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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
Thanks to an idea by Sileas over in the 'general fan mail' thread - we've now installed a random story generator on the Archive front page. This randomly selects a story from the Archive at intervals and puts a link to it on the front page. So go check out some of the vast array of wonderful stories and have fun.  We're still looking for a couple of ways to refine the program, but these will only be cosmetic changes. Many thanks to Lauren for being her amazingly clever self, as always, and getting this working so quickly!  It's magic, I tells ya! It's magic. <g> Oh...and no clicking on the link five million times to see if one of your stories comes up, you hear? Did I do that? Nah, course not! I was...testing it out...yeah, that's it. I was testing it. And you can't prove otherwise! LabRat  Editor-in-Chief The Lois and Clark Fanfic
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Hehe! That's cool!
See ya,
AnnaBtG.
What we've got here is failure to communicate...
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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That is TOTALLY AWESOME! But I just had a kind of a thought  What if someone is using a 56k dialup and gets, let's see, Caped Fear. They are going to be waiting a looonnggg time... 
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
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Wow, that's fun! I admit it, I clicked it about 8 times, but I was curious to see what stories would pop up. Might have to try it more later, when I have time to actually read the stories. 
"You need me. You wouldn't be much of a hero without a villain. And you do love being the hero, don't you. The cheering children, the swooning women, you love it so much, it's made you my most reliable accomplice." -- Lex Luthor to Superman, Question Authority, Justice League Unlimited
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Pulitzer
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Yes, that's very cool -- thanks, Sileas for the idea! It's dangerous, though. I clicked a few times, you know, just to see if it was working and not to see if one of my stories came up (which they didn't, not even once out of mumblemumble tries, but I guess the odds are pretty steep) *but* one of the ones that did come up was Becky Bain's Timeless, which I really like, so I started re-reading... my kids very nearly missed the school bus *and* I lost two hours of time this morning, re-reading  So just be warned PJ
"You told me you weren't like other men," she said, shaking her head at him when the storm of laughter had passed.
He grinned at her - a goofy, Clark Kent kind of a grin. "I have a gift for understatement."
"You can say that again," she told him.
"I have a...."
"Oh, shut up."
--Stardust, Caroline K
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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Better than the nickel slots!!
I got Emily, KathyB, Nan, Tank, RL, Marnie, LadyBiker, Nan again(!), Lynn Walker...
Totally addictive. And now I know what I'm going to be doing with all my free time.
CC
You mean we're supposed to have lives?
Oh crap!
~Tank
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Wayyy too addicting. Good thing my computer's away getting repaired right now. I'd be glued to it. JD
"Meg...who let you back in the house?" -Family Guy
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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Oh wow! This is really neat. Well done, Lauren. And of course I've been toying with it and reading. Amazingly, our most prolific author didn't even show up on quite some clicks. Saskia
I tawt I taw a puddy cat!
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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OP
Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
What if someone is using a 56k dialup and gets, let's see, Caped Fear. They are going to be waiting a looonnggg time... [Thud] LabRat
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Pulitzer
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Coolness! Thanks, Silas. Great job, Lauren! You're amazing!
<Click... click... click...>
Paul
When in doubt, think about penguins. It probably won't help, but at least it'll be fun.
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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I'm not sure it's desirable to show the story's title on the main page... part of the fun is hitting the link and just seeing what comes up <g> Of course, I've got broadband...
PJ
"You told me you weren't like other men," she said, shaking her head at him when the storm of laughter had passed.
He grinned at her - a goofy, Clark Kent kind of a grin. "I have a gift for understatement."
"You can say that again," she told him.
"I have a...."
"Oh, shut up."
--Stardust, Caroline K
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
'm not sure it's desirable to show the story's title on the main page... part of the fun is hitting the link and just seeing what comes up Well, if we changed it to include the story details, you'd just do the same - just on the front page instead of where the link takes you to. Every time you refresh the front page, the story linked to changes. So that surprise element would still be there. You'd just get to it sooner. LabRat
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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As a person on a 56k modem who ended up "randomly generating" one of Rat's epics, I can say that it wasn't much of a hardship. It really didn't take that long to load, so I don't think that will be an issue.
