I can't link off-site, but can I describe how to find the information off-site?

[Mamateya]

(Not sure where to post this, it doesn't seem to be appropriate to any of the other subforums)

Right now the submission guidelines say:

Were there URL links, site addresses, or other advertisements within the story?

Quite simply, you may not link off-site. You may not put email address in the body of the story--yours or anyone elses. Literotica has email forms in place for your audience to reach you.

Strip out all sites, newsgroups, and email addresses to fix the problem.

Can I instead write, "if you are interested in how this works, Google for XYZ"? In my specific case, this line would be within the text of the story, and is intended to either give a graphic of what something looks like (a picture speaks a thousand words) or provides an idea of how to find more information on a specific topic (e.g. the name of a historical location to Google for). A real life example would be in The Handmaid's Tale, which is a work of dystopian fiction that draws inspiration from certain events that actually did happen in history. The author could feasibly want to say "this has happened before, if you're interested, Google for XYZ".

 

[Todger65]

You might, and it would need clarifying with Laurel, be able to say ‘ do an internet search for xyz’. Mentiining Google is still advertising.

 

[jsmiam]

There are illustrated stories too, if just a picture or pictures would suffice.

 

[Mamateya]

There are illustrated stories too, if just a picture or pictures would suffice.

I don't hold the copyright though =/

How come mentioning Google is still advertising? It's become a word that can be found in the dictionary.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I don't hold the copyright though =/

How come mentioning Google is still advertising? It's become a word that can be found in the dictionary.

Maybe, but it's the same as Tumblr - I had to pull a phrase referring to a Tumblr blog, and leave it just 'blog'. The issue, I guess, is that there are other search engines and other blog hosts, so the site doesn't want to be seen advertising one over another.

 

[gunhilltrain]

(Not sure where to post this, it doesn't seem to be appropriate to any of the other subforums)

Right now the submission guidelines say:



Can I instead write, "if you are interested in how this works, Google for XYZ"? In my specific case, this line would be within the text of the story, and is intended to either give a graphic of what something looks like (a picture speaks a thousand words) or provides an idea of how to find more information on a specific topic (e.g. the name of a historical location to Google for). A real life example would be in The Handmaid's Tale, which is a work of dystopian fiction that draws inspiration from certain events that actually did happen in history. The author could feasibly want to say "this has happened before, if you're interested, Google for XYZ".

So you mean from within a story? You really are not allowed to do that, but it doesn't seem likely that would ever be necessary.

I've yet to have any problems linking to anything from within the forums. There are entire threads that consist mostly of links to YouTube videos. Arguably that shouldn't be done, but nobody has stopped it. The forum moderator could step in, I suppose, but I've yet to see that.

It there is something in a story that truly needs explanation, then a note to the reader at the bottom of the text (or maybe even the top) doing that should be sufficient. No outside link would be necessary. An example I've used recently was when a character mentioned the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. I decided to add one sentence at the bottom explaining what the reference meant. If somebody is that interested in it, then I'm sure they know how to use a search engine to find it.

 

[Mamateya]

Well my use case is not so easily Google-able - for example, if I write "did you know that at one point it was considered immodest for women to expose their shoulders?", that statement is true, but it's very helpful to have some precise search terms to find more details if one is interested.

In any case I think "search for XYZ" is good enough for me, so thanks

 

[KeithD]

In any case I think "search for XYZ" is good enough for me, so thanks

My limited attempts to do something like that didn't pass here at Literotica. If you do it and it works, let us know.

 

[Athalia]

You might, and it would need clarifying with Laurel, be able to say ‘ do an internet search for xyz’. Mentiining Google is still advertising.

If you're worried about Internet security, I wouldn't advise using Google for searches at all, particularly if you're exploring something of a sexual nature. Google is, after all, an information farm, and you are the crop. There are search engines that are more secure.

 

[Todger65]

If you're worried about Internet security, I wouldn't advise using Google for searches at all, particularly if you're exploring something of a sexual nature. Google is, after all, an information farm, and you are the crop. There are search engines that are more secure.

I agree with that. I haven’t used the bit ‘G’ for years as they log everything you search and push advertising your way using key words from those searches. I use one referring to a Duck, that states they don’t track searches.