Kinks and tags that trump them all

[AwkwardlySet]

Do you pay attention to story tags before you even consider reading some Lit story? I do. In fact, I rarely give a chance to a story with no tags. But that's not what I wanted to talk about in this thread.

Have you noticed that there are certain tags/kinks that, if present, trump everything else? And when I say "trump", I mean that if they are present, you automatically know they are the focus of the story.

Interestingly, I don't think Incest is such a tag. Incest can combine with almost anything else and simply add that "forbidden" flavor, even if the focus of the story is on something else. But, it is my impression that if you see tags/kinks such as NTR/Cuckolding, BBC, feminization/sissification, mtf, mommy/daddy kink, infantilization, breeding, monster cocks, you can bet your ass that the story is going to revolve around them.

Is this just me, or has anyone else noticed such patterns?

 

[UsuallyPresent]

Tx Tall Tales wrote this explanation of tag hierarchies over a decade ago. I think it tends to remain true today, personally - look forward to others' takes, tho!

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Tx Tall Tales wrote this explanation of tag hierarchies over a decade ago. I think it tends to remain true today, personally - look forward to others' takes, tho!

Thanks, I didn't know about that piece.

But that's not really what I was talking about, though. In that how-to, he mostly talks about Categorization in the sense of how to best find your readership, and how to find the best category for your story. Again, what I was talking about isn't categorization, but the appearance of certain specific tags signifying what the story's focus is. I am talking about the reader's perspective here

 

[NotWise]

In your examples, "incest" defines the relationship in the story, but the story itself can be almost anything. The other tags you list are likely to be what the story is about. "Age gap" (and similar) might be another tag that defines a relationship, but doesn't describe the story.

 

[RawSilhouette]

This is incredibly helpful, thank you for linking to TxTalltales guide.

 

[UsuallyPresent]

Thanks, I didn't know about that piece.

But that's not really what I was talking about, though. In that how-to, he mostly talks about Categorization in the sense of how to best find your readership, and how to find the best category for your story. Again, what I was talking about isn't categorization, but the appearance of certain specific tags signifying what the story's focus is. I am talking about the reader's perspective here

Respectfully, I disagree. TTT's piece talks about how to categorize works in ways that the general reading populace understands. That's the mirror to your position, what categories mean to the reading populace. It's the same process, IMO, just flopped end-for-end.

That being said, you're also correct in that it doesn't go into the sub-categories - in Incest/Taboo, DD/lg, D/s, older/younger, young/young, flouting society, etc - within each of the categories. That may be a better expansion to the discussion?

 

[UsuallyPresent]

This is incredibly helpful, thank you for linking to TxTalltales guide.

It's one of the few pieces published on Lit I use as a reference. May you (plural!) find it useful going forward

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Respectfully, I disagree. TTT's piece talks about how to categorize works in ways that the general reading populace understands. That's the mirror to your position, what categories mean to the reading populace. It's the same process, IMO, just flopped end-for-end.

That being said, you're also correct in that it doesn't go into the sub-categories - DD/lg, D/s, older/younger, young/young, flouting society, etc - within each of the categories. That may be a better expansion to the discussion?

Again, I am not talking about categories at all! Read the original post, please. I am only talking about tags that signify the presence of certain specific kinks or themes in the story. And as a reader, when you see such a tag, you can be sure that the focus of the story will be about that. The category itself, in this sense, could be almost irrelevant.
So I was asking others if they have the same impression that the presence of certain specific tags, not categories, and regardless of which category the story sits in, indicate that the story will revolve around the theme that the tag represents.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Respectfully, I disagree. TTT's piece talks about how to categorize works in ways that the general reading populace understands. That's the mirror to your position, what categories mean to the reading populace. It's the same process, IMO, just flopped end-for-end.

Do you understand the difference between categories and tags on Literotica?

 

[SimonDoom]

I wouldn't quite agree, because I think people use tags differently, and some are much more meticulous about their tag selection than others. But I think you have a point. "Incest" as a tag is not helpful, because it's too general. If I write a mother-son incest I'll use a tag like "mother son incest" or "mom son incest," and that should give the reader a pretty good idea about the overall content of the story. If there's some particular spicy aspect of the story that I think readers might like, I'll pick that as a tag. I choose tags mindful of what I think potential readers might search for.

 

[UsuallyPresent]

Do you understand the difference between categories and tags on Literotica?

