The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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The Future of SRC
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "so we don't have to switch groups?"Right... don't have to switch
Meghan wrote: "Alice wrote: "Pj that's ...... if only 6 people complete a challenge there will be only one 25 point task. (Somebody please correct me if I am wrong). But if 20 people complete the challenge there will be 15 25 point tasks ..."
yes
Alice wrote: "Hi Megan,Yes I just read over the rules and I saw that the task points were confirmed in there. Thanks though!
I wondered if rule 18 could just be tweaked a bit to say: That a person can cho..."
Rule 18 changed. Thanks.
LATEST DRAFT OF THE RULES (some changes to help new moderators; some changes left from contingent effort to rewrite for new group)See post 2 of this thread for latest version
A big thank you to the GR staff for doing this! I am going to pop over to the Feedback group and thank them personally!
THE REWARDS: CREATE A TASK16. Everyone who plays gets the pleasure of finding books to fit the tasks, discovering new genres / authors and clearing books off that TBR shelf.
Maybe we could add the following sentence, just to make the transition to the next 17 smoother: "However, during every challenge some players will earn a chance to create a task for the next challenge."
This is great PJ. Now you and Sandy are on as moderaters it really feels as if things are getting moving. Thanks for being willing to do this. The revised rules look good to me.
Let's do everything we can to make posts easy to manage, if you tell us what makes it easiest for you then that's what we should do. Personally I think a template would be a good idea with the mods saying what they want and how they want it presented. After all; you're the ones who have to work with it, and if we want the readerboard updated regularly and accurately we need to cooperate with what's best for you - clear readerboard names, and links to books etc.
Glad to see you're keeping the 4-part themes that were part of this thread. Some good things have come of this mess.
ColleenPA wrote: "THE REWARDS: CREATE A TASK16. Everyone who plays gets the pleasure of finding books to fit the tasks, discovering new genres / authors and clearing books off that TBR shelf.
Maybe we could add t..."
Done, thanks.
Donna Jo wrote: "I don't mind linking books and authors or even book covers, but I sometimes read editions of older books that I can't find in GR--and no ISBNs to track them down so I just list Title, authors, pub ..."It would help if you used the bold code from (some html is ok) for Title & Author when you're not using a link.
pjreads wrote: "Donna Jo wrote: "I don't mind linking books and authors or even book covers, but I sometimes read editions of older books that I can't find in GR--and no ISBNs to track them down so I just list Tit..."I can do that! And I'll be more than happy to.
pjreads wrote: "GR STAFF JUST ADDED ME AS A CO-MODERATOR!!!"WooHoo!
YAY! I'm glad the the PTB were able to help us with our moderator issue. I have been participating in these challenges for a year now and am completely addicted. I really enjoy helping when I can and care about the future of this fantastic group. Thank you PJ and Sandy for jumping into the deep end! The proposed rules are great. I would be more than willing to help out in any way I can.
Bluemoon wrote: "If we move forward ...... Maybe before asking questions we should allow the person who created the task to have the first one or two posts so that they can have a space to post approved/disapproved books or comments that would make the tasks easier to follow. ..."
I wonder if creating a Goodreads list for each task would work. Task creators (or helper) would create and manage a GR list for their task. Volunteers would help the moderators with the 30 5/10/15 point tasks.
Players could add their suggestions (approved, if necessary) to the appropriate GR list.
Players could add the book they read for the task to the appropriate GR list.
A link to the list in the task or the first post in the Task Help thread.
What do you think?
pj, I wonder if it would work for the moderators to create a separate folder for each of the participant created tasks in the proper # order so that they would be easier to track all under the Task Help umbrella? What do you think? Right now they are just in random order of when people asked the questions.
Sheila wrote: "pj, I wonder if it would work for the moderators to create a separate folder for each of the participant created tasks in the proper # order so that they would be easier to track all under the Task..."You can sort the topics in a folder by clicking on any of the column headings.
Click on the folder name to see the columns.
To sort by Task #, click topics.
WOW! What a great tip, PJ! I learn something new everyday. This does make it much easier to look up particular tasks. Thanks. ;D
pjreads wrote: "Bluemoon wrote: "If we move forward ...... Maybe before asking questions we should allow the person who created the task to have the first one or two posts so that they can have a space to post..."
LOVE this idea! I've never created a list before. Is there any way to control who can add to list? I would think it would work best if the list was open to group members only. I think without this restriction any Goodreads member would be able to vote/add to list regardless of how it relates to the task and description.
Hmm...still worth trying it out as an option rather than requirement for task creators. If it seems to work than maybe it can be adopted formally down the line. If I was lucky enough to create a task again I would definitely give it a try.
Dionisia wrote: "pjreads wrote: "Bluemoon wrote: "If we move forward ...... Is there any way to control who can add to list? I would think it would work best if the list was open to group members only. I think without this restriction any Goodreads member would be able to vote/add to list regardless of how it relates to the task and description...."
