Do we know our moderators?

[AwkwardlySet]

I was wondering about the people who read the stories that we upload, decide if we broke a rule or not and eventually decide about publishing it. Obviously we all know about Laurel and Manu, but I doubt it is them who do this job. So, I assume there are several(?) moderators who do this work, and they read a chunk of stories every day before those are published. I am also guessing Laurel and Manu have some final say if a moderator isn't sure about something. My question is: Do we know them? Are these people some trusted authors who write here as well and lurk and post on the forums, or are they completely anonymous to us?

 

[MelissaBaby]

As far as I know, it’s still just Laurel. Manu takes care of the tech side of things.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

That would be weird, as there are like 30+ stories that go online every day. Reading 30 or more stories per day seems too much for just Laurel?

 

[NotWise]

That would be weird, as there are like 30+ stories that go online every day. Reading 30 or more stories per day seems too much for just Laurel?

I haven't checked recently, but the last time I checked it was more like 90 stories/day. She probably has some help from screening software and only personally reviews things that are kicked out for her attention.

 

[Trionyx]

Newer writers and writers who have pushed the limits in the past undoubtedly get closer scrutiny. Screening software looking for key words and topics will trigger a manual review. Although it is a Herculean task, I gather it is all done by one person who has probably had no real vacations in 24 years or maybe she hires out that work for short times so she can get away.

 

[Emotional]

That makes sense considering the back log and long publishing delays at times.

Same with comments.

 

[KeithD]

I was wondering about the people who read the stories that we upload, decide if we broke a rule or not and eventually decide about publishing it. Obviously we all know about Laurel and Manu, but I doubt it is them who do this job. So, I assume there are several(?) moderators who do this work, and they read a chunk of stories every day before those are published. I am also guessing Laurel and Manu have some final say if a moderator isn't sure about something. My question is: Do we know them? Are these people some trusted authors who write here as well and lurk and post on the forums, or are they completely anonymous to us?

I don't think the discussion board moderators have anything to do with the story side of the Web site (at least they occasionally say they don't). I think there's only one submissions editor, Laurel, and that she doesn't actually read the stories herself (unless she sees one she wants to read). She scans them with some sort of prior systems check on them.

 

[Duleigh]

There's software looking for key words. I once described a character who shaved very close, and his wife was overjoyed at how smooth his skin felt and compared it to the skin of a young person's butt but used the more common euphemism. The software threw a flag, and I got charged with 10 yards and a loss of down for Illegal Use of Words. The software thought I was sliding into child porn. I deleted the euphemism, and the story went through without further issue

 

[_Lynn_]

I don't think the discussion board moderators have anything to do with the story side of the Web site (at least they occasionally say they don't). I think there's only one submissions editor, Laurel, and that she doesn't actually read the stories herself (unless she sees one she wants to read). She scans them with some sort of prior systems check on them.

I don't know the other mods so I can't speak for them, but I don't have anything to do with the story side of the site.

 

[firmbutgentle]

All the moderation is done by one person? Even with screening software, she deserves a medal. I'll stop wondering "Why isn't my story published yet?" after three days. Egads.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I was bored one day and decided to go way back to the start of the AH in 1999. I found this thread, which shows the "How long before my story is posted" question has been around forever.
https://forum.literotica.com/threads/what-does-one-need-to-submit-a-story.9727/

In summary, this was Laurel's answer back then. I'm guessing it hasn't changed much, apart from the volume of stories.

"Hi #1derfulGuy...

I have revised the confirmation letter to say that there might be up to a week between receipt of story and posting.

As I've said before, Manu and I run this site together. We both work "real" jobs and do this in our "spare" time (read: 6-10 hours a day). We get 15-20 story submissions (sometimes more) every day, and we read and post each one personally. In addition, we have email to respond to, technical problems to work out, and general site maintenance. I love Literotica, but at times it is difficult to keep up with the demand, and it is most frustrating for us when the people we are trying to please are unhappy with us. We want to keep the site free, and so we can't really afford to quit our jobs and do this full-time. We thank you for your patience. take care...

laurel"

 

[Seadog777]

Board Mods are entirely different from what Laurel and Manu do.

