Forum Moving

[Lazeez Jiddan]

Finally, our home grown forum software is ready for beta testing. I'm putting the final touches on our forum software, which is integrated with SOL's engine.

You can find the public beta version at:

http://storiesonline.net/d/ (for 'D'iscussions).

Give it a whirl and let me know what you catch. Once I stop receiving bug reports, I'll be removing the beta tag and closing this forum and redirecting it to the new location. I don't know yet if I'll keep forum threads created during the beta test period.

Please read the forum rules at:

http://storiesonline.net/d/Forum_Rules

Let me know if you think something needs to be modified or added.

--
Lazeez Jiddan
Storiesonline.net

[Deadly Ernest]

Looks good, just posted a feature request I think will make it easier to use if it can be done.

[Crumbly Writer]

One feature I think is needed: either a "Delete" or "Edit" option (for when we write things we realize we shouldn't have). On the GG forum, you can delete a thread only if it hasn't been commented on, but you can edit or delete your own contributions to a discussion.

And actually, I suspect removing all the advanced editing features will result in faster response rates, as GG was incredibly slow!

[Crumbly Writer]

You may want to pin this discussion to the top of the Forum, for anyone who visits the site late and wonders where everyone went.

[Sagacious]

Right now I am able to do everything but start a new topic through my email. Will this continue are will I need to go to the forum section on SOL? 

On Mon, Aug 24, 2015 at 8:01 PM, Crumbly Writer <crumbl...@gmail.com> wrote:

You may want to pin this discussion to the top of the Forum, for anyone who visits the site late and wonders where everyone went.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "storiesonline" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to storiesonlin...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--

Rock on into the night.

[Tim Merrigan]

One problem I have with all the online fora, as opposed to e-mail lists and newsgroups, is that one has to go on the web to use them.

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2015.0.6125 / Virus Database: 4409/10502 - Release Date: 08/24/15

[Sagacious]

Well I use a Chromebook so online is my normal medium. Thank goodness for roadrunner with unlimited usage.

[Lazeez Jiddan]

On Aug 24, 2015, at 9:10 PM, Sagacious <sagaci...@gmail.com> wrote:

Right now I am able to do everything but start a new topic through my email. Will this continue are will I need to go to the forum section on SOL? 

It will have to be on the forum. No mail in.

I know it's annoying, and email is how I handle most postings here.

But the way it's set up now, with GG, one has to get out of SOL and register/login with google to use what basically should be an SOL facility. A lot of potential participants balk at that extra step and that puts a damper on the discussion.

It's not good for any site to rely on external partners that could stab you in the back for site services who knows how log will google keep these forums open and for free. We started with gmail for domains and now they demand payment for any new domain and really push you 'upgrade' for existing domains with gmail.

Also, with a forum system built into the site, I can have author forums and even, if I'm feeling sadistic, story comment system with the same facilities.

-- 

Lazeez Jiddan

Storiesonline.net

[Lazeez Jiddan]

On Aug 24, 2015, at 9:25 PM, Tim Merrigan <tp...@ca.rr.com> wrote:

One problem I have with all the online fora, as opposed to e-mail lists and newsgroups, is that one has to go on the web to use them.

True, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. You're basically changing the client. Also, on the web, context can be clearer when I finish the threading part of the forum.

-- 

Lazeez Jiddan

Storiesonline.net

[Sagacious]

That makes damn good sense. I should be able to manage easily enough. 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "storiesonline" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to storiesonlin...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Tim Merrigan]

Another problem I suspect will come up, when SoL goes down, so will the forum, unlike now, when they're completely separate entities.  So we won't be able to discuss how, why, and whether it's down.

On 2015-08-24 18:25, Tim Merrigan wrote:

[Tim Merrigan]

I have no problem with threading in Thunderbird

[Crumbly Writer]

Just keep Lazeez's email address on your e-mail list. Things won't get fixed until he knows about it. The people on the forum can't do much.

[Tim Merrigan]

Will you have the age limit on forum discussions, which we don't have here?

[Sagacious]

why?

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "storiesonline" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to storiesonlin...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Gauthier]

Because the new forum will be subject to the same Canadian law, while google forums is not :)

But except maybee for a few rache post, I do not remember any post on the current forum which would have to be censored.

So it's not really an issue is it?

[Zine]

Tim,

SOL being down is not considered an emergency by all of us.

Zine.

[Lazeez Jiddan]

On Aug 24, 2015, at 9:36 PM, Tim Merrigan <tp...@ca.rr.com> wrote:

Another problem I suspect will come up, when SoL goes down, so will the forum, unlike now, when they're completely separate entities.  So we won't be able to discuss how, why, and whether it's down.

We have twitter and my blog will move to a different hosting facility separate from the main site. Both will be usable in case of the site being down.

Honestly discussion of the site down, while may help some cope, is not exactly a priority when designing these things.

