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Myr

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Blog Entries posted by Myr

  1. Myr

    Forum Consolidation and Club Clean Up

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    As part of keeping up with changing times, we have done a consolidation of forums and clubs and have removed stuff that was not getting enough use.  This will hopefully consolidate our active content into less places as well as making the "Fluid View" of the the forums more useful.

    The changes we've made:
    Clubs
    o    Closed Fanfiction Club and moved topics to Writer's Circle - Specialized Fiction Forum
    o    Closed Sci-Fi Writers Club and moved topics to Writer's Circle - Specialized Fiction
    o    Closed Fantasy Writer's Club and moved topics to Writer's Circle - Specialized Fiction
    o    Closed Marketing Club and moved topics to Writer's Circle - Opportunities
    o    Closed Tech and Science Geek Clubs and tag topics with 'tech geeks'  and moved into The Lounge
    o    Closed Premium Content Authors.  New calls for Premium Content will appear in Writer's Circle - Opportunities
    Forums
    o    Sports Forum - tag all topics from last year "Sports" and moved into The Lounge and remove forum
    o    Video Gamers - tag all topics "gamers" and moved them into the Lounge and remove forum
    o   Moved Writing Community Category to number 2 slot under GA Community
    o    Moved Teen Spot to Community Fun and Games at bottom
     
     
  2. Myr

    Stories Software Update

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    First thing this morning, I applied a new Stories Archive software update.  This was a minor update that was mostly focused on bugs.
    Added new feature on forum posts that shows how many Stories you have reviewed and how many story/chapter comments you have made Added "Story Review Guidelines", "Story Comment Guidelines" and "Chapter Comment Guidelines" feature that pops up a box when clicked that can offer general site guidelines for posting comments and reviews.  If you click on them currently, you'll get "Coming Soon" Added a story-only reputation count, that is currently only showing to staff.  We're working on getting that changed so that it shows to staff and the author.  This directly affects those in the story moderation queue and the automatic promotion out of it.  When browsing by World, Series, or Story, miscellaneous media items will no longer appear in the list.  Only banners for promoted author groups will show. The "Featured Story" that the staff pins on the first page of the story listing, will now properly not cover the story search bar for non-author groups. On stories where there are many Authors, Editors and Beta Readers, they will now be listed alphabetically.  (Main Author is always listed first and additional authors are alphabetical) Unpublished chapter count where dozens of chapters were listed as unpublished is now corrected. The meta data on stories should now correctly reflect published chapter data not everything.  (error was seen where it would say there are 10 chapters, but only 6 would be visible) Miscellaneous bug fixes. The only major feature still in the pipeline are the Statistics.  We've been collecting them since Jan 2018.  There are more than 18,000,000 hits since that time. The release of the new forum version that required a lot of rewriting, delayed it.  There are also a number of bugs, some of them very stubborn, that we're still working on.  Some of this is caused by the default behavior of the underlying software that we have to work around.  (double notification thing on reactions, for example)
    Stay Tuned and be sure to follow this blog.  It helps me track how useful people find these posts.
  3. Myr

    Editor behavior change

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    We have changed the way the editor behaves due to the difficulty in maintaining the code for it.  It used to work that when you hit "return" it would go to a new line.  Now when you hit "return" it goes to a new paragraph.
    Example:
    This is a new line from Example
    This is a new paragraph.
    If you would like a new line, instead of new paragraph, hit shift-return.
    This was part of what caused the double space error you see in some stories.  Now, some posts will seem oddly spaced.  It should fix itself going forward as people get used to the format.
  4. Myr

    Forums 4.4.2 and other changes

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    Today, we are upgrading the site to the latest version of the forum software.  While there are not going to be a lot of visible changes, there was a ton of things changed under the hood that is geared towards making the site faster loading and to operate better on mobile devices.  It is going to take a few days to sort through the various settings and getting things operating properly.
    I'm going to post here several times as we go through this process.
    Some changes that have occurred prior to the upgrade:
    Today's birthday's widget has been removed.  Due to the ongoing privacy issues and trying to comply with various rules and regulations on the topic, as well as to make it simpler to maintain the code on the site, we have removed the "Today's Birthday" widget.  When you are on the main forum page, this will no longer be displayed. We have removed the require for you to enter your birthday.  Also to make it easier to comply with privacy rules, we've removed the birthday requirement.  However, so we can still comply with laws regarding minors, you are required to enter your current Age.  Teenagers MUST have their exact age.  We have added a bunch of fields to the profile for links to various social media sites.  Feel free to drop a link to your content. More will be coming today.

