Major new feature preview: Story Series

[Stella_Omega]

Thank you for all of the replies and comments so far, please keep them coming!

I will try to reply to a few things, please forgive me if I miss replying to your specific comment in this message. There is always my next reply.

1. Wives categories - what can I say? This is an issue that we are aware of, and one that we have talked to many authors about how to resolve. It's not clear that there is one simple solution that will make everyone happy, but we are definitely thinking about it. We were hoping that the TAGS would help to alleviate the problem because people could use that system to get a better idea of what type of story is what, but it doesn't seem to have resolved the issue for everyone. So, keep those suggestions coming, I'm sure we'll get it figured out with your help.

2. Gay categories - we have a plan. Eventually, we are planning to have a gay section of Literotica where gay stories get their own categories, just like the straight categories. Imagine something like gay.literotica.com where everything on the site is gay stories in their own set of categories - along with some easy way to switch between the gay and straight categories. That's what we imagine. If you have thoughts on that, or if you have ideas for a better way to do it, please do comment.
...

Thanks again for the comments and keep them coming!

Manu, thank you for taking our complaints seriously
I agree with you that tags will make more difference than any single categorising tool!

The answer for LW actually IS somewhat simple. I can't now find the post, but someone said; "Archive the whole LW section, create the three more accurate categories, let authors place all new stories in them and request to move old stories."

There will be thousands of abandoned stories I'm sure, but they can stay right where they are, and remain available.

In regards to creating gay categories, yes please! Please remember that gay men and and gay women have very different preferences, and don't lump them together. Don't make us into a ghetto.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Thank you for all of the replies and comments so far, please keep them coming!

I will try to reply to a few things, please forgive me if I miss replying to your specific comment in this message. There is always my next reply.

1. Wives categories - what can I say? This is an issue that we are aware of, and one that we have talked to many authors about how to resolve. It's not clear that there is one simple solution that will make everyone happy, but we are definitely thinking about it. We were hoping that the TAGS would help to alleviate the problem because people could use that system to get a better idea of what type of story is what, but it doesn't seem to have resolved the issue for everyone. So, keep those suggestions coming, I'm sure we'll get it figured out with your help.

2. Gay categories - we have a plan. Eventually, we are planning to have a gay section of Literotica where gay stories get their own categories, just like the straight categories. Imagine something like gay.literotica.com where everything on the site is gay stories in their own set of categories - along with some easy way to switch between the gay and straight categories. That's what we imagine. If you have thoughts on that, or if you have ideas for a better way to do it, please do comment.


3. Back to the Series features. Many of you hit the nail on the head when you said that making the feature really useful requires giving authors the ability to manually control their own Series. We 100% agree and that is the plan. We have been tweaking the algorithm that creates Series for months, and we're pretty happy with how it's working now - but there is no way that it can be totally accurate. As mentioned in this thread, there are Series that have different titles and stories with similar titles that aren't Series. What is the solution? To allow you, the author of the story, to have total control over your Series. It's in the works already!

4. Also on the topic of Series, some people have asked what the goal or point of this feature is. Literotica has published a lot of stories over the last 10+ years. What we are trying to do with this and some other features, is to create more ways for readers to find authors and stories that they are interested in.

5. Again, on Series. This is just the beginning of this feature. Imagine in the future, a way for readers to vote and comment on Series. Imagine toplists that only contain Series. Imagine contests for completed Series. And so on. This is not a short term project, but a long term vision to give more exposure to longer length and multi-part works on Literotica.

With the knowledge that this is just the start of the Series feature, please continue to post, or send me, your suggestions for the feature. Anything is possible, and I'm sure there are things that we haven't thought of that you, the authors, will think of.

Thanks again for the comments and keep them coming!

I just came from my public index, and I like the idea of grouping stories in series or serials the way you have done. However, I think you haven't gone far enough yet, which is understandable.

When stories are listed as chapters, it's obvious they are part of a series or chapters in an ongoing story. However, there are stories that are part of an ongoing series that have different names, and there might not be a way to tell, without careful reading, that those individual stories are all part of an ongoing series.

For example: I have a two part story, "Donna from Daycare" Chapters 1 and 2. On the index, these are properly listed as being in a series, but I now have a third, "Donna and Kevin Together" which is part of the same series, but it is not listed as such. There will be at least two more stories in this series before it is finished. I have others that are in a similar situation, but that is a good example.

