Platform

Changelog

What changed on Chapter Trail — fixes, features, and reader-facing improvements.

  1. Version 1.1.2.0: Listening, inbox, AI disclosure & author tools

    • A For Authors page now explains that posting is free and how Reader Advantage slots pay authors without turning later chapters into an all-you-can-scrape pile.
    • Login can keep you signed in for three months when you check Keep me signed in. After login or email verification you land on the home page.
    • Home discovery got a Trail’s Most Traveled shelf, tighter hero placement, and more cover hover polish.
    • Chapters have Listen controls with a saved voice preference. Listening to 50% still counts toward a qualified read. On phones the voice panel slides in from a vertical Voice tab.
    • Authors can optionally generate natural-voice narration for a chapter. It is never created just because you posted. Studio shows when a voice is queued.
    • Inbox works like a small mail client: threads on the left, the message in the middle, newest first. New accounts get a welcome note, and unread counts show on your avatar.
    • You can write someone by author name with a search dropdown. Email and user IDs stay out of the compose form.
    • Add Fiction and Edit Fiction now preview the cover as you pick it, use searchable genre and subgenre chips (first genre is the browse shelf), and keep General, Teen, Mature, and Explicit as real ratings.
    • Pasting from Word or Docs into the chapter editor strips leftover colors, spans, and junk. Color and highlight are no longer chapter tools.
    • Authors disclose AI use as none, AI Partially Generated, or AI Generated. Grammar and light line edits do not need a warning. Generated works show a red badge and never receive official rank. Partial works show an amber badge and still rank.
    • Hide AI Generated is on by default for browse and search. Turning it off shows those works and adds a Showing AI Generated chip.
    • Taste filters apply as soon as you click them and stay saved for shelves. Okay returns you to the page you came from. Search is only for keywords.
    • Support tickets are in Help for account-specific issues. Staff can review them in admin alongside reports and submissions.
    • Forum discussions rise when they get a new reply. Staff can pin a discussion, move posts, and manage categories.
    • Staff can lock a fiction as AI Generated. The author is messaged and cannot change the disclosure until staff unlocks it after a ticket review.
    • Menus across the public site, Author Studio, and admin now use Phosphor icons instead of letter placeholders.

  2. Version 1.0.1.2: In-place profile editing & account menu

    • You can now edit your public profile on the live page: cover, photo, saying, socials, and profile sections, without going through Account Settings.
    • Account Settings is for reading preferences, discovery filters, subscription, and security. Photo, banner, saying, and bio live on the profile.
    • The profile side menu is a pullout tab labeled Menu on desktop and mobile, so the profile itself stays full width.
    • Account Settings has a Profile link at the top of its menu, and the profile menu now calls that destination Account.
    • Readers see Become an Author in the account dropdown, which opens the submit-fiction form. After a submission, that link becomes Author Studio.
    • The site header switches to the hamburger menu at 1000px so Discover no longer overlaps the ChapterTrail logo.
    • Cover crop shows the full photo with a 1600×400 selection window instead of squeezing the image into a wide frame.

  3. Version 1.0: Account shelves, profile banners & mobile discovery

    • ChapterTrail is now version 1.0.
    • Bookmarked, Shelved, and Reading History use desktop cover tiles with hover pullouts, matching profile and home shelves.
    • Account Settings keeps a sticky side menu on desktop, the same pattern as the public profile.
    • On mobile, the shared Account/Profile menu is a sticky left pullout so the page can scroll underneath.
    • Profile banner uploads stay in a 1600x400 preview frame instead of blowing out the settings card.
    • Public profiles can show a cropped banner behind the name and avatar.
    • Long synopses under mobile covers clamp with a More/Less control; desktop still uses the hover pullout.
    • Mobile cover cards now stack the cover above the details instead of sitting beside the text.
    • The site footer stays at the bottom of the viewport on short pages.
    • Browse shelves such as Top Rated and Trending no longer render a giant unstyled filter icon on mobile.

  4. Version 0.4.04: Account hub & reader shelves

    • Account Settings is now an account hub with sidebar tabs for customization, reader preferences, discovery filters, subscription status, and privacy/security.
    • Readers can change their password from Account Settings, while deletion remains protected by email confirmation.
    • Author Studio Ledger now explains the Reader Advantage five-slot daily-allocation model and unallocated community pool.
    • Continue Reading, Bookmarked, and Random Reads now use larger profile-style cover tiles on desktop and touch-friendly detail rows on mobile.
    • Recently Posted and On The Rise now share those 220x320 tiles and pullouts, with recent chapter links, synopsis panels, and visible On The Rise rank badges.
    • Recently Posted now shows up to 20 fictions, while On The Rise displays five full-size tiles before scrolling on desktop.
    • Home bookmarks no longer hide stories that also appear in Continue Reading, and the desktop shelf can retain up to 20 bookmarks with internal scrolling.
    • Recently Posted and On The Rise covers are now direct fiction links, and Random Reads is centered as its own shelf.
    • The mobile home page now uses one opaque outer surface with unframed inner sections instead of stacked translucent panels.
    • Qualified reads now require 50% chapter scroll plus active visible reading time at the new half-duration threshold; a chapter can qualify once per reader or anonymous visitor each day.
    • Blue chapter-header progress shows reader scroll depth, while global admins also see green active-time progress; 90% scroll records a completion and Next Chapter records continuation intent.
    • Raw read events update daily work stats immediately and are reconciled by the 14-day analytics rollup used for reporting and ranking.