    Well, we now support Giphy, the animated Gif place.  Often times, we can't express our feelings in text and this is one way to do it.  The "GIF" box in the editor will pull up a search box for you to select from.
    Most of the front end stuff has been minor tweaks with the vast majority of changes geared to makes things fast and snappy. 
    An important change:  We can now control the devices widgets show on.  In order to speed up mobile devices, a lot of the widgets will be turned off on mobile, thus requiring less to load.
     
    Please report any bugs you encounter here or in the help forum and we ask for patience if you experience any.
  5. Myr

    Server Software Updates

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    I have done some updates on the underlying server software today.  If you were around while I was doing this, the site was going up and down like a yo-yo.   A reboot and a couple of services restart later and I think we are up and running. Everything I tested seems to be working and all the big red warning flags I was getting have cleared.  
    (for the technically inclined, we went from PHP 7.0 end of life version to PHP7.1.  I had to get the extensions right and update the caching system. bleh. I hate command line linux)
     
    In theory, we should be good.  If you bump into a hairball, be sure to post below with as many details as you can so I can reproduce the issue.
  6. Myr

    Server Update, Authors, Delayed Notifications

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    We had to do a server update earlier today and I had a small configuration issue.  The background task was not processing the last few hours and I've corrected that issue.
    There was a glut of notifications that were off by several hours.
     
    We also had an odd incident where an Author group expired.  If this happens to you, you can just go back to the store and select author again. (In theory)  If there is an issue, just send us a support request from the help menu.
     
  7. Myr

    Streamlining Help Menu

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    As mentioned in previous announcements, we are undergoing clean up and consolidation. 
    As part of this, some of the temporary links that were on the forums have been removed and placed in the newly streamlined "Help" menu.

     
    Help -FAQ = a list of common questions with links to the answers. Help Topics = a database of common questions and answers Step-by-Step Guide to Authors = How to become an Author on the site. Support = Open a support ticket if you need help related to your account or other private site related issue Staff = list of staff on the site with contact information Guidelines = site rules Writing Resources = a page full of links to handy writing tools, guides, and articles About Gay Authors = a bit of history of the site.  
    A reminder that we encourage you to have your account set to receive news email from the site:
    https://gayauthors.org/notifications/options/

  8. Myr

    Happy New Year and Announcements

    By Myr,


    News Archive
    First of all,
    HAPPY NEW YEAR!
    Over the next few weeks, we will be doing a number of things around the site to simplify and streamline things.  We have a very large sprawl of forums at this point that are semi-active or less.  We are working on consolidating those so that only what we need is around.  The Announcement forum is the first thing that is highly visible that is getting removed.  We will post Announcements in the most appropriate blog going forward.  When we do so, we'll use the Announcement function to display it across the site. 
     
    We are looking to spend 2019 focusing on Gay Authors core purpose:  Great Stories and Great Community.
     
    I, personally, have rediscovered my joy in writing.  It has been buried for a long time in the focus on running the site.  I am planning on being very active in the Anthologies this year and I encourage others to do the same!
     
    We will be making more use of the built in email system to contact specific groups about items of interest.  (For example, we'll email authors reminding them about Anthologies and how they are open to everyone and when the due dates are for submission).  But we can only use the system if you have your account set to receive site news:
    https://gayauthors.org/notifications/options/

     
    Please make sure that this box is checked so that you can receive the occasional email from the site.  We will not use this for marketing or such things.  This will be for letting you know what's going on at Gay Authors.
     
