Tapastic Update: Creator Notification Updates and More

taihendechu 2015-01-22 16:40:52 UTC #35

@gateofselidor
... yeah I understand the organizing part... but I always wondered if this isn't a disadvantage for the creators. It would be possible to organize the pages simply by name. Like it's done in Strays for example: http://tapastic.com/series/strays

Especially because a story-driven comic is so much work and needs much more time for every single page, I wonder why some creators aren't uploading single pages (I looked through my reading list and most creators I follow actually handle it in the one page per episode way). People will much more likely comment more, if they have the chance to say something after every page rather than at the end of each chapter. Likes/Views/Shares/advertising space would increase, which, no matter what the creator is aiming for, is a good thing for growing a fan base and spreading the word (I hate how greedy this sounds... but I hope you know what I mean XD).

I just don't really see the disadvantages of it, that's why I'm asking.

keii4ii 2015-01-22 20:07:26 UTC #36

Organization! I really, really don't want to have 300+ episodes in my list when I'll have less than 100 chapters by the end of the story. XD This is a big deal to longform creators whose inspirations are comic issues that you buy per issue, or manga tankoubons that you buy per, like, a 180-page book. Imagine filling your manga collection bookshelf with individual pages of manga rather than tankoubons! Sure, we're making digital comics and not print comics, but there must be a way to improve organization.

This is why I chose to update twice a week instead of every 2-4 weeks with one entire chapter per update.

I was actually hoping to get the best of both worlds: maybe the ability to divide episodes into sub-episodes, so the episode list could be shorter but you'd still be able to have a separate likes/comments/etc. for each update/ sub-episode. That sounds kind of crazy even as I type it out, though, so maybe there's a good reason why Tapastic hasn't done it that way...? XD

noxfox 2015-01-23 05:50:10 UTC #37

@keii4ii's answer about organization is a first very good reason (I have +90 episodes of Singmire Haze, it could make 20 episodes if all the pages were clutched in chapters). I personally like to have feedback on each page, but I really wish I could somehow group episodes into chapter so the list would be easier to scroll through. However, the main reason I can upload single pages is, in my eyes, that there are things happening in each page, the action is brought forward. But there are comics in which the narration-per-page is less dense, and so if you don't read several pages in a row, it's just as frustrating as watching a video in streaming with a lagging Internet connection... :/

standlycyclothy 2015-01-23 18:25:54 UTC #38

A very nice improvement the new thing but right now I have two places where the webcomics' updates appear depending on the creator : reading list and notification list. It kinda defeats its purpose to have a cluttered notification board with webcomics' new episodes instead of news and chatting.

Runiix 2015-01-25 19:19:06 UTC #39

Just wondering, (and sorry if this is reviving old conversation!)
I think this episode notification thing is great; however, does it appear in the browse section of tapastic? I'm just wondering about how will a relatively new comic be exposed to new viewers if it never updates there when you edit an episode? Or maybe I'm just missing something :S

taihendechu 2015-01-25 23:11:14 UTC #40

@noxfox and @keii4ii
Hm if it's just about that maybe a simple folder option would solve the problem? Allowing the creator and readers to open chapter folders in the side bar? (Like the layer folders in PS XD) Aside of that I really think it is not a bad thing to have many episodes. Strays is still my best example^^ But that might be just a matter of personal taste^^

@brianorlando
I just noticed something that I find rather confusing. I uploaded an episode but set the publish date for tomorrow. Now I reuploaded the file, because I still found a type. Already now I got asked, if I want to send a notification to my subscribers. (I said no.). Then I clicked on "publish now" and got asked again. Now I wasn't sure if my subscribers would be notified at all if I click "no". However, I said no again and it seems everything is working like it should. But long story short: Wouldn't it make more sense if the "Do you want to send a notification box" just starts appearing after the episode was at least published for once (at least for supporters)?

keii4ii 2015-01-26 01:56:25 UTC #41

It certainly would (that's more or less what I was trying to describe), but I don't know if it'd be "simple" to implement for the devs...

noxfox 2015-01-26 03:24:25 UTC #42

I totally agree that it'd be nice, yes! In this suggestion about indenting/resorting episodes I had proposed something like what the image below illustrates, but of course it's easier to make a mock-up than realize it in code.

brianorlando 2015-01-26 15:23:03 UTC #43

Hmmm interesting. We'll check this out. Thanks for letting me know!

brianorlando 2015-01-26 15:29:21 UTC #44

Newly updated comics appear in the Browse section when you sort by Date. Hope this helps.

Runiix 2015-01-26 16:06:09 UTC #45

Sorry, maybe I wasn't specific enough... I'm aware that if you create a new episode it appears in the Browse section under date, but I'm wondering if you update a current chapter with this new notification thing if it shows up under there still. Thanks for the reply though!

guilhermecahu 2015-01-26 20:40:54 UTC #46

PLEASE SEND HELP

Whoa I suggested this in a post some time ago without even reading yours, @noxfox! I think that organizing things this way is even better than organizing lots of pages in a single episode and call it a chapter.

nikacomics 2015-01-27 05:38:01 UTC #47

Some exciting stuff! Gave myself a little time to get used to the changes, and here are my thoughts:

I would like to see updated episodes in the reading list section ^_^
How can we schedule updates to episodes in advance? So say I have Episode 1 with 4 pages, and I want a different page published every 2 days? Is this something on the roadmap?
I'd like to see an easy way of sorting posts by people I subscribe to vs. feedback on my comic; gets kinda confusing when I'm searching for a specific comment a reader left me

endlessuprising 2015-01-27 12:10:33 UTC #48

Hey thats great-- really handy updates!! Thanks for the hard work, it'll definitely be easier to stay in touch with the posts from your wall that subscribers can be alerted to.

endlessuprising 2015-01-27 12:13:06 UTC #49

Heya Nika--
In reply to your episodes scheduled in advance I think thats in your upload section. So you upload the pages as usual, and instead of hitting publish now, hit publish later and set it for a time that good for you, then you'll have a notice appear to say the episode is due in "x" amount of time.
I hope that helps?

nikacomics 2015-01-28 20:38:12 UTC #50

Ah sorry for not explaining clearly! ^^ Yes, you can schedule episodes in advance, but not the individual files within those episodes. It's either all or nothing, which means if you want to update an episode page by page, you have to do it manually...

brianorlando 2015-01-28 22:19:24 UTC #51

Ahhh...good question. No, the browse page does not currently do this.

Something to keep in mind is that this feature is meant to inform your existing subscribers about important changes you've made to a past episode that is worthy of an additional notification. This is not meant to serve as the main publishing use case for Tapastic, therefore it will not change what is shown on the browse page.

We understand were you're coming from, but this is not the intended use case for our platform. The main publishing use case is to upload/schedule a completed episode in a series.

What an "episode" is differs from series to series. However, an episodic format can accommodate a variety of story types. We leave it up to creators to chose what works for them by:

Granting the ability to name episodes
Allowing creators to upload however many images are necessary to convey the story within the "episode"

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks for all of your feedback!

Runiix 2015-01-28 23:07:04 UTC #52

Ok, thanks for the clarification!

kamethehermit 2015-01-29 16:11:52 UTC #53

I´ve been wanting to share comic WIPs and sketches with subscribers for some time now so, YAY! for the Notify Subscribers button =)

auren256 2015-02-06 20:26:15 UTC #54

For some reason I don't see that notification option any more when I try to add a new page on a current episode, though that button was there last week :/
I can see the bell button if I write a comment on my personal wall, but not in the chapter update page. Have you changed the options for that or something? Thank you.