Now you can read your favorite Drabblecast story!

[tbaker2500]

The sometimes-requested addition to the Drabblecast audio fiction podcast is here! Text stories! Click on the story at the www.drabblecast.org, and read the full story text! Now you can share the Drabblecast with deaf people, or even those troublesome folks who prefer to read!

Kudos to Norm for making this happen. It's even more work each episode, but this will help the weird spread even further. Now go forth and spread the seeds of the Drabblecast!

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

But don't you/we have to pay extra for both the audio AND the written rights?

(Hmmm. If my lawyer files suit first (on behalf of the victimized authors), he'll pay me for the tip...)

[Varda]

Holy crap. Well done! I'm with ASID - this sounds like it was expensive. Cool thing is I already know a couple of people who've wanted to listen but couldn't for various reasons.

Incidentally, I also know a lot of deaf people.

[tbaker2500]

But don't you/we have to pay extra for both the audio AND the written rights?

(Hmmm. If my lawyer files suit first (on behalf of the victimized authors), he'll pay me for the tip...)

It's already been worked out in the contract. (That's why the old stories aren't in text, rights weren't secured.) My understanding is that is has not increased the cost. But it could mark the transition to a wider audience.

[Varda]

Way cool. I've appreciated how Escape Pod has full-text online, and glad to see this feature at the DC now. Any plans to add the text of Drabbles online, now that the main stories and the Twabbles are there? It would sure be convenient come People's Choice Award season.

[tbaker2500]

...had not thought of that.

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

If/When I start the story thread on the forum, I link to the drabble if it's already online. Most of 'em are.

I'd say what, about two-thirds?, come from these very forums.

[Varda]

At the risk of being "that person"... wouldn't it make sense to aim for consistency? I checked a few of the story discussion threads, and while it's true that the ones created by ASID seem to have linked drabbles, the threads created by other mods are not, even if the story's available on the forums (recent example: "Bayou Witch" episode thread).

Linking to them on the forums is a good idea, but if I'm honest, having the full text in with the rest of the episode's full text makes more sense, since there's already text for everything else there. It's sort of arbitrary to treat drabbles like second-class stories if the twabbles are included. Let the drabbles ride at the front of the bus!

The downside is that it'd be extra work for whoever updates the main page (guessing Tom, based on that forlorn emote). It might be impractical to do it retroactively, but I think it'd be a nice feature to include in the future, assuming the inner workings of the DC machine allow for it.

Just my two cents.

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

While foolish consistency is a laudable goal, I think there are only three people that can edit the main episode pages.

I have some rainy-day projects to standardize the forum entries but no promises. That kind of thing is much easier to do with database commands, anyway.

I suppose, if you were willing to collect episode data in a standardized format, I could use web scripts to update the forum entries. This would be tedious on both ends, but maybe we could knock it out in a few weeks.

It's sort of arbitrary to treat drabbles like second-class stories if the twabbles are included. Let the drabbles ride at the front of the bus!

Okay, now you've lost me. That's crazy talk! After all it's not called Drab... Uh, short, sweet, twabbles should open each post with a bang!

[Varda]

I suppose, if you were willing to collect episode data in a standardized format, I could use web scripts to update the forum entries. This would be tedious on both ends, but maybe we could knock it out in a few weeks

I might be willing to volunteer for that. Sounds much easier than the cleanup project on the archive data, actually. Are we talking a compilation of all past Drabbles, or just the ones for the past year or so?

It's sort of arbitrary to treat drabbles like second-class stories if the twabbles are included. Let the drabbles ride at the front of the bus!

Okay, now you've lost me. That's crazy talk! After all it's not called Drab... Uh, short, sweet, twabbles should open each post with a bang!

Only on the Drabblecast is a 100-word story considered "long"!

New idea: let's just change the name of the 'cast. "Hello, and welcome to the Twabblecast...!"

While we're at it, do we get to rename Norm too?

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

I might be willing to volunteer for that. Sounds much easier than the cleanup project on the archive data, actually. Are we talking a compilation of all past Drabbles, or just the ones for the past year or so?

I imagine we'd just do them in ones and twos, until they were all done. I could write some scripts to semi-automate doing most of it in one fell swoop, but it's a PITA when dealing with inconsistent web pages; so I'm not committing to that just yet.

New idea: let's just change the name of the 'cast. "Hello, and welcome to the Twabblecast...!"

While we're at it, do we get to rename Norm too?

As much as that might be fun. Maybe we shouldn't mess to much with "the brand". I can just hear the jokes at the cons: "It's a Teh wabble cast!"

Now, "Norm" however. That's just too normal/bland. We should dub him "Killer S, Narrator of Doom and Awesome", or something.

[Varda]

I imagine we'd just do them in ones and twos, until they were all done. I could write some scripts to semi-automate doing most of it in one fell swoop, but it's a PITA when dealing with inconsistent web pages; so I'm not committing to that just yet.

Count me in. What can I do that would be helpful? Compile full text of all Drabbles in a Word doc/Google Doc/spreadsheet, along with episode numbers and author names?

To put it another way, I've got 3 more weeks off before I go back to school full-time, so if you'd like to take advantage of the free labor, point me in the right direction and I'm happy to volunteer. Won't have nearly as much time once my break's over. Offer's on the table until then.

I might be willing to volunteer for that. Sounds much easier than the cleanup project on the archive data, actually. Are we talking a compilation of all past Drabbles, or just the ones for the past year or so?

As much as that might be fun. Maybe we shouldn't mess to much with "the brand". I can just hear the jokes at the cons: "It's a Teh wabble cast!"

[/quote]
What?! You don't let random newbies wander in and rename the show on a whim? What kind of podcast is this, anyway? I want my money back!