    All the best to everyone in this New Year and the best wishes for many more!
  9. Myr

    Writing Resources Page

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    We have consolidated and removed two different forums that were dedicated to Writing Resources.  We have instead replaced them with a single Writing Resources page.
    This page will be a constant work in progress as we update and make better ways to organize it.  There are already a ton of resources linked on the page.  If you're writing and stuck on something, there is probably a resource there for you.
    https://gayauthors.org/writingresources/
     
  10. Myr

    Has it been 16 Years? Yup.

    By Myr,


    News Archive
    My, how time flies.  16 years!  The site started on September 13, 2002.  The story on that can be found on our 15th Anniversary page here:
    https://www.gayauthors.org/anniversary/
     
    This year, I just want to say:
     
    THANK YOU!
    We are here today because all of you are still here posting stories, reading stories and sharing in our community.  So, in the spirit of our great community, how about you share with us what Gay Authors means to you?
  11. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - New Series and Worlds Feature

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    This week I'd like to talk about two of the new features coming to the site soon.  I've shared this a bit with the authors, but I wanted to share them a little wider.  This is a more focused view for readers.
    We currently have one way for authors to group their stories: Series links.  They work, but I've wanted them to be more obvious.  So, with the new version, we're giving a bit more depth to our Series.

    Series now has a description.  We can also add a series banner and special enhanced displays for series that have special circumstances.  Authors should take note of the red Xs on the side.  We can now very easily remove stories from a series (and yes, it asks to confirm the delete, so no accidents) or reorder the stories by simply pressing the up and down arrows.
     
    But a series of stories isn't the only way to group stories in the next update.  As anyone who has ever read Tom Clancy, Mercedes Lackey, J.K. Rowling, or Rick Riodan knows, you can have a whole bunch of different series featuring different aspects or couples that all take place, along with stand-alone stories, in the same world.  And hence, the next new feature: Worlds.
     

     
    Worlds function almost exactly like Series, except that there is no order like in a series and you can add Series to your world.  For the sharp-eyed readers here, you will spot "Contributors".  For the purpose of this demonstration, I added dkstories' Dreams of Humanity Series to my Psionic Corp world.  Series listing also allows contributors, though I didn't show it in the example above.   Also in the picture, you can see that Series has one highlight color (black currently) and Worlds another (Violet, currently).  Also, Dreams is tagged with Premium, so that is also listed.  I see this feature getting used for authors who share the same writing world or for authors like @Comicalityand I who write stand-alone stories that share the same area.   In the example, you see two of my Anthology entries which are stand-alone entries in my Psionic Corp world. 
     
    Good news too, current existing stories in a series will import in as is.  The Author or staff members will just need to go and add a description to the series page, and it'll be good.  (if one isn't added, it'll just look as it does now)

     
    The browse menu will now have a "Browse by Series" and "Browse by Worlds", as you can see in the right-side menu in the above image.
     

    There are other things coming as well.  But as you can see from the screenshots, the test server already has these features working
  12. Myr

    Anthology Flashback Redux - Get Ready

    By Myr,


    Anthologies
    Hello everyone!  We're going to be starting up our Anthology Flashbacks in fall next week.  Please take this opportunity to follow this blog!  We only have 11 Followers at the moment
     
    For Writers, some important topics are in this blog.  Please be sure to check them out if you missed it:
     
     
    This flashback did not get a lot of love, so since you missed the last opportunity to read and review some great stories, check them out now!
     
  14. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - Premium Subscription System

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    For those of you that don't know, Gay Authors stays open and improving through the combination of Premium Membership subscribers and advertising.  This pays the bills and allows to maintain and improve the site.  In the last version of the forum software, they introduced a simplified Subscription Management tool.  The most important thing it does is fixes that stupid error "You have already purchased... etc".  The catch, of course, is that any time the software changes like this, there are hiccups.  I've waited sometime now for them to have plenty of time to fix bugs.  I'm hoping we don't see any.  
     
    We'll be switching to the new system soon. In theory, all current and past subscribers should be switched over and there will be a new simple interface for you to use to renew or change renewal times.
    I'm also putting a link to Premium directly on the Main Menu.

