As a (former?) regular reader of the blog, I wanted to express a level of frustration I have with one element:
The web fiction.
I actually very much enjoy the stories, and read them when I get the opportunity. However, often I only have a few minutes at lunch to peruse the blog during the day. While this was (once upon a time) sufficient, I found that the web fiction took a surprising amount of time to scroll through, particularly on a smartphone. I didn't have the time to read it over lunch, and as the "wall-o-text" became a regular part of the blog, I have found myself skipping reading the blog altogether for weeks on end, and often missing posts I would have otherwise liked to see.
I understand that the web fiction requires a lot of time and effort, and I would likely actually read it (in its designated section) with it removed--but because of its current place in the blog, I have largely ceased to read the paizo blog--I just don't have the time or inclination to sort the fiction from the FAQ, so to speak.
[Edit]: I actually wouldn't mind a short paragraph from the week's fiction (with a link to the rest) at all! It'd likely just get me hooked, regardless. It's just the full text of the web fiction embedded in the blog that bothers me.[/Edit]
I know that initially this was discussed with some frequency, but I still felt the need to voice my concern, and didn't see an appropriate recent thread. Thanks for your time!
Fizzlebolt
I agree. I'd like to read it, but as it is all interspersed with the blog, I end up reading neither the fiction nor the real blog posts.
Third'd. The blog contains very helpful (FAQ attacks!) and interesting (fiction) information, along with other things that people like to see. However, the current state of its organization does make it into a seemingly insurmountable wall o' text.
The idea of having a summary with a link to the actual post would make browsing the blog updates a lot easier.
I agree also. Giving the stories their own tab or making a story blog would be nice.
I agree also. Giving the stories their own tab or making a story blog would be nice.
There already is a web fiction tab. It just gets put in both places, for greater visibility, I assume.
As a work-around, you might try clicking the More Web Fiction URL and browsing from there. It seems to be more organized by story arc. Still, I can see your point of having to scroll past a HUGE block of text on the main blog when perhaps a paragraph or two and a link to the rest would serve just as well.
The other thing you could do on your smartphone is to use an RSS reader and then simply subscribe to New Blog Entries. The various RSS feeds I use on this site generally only contain a certain amount of text before you'd have to click to read the rest.
Me too. Especially on my phone.
I wouldn't mind at all a truncated version to make it the length of a normal blogpost with a link to the full version!
I was actually just thinking this earlier today. I'll chime in with the "Just one paragraph of fiction" people. It's good to know that a new one is up, but they're far longer than anything else (possibly excluding Lisa's post), and make it hard to look at anything except the most recent post...