Do you report stories?

[RowanWrites]

After having some stories rejected for what I considered to be vanishingly small reasons, I find myself wanting to report other stories that seem to be "getting away" with far more egregious sins.

On the other hand, I don't actually care. I would rather the rules change, than have stories removed.

So, it's basically a vindictive, spiteful impulse. I don't like it.

On the other hand, it's an injustice, and I don't like that either.

What to do?

 

[SimonDoom]

No. I have never reported a story, and I don't expect to. I take an extremely liberal, permissive view of what authors should be able to write about. The site has its rules, as it is entitled to, and they are sometimes unclear, and they're not always enforced in a consistent way, but my attitude is, so what? I'm not paying to participate and there's no fundamental injustice. My perception is that with a modest amount of diligence and communication with the site owner authors can, in almost every case, navigate their way through the rules. I've had two stories that were initially rejected and then were accepted after I communicated with the site owner to explain that the rejection had been in error.

My advice is not to focus on what others do and whether you think they are getting away with something. It's not a productive way to think, and, to my mind, it's a small-minded way of thinking. If you think that reporting other stories would be "vindictive" and "spiteful," then you've answered your own question, right? Focus on your own writing. If you want to write stories that are not accepted at Literotica, then there are other sites that may accept your stories. If you feel that Literotica has unfairly rejected one of your stories within the context of its own rules, then make your case to Laurel politely but firmly.

 

[Bramblethorn]

That's a complex question. I agree that reporting out of spite is a bad impulse, and it's probably not good to feed that kind of impulse in oneself. Most of the time when I notice some minor violation of the rules I just move on.

OTOH... one time I happened upon an author who had managed to get a whole bunch of under-age content past moderation. They were writing fanfic based on a very well-known children's entertainment property, featuring a bunch of female characters who are fifteen or sixteen years old in sexual situations. Had they submitted it to Celeb/Fanfic, I expect it would have been bounced for the NC content and again for under-age. But they posted it in other categories, and Laurel wasn't familiar with the source material, so she hadn't realised it was fanfic or that these characters were under-age.

There are a lot of grey areas in Literotica's policies, and some policies that aren't well documented. But I don't think any author who'd made even the faintest attempt at reading the FAQs could have thought that explicit sex with 15- and 16-year-olds (some of it non-con, IIRC) was within the rules.

As a general principle, I believe that people should be able to make their own choices. That includes Laurel and Manu having the right to decide what kind of erotica they want to host here, and in particular the right not to host material that might be risky for the site. (I reserve the right to bitch and moan about it when they draw the line somewhere I don't like, but at the end of the day, they get to decide

Hosting under-age erotica does have risks, my impression is that Laurel and Manu don't want to take those risks, and I guessed (correctly, as it turned out) that Laurel might not have been aware of what she was letting through, so I gave her a heads-up. I wasn't entirely comfortable about reporting but in that case it seemed like the best thing to do.

 

[yowser]

I'd recommend resisting your lower impulses (I know that's not the internet norm any more.) And yes, as others suggest, just to keep your focus on your own work, that's where your control belongs.

I suppose there might be a scenario that might cause me to want to 'report' something, but I cannot imagine doing it. It is a writer's responsibility to pay attention to the 'rules' here and I would neither want someone reporting some 'transgression' on my work nor would I want to act in judgement on another.

A minor irritation here is the number of entries into contests, which specify 'standalone' and yet the entry is part (not even always the first installment) of a series. Doesn't quite seem fair. But report? No way.

 

[oggbashan]

No. Never. I might send a PM to the author if I think it breaks Lit's rules but I wouldn't report it.

I have had a story reported and withdrawn because it used a trade product in a sexual way. It was initially rejected by Laurel beause I used the trade name throughout, but I rewrote it to a generic name, but it was reported because there is only one manufacturer and that was still obvious.

 

[Lovecraft_Lore]

I have reported. They had an underage rape scene. A six paragraph discription of a 14 year old babysitter getting raped broke a bunch of rules.

I had messaged the person who wrote it, they replied that it was allowed as the rape was back story not the main theme of the romantic story they wrote and that the characters were over 18 in the main plot of the story.
As others have said before, under 18 is no.

 

[Comshaw]

I wouldn't. It ain't no skin off my knees if someone gets by with a little more than I have been able to. I ain't gunna be the Lit police. I leave that to others.

Comshaw

 

[KeithD]

No I don't report stories. I don't read many stories here. Beyond that I mind my own business, just grateful that what I write gets posted and not putting my nose into what the Web site accepts from others.

 

[gunhilltrain]

No. Never. I might send a PM to the author if I think it breaks Lit's rules but I wouldn't report it.