ANY of the Mods are more than welcome to drop me a message or HMU here. I'd love to get the know them.

 

[Comshaw]

I was wondering about the people who read the stories that we upload, decide if we broke a rule or not and eventually decide about publishing it. Obviously we all know about Laurel and Manu, but I doubt it is them who do this job. So, I assume there are several(?) moderators who do this work, and they read a chunk of stories every day before those are published. I am also guessing Laurel and Manu have some final say if a moderator isn't sure about something. My question is: Do we know them? Are these people some trusted authors who write here as well and lurk and post on the forums, or are they completely anonymous to us?

There are a lot of opinions floating around, "Laurel is the only reviewer" "she uses software and only reviews those kicked by the software or requested by the author" "there is a whole raft of reviewers, but Laurel has the last word". I have one too.

The key is no one knows for sure. We can make an educated guess. Personally I don't think software is used. I think there are many different (how many I won't guess) reviewers with Laurel having the last word. The reason is, first off there are way too many stories being posted for one person to review on the timeline they are being reviewed. Second, if a program were used, software would have a tendency to weigh similar circumstances in different stories the same way. I can tell you from experience that doesn't happen. When I returned to posting stories here I had a few kicked back for grammar and spelling errors, while others with the same kind and amount of errors were passed through. A program wouldn't do that. That is indicative of differing value judgements from different people.

Couple all those together and it points to the fact that Laurel has a staff, paid or unpaid, that do the raw reviewing and she only gets involved in a few exceptional ones.
But as I said at the beginning, that is just my opinion.

Comshaw

 

[DarkRaven13]

However and whoever does the reviewing .... they are doing a tremendous job. They keep it running, it's a free site ... and I think most of us appreciate it.

 

[Seadog777]

However and whoever does the reviewing .... they are doing a tremendous job. They keep it running, it's a free site ... and I think most of us appreciate it.

I agree. We appreciate it.

 

[Seadog777]

There are a lot of opinions floating around, "Laurel is the only reviewer" "she uses software and only reviews those kicked by the software or requested by the author" "there is a whole raft of reviewers, but Laurel has the last word". I have one too.

The key is no one knows for sure. We can make an educated guess. Personally I don't think software is used. I think there are many different (how many I won't guess) reviewers with Laurel having the last word. The reason is, first off there are way too many stories being posted for one person to review on the timeline they are being reviewed. Second, if a program were used, software would have a tendency to weigh similar circumstances in different stories the same way. I can tell you from experience that doesn't happen. When I returned to posting stories here I had a few kicked back for grammar and spelling errors, while others with the same kind and amount of errors were passed through. A program wouldn't do that. That is indicative of differing value judgements from different people.

Couple all those together and it points to the fact that Laurel has a staff, paid or unpaid, that do the raw reviewing and she only gets involved in a few exceptional ones.
But as I said at the beginning, that is just my opinion.

Comshaw

I know for a FACT that Laurel does review the stories.
I know this because her and I went back and forth when my first story kept getting kicked back as "rejected".

 

[Comshaw]

I know for a FACT that Laurel does review the stories.
I know this because her and I went back and forth when my first story kept getting kicked back as "rejected".

I think I said she did, but not every one of them. If you'll read my post and comprehend what I said you'll find I stated she did, for certain (as in rejected and resubmitted) stories.

Comshaw

 

[KeithD]

I know for a FACT that Laurel does review the stories.
I know this because her and I went back and forth when my first story kept getting kicked back as "rejected".

Well, no. That would be physically impossible considering the number of stories submitted (more than are published) every day. She zeros in on stories in which issues are brought to her attention (like your example of follow-up to story rejection), but she couldn't physically be able to review all of the stories submitted daily.

 

[Emotional]

However and whoever does the reviewing .... they are doing a tremendous job. They keep it running, it's a free site ... and I think most of us appreciate it.

