Unreasonable Attacks

sr71plt said:

Well, there's a false sweeping generalization. Well-grounded, experienced writers don't all (or even most, I think) look for feedback from anonymous readers with no established credentials to give constructive critique on an Internet story site. That's an amateur belief about "good" writers--as well as about the advertised purpose of this Web site. Being given the privilege of either voting or critiquing here doesn't have a thing to do with the reader's validity as a story critic. (And most readers here, I dare say, don't have any expertise in that realm.)

This certainly isn't where I come to for assessment of my writing. It's where I post stories I want to share with a broader range of readers than the marketplace accords me (and, usually, posted here several months after they have gotten a play in the marketplace).

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Perhaps a misunderstanding over the word "feedback". Also, a question about "credentials". Both would be superseded in the marketplace, what I assume you are doing by posting here is rather a pretest, a dry run.
Now any critique is either going to make sense or it is not, regardless of "credentials", you may lend a certain amount of credence to what has been said by who it came from, or you may dismiss it.
With an anonymous comment, it forces the decision back to the comment itself, and without any mention of specifics can be easily dismissed.
With anonymous voting, it provides no feedback whatsoever, not whether it is good (as if that is likely anyway) nor even if it is really popular.
My argument is just get rid of anonymous voting as it serves no real purpose. It is an illusion of importance too often abused by either system gamers or hecklers.
Sorry for what was perceived as a generalization, I should word a little more carefully, because I don't think we disagree. i.e I think we both have a "set" or the ability to "take it on the chin" and we both have the ability to distinguish what is valid criticism.
Anonymous voting, either pro or con, has nothing to do with free speech, and if Literotica wishes to retain it, it could be very easily weighed at something like one tenth value to a named vote. Right now they employ a sweeper that also can be worked around.
My argument is merely minimize the problem.
A reader will still read, an anon will still comment. You may see a little more truth in what is really popular. Or what may be more marketable.
Either way. Good Luck.

twelveoone said:

My argument is just get rid of anonymous voting as it serves no real purpose. It is an illusion of importance too often abused by either system gamers or hecklers.

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In the U.S., a government-issued identification card is required to vote.

Here at Literotica, to make an account all that's required is a unique email address.

Every single day we remove scores of fraud votes (and sometimes entire dummy accounts) made by people who think they can beat our system by registering multiple accounts. This something that happens on every site on the Internet where there is voting. If we required an account to vote, then the fraudsters would register even more accounts, while legitimate users won't bother because they don't want to be caught posting on a "porn site". The result would be 1/10 of the current vote totals, and much more fraud to be swept.

And if you think trolling can be stopped by the forcing of registration, remember that you must register to post on this forum. As nice a place as it is, I would hardly call it "troll-free". People are willing to be just as mean under the name "BigDick81" as they are under "Anonymous".

Facebook requires real names, yet I've seen countless instances of trolling and mean-spirited behavior - just like there is in everyday life.

The plain fact of the matter is that you will never be able to force everyone to like your story. That is reality.

Laurel said:

In the U.S., a government-issued identification card is required to vote.

Here at Literotica, to make an account all that's required is a unique email address.

Every single day we remove scores of fraud votes (and sometimes entire dummy accounts) made by people who think they can beat our system by registering multiple accounts. This something that happens on every site on the Internet where there is voting. If we required an account to vote, then the fraudsters would register even more accounts, while legitimate users won't bother because they don't want to be caught posting on a "porn site". The result would be 1/10 of the current vote totals, and much more fraud to be swept.

And if you think trolling can be stopped by the forcing of registration, remember that you must register to post on this forum. As nice a place as it is, I would hardly call it "troll-free". People are willing to be just as mean under the name "BigDick81" as they are under "Anonymous".

Facebook requires real names, yet I've seen countless instances of trolling and mean-spirited behavior - just like there is in everyday life.

The plain fact of the matter is that you will never be able to force everyone to like your story. That is reality.

