Making Connections discussion
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I agree with adding .5 like LibraryThing has available on their site.
Right? Sometimes you just can't decide between one number and the other. Writing it is fine but making it an option to click would help the balance.
Justin wrote: "Right? Sometimes you just can't decide between one number and the other. Writing it is fine but making it an option to click would help the balance."I agree, and I see many others who "ride the fence" with stars! Great ideas!
The .5 would be nice, as well as most of the things you've said. :)
I agree with the .5 and as a reader I would love authors to be able to notify me if a book on my to-be-read shelf is on sale. I'm not sure about the mass email and feature to allow the same thread to be posted in several groups at once. I think it would lead to even more spamming. If I get a message from an author I know it's either personal or else they've gone to soem effort to reach me. Making it easy means I could easily get a lot more marketing than I already get and may infact put me off interacting with authors. I accept the mass emails from group moderators and can easily leave the group if I'm finding them irrelevant. Same with group posts. I don't join the groups (well most of them) to be advertised to by authors but to chat with similar readers. I would also caution that many duplicated posts just get ignored, it is advertising not interacting. If its a promotion you are multi-posting then I would advise adding a short line on the free/bargain book threads as readers subscribe to these and are more likely to be noticed. Sorry, i'm rambling and you're probably going to tell me that's not what you wanted mass emails and multiposting for!
The folders thing I assume is the responsibility of group moderators.
The recommendations thing I completely agree with. Personal recommendations are so much better and I do find asking for recs works well. Whatever algorithm the GR site uses is uninspiring though.
I would add that the search function needs improving. If I search for an author it may drop down with some of their books but I want to go directly to their author page from the search bar, not have to click through. And it seems to be unable to cope with spelling mistakes on my behalf which is bad really when you consider how people can spell the same name in so many different ways.
Oh and I would like to see some benefit to Amazon now owning GR. Particularly, I'd like at least the option of books I add to my 'to be read' shelf to be synched with my amazon wish list. Although I only use this as I track it with ereaderiq for pricedrops so it would be less relevant if your idea about authors notifying readers of promotions was taken on. I'd also like crossposting of my review on to Amazon to be an option to save me having to do it manually.
Sarah, I agree with you on the Amazon thing, I didn't even know Amazon owned GR but syncing my 'to-read' or 'favorite books' with an amazon wishlist would make it a lot easier, and save a lot of time!Plus another thing I think Sarah said which is quite important is the search because if you've done so much as one wrong letter it doesn't show the book which can be frustrating.
I agree with ALL of your suggestions, especially the half-star rating system and the search engine (quite frustrating).
I agree with you! there is a huge issue here wih bullying also people taking other peoples reviews and using them for diffrent books.
Wow alot of good responses. I'll explain two of my improvements, the folders because yes unfortunately theres a lot of bullying on here. If you intend to read a book and want to make it its own folder then fine but if you dont intend on reading it you shouldnt mark it to read let alone make a folder with a tasteless name to it. So yeah, the foldering needs some work.As for the mass e-mail Sarah I agree spamming may go up but im sure if they put regulations to its use people would use it appropriately.
Finally your so spot on about the search bar. Sometimes I'll type in an author and they give me names not even close to what I wanted. Needs to be more accurate. Amazon bought it you would think theyd take care of it lol.
I COMPLETELY agree with the search engine. If you don't have the EXACT name, you get No Results. So totally frustrating!
Hope it's ok to post here but I need some GoodReads help please?I am posting this in a couple of groups in case someone can help me.
Is there a page that explains the way around GoodReads?
I pretty much know where things are but can not find where my reviews are.
Yesterday I managed to get onto a page that listed all my reviews and people's comments to them. I need to find that page.
I never know when someone comment to my review or to me. I get so many notifications that I miss them.
Usually I just go to my group page and click my groups, then discussions then unread and I see all the new posts for those groups. That seems to work best for me but this way i miss messages outside the groups.
Help? Tips and tricks anyone? lol
I have tried Googling but didn't find what I needed.
Thanks :)
PS - I know my way around a computer and the internet but this site I find is not so user friendly.
-A feature where if you make the same thread in several groups you can post it once and the info will go to all the threads of that name that you created.TBH, I think, at first sight, that it's overkill. The interface will have to allow me to choose the right folder to post in, for each group. Some groups have a huge amount of folders. Dunno.
-A way to notify people who mark your book to-read of possible sales and free promotion days on the book.
I hope NOT. Huge potential of marketing spam.
Also, people might already own the book or get it from their library.
-Adding .5 to star ratings.
I thought this would be a good idea, too, but I kind of changed my mind after reading this and linked: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/6...
-Make Listopia's more relevant(Maybe it's just me but they seem very underutilized) "
I have the same feeling, but how to make them more relevant? Do you have something in mind?
Btw, do you know Goodreads Feedback group? Some of these were over-discussed. :)
Lisa wrote: "a page that listed all my reviews"Maybe like this?
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
That just takes me to a list of all my books - some read and some I have to read still...Thanks though.
I actually found a help page on Goodreads (on the bottom - totally missed this before) and there is a whole lot there.
Alfaniel wrote: "Lisa wrote: "a page that listed all my reviews"
Maybe like this?
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/..."