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
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/me grins sheepishly--OK, I admit I spent probably 45 min clicking on the thing, seeing how long it took to find a story for each of the writers who was currently on the channel at the time. Got one in a Round Robin, one turned up twice, and finally got the last one just now. So . . . was fun. And it's very very addicting . . . /me forces self to *not* open the page again* I also prefer not having the author and story title be visible till you're there. Because that way you're not just aware of what it is, you've got it in front of you, no extra work to look at it and see if you like it. Whereas if you knew what it was on the main page, then a bunch of people would probably not go to some stories just because of curiosity about the next random link, sheer laziness, and judging by author or story name. I think having the surprise of seeing random files appear was good. So I recommend not bothering to try to change it.
Don't point. You make holes in the air and the faeries escape.
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Beat Reporter
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Okay, this is a new addiction I'm afraid LOL! I've spent most of the day clicking on that darned thing, and of course half the stories that come up I just *have* to read!!! This could be a problem ... ah well, it's *fun* LOL!
"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." Chris Reeve
"Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice. It's the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what's right." Peter Parker
DON'T DOUBT THE ROUTH
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Features Writer
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LOL! I had the tendency to click on it constantly too! I wanted to see if my story showed up, but it hasn't yet. I read a real short story that caught my eye during the process as well. Who knows maybe this will get me back to reading fanfiction, not just writing it like I do.
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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Yeah, I also think it's nice not to know in advance which story is going to come up. Gets past all those preconceptions we have about what we like and don't like. Yvonne
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Pulitzer
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I also would not what to know until I get there.
James' 2 cents.
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Columnist
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Columnist
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 Lauren, your skills are just amazing. Great idea! gerry
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Pulitzer
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To give you the title before you click or not? Tough call. Hmm. This sounds like a job for... The Archive's Front Page Poll!!
When in doubt, think about penguins. It probably won't help, but at least it'll be fun.
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
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It was fun and a great idea.
The first one that was spit out at me was Showing Chaos by Bethy.
Thanks!
I've converted to lurk-ism... hopefully only temporary.
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Beat Reporter
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What a super little gadget! And I agree with the others - I like to be totally surprised. No titles in advance please. Thanks, Lauren! You sure lured us back to the archive. Ursie
Lois: Well, I like my quirks. I think they make me unique.
Clark: You certainly are unique.
Clark: You're high maintenance, you know that?
Lois: But I'm worth it!
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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hm.....I didn't even NOTICE this thread 'til today......  cool! i'm famous! glad everyone liked it!
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Thank you for the idea, Sileas -- it was a fantastic one!  The story list isn't up-to-date, but it's something we can add to with time. Right now we're current to a few months ago. I've been doing the click-and-read thing too. Some old favorites I just had to stop and revisit (like Hazel's "A Certain Point of View" and Paul's "The Cape of Good Hope"), along with some stories I missed first time around (like Kat Picson's TUFS story "Relativity"). It's been a blast. Nothing involving an Ursula so far, though. Pam, I haven't come across any of your stories yet, but I know I'll have to stop and reread them when I do, because I remain your worshipful lurking fan. LabRat, I haven't come across any of yours either, but I look forward to rereading them as well. I bet when I'm back home on dialup, "Masques" will be the first thing to appear. Then it'll be time to clear the calendar. -- Lauren
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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I love seeing what story pops up. Tricia 
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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OP
Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
To give you the title before you click or not? Tough call. Hmm. This sounds like a job for... The Archive's Front Page Poll!! Funnily enough, Paul, I'd already suggested a poll to Lauren. I think though that for the moment we'll just leave things as they are. Firstly because those who care enough to venture an opinion seem to be in agreement that they prefer no story details. Secondly because we haven't had a flood of email requesting story details are present. And thirdly because if we had a poll and the second viewpoint prevailed we wouldn't be able to supply that option at the moment anyway because we don't yet have a program that will do it and fit in with the Archive. So, on the whole, it seems the easiest plan to just leave it as it is since most everyone seems happy enough with that. And if, in the future, we find a compatible program that would provide story details, we can always set up a poll then. LabRat
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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This new feature is wickedly addictive!!! Couldn't you have just waited one more week though! I have finals coming up next week!!! Thanks! :p
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