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Which is another great point. Usernames are usually just as anonymous as anonymous. A quick username creation ain't gonna stop a troll. It doesn't stop them now. Not all anonymous readers and voters are trolls anyway. I'd actually argue that most are not. You just hear the idiots because they are the loudest.

Thick skin, mature action, and common sense are our greatest weapons against madness and stupidity.

Oh! There are people here who one-bomb when LAUREL favors one person or another with a comment, or the jealous one-bomb when their secret luv comments an imagined rival. Any and every reason is grist for the mill. Its all bogus but shit sandwich is all that's on the menu.

I know everyone here understands this, but I think that the relevance of votes is massively overstated. We have come to assume that popularity means value in much the same way that we assume democratic decisions are good by definition - it simply isn't true.

I won't make the stretch to call any of our stories art, but they are personal creations that aspire to be art or something like it. Creating such a thing for the purpose of being popular is in my view anathema to why one sets out to create it in the first place.

Most good movies, books, TV Shows, poetry etc are appreciated by a minority and would therefore not get big scores if a cross-section of people voted. A few exceptional pieces stand-out over time of course, but a lot of them start out with a whimper or outright disapproval.

Which movies and TV shows get aired? The ones the most people will watch. Which ones will the most people watch? The ones that are formulaic tripe that offend few people, make them feel good and most certainly don't challenge any of their views. If you never piss off anyone, you aren't doing it right.

NymphWriter, you obviously have a lot of great stories, many of which are voted very highly. Not every single thing you put out there will be a blockbuster. Everyone has a flop. Don't worry about it so much. Just keep doing your thing.

You can take a lot of positives away from this. The fact that people are bothering to comment means that they are invested in you as a writer. Maybe some of them were thrown off by the story's tone; maybe others have been fans of yours for a while, and wanted more of what they were used to, rather than something new. In real life, most artists tend to receive mixed reviews when they switch gears. It's the standard conflict between trying something new and pleasing the old fanbase. Don't internalize the situation, learn from it.

To get back to your first post, I think that saying 'this is literotica's fault' is just silly. Your story was the independent variable, not the website.

That said, I don't mean to belittle your feelings. Dealing with trolls, and criticism is general, can be very difficult. We become very attached to our stories. We put so much of ourselves into them - especially here, where we often push our innermost selves forward - that they really are a part of us. I can understand how personal the attacks can feel.

You can't control how people will behave, but you can always control your own reactions. Be the bigger person.

SecondCircle said:

Now we want to do away with the reader's right to just breeze in to Literotica for a few moments anonymously because our feelings are hurt by stupid people?

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That would be my foremost concern. Once again, increasing rules and regulations won't change the behavior of trolls - it will only serve to impede the 'good citizen' anonymous that browse the website casually. In a way, I see it as giving in, letting the trolls themselves dictate our conversation and our policy.

Suddenly I feel like a politician.

Laurel finally speaks!

Laurel said:

In the U.S., a government-issued identification card is required to vote.

Here at Literotica, to make an account all that's required is a unique email address.

Every single day we remove scores of fraud votes (and sometimes entire dummy accounts) made by people who think they can beat our system by registering multiple accounts. This something that happens on every site on the Internet where there is voting.

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Well look who finally joined the conversation.

Now, explain to me why a person can send "feedback" using a clearly bogus email. I received two such messages that I sent back to your "Webmaster" and you using the email your site provides, but I have not received even so much as a "We'll look into this."

Yes, I have my account set to not accept anonymous feedback or comments. As you stated earlier, that is MY choice, and I accept that. But there must be a way to REQUIRE that the person who sends feedback, not comments, I'm talking about the feedback that is sent directly to me in my email, positive or negative, be required to submit a real email addy. Even if they open it for the sheer purpose to send hate mail, then close the account immediately after. After all, you have the same for your email.

Laurel said:

If we required an account to vote, then the fraudsters would register even more accounts, while legitimate users won't bother because they don't want to be caught posting on a "porn site". The result would be 1/10 of the current vote totals, and much more fraud to be swept.

