Why are Furries a problem in the NonHuman Category?

Seriously, I quit posting on this site for the past few months over this. I write stories featuring human women and Beastmen/Anthropomorphic/Zoanthropic lovers. No ferals. No animals. Yet, after having a dozen stories with these themes published I have now had multiple stories sent back because of bestiality. ????????

It's clearly stated in the stories they're half-human magical creatures. There is no reason for this to be happening.

It's hard to say without seeing the actual stories. When it comes to anthropomorphizing animals, there are both physical and mental traits that can push over the line Laurel will allow.

Looking at your list of approved stories ( just titles and descriptions ) I suspect that consent may be an issue as well. That throws an additional level of potential trouble into the mix. Combining non-con with anthromorphs more or less doubles your chance of a story getting rejected.

I can take a look at one of the rejected ones and see if I can pick out red flags, if you'd like. Drop me a PM.

WyrdoBond said:

Seriously, I quit posting on this site for the past few months over this. I write stories featuring human women and Beastmen/Anthropomorphic/Zoanthropic lovers. No ferals. No animals. Yet, after having a dozen stories with these themes published I have now had multiple stories sent back because of bestiality. ????????

It's clearly stated in the stories they're half-human magical creatures. There is no reason for this to be happening.

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I'm just going to quit posting to Non-Human. All the others were posted in other categories and breezed through without a hitch. That's the difference. and in the future I'll keep all stories that feature anyone nonhuman out of the NonHuman category. That way everyone wins

I don't know that it will solve your problem, now that you've had several rejections. It's entirely possible that Laurel has reviewed so many stories that yours won't stick out in her memory, but there's always the chance they will, and she might look for whatever caused the rejections in new submissions, regardless of category.

I'm also fairly certain that you're leaving a buttload of reads on the table posting Nonhuman stories outside of Nonhuman. That's where the readers for those stories are.

The offer still stands to review one of them for red flags, if you change your mind.

This site's rules are weird sometimes. I remember having a story rejected for "suff" content, even though no one was killed in it at all. I think I mentioned something that the prisoners wouldn't die and that they will be healed to full health even if all bones in their body were to be broken.
Apparrently, this was too much for Laurel's taste, or whatever.

Also people have reported many times the story being rejected for reasons that had literally nothing to do with the story at all. Like, you have a BDSM story with a standard stuff in it - some pain, some pleasure - and it gets rejected for Snuff and mutilation.

I don't think that with sheer amount of submissions one (or even ten) people can really read throuhg all of this. They are likely skimming the story briefly for approval. They saw something in your text mentioning goat's tail or horse dick, and that instantly triggered the rejection based on bestiality, even if it was a legit nonhuman/mythical creature.

Also I can't help but note that goatmen, while they are indeed covered in fur - are not "furries". They are mythical creatures.
A "furry" would be a disney-like character, for example a bipedal rabbit or a fox or a dog, that at the same time posesses an entirely human personality, voice and traits. Has job, wears clothes and lives in a human-like society, in a house, with a car, etc. Think of Zootopia. They also possess a human-like build: bepedal, with human hands and opposing thumbs, females most often have 2 breasts (although a 6-tit is allowed in the specks of this genre).
Talking animals are not furries, and mythical creatures also aren't furries.

Furries would probably not be a problem. But if your goatment are barely sapient and very animal-like - then this may have triggered it.
It's like with underage topic and fairys/elves/vampires. You can't have a fairy that looks like an 11yo girl and then just mention that she's 100 years old and is actually adult. This type of evade just doesn't fly with Literotica.

Similarly, you can't have a too animal-like goatmen and just point out that they are magical creatures. They need to basically be at least 80% human and maybe at most 20% goat. And they need to express distinct sapient and humanoid feel through their behavior. They can't be wild beasts that can't talk and only pillage, plunder and rape, while looking like goats walking on two legs.

Zootopia. That's the level my creatures are at. Take out the sex, and they're the equivalent of Mickey, Goofy, Judy, Nick, or hell, Roger Rabbit. And this is just a recent development. Did they switch people?

The physical characteristic limits are fairly mutable. I've recently posted a couple of stories in a new series ( as Les ) featuring Lamias and Harpies. The Lamias are snake from the waist down. Solving that particular problem was actually what got me hooked on the project.