  5. Version 0.4.03: Legal, moderation & live-site stabilization

    • Admin moderation gained a Suppressed Content queue for reviewing hidden chapters and forum posts before restore or permanent deletion.
    • Chapters and forum posts now support reader reports, plus moderator/admin suppression controls.
    • DMCA, Terms, and Privacy content were consolidated into one tabbed Legal page so the footer stays tidy.
    • DMCA contact details, designated agent information, repeat-infringer language, ownership terms, and good-faith liability language were clarified.
    • Site cookies were simplified around the session and CSRF cookies, Google Analytics was removed, and login forms now return readers to the home page by default.
    • Live deployment checks confirmed the new suppression table requirement and host-level caching/security tools were tuned after performance testing.

  6. Version 0.4.02: Author Studio redesign & fiction page polish

    • Author Studio dashboard redesigned around a ChapterTrail story workspace instead of a generic platform stats board.
    • Author sidebar reorganized into Studio Desk, Submission Queue, Ledger, Notes, and a Current Fiction workspace.
    • Selected fiction navigation now uses Overview, Storefront, Manuscript, Reader Room, Signals, and Tools language.
    • Fiction storefront banners now upload as real 1600x400 header banners with an author-controlled crop box.
    • Public fiction pages render storefront banners as banner media instead of washed-out card backgrounds.
    • Main discovery page cover sizing, filter controls, and On The Rise scrolling behavior received layout polish.
    • Accounting ledger groundwork added for internal subscription allocation, payout reporting, and downloadable admin records.

  7. Feeds, reader signals & author ranking

    • Public feed added at /feed with chapter, fiction, and forum update filters.
    • Feed routes are ready for feed.chaptertrail.com once DNS and hosting point the subdomain at ChapterTrail.
    • Footer navigation now links readers directly to the feed.
    • Search and social previews get stronger dynamic descriptions from fiction summaries and chapter content.
    • Chapter pageviews are counted on page open, while qualified reads stay tied to reader engagement signals.
    • Author Studio now falls back to live On The Rise ranking data when scheduled rank snapshots have not been generated yet.
    • Account settings now include anonymous engagement mode for hiding reader identity on ratings and bookmarks.

  8. Account safety & UI polish

    • Admin Users page split into verified and unverified accounts, with registration and verification dates.
    • Unverified accounts are automatically removed after 24 hours.
    • Stricter email verification and signup checks reduce fake accounts.
    • Password reset no longer activates unverified accounts; email confirmation requires a button click on the verify page.
    • Trending carousel restored on the home page and browse genre shelves.
    • Mobile home page stacks Recently Posted and On The Rise in a single column.
    • Discover and Help header menus stay open when moving the mouse into the dropdown.
    • Login and register modal panels show one form at a time again.

  9. Search, payments & reader polish

    • Keyword search works again across titles, authors, genres, synopses, and tags.
    • Header search is now a one-time query instead of a saved taste filter.
    • Continue Reading and browse shelves no longer hide results when a stale search term was saved.
    • Authors can set up payouts and supporter subscriptions through Stripe Connect — bank and tax details stay with Stripe, not on ChapterTrail.
    • New Payments page in Author Studio for Stripe onboarding, payout status, and supporter pricing.
    • Home page Recently Posted list layout fixed in the scroll panel.

  10. Search, payments & reader polish

    • Keyword search works again across titles, authors, genres, synopses, and tags.
    • Header search is now a one-time query instead of a saved taste filter.
    • Continue Reading and browse shelves no longer hide results when a stale search term was saved.
    • Changelog and Contact pages added, linked from the site footer.
    • Reader page visits are now tracked for platform traffic analytics.

  11. Account & profile

    • Email verification flow for new accounts.
    • Password reset from the login screen.
    • Profile banner uploads and richer account settings.

  12. Reader tools

    • Saved discovery filters for genres, ratings, and content preferences.
    • Content reporting for fiction, chapters, and forum posts.
    • Reader actions: shelve, read later, and reading history.

  13. Platform foundations

    • Scheduled maintenance notices for readers and authors.
    • Author analytics and read-stat rollups.
    • Forums, browse shelves, and public author profiles.

  14. ChapterTrail launch

    • Serial publishing with chapter studio and fiction editor.
    • Public discovery hub with trending, newest, and completed shelves.
    • Author studio dashboard for managing works and chapters.