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Young Writers Society


YWS Apollo FAQ



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Sat Dec 24, 2011 5:20 pm
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Rosendorn says...



To be updated as the site changes and more questions are posed.

Therefore, feel free to post another question in the thread! One thing to keep in mind, though, is that every feature will come back in its own time. :) Nate is the only one coding the site, and he can only do so much at once.

Where is/are...

My portfolio?
Currently, they aren't coded yet! However, you can access all your work by clicking Browse and pressing the "view mine" button on the righthand side.

The literary forums?
They are now under the "Browse" tab at the top. Scroll down to "how do I..." for navigation of this shiny new system.

Likes
Likes are now at the top of every post! You can't see who has liked anything yet, but the system is back.

Blogs?
You can now find blogs among the tabs at the top of the page. Clicking it will get you the latest blog entries in a list style, with options to the side. You can find details about them under "How do I..."

These blogs are only temporary, with new blogs coming some time in the future. They are just a placeholder until Nate can get the literary works finished, then move on to new profiles (which will include blogs).

Chat?
Don’t worry — the YWS chat is still there, and available via the big blue button on the right-hand-side of any major forum clusters (Forums, Read/Write, Storybooks). A recent update means you can now see who's chatting before you log in thanks to the list above the button.

Also, there is now a PM chatbar across the whole site! To disable it, just click the two downward facing arrows at the far right. To change your status message or availability, click the gear next to those arrows.

My PM Inbox?
In the black bar that stays at the top of the page when you scroll, you'll see an envalope. This is a direct link to your inbox. Also, inbox capacity has been halved, so it’s best to keep an eye on how many messages you have!

My YWS?
It has been renamed as Dashboard and is one of the tabs at the top of the page. The organization has stayed the same, so poking around should be familiar! One thing to note, though, is avatars are not automatically resized. Make sure any picture you want to upload is 100x100 pixels or less. If you want to use an image bigger than that, post here and somebody will resize the image for you.

Notifications?
The exclamation point in the black bar.

Points and Review Count?
Click on the human-shaped icon in the far left of the black bar, with the arrow next to it. That gives you a direct link to your profile, lists your reviews and points, gives a link to your blog and works, along with giving you the option to log out.

Newsfeed?
Click the "people" tab.

What about the rest?
At the moment we don’t have any of the features below, but the time-frames beside them should give you a good guide to when they’ll turn up again. This list will be updated and descriptions added as the site gets back to itself.

Everything will come back, even though it's not listed here. :) We can only get so many timelines!

Advanced profiles, including profile comments and portfolios (Late-January to February)

Clubs (Undetermined)

Gifts (Undetermined)

Contests (Undetermined)

Whilst a lot of this festive update is still “under wraps”, we do know that blogs will be returning as part of the Advanced Profiles mentioned before. These are intended to be more customisable than previous profiles — keep your eyes open for these.

Do know that all the data is there. It's simply not being displayed yet. Once a site feature is back, all the data will be back where it belongs, not lost.

Also, the above list is incomplete; it mostly includes things we have some sort of timeline for. Nate has said YWS will have all its old functions return, but he hasn't given a timeline for them. They could mysteriously show up one day, so keep checking! :)

One thing that might not come back is nominations. According to Nate, it was a very broken system. But, that is still up in the air.


How do I...

Follow somebody?
Go to Dashboard and click "Friends and Foes." There, you'll see an option titled "Add new friends" with a box next to it. Enter in the username of the person you want to follow exactly as it is spelled, then click "Submit." Repeat for as many people you want to follow.

Navigate?
You navigate using the green tabs at the top of the page. The only tabs we have at present are: Browse, Dashboard, Forums, People, Storybooks and Blogs. Click between them to get most forums from the old boards visible.

Link Directly to a Post?
Click the date above the post to get a direct link to that post.

Use the Literary Forums?
The literary forums are much different now, but is a bit more intuitive to use. When you click the "Browse" tab, you'll find a long list of recently posted works, in all genres.

On the righthand side, you'll see a long list of genres, including essays, novels/chapters, short stories and poetry. Clicking on one of those genres gets a long list of sub-genres, like dramatic, realistic, romantic, fantasy, and other genres you know and love. You've also sorted the works into all items in that category (Ie- clicking "short stories" shows you a mix of all short stories posted on the site, while clicking "fantasy" after clicking "Short stories" gets you only fantasy short stories).

Submitting a work is now only at one button: Submit, in the black bar up top (it's got a dog-eared page next to it). When you click this button, you are brought to a screen that shows a title window, description window, ratings, and finally a window to paste your work.

Above this window, you have new options. You can copy/paste the work into the text window as per normal, or you can paste as plain text or from Word (the various clipboard buttons.)

One thing you no longer have to worry about is adding in italics to your work once you've pasted it. The work will show up with similar formatting as it did in Word. However, adding in extra spaces between paragraphs is recommended, as indenting does not transfer over from Word. Check out this article for a quick way to space paragraphs.

