Why are releases pushed back without notification?
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@jcochran said in Why are releases pushed back without notification?:
@myskaros Take a look at the release schedule. Do you currently see anything mentioned for December 7th? Look elsewhere on the web site. Do you see anything outside of user comments in the forums about a delay? I know I haven't been able to find any such notice or acknowledgement. Hell, if the release page still had a December 7th entry for AoaB with a line saying "Delayed until Sunday December 8th", that would be more than sufficient. But quietly deleting the December 7th entry and making a new December 8th entry isn't what I would consider acceptable behavior.
He didn't delete the December 7th event and add a December 8th event, he just changed the release timestamp on the event. The J-Novel Club website does not support the sort of functionality you're asking for, and adding new features to the site's software isn't something that the guy responsible for uploading parts can do anything about.
J-Novel Club is working on a new website, but in the meantime, myskaros couldn't do what you're asking even if he wanted to.
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You know what? Unless a volume is 12 (or more) parts, JNC still translates a volume faster than YP, even if there's a day or two delay in a part getting released or a volume getting started. Frankly, as bad as my pre pub backlog is, I don't even notice.
Speaking of YP and delays, I'm just hoping I get SAO 18 before the anime catches up
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Isn't changing the schedule by definition a method of notifying us there was a delay? Yes, I acknowledge that you would prefer an additional notice of a delay by some other medium.
Maybe, the release schedule should have the word "Tenative" at the top of it to signify that the schedule is subject to change. This is why so many organizations don't want to give release or completion dates at all because people get frustrated and when an estimate is wrong.
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I don't mind much if a pre-pub portion is delayed a day or three
I know that it isn't necessarily for public consumption as to the why's and wherefores that a portion might be delayed
(folks doing the work are human, sometimes life happens and it isn't any of my business as to why something didn't make the foretasted posting date. People get sick, get struck by lightening, may have personal or professional reasons why stuff gets delayed- I don't want to know all the details)It might be a good idea the drop a caveat somewhere on the website/schedule that dates are estimated
what I would like to see is official announcements if there's going to be a significant (longer than 'usual') delay between volumes in a series, or a delay in a series being continued - folks tend to think the worst:
- is there a problem with this series?
- has it been dropped? cancelled? abandoned? (by JNC? by the author? by the Japanese publisher?)
- is there a problem with staff/folks working on this translation?
I'm spoiled rotten by JNC- generally we get lots of info, and installments /publications arrive on schedule (if only other publishers were so good!)
<edited to add> a quick note in a forum is sufficient in my opinion, for notice that a pre-pub installment is delayed - just like this :
myskaros 21 minutes ago
Hi folks, Seirei 8 part 7 will be coming tomorrow instead, sorry for the delay!perfect
I read banned books
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<edited to add> a quick note in a forum is sufficient in my opinion, for notice that a pre-pub installment is delayed - just like this :
myskaros 21 minutes ago
Hi folks, Seirei 8 part 7 will be coming tomorrow instead, sorry for the delay!perfect
For non-forum-users I would suggest implementing a (Twitter) feed on the front page. Yet when it happens on such a very short notice, it is hard to notice at all unless you are carving so much for the book that you research or you are part of the forum community...
Then there is much which could be implement for comfort - but as I can tell so far the priorities lies with the publishing of new titles - which is good - is it not?.
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J-Novel Club has an RSS feed for the schedule: https://api.j-novel.club/rss
There is probably RSS reader software out there that can notice changes and notify you when parts get delayed. The pubDate changes while the guid remains the same.
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@guspaz said in Why are releases pushed back without notification?:
J-Novel Club has an RSS feed for the schedule: https://api.j-novel.club/rss
There is probably RSS reader software out there that can notice changes and notify you when parts get delayed. The pubDate changes while the guid remains the same.
Oh, I didn't know there is an RSS feed. Added to my reader. This should be documented somewhere, like FAQ maybe?
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There's a bright orange RSS icon right at the top of the upcoming releases section on the front page, though.
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Aha, totally missed that. Me bad.
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@ALEXUSMAN @Khaos @HarmlessDave
If you don't have an interest in continuing the discussion, then that is fine. I just wanted to post here to move the discussion over as @Rahul-Balaggan suggested.
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my $.02
JNC is not a newspaper, or a periodical like TIME magazine
they don't have a contractual obligation to put out pre pubs at a particular time, nor to adhere to a fixed interval between parts or volumes. I pay my membership to get access to pre-pubs as they become available. I appreciate that delays are few and far between (and usually brief)in my line of work we have something called an "SLA", a "service level agreement" how long to respond to an inquiry, deliver goods, notify customers etc. JNC doesn't have a formal SLA but I've found them to be communicative as appropriate and generally to provide good "customer service" re delays/notifications etc.
"sorry we didn't notify you that Quof was struck by lightning, causing a delay to the prepub he was working on releasing on schedule. as we don't have an exact date he'll be ready to get back to work, we cannot update the schedule..."
the above is an example of what I don't expect, and believe is unreasonable to expect...
updating the calendar within a business day of scheduled events (i.e. things not being over a day past due without a rescheduling or announcement) I feel is more than reasonable (and JNC meets/exceeds this level of service)
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@jon-mitchell Exactly.
At most, in terms.of improvements, JNC could implement some sort of automatic notification to followers or a post in the forum.
Something like an explanation would only be necessary with chronic delays or long term delays. Even then... we should expect more information than necessary.
