News Archive for October 2008

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Transferred Story Index Pages

Written by Kodi Wolf at 9:57 AM

I've mostly finished creating the new index pages for all the current stories, as well as their chapter menus (except for TVH, since its chapters are a bit in limbo between what's been posted and the revisions on my computer).

I've also created a new section I'm calling Progress Reports, which is done for now (except for TVH again; since I have so many revision dates for that series, I've only gotten through 2004). It gathers all the updates that have been posted on the old What's New? pages, as well as file save dates, e-mail send dates, etc., to show what I'm doing with each story at any particular time (posting a chapter, sending a chapter to BetaWolf, working on revisions, researching, etc.). That way, even if there hasn't been an update in a while, you'll be able to see whether I've been working on a story or not. I'm hoping it will curb the dreaded "When are you going to update?" question (but probably not).

This is also being done in between painting the office. I've gotten the baseboards and the closets primed, so I think next on the list is to finish painting the baseboards and the closets, so I can put up the new shelves and closet rods, and then move on to actually painting the room (well, priming first, then painting). It's been kind of annoying having all the office stuff scattered around the bedroom, living room, kitchen, and shed, so hopefully, I can get this stuff knocked out quickly (if only my body would cooperate).

Anyway, I'm really crashy and hungry, so I'm gonna go eat and then try to get some sleep.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

I'm Letting People See The New Site

Written by Kodi Wolf at 6:52 PM

This is posted from the current site (what will eventually become my fanfic only site) at /KWLF/:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is just to let you know what's going on with the new site. I've had several e-mails asking me about it and whether I'm ever going to update again, so I've decided to let you guys see what's going on at the new site.

The site is seriously under construction, though, so most of the links don't work, and none of the story content is available. But I have created a new blog (click the News link), which I've been trying to keep consistently updated (there are posts through 2007 and 2008 that you can read to catch up on what I've been doing the past two years). And I've also created a new section I'm calling Progress Reports (it's not actually one section; on each of the main story pages, there's a link to a list of progress reports for that particular story), which shows what I've worked on and when, which should hopefully keep you informed until I have a real update to announce.

If you see anything wrong (typos) or weird (images not lining up, text flowing where it probably shouldn't), please let me know (as well as your screen resolution (ex: 1440x900), operating system (ex: Windows Vista Home Premium, Service Pack 1), and browser type and version (ex: Windows Internet Explorer 7).

By the same token, please don't tell me if you run across a broken link (404 Not Found). It's not an error; it just means I haven't uploaded content for that file yet.

Also, be aware that the current stylesheet is set for screen resolutions of 1440 or less, meaning if your resolution is larger, the title image won't go all the way across your screen. That's not really an error. Just resize your window width to be smaller. And if your screen resolution is really itty bitty (640x480), you're going to have problems seeing all the links at the top and bottom, since I haven't created a stylesheet to address the problem yet. If you can't see "Home News Links Contact Help/FAQ Login/Logout" above the main text, then the links are being cut off. I'm sorry about that. I'll fix it when the site is closer to being finished (meaning I have all the relevant default stylesheet data to work from, instead of coming across something new I have to create and then add to the previous stylesheets I've created). You can also set your browser to ignore stylesheets, which should correct the problem; the site will just look ugly.

Just to reiterate, the new site is not open for business. It is a work in progress and I'm working on it as I have time and inclination. Bugging me about it on top of story updates will get you nowhere. I'm offering the link as a courtesy. Please be courteous in return.

Also, other than to announce the new site is open or a fanfic update, I will no longer be updating this site with news or information about my original stories (unless it seems appropriate for some reason I can't think of now), so all future posted updates will be on the new site's blog area, which I'm calling News for now. I'll still send story updates for both fanfic and original stories through the kodiwolf mailing list, but since that list is only for story updates, if you want more current information about site happenings, you should check the new site.

One last thing. The link at the top of the new site declaring subscriptions for $20/year is probably a little misleading at this point, but I'm not sure what to change it to, and I don't feel like taking the time to "fix" the site before letting you guys see it (I've already said it's a work in progress, and hopefully that will suffice). I've just recently decided to make the site more of a "membership" site than a "subscription" site, so that initial $20 will be closer to a lifetime membership fee than a yearly fee. I'll still reserve the right to charge update fees or renewal fees if necessary, but since this is still very new to me and all speculation at this point (it's going to be an ongoing learning process), I'm hoping $20 will take care of most or all the costs for now. There's also the possibility I might offer a donation button, so anyone who wants to help out can do so.

Anyway, if you're interested in taking a look, the URL is:

http://www.kodiwolf.com/WOLFsector/

Well, that's all. Take care.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, back to painting. At least the closets are done, so all I have left is the room itself.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Created Disclaimer and Links Pages

Written by Kodi Wolf at 8:04 AM

I've created the Site Disclaimer page, based on the Enter page, and have gotten a start on the Links page, but there are a lot more writing resources I want to add. I think I'm happy with all the links being on one page, rather than splitting them up into category pages the way Mambo wanted to do it. I like just using in-page links to get to a section on the page, rather than loading a new one. I think I'm going to do the same thing for my Help/FAQ page. I'll see what it looks like, anyway. I should probably create a "Back to Top" link, though.

Well, on the renovation front, I've finished cutting in with the primer and put on two coats in the office, but I think it's going to need a third coat before I put on the topcoat of paint, since it's such a light color (it'll need two coats, actually). Of course, I've run out of primer, so I couldn't do the third coat last night (Corene's going to get me more on the way home from work tonight), but my back was killing me anyway, so I took a break and worked on the site (well, that and watched the new Indiana Jones movie; I wasn't expecting much, but I really liked it).

Now, I think I'm going to have something to eat, maybe watch some B5 or Voyager, and then try to go to sleep, so I can start this all over again tonight.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Should There Be Forums And Chat?

Written by Kodi Wolf at 6:28 AM

I'm trying to decide if I want to set up a forum and chat room. I have a phpBB installation on my server, which I've half-heartedly set up for people to post reviews, offer informal beta-reading comments, and discuss each of my stories, but I already know that I won't have time to monitor it, much less respond to people if they ask me to, since I'd honestly rather be writing.

The chat room, on the other hand, is something I think I could make time for on a regular basis (maybe once a month or every few months?), but the php script I have installed can be a little buggy (it's free), so I'm not even sure if I could offer a chat.

If I don't offer forums or a chat room, then I can probably get rid of the Member Conduct and Content Submitted sections of the TOS, which would make me a little happier legally, since I wouldn't have to worry about what people might post (ads, copyright infringement, flame wars, etc.)... Now I just remembered I have comments turned on for this blog, so I probably still need to keep those sections in the TOS (or else turn comments off).

The real problem is that I really like hearing from people, but then I get all anxious about responding. I'm really shy most of the time and have social phobia (along with every other anxiety disorder there is), so even though I do really well with writing something like this (which is to everyone who comes across it), writing one-on-one just scares the shit out of me.

Well, I guess I'm not going to decide this right this second. I just need to think about it some more.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Office Renovation Update

Written by Kodi Wolf at 1:19 AM

Well, the office is basically done. Everything's been painted, the furniture is back in the room, my desktop PC is finally hooked up to the Internet again, my books are on the shelves, and I've even got my printer hooked up again. There are still a few things left to bring back into the room, but it's mostly stuff that's stored in the closets, so the room itself is pretty much done, except for the art I want to hang on the walls, that kind of thing.

Now, I just need to clean up the rest of the house, which is still kind of a wreck, after having my tools and everything everywhere.