The Index of the Giant's Comments III - We've Left a Banana In Charge

[NerdyKris]

Or you could look at the Giant's profile and see what recent posts he's made.

That is a forum search.

[Jajama]

Heh, still need to get used to the new forum and all... thanks guys!

[Jaxzan Proditor]

That is a forum search.

It's different from manually searching for his posts in the search bar though, which is what Jasdoif was talking about, I thought.

[NerdyKris]

It's different from manually searching for his posts in the search bar though, which is what Jasdoif was talking about, I thought.

It is simply a preset advanced search, the same kind you can do. It's just saved and run as a handy dandy link on the user profiles.

It uses the exact same system, and is identical to manually going to Advanced Search, Search Type - posts, and Search For - user name.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

It is simply a preset advanced search, the same kind you can do. It's just saved and run as a handy dandy link on the user profiles.

It uses the exact same system, and is identical to manually going to Advanced Search, Search Type - posts, and Search For - user name.

Bookmark the Giant's profile.

[Jasdoif]

The profile is fine if all you want to know is the Giant's most recent posts, and in that case its only major advantages over the Google search are the instant addition and it'll easily catch multiple posts on the same page.

If ever want to look for a specific thing he said, though, the forum search is far better. The Google search can match pages with words made in posts/sigs of other people that happen to be on the same page as one of the Giant's posts, because searching pages is how it works. The forum search can work on the post level, and skip those extraneous pages. And can still easily catch multiple posts that happen to have occurred on the same page.

[Loreweaver15]

Rich changes his signature every so often, which changes what you need to input into Google to actually find his posts.

[Jasdoif]

I've noticed I seem to post right before page breaks in this thread a lot, somehow So in case anyone missed it on the previous page, we've got an update coming (see the linked post for more details).

UPDATE COMING, CALLING FOR PMs TO REQUIRE VOTES

....

Proposed Items for Index 3.2
The Larger Online Page Size Aids Readability and Showcases New Art Also, the font is larger because the online comic page is larger.	#949	04/17/2014	Will be included. Updates an existing entry.
The Scenery is Harder to Draw Than the Characters Also, the new hands don't take longer to draw.	#949	04/17/2014	Will be included. Updates an existing entry.
There is Only One Way that Vampirism Works And nothing that happens with vampires can be assumed to work for other undead.	#949	04/18/2014	Will be included.
Vampires Have Free Will	#949	04/18/2014	Will be included.
Malack Chose to Worship Nergal And "shaman" is a descriptive term, not a non-cleric class.	#949	04/19/2014	No vote required, will be included.
The OOTS World is a Humorously-Thin D&D Setting "...the generic vanilla world I'm using in OOTS fits for a comedic satire of the fantasy genre."	#949	04/21/2014	No vote required, will be included.

PMs will be accepted until April 26th, 4PM EDT. I'll try to update the table if/when entries get sufficient PMs.

[Jasdoif]

Neither of the two quotes met the PM threshold required to trigger a vote, so they will be included.

With nothing to vote on, there will be no vote; all six entries are now in the Index.

That was easy.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Neither of the two quotes met the PM threshold required to trigger a vote, so they will be included.

With nothing to vote on, there will be no vote; all six entries are now in the Index.

That was easy.

Hmm, that went smoother than expected.

[Gwynfrid]

Neither of the two quotes met the PM threshold required to trigger a vote, so they will be included.

With nothing to vote on, there will be no vote; all six entries are now in the Index.

That was easy.

Perfect. The process proves its efficiency for simple cases, which hopefully will be the majority.