100%

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Well, I really hope it's the software... I just had a story sent back, after it had been pending for eight days. The story isn't even that big, about 10k words. It said punctuation problems and suggesting I check if all the punctuation is inside the quotes. Needles to say, there was no punctuation outside the quotes in my story. If it's the software doing the job, then it is not a very good one, as I recall reading stories where it could have barely been said they were written in English. If it's a person, then I guess that person has a beef with me of a sort. I guess I'll make some random precautionary changes and hope the beef has expired...

 

[KeithD]

Well, I really hope it's the software... I just had a story sent back, after it had been pending for eight days. The story isn't even that big, about 10k words. It said punctuation problems and suggesting I check if all the punctuation is inside the quotes. Needles to say, there was no punctuation outside the quotes in my story. If it's the software doing the job, then it is not a very good one, as I recall reading stories where it could have barely been said they were written in English. If it's a person, then I guess that person has a beef with me of a sort. I guess I'll make some random precautionary changes and hope the beef has expired...

If you're sure the problems aren't real, you could send it back with a request to Laurel that she point to the specific problem. In all but one times I've had a rejection, all I had to do was say the problem wasn't really there and ask her to point to it, and the story has been posted as written.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

If you're sure the problems aren't real, you could send it back with a request to Laurel that she point to the specific problem. In all but one times I've had a rejection, all I had to do was say the problem wasn't really there and ask her to point to it, and the story has been posted as written.

Thank you for the suggestion. I am messaging with Laurel, and I hope everything will be fine.

 

[PastMaster]

I was bored one day and decided to go way back to the start of the AH in 1999. I found this thread, which shows the "How long before my story is posted" question has been around forever.
https://forum.literotica.com/threads/what-does-one-need-to-submit-a-story.9727/

In summary, this was Laurel's answer back then. I'm guessing it hasn't changed much, apart from the volume of stories.

"Hi #1derfulGuy...

I have revised the confirmation letter to say that there might be up to a week between receipt of story and posting.

As I've said before, Manu and I run this site together. We both work "real" jobs and do this in our "spare" time (read: 6-10 hours a day). We get 15-20 story submissions (sometimes more) every day, and we read and post each one personally. In addition, we have email to respond to, technical problems to work out, and general site maintenance. I love Literotica, but at times it is difficult to keep up with the demand, and it is most frustrating for us when the people we are trying to please are unhappy with us. We want to keep the site free, and so we can't really afford to quit our jobs and do this full-time. We thank you for your patience. take care...

laurel"

You're guessing that nothing has changed in 23 years?

There are a couple of posts from laurel that get quoted on this question - this is the oldest i've seen and i think there's one floating around from 2012 - still 10 years ago.

Neither of these have any relevence any more - they are simply too old.
Find something within the last 12-24 months and I'll be much less sceptical

 

[KeithD]

I was wondering about the people who read the stories that we upload, decide if we broke a rule or not and eventually decide about publishing it. Obviously we all know about Laurel and Manu, but I doubt it is them who do this job.

I assume it is just them.

 

[MyBareTorso]

I was bored one day and decided to go way back to the start of the AH in 1999. I found this thread, which shows the "How long before my story is posted" question has been around forever.
https://forum.literotica.com/threads/what-does-one-need-to-submit-a-story.9727/

In summary, this was Laurel's answer back then. I'm guessing it hasn't changed much, apart from the volume of stories.

"Hi #1derfulGuy...

I have revised the confirmation letter to say that there might be up to a week between receipt of story and posting.

As I've said before, Manu and I run this site together. We both work "real" jobs and do this in our "spare" time (read: 6-10 hours a day). We get 15-20 story submissions (sometimes more) every day, and we read and post each one personally. In addition, we have email to respond to, technical problems to work out, and general site maintenance. I love Literotica, but at times it is difficult to keep up with the demand, and it is most frustrating for us when the people we are trying to please are unhappy with us. We want to keep the site free, and so we can't really afford to quit our jobs and do this full-time. We thank you for your patience. take care...

laurel"

My goodness, that's incredible...all those stories!