How to make my build-log readable

[iFreilicht]

Mods, feel free to move this if there's a better subforum for it. It's meta but not off-topic.

Build-logs can be very fun to read, especially after a build has been completed, but often that also gets tedious when a lot of discussion was going on in the thread.

As the builder and thus author of the build-log, you want the log to be as accessible as possible, to new readers as well as returning ones. So how do you do that?

From what I've seen over the months, there are a few things you can do here:

1. Write every update as a reply to the thread, link to udpates in first post in cronological order.
2. Write every update as a spoiler in the main post or a reserved second post and link to that in a reply.
3. Update the main thread to reflect the current status.
4. Keep the original post in a spoiler as the "zeroth" update.

Number 3 and 4 seem to improve the quality of the build log in every way, but I'm wondering whether 1. or 2. is the better option. It seems like 2. is more organised, but it also disconnects updates from user-feedback when you're reading through it.

What kind of build-log do you enjoy reading the most? What other things should be considered when writing an update or updating the main post?

 

[K888D]

Those are all very good points and keeping on top of Build logs proper is something I haven't been doing!

I will definitely implement some of these into my logs. I think a mixture of point 2, 3 and 4 would be good, I especially like point 4.

 

[jeshikat]

2. is perhaps the most convenient for people coming into the build log late or after it is done but it's annoying for regular readers.

A combination of 1, 3, and 4 seems the "ideal" way to me.

 

[Hahutzy]

Here's my take. Firstly, a one-liner update is at the top of the first post. This should only include what your next biggest milestone is. Followed by a little divider like so.

---

The first post should be treated as your Landing Page. It contains the concise info/pics for anyone to understand what your case is at a glance.

Conciseness is key.






The second post:

For Hassium I reserved the second post for all update posts, and put each of them in a dated spoiler/quote dialog.
For XS I wanted to do the same thing but got lazy... I'll readd it when things slow down.

Treat the second post as a means of convenience for yourself and others to see the timeline, and to revisit the story of project.

This second post is where all the grueling details and work-in-progress shots should go.
It may not even be direct copy/paste, it's a retelling of the story so you can paraphrase / summarize what happened if you want.
This would take some time obviously, and personally I find it hard to keep up.
You can do it whenever though, it's really just value-add.

 

[EdZ]

1 is preferable for readability. And if the forum software is ever updated to have the feature Bit-Tech's build-log forum has (the option to display a thread hiding all posts but those from the OP) it will be 'backward-compatible'.