And if you think trolling can be stopped by the forcing of registration, remember that you must register to post on this forum. As nice a place as it is, I would hardly call it "troll-free". People are willing to be just as mean under the name "BigDick81" as they are under "Anonymous".

Facebook requires real names, yet I've seen countless instances of trolling and mean-spirited behavior - just like there is in everyday life.

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You are right about this too. But I think you're missing the point. Many of us (and yes, I'm including myself in this) are getting tired of the personal attacks. Even Facebook will do something if you report acts of cyber-bullying against someone. I don't feel "cyber-bullied" when someone says my story sucks or they hate the story line, but I do when I'm called foul names that are aimed directly at me, the writer, or me, the person.

Laurel said:

The plain fact of the matter is that you will never be able to force everyone to like your story. That is reality.

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I agree. I already apologized for this thread earlier. I even asked it be deleted but that too seems to be ignored. Seems that ignoring the problem is the way Literotica chooses to deal with things.

I realize it's not the site's fault that the story I chose to post got the feedback it did. That's on me. I get that (finally.) And I realize my initial rant here also caused more of my grief. Again, my fault & I accept that as well. But when I send you two examples of clear cyber-bullying, and those are ignored, that's your fault.

I'm afraid you are saying that you really are too thin-skinned to be on Literotica, NW. Neither Literotica nor anyone else has the capacity to stop someone from signing up for multiple e-mail accounts (it's simple and easy to do) and then send e-mails. You are simply asking for too much babysitting and not accepting enough responsibility for yourself. You yourself are saying you can't tolerate being here and are, going back to your thread slug, setting forth unreasonable expectations on what someone other than yourself should be doing to protect you from the big bad world that unavoidably is the Internet.

You certainly did give us an interesting thread, though, that became a bit of performance art in itself in trolling from the edges of the universe.

You have a good point Nymph. If you report something to the site they should at least acknowledge what you've reported. Afterall, reporting stories and users is a feature here.

As far as your emails, do they get to you that much? I mean email is usually the way assholes send me stuff as well (rather than commenting) but I spot it in email and just deleted the shit. Does it bother me? Sure but I mean I get to decide how much. Other than the features lit has for ignoring people, we also have an internal ignore feature in our brains. All that trolling and hate isn't real. It's not legitimate, it's just stupid people. Delete their garbage, don't participate in their games, ignore them and keep writing.

Of course it'll get to where enough is enough and you'll feel like breaking. That's natural. But only you can encourage a troll. It's why we say don't feed them. They're weak. They only prey on those who get upset about it and start flame wars with them. There's no excitement in trolling someone who has ignored you for so long. They'll eventually lose interest cuz you're not participating.

SecondCircle said:

You have a good point Nymph. If you report something to the site they should at least acknowledge what you've reported. Afterall, reporting stories and users is a feature here.

As far as your emails, do they get to you that much? I mean email is usually the way assholes send me stuff as well (rather than commenting) but I spot it in email and just deleted the shit. Does it bother me? Sure but I mean I get to decide how much. Other than the features lit has for ignoring people, we also have an internal ignore feature in our brains. All that trolling and hate isn't real. It's not legitimate, it's just stupid people. Delete their garbage, don't participate in their games, ignore them and keep writing.

Of course it'll get to where enough is enough and you'll feel like breaking. That's natural. But only you can encourage a troll. It's why we say don't feed them. They're weak. They only prey on those who get upset about it and start flame wars with them. There's no excitement in trolling someone who has ignored you for so long. They'll eventually lose interest cuz you're not participating.

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Naaah. I pound my targets till they engage me, I'm a relentless troll.

JAMESBJOHNSON said:

Naaah. I pound my targets till they engage me, I'm a relentless troll.

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Relentless troll is redundant. You? Troll? I wouldn't have guessed.

NymphWriter said:

Now, explain to me why a person can send "feedback" using a clearly bogus email. I received two such messages that I sent back to your "Webmaster" and you using the email your site provides, but I have not received even so much as a "We'll look into this."