I thought about who can add books after I posted. I think lists are either restricted to the creator or open to all.
We could see what happens if there's a note asking that only SRC members add books during the challenge months.
I'll probably try this with some of the 5/10/15 point tasks during the Fall challenge.
This is a general Goodreads question, but y'all seem so knowledgeable, I thought this might be a good place to ask!What does it mean at the right where it give an option "embed group widget"? I think it is on every group, but I have no idea what it means!
AshleyFL wrote: "This is a general Goodreads question, but y'all seem so knowledgeable, I thought this might be a good place to ask!What does it mean at the right where it give an option "embed group widget"? I ..."
I don't know, either.
I clicked on the link and it gives this explanation:Add a widget to your blog or website that shows off your membership in this group.
Won't work on sites that don't allow javascript widgets (MySpace, etc).
Hmmm. . . very mysterious! If I weren't afraid it would download something on my computer, I'd try it!
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I clicked on the link and it gives this explanation:Add a widget to your blog or website that shows off your membership in this group.
Won't work on sites that don't allow javascript widgets ..."
It gives you the html code for the above.
Just a thought - the group has bookshelves for 'read', currently reading' and 'to read' doesn't it? Can you add other shelves too for tasks or do groups just have the three standard shelves?
I'm in another group that has more than just the three basic shelves. Not being a moderator in any group, I can't attest how it's done.
pjreads wrote: "Dionisia wrote: "pjreads wrote: "Bluemoon wrote: "If we move forward ...... Is there any way to control who can add to list? I would think it would work best if the list was open to group membe..."
It's a really good idea. If you made the list title something cryptic and boring like 'SRC 2010 Fall 5.1', hopefully no one other than members would find it or be interested in adding titles! :)
Nicki (UK) wrote: "Just a thought - the group has bookshelves for 'read', currently reading' and 'to read' doesn't it? Can you add other shelves too for tasks or do groups just have the three standard shelves?"There is a way you can make other shelves. You can do it from your profile page on GR by a link that says add shelf or something like that.
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "Nicki (UK) wrote: "Just a thought - the group has bookshelves for 'read', currently reading' and 'to read' doesn't it? Can you add other shelves too for tasks or do groups just have the three stand..."I can't do it for the group though - probably only the mods can do that. But maybe we could all see shelves if they were added and it might work as a shelf for each task? But if only the mods could edit them a list might be better.... :/ I'm thinking aloud here.
You can add shelves to a group, but I think you have to be a moderator. If you were going to do the split up tasks and have volunteer mods do smaller tasks someone's task could be to make sure the appropriate shelves are staying up to date with what is being approved in the help threads. I am on a collaborative book blog where we add our own books to shelves with our names as we review them. But doing that here and opening it up so that anyone could add a book to a shelf would be insane.
I tried adding a shelf for Task 10.5 Beach on Cover.I wanted to name the shelf "2010 Fall Task 10-5 Beach on Cover"
... it would only accept "Beach on Cover"
Danielle wrote: "I have a suggestion for handling the Readerboard with duplicated names...What if we started a thread called "Readerboard Names". The first entry would be a continuously updated alphabetical list..."
I'll try it.
It may just be too long. I don't know what the upper limit is for shelving. I was testing out a couple in a different group and I got these to work:2010-fall-10-5-beach-on-cover (0)
f10-10-5-beach (0)
fall-task-2010-10-5-beach (0)
fall-task-2010-10-5-beach-cover (0)
fall10-10-5-beach-cover (0)
But if its too confusing the list thing may be a good alternative too
I am way behind in reading through this thread, but first, THANK YOU for taking over. I love this group. Personally, I think since I started in the fall of 2009, it has gotten a little too intricate with all of the add-ons...style points, birthdays, goodreads authors, etc. I would be PERFECTLY HAPPY with a simple challenge group because everyone here always comes up with unique tasks.
I think adding in reviews, recipes, etc is a waste of time because I NEVER EVER reading ANYONE'S postings...there are just too many people in the group. I would be HAPPY to do away with all of this extra material. I would be curious how many people actually read others' postings with hundreds going up each day.
Since it is now your group, these are things you may want to consider, even with several people moderating. I run a challenge group as well, and even though mine is really simple, it can be a LOT of work. I cannot imagine taking over this monster.
Just my feedback. Good luck, and again, thank you!
Stephanie wrote: "Personally, I think since I started in the fall of 2009, it has gotten a little too intricate with all of the add-ons...style points, birthdays, goodreads authors, etc...."Stephanie, you may be interested in a Challenge Group that has come about because of the above sentiments - Reading with Style. It has operated as a sub-group of this one, but will be on its own for Fall.
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/3...
I like reading the posts. But, this is the onlychallenge I've ever been in--- so it's NEW to me.
Love it.
I enjoy reading the Posts, too. They've added a lot of books to my TBR list.