-- 

Lazeez Jiddan

Storiesonline.net

[Lazeez Jiddan]

On Aug 24, 2015, at 9:48 PM, Tim Merrigan <tp...@ca.rr.com> wrote:

Will you have the age limit on forum discussions, which we don't have here?

Of course. Anybody under 18 shouldn't be logging in to SOL anyway, so they shouldn't be seeing the forum anyway.

Any discussion on an adult site's forum (including on GG) should be viewed only by adults. GG makes you confirm that you want to see adult contents each time (even me and I'm the group's owner).

So that is a non-issue.

-- 

Lazeez Jiddan

Storiesonline.net

[ElSol]

Please define 'promoting book for sale' forum rule -- folks here do go on about their sales, books on sales, etc. I also believe some folks have it in their signature.

I am not particularly interested in self-publishing for sales or buying them, but I don't think a contributing author should be denied the opportunity to announce a new book on sale to our group.

[Tim Merrigan]

Not that age limit, the age limit of indicating that people under 14 might know about sex.

[Sagacious]

Once again, why? I cannot remember a post in the last several years that could possibly have needed censoring. Not even for questionable language, let alone pedophilia. We are discussing stories on the forum, not posting them.   

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "storiesonline" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to storiesonlin...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Switch Blayde]

I participate on this forum through email. When there's a new post, I get an email. If I want to respond, I reply to the email. That's the way I like it.

If I have to go to the forum and decide what I haven't read, I most likely won't be involved as much.

Switch
["Sexual Awakening" (full length novel) at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1VHIZC ]

[stories at http://storiesonline.net/auth/Switch_Blayde ]
[Twitter at https://twitter.com/swblayde ]
[discussion group/blog at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/switch_blayde_group/ ]
 

---

Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2015 21:10:22 -0400
Subject: Re: Forum Moving
From: sagaci...@gmail.com
To: storie...@googlegroups.com

[Switch Blayde]

Maybe it's because I don't use GG groups for this forum, but with the new forum, how do I know what's new? What I haven't read? I don't want to have to re-read everything.

Accessing the group via emails, all posts I haven't read come to my inbox. I don't have to go searching for them.

In the wattpad forum, what they call clubs, when I go to a club and click on "all discussions" there's a tag for each topic that tells me how many posts were added since I was last in it (e.g., "2 new").

Switch
["Sexual Awakening" (full length novel) at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1VHIZC ]

[stories at http://storiesonline.net/auth/Switch_Blayde ]
[Twitter at https://twitter.com/swblayde ]
[discussion group/blog at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/switch_blayde_group/ ]
 

[Switch Blayde]

>

Right now I am able to do everything but start a new topic through my email.

I start new topics through email (I never go to the GG). All you have to do is compose a new email  and send it to storie...@googlegroups.com. What you put in the Subject becomes the GG Topic.

Switch
["Sexual Awakening" (full length novel) at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1VHIZC ]

[stories at http://storiesonline.net/auth/Switch_Blayde ]
[Twitter at https://twitter.com/swblayde ]
[discussion group/blog at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/switch_blayde_group/ ]
 

[Kirby Lambert]

Just FYI, many people including myself refuse to use or have anything to do with social media including twitter!!

Kirby Lambert

[Serena Jones]

Hi All

I do everything by email largely because I am rarely home to use my desktop, I have wi-fi only on my tablet, and anything larger than an email is difficult to read on my phone. I haven't been to GG since I set up my account there - same with yahoo groups. Everything by email.

I can tell you right now that while I will probably log in and set up access, the extra step and (for me) limited access means that Mother will retire effective the day this forum ends. I know, boo hoo. And we haven't needed her in a good long while. But generally these days I've been a lurker not a commenter, but I can update my emails on the tablet before I leave the house and read on the train. If I have to be online, that won't work, so no catching up on the group on my way to the office. Or at the office (no wi-fi). Or at the train station on the way home - SOL is blocked at that (and most of Washington DC's free public hotspots) because of adult content. So I'll only have access at home.

Lazeez, if the email option is possible - even if I have to have an SOL email to use it - I really hope you'll re-consider it. For me, it not the extra step of logging in, it's the available of access. Email is still more portable than any site.

I will look at the new forum this weekend. And if I don't get back on the board any time soon, play nice and be well.

Serena Jones.

[Daniel]

With a bit of work, for example by creating a catch-all for all @forum.storiesonline.net addresses and reading mails sent to that account programmatically with the help of a cronjob, the forum could be accessed exclusively from an e-mail client. One could create new topics by sending a new mail to an address like newthrea...@forum.storiesonline.net or reply to a reply-...@forum.storiesonline.net address. The user would only need to create an entry in the address-book for each forum he or she wants to post to.

I've developed something similar a few years ago. It was designed to work on a shared web-host (Confixx based) and it totally removed the need to use a browser or the website's login system.

