ApolloImperium Posted November 13, 2010 Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 Updates from Apollo TOS Review: Archive Intensive Activities Welcome to this week's TOS review. I'd like to take you on a journey into the center of our database... A tale of gentle giants and overloaded tables... Okay, you got me, we really won't be going into the database and it really isn't so much a tale, but maybe a fable since your supposed to learn from fables, right? To give you a bit of history, the archive at this point is 7.7GB. Yes, that is giga with a g! Every single entry into the database creates an entry that takes space and with over 2 million entries? Well that adds up really fast! Because of that, when DemonGoddess took over the database, she immediately knew that changes needed to be made before the archive got very unwieldy. After reviewing how the data was spread out the following changes were made: Author's Note chapters were no longer allowed and capped, review board conversations and lengthy review replies in chapter became taboo and an entire section (Challenges and Searches) was outsourced to the forum. Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, a breakdown is below: Author's Notes Author's always want to talk with readers and we support that, however taking a chapter just for Author's Notes is no longer allowed because of the space that it takes in the Archive. Along the same note, we've capped the length to 600 words max to ensure that they aren't taking up a large amount of space. More indepth disclaimers, summaries, warnings and citations do not count towards the author's note length. If you have one at both the top and bottom of the chapter, the combined length cannot exceed the 600 word limit. Review Board Conversations Each review is an entry in the database and as such, having conversations on the review board is not allowed because it takes up space. We know that author's want to talk to their readers, so what we recommend is to create a thread in the forums and link to it in the story. The Fan Fiction Category is open to guest posters so you can let your readers know they don't have to register. Now since review replies do count towards the 600 word count in Author's notes, again we recommend the forums! Searches/Challenges/Requests These haven't been in the archive since May 2008 when they were moved to the forum. When DG made this change it cleared up 500MB of data, so you can see the value there. Basic rule of thumb: If it's not a story, it doesn't belong in the archive. AFF 2011 Calendar Contest Well we had to extend the contest because of so few entries, but we can't do it again! So there is just 24 hours left for submissions for the AFF 2011 calendar! Remember, submissions are due by midnight 11-14-10, so put on the finishing touches on your pieces and start sending them in! If you haven't checked it out yet, see this topic for more information. Dribs, Drabs and Doggy Tales! Thank you to everyone who responded to our latest prompt, "Tradition" We have 5 responses so far this week! Don't forget that the topic doesn't close until 11:59pm tonight, so there is still time to get in an entry. For everyone that has participated, we will be sending you the badge for this week that you can display where you so choose! If you've read the entries, please don't forget to review the story and let the Author know you liked it! As a reminder, the next topic is now posted, please visit this forum and starting Sunday 8am you can post your new entries! Funding Status Information to exact status is always found on the donations page. Currently, the site has $204.78 stored in PayPal. November's hosting costs have been paid and we are well covered for December! We do always appreciate donations though! Please see the donation page for further information on how. Tech Updates from DemonGoddess Forum Updates As you may have noticed, the forums have been being added to on an almost daily basis! We've added the forum arcade back and added in Shoutbox as a chat option until we can implement something better! To make it even more fun, we've opened them both up to guests for a limited time only, so enjoy from now until December 2nd when you will need a forum log in to access them. Related topics: The Arcade is Back! Shoutbox DemonGoddess 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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