Feature Request Add 3 default reading list: To Read, Dropped, Read

Discussion in 'Suggestions & Bug Reports' started by freemen muaddib, Jan 19, 2021.

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  1. freemen muaddib

    freemen muaddib Well-Known Member

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    Currently there is only 1 default reading list:
    - Reading
    Please add 3 default reading lists:
    - Plan To Read
    - Dropped
    - Read

    Users usually have to create those reading lists and they usually name them in a different way, producing a mess. In the samefashion of sites like MAL, those 4 basic reading status should follow a STANDARD NAMING consistent for all users, so that it would be possible to set those from an epub reader, for example. This would make easier for the user to compare, check, update, and scrape the reading status of novels.
    This would also make novelupdates popular as a media library tracking site, much like Trakt, MAL and MDL websites.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2021
  2. LaDyViL

    LaDyViL New Member Staff Member

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    Bruh, most members don't even have those reading lists set to public views. So what if it's a mess, it's their choice. Why are you even mentioning epub reader? The groups listed on NU has their own websites, NU is directory for translations where you're taken to the translator website.

    There's one default reading list, I think that's plenty. For more, readers can set it themselves, and it's their choice how they want to group them without having to comply with a default set.
     
  3. Ral

    Ral Not a Well-Known Member ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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    LOL. You're a brave one, aren't you?
    I don't think you've any idea how many lists people have set up for THEIR use/pleasure...
    Should your idea come to pass, we'd get to see "IRL" a single person (you) trying to get away from a whole sect (NU).

    Is trakt that popular? If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't even have known it existed. And what even is mdl? Doesn't really matter, if I don't know them, I clearly don't need them.
     
  4. UnGrave

    UnGrave ななひ~^^

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    Bruh moment

    Yeah personally I'm not a fan of these proposed default lists. Sounds like more for me to delete, and how would they be implemented? Nothing would really changed for user lists since most users already exist and unless you change the list names for existing users manually nothing will change.
     
  5. freemen muaddib

    freemen muaddib Well-Known Member

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    [​IMG]
    I’m referring to the above option menu, present in all media tracking sites. It is not something strange, just the minimum requirement to be able to track the progress of LN reading. Sites like Goodread does this already for books.
    About the implementation, the problem of already existing custom user lists is easily solved. Just follow this 3 steps to add a new default state name:

    1 - check if the new state name already exists for the user profile
    2 - if not exists, add the state name to the user profile
    3 - if a state with the same name does already exist, do nothing and skip to the next user profile.

    Also, being public or private is not a problem. What does matter is the existence of 4 standard states that any epub reader can check and update, so that any user can track his own reading progress.

    p.S.
    MDL is MyDramaList (to keep track of asian dramas)
    MAL is MyAnimeList (to keep track of anime and manga)
    Track.tv is used to keep track of movies and tv series watched episodes by many media centers like Plex, Kodi, Emby, WMC, etc.
    Goodread is used to keep track of the books we read.
    Nothing exists yet to keep track of light novels, so novelupdates can become the first. It just need to implement those 4 default states.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2021
  6. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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    Novelupdates exists to track translations of Asian Novels. That's it. Same thing as Mangaupdates.

    It already does its job perfectly well.
     
  7. freemen muaddib

    freemen muaddib Well-Known Member

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    Not true. NU also tracks the novels the user is reading. This function exists, it is important and it is widely used. Why are you ignoring it? It is just that it does not do this job well. It lacks 3 states: "Read", "Plan To Read" and "Dropped". People are too lazy to create those themselves, and doing so would also result in a non standard naming mess. So when people start reading a novel they set it in the “Reading" state, but when they finish reading it they just find that there isn’t any "Read" or “Dropped” state to switch to and they just leave it in the "Reading" list forever. So to REALLY do its job perfectly well, NU need to add those default states.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2021
  8. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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    NU allows the reader to keep track of what translated novels they are reading among the ones available within NU's database. It is completely different from what you just said.

    It does its job just fine in letting readers keep track of their novels, if the readers desire more categories, they can create them.

    Creating default states doesn't particularly do anything for what NU intends to do.
     
    AMissingLinguist, Rumby and UnGrave like this.
  9. UnGrave

    UnGrave ななひ~^^

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    Name some of these epub readers you're referring to. I'm not sure I know any that work this say.
     
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  10. freemen muaddib

    freemen muaddib Well-Known Member

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    There are many epub reading apps that support tracking.

