SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion
General Discussion
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FictFact Shutting Down
It looks like Amazon is kind on closing everything they don't like.
OMG!!!!!!!!
We need a "SAVE OUR FICTFACT!!!!!" movement...petition, plea...something.
😳🥺😩 maybe a Go Fund Me campaign? Or something similar? I 💕 FictFact!!We’re at a Nat’l Park today and I just popped on to check my email real quick while I had a signal. So sad to see this news! So so so sad.
This is awful! I’m all for a fundraising campaign but in the meantime does anyone know any alternatives?
That sucks. I just created a "next in series" shelf here to make sure I have all my next in series books recorded here. But I've found it too overwhelming. I have so many series on there that I'd have to restart from the beginning to remember what's happened.
I can't see anyway to import the list in any fashion.
I've been using FictFact for almost 6 years, totally caught me off guard when I saw the post on Facebook. Really lost for words
Damn! It was a great tool. I have so many series started it was a life saver.
Was there a date on shutting down? Well crud crud crud!!!!
I know. After 10 years, I'm at a loss. GR just doesn't compare when it comes to FF's calendar and up-next list. I'm hoping they'll find a way to continue on. Amazon should've bought them or partnered with them instead of giving them the boot, IMO. They said in their Facebook post, "We are extremely sad to have to close down the site on Friday, May 17th. At that time, we will provide a link to download your book data." So, today is their last day, I guess. I haven't gotten a link as of yet and the only thing on the site is the book report, which has never worked well for me in the past.
It is down and it says to login to download your books in csv format but the login is not working - guess I will try tomorrow.
Sandy, the book report was an option under “profile”, but since the site is now closed it’s inaccessible. Just now, I was able to logon and download my CSV list. So, hopefully it’ll work for you soon as well. Man, this is all so sad. 🥺 Gonna miss FF!
Nope can't get in - crud - you would think if you had email notifications on, which i did, they would have sent an email with a link to get your stuff out.Get the login screen with my member id and try to type password, it is not taking it. Just sits there - did you use your email address or your member name to log in?
I just logged in and downloaded my stuff. Sadly its a csv file & a bit of a mess as its one of those huge lists that I didn't pay much attention to on FF.
And the series info isn't all together :(
I can see work in my future. LOL
Sandy wrote: "Nope can't get in - crud - you would think if you had email notifications on, which i did, they would have sent an email with a link to get your stuff out."Sandy, what is it doing? Can you log in?
no it has my member name and password and when I hit login it does nothing - no error - no message just the same screen.
I just can't believe this! :-( If anyone has any ideas on how to save the site, I am all for it. There is nothing out there that compares, at least that I can find.This is what happened for me when I downloaded my list.
On the "FictFact is closed" screen, you can click "login" on the last sentence.
Enter your member name and password and you are brought to the "Book Data Download" screen
Click on download list
I have been using Fictfact for 10 years and it took a few minutes for my download to complete.
Well for some reason - now it is working - maybe they are phasing in the availability - if you are having problems keep trying - fyi I did mention the issue on the Facebook page too - so maybe someone is monitoring there.
The loss of FictFact is tremendous for those of us who are serious readers of series'. It provided a simple function that Goodreads for whatever reason has never done. It's interesting that Amazon was its primary source of income, given that Goodreads is owned by Amazon and filled in the gaps for some basic functions (in a very simple format unlike some of the other book platforms which just plain look messy) that GR does not offer. The book release calendar which covered series in all different genres also including mangas was also a major part of the functionality, and again something that GR is unable, for whatever reasons, to provide. I've just tried to get to my data but not able to. I input my details on the log in page and nothing happens. There is a message underneath that says "Having issues? Submit a request here." and the submit part is a clickable link which takes you to another page "https://fictfact.zendesk.com/hc/en-us..."... I completed the details required and now will wait to see what happens. So basically, if you weren't able to DL your info before the close down, I imagine it is not going to be easy to retrieve it now.
I got mine easy enough after several attempts with different user names and password combos.... it took me a few tries to remember them but once I did, the .csv file was right there.I didn't use it diligently but did appreciate the upcoming releases function. Definitely will miss it.
The download function only happened after they closed the site. I actually looked for something to download before they closed and I couldn't find anything.And as everyone has said, there isn't anything comparable to FictFact.
And a mention that I'm assuming that Amazon was the driver for the Series pages changes here on Goodreads. Those that haven't used the Series pages here recently may not have noticed, but they are pretty crappy now. Spoilers, big white gaps on the page, lots of other problems ....... I'd been using FF as it was so much better.
Sandra wrote: "... The download function only happened after they closed the site. I actually looked for something to download before they closed and I couldn't find anything...."Mee too, but I assumed I was being blind and missing the obvious.
Sandra wrote: "... Those that haven't used the Series pages here recently may not have noticed, but they are pretty crappy now. Spoilers, big white gaps on the page, lots of other problems..."
LOL! Maybe now that FF has gone,
I'd love that kittykat, but I'm not holding my breath! They'd have to create it from scratch, and they haven't been known to do anything we want for quite a while.
Sandra wrote: "I'd love that kittykat, but I'm not holding my breath! They'd have to create it from scratch, and they haven't been known to do anything we want for quite a while."I know Sandra, I know, but I can dream lol!
Someone on another thread posted this https://readingbookslikeaboss.com/201... which is worth a look...
I am looking for a site that has a simple "next book list" that I can put in order of my preferences of what I want to read next.I am so lost today.