[Loreweaver15]

You mean we don't have to go through six pages of debates on whether we should be debating or not!? I love this system :D

[137beth]

I really like the way you decided to handle the (non)voting. A PM to call for a vote to disinclude is a the best way to handle it. If we stick with this method going forwards, it also means there will be less "grr, [insert user] ALWAYS does/doesn't calls for a vote to exclude. I vote that we continue using this voting mechanism in the future (or rather, I will not send a PM moving for a vote to change voting mechanisms)

[Jasdoif]

I really like the way you decided to handle the (non)voting. A PM to call for a vote to disinclude is a the best way to handle it. If we stick with this method going forwards, it also means there will be less "grr, [insert user] ALWAYS does/doesn't calls for a vote to exclude. I vote that we continue using this voting mechanism in the future (or rather, I will not send a PM moving for a vote to change voting mechanisms)

Well to be fair, ThePhantasm came up with most of the idea. But thanks; cutting down how many votes we need to hold is good all around. The only way this could've gone faster would be if those last two quotes had more discussion in the thread; if all the quotes had strong consensus at update time, we wouldn't even need the PM phase and I could just add all the entries.

---

Now, there was some discussion about a Twitter comment involving eBooks when I started the update cycle/process/thing, let me quote all that so no one misses it....

I never use Twitter, so I'm not sure how to embed a tweet or link to one, but a tweet Rich just made eight hours ago suggests that he may consider eBooks in the future ("I'll consider it when I've finished all the Kickstarter stories").

We should probably record that. At the moment, the Index only has a quote from Rich suggesting that he's considered eBooks and dismissed the idea. That now seems to have changed.

He may have just meant that he'd consider doing an eBook of the KS stories. I'm not sure.

I think it's too ambigious to be included, myself. The curse of 140 character limits and all that.

Here's the permalink to the eBooks tweet. Sounds to me like digital sales are completely off the table until the Kickstarter stories are done. On a related note, there are no plans for an OOTS omnibus right now because color printing is expensive and (reading a bit between the lines) economies of scale don't work when you print two separate editions.

Ultimately, I think it all comes together to say that the Giant would rather have a single definitive version of each story to sell, rather than juggle supply and demand for multiple editions of the same content.

I think it should be included, if only because the Index as currently read implies that Rich has ruled out eBooks for good. The tweet basically says, "no, they still might potentially happen in the future." To me, there's a big difference between "eBooks will never happen" and "eBooks will be 'considered' in the future," which is approximately the language Rich uses in the tweet.

[Emanick]

To clarify, I would suggest that we link that tweet in the description of the post where Rich says he's dismissed the idea of eBooks, not create an entirely new entry for it. It matters primarily in the context of that earlier post.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

To clarify, I would suggest that we link that tweet in the description of the post where Rich says he's dismissed the idea of eBooks, not create an entirely new entry for it. It matters primarily in the context of that earlier post.

Which quote is that?

[Jasdoif]

Which quote is that?

This is the existing entry in the Index:

eBooks Yes, Rich has considered it. Digital PDF's are not in the works. Rich prefers to sell physical copy books.

#786

04/11/2011

[Jaxzan Proditor]

This is the existing entry in the Index:

eBooks Yes, Rich has considered it. Digital PDF's are not in the works. Rich prefers to sell physical copy books.

#786

04/11/2011

I think that putting the new one with the old one would work because the old one says "at this time" and the new one shows that he may be reconsidering that decision, after all, there is a three year gap between the three. I also think that the old quote offers a lot of important details, so it's worth keeping.

[Sunken Valley]

Where are all the quotes where the Giant analyses Therkla?

[ti'esar]

Where are all the quotes where the Giant analyses Therkla?

Most of that's in the DStP commentary.

[Sunken Valley]

No he said stuff in the forums about how she was destined to die, and she killed the Valedictorian but was still neutral because he had killed others to be valedictorian. He also said he was going to make a big post defending Therkla's neutrality but he deleted it.

[hamishspence]

He also said he was going to make a big post defending Therkla's neutrality but he deleted it.

This was the bit you were thinking of:

Spoiler: Alignment

Show

General Information
Alignment and Authorial Intent What does Rich mean when he says X character is Y alignment?	#903	07/23/2013

as well as other comments earlier in the same thread.

[Jasdoif]

No he said stuff in the forums about how she was destined to die

If so, I can't find it. And "destined" doesn't seem an accurate word to describe the commentary in Don't Split the Party, opposite strip 594.

and she killed the Valedictorian but was still neutral because he had killed others to be valedictorian.

That one's here, in the same thread as the entry hamishspence cited.