    Marvin 3 for example integrates Goodreads website to track epub reading status.
    Read here to see how it works:
    https://blog.appstafarian.com/post/154125378753/marvin-3-tutorial-using-goodreads-in-marvin

    [​IMG]


    'Also Kindle by Amazon directly support Goodreads. Read here:
    https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show...ndroid-or-fire-device-now-it-s-easier-to-shar

    [​IMG]

    What we are missing is a light novels tracking site. And if NovelUpdates implement the 4 states correctly it can easily become the Goodreads of LN/WN.
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2021
  11. pkhyber

    pkhyber Well-Known Member

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    First, NU is just directory and tracker site for Novel Translations so that user do not have to bookmark/remember tons of site for reading.It is not primarily a database site like MDL and MAL etc.

    Second, You can just create those list by yourself and give whatever fancy name you want to them.It is just a very small effort. Yes, you can also transfer novels between your list just like image you have posted from novel page.

    Third, Using them to facilitate Epub readers is not very welcome as it is better to read at translators site in order to support them. Furthermore for epub reader supporting reading lists, you have to make new list for them.

    image_2021-01-23_003704.png
     
  12. Parth37955

    Parth37955 NU #3, [Dead Inside], Mid-Boss, Dark Dealer Staff Member

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  13. LaDyViL

    LaDyViL New Member Staff Member

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    Let me quote what I said before.

    Most epubs are made without the consent of the translators. You're encouraging people to rely on epubs than going to the Translator site to read them. Double standard since most TL also use pirated raws, but that's how it is here.

    Those stuff you want added? Those already exist. Minimal effort needed from user's side.

    Creating Plan to Read/Dropped/Read?Done. Just register and create a reading list titled them. Read, Readed, Readied however you wanna spell them. It's up to you. Minimal effort.

    Tracking translations? That's what NU has been doing ever since it started. Did you even see the website? I don't even...

    All these are already implemented. It's done. Move on.
     
  14. freemen muaddib

    freemen muaddib Well-Known Member

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    I’ve already explained the reason why if there are no STANDARD default states for the reading status, you cannot use Novelupdates website as a tracker from any app or device. And that includes even websites, for those people that do not use epubs (I live in a country where cell phones coverage for internet exists only in a few districts, so the connection is often not there when you travel by bus, train or going to school, and the only option is to download epubs beforehand on your iphone).
    But even if you restrict the usage of NU to translation groups websites, websites can also synchronize with a tracker!
    I use this website to synch all my online manga reading progress with my account on MyAnimeList:
    https://malsync.moe/
    If the states on NU were standardized, you would surely see websites like Malsync.moe appear for light novels translation sites, making NU a central tracking hub like MAL. The open source community is very active on that (see: https://github.com/MALSync/MALSync )
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2021
  15. Parth37955

    Parth37955 NU #3, [Dead Inside], Mid-Boss, Dark Dealer Staff Member

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    For all intents and purposes, NU was not designed to work with outside services. Any and all apps are unofficial and there will be no support given from NU. NU's primary purpose is to provide access for users to translations. Its secondary purpose is to track progress via the reading list of which people can use as they see fit. A manual list exist for people who reading releases not currently on NU. There is no need to provide anything else.
     
  16. Westeller

    Westeller Smokin' Sexy Style!! Staff Member

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    This is really neat, but you have to realize most of the sites supported by this are aggregators, and surely the same would be the case if a similar system was created for Novel Updates. It would be easier, after all, than trying to work around thousands of individual translator websites of varying style and functionality, when a handful of aggregators have everything in a more accessible package. Novel Updates does not link to or support aggregators. We link to first party translators, the groups and individuals responsible for actually bringing these novels to us. Asking us to support the creation of a tracker that would likely simply go on to support the use of aggregators and epub readers is... Yeah... And even if you have excuses for reading epubs yourself, and I won't judge you for it, Novel Updates as a site is not going to encourage others to do so.

    It also seems to me that a system like this could be designed to work with custom reading lists almost, if not just, as easily as it could a set of standard lists. There's no actual reason you'd need your lists to be named Reading, Plan to Read, Dropped and Read. Novel Updates is flexible in this regard and any tracker made for it should be, as well.

    To be clear, the lack of name standardization isn't the issue preventing the creation of a tracker like you want. The lack of an API is. Novel Updates does not provide tools for third party applications to access and update reading lists. MAL, Goodreads, etc do. What you should actually be asking for here are those tools - an API.

    (Incidentally, Goodreads is retiring their API, so any trackers you use for that site may soon stop functioning.)