Forum / A few silly questions from someone completely lost

• 
  W.F. Lantry

  Nov 17, 05:52pm

  Hey, folks,

  So, I've been here a week now, and I've been clicking around, and there are many things I still haven't figured out. I can be so dense sometimes! ;)

  My worst dilemma is trying to figure out who faved a story. I see other people saying "Thanks for the fav", and I feel so uncivilized not being able to express specific gratitude.

  Second, what's up with groups? I thought I'd get notifications or something when a member of a group I belong to posts something, but if so, I can't find it.

  Third, what does it mean to "follow" someone, or have someone be a 'contact'? Should I get some note that a contact has posted a story, or commented on someone else's?

  I actually have many more questions, but you're probably bored with answering the same thing over and over, so I'll leave it there.

  Thanks,

  Bill

• 
  Sam Rasnake

  Nov 17, 06:27pm

  Welcome to FN, Bill.

  If you're following a writer, and that writer comments on your work or gives a fav, that will show up on your general wall in the comments section if you are signed in. If a writer who doesn't follow you comments on your work or gives you a fav, you won't be able to see it in the comment section if you're signed in. If you're not signed in, you can see those comments and stars in the comment section of everyone. Go figure.

  You won't receive notice from the groups, but an admin of a group might message you. Groups were designed to connect writers in a certain way - around a magazine, a theme, a cause, etc. If you are a member of a group, you send your work to that group with the hope that other group members might go the group and read your work.

  Sam

• 
  Jürgen Fauth

  Nov 17, 06:29pm

  Hi Bill, and welcome.

  There's currently no easy way to see who "faved" a given story. Faved stories do show up on profile pages, so you might see your story listed on another writers page, but we need to add a way for writers to see favs on their stories directly. It's on our to-do list.

  Group events show up in your activity feed on the front page, but this system could use some improvements, too. Carson is currently working on a new iteration of the front page that's going to highlight groups better.

  Finally, writers you follow are also listed in the "recent activity" feed on the front page so you can see what they're up to. Again, we're going to improve the usefulness of this feed soon....

  Hope that helps--
  Jurgen

• 
  W.F. Lantry

  Nov 17, 06:39pm

  Sam,

  Thanks for your reply. Actually, one of my further questions was about you! I saw your piece on Stevens in The Big Other this week, and wanted to give you some public props, maybe even a link, so that others would be aware. But I can't sort out where such things go on this site. Is the practice deprecated, or am I just being dense again? Other sites have forums with names like "the accomplished members". It would be very useful to me, since I feel like there are many names I should recognize here, and others must be in the same boat...

  Thanks,

  Bill

• 
  Bill Yarrow

  Nov 17, 07:48pm

  Bill,

  You can turn on or turn off your faves in your profile.
  
  If you think someone faved a story of yours, you can go to that person's page and see whether your story is one he or she faved. And you can then thank that person for the fave. Of course, if he or she turned off his or her faves, you won't be able to tell.

  I decided to turn off my faves when people started sending me messages asking me to fave their work or asking me to explain why I hadn't faved their work.

  I now give my faves anonymously.

  Bill

• 
  David Ackley

  Nov 17, 09:07pm

  Really, Bill? People were ASKING you for Faves? LIke Blurbs for a book flap? You fave mine, I'll fave yours? That is richly funny.

• 
  W.F. Lantry

  Nov 17, 09:32pm

  David,

  No, nothing like that. In reading comments on people's stories, I see comments like "Thanks for favoriting." But I can tell who is favoriting my stories. It's like getting a valentines day card, but unsigned... ;)

  Thanks,

  Bill

• 
  Bill Yarrow

  Nov 17, 10:04pm

  (Confusion of Bills)

  David,

  Really. Not quid pro quo. Just a desire, a request, a plea.

  Bill Y.

• 
  Darryl Price

  Nov 17, 10:07pm

  I think it's okay to ask your friends to view your work but it's not okay to ask for a fave. That should be left up to the reader entirely. It's a good thing to let those interested in your work know when you put something new up because it disappears so quickly and also because they may have missed it, and if they really enjoy your work, that would be a shame. Also we're here to support each other in a literary way. All these folks out there are writers too and they need readers for their writing but it's only fair to comment once in a while no matter how busy you are.Lastly I wouldn't worry about faves so much--in the end what matters is your own creativity and how you feel about that challenge to yourself.

• 
  Susan Tepper

  Nov 17, 10:56pm

  Hey Bill, you are posting some beautiful stories here.

• 
  David Ackley

  Nov 18, 12:33am

  Sorry for the confusion, my comment about Faves was addressed to Bill Yarrow, responding to his mentioning that he'd been--I guess the word is--solicited for faves. Nor in my response did I mean to imply--as Bill knows, but so no-one else will misunderstand-- that he'd consider trading faves.

  I continue to think that requesting a fave is laughable.

• 
  Sam Rasnake

  Nov 18, 03:43am

  And thanks, Bill L., for the shout out about the Stevens' piece in The Big Other. Appreciate that.

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