I couldn’t find any other site that would do that, Joanne, so I took Mary’s suggestion and created a next in series shelf on GR. I made it sortable so I can order it by preference. It certainly isn’t as good as FictFact, which is like losing an old friend, but at least I can track my ongoing series.
Thanks, Martha.There is nothing out there comparable to Fictfact. I would certainly be willing to subscribe to it, if that was an option to keeping it live.
I am extremely bummed about this, along with everyone else. I have been trying to find an alternative and there is nothing out there. sigh... Hopefully someone will come along and fill this void. For now I guess I'll go back to my massive excel spreadsheet. Sigh...
I was able to download my list but it's pretty much useless. Lost of dropped data and no conceivable order that I can tell.
It was from one of the lists that I never bothered fixing/looking at, I think.
If you have google spreadsheet you can pull it in there and order it by author last name, first name, series and series book order. However it seems to only give you what you are reading or have read not the full series.
I would love to be able to use one site for all of my book needs too but until they update Goodreads to be able to do that, I don't understand how Amazon benefits from closing down this site. If I wanted to buy a book, I would use the link to Amazon to do that. I was able to get the download but it only references the books that I have read or marked as to read. It does not include any series where I was following it but hadn't started it. I reached out to request that and heard back from Kirsten Brian "We're trying to figure out how we'd get the next books and tracked series data out to users. The problem is those systems are dedicated pieces of software that we'd have to run and with our income getting pulled out from under us running that software isn't possible. We'll let you know if we figure something out."
It's not giving me an option to download it to a google spreadsheet. I saved an Excel version just in case I decide I want to try and keep up a spreadsheet at some point. I most likely won't since I'd have to manually add next in series books but you never know.
I sent them a request to discover how much funding they need to run the site. Maybe if it isn't too much, there can be some type of fundraising to help them.
Sam wrote: "I sent them a request to discover how much funding they need to run the site. Maybe if it isn't too much, there can be some type of fundraising to help them."We are not comfortable with sharing exact numbers for running FictFact. Also we had a donation button on every single page of the website for 10 years. We would average all of $60 monthly in donations.
Any fundraising type of thing for a website like that would only be a temporary fix. They'd have to charge a subscription fee.
Thanks for commenting, Brian. As you can tell, we're all heartbroken, as I'm sure y'all are, over the closure. I'm sorry we didn't regularly donate to help keep FictFact open. A little too late, I realize, but if there's anything we can do to help reopen or support a new/similar site, please let us know. Too true, Mary.
And, I agree w/Sandra, changes 'round here don't happen quickly, if at all. At least not those that are requested - even highly popular requests. So, in the meantime, we'll just have to hunt for other options.
Brian Kirsten wrote: "Sam wrote: "I sent them a request to discover how much funding they need to run the site. Maybe if it isn't too much, there can be some type of fundraising to help them."We are not comfortable wi..."
Well people tend to suck at that kind of thing until you take it away from them, you just assume the funding is happening like magic. I'm very upset about this like many people, and it would be nice to have a place to show support in the hopes of it being brought back. Is it that there isn't an interest on fictfact's end of this happening? I've seen some discussions on various sites, but no petitions or anything along those lines.
Kelsey wrote: "Brian Kirsten wrote: "Sam wrote: "I sent them a request to discover how much funding they need to run the site. Maybe if it isn't too much, there can be some type of fundraising to help them."We ..."
We are talking with folks to see if it can live somewhere else. At this point though it's looking like FictFact.com will not be returning.
Thanks for the updates Brian, and all your hard work and support. I know ereaderiq.com went through something similar last year, which is another great site. Please keep us posted on what we can do to support.
Just wanted to bump this thread to remind everyone that the stated deadline for downloading your data from http://fictfact.com is July 1.For google sheets, once you open in another spreadsheet program that will import csv files (such as Microsoft's Excel, Corel's Quattro Pro or the freely available open source "Open Office" software's spreadsheet) -- you should be able to save in a format google sheets will read. Feel free to message me if you need help getting the csv into google sheets and I'll try to help.
Debbie's Spurts (D.A.) wrote: "Just wanted to bump this thread to remind everyone that the stated deadline for downloading your data from http://fictfact.com is July 1.For google sheets, once you open in another spreadsheet pr..."
Thanks for the reminder! I got my list downloaded today with no issues. I'd forgotten just how many series I had on that site. It's such a shame to see it go.
Thanks Debbie!!
Brian Kirsten wrote: "We are not comfortable with sharing exact numbers for running FictFact. Also we had a donation button on every single page of the website for 10 years. We would average all of $60 monthly in donations.."The only option I ever saw to donate was through Paypal and I don't paypal so I could never help out. Sorry.
I know I used it for my series list and the list of book I read. I now need to find a way to create a spreadsheet for all my books I read for each other and get it set up on Excel or spredsheet so I know. I am in the middle of a lot of series. I know I completed a few as well and start a few as well.
Dear FictFact Members,
We recently lost our primary source of income, Amazon Associate sales. Due to a minor error on our part, we unknowingly had in infraction of their terms and they terminated our account without a warning. We appealed the decision to Amazon but was denied. Over the years, we have had donations from our wonderful supporters, but it is not enough to cover our operating costs. We are extremely sad to have to close down the site on Friday, May 17th. At that time, we will provide a link to download your book data. Thank you for all your support over the years!!
FictFact's Facebook link
It is a bit painful to post this here (GR is now owned by Amazon), considering how the closure is coming about...