That being said, I don't have an issue with these changes. If you wanted to make the transition easier, you could still create a way to allow your users to subscribe to the whole forum and include a reply-link in the mails that are sent out to users. That way, we could at least have a read-only version of the new forums in our mail client and if we had something important to say in reply, we'd click the included link and continue in the browser.

The only thing I would like to request are the comfort features one expects from modern web forum software. A list of new posts since the last visit to the forum and a list of unread threads should be the first new features. Anything less than that and your forum will become a pain to use and I'll probably start avoiding it at some point. I guess I don't understand why you wanted to write this forum software yourself, when you could use that time more productively by choosing a free or commercial alternative.

Regards,
Daniel

[Ken Ray]

Okay - let me toss a spanner into the works.  For those of us that like to monitor / contribute to this forum at work, there will be a problem.  The domain "storiesonline.net" is blocked by some filtering software, because it's identified as adult / porn.  Not a problem for me, because it I need to access my SOL account, I can do that in the evenings at home.  But the forum is on groups.google.com - which isn't blocked at all.

So if you switch this forum to part of the SOL domain... goodbye all.

[Crumbly Writer]

The 'rule' (concerning underaged characters) is that you can't include descriptions of the actual sex acts. I've rarely seen those included in discussions, though I can see it coming up if someone asks for advice on a story passage (not a very common occurrence). In those few cases, the person will have to remember to send a link, rather than posting the actual story.

Switch, the new forum lists messages not read, so you'll see the 'unread' number for each group (i.e. authors, readers, story ideas, etc.). Thus it functions much like the GG forum (except for emails). However, I suspect you're right. The reader groups will probably be empty, as the few authors who are regular contributors probably won't visit it often.

[Switch Blayde]

Crumbly,

Where does it show the unread posts?

The main page has the general headings and a number to the right saying how many topics are in it. That's not it.

Then I clicked on "Author Hangout" and see 2 topics. To the far right of each is the number of posts, so for Author Hangout it's "Posts: 4". Actually there are 5 posts unless the 1st one isn't counted. But that's not unread posts. Mine is the last post so if it were unread posts it would be zero.

Those are the only numbers I see. I don't see anything that would tell me what I haven't already read.

Switch
["Sexual Awakening" (full length novel) at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1VHIZC ]

[stories at http://storiesonline.net/auth/Switch_Blayde ]
[Twitter at https://twitter.com/swblayde ]
[discussion group/blog at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/switch_blayde_group/ ]
 

---

Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2015 14:42:39 -0700
From: crumbl...@gmail.com
To: storie...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Forum Moving

[Dem Gnomes]

I have to question why you have written "home grown forum software" at all? There are plenty of people out there publishing forum software that can be integrated (or used SAAS/PAAS) seamlessly into a domain. This is a classic example of when to buy over building. Instead, you have started out well down on the debug curve, and will be maintaining "one more thing" when you already report that you don't have enough time to work on SOL-specific site features.

If you're going to spend time plowing new ground, I would much rather see an Android app, or some dedicated editing/authoring modules, or crypto integration with g-drive or dropbox or box, or a paid-user VPN domain. Reinventing the wheel for the sake of getting forum messages under an SOL or FS domain doesn't seem to offer much return on investment.

Dem Vive-le-ROI Gnomes

[Joshua Tubbs]

One good reason for writing your own software, especially for Sol, is
so that you don't have to create seperate accounts.


On 8/25/15, 'Dem Gnomes' via storiesonline

[Daniel]

That's not really an issue from a technical point of view. Some forums software already support an external user database through the so-called SSO (Single Sign-On) method, while others can be adapted to it.

A number of them - mostly commercial forums software like vBulletin (vBSSO) or XenForo (Single Sign On by Waindingo) - can be modified rather painlessly with existing plugins. If the small closed community of SOL/FS isn't worth the use of a commercial license, alternatives like the open-source phpBB would work well too, I expect. phpBB supports external user authentication plugins by design and one just needs to write it.

Getting an existing piece of software to work with an external user database like Lazeez' login system would take *some* work of course, but in the end I expect it to be a lot more time-efficient. The user experience from a dedicated forums software would without a doubt be superior to the self-coded alternative. That's to be expected, when you compare your own results with a shoe-string budget of time to a software that has been developed over the years. Not that I don't respect Lazeez for that, but creating something from scratch wouldn't be my first choice in the face of so many great alternatives.

Daniel

[massivereader]

What happens to the several year's worth of archived posts? There's a lot of links and information that's going to be lost if you just close out the Group.

 

John

[Daniel]

Someone could try to fetch the content from this google group. There's a php class (GoogleGroupsScraper) which was written to do exactly that and maybe there's other software for that purpose too. I don't know if the code from 2010 will work today, but it might need some modifications to get rid of the adult warning anyway.

What to do with it though? Maybe Lazeez could create a read-only archive forum and import everything there. Once the new SOL forum has a search function, it would become a useful resource.