My harpies are fully feather covered, except for the torso and part of the arms, which had no hands, because they were part of the wings. Full-on taloned bird feet. No beaks, though.

So, they don't have to be Disney anthromorphic.

I didn't really stray away from that in the sex part of the story either. I had tails lashing about, knocking things over, pointed out the difference in size and softness of feathers, took advantage of ridiculously long, prehensile, forked tongues.

I did only throw in a few hisses and keens, though. The dialogue is dialogue, for the most part, even in the throes of passion. The more or less fully human faces and breasts get a lot of attention as well.

The rule about beastiality is the same as the one for underage. It's all about consent — or rather the lack of ability to do so. The more you stress the nonhuman character is sentient, intelligent, and all go, the less likely the story is to get rejected based upon the physical characteristics.

That's why I say that any non-con elements are a risk, even where the nonhuman is the aggressor. The political climate has put a clamp on non-con content site-wide, and it's getting more scrutiny. Two risky subjects in one piece is almost asking for a speed-reading rejection.

Laurel is the only person approving stories, so she's absolutely just skimming. You have to keep that in mind when you're walking on the edges.

Nezhul said:

This site's rules are weird sometimes. I remember having a story rejected for "suff" content, even though no one was killed in it at all. I think I mentioned something that the prisoners wouldn't die and that they will be healed to full health even if all bones in their body were to be broken.
Apparrently, this was too much for Laurel's taste, or whatever.

Also people have reported many times the story being rejected for reasons that had literally nothing to do with the story at all. Like, you have a BDSM story with a standard stuff in it - some pain, some pleasure - and it gets rejected for Snuff and mutilation.

I don't think that with sheer amount of submissions one (or even ten) people can really read throuhg all of this. They are likely skimming the story briefly for approval. They saw something in your text mentioning goat's tail or horse dick, and that instantly triggered the rejection based on bestiality, even if it was a legit nonhuman/mythical creature.

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This, so I wouldn't panic on a rejection until after I'd refiled with a discussion in the notes section explaining (or noting) that the reason for rejection doesn't apply in this instance. Every time I've done that, it's been posted as originally written.

It's not one. It's creeping up to double digits, after years of posting without a hitch. That's part of why I quit posting. Tumblr has most of my content now, but with the crackdown over there I was looking to come back here.
Frankly if you only have one person approving every story, that's not my problem, it's yours. If they don't have time to read the stories, why would they have time to read a note? And what stops me abusing the system that way? If all it takes to get material previously published without a hitch is a note, then I could write anything and just put a note saying: It fits the parameters of the site. and get it on here.
They need either more gatekeepers, no gatekeepers and relying on complaints to weed out problem stories, or removal of the categories the LONE gatekeeper needs notes to approve. I'd expect this out of a new startup, but here? 20 years? Yeah, I'm checking other options out.

WyrdoBond said:

IFrankly if you only have one person approving every story, that's not my problem, it's yours.

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If you think you're talking to the Web administrators when you post to the discussion board, the problem is yours. We're just other users. No one is forcing you to try to post stories here. You were advised on what to do to try to get published here. If you don't want to do that, just try to post somewhere else--as advice from one author to another.

Putting the note in there is an indicator for Laurel to not immediately hit the story with the rejection hammer when she encounters whatever triggered her warning sensors when it was first submitted. She looks a little closer for the context indicated by the note, and if she finds her initial rejection was in error, the story is posted without changes.

It's not an automatic pass.

With that many stories rejected, it's unlikely that the problem is erroneous rejections. There's probably something in your portrayal of the nonhuman characters that genuinely crosses Laurel's line of allowed content.

But everyone on here is "Laurel's overworked. She can't read every story so she just kinda skims it and bans it." and then the solution is "Add a note, and increase her workload." That's fucked

RejectReality said:

With that many stories rejected, it's unlikely that the problem is erroneous rejections. There's probably something in your portrayal of the nonhuman characters that genuinely crosses Laurel's line of allowed content.

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After a dozen stories, NOW she has a problem? Is she new? Was someone different doing it before?

Nope, still Laurel. She's still plugging away at it, as she has for 20 years.