I have had a story reported and withdrawn because it used a trade product in a sexual way. It was initially rejected by Laurel beause I used the trade name throughout, but I rewrote it to a generic name, but it was reported because there is only one manufacturer and that was still obvious.

I have a story on another site in which a young woman, who briefly works at a fast-food restaurant, has a couple of kinky fantasies that occur inside the store. The name of the chain and other details (the color of the uniforms, the names of the products sold) are mentioned. I don't think I'd try that here.

Then again, I have a couple of stories on here in which sex occurs in automobiles and the brand of the car is mentioned. However, that is an entirely different matter from a restaurant chain. Also, in one case the brand hasn't existed since the early 2000s.

 

[tenyari]

On the other hand, I don't actually care. I would rather the rules change, than have stories removed.

So, it's basically a vindictive, spiteful impulse. I don't like it.

I would only report a story if I actually was bothered by what it was doing. Some violation that actually disturbed me - like seeing a graphic XXX scene with underage characters, a snuff scene (presuming this is a rule violation - I don't actually know but if I found one you can bet I would be reading the rules looking for an opportunity to report it), or something like that.

I would never do it out of spite over something that might have happened to me. That would be a "Karen" move and I don't go there.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I've reported one story in the entire time I've been on here. A NonCon with no required 'she actually enjoyed it or consented retrospectively' as required by Lit, and was basically a snuff story but for her miraculously being alive at the end, presumably to die soon after. It had no literary merit either, or I might have hesitated in clicking the button.

 

[lovecraft68]

I reported a couple-more like added a report-to stories someone posted a thread about here because they were so blatantly underage it was ridiculous and the OP had already reported it, so others joined in and the site was shamed into erasing them.

That is the only time they will do anything when they're tired of being caught with their pants down. For several years whenever their make believe rape rule was discussed I'd bring up the story with the title Raping Chay a top 20 all time faved story. I did this for years, suddenly a few weeks ago the story was finally gone.

The term budding breasts-another of my favorite links-used to turn up a lot of stories using it in underaged terms-is their any other age breasts bud? Around the time Chay was finally pulled, that search suddenly turned up a lot less stories. Were they removed? Did they alter the search? No idea, point is they got tired of being caught in their BS.

As I have said before, the rules here are all a joke with no further proof than how extremely difficult it is to find them, and even then you just end up on a 10+ year post by a regular lit member breaking them down. They can weed out political messages they don't like, but can't catch the word rape in a title or tag? story that has a 12 year old car gets bumped because of the #12 but there were stories here of 11 year old's being raped(that was one of the threads I mentioned, the other was a by a middle eastern author and character who was 15 and also very non consensual and took weeks to be pulled down)

So end of the day I don't report anything for two reasons, one. They claim the rules are real? Then stop being half ass and do it yourself or hire a staff like every other-and much smaller and less lucrative-site does. Second? I love knowing where they are so I can pull them out and shove them in the faces of the sites brown nosing bootlicks

 

[tenyari]

I reported a couple-more like added a report-to stories someone posted a thread about here because they were so blatantly underage it was ridiculous and the OP had already reported it, so others joined in and the site was shamed into erasing them.

The term budding breasts-another of my favorite links-used to turn up a lot of stories using it in underaged terms-is their any other age breasts bud?

Ah...

The lolicon genre... where people describe a 13 year old, and pretend it's a 30 year old.

And when called on it give Epstein-logic'd excuses about comic books in Japan...

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Once. It was a story that was posted way back in 2000 as the site was just getting started. It was an LW story and started out pretty good, then about 2/3 of the way through it started to get weird when the wife started to do her dog. Clicked that report button quick. And this was back in 2010 or so. So it sat there for almost 10 years with no one else reporting it.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I haven't reported any stories, and I think that obvious plagiarism of another author's work is probably the only instance that might motivate me to do so.

 

[RowanWrites]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts everyone! I appreciate it. And I appreciate your help in keeping to the high ground!

 

[tenyari]

Once. It was a story that was posted way back in 2000 as the site was just getting started. ... Clicked that report button quick. And this was back in 2010 or so. So it sat there for almost 10 years with no one else reporting it.

My stories here were posted mostly around 2002. Those stories get very few views at this point. 1-14 a week on another side where the data is actually shown to me unlike here. They're rated mostly in the mid 4.x range (one higher, one lower 4.x, the unfinished series is mid) and one of them was an award nominee when it came out, so shows as 'hot'.

That is to note that if my work gets that few views, other stories, unless they were also high rated, award winners/nominees, or otherwise called out - may be so obscure that it makes sense no one would see it for years.

If the author you had reported didn't have a large volume of stories, only a few like I do, it becomes even more likely to be obscure enough to not be noticed.