(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!