On scanning back thru, the thought that ran thru my head was, "Ooops." Sorry 'bout that.

 

[Britva415]

Do you pay attention to story tags before you even consider reading some Lit story? I do. In fact, I rarely give a chance to a story with no tags.

Yes, same.

But that's not what I wanted to talk about in this thread.

ah, well, carry on then

 

[Britva415]

"Incest" as a tag is not helpful, because it's too general.

It's totally helpful. If I'm NOT in the Incest category, this tag signals some critically important information, something I would NOT want to be surprised about, mid story. Or even mid first page.

 

[SimonDoom]

It's totally helpful. If I'm NOT in the Incest category, this tag signals some critically important information, something I would NOT want to be surprised about, mid story. Or even mid first page.

Of course, it's helpful if the story isn't in that category. I think it would be essential in that case. But I assume almost every story with incest is in the I/T category, because incest stories tend to be funneled that way.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

As a reader, I seldom focus on the story tags.

As a writer, I endeavor to place my works in the appropriate categories to minimize any confusion about what they are about. Now, in categories such as Novels/Novellas, the readers should expect a longer read, which I believe most due. I always take time to consider the best tags for those stories because the category alone won't provide a clue. The same is true with Romance, Mature, First Time, and several other categories, but they're nichey enough to let a story with minimal or no tags to still find a readership.

 

[Britva415]

I assume almost every story with incest is in the I/T category, because incest stories tend to be funneled that way.

There's a tendency, sure. There is also another tendency, at the same time.

E/C is where I write, and E/C is mostly where I read. It's unbelievable to me how often I see stuff in E/C which very obviously is mis-categorized.

This is one of the reasons I use tags as a reader. The other reasons are: To find (search for) stuff to read, and, to have more of an idea of what's in the story before deciding to read it. There is only so much that Title, Description and Category can convey.

So, right there we can see at least two different reasons why I might skip a story entirely if the author doesn't tag it.

 

[Britva415]

It's unbelievable to me how often I see stuff in E/C which very obviously is mis-categorized.

and "they say" EC is vanilla

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

But I assume almost every story with incest is in the I/T category, because incest stories tend to be funneled that way.

I've seen a bunch of them in Mature for some reason. Yeah, OK, Mom and Dad are generally older, but....

 

[bisissyhusband1]

I frequently look for bisexual, sissy, husband pegging., strapon wife, etc.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I've seen a bunch of them in Mature for some reason. Yeah, OK, Mom and Dad are generally older, but....

Indeed. Those stories could likely be an example of what I was talking about - when incest is only an added flavor, but the focus is on some other theme or kink.

 

[Britva415]

Indeed. Those stories could likely be an example of what I was talking about - when incest is only an added flavor, but the focus is on some other theme or kink.

Yeah, but I think they're examples of what OP was talking about. It's hard to make incest so minimal that it doesn't overwhelm something as innocuous as Mature.

Incest IS the trump, unless matched with something equally polarizing - which Mature and many, many other themes or kinks really aren't. So whatever it is that matches Incest's polarizing quality, it is also going to be one of those trumps OP was talking about. Practically by definition.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Yeah, but I think they're examples of what OP was talking about. It's hard to make incest so minimal that it doesn't overwhelm something as innocuous as Mature.

Incest IS the trump, unless matched with something equally polarizing - which Mature and many, many other themes or kinks really aren't. So whatever it is that matches Incest's polarizing quality, it is also going to be one of those trumps OP was talking about. Practically by definition.

You are right, mature is not a strong kink in general. Well, not as strong as incest anyway, but it can be in extreme situations, such as an 18-year-old having sex with a 70-year-old or something like that. But the kinks I mentioned in my posts usually trump incest.

 

[Britva415]

You are right, mature is not a strong kink in general. Well, not as strong as incest anyway, but it can be in extreme situations, such as an 18-year-old having sex with a 70-year-old or something like that. But the kinks I mentioned in my posts usually trump incest.

heh, that's right, you are the OP

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

And of course you all know by now that there is one 'kink' that will totally put me off of any story in any category and even send me into a rage none of you understand. I don't read GM, but I've even seen some in Story Ideas exploring two guys getting into the one kink I despise, usually as a scifi angle somehow.

If I'm reading a story and even see the slightest hint of it, I'm out.

 

[lovecraft68]

infantilization,

Can this be a thing here considering underage rules stretch to role playing