(no subject)

[graculus]

I feel as though my HP recs page is getting unwieldy, mostly because the fandom is just too talented and/or prolific - it's certainly substantially larger than any other single fandom on there. Which is a good thing if you're an HP fan, but I'm wondering if there's a better way to organise it than my present version (preferably one that doesn't involve me bending my brain round mysql... *grins at xochiquetzl*).

So, let's pick your brains, good friends list people... share your thoughts on the subject with me!

[Poll #641302]

Comments

[rivier.livejournal.com]

...because if you do it by size, you give readers a choice about whether they have time for a long read / save it to tab for later, or a short dip in / smorgasbord. All the other options, apart from date, push potential readers towards authors or pairings and genres, which can be handy but is a boon to lazy arses like me, who may never be tempted to stray out of their comfort zones. Doing it by date leaves you with having to put your latest recs on the last page, or only part-filling the first page.

There! Practical in a good civil servantish way...

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Typical civil servant - give them a number of options and they invent one that isn't on the list...

[rivier.livejournal.com]

And the fact that it's actually the best option shouldn't put you off in the slightes!

Ah, how I love to serve my public!

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Alas, it seems like a complicated and arbitrary way of organising things - you know, I think there was a reason this wasn't an option... ;)

[rivier.livejournal.com]

Well, um... no more arbitrary than grouping by author or pairing or genre or date. They're all simply collating / clustering selection processes. Size has the advantage of mixing everything up - all the other determinants incorporate a kind of classification which does tempt potential readers into a narrower type of pre-selection - such as, I'm not reading anything written before the last book came out / after the last film came out. Or, I'm only reading in x pairing, or fic by y author.

But most readers don't make inflexible selections based on length of fic - that does tend to vary according to how much time you have to read, whether you're in the mood for long or short.

More complicated than your other options? ::shrugs:: I have no idea. I'm assuming all fic is fairly easy to run a word count / file size check on. I've certainly seen a couple of rec lists organised in that way, so it can't be insurmountably complicated.

But as they say in my Department, eh, whatever: I'm off to make a cup of tea!

[xochiquetzl]

I'd be willing to lob some code at you that you could modify. C'mon, learning php/mysql, it'll be fun! ;)

(Or, you know, maybe I'm a dork.)

[graculus.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you can get medication for that... ;)

[xochiquetzl]

LOL! Actually, I kind of get a salary for that. ;)

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Always good. I can't help it, my eyes just start to glaze over, in the same way yours would if I started talking about inherent jurisdiction or some such... ;)

[xochiquetzl]

Inherent...

*eyes glaze over*

;)

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

I don't read HP, so it's probably a tad unfair of me to answer your poll.

But.... given that I am in a fandom that has more than one pairing, I thought I'd use what I'd want to see in that fandom and share my 'wishes' with you anyway :-) I'd like to see the recs arranged by pairing, as for me that would be what I'd be interested in.

Please feel free to totally ignore me, however, I sharn't be offended.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Don't mind me, I'm just prevaricating. ;)

And I think this is more a case of thinking way back when that there wouldn't be that many recs in total, whereas HP fic has unexpectedly eaten my brain.

[musigneus.livejournal.com]

Voted, but I'll use it however you organize it, since you've led me to some lovely stories ;).

[graculus.livejournal.com]

I decided to go for splitting things by pairing in the end, since that just about makes it more manageable (and we ended up with 3 pages instead of one!) - now I just need to catch up with the stuff that was posted for the various secret santas...

P.S. stop writing Snape/Draco, I can't stand Malfoy slash! :P

[musigneus.livejournal.com]

Looks nice - and new recs, mmm...

P.S. stop writing Snape/Draco, I can't stand Malfoy slash! :P
*snerk* Did I make you nervous by saying it was fun to write? ;) That story was fun more for certain story elements than the pairing; I don't think I really captured much of Draco as a character in it. I was briefly tempted to write a long (probably angsty) post-HBP Snape/Draco, but just wasn't interested enough to devote months to it no matter how tempting it was to make Draco miserable. I like reading the occasional Snape/Draco and Snape/Lucius, but I still prefer to write Snape/Lupin. Although if I do write anything else Malfoyish, I might have to dedicate it to you. :P

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Although if I do write anything else Malfoyish, I might have to dedicate it to you. :P

You're so kind!

I'm afraid I don't get the whole Malfoy obsession some people seem to have. I don't find either Malfoy pere or fils as anything but shallow caricatures and neither of them are particularly attractive or interesting to me either as they are portrayed onscreen or in the books. Hence my desire to read anything in which they play a major role other than as cannon fodder is somewhat limited... ;)

[musigneus.livejournal.com]

I'm not particularly fond of canon Draco or Lucius either, actually; I agree they are very shallowly portrayed (for that matter, I have that complaint about a number of characters!) in the books. I only found them interesting in the slightest after I started reading fanfic (and they do come in handy when writing fanfic, which also increased my interest in them). Stories like this little vignette by gmth did a lot to make me wonder if Lucius and Draco couldn't be fleshed out to become more interesting (no slash, so you won't be scarred if you decide to have a look): Teaching children values - On respect for others, and compassion toward those less fortunate than ourselves (http://www.livejournal.com/users/purest_of_blood/6640.html#cutid1). Otherwise, cannon fodder sounds pretty appropriate!

[musigneus.livejournal.com]

Forgot to say - if you do have a look, don't read on to the third vignette if you don't want to stumble into Malfoy slash. ;)

[graculus.livejournal.com]

And they're all pale and icky, unlike a certain suave Potions master of our acquaintance. ;)

I just don't get the attraction and they do seem to attract some real obsessives. I'm pretty glad to have missed the early days when HP slash was pretty much H/D or Remus/Sirius...

[musigneus.livejournal.com]

Rats. I had been teasing about writing anything else Malfoyish, you know - but this exchange has had me thinking about pale and icky Draco, and then hp_cliche came across my flist, and now I have a whiny prat Draco/Remus not-quite-cliche bunny with teeth bothering me... Maybe it will go away while I finish my current story - if not, I really may have to blame you, for making me think about Malfoys!

As for attraction and obsessives, I hear you! (And really, don't they realize Snape is the fascinating one, and Remus belongs with him not Sirius? /end imitation of rabid obsessive)

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Oh no!

You can picture me doing my Dobby impression at the moment, banging my head against the wall... ;)