FREE / BARGAIN genre threads

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Billi

If this would be a valid argument: why make all these proposals in "FREE / BARGAIN genre threads" and not in the thread "Audiobook or Audible subforum" that sits directly beneath this one???

Because everyone is discussing it here

Like CRussel I see the problem that a separat Audiobook subforum could split book discussions that should go together. But I also see the point that it might improve the structure, tidiness and organization of this forum.

Book discussions maybe, but not device, format and software discussions. At this point, we're now moving away from sub-forum and suggesting full forum.

Go back several posts and you'll see where I gave a possible scenario integrating audiobooks into the current board structure. Audiobook topics would then be scattered across multiple forums, provided sub-forums were created within each of those forums.

[Dngrsone]

Originally Posted by Billi

If this would be a valid argument: why make all these proposals in "FREE / BARGAIN genre threads" and not in the thread "Audiobook or Audible subforum" that sits directly beneath this one???

Like CRussel I see the problem that a separat Audiobook subforum could split book discussions that should go together. But I also see the point that it might improve the structure, tidiness and organization of this forum.

Book discussions are split up, anyway.

Seriously, how many 'Recommend for me' threads are out there, which often devolve into discussions of one or two specific authors, or even specific books/series.

I see this as a non-argument.

[JSWolf]

The audiobooks thread is very misleading. The topic is Current Audiobooks specials and there are posts in that thread that go back to December, 2012. That thread needs to be like all the others and done monthly and not just one long thread that keeps getting updated.

As it stands now, the sticky does not belong until the thread is either fixed to be monthly or all the obsolete posts are deleted.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The audiobooks thread is very misleading. The topic is Current Audiobooks specials and there are posts in that thread that go back to December, 2012. That thread needs to be like all the others and done monthly and not just one long thread that keeps getting updated.

As it stands now, the sticky does not belong until the thread is either fixed to be monthly or all the obsolete posts are deleted.

Nothing misleading about the title. Just look at the opening post of that thread to see a listing of current offers. I'm not going to change it every month.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The audiobooks thread is very misleading. The topic is Current Audiobooks specials and there are posts in that thread that go back to December, 2012. That thread needs to be like all the others and done monthly and not just one long thread that keeps getting updated.

As it stands now, the sticky does not belong until the thread is either fixed to be monthly or all the obsolete posts are deleted.

It's the monthly threads that don't need stickies. What happens on September 1, are there going to be double threads for all those genres for a couple of days of transition?

I think those of us who frequent the Current Audiobooks Specials thread like it just fine the way it it. Tubemonkey updates the opening post on a frequent basis.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Personally, I no longer think audiobooks deserves its own subforum. I think it deserves its own major forum, perhaps between "E-Book Formats" and "E-Book Uploads - Patricia Clark Memorial Library." But that's my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by DaleDe

If you only want to talk about audio books a subforum could be ok but if we do audio we are thinking about all things audio so it is eBooks, audio book readers and reading, audio book generation, audio book formats, perhaps even TTS and other fringe audio discussions. Even audio for the blind. Audio in our wiki covers quite a few things. I suspect there may be even more.

Here's one possible scenario (I have other ideas too). Make audiobooks a major forum with placement after E-Book Readers. Divide it into forums and sub-forums.

News

General Discussions

Deals, Freebies & Resources

• Audiobook Memberships --> Audible, Christian Audio, Downpour, Kindle Unlimited
• Audio Dramas --> BBC Radio, Internet Archive
• Public Libraries --> OverDrive, OneClickDigital, Hoopla
• Public Domain --> LibriVox, Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg
• Whispersync for Voice

Listening Recommendations

Audiobook Devices

• Amazon Kindle --> Kindle, Fire
• Android Devices --> Galaxy, Nexus, Nook
• Apple Devices --> iPod, iPhone, iPad
• MP3 Players --> Sansa, Sony
• other --> Windows, Blackberry

Audiobook Software

• Apple iTunes
• AudibleManager
• OverDrive Media Console
• Windows Media Player
• other

Audiobook Formats

• Audible
• MP3
• OverDrive
• WMA
• other

Audiobook Accessibility --> adapting audiobook technology for the vision impaired

• TTS

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Here's one possible scenario (I have other ideas too). Make audiobooks a major forum with placement after E-Book Readers. Divide it into forums and sub-forums.

News

General Discussions

Deals, Freebies & Resources

• Audiobook Memberships --> Audible, Christian Audio, Downpour, Kindle Unlimited
• Audio Dramas --> BBC Radio, Internet Archive
• Public Libraries --> OverDrive, OneClickDigital, Hoopla
• Public Domain --> LibriVox, Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg
• Whispersync for Voice

Listening Recommendations

Audiobook Devices

• Amazon Kindle --> Kindle, Fire
• Android Devices --> Galaxy, Nexus, Nook
• Apple Devices --> iPod, iPhone, iPad
• MP3 Players --> Sansa, Sony
• other --> Windows, Blackberry

Audiobook Software

• Apple iTunes
• AudibleManager
• OverDrive Media Console
• Windows Media Player
• other

Audiobook Formats

• Audible
• MP3
• OverDrive
• WMA
• other

Audiobook Accessibility --> adapting audiobook technology for the vision impaired

• TTS

Please, let's keep things simple. I'm having a hard enough time convincing those with the power to make it so to act!

