(cross-posted to webcomics and onlinecomic, although they didn’t get the handy FAQ)
Schlock Mercenary has finally embraced the promise of its premise and stepped into the twenty-first century. There is a Schlock RSS feed, and that feed is available to be “friended” here on LiveJournal at http://syndicated.livejournal.com/schlock_feed/profile. Those choosing to read the comic using this feed will be able to use LJ’s comment system to discuss the strip.
It’s just in time, too. On August 28th Schlock Mercenary will be celebrating strip number 3000 after 3,000 consecutive days of no missed updates, no fillers, and no guest strips. That’s just two weeks from now.
I needed SOMETHING to brandish jubilantly, and an RSS feed will do.
(Even though all the cool kids already have one.)
And now, the FAQ:
Q: What about ad revenue? There are no ads in the feed!
A: There is a “buy Schlock stuff” button under the comic. That ad pays really, really well. 🙂
Q: No, seriously. Aren’t you going to lose ad revenue from this?
A: I’ll let you know. I don’t think so, though.
Q: What isn’t included in the feed?
A: Well… it’s got the strip, it’s got footnotes, it’s got five buttons and two links to get you to appropriate places on the site… I’d say it has everything, but I know I’ve forgotten something.
Q: Why did this take so long? What were you waiting for?
A: I thought that RSS had to be built in to my updater engine. So did the two engineers I challenged with the project. This made it look daunting, to say the very, very least. Fortunately a bright guy named Mark Shieh came along and volunteered. He pointed out that the whole thing could be built independently. Then he went and DID it. And then when I dared to say that it was a great, and he could stop, and I’d wait for site updates before getting my “perfect world” feed, he rolled up his e-sleeves, dug back in, and made my “perfect world” feed. It didn’t take long. It took about three days. But we waited about three YEARS before properly starting the project.
Q: Is Blogunder Schlock included in the feed?
A: No. The blog has its own feed at http://www.schlockmercenary.com/blog/index.php/feed/, including a comments feed at http://www.schlockmercenary.com/blog/index.php/comments/feed/
Q: When will we see attorney drones again?
A: Right now, if you go re-read the archives in the correct places.
Q: When will Schlock Mercenary: The Teraport Wars be available for pre-order?
A: At the end of this month. I’m waiting until I have advance copies in my hands.
Q: You’re just making up questions now, aren’t you?
A: I’m trying to anticipate you people. It’s harder than it looks.
Q: When will Schlock Mercenary: The Teraport Wars be available for pre-order?
A: At the end of this month. I’m waiting until I have advance copies in my hands.
I can’t wait.
In an ideal world, you’d be able to get your printers to ship directly to your customers, cutting out the middleman. Who is you. Hmmm, yes, I can see how that mightn’t be quite so ideal for you.
And you do need to sanity check. At one convention I was helping to run, we ordered embroidered polo shirts. The results were fine, except for a slight colour palette hiccough: the Orang Utan was more of an Orange Utan, and had purple teeth. Happily, we only got 50 with the wrong colours, and those 50 are now collectors’ items.
Q: When will Schlock Mercenary: The Teraport Wars be available for pre-order?
A: At the end of this month. I’m waiting until I have advance copies in my hands.
I can’t wait.
In an ideal world, you’d be able to get your printers to ship directly to your customers, cutting out the middleman. Who is you. Hmmm, yes, I can see how that mightn’t be quite so ideal for you.
And you do need to sanity check. At one convention I was helping to run, we ordered embroidered polo shirts. The results were fine, except for a slight colour palette hiccough: the Orang Utan was more of an Orange Utan, and had purple teeth. Happily, we only got 50 with the wrong colours, and those 50 are now collectors’ items.
Any chance you’ll have that ever-so-handy “Buy from Amazon-and-give-Howard-money” button on there? Having it in my face everyday would certainly make me click it more.
On the RSS feed? Probably not. The percentage I collect is really low. Not worth the noise. Don’t stress about it, though.
On the RSS feed? Probably not. The percentage I collect is really low. Not worth the noise. Don’t stress about it, though.
Any chance you’ll have that ever-so-handy “Buy from Amazon-and-give-Howard-money” button on there? Having it in my face everyday would certainly make me click it more.