Since you can't know what stories are part of a series and which ones are not, I suggest you PM individual authors, over a period of time, asking them to list, chronologically, all stories that should be in specific series, and change the public indexes and the windows adjacent to those stories accordingly. For future submissions to an ongoing series, that information should be included in the "Notes" section of the submission post.

Chapters of an ongoing story would normally be listed in order, so there should be no problem there, although you do have one story of mine incorrectly listed as part of a series, because of similarity of names. The same situation probably exists on the indexes of some other authors. Corrections of this type could also be made in response to the PMs I mentioned above.

I have always griped about the category "Loving Wives," mostly because of the name. There are actually three kinds of stories in this category: Loving couples, cheaters and swingers. The first could be transferred to Erotic Coupling (or Lesbian or Gay Male, depending on the genders of the persons involved) and the last could be transferred to Group Sex and the rest could remain in the newly-named "Cheaters" category, which might be further broken down into gay male, lesbian and hetero couples.

As for breaking down other categories into hetero, gay male and lesbian, this would be a massive undertaking, requiring the addition of as many as 48 sub-categories. There could especially be a problem in Group Sex, which sometimes has straight. lesbian and gay male sex in the same story, and Novels and Novellas, which can also include all three kinds of coupling. I do believe the end result would be beneficial, but I have to wonder whether or not the benefit would be worth the effort involved.

Last, can you settle a disagreement? I am contending that a story in Erotic Coupling will always consist of one man and one woman. If a third person is involved, it will be in Group Sex and if it involves two men or two women, it will be in Gay Male or Lesbian respectively. Another person on this forum contends that E/C can involve more than two persons and might include only men or only women.

 

[sr71plt]

As usual, you missed the point on erotic coupling altogether, Box. What Stella and I were saying is that erotic coupling doesn't only happen between one man and one woman. To assume it does and that it then provides the total possibilities for a category titled "Erotic Coupling" is just blind "straight" prejudice. But as that defines you, you still aren't going to see the point, are you?

 

[Stella_Omega]

He thinks "not just one man and one woman" means group sex. he's not thinking "one man and another one man" or "one woman and another one woman."

When Box gets that mental choo-choo of his on a track, there's no switchman on this earth that can move him to another line!

 

[freshface]

He thinks "not just one man and one woman" means group sex. he's not thinking "one man and another one man" or "one woman and another one woman."

When Box gets that mental choo-choo of his on a track, there's no switchman on this earth that can move him to another line!

So asking him to wrap his head around the idea that gay comes in more than one flavor is just out of the question, isn't it.

 

[sr71plt]

So asking him to wrap his head around the idea that gay comes in more than one flavor is just out of the question, isn't it.

Yep, that's right.

 

[Boxlicker101]

As usual, you missed the point on erotic coupling altogether, Box. What Stella and I were saying is that erotic coupling doesn't only happen between one man and one woman. To assume it does and that it then provides the total possibilities for a category titled "Erotic Coupling" is just blind "straight" prejudice. But as that defines you, you still aren't going to see the point, are you?

I usually go by the definition of the category, which is:
Erotic Couplings - Wild one-on-one consensual sex.

I am well aware that two men can couple erotically, as can two women. I have written stories about this happening and I have read stories by others on the same subjects. They have usually been posted in the Gay Male or Lesbian category although, depending on ther nature of their coupling, they could be in Incest or Non Consent/Reluctance or somewhere else, but never in Erotic Coupling. This is a catchall category. If a story doesn't fit elsewhere, it goes there. If a story does fit elsewhere, it does not go there. Three ways a story might fit elsewhere are to: involve three or more persons and go to Group Sex, involve erotic coupling among men only and go to Gay Male or involve erotic coupling among only women and go to Lesbian.

I am also aware that three or more persons can couple erotically, and I have even written stories about that and read stories by others. More often than not, they have been in Group sex, but sometimes they have been in some other category, such Transexuals and Crossdressers. They have never been in E/C.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stella_Omega
He thinks "not just one man and one woman" means group sex. he's not thinking "one man and another one man" or "one woman and another one woman."

When Box gets that mental choo-choo of his on a track, there's no switchman on this earth that can move him to another line!

So asking him to wrap his head around the idea that gay comes in more than one flavor is just out of the question, isn't it.

Usually, "gay" is a reference to male homosexuals or a noun meaning a male homosexual. "Lesbian" is a reference to female homosexuals or a noun meaning a female homosexual. I have seen "gay" used in referencing men and women, but that it not the usual usage.

 

[sr71plt]

I usually go by the definition of the category, which is:
Erotic Couplings - Wild one-on-one consensual sex.