What has changed is a harder line on non-consent, which relates to beastiality, as I mentioned earlier. Things that might have passed a couple years ago don't quite make the cut any longer. The line has indeed moved, in response to reader complaints.

I looked through a couple of your published works that were in the Nonhuman category, trying to find red flags in those. In the couple I skimmed, nothing really jumped out at me as over the current line, as I understand it. Nobody can truly know where the line is, but you can get a ballpark from reports of rejections, stories that have passed recently, etc.

So, it's back to the rejected stories themselves. It may be that there's nothing truly over the line in any of them, but there may be something common in all of them that's triggering Laurel in a quick skim. Or, there may be something that's over the new line.

If what you want to write simply isn't acceptable at Lit any longer, I do know of a site where I'm certain it will pass, which has a reasonable size readership. Drop me a PM and I'll pass the information along. Once again, the offer to check for red flags in a rejected work still stands as well.

I will say that you're not likely to find the level of readership anywhere else that you will get here. Anything you write that will pass muster at Lit, you should go ahead and post. But, when something is outside the line, it's time to seek other venues that will accept that particular story, so you don't have to stifle your creativity to fit within any boundaries.

Write what you want, put it where you can get it in front of readers who will appreciate it.

Nezhul said:

This site's rules are weird sometimes. I remember having a story rejected for "suff" content, even though no one was killed in it at all. I think I mentioned something that the prisoners wouldn't die and that they will be healed to full health even if all bones in their body were to be broken.
Apparrently, this was too much for Laurel's taste, or whatever.

Also people have reported many times the story being rejected for reasons that had literally nothing to do with the story at all. Like, you have a BDSM story with a standard stuff in it - some pain, some pleasure - and it gets rejected for Snuff and mutilation.

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Same experience here. It's frustrating. Moderation seems to be very much a subjective, random thing and more subject to the moderator's moods, feelings and opinions of the moment than to balanced judgment. On the other hand, and in all fairness, every story is different and it's practically impossible to come up with a set of rules that will exactly define what and what isn't acceptable; there will always be gray areas somewhere.

Nezhul said:

I don't think that with sheer amount of submissions one (or even ten) people can really read throuhg all of this. They are likely skimming the story briefly for approval. They saw something in your text mentioning goat's tail or horse dick, and that instantly triggered the rejection based on bestiality, even if it was a legit nonhuman/mythical creature.

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It has long been my impression that stories are merely run through a text filter that scans for certain words and, if the filter is triggered, only the section that contains the offending word is actually read. This is of course conjecture and I could be wrong, but I find it remarkable how often moderation appears to be completely oblivious to the all-important context of the scenes that are considered cause for rejection.

That said, Lit is a free service that is privately owned and volunteer-operated, so I suppose we'll all have to live with it.

themightyxloph said:

That said, Lit is a free service that is privately owned and volunteer-operated, so I suppose we'll all have to live with it.

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I'm actually becoming really annoyed with that argument.

There's A TON of unreasonable bullshit on literotica. But this argument is thrown every time for whatever reason.

Technically, yes, it's correct. But I think that YOU, as a reader/writer should not apologist the site owners for them.

Some of this bullshit continues SOLELY because hundreds and thousands of users repeat this like a mantra, so site owners don't even have to lift a finger. If users stopped plugging this argument in every thread, then perhaps owners would be forced to do something about some of the more bizarre complaints. Instead, you are letting them be lazy.

As a user, reader, or writer - you should be asking a question to yourself. What is in your interests? To get rid of the crap that this site has in abundance, or to sound like a good boy/girl by taking a super-tolerant stance and apologizing their every whimsy.

Every time you want to repeat this phrase - remember that you are hurting your own interests while gaining NOTHING from it.

Nezhul said:

I'm actually becoming really annoyed with that argument.

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I can understand that. However, I am also familiar with the other side of this particular discussion, having done volunteer work and made my own efforts available to others on a non-profit basis, and you simply have to draw the line somewhere. You can't please everyone and the fact that you're doing it for free makes some people think they're entitled to ordering you around.

Lit has also been criticised over the years due to some of the stories published and I can tell you from experience that as an owner/operator of a site like this, that sort of thing is the last thing you need.

