02-08-2002 20:54									#1
	SMAC Fiction in the Apolyton Directory? Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

First of all, if you havent heard about the Apolyton Directory see the directory itself http://apolyton.net/dir and it's faq http://apolyton.net/forums/misc.php?action=faq&page=9

Now, would you find it helpfull to have the stories posted here archived and perhaps categorized in a special category of the Directory?

It would allow for a more organized archival, reviews/comments always separated from the stories and even votes, although i dont think anyone here would be writing in order to just get a good vote

Also, if you like the idea, anyone interested in helping in the entering older stories whose authors are not around?

looking forward to you feedback

	02-08-2002 23:38									#2
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it would be great if the original/official stories, "Journey" and "Arrival" could be included.

	03-08-2002 02:25									#3
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I think it'd be splendid. I could help out, at least to some degree, i.e. categorising and submitting stories. The fact that we could arrange commenting a hoot better then how we have now would be swell.

	03-08-2002 05:14									#4
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cool

any ideas on sub-categories?

	03-08-2002 05:27									#5
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First off, there's a load of old unfinished stories around that will probably never be completed. They would probably have a category of their own, or at least there should be a warning stating that this story will be incomplete. At least I'd be pissed off if I spent two hours to read a story that doesn't finish. Edit: *or* we could ignore them too.

Then there's the business of RPG/Multi-author threads. I am not sure how we could implement them; any ongoing ones would have to be updated once the original threads are finished... we could either leave the Multi-author ones out altogether, or post complete episodic ones; for instance, the first couple of Chiron Chronicle threads and the first BAC thread when it's completed.

Now I'll check the stories hosted by the ACS itself at the AC section. Haven't been there for a looong time.

So I suggest we categorize them not by content (ie. Aliens or no Aliens etc., which would be rather tricky and time consuming), but by structure.

How exactly would a thread be formatted and uploaded to the Directory?

Last edited by Kassiopeia on 03-08-2002 at 05:33

	03-08-2002 05:44									#6
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1) warning: we dont really have many stories in the ac section

2) no need for a thread to be formatted in any way! the description field will be used for a introduction to the story, a small summary. the main url field will be used for a link to the thread(in the case of multiple threads, the first one. the rest of the threads could be linked from the description)
if there is a discussion thread, it can also be linked from the "related forum thread" field

	03-08-2002 05:46									#7
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

3) i think unfinished stories should not be added, or at least that our focus should be in the finished ones.
ongoing, multi-threads stories wont need often updates except when there is a new thread

	03-08-2002 05:53									#8
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quote: Originally posted by MarkG 1) warning: we dont really have many stories in the ac section

That's why I never visit it!

quote: 2) no need for a thread to be formatted in any way! the description field will be used for a introduction to the story, a small summary. the main url field will be used for a link to the thread(in the case of multiple threads, the first one. the rest of the threads could be linked from the description) if there is a discussion thread, it can also be linked from the "related forum thread" field

Clever. Very clever.

quote: 3) i think unfinished stories should not be added, or at least that our focus should be in the finished ones. ongoing, multi-threads stories wont need often updates except when there is a new thread

Sounds like a plan.

So what we need is people reading the stories, summarizing them and sorting out links? Can do.

	03-08-2002 06:05									#9
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quote: Can do

great

one thing remaining: categories

	03-08-2002 06:09									#10
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Is this what you feel like after selling your soul to the devil?

Categorising... It's tough really. There's humour (like "What Chironian kids get for Christmas", "University Saga"), we have stories with not so many characters from the original game (The Hunt thus far, The Homeworld), we have not-so-AC stories (Heritage, Aldebaran).

Edit: I talked of Zakharov and Deirdre and their friends as "people", not "characters". In-te-resting.

	03-08-2002 07:08									#11
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I'd be happy to help. I think we should have a "canonical" category (where the fiction either is the original story themselves as in "Journey" and "Arrival" or makes an effort to stick to them). I have a copy of "Journey" by Mike Ely on my harddrive and could post that if necessary. Of Arrival I only have a few scattered chapters, though.

I'm a pretty fast reader and I can usually come up with synopses and responses. The horrors of an English Literature degree...

	03-08-2002 07:18									#12
	Increase Your PM Length

arrival is in our smac section
http://apolyton.net/smac/Tales/3_X/3_x01.shtml

	03-08-2002 07:20									#13
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and journey too (files database)
http://apolyton.net/cgi-bin/smac/fi...hor=&sort=title

	04-08-2002 00:03									#14
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Hmm...

I have a suggestion how to simplify the categories.


Categories:

1. Unfinished stories. (Post here if no new posts in over a year or more).

2. Short stories. (Stories only running 1 full forum page or a few posts. A good example would be the story about Cha Dawn... forgot the title, something like Rising Sun)

3. Epic stories. (Joe, Wizard of Chiron, The Hunt, etc)

4. Multi-author stories. (BAC, Spartan Chronicles)

5. Others. (Hydro's stories of his PBEM's like Unlike Minds, Among Friends, etc)



Does that sound like a good plan?