Once you've hit "submit" you have to categorize your work. This means selecting what is the primary categorization (novels/chapters, short stories, ect) and up to two more secondary categories (the genres mentioned above).

You can also add it right to your portfolio from the "categorize" option. If you don't have the right folder for this piece, you can simply add it in right from the start.

From here, you can do one of two things. "Submit" or "Select Privacy Settings." By hitting Submit, the work shows up under 'Browse'. If you click Select Privacy Settings, you can select up to five levels. Each level is explained on the screen.

Do note that guests are now allowed to comment on works with this new system. This can be useful if you want to share your work with non-registered members, but if you'd rather guests not comment, then select the privacy level best suited for the piece.

A bunch of little things are missing in the literary forums and will be coming within the next 24-48 hours.

Navigate/Modify Blogs?
On the right side of the screen, you'll see five options:

My Blog
Blog Control Panel
Recent Blog Entries
Random Blog Entries
Popular Blog Entries

What each option does is described below.

My Blog: Click on it to reach the blog you knew and loved from YWS. Despite the fairly bare look of the recent entries, the look of any customized blogs is the same as the old YWS. However, if you did not customize your blog, then it looks rather plain now. Which leads me to...

Blog Control Panel: Here is where you can customize your blog. Snoink has been so kind as to write an article on how to do so that still applies to YWS: Apollo. If you look at the left side of the window, you can also see where to set the blog title and description, along with permission settings.

Recent Blog Entries: Shows all the entries in chronological order of when they were posted.

Random Blog Entries: Shows any number of entries that have been made since blogs were first introduced to the site, ignoring popularity and chronology.

Popular Blog Entries: Organizes blogs by number of comments, from greatest to smallest.

Search the Site?
At the very top of the site (in the black bar), on the right hand side, there is a white textbox labeled "search". Clicking that now results in being able to search the whole site, and if you click on "go back to advanced search" once you've searched, you can enter in more exact search terms and narrow your results down by author. :) It's also very fast now — no need to make a cup of tea while you wait for your search results to load!

PM?
Click the envelope in the black bar. Once you're in your inbox, click "New PM" at the top of it. Once there, you'll have to manually add the person you wish to PM by typing in their username to the white box and clicking "Add". If you're following this person, you can find their name in your friends list to the left and click "Add" next to their name.

Edit and quote?
Remember how the “edit” and “quote” buttons used to be nice friendly lozenges at the top of your posts? Now they’re rather tiny links in square brackets at the bottom of each post. If you’ve made the most recent post on a particular topic you also have the option to “delete” it, but you can’t if there are replies after it. The “report” link is for those rare occasions when you spot a breach of rules and need to notify a moderator.

Reply?
You can reply multiple ways: “Post Reply” at the side of the thread (at the top), “Quick Reply” (at the bottom) or “Full Reply” (Next to Quick Reply). Full Reply is exactly the same as Post Reply in its functions: it takes you to the post reply we’re used to. Quick Reply is just a way of answering the post without being taken to another window. Pressing it opens a text reply box (without any of the coding or smilies available around it) right under the thread, letting you answer posts in a snap!


Why...

Was the site updated?
Do you know the number of times YWS crashed in the last two months? No — we don’t either. In short, YWS was in desperate need of help and the only way to save it was a complete overhaul of the site’s internal structure. This sort of project would normally take a long time to complete, but Nate has managed to rush development in time for Christmas, and continues working on it over time.

Nate also wanted to make the site better for touch screens, such as tablets (iPads and others) and smartphones. Drop-down menus were very difficult to work with a touch screen, hence the lack of them in YWS: Apollo. He had wanted to do this much later, but with the database crashes, he decided to bring the update in early.

Is my profile the way it is?
Here’s another thing — the new vision is that YWS: Apollo will have advanced profiles that are customisable and incorporate your blog and favourite literary works. These will take a while to code, and are set to come out in February. Until then, these profiles provide a midway point.

Do none of the links to threads work?
Nate has totally redone the basic structure of the forums, which has resulted in the URLs changing! An old URL looked like this:

Code: Select all
http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/post722000.html#p722000


New URLs look like this:

Code: Select all
http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/viewtopic.php?f=402&t=91882


If you linked something and it looks like the “viewtopic” link above, it’ll still work! However, if you linked anything from the old url style, you need to update your link in order for it to work again. The data is still there, but the method of reaching it has changed.

If you had any links to clubs or blogs posted, these will not work. This is not because the data is lost. It is simply because the data is not displayed yet in YWS: Apollo.

Is the site updating in stages?
Because of the aforementioned database crashes, YWS needed to be updated now instead of later, which is what Nate had hoped to do. Since the renovation had been slated to begin in January, Nate had to fast-track designing basic forum functions in about two weeks.