And yet no where at all does it say that this must be between one man and one woman--and yet blinder's on folks like you read it as if it does say that.

Which gets us back to square one. To erase the prejudice, there should be an Erotic Coupling category for each of bi, GM, and lesbian--in a nonprejudicial site.

Once more you make the point yourself--and then are among those who don't understand the point you yourself have made.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stella_Omega
He thinks "not just one man and one woman" means group sex. he's not thinking "one man and another one man" or "one woman and another one woman."

When Box gets that mental choo-choo of his on a track, there's no switchman on this earth that can move him to another line!




Usually, "gay" is a reference to male homosexuals or a noun meaning a male homosexual. "Lesbian" is a reference to female homosexuals or a noun meaning a female homosexual. I have seen "gay" used in referencing men and women, but that it not the usual usage.

Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Originally Posted by Boxlicker101
I usually go by the definition of the category, which is:
Erotic Couplings - Wild one-on-one consensual sex.

And yet no where at all does it say that this must be between one man and one woman--and yet blinder's on folks like you read it as if it does say that.

That's true, although this is the way it works out. If you or I were to write a story about a woman sexing two men, and suggested putting it in E/C, our suggestion would not be taken. The story would be posted to Group, unless it was deemed to fit better in another category, such as Anal or NC/R or somewhere else.

Which gets us back to square one. To erase the prejudice, there should be an Erotic Coupling category for each of bi, GM, and lesbian--in a nonprejudicial site.

Once more you make the point yourself--and then are among those who don't understand the point you yourself have made.

Okay, now I understand what you have been carping about. You want both categories, Gay Male and Lesbian to be broken down into one-on-one and group. Currently, an all-male threesome is included in Gay Male and an all woman threesome is in Lesbian. In other words, you want these two categories to be further broken down. This is the way it would work out, you know. There is neither gay nor lesbian sex in E/C unless it got there by accident.

Personally, I would have no problem with such a breakdown. I don't write a lot of Gay Male or Lesbian stories anyhow, and I would have no objection to posting them to changed categories, but I also don't know that I would advocate such a change.

ETA: Once again, I want to emphasize that it is not the author of a story who chooses where to post it. We make suggestions, but Management can choose to accept those suggestions or not.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Yes! You FIGURED IT OUT CONGRATULATIONS!

Sort of.

Jeeeeezuz.

"carping." Is that what you call it?

I call it "a total waste of time trying to explain something absolutely simple to a total moron."

You know what Box...

You don't have a dog in this fight. Please step out of the ring. Someone else's dog is going to bite you. Probably mine.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Yes! You FIGURED IT OUT CONGRATULATIONS!

Sort of.

Jeeeeezuz.

"carping." Is that what you call it?

I call it "a total waste of time trying to explain something absolutely simple to a total moron."

You know what Box...

You don't have a dog in this fight. Please step out of the ring. Someone else's dog is going to bite you. Probably mine.

My faithful dictionary defines "carping" as complaining ineffectively, and that is what you have been doing. You have been insisting that the Literotica category, Erotic Coupling, includes groups of more than two, and that the category should be broken down into straight, gay male and lesbian. I have been insisting that the category consists entirely of straight couples having one on one sex.

If you had said you wanted Lesbian and Gay Male broken down into groups and couples, I would have understood what you meant. I have no particular opinion on that. I don't care one way or another; I can submit stories to either of four categories or either of two. As you say, I have no dog in the fight, now that I know what you mean.

I'm not going to read the entire category, and I wouldn't suggest you do it either but, if somebody did, they would find only straight twosomes, possibly with a few exceptions that got there by accident. I don't know why you kept insisting that E/C could include groups of more than two, and I don't care.

 

[sr71plt]

It isn't usually called carping when it's just a lot of repeating to try to get through to a total idiot. Then it's usually called the patience of a saint.

 

[Stella_Omega]

...You have been insisting that the Literotica category, Erotic Coupling, includes groups of more than two...,

No, honey. Neither sr71plt nor I have EVER ONCE "insisted" that erotic coupling "includes groups of more than two."

Nope. that was you misreading, over and over.

Now that you've gotten the hang of more than one gay and lesbian category, let me send you into a brand new tailspin; We want gay and Lesbian broken down into MORE than two categories, by the way.
belive it or not, gays and lesbians have more than two kinds of sex.

 

[wbam]

Story Series

I like this series feature.

If some part(s) of a series fall into different categories, how about jut posting the series into those different categories simultaneously?