     
    This is how it will look, basically.  @Cia is still finalizing the graphics as I write this.

     
    Once you have subscribed, the interface is MUCH better than the old system.  It is very clear as to what you are subscribed to, when it expires/renews:

     
    Expect this change to hit this week!
  15. Myr

    Stories 2.3.2 Is now Live

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    We have just posted a new version of Stories.  In theory, this finally corrects the notification bugs.  If you Follow a Story, you should now get your notifications every time.  If you Follow an Author (on the author page) you should be alerted when they post a new story.
     
    A "Part of Series" toggle has been added to filters:

     
    The quick search links now properly activate existing filters and you should be able to change them or remove them with the minus sign.
    Example, Series stories by dkstories:
    https://www.gayauthors.org/stories/?filter_authors=212&filter_series=1
     
    There is now a reminder on "Add New Chapter" box that reminds you about the posting rules:

     
    Moderation Queue Important Note:
    The moderation queue is now based on Story/Chapter reputation only!  We are working on a method of displaying an author's current story/chapter reputation if they're under the limit.  So if you suddenly find yourself in the Story Moderation Queue, where you were not before, this is why.
     
    Reply to Review should be working properly now.
     
    The filterbox on the Series page is now working properly.  The Quick Search on Series page is now correct as well.  Searching by Series word count is also working:
    https://www.gayauthors.org/stories/browse/series/?sortby=totalwords&filter_sort=totalwords
     
     
  18. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - New Search Filters

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    For those of you that have not yet watched the video on how the new search filters work, please watch it now:
     
     
    Back?  Good...  Now to add a few things.  Since the new search system uses the URL to add filters, you can now bookmark your search. Or copy it for others.  For example, this is all the Sci-Fi stories by dkstories:
    https://www.gayauthors.org/stories/?filter_genres=9&filter_authors=212

     
     
    Or maybe your thing is complete Long Fantasy stories?
    https://www.gayauthors.org/stories/browse/?filter_genres=5&filter_statuses=1&filter_sort=wordcount-desc

     
     
    Or, how about you want to see the newest in progress romance stories that have exceeded 20,000 words?
    https://www.gayauthors.org/stories/browse/?filter_genres=8&filter_statuses=3&filter_words=%3E20000

     
    Now you can set what you want to find and bookmark it.  Easy.  You can do any combination of things.  Like adding some tags to the above search.
     
    Does this help you find stuff?
     
    If this blog was helpful to you, be sure to like this post and follow the blog!
  20. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - Story Archive Next Version

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    So I shared a sneak peek of this post in our Writer's Circle.  I encourage authors to join the club if you haven't yet because there are a ton of great posts in there, and sometimes early information about upcoming features for authors.
     
    So, we've got the new Stories user interface worked out, and we're fixing the bugs.  Here's a sneak peek at it: 
     
     
    The quick Title search will now be on every page.  The previously empty search field now has "Search stories..." to give a clear indication of what it is.  The filter bar replaces the advanced search functions... and it is a live filter.  This means if you select "Follow" and then select Stories I Follow, you get this:
     

     
    The search is applied instantly, and you can see it dropped from 883 pages of results to 2. 
     
     
    Or how about Complete Fantasy Stories sorted by word count:

     
    We've updated the Authors' pages as well:

     
    We are hoping to be able to upgrade this week.  There will be some bugs to work out, but we need to test on the live server with more people to finally squash them all. When we upgrade, there will be a topic posted for with more information and for bugs like we've done before with directions of what to do if you encounter one and what information you need to share. 
  21. Myr

    Tech Tuesday - Following Blogs

    By Myr,


    Technology Archive
    Today we are going to talk about how Follow works.  In the forum software, Follow works by notifying you to new content in the item you wish to follow. So, if you follow a blog, you get notified of new blog posts.  If you follow a blog post, you get notified of comments to that blog post.  If you follow a Forum, you are notified of new topics to the forum.  If you follow a topic, you're notified of new replies to the topic.
     