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First off, I checked my email and at first did not see an email from you. We do use a challenge-response software (SpamArrest), so I checked and it appears your address was not validated - so your emails were in our spam filter. I did validate it, and found the emails you sent. Sorry for the delayed reply.

As for the two emails sent to you - I agree that they were very insulting both to you and your writing ability (though I'm not sure they have a right to talk - what is a "course of crochet" exactly?), but I don't think that they would qualify as cyberbullying in a legal sense. They didn't threaten you with physical harm - and even if they did, they have no way to carry out their threats because they do now know who or where you are.

Also, from my understanding, legally "cyberbullying" or "cyber harassment" usually applies to people under the age of 18:

Cyber harassment refers to online harassment. Cyber harassment or bullying is the use of email, instant messaging, and derogatory websites to bully or otherwise harass an individual or group through personal attacks. Cyber harassment can be in the form of flames, comments made in chat rooms, sending of offensive or cruel e-mail, or even harassing others by posting on blogs or social networking sites. Cyber harassment is often difficult to track as the person responsible for the acts of cyber harassment remains anonymous while threatening others online. This usually applies to school-age children. (source)

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From what I've read, the key is that the same source/person must harass the target repeatedly. If the victim cannot stop the attacker from contacting them AND the attacker is harming the victim (via the public spreading of libel) or threatening harm (actionable threats - they know who/where you are and threaten to harm you), then the victim is encouraged to seek help from law enforcement.

The U.S. Department of Justice suggests you do the following before contacting the cops:

- Tell the person not to make contact again.
- Save all communications for evidence. Do not alter them in any way. Keep electronic copies, not just print-outs.
- Save any information that suggests a violent threat and contact law enforcement.
- If the harassment continues, contact the harasser's Internet service provider. The ISP is provided with instant messages. Most ISPs prohibit using their service for abusive purposes. An ISP can often intervene by directly contacting the stalker or closing his account.
- Keep a record of your contacts with ISP officials or law enforcement officials.
- When contacting police, provide specific details such as any tangible evidence you've collected. In cases of a serious threat, police can refer the matter to state or federal authorities for investigation. The stalker may be prosecuted in court.
- If the target is afraid to act, find help through other resources, such as WiredSafety.

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BTW, this is a good resource:
https://www.wiredsafety.org/subjects/cyberbullying.php

Facebook's membership includes children and teens. The site also requires real names. Because of this, there is a real issue that someone could actually stalk someone in real life - follow them around, go to their house, cause them real life harm. Young children and teenagers who are more emotional fragile are very susceptible to being bullied online and off. That is why Facebook does what they do: because they require people to supply and display their real life details.

Literotica is an adult site, for people over the age of 18. We neither require nor encourage people to post their real names or info to the site. We expect our membership to act like adults - to protect themselves, to handle their interactions responsibly.

In the case of your emails - I am not sure that one or two emails calling you names and suggesting you should stop writing and take up knitting are legally considered cyber harassment, especially you have the ability to stop them from contacting you. Unless you have responded to these individuals (which you cannot, because like you said their email addresses are bogus), they do not have your email address. They can only contact you through the CONTACT form on your profile - which will disappear if you turn it off. Those writing you don't even have your email address, much less your name or location.

We have no way to check the email addresses that people fill in on the FEEDBACK form. That said, every single Lit member's email address is verified before they are allowed to post, submit stories, or use the site. We are planning on upgrades that will allow a third option - "Allow Member Feedback Only".

Until then, I would suggest that you either 1) turn off feedback until the storm blows over, or 2) delete the mean and stupid emails, and spend your time responding to and thanking those who send you praise. They are the ones who deserve your time, not the trolls.

NymphWriter said:

Many of us (and yes, I'm including myself in this) are getting tired of the personal attacks.

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I agree with this statement. On every other website in which I am involved, the website takes action against personal attacks. If I'm not mistaken, personal attacks are moderated in these forums.