 

[JamesSD]

2. Gay categories - we have a plan. Eventually, we are planning to have a gay section of Literotica where gay stories get their own categories, just like the straight categories. Imagine something like gay.literotica.com where everything on the site is gay stories in their own set of categories - along with some easy way to switch between the gay and straight categories. That's what we imagine. If you have thoughts on that, or if you have ideas for a better way to do it, please do comment.

Seems like a step in the right direction, although it doesn't fix the "Bi-male problem". Although one can argue that problem lies more with the preferences of Lit readers than anything else.

4. Also on the topic of Series, some people have asked what the goal or point of this feature is. Literotica has published a lot of stories over the last 10+ years. What we are trying to do with this and some other features, is to create more ways for readers to find authors and stories that they are interested in.

5. Again, on Series. This is just the beginning of this feature. Imagine in the future, a way for readers to vote and comment on Series. Imagine toplists that only contain Series. Imagine contests for completed Series. And so on. This is not a short term project, but a long term vision to give more exposure to longer length and multi-part works on Literotica.

With the knowledge that this is just the start of the Series feature, please continue to post, or send me, your suggestions for the feature. Anything is possible, and I'm sure there are things that we haven't thought of that you, the authors, will think of

Manual control by the author seems like a useful way of catching the automated errors.

As it stands, the browsing page for series is of limited use. As a reader, I can't remember the last time I said "I want to read a series that starts with the letter D!" Going to a random letter isn't bad for browsing. The blurbs often end up quoting bland author notes. It does give an at-a-glance impression of length, although we all know that one author's 4 chapters is sometimes shorter than another's single chapter. There's no seal of quality, the tiny taglines are tough to read, and unless the title is obvious, there are no tags.

Have I been negative enough? I actually really like how the series thing looks on my author page, and could see it being REALLY useful for series that aren't obviously connected on an author's page. I see tons of potential once it's really implemented.

 

[sr71plt]

Seems like a step in the right direction, although it doesn't fix the "Bi-male problem". Although one can argue that problem lies more with the preferences of Lit readers than anything else.

Can't see how one could sustain such an argument for very long, though. How can you either gauge or build up a readership for a category you don't clearly provide?

 

[balddave2]

I love it! Keep up the great job you've done so far.

 

[shykittyme]

Wow...what a great idea! I love the preview snippets off to the side, as well...it all looks so well organized and easy to use. What a nice new way to get to my favorite series...and more incentive for me to get on the ball and rewrite my additional chapters...

 

[the_dragon]

sorry if im repeating what someone already wrote but is it possible to have one story tagged by multiple different tags? IE a story that has both mind control and incest should be tagged as both instead of just mind control or just incest.

 

[jomar]

sorry if im repeating what someone already wrote but is it possible to have one story tagged by multiple different tags? IE a story that has both mind control and incest should be tagged as both instead of just mind control or just incest.

I don't think it goes by tags, but by story category. It will put a series in several categories based on the category of an individual chapter.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Quote:
Originally Posted by the_dragon
sorry if im repeating what someone already wrote but is it possible to have one story tagged by multiple different tags? IE a story that has both mind control and incest should be tagged as both instead of just mind control or just incest.

I don't think it goes by tags, but by story category. I will put a series in several categories based on the category of an individual chapter.

Except for E/C, I believe most stories can go to several different categories. I exclude E/C because if a story could go somewhere else than there, it would. I mean, an older woman of one race introducing a young woman of another race to Lesbian sex could be classified as Mature, Lesbian, First Time or Interracial. Would it be possible to have such a story available under all those categories, and maybe Toys also, if a strapon was used?

 

[Stella_Omega]

Quote:
Originally Posted by the_dragon
sorry if im repeating what someone already wrote but is it possible to have one story tagged by multiple different tags? IE a story that has both mind control and incest should be tagged as both instead of just mind control or just incest.




Except for E/C, I believe most stories can go to several different categories. I exclude E/C because if a story could go somewhere else than there, it would. I mean, an older woman of one race introducing a young woman of another race to Lesbian sex could be classified as Mature, Lesbian, First Time or Interracial. Would it be possible to have such a story available under all those categories, and maybe Toys also, if a strapon was used?

You can indeed identify a story by as many tags as seem right. I think it's a better system all-around than categories, and I think using both at once is better yet.

ETA;

It would be even better if you could go to the category and then click on tags.

 

[wafflemtl]

...
ETA;

It would be even better if you could go to the category and then click on tags.

100% with you on that. And a definite number of tags cause some of them are rather unhelping and/or redundant.