     
    When you click the follow button, you get these options:

     
    The default is "A Notification when new content is posted".  Right below that is "change how the notification is sent".  You can choose Inline (default) or email or both.
    You can also choose a daily digest of updates (good on busy topics/blogs you follow) or a Weekly digest.  You can also choose to follow something and then not get notifications.  This is handy if you want to support the author without getting the alerts.
     
    Since following at multiple levels can be confusing, I'd thought I'd use this blog as an example.  If you were one of the members following the blog "Anthology News", then you got a notification this Anthology Flashback blog was posted:

    There are only 11 people following the blog at the moment... so this is a great time to click Follow (it changes to Following once you've done so)!
     
    If you wanted to be alerted to comments on this blog post, you'd need to follow the blog post.  In the example above, you can see 5 people are following that blog post.
     
    I was one of those followers so I could respond to comments and use reactions.  If you comment on a blog post and want to see what others think of your comment or if they reply, then following the blog post would alert you to any additional comments.
     
    Now, we have a whole bunch of site news blogs I think are worth following that are intended to highlight writing tips, ideas, and stories.  Be sure to follow them here:
     
     
    I hope this helps!  Let me know what you think in the comments below.  And be sure to like and follow those blogs. 
     
    P.S.  The process described in following works in theory for Stories as well.  There are still some odd quirks with the system we are working to correct.  The proper advice here is to be sure to both follow and like a story.  You can also follow an author.  When you follow an author, you get notifications when they post new stories.  (Follow the Author to get notifications to new Stories. Follow a Story to get notifications to new Chapters).  We are actively trying to address the issue where you are not getting notified of new stories/chapters properly.  It is a very stubborn and persistent bug.
     
     
  22. Myr
    Welcome to another week of Anthology Flashbacks.  This week brings back to the summer of 2012...

     
     
     
    Do you like these weekly flashbacks?  Let us know in the comments below.  Click Follow on the Anthology News Blog at the top of the page.  And, of course, be sure to review stories to let the authors know how you felt about their stories!
  23. Myr

    Writing Prompts #676 & #677

    By Myr,


    Prompts
    I hope everyone is having a great week! I'll be filling in for Renee for a while.
    It's time for this weeks prompts, supplied by our prompt guru, Comicfan. Just a reminder, and for those who haven't worked with the prompts before: prompt responses under 1,000 words must be posted as part of a collection.
    Prompt 676 – Creative
    Tag – The Myth
    There are myths all are all around the world to explain nature. Your task is to write a ta/’le explaining why volcanos explode.
     
    Prompt 677 – Creative
    Tag – List of words
    Use the following words in a story – An old photo, a book, a bird, a topaz ring, and a newspaper.
     
    Did you write a prompt response last week? Don't forget to share it below.
  24. Myr
    The first thing I need everyone to do today is click on the Follow Button.

     
    This blog is something Authors should be following as a great way to participate in the community.  Whether it is writing an anthology story or two or three for the Fall Anthologies or reading the ones below and leaving a review, participation is a great way to get yourself or your stories in front of more people.  And in case you need this... *hint* *hint*
     
    This week's flashback brings us up to Spring of 2012 with the topic of It Wasn't Me!

     
     
     
  25. Myr

    Happy 20th Anniversary Comicality!

    By Myr,


    News Archive
    Instead of the usual Tuesday Tech Blog this week, I'm taking the day to wish my first online author friend a very very happy 20th Anniversary of him posting his stories for us all to enjoy!

      
     
    On June 19, 1998, 20 years ago today, Comicality posted his first chapter of New Kid In School on Nifty.  https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/new-kid-in-school/
    (If you look at chapter 1-2, you'll see the date stamp)
     
    Comicality hooked me right away on his stories.  I emailed him early, and we had a few exchanges.  Eventually, I formed Gay Authors, and I got him as my very first Hosted Author here.  Comicality is, in fact, the only author who still has a hosted site here on Gay Authors.  https://www.gayauthors.org/comicality/
     
    💗💜 Love you Lots Comsie!  💜💗
    Thanks for all the great memories for the last 20 years!
    🍹 Here is to many, many more! 🍹
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