For anyone posting a story, receiving critical reviews must be expected; however, being called a "worthless cunt" or being told "I have a bullet with your name on it," have absolutely nothing to do with an author's work and should never be tolerated.

And that is the issue - tolerance. These acts are tolerated, and as a result, they continue and they are getting worse.

I enjoy the Literotica website, but I do wish it appeared to be more interested in protecting those that provide its product.

For the record, I took my stories down because of receiving countless threats and personal attacks.

littlecordelera said:

I agree with this statement. On every other website in which I am involved, the website takes action against personal attacks. If I'm not mistaken, personal attacks are moderated in these forums.

For anyone posting a story, receiving critical reviews must be expected; however, being called a "worthless cunt" or being told "I have a bullet with your name on it," have absolutely nothing to do with an author's work and should never be tolerated.

And that is the issue - tolerance. These acts are tolerated, and as a result, they continue and they are getting worse.

I enjoy the Literotica website, but I do wish it appeared to be more interested in protecting those that provide its product.

For the record, I took my stories down because of receiving countless threats and personal attacks.

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You received comnents like this? I'm sorry to hear someone being that hateful to anyone.

Did you delete the comments? Lit allows you to do that. You can report people and users and stories that go too far. It's just easier to ignore them in my experience. They also allow you to turn off comments and voting to avoid this kind of abuse. I don't think it's possible to constantly around the clock monitor every mean spirited comment and abusive feedback for every single author at Lit. When we walk out the door we can't filter every stupid spiteful person. But we can pay them no mind.

It's unfortunate to hear they brought you to pull your stories. Just don't always let em get the best of you.

SecondCircle said:

You received comnents like this? I'm sorry to hear someone being that hateful to anyone.

Did you delete the comments? Lit allows you to do that. You can report people and users and stories that go too far. It's just easier to ignore them in my experience. They also allow you to turn off comments and voting to avoid this kind of abuse. I don't think it's possible to constantly around the clock monitor every mean spirited comment and abusive feedback for every single author at Lit. When we walk out the door we can't filter every stupid spiteful person. But we can pay them no mind.

It's unfortunate to hear they brought you to pull your stories. Just don't always let em get the best of you.

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We all get the "don't let it get to you" and "be the bigger person" attitude. We are still here talking about after all aren't we? However, at some point that isn't enough in the absence of at least the hope that someone is doing their best to mitigate the issue.

I surely don't have the technical expertise to suggest solutions to weed out trolls, but I can see that it would be very difficult just as it is in real life. However, a few things come to mind that sort of work in real life. Firstly, naming and shaming whenever possible - only in extreme cases mind you. Secondly, perhaps a clear and unequivocal statement that pops up whenever someone tries to leave a comment that states personal attacks and the perpetrators thereof are not welcome. Or maybe a high profile statement that readers WILL find material here that they may find objectionable and under no circumstances does that entitle them to launch personal attacks.

Will that dissuade the trolls. Certainly not entirely, but having guidelines that they won't read just says you hired a lawyer but you aren't otherwise serious about addressing the issue. Maybe getting in their face will make it worse and that is a genuine concern. However, as it goes now you will lose authors and therefore the trolls are affecting the content of this site. Based upon the attacks I have received I sincerely believe there is some possibility of a coordinated effort to do just that. Maybe that is paranoid but it doesn't mean it isn't true.

Laurel,

I did delete the messages AFTER I sent them to you. How can I possibly tell the person to not contact me when the emails they used were clearly bogus? I'm sure you recognized that. I did all your "spam filters" that your site required of me. As to why my email wasn't verified... I can only guess it was an error at some point because I did get a confirmation from that saying it verified my email, and nothing else.

Though "legal" cyber-bullying may only cover those "under 18", I can assure you that a site like Facebook does take that stuff seriously. I know because of an incident I had with someone a while back who sent an assortment of threats to me. I blocked this person and reported them for cyber-bullying. I also blocked some others in the same "thread" for my own protection, but did not report them because even thought I didn't agree with them, they didn't formally attack me the way that one person did.