	04-08-2002 00:07									#15
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Arrgh! I forgot to mention my other idea.


Add a 6th category for feedback. That way, people can quick-click to that particular area. Then click on "feedback" for a particular story. My idea of the Feedback Category would be like this:

(link to click on)
Story Feedback.

(List of stories to click on, then write your own feedback in the thread)

BAC Feedback

Spartan Chronicles Feedback

Joe Feedback

Wizard of Chiron Feedback

and so on.


That idea any good?

	04-08-2002 01:32									#16
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re the Feedback idea, would it be better to have feedback links accessible from the actual stories themselves? It irks me when I'm reading a story and get an idea for something to say, then I have to trawl through threads near and far to find the comments thread.

	04-08-2002 05:01									#17
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entries in the dir have a field for a "related thread"
as i mentioned above, this would be used for the feedback thread

	04-08-2002 05:05									#18
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i think from the reader's point of view, it would be be best to first categorize based on the content (humour, drama, etc) and then on the length.

notes about whether or not only smac/x factions are used or if it's multi-authored can be put in the begining of it's description

	04-08-2002 05:16									#19
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quote: Originally posted by MarkG i think from the reader's point of view, it would be be best to first categorize based on the content (humour, drama, etc) and then on the length. notes about whether or not only smac/x factions are used or if it's multi-authored can be put in the begining of it's description

Agreed... I suggest that once we begin the first step would be gathering up url's and titles of finished stories and then sorting them out and arranging who will summarize what. If we have a good list of the stories, then we can see how we would be able to classify them so that there's enough stuff to all categories.

From the too of my head, I'd say we'd have mostly "Humour", "Drama" (as in drama that is based on Alpha Centauri and the settings of the game), "Other" (which would have stuff that's not so loyal to SMAC/X, for instance BAC). Any others? I don't think there are, say, plays there. Wait a minute, an AC play would be interesting.

	05-08-2002 08:20									#20
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Okay, this is my first post in apolyton in one or two months...just would like to give my input.

Do like Spacebattles.com does with its story debates, if they are good, then place them in the archive.... completed or not, multi-author or not.

For the multi-author ones, would be go idea to archive them...why? would be easier for people to find them easily and read up on the game...so they can decide wether to join in or continue as an lurker. would really be useful for those the good ones like Spartan: Chronicles to be archived.

I say Crossfire, Spartan Chronicles, Chiron Chronicles and Beyond Alpha Centauri (once the first thread is finish of course) be archived.

-Mellian

	05-08-2002 08:29									#21
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Quite a few readers have a professed "favorite" faction. I know I wrote my fiction with a notable factional skew. Perhaps in addition to just stating whether or not the story remains within the original 16 factions, we could also state whether or not the story has a skew towards any given factions, and those against which it skews.

For example, "Joe" would probably be listed as being strongly pro-Hive and anti-UNP/DataTech. This would give a reader an idea of whether or not they would enjoy the fiction. A couple of readers have told me that they didn't read the story because it was very long, and moreover they weren't sure whether the Hive is vilified or lauded, so they didn't want to invest the time to read it if there was a risk they wouldn't enjoy it.

	08-08-2002 06:03									#22
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"Humour", "Drama", "Other" sound fine, along with a small but crucial "Official" one(any other similar but better title is welcome), containing the smac and smac-x stories, as well as the books excerpts

if there are no other suggestions on the subcategories, i'll make them tomorrow.

the data needed for each entry are
- category
- title
- url(s) of threads of the story
- author
- description (introduction/synopsis), noting on the factions used and how close it is to actual smac story
- thread number(from example this thread's number is 57757) of a related discussion

	08-08-2002 06:13									#23
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Ok. I hope no one minds if I submit entries for my own fics. After all, I am probably the one who best knows what they are about.

	08-08-2002 06:16									#24
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yes, the best will be to contact the author and ask him to either do it himself or provide the intro

Kassiopeia, stay around for a few min, i'm adding the categories now

	08-08-2002 06:37									#25
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and here we go!

http://apolyton.net/dir/index.php?cat=108&t=sub_pages

	08-08-2002 06:39									#26
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"Tales that don't fit anywhere", sounds a bit sad, like a bespectacled freckle-faced boy in school nobody wants to talk to.

	08-08-2002 06:42									#27
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check again

	08-08-2002 06:44									#28
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Oh good god. I'll keep my mouth shut from now on.

	09-08-2002 03:46									#29
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Category: Drama

Title: The Homeworld

url: http://apolyton.net/forums/showthre...&threadid=22582

Author: Kassiopeia

Description:

A strange object lands on Chiron, leading to a chain of events that sparks off the University space program and eventually an interfactional enterprise, the starship ISS Homeworld. As launch is prepared, Provost Zakharov retires from office, leaving his faction to unruly hands.

Thread number of comment thread: 22583

	09-08-2002 12:37									#30
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*realisation*



The above, of course, is a mere template.

Link added.