System for Marking Entries to Read Later

[lassarina]

Title:
System for Marking Entries to Read Later

Area:
Entries

Summary:
Similar to how AO3 allows you to bookmark fic to read later, it would be super convenient to be able to mark a DW entry on my reading page for later, especially if you often read Dreamwidth on mobile.

Description:
I try to read my reading page every day, but I don't always have time to read everything on it, especially when someone is doing heavy lifting for personal issues or has written a long, meaty entry I want time to digest, or hey look there's fic and I don't have time for it right this second but I really want to read it. I often read on mobile, and it's not really feasible to keep dozens of tabs open in mobile browser until I can come back to them. So, I'd love a way to store entries to read later that's separate from the memories feature (which in my mind is for stuff I've already read and want to remember.) I think this would make DW easier to use from mobile as well (oh look there's a post full of images, I don't want to look at that on a cell connection.)

Poll #18023 System for Marking Entries to Read Later

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 46

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This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
25 (54.3%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
6 (13.0%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
1 (2.2%)

(I have no opinion)
13 (28.3%)

(Other: please comment)
1 (2.2%)

Comments

[denise]

(Note: This is an older suggestion that was just posted now.)

I waffled on posting vs rejecting this, because while it's a great idea and I'd love to do it, it's the sort of thing that would require a lot of time and effort to implement. We also do have plans to overhaul the memories system (I know we've been saying that for eight years, but it's a massive project and we have a lot of those) and this is the kind of thing that might fit well into that project, so waiting until we're able to do that might make more sense.

That having been said, I can think of a few ways to do this that wouldn't be quite as massive, so I figured I'd let it through the queue and let people discuss how they'd like such a feature to work.

[melannen]

I would use this (so useful when the Big Movie comes out and you want to save the response posts for after you've seen it) but I think implementing as part of a memories overhaul is the best plan. If memories were easier to use we wouldn't need a separate system for this.

[zaluzianskya]

If this was implemented, I'd want "marked for later" entries to be easy to find. They're a little obscure and out-of-the-way on Ao3.

[jducoeur]

I like this one a lot -- I have the "read later" problem all the time. I don't think it's deathly critical, since there are other ways to manage it (eg, I use Diigo), but having a native solution in DW would be helpful...

[dancing_serpent]

I would love to have this!

[musyc]

I marked other, because while I do very much like the idea of a read-later list, I can't think of a way to implement it easily. An overhaul of the memories section does seem like the place to put this concept. So I support the general idea, but not necessarily in that format. I know I'd like to have a system which can remind me to come back and look at an entry after some comments have happened. I tend to use the tracking feature for that, which is an off-label use. XD

[fiddlingfrog.livejournal.com]

I think the easiest implementation would be to lump it into memories right now, but include an additional button/link on each entry that automatically tags the entry as "Read later" without taking you to the full "Add a memorable entry" page.

[lassarina]

I like this idea!

[montuos]

+1

[marahmarie]

+1. Just what I was thinking; make it a subset of Memories without adding on a whole new feature. The idea that it can probably be kluged in easier (and I say "probably" because honestly, I have no idea, but I'd hope so!) makes it appealing: hopefully less backend work, and we'd all pretty much know where to find it right off the bat.

[jducoeur]

Agreed -- combine this with a "Done Reading This" button on the page itself, which removes it from memories, and you've got a reasonably complete feature...

[poulpette]

Yes, this would be useful.

[azurelunatic]

Ooo, yes. This.

[montuos]

+1

[swaldman]

This feels a bit like reinventing the wheel - in that there are lots of external services that will already do this, and this would be work to do the same thing, but inside DW.

[lassarina]

I wonder how usable those services are on a mobile browser, though? For context: I spend two hours a day on the train, which is where I do a lot of my DW reading, and thus I'm using my phone or tablet. I know how to use such things in a browser (or at least I used to, back when delicious was actually a thing), and maybe I'm just not up with the times, but I don't see how to integrate extensions into my mobile browser?

[swaldman]

Usually outside the browser, via the OS's "share" functionality and an app for the service in question. The example that I use is Pocket.
But I think you make a good point, that there are probably people and circumstances for whom within DW is the only practical way.

[arethinn]

Is there a reason not to just use the browser's own bookmarking function?

[azurelunatic]

Swapping between mobile device and home computer, generally.

And browser-based bookmarking often "feels" to me like something to use for stuff you're going to keep coming back to, not things that you're going to read once and then probably put away.

[arethinn]

It sounded to me like OP was talking about a mostly-mobile scenario (since that was what they complained it was a hassle to deal with, e.g. by keeping a zillion tabs open in mobile browser). If they are trying to keep in sync between two devices, then, yeah. (My workaround for that is not exactly elegant: I have to remember to paste browser bookmarks into a Google Doc I keep for the purpose that I then access on my tablet.)

Maybe I am different or weird, but there are folders of bookmarks I keep indefinitely, and then a few folders of bookmarks I use as scratchpads with high turnover, for what sounds a lot like this use case: I want to come back to read this one post later, or my folder of fanfic to read.

[lassarina]

Azurelunatic is correct; I didn't express it well but I was thinking of the swapping between home and mobile. (Also correct in the browser-based bookmarking "feel", at least for me.)

[lassarina]

This exactly. I didn't express it well in my suggestion but thank you for understanding the gist of where I was going!

[kyrielle]

I think, as said above, putting it in memories in a category/tag of its own would make the most sense for this.

However...as a short term workaround, maybe a way to drop a message to your registered email with a link, if you're logged in? (Or maybe to your DW inbox so email delivery issues don't play in.)

I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not, just one that popped into my head.

This *would* be occasionally handy for me. It's not something I feel I urgently need, but if it were here (separately or integrated with memories) I'd probably use it and be grateful for it.

[alyndra]

You could easily use the existing 'share' button that we all forget about to email it to yourself, couldn't you?

[kyrielle]

Yep! (Was it there last February? Probably. I didn't even remember I'd commented this...heh. Clearly it was not urgent to me, if I forgot all about it.)