Edit: also keep in mind that the law is completely anal (no pun intended) when it comes to this sort of thing. Some states don't even have a statutory age and the common law age of consent can be as low as 12, but at the same time teenagers have been dragged out of high school to be charged as sex offenders. Similarly, mating is normal behavior for animals, but mention it in the context of an erotic story and suddenly you're in the realms off bestiality. The only way to deal with this sort of thing is to stay so far away from it that even the most rabidly narrow-minded prosecutor can't possibly find legal grounds to nail you. Considering that, I can sort of understand Lit's standpoint of erring on the side of caution. It sucks, but there it is.

Not arguing, just trying to consider all sides of it.

you simply have to draw the line somewhere.

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Let THEM draw those lines. Maybe in the process of drawing them, they will have a chance to actually think and re-evaluate their policies.

When the community draws those lines FOR the site-owners - they don't have to think. Don't even have to look at your complaints. They can simply laze-out and earn money off of the works of tens of thousands of authors.

Nezhul said:

Let THEM draw those lines. Maybe in the process of drawing them, they will have a chance to actually think and re-evaluate their policies.

When the community draws those lines FOR the site-owners - they don't have to think. Don't even have to look at your complaints. They can simply laze-out and earn money off of the works of tens of thousands of authors.

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I don't see what the big deal is. I don't understand why the owners of this site set the rules they do about what's acceptable and not acceptable, but the rules have never seemed to me to be that difficult to follow, and following them seems like a small price to pay to enjoy the site's benefits. There are plenty of other sites to post stories that aren't allowed here.

themightyxloph said:

That said, Lit is a free service that is privately owned and volunteer-operated, so I suppose we'll all have to live with it.

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Privately owned, yes, but the two operators of the Web site are doing it for personal profit, I think. They are taking whatever profit there is, using product provided to them by the site users for free (and the privilege of having it published to the net).

SimonDoom said:

I don't see what the big deal is. I don't understand why the owners of this site set the rules they do about what's acceptable and not acceptable, but the rules have never seemed to me to be that difficult to follow, and following them seems like a small price to pay to enjoy the site's benefits. There are plenty of other sites to post stories that aren't allowed here.

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Follow them by all means. I merely say that you should not be a part of enforcing or justifying those rules.

Your interest as a user is to have as little bullshit rules as possible. This means that it is in your direct interest to let the OWNERS deal with any complaints, rather than stepping up and dealing with them for them.

Such aid as the users are giving is being provided to help fellow users work with the site. Don't hold your breath for the administrators to volunteer help. They are pretty much absent from the discussion board and most forms of message connections, and it's almost impossible for a user to connect with them without help from the other users.

And I guess your position is that other users shouldn't bother to respond to your posts and you can wait until the end of time for the administrators to show up.

KeithD said:

Privately owned, yes, but the two operators of the Web site are doing it for personal profit, I think. They are taking whatever profit there is, using product provided to them by the site users for free (and the privilege of having it published to the net).

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Granted. However, the legal liability lies with them, too. If they publish a story involving underage sex, bestiality or what not, first and foremost the buck stops with them, not with the author.

As I said, I'm merely trying to be balanced here an see both sides of the argument. At the same time i am majorly irritated with the apparent random, arbitrary and subjective way in which the rules are being interpreted and applied and the way the goalposts keep moving. Trust me, it sucks as hard for me as it does for everyone else!

Nezhul said:

....This means that it is in your direct interest to let the OWNERS deal with any complaints, rather than stepping up and dealing with them for them.

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Doesn't happen. Anyone who's been here any length of time knows how this site works and dealing with complaints just isn't going to happen, except maybe once in a blue moon. No point in complaining about it. It is what it is and it's not going to change.

Laurel takes a quick look, there's the guidelines but it's subjective and it's Laurel's call. Yes, it is subjective. Yes, it is her interpretation. Yes, other users will point things out of they are raised because you won't get any other answers. This isn't Wattpad, with 50 million in venture capital funding. It's a small privately owned website run by two people. One gets to deal with Laurel very rarely, and only when she chooses to respond and I can understand that.

It isn't going to change. It's simply a matter of understanding how this site works and going with the flow. Go all zen on it. It is what it is and one works with it or one leaves.