I agree with Kathy and Petra. I really enjoy reading the posts. Unfortunately I end up adding more books to my TBR list than I check off during the challenge!
Stephanie wrote: "I am way behind in reading through this thread, but first, THANK YOU for taking over. I love this group. Personally, I think since I started in the fall of 2009, it has gotten a little too intric..."
I do agree with Stephanie. I started doing this challenge 7 seasons ago and the first one I did was a lot easier to manage the tasks because they were less convoluted and complicated!
I think it is nice to have the review folder so that people can write any reviews they want to and others can read it. However the extra things we HAVE to do to complete tasks can make it a lot harder and so much more difficult to get your head around. I think the 'extra' things may be more manageable for both us and the moderators if they aren't compulsory. That way people can do them if they want to and others can read them if they want to but it's not going to prevent you getting points if you miss it out. After all this shoudl primarily be a reading challenge not a film watching or recipe making challenge!
Like Stephanie, this is just my own opinions and feedback!
Alice
Petra wrote: "I enjoy reading the Posts, too. They've added a lot of books to my TBR list."Same here (as though my TBR list needs to get any bigger! LOL)
Something else about Completed Tasks posts that would help the moderators:Please use just a short Task Title rather than pasting in the complete Task Description. It's hard to find the Title & Author for the book that's being claimed when it's buried in a gray blob, especially when there are examples in the Task Description.
Thanks.
Darn, I prefer to have the description there so I can see before I post that I have all the additional parts of the task included (and I always remove the Examples or any other random wording). Is this going to be a requirement now or a suggestion?One thing I've really disliked when looking at other people's posts is that I can't tell what the task was supposed to be, so then I have to pop over to the Task thread to see if it matches. The Task Title doesn't seem to be enough of a description for me. But I'm not a mod, so whatever.
I read all of the Completed Task posts also!In general I like the creative tasks that people have come up with. I will say that the one task that has really been a hassle is the one where I have to go to my last 5 star book, then find someone else who rated it 5 stars, then look at THEIR 5 star books. It is a lot of click-throughs and there is no easy way to get to the next person on the list, so it's been incredibly time-consuming. And I've never come up with a good option (my last 5 star book was a kids' book, so there is a lot of stuff to wade through!).
Anyway, I think the idea was a good one, but I found the amount of time and hassle to be disproportionate for that task.
El wrote: "Darn, I prefer to have the description there so I can see before I post that I have all the additional parts of the task included (and I always remove the Examples or any other random wording). Is..."You can put the description there while you're posting, then delete it after you check everything.
Several people have included the complete Task Description and still haven't done all the task requirements. ??
Hope my task posts haven't been too wordy. Especially since Cynthia's absence, I've been trying to shorten the task posts. I generally do:
Book cover for books claimed this post
Task number, name, and enough of the description so it is clear which task this one is
Link to the book claimed plus a few words describing how the book meets the task requirements
Link to the author only when the task requires details about the author (like their birthday)
A few words of review of book
If I'm claiming Goodreads author or Big Book Points
Points claimed so far
Ticker
And then tracking stuff that I like to include, but it is after the ticker and so easily skipped by any readers not interested.
Looking back over my posts, the ones I included more task descriptions were the ones that I found trickier to make sure that the book fit the task (15.4 - Learn Your Numbers -- especially part B, 25.4 - Nicole OH's Task - Happy Birthday to Me!-- especially part B, and 10.6 - Stand Up For Your Rights -- because content determines whether or not task has been correctly fulfilled) When I get around to claiming 10.10 - Great Minds Think Alike or 15.6 - "Eventually, All Things Merge Into One, And A River Runs Through It." or most of the 25 and 30 point tasks, I can see those being longer posts, too.
However, to be really quick with my posts, the bookcovers on the first line link directly to the book(s) claimed, and the first line of text following the book cover(s) is the task number and the task name.
Maybe this?? Like an executive summary??
Task number and (short) task name
link to book & author
blank line
the rest of the stuff (like author's birthday for 25.4 and reviews for 25.5 favorite genre/type and the ticker and so on)
Deedee wrote: "Hope my task posts haven't been too wordy. Especially since Cynthia's absence, I've been trying to shorten the task posts. I generally do:
Book cover for books claimed this post
Task number, na..."
I usually do what you have as your "executive summary"...I do not think it is that hard and is simple. But it may help to have the Readerboard name in as well to ensure people are getting logged under the right name.
I love that some of the rules are just being clarified but keeping to the spirit of the challenge.Question, for the posts that require a review, is that a review on the book's site or in completed tasks? I usually review the titles, especially if I am reading for a specific task, but that will make it harder for you to verify. (No wonder Cynthia got exhausted).
Share the Summer Love Task made this one harder to define, hence my request for the future!
Thanks!!!!
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Daughter of the Forest (other topics)The Girl Who Played with Fire (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Neil Gaiman (other topics)Stieg Larsson (other topics)
Juliet Marillier (other topics)
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