The Simplest Solution · 5:11am Oct 19th, 2014
So for a while now, I've been trying to figure out how to organize my "Library."
I've seen a lot of bookshelves by a lot of different users, but the recurring trend is the same: a “Favorites” shelf for the stories that a user really likes, and then another shelf for the stories that the author liked but didn’t like quite enough to make it into “Favorites.” They usually have titles designed so as not to offend the authors unfortunate enough to find themselves there, such as “Cool Stories, Nice Stories,” or “Decent Stories.” Not quite good enough for the vaunted Favorites shelf, but still good in its own right. Basically second place. I don’t like this. In fact, I didn't like the old system either. I would have preferred something along the lines of a 5-Star rating system. But one makes due with what one has, and what I had was the choice of either “Favoriting” a story, or not doing anything.
But I now have even more choices. I can add a story to my “Favorites” or I can add it to one of an infinitesimal number of other shelves, tailor-made to suit my tastes. So I tried. I made a few shelves with inoffensive names that wouldn't piss off the authors of the stories that I added to them. I tooled around with different combinations of icons and colors. And then I realized something: that this whole thing is a big pain in the ass. I just want to read stories about ponies. That’s it. I just want to like something, or to not like something. I don’t want to worry about how much I liked that something! That’s f***ing nuts!
So with that in mind, I came up with a rather elegant solution: I got rid of my Favorites Folder. I replaced it with a shelf titled “Likes.” It works like this: if I like a story, I add it to the shelf. Simple as that. No fuss, no muss, no eighty other shelves to worry about. And you know what? IT FREAKING WORKS!
I no longer have that little voice in the back of my head analyzing a story’s quality.
I no longer have to feel guilty about lumping an amazing story like The Immortal Game with a WTF-Clopfic like Lyra and Bon Bon’s Odd Banana.
I can just fucking read my shit! And I love it.
It’s like that guy who made the Atom Bomb said: “Everything should be made as simple as possible.”
Uuh, yeah, sure. I think you're thinking over it too much, though. Or maybe your not thinking enough?
Bleh, it's too early.
2542992
I've never seen the point of being stingy with favorites. I would favorite anything I enjoyed reading, or that had managed to engage me in some way. Because honestly, the only favorites that I ever pay any heed are the ones that users feature on their pages.