the tale will be) underneath the story's title. If it matches the individual number of the most recently posted chapter, then it is, of course, a completed story in and of itself (although there is the occasional sequal for some stories). Usually, if the story is incomplete (and has been for some time) and Timmy doesn't know if it will ever be completed (often because we've lost contact with the author), he will state that somewhere on the author's page, though another good indication is if the last posted chapter number doesn't match up with the number in the above-mentioned "A tale in X chapters" line and the posted date that's next to each chapter is several years ago, then odds are we may not see any more chapters (and of course, continuing on with that, even if you can see that the last chapter hasn't been posted but you can see that the listed date of the last posted chapter is recent, then there's a good chance we'll see more chapters soon).
The only other way I could think of to know for sure is to e-mail the author and ask them directly (and hope they're still around).
--
Adding to this, I don't manage to monitor everything, especially the oldest stories here. If folk see a story that makes them wonder, ask me, ask the author[/font], ask both. Give ne as much relevant detail as possible, either by email or here.
I do my best, but this is a hobby for me, albeit one that is important to me. WIth everyone;s help we can make it ev[/font]en better
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Okay, Honestly, I know how to check the author's page where it is very obviously laid out that a story is complete. and I know how to page back through the change log to see if a story has suddenly gone missing from the lineup and deduce from the knowledge that perhaps a story might be complete.
The things is, for someone like me, who refuses to read a story as it is parceled out over several weeks time because i really do prefer to read it all at once, one never knows when it is complete without jumping through extra hoops for each of 3 to 7 stories every posting day to try and make that determination. For those who read the chapters as they are posted this is not an issue.
I understand now that there is something inherent in the posting process here that makes it difficult for whomever is doing the posting, in this case Tim, to know for sure when the posting of a particular tale is actually finiahws. It's a process thing and Tim cannot see from what he's working with when he posts if said tale is finished when he's putting up the announcements on the homepage. While it would be a very convenient thing to have it's obviously not as simple as it would seem at first blush. That's fine. I'm the weird one in the bunch, I'll admit my weirdness and, at least on this, drift quietly off into the sunset! LOL
“There's no grays, only white that's got grubby. I'm surprised you don't know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That's what sin is.” - Terry Pratchett
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13771
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You may be weird, Teddy, but we like you.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Mark
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Likes it here |
Location: Earth
Registered: April 2013
Messages: 279
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"Teddy wrote on Thu, 21 March 2019 21:08"I understand now that there is something inherent in the posting process here that makes it difficult for whomever is doing the posting, in this case Tim, to know for sure when the posting of a particular tale is actually finiahws. It's a process thing and Tim cannot see from what he's working with when he posts if said tale is finished when he's putting up the announcements on the homepage. While it would be a very convenient thing to have it's obviously not as simple as it would seem at first blush. That's fine. I'm the weird one in the bunch, I'll admit my weirdness and, at least on this, drift quietly off into the sunset! LOL
--
I think, from what I understand from Timmys's coments, is that the vast majority of the multi-chapter stories he receives are already complete when he receives them. So, again, checking the author's page to see how many chapters a story has (and then figuring out how long it would take for the last chapter to be posted, based on a roughly 3 chapter a week posting rate) is probably the one quick way to find out at least general idea of when a story is complete (as Timmy wouldn't list the number of total chapters unless the author knows how many chapters there are, and the author in turn wouldn't tell Timmy that uness they themselves knew for sure, which ususally only occurs because the author is through writing the story).
The only other way to be sure is, as Timmy mentioned, to contact either himself or the author directly and to ask. These two methods probably may not always be 100% accurate (particularly in the case of contacting the author or Timmy, as you have to wait, and that's assuming Timmy knows - as he mentioned, there is the occiasional story that is "ongoing" where even the author might not know when it will end - or waiting and hoping that the author responds), but we really don't know what to tell you or anyone else who wants to know beforehand if a specific story is complete going just off the announcements on the main page and on the mailing list.
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I'm another person who doesn't like reading a story until it's complete. I simply don't start reading ... so the latest chapters update posted on the home page are just things I tend to ignore (except for the challenges, which are usually complete in themselves). I handle it by just going through all the authors every couple of months, seeing if there's anything new which seems to have all its chapters present.
I like the idea of clicking on "What's New", scrolling back a bit, and seeing if a story suddenly stops posting (which would suggest it was complete). That might be a bit easier if each story had a line to itself on each update (like a list), rather than them running on one from the other.
I fully accept Timmy's assurance that it would be complicated to add a "final chapter" tag to the final update notification for any story. We're lucky that Timmy puts so much energy into selecting such amazing stories, and all the behind-the-scenes admin that any site needs!
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars." Martin Luther King
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13771
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It is rare indeed that I accept an incomplete story. They are usually only accepted in exceptional circumstances. In the early days I had not got stopry publishing down to a decent scheme, and tried to publish a bit of everything. The bottom of the change log will show you some of that. At that time it seemed to matter less of a story failed to be completed.
We still have one tale that started in AUguist 2005 that is ongoing. The author started out at a chapter a week, and has now talied off rather. He tells me he will conclude the tale when he reaches the present day. Since he has slowed to a crawl right now I suspect that will never happen.
I do not count occasional vignettes as serials, by the way. The may have multiple vognettes, but it is not usually necessary to read start to finish.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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