All I wanted was an acknowledgment from you or someone on your staff acknowledging the messages. Again, I've gotten others in the past but none were as, in my opinion, so vile and were for the sole purpose of being a person attack. Honestly, I think both emails were from the same sad person. I don't believe I've had to report any emails prior to these, though I will admit to accidentally hitting reply and forgetting to change the email for someone who really wanted to hear back from me (but as I recall, those get kicked right away.) I do like the potential 3rd option you mentioned, and all I can say is, it's about time.

I have since made a valiant effort to stay away, and until today, I've done fairly well. I've admitted that I shouldn't have started this thread, but it seems it's here to stay. To those who feel I was wrong to start it... I totally agree. To those who sympathized with me, thank you. I was frustrated and not in the right frame of mind when I did this, but that's on me.

Thank you for finally acknowledging me & my emails, Laurel. That was really all I wanted from you. As for this thread... I wish you all peace and writing success in whatever category you post in... including LW.

~NW

NymphWriter said:

Thank you for finally acknowledging me & my emails, Laurel. That was really all I wanted from you. As for this thread... I wish you all peace and writing success in whatever category you post in... including LW.

~NW

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If you have issues in the future, please feel free to drop me a Private Message here anytime. It's the fastest way to reach me.

And if you (or anyone else here) do get rude/threatening comments on your story in the future, please do the following: 1) report the comment to us using the REPORT triangle on the comment, and then 2) delete the comment. Even though the commenter's post is no longer visible, but we will still be able to see it on our end.

Attacks and Cyber Bullying

Laurel said:

First off, I checked my email and at first did not see an email from you. We do use a challenge-response software (SpamArrest), so I checked and it appears your address was not validated - so your emails were in our spam filter. I did validate it, and found the emails you sent. Sorry for the delayed reply.

As for the two emails sent to you - I agree that they were very insulting both to you and your writing ability (though I'm not sure they have a right to talk - what is a "course of crochet" exactly?), but I don't think that they would qualify as cyberbullying in a legal sense. They didn't threaten you with physical harm - and even if they did, they have no way to carry out their threats because they do now know who or where you are.

Also, from my understanding, legally "cyberbullying" or "cyber harassment" usually applies to people under the age of 18:



From what I've read, the key is that the same source/person must harass the target repeatedly. If the victim cannot stop the attacker from contacting them AND the attacker is harming the victim (via the public spreading of libel) or threatening harm (actionable threats - they know who/where you are and threaten to harm you), then the victim is encouraged to seek help from law enforcement.

The U.S. Department of Justice suggests you do the following before contacting the cops:



BTW, this is a good resource:
https://www.wiredsafety.org/subjects/cyberbullying.php

Facebook's membership includes children and teens. The site also requires real names. Because of this, there is a real issue that someone could actually stalk someone in real life - follow them around, go to their house, cause them real life harm. Young children and teenagers who are more emotional fragile are very susceptible to being bullied online and off. That is why Facebook does what they do: because they require people to supply and display their real life details.

Literotica is an adult site, for people over the age of 18. We neither require nor encourage people to post their real names or info to the site. We expect our membership to act like adults - to protect themselves, to handle their interactions responsibly.

In the case of your emails - I am not sure that one or two emails calling you names and suggesting you should stop writing and take up knitting are legally considered cyber harassment, especially you have the ability to stop them from contacting you. Unless you have responded to these individuals (which you cannot, because like you said their email addresses are bogus), they do not have your email address. They can only contact you through the CONTACT form on your profile - which will disappear if you turn it off. Those writing you don't even have your email address, much less your name or location.

We have no way to check the email addresses that people fill in on the FEEDBACK form. That said, every single Lit member's email address is verified before they are allowed to post, submit stories, or use the site. We are planning on upgrades that will allow a third option - "Allow Member Feedback Only".

Until then, I would suggest that you either 1) turn off feedback until the storm blows over, or 2) delete the mean and stupid emails, and spend your time responding to and thanking those who send you praise. They are the ones who deserve your time, not the trolls.

