Let's Improve the TLP

Because it was suggested with the context of mothballed drafts and stuff which I already kinda hated to begin with and we had a system in place to deal with them. Also, it came off like another effort to turn the discard thread into a catch-all "fix all drafts ever" thread and I was annoyed that people wanted to do everything on-thread rather than on the TLP.

I think it's a good idea now in a different context, not about mothballed drafts but just about drafts, in good conditions, that could use sponsors. The drafts you see keep getting bumped and examples posted, but never updated. Those drafts are the ones I'm discussing here.

So I'm sorry I disagreed the first time, but there is a difference here, at least to me.

I agree that they are different. We didn't have the Salvage Yard back then either.

I think it's a good idea.

Okay, now that you've pointed out the difference, I can see it. But I still have no idea how you could possibly think that I was trying to turn the discard thread into a "fix all drafts ever" thread when I started the adoption thread to stop that derailment by splitting it off and sending it somewhere else.

Edited by Miss_Desperado on May 27th 2020 at 3:58:15 AM

Again, it was more about the timing and context of it all. At that point I'd already seen the thread tackle things beyond its jurisdiction and the people there seemed to care more about on-thread discussion than the actual discussion happening on the drafts. So while you weren't trying to turn the thread into a monopoly, you still struck on a bigger issue I was having regarding people not letting the drafts be salvaged on the TLP itself. I was frustrated because it seemed people were being too excessive in regards to what should and shouldn't have been discussed on the thread, and the mothball list was already getting on my bad side for the drafts not being helped, just tossed somewhere to collect dust. And my idea of fixing it involved actually getting on-draft discussion going.

So it was a combination of things that made me see your idea in a far more negative light than I normally would have.

Or Tl;dr: It was more the timing of the proposition and my own built-up frustration with the discard thread than your suggestion itself or the purpose behind it.

Edited by WarJay77 on May 27th 2020 at 7:09:51 AM

Somewhat related to the TLP. I would say, bring back the upvote star which is like a pin for the drafts you're following. It's still there on the main TLP page, but after the 1.8 update, it's no longer on the drafts.

There's the thumbs up button, which does that same thing.

Why did they change it to a confusing thumbs up button?

Who the hell knows.

...So, who wants to make the thread? I can't always be the one

Would a thread like that go on Short term projects like the TLP salvage/discard thread?

NOT IT, I've got 4 different sandboxes plus a related thread going already (too many to squeeze into my signature)

I can do it; should it also have an accompanying sandbox? "TLP Adoption Drive"?

One sandbox for it could be the Trope Idea Salvage Yard.

Ehhh, I don't want to expand that sandbox too much away from the original goal. The ideas are related, but this one would be more for drafts that just need sponsors and would be organized differently.

Made the thread and the sandbox in Short-Term Projects.

One thing I've noticed about the TLP poster culture is that there's times when certain drafts are booming with examples and feedback for a hot second, and then suddenly people just...stop...posting. They stop checking, or if they are checking, they stop bothering to pitch in even if the sponsor is looking for help, meaning that anyone who does still post ends up having to shoulder a lot more of the burden than they otherwise would just because nobody else is responding anymore.

So basically, can we all just try to do better in that regard and actually keep up with the drafts we've been interested in? Or at least, can we all just resolve to help out sponsors who need it, regardless of if the draft is brand new or 7 years old? Many sponsors make it abundantly clear if they need feedback and still get ignored.

Yeah that's very annoying. I several drafts that I have been for months now that get little to no growth. Some of them keep accumulating hats even though I am not getting anymore feedback on examples or if the title or the description is good enough.

There's the TLP work station thread and I tried that but it's pretty much dead.

I've been the only one commenting on one of Unicorndance's drafts lately which is making me come off less like a helpful passerby and more like a bit of an ass; as I'm the only one giving any advice at this point it's starting to get frustrating for both of us as they try and fix the draft and I can't really do much more than tell them to delete what they think is misuse. If more voices joined us it'd be a much smoother process to figure out exactly what's to be done, but since it's just me my posts come off as having much more weight than I intended them to.

That's without mentioning drafts of my own I specifically note as needing feedback, that don't end up getting said feedback until I basically demand it or give up and start over completely.

Edited by WarJay77 on Jun 4th 2020 at 2:13:13 PM

Admittedly I mostly focus on my own drafts and don't comment on other's unless I have anything to say or if there's glaring issues.

I will try to comment more contructively on TLP since that's something that everyone can do more of.

*stares at recently adopted draft where I asked for opinion/clarification from two different people and they just did not respond*

...And frankly, I'm guilty of it too. I have two pages worth of flagged drafts but I never look to see if they've made any progress. I'm gonna start doing that.

I think we all are. I'm mostly bringing this up for awareness sake, not to point fingers. The TLP community as a whole seems generally allergic to giving feedback- they like giving examples, and hats, and bombs, but don't often stick around long enough to help a draft improve past that point. We all need to do better, myself included.

TLP?

Trope Launch Pad.

In my day we called it YKTTW, and you had to walk up a hill both ways to launch a trope.

Speaking of YKTTW, the History section of the TLP is still buggy. The "Replies to Active YKTTW" is empty, and it's probably due to that section being called "YKTTW" still.

Perhaps renaming that to TLP History would bring back the replies, as in my case, I have to keep track of the drafts I have grabbed.

There's the "thumbs up" buttons that basically act as an "important/followed drafts" list, so that's what I use.

But yeah, the history needs to be fixed.

Other glitches and issues that need Admin coding include:

• The zero-laconic glitch; it'd be best to just make laconics mandatory from the get-go.
• The TLP search is buggy and unhelpful; typing in a word doesn't really narrow down the list and most of the ones you'll see are ones from the first page of drafts anyway, even if none of them contain the needed word.
• The folders are bugged on Night Vision and turn unreadable and white when opened.

Another thread I've thought of because of my own experiences; perhaps a general title/description help and tips thread? I'm starting work on that Elastic Limbs draft I brought up in the Soundboard, but I'm completely blanking on a description — a problem I have in general, really (*side eyes Melancholy Musical Number and Albinos Are Freaks*). Would this be a good idea for a thread?