For what it's worth, I'm pushing behind the scenes for a new major forum entitled "Everything Audiobooks" right between "E-Book Uploads - Patricia Clark Memorial Library" and "Non-English Discussions" with two sub-forums: Audiobook Discussions and Audiobook Hardware/Software/Technical Issues.

Everything you mentioned could fit in one of those two categories, and if participation is such that we audiobibliophiles find we have outgrown our cradle, then we can talk about further divisions. But let's keep things simple as possible in the beginning, if only to get things started.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Please, let's keep things simple. I'm having a hard enough time convincing those with the power to make it so to act!

For what it's worth, I'm pushing behind the scenes for a new major forum entitled "Everything Audiobooks" right between "E-Book Uploads - Patricia Clark Memorial Library" and "Non-English Discussions" with two sub-forums: Audiobook Discussions and Audiobook Hardware/Software/Technical Issues.

Everything you mentioned could fit in one of those two categories, and if participation is such that we audiobibliophiles find we have outgrown our cradle, then we can talk about further divisions. But let's keep things simple as possible in the beginning, if only to get things started.

Even simpler was this suggestion I had earlier in this thread:

Integration within the existing forum structure would work, provided additional categories were added (additional categories in purple). Here are some examples:

E-Book Readers

• Which one..., Amazon, Android, Apple, Audiobook Players, B&N, Kobo, etc

E-Book Software

• Calibre, Calibre Companion, Sigil, etc
• AudibleManager, iTunes, OverDrive Media Console, Windows Media Player, etc

E-Book Formats

• Workshop, ePub, Kindle Formats, PDF, Other formats
• Audible, MP3, OverDrive, WMA, etc

[WT Sharpe]

Except that audiobooks are really a completely different beast from what people normally think of as e-books (although Whispersync books are both). For that reason I'm uncomfortable placing audiobooks under the heading of e-books. Sure, you need electronics to make most of them work, with the exception of vinyl recordings played on an old hand-cranked player with a cone speaker, but when people say "e-book" I dare say the vast majority are thinking about words on a screen.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Except that audiobooks aren't e-books, although Whispersync books are both.

I know. A simple title change would solve that.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Please, let's keep things simple. I'm having a hard enough time convincing those with the power to make it so to act!

For what it's worth, I'm pushing behind the scenes for a new major forum entitled "Everything Audiobooks" right between "E-Book Uploads - Patricia Clark Memorial Library" and "Non-English Discussions" with two sub-forums: Audiobook Discussions and Audiobook Hardware/Software/Technical Issues.

Everything you mentioned could fit in one of those two categories, and if participation is such that we audiobibliophiles find we have outgrown our cradle, then we can talk about further divisions. But let's keep things simple as possible in the beginning, if only to get things started.

I agree with keeping it simple. I wish it could be higher up on the page--personally, I almost never even glance below the E-Book General section. I think it would get lost way down in the boondocks, especially for new people. I'd like to see it in that E-Book General section or right after it. Or at least a cross-reference to it up there, where it will have visibility.

And I'd like the deals thread to be in the new forum. After all, the people who are going to be interested in the deals are the same ones who would be interested in the discussions, and vice versa.

Thanks for advocating for an audiobooks forum!

[DaleDe]

Catlady: You can use the box with a - in it on the right to suppress any section you are not interested in. This will move everything up. This can be in your preferences to be automatic. You can, of course easily expand on of them if you decide to look at it.

Dale

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Catlady: You can use the box with a - in it on the right to suppress any section you are not interested in. This will move everything up. This can be in your preferences to be automatic. You can, of course easily expand on of them if you decide to look at it.

Sheesh, I've only been coming here for four years, how would I know something like that? (Note to self: Read directions sometimes.)

Thanks!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Sheesh, I've only been coming here for four years, how would I know something like that? (Note to self: Read directions sometimes.)

Thanks!

I use that feature to collapse most of the forums. I hate scrolling.

[sakura-panda]

I don't like the genre threads -- I find individual threads more useful as I can mark them and be able to tell whether or not I have checked a deal before. However, I *really* don't like having so many stickied threads in the the deals forum.

The monthly threads did not bother me before, since ones with no new posts would not be at the top of the forum, but now they are always there all of the time whether they have new posts or not. I think that a prefix would be more useful so that they could be sorted out for people that want them. Is that not an option?