Since the luxury of “time” was lost, Nate couldn’t do everything at once. He had wanted to give us the site completely done, but he couldn’t. If you look back to the timeline above, the last update is coming two months from now. That would’ve meant going through two more months of crashes, which Nate didn’t want to put us through. The crashes would've also taken time away from him working, which would've drawn the timeline out more. So he made the forums fully-functioning so we could still use the site, and plans to add in the bells and whistles on the timeline listed above.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask and it'll get answered and added in here!
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Sat Dec 24, 2011 5:27 pm
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Charlie II says...



*high five* Excellent job, Rosey!
I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.
-- Woody Allen
  





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Sat Dec 24, 2011 6:10 pm
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Jas says...



Can we still 'like' works? And will featured works be back eventually? :]

Great job and thank you, Nate!
I am nothing
but a mouthful of 'sorry's, half-hearted
apologies that roll of my tongue, smoothquick, like 'r's
or maybe like pocket candy
that's just a bit too sweet.

~*~
  





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Sat Dec 24, 2011 6:16 pm
Rosendorn says...



Those two things are coming eventually. No timeline for them yet. :)
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Sat Dec 24, 2011 6:28 pm
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Sins says...



*Likes this topic*
I didn't know what to put here so I put this.
  





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Sat Dec 24, 2011 7:40 pm
Blues says...



Thanks a lot for this Rosey! It's really helpful :D

.... the like button has magically disappeared :O Dun dun dun.
  





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Sat Dec 24, 2011 8:18 pm
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lilymoore says...



Whooh! Awesome job Rosey! And thanks for putting this together.

Rosey Unicorn wrote: Nate has said YWS will have all its old functions return, but he hasn't given a timeline for them. They could mysteriously show up one day, so keep checking!


I couldn't help refreshing just to make sure something else didn't return in the time it took me to read this. >.<
Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.
  





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Sat Dec 24, 2011 8:26 pm
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LadySpark says...



lilymoore wrote:
Rosey Unicorn wrote: Nate has said YWS will have all its old functions return, but he hasn't given a timeline for them. They could mysteriously show up one day, so keep checking!


I couldn't help refreshing just to make sure something else didn't return in the time it took me to read this. >.<


Ahem.
I did that too, lily.. lol.
Nice FAQ, Rainbow!
hush, my sweet
these tornadoes are for you


-Richard Siken


Formerly SparkToFlame
  





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Sun Dec 25, 2011 3:31 am
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dasiamari says...



Thanks! Are we going to get our WFP back?
Know that she's back in the atmosphere I'm afraid that she'll think of me as a plain old Jain told a story 'bout a man who was to afraid to fly so he never did land. ~Train
  





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Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:40 pm
Sherly says...



Thanks for this Rosey :pirate3:
  





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Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:47 pm
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Rosendorn says...



dasiamari wrote:Thanks! Are we going to get our WFP back?


We probably will! It comes back at random, but I'm not sure we'll get any long-term fixes for that until Apollo is sorted out. :)

Also, updated this a little bit to include My YWS and the January redo of lit works plus Storybooks!
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:57 pm
fireheartedkaratepup says...



An answer isn't necessary, but I do wonder how much this is all costing.
"Ok, Lolpup. You can be a girl worth fighting for."
--Pengu
  





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Tue Dec 27, 2011 12:02 am
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Sionarama says...



When I saw the new version of YWS I was totally and utterly confused. Thanks Rosie for helping me out! I look forward to the new version of YWS and keeping up with my clubs and storybooks and my Wall.
(Will there be a Wall for people in the updated version?)
Thanks again!
"You may not be educated well in the areas of etiquette and the like as a princess, but you do throw some bashing good parties!"
Not all princesses are pink sparkles.
Exhibit A
  





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Tue Dec 27, 2011 12:05 am
Rosendorn says...



Sionarma wrote:(Will there be a Wall for people in the updated version?)


It might not be called a "Wall" persay, but you'll have the ability to comment on other people's profiles and see their status updates. When should be about mid-January.

In short, everything is coming back, but it might not be named the same.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Tue Dec 27, 2011 12:23 am
HibiscusBlush says...



Rosey Unicorn wrote:Do know that all the data is there. It's simply not being displayed yet. Once a site feature is back, all the data will be back where it belongs, not lost.

Also, the above list is incomplete; it mostly includes things we have some sort of timeline for. Nate has said YWS will have all its old functions return, but he hasn't given a timeline for them. They could mysteriously show up one day, so keep checking! :)

-----

In short, everything is coming back, but it might not be named the same.



Cool, thanks for sharing this! I'd been wondering about our portfolios. I don't THINK they’re on display right now. If so, I can't find mine beyond the link of all the posts I've created about the forum. I had been searching but haven't found anything mentioned about them, so either it has been mentioned and I wasn’t looking hard enough or it just wasn’t. But this is what I was looking for exactly.

Also, during this phase of everything sort of lingering up in the air, I wasn't too worried. Portfolios are an obvious feature on a website like YWS, unless Nate has something else in store. Nate is a wonderful admin, so I’ll wait patiently. :smt003

Thank you, Rosey!!
Previously known as Aloha
  








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