Hi Lisa,It sounds like you need to limit the things you are getting notifications for so that you don't miss the important ones. I used to have it set up so that I'd be emailed for things like someone commenting on one of my reviews. If you'd like to change these settings and don't know how, I would happily explain it. Just let me know.
As for a list of reviews I would follow that link from Alfaniel, or to get to the same place - view your 'read' shelf and sort by 'Review' and make sure it is descending. That will show you all the books you have left a review for first. If you wanted a view that also showed you comments then the only thing that shows that is the feed, either on your homepage by showing updates rather than books/groups, or on your profile. Unfortunately, goodreads doesn't go too far back in time though.
Hope that helps some.
:)
You can also limit the list from the left column. If you pick a shelf, it displays only that shelf.As Sarah pointed out, it doesn't display comments. It can display the number of comments, though. You can click the upper link "controls: shelf settings: main", and change it to "review". The list will then display columns related to reviews, such as number of comments received, and private notes.
I think I would like a Calendar with the names of books BEING RELEASED on a particular day that would sync with my calendar. It's hard to keep up with the books that are coming out without searching for the particular book by name. I hate not knowing that the third book in a series I have been reading was released three weeks ago.
Great - thanks so much - I would love to know where to change the settings. I found how to change them for what I post but not for what I see from others.Sarah wrote: "Hi Lisa,
It sounds like you need to limit the things you are getting notifications for so that you don't miss the important ones. I used to have it set up so that I'd be emailed for things like som..."
on the drop down menu under the book...want to read, currently reading, read....needs to have "remove from tbr". For example: I read the description it sounds interesting, I click want to read, then scroll down to find out its 42 pages. NOPE do NOT want to read. The only way to remove it is to go to books, scroll until you find the book and then click on the "X" at the right. I have several on my tbr list that I need to delete.
THIS I didn't know - thanks so much!Alfaniel wrote: "You can also limit the list from the left column. If you pick a shelf, it displays only that shelf.
As Sarah pointed out, it doesn't display comments. It can display the number of comments, though..."
I agree with a lot of this. I have so many books on my tbr list and its hard to keep up and find out when they're coming out. A calender would be a nice touch, but also if its on sale? Even better. I also have problems with making comments on certain group discussions and then I get slammed with notifications and 90% of them have nothing to do with the topics I was involved in. Then I have a hard time finding that discussion again. I also agree that if you don't know the EXACT name of the author or book it doesn't give you anything. It should at least give you a "related" or even "did you mean" and then options instead of a big blank screen.
Tammy wrote: "on the drop down menu under the book...want to read, currently reading, read....needs to have "remove from tbr". For example: I read the description it sounds interesting, I click want to read, t..."I think it works already, but it's kinda hidden: when you hover over the green check-mark near want-to-read, an 'x' appears and you can remove it. On the book page.
This would be nice - I have shelves labeled for the month the book comes out then I watch those shelves. Example if the book comes out in Nov I add it to my "to read" shelf then also add it to my "released Nov" shelf. Then near Nov I can go to that book and see the date it is coming and get ready for it.But yeah some kind of calender reminder thing would be nice.
Tammy wrote: "I think I would like a Calendar with the names of books BEING RELEASED on a particular day that would sync with my calendar. It's hard to keep up with the books that are coming out without search..."
Lisa wrote: "Great - thanks so much - I would love to know where to change the settings. I found how to change them for what I post but not for what I see from others.Sarah wrote: "Hi Lisa,
It sounds like you..."
http://www.goodreads.com/user/edit
Choose the 'emails' tab and there are loads of options for whether you get notifications or emails or nothing.
And, Toni, I find it best to set each group I'm a member of to 'none' (no notifications) using that link I just mentioned. Then in the threads I comment in or am interested in I choose to follow just that thread by clicking the little 'edit' button at the bottom of the thread and choose notify only.
Oh and Tammy, a calendar is a fantastic idea! I would love that!I know goodreads emails me a monthly digest with upcoming releases but I still miss so much!
I would even welcome an email or notification to let me know a book by an author I've read, or stated I was interested in, had been released.
Thanks Sarah, I am going to have to do that. Although I do have it set to follow a thread that I have commented on and sometimes it does't update to tell me someone commented after me. I don't know if it's my app or what, since I mostly go on here through my app
aah, I can't comment on using apps. I have a windows 8 phone and they don't have a GR app.
Alfaniel,Thanks for agreeing on some of them. I just thought of the ones based on what I myself would like to see or have trouble using. On the to-read idea I thought of the whole spamming issue but if they could do it so there would be no spam it may work out.
I like the calender idea. It would give a new way to check out new releases.
-Bigger crackdown on abuse and bullying
-Getting rid of folders with inappropriate names(maybe not even so much getting rid of them but perhaps making them only viewable to the person who made them)
-A mass e-mail feature where you can write more than one person at the same time.
-A feature where if you make the same thread in several groups you can post it once and the info will go to all the threads of that name that you created.
-Better recommendations(anyone notice they recommend a book that your not interested in at all but they only recommend it because it's sort of like a book you've read but not really?)
-A way to notify people who mark your book to-read of possible sales and free promotion days on the book.
-Adding .5 to star ratings. It's easy to write that you gave a book a 3.5 or 4.5 star rating but being able to click on it rather then write it in would just be so much easier.
-Make Listopia's more relevant(Maybe it's just me but they seem very underutilized)