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Laurel,
I think you have the wrong definition of Cyber Bullying from US Legal

Here is the exact Definition:

Cyber bullying refers to any harassment that occurs via the internet, cell phones or other devices. Communication technology is used to intentionally harm others through hostile behavior such as sending text messages and posting ugly comments on the internet.
The National Crime Prevention Council defines cyber-bullying as “the process of using the Internet, cell phones or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.”
Cyber-bullying could be limited to posting rumors or gossips about a person in the internet bringing about hatred in other’s minds; or it may go to the extent of personally identifying victims and publishing materials severely defaming and humiliating them.

Where does it say here it is only limited to those under 18?

Better be more precise in your legal research.

Laurel said:

In the U.S., a government-issued identification card is required to vote.

Here at Literotica, to make an account all that's required is a unique email address.

Every single day we remove scores of fraud votes (and sometimes entire dummy accounts) made by people who think they can beat our system by registering multiple accounts. This something that happens on every site on the Internet where there is voting. If we required an account to vote, then the fraudsters would register even more accounts, while legitimate users won't bother because they don't want to be caught posting on a "porn site". The result would be 1/10 of the current vote totals, and much more fraud to be swept.

And if you think trolling can be stopped by the forcing of registration, remember that you must register to post on this forum. As nice a place as it is, I would hardly call it "troll-free". People are willing to be just as mean under the name "BigDick81" as they are under "Anonymous".

Facebook requires real names, yet I've seen countless instances of trolling and mean-spirited behavior - just like there is in everyday life.

The plain fact of the matter is that you will never be able to force everyone to like your story. That is reality.

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Thank you for the response
for the record
see my comment here
I see you knocked about 20 of 'em off
I am not going to press for details, none of my business, I realize nothing is fool proof.
Anonymous voting, either pro or con, has nothing to do with free speech, and if Literotica wishes to retain it, it could be very easily weighed at something like one tenth value to a named vote. Right now they employ a sweeper that also can be worked around.
My argument is merely minimize the problem.

And you don't even have to tell them that it is one tenth.
Either way, I'll live with it, I have a wonderfully bizarre sense of amusement. And this was just a suggestion on my part, no complaint.
Just thought I'd weigh in, my mistake.

The kicker is that it has to be a publicly identifiable person (if not tied up with crimes against children). You can't libel a fake Internet account name (unless the person behind it is publicly identifiable).

sr71plt said:

The kicker is that it has to be a publicly identifiable person (if not tied up with crimes against children). You can't libel a fake Internet account name (unless the person behind it is publicly identifiable).

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Correct. And libel has to be something false which people might believe that could actually harm your reputation.

Also, it has to be repeated harassment from the same person from which the victim is unable to escape. It is very easy to block feedback on Lit. Turn off all comments, voting, and private feedback and your readers can literally not get near you. We do not post your email address. We do not share (or know, or want to know) your real name or location.

Literotica has been running since 1998. We have lawyers. We've dealt with legal issues before. And I can tell you that an anonymous comment calling your Lit username an asshole is not cyberbullying, just as a random stranger on the street calling you an asshole is not going to go to jail. Namecalling is not illegal. It's rude, but it is not a crime.

littlecordelera said:

I agree with this statement. On every other website in which I am involved, the website takes action against personal attacks. If I'm not mistaken, personal attacks are moderated in these forums.

For anyone posting a story, receiving critical reviews must be expected; however, being called a "worthless cunt" or being told "I have a bullet with your name on it," have absolutely nothing to do with an author's work and should never be tolerated.

And that is the issue - tolerance. These acts are tolerated, and as a result, they continue and they are getting worse.

I enjoy the Literotica website, but I do wish it appeared to be more interested in protecting those that provide its product.

For the record, I took my stories down because of receiving countless threats and personal attacks.

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Did you report the comments to us using the REPORT feature at the bottom of every comment? We can't remove comments unless we are notified. And you as the author have the power to remove any comment you wish.

