Feedback on Reservation System Requested

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some feedback on the way the chapter reservation system works.

Chapter reservations are a way of preventing a new chapter being added to a path that you want to add to yourself. I.e, if you find a path that hasn’t yet had a chapter posted to it, and you want to add that chapter, you’re able to make a reservation, which prevents anyone else from sniping it away from you.

Reservations are something that happen automatically when you choose to add a chapter, and are represented by the countdown timer at the top of the add chapter form.

How they work now.

Currently, the reservation lasts for one hour, but at any time during this period, if you start to run out of time, you’re able to extend the reservation, which resets the timer back to one hour. In theory this should give you plenty of time to write the chapter, so long as you keep an eye on the time, and extend it if you start to run out of time. You’re also currently able to reserve as many chapters as you want.

My idea.

What I’m thinking is that if I were to restrict the number of reservations to one per user, I could allow for the reservation to last much longer, anything from a day to a week. This would allow the benefit of a user being able to reserve a chapter and not having to worry about the time running out too soon.

This, to my mind offers a lot of flexibility to users wishing to add chapters. For example, it means that they’re able to fire-up their word processor and write within their comfort zone, without the constant nagging of an ever-expiring timer. Add to this the fact that a user’s reservations are listed within their Dashboard, it should be easy for a user to find their way back to the chapter they’ve reserved once they’ve finished writing it.

Please help.

Anyway, I’m looking for feedback on this idea, so please post your comments below.

Thank you