Instapaper is a simple tool that lets you save web pages for reading later. With it, you’re able to browse your list of saved pages via their web-based interface, get a specially formatted printable page of the pages, and even download the pages for your Kindle, ePub device (such as the iPad and iPhone).

To add a chapter, choose Instapaper from the [Chapter Tools] box at the top of each chapter.

To get even more benefit out of Instapaper, why not combine it with our Route to Chapter feature? Simply choose Route to Chapter (which is also in the [Chapter Tools] box), then select the Read Later option on the right hand side.

I hope that you find this feature useful, so be sure to let me know what you think about it.

To celebrate the launch of this feature, with the weather turning cold, and the shops playing Christmas music, what better a story to start with than A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Due to the fact that very few existing stories are written from a second person perspective (unlike the majority of stories on Unknown Tales), I’ve also added the ability to specify, when adding a new story, which narrative mode you want it to use, i.e.

• First Person
• Second Person (the default for Unknown Tales)
• Third Person

Second person fits the Unknown Tales formula best, but there are ways of making the other two work, you just need to be careful, when adding a chapter to an existing story, to use correct narrative perspective for that story.

Anyway, enjoy the addition of the new feature, I look forward to seeing what direction the story goes in.

This is not due to a lack of love for Unknown Tales – it has a lot to do with having just started a new job. I’ve got a lot of cool ideas for the site, however, and have started to plan some additions to the site, I just need to find the time.

So, yeah – that’s about it for now. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve not forgotten about the site, I’m just letting it sleep while I catch up with the rest of my life.

You may have noticed the addition of a strange blue bar floating at the bottom of both the main site and the blog. This is a Web Toolbar provided by wibiya.

In addition to a really cool chat room (which requires nothing more than a Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo or Myspace login to access – you don’t even need to be a member of Unknown Tales), it provides easy access to:

• A list of the most recent Blog Posts.
• A list of all the Latest Stories on the site.
• Our Facebook page.
• Our Twitter page.
• Our RSS Mega Feed.
• And a couple other things… all without having to leave the site.

So today, to help launch this new level of interactivity, I’m going to be in the chat room ALL DAY! So please don’t let me get lonely – just click the Join Chat button in the bottom left corner – and come talk with me.

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

Important, please read!

Due to the nature of the changes made to the site, specifically that of the removal of the vBulletin forum, I’ve had to reset everyone’s password. What this means is that your current password for the site will not work.

But fear not, for fixing the problem is nothing but a click away. Simply hit the Forgot Password link, and follow the instructions. If you have any trouble with this, post a comment below, or reply to the newsletter email, and I’ll be happy to help.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the changes in the comments below, and keep your eyes on the blog for more details of what’s new!

vBulletin No More…

I think the biggest change is the fact that the site is losing the vBulletin forum which used to power the community. It is within my plans to build some community elements back into the site, such as a forum, but I’ve not yet completed this…

Chapter Comments

… I have, however, added the ability to post comments on individual chapters. This is a feature that the site had a few months ago, but was removed in an effort to focus on the vBulletin community more… This, as it turns out, was a mistake, so I’m happy that I’ve been able to provide the feature again.

Chapter Edits

Another change is the ability to edit chapters. Previously, authors were able to edit their chapters for 24 hours from the date it was last edited.. So in theory, someone could edit it every 23 hours, and would retain the ability to edit it forever more. Obviously this is not a great situation as it is possibly open to abuse (although unlikely), it means that if a chapter isn’t approved, and the author takes longer than 24 hours to come back to fix the problems, they’ll lose the ability to do so.

To remedy this, all unapproved chapters (and stories) can be edited by their authors for as long as they’re still unapproved, but lose  the ability to be edited once they are approved. Authors can still request changes if they wish, but I don’t think this will happen too often.

Adding Paths

The last change that I want to announce here relates to adding paths to chapters. If you’re not happy with any of the paths currently leading away from a chapter, you’re able add your own path. Previously, if you wanted to do this, all you had to do was provide the path itself, but now you need to provide the follow on chapter as well. This was the original purpose of adding paths, but it’s only just now that I’ve been able to build the required functionality.

Anyway, that’s about it for the major changes. I’m very interested in any feedback that you’ve got, so please post your comments below.

Click image for full

The Dashboard is a new feature, designed as a personal hub for members, by providing quick and easy access to their options and content.

Currently, on my local development server, it provides:

• a list of your most recently submitted stories.
• a list of your most recently submitted chapters.
• a list of your most recent bookmarks.
• a list of your most recent chapter reservations.
• links to management pages for each of the above.

And, hopefully, by the time the site goes live again, it will also provide:

• an easy way to update your profile.
• an easy way to change your options.
• change password and email functionality.

I’m quite excited by this addition because, for the first time, I’m starting to feel that the site is coming together, and providing the sort of extra features that a professional site should. Don’t get me wrong, everything is still a little rough around the corners, and I’ve still got a lot of work to do before I’m finally 100% happy with the site, but I think we’re starting to get there.

Anyway, just below is a screen-shot of what the Dashboard looks like currently, but before I let you look at that, please honour my request for feedback, and use the comments system to let me know:

• what additional functionality you would like the Dashboard to have?
• what options you would like to control on the site?
• what sort of information you would like a profile page on the site to display?

Thank you

Unknown Tales is currently in the transitional period between being being a good site – and being a great site – but for this to happen, it needs to be taken offline for a little while.

Check back soon for more updates and information.