[Jasdoif]

This is the existing entry in the Index:

eBooks Yes, Rich has considered it. Digital PDF's are not in the works. Rich prefers to sell physical copy books.

#786

04/11/2011

I think that putting the new one with the old one would work because the old one says "at this time" and the new one shows that he may be reconsidering that decision, after all, there is a three year gap between the three. I also think that the old quote offers a lot of important details, so it's worth keeping.

OK, that seems to have general agreement, so that's...one entry. Two months after the last update would be June 26th, so I think we have a ways to go

---

Now, since we seem to be in a lull....Does anyone have questions/comments/thoughts/ideas about how we have the Index organized? I've seen the occasional post that the Index is difficult to navigate, and we are up to...looks like 192 entries.

And, well, when I was getting ready to move the Index over from the last thread, I discovered that we had a "Character Development/Backstory" table and a "Character Development and Backstory" table in the "Story, Plot and Characters" section I consolidated them at the time (and moved one entry to "Writing Process and Story Development" since it made more sense there), but that something like that had snuck in is a little concerning.

Changing the order and placement of spoilers and tables is easy for me to do, as is adding new spoilers and tables, and moving entries between tables. So if anyone has ideas on reorganization that'd make the Index more convenient to use, let's hear read them! If not...that'd be fine too!

[Gwynfrid]

I agree the table could be organized in such a way that it's easier to navigate. Also, I could name a couple of entries that are misplaced, in my opinion at least. I'd like to propose something but it would require some work, so, it's unlikely to come soon.

[ChristianSt]

Is there any system in place how things are sorted inside each category?

I couldn't really find one, and if there isn't (feel free to point out if there is one), then I would propose to sort them chronological (I'm not sure on descending vs. ascending).

And yeah I have the feeling that some things could be organized better - but honestly I haven't a really great idea right now and should do other things than try to optimize the Index, so hopefully I will not post something on that front soonish.

[Jasdoif]

I agree the table could be organized in such a way that it's easier to navigate. Also, I could name a couple of entries that are misplaced, in my opinion at least. I'd like to propose something but it would require some work, so, it's unlikely to come soon.

No rush, you can post it whenever you've got something you'd like to propose!

Is there any system in place how things are sorted inside each category?

I couldn't really find one, and if there isn't (feel free to point out if there is one), then I would propose to sort them chronological (I'm not sure on descending vs. ascending).

I kept whatever order ThePhantasm had for the entries that existed prior to this thread; I'm not sure what system (if any) was in place for that, but I posted the original tables that went into the last thread in chronological order, so I know there was manual reordering involved. Entries added in this thread should be more-or-less newest on top.

I'd have sorted them all in chronological order with newest first, it'd save a lot of trouble in the table generation...but we have a few things like "Surprises Are Not Deus Ex Machinas" and "Surprises Are Not Deus Ex Machinas, II", which are far enough apart that they'd be split up even though it looks like they should be together, and the second one would precede the first with that order.


Although come to think of it, it wouldn't be that big of a deal....What does everyone else think about "I and II" entries being listed next to each other (or not) inside a table?

[Jaxzan Proditor]

There have been times where I look for quote in the Index and can't find it. I think one of three things may be happening. 1) It's in a different section, in which case we might want to look at those sections and how they're split. 2) I'm not searching with the right words, which may mean that the descriptions need to be recorded. 3) We don't have that quote, for whatever reason. I'm not sure how to change this, if it's even considered a problem.

Does anyone else feel this way? It might be just that I'm not doing a good job of looking for the quotes I want.

[Bird]

There have been times where I look for quote in the Index and can't find it. I think one of three things may be happening. 1) It's in a different section, in which case we might want to look at those sections and how they're split. 2) I'm not searching with the right words, which may mean that the descriptions need to be recorded. 3) We don't have that quote, for whatever reason. I'm not sure how to change this, if it's even considered a problem.

Does anyone else feel this way? It might be just that I'm not doing a good job of looking for the quotes I want.

Example(s)?

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I have looked for a quote about Laurin and it took me some time to find it. I couldn't find a quote about Nale's alignment. I think there were others, but none come to mind right now.