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

Count me in. What can I do that would be helpful? Compile full text of all Drabbles in a Word doc/Google Doc/spreadsheet, along with episode numbers and author names?

To put it another way, I've got 3 more weeks off before I go back to school full-time, so if you'd like to take advantage of the free labor, point me in the right direction and I'm happy to volunteer. Won't have nearly as much time once my break's over. Offer's on the table until then.

Okay, I can work with that. What I would do is edit the forum posts to link to the drabbles, unless we get a consensus to post the drabble text. (For many episodes, we may not have the rights to post the text, plus it's probably too much clutter.)
I reserve the right to set up a script to do the edits in batches, after a few entries.

How about a spreadsheet with the following columns:

• Episode number, EG: 153
• Drabble Title, EG: The Offering
• Drabble Link, EG: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1183
• Drabble Author, EG: Liz Mierzejewski
• Drabble Author Link, EG: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LizanneHerd
• Episode, main Link, EG: http://www.drabblecast.org/2010/03/04/d ... rzejewski/
• Remarks, EG: "This episode had 2 drabbles!"
• Done, yes, no, or blank. Signifies that the forum post was edited.

Use "none" if there was no drabble.
Use "Can't find" if can't find a link.

Let me know what browser you are using and I can give you a userscript to slightly reduce the drudgework.

[tbaker2500]

You go, guys and and gals! I'll bring it up with Norm about the Drabble on the main website.

[Varda]

How about a spreadsheet with the following columns:

• Episode number, EG: 153
• Drabble Title, EG: The Offering
• Drabble Link, EG: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1183
• Drabble Author, EG: Liz Mierzejewski
• Drabble Author Link, EG: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LizanneHerd
• Episode, main Link, EG: http://www.drabblecast.org/2010/03/04/d ... rzejewski/
• Remarks, EG: "This episode had 2 drabbles!"
• Done, yes, no, or blank. Signifies that the forum post was edited.

Use "none" if there was no drabble.
Use "Can't find" if can't find a link.

Let me know what browser you are using and I can give you a userscript to slightly reduce the drudgework.

Sounds good to me. I usually use Chrome, although I've got Firefox too if that makes a difference on your end. I have IE too of course... please don't make me use it.

Question: am I taking inventory & capturing this info on all episodes, or just the ones in need of Drabble linkage? As you pointed out earlier, a lot of 'em are fine, but just let me know what you prefer so I can aim for maximum laziness.

(For many episodes, we may not have the rights to post the text, plus it's probably too much clutter.)

Good point about rights; I hadn't thought of that. As for being cluttered, no more so than juggling the three stories of the next Trifecta. If the point is accessibility, then it's better to include, assuming the rights weren't an issue of course.

[tbaker2500]

Don't forget about Lefts to the drabble.

[Varda]

Don't forget about Lefts to the drabble.

Up and downs too, while we're at it; organization is sexy!

(You guys didn't know what you were getting yourselves into when you let me on this forum.)

[strawman]

The risk with university folks is that it's only a summer romance. That we share these hot and steamy nights, but when things cool down you leave us wondering where we went wrong...if it was something ASID said, some pun that went horribly wrong...next, people whisper they saw you dancing and partying at Homecoming that night we sat up for hours waiting for your post.

We just don't know if we're able to endure that kind of heartache again. We think it best to take this relationship one day at a time. That way we can savor you, slowly extracting your juices, and by September return you to Academia in the wan, sleep-deprived, bloodless state that everyone else has to wait until Winter Break to achieve.

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

Sounds good to me. I usually use Chrome...
...
Question: am I taking inventory & capturing this info on all episodes, or just the ones in need of Drabble linkage? As you pointed out earlier, a lot of 'em are fine ...
...
If the point is accessibility, then it's better to include, assuming the rights weren't an issue of course.

• I'm pretty sure that only the half-dozen episodes that I started, or edited, have links to the drabbles. So, unless I started the thread, probably safe to assume it needs checking.
  But this is all volunteer work, so do only as many as you feel up to.
• If you want to add a column for the complete text, then it would be easier to go back and add that if we get the okay.
• Firefox and Chrome are both okay. My scripts can be made to work on both. You need to install Greasemonkey on Firefox, or Tampermonkey on Chrome to use them.

Do you have a Google account? If so, we can use a shared Google table, and the script can write directly to it -- which can save some hassle, and keeps the data in a machine-readable format.

If so, PM me. We'll swap Gmail addresses (necessary so we can both edit the table) and I'll set the table up.

Or if you want to put the data in a plain old openOffice or Excel table, whatever works best for you.

Note: I'm going to be online only sporadically for the next 24 hours.

[Varda]

Do you have a Google account? If so, we can use a shared Google table, and the script can write directly to it -- which can save some hassle, and keeps the data in a machine-readable format.

Roger on all o' that! Let's go with Google Docs--it really shines for collaborative work like this, and less installing is always better in my books. Will PM you my address.

The risk with university folks is that it's only a summer romance.

Funny thing, Strawman: I've been an Escape Pod listener since 2011, and Podcastle for longer than that. Just the other day, I was at the Escape Artist forums, and for the zillionth time, my finger hovered over the "create account" button as I pondered whether I really wanted to bother. Then I thought, "Nah!" and went on with my day.

The fine folks over there are doing a great job, and I'm definitely a fan, but the fact of the matter's that I don't join internet communities very often. Not really sure what makes the DC so different, but certainly happy I crawled out of the lurking darkness for once. I'm hoping time allows me to continue being a public health hazard around here. If it were my first degree, I'd probably fall of the face of the internet, but here at the far side of my 20's, I have the classes but no interest in the college social life. That means you're stuck with me, and it's likely terminal.

Now during NaNoWriMo, all bets are off. If you spot me then, make sure to let my husband know. He misses me too.