There is no need to tolerate anything. Delete the comments and move on. When you see them on other people's work, report them to us and we'll delete them.

Or are you saying we should protect you from anyone ever saying anything mean to you? We unfortunately do not have the power to pre-emptively stop people from posting troll things.

I'm sure all of you authors have received dozens and dozens of 5-Votes and positive comments both publicly and privately. IMO it is a bit disrespectful to those readers who have taken the time to give you positive feedback to ignore them and focus entirely on a handful of trolls. Doing so is devaluing/punishing your true readership while empowering trolling.

We've given authors the power to decide everything about feedback related to your work - whether people can vote, comment, or contact you. If what we offer is not enough - if you will only be satisfied if we require real names and no anonymity - then perhaps this isn't the right place for your work. Privacy is as important to our readers as it is to our writers.

If anyone has any further questions, please feel free to contact me via PM. Thanks for the comments and support, both here and in Private Message.

littlecordelera said:

And that is the issue - tolerance. These acts are tolerated, and as a result, they continue and they are getting worse.

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How is it being tolerated? You've been given the tools to be rid of feedback/comments. If it's someone else work that you spot something offensive you report it and the site admin delete it.

For the record, I took my stories down because of receiving countless threats and personal attacks.

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So you let the trolls win. Yay!

NymphWriter said:

I have since made a valiant effort to stay away, and until today, I've done fairly well. I've admitted that I shouldn't have started this thread, but it seems it's here to stay. To those who feel I was wrong to start it... I totally agree. To those who sympathized with me, thank you. I was frustrated and not in the right frame of mind when I did this, but that's on me.

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People make threads for all sorts of reasons. Someone made a thread about the quality of their farts. You don't need to apologize.

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Reading all the posts here about anonymous voting made me curious- is there some way of checking who voted for your stories?
My guess is there has to be since the argument here is that registered users won't drop ones like the pissy nonnies out of spite (obviously since they can be traced to them) or is the argument that spiteful folks won't bother logging in just to drop ones (trollin' be so hard y'all)?

subdued_passion said:

Reading all the posts here about anonymous voting made me curious- is there some way of checking who voted for your stories?
My guess is there has to be since the argument here is that registered users won't drop ones like the pissy nonnies out of spite (obviously since they can be traced to them) or is the argument that spiteful folks won't bother logging in just to drop ones (trollin' be so hard y'all)?

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I don't know any way for authors to know who's voted, but the site remembers, as you can tell by revisiting a story you voted on: your vote still shows.

If you habitually one-bomb under your own ID, I suppose that's visible to Laurel and Manu, though not to authors.

subdued_passion said:

So you let the trolls win. Yay!

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I let them win?

They've already won. Literotica does not control the LW category. The Jilted Male Cry Baby Club does.

I am not complaining because I dislike the site. Quite the opposite! I am complaining in hopes of improving a site that I have come to enjoy very much. I don't want to post my stories elsewhere. I want to post here! If I didn't like the site, I would shut the fuck up and move on. I wouldn't care. But that's the point, some of us do care.

I've never run a website and I haven't got a clue how it's done. I'm just voicing my opinion because I have heard the complaints about personal attacks from several others. Maybe there is nothing that can be done. I don't know. But I think it is fair and ethical of myself and others to make sure that the website is aware of the severity of the problem.

It's bad.

I am so tired of complaints about ANON commenters. The option is there. They have the right to use it. Does it really make a difference if ANON vs "Daddyshere4u" wrote something? If there's a name, do you email them and get into it?? I doubt it. Who cares! I get bad feedback from both anon and named and it is entirely irrelevant to me. I'm not going to engage with either one. Everyone on the internet is anon anyway. Does it really matter so much that you can trace down an ephemeral username??? How does that soothe your psyche?

I've gotten totally random attacks out of the blue. "This is a vile, rancid piece of crap!" SO WHAT? I don't care.

The only ones that may affect me are the ones that make a stinging critique which I know is probably true. The other random freaks I totally ignore or laugh at. Period.