Overage disclaimer

[PWilton]

There Has To Be a Boundary

I, for one, agree with the age 18 boundary. Think about it -- suppose for some reason it got reset to 17. Then all kinds of moaning and groaning about why not 16. And on and on. Keep it at 18, otherwise, where does it end?

 

[OmnislashXX]

Honestly? I would probably say 16 and not any younger than that. And the reasons for that are because most teens are sexually active by then. A story about how lost virginity for instance probably feels more realistic than when It's someone in college. Sure, it's possible, but making characters older might not be what the author has in mind. It's not the story that the person wants to tell. But I'm not here to discuss Laurel's rules or dispute them.

 

[jaF0]

I, for one, agree with the age 18 boundary. Think about it -- suppose for some reason it got reset to 17. Then all kinds of moaning and groaning about why not 16. And on and on. Keep it at 18, otherwise, where does it end?

Numbers are arbitrary. In many states you can marry at 16, some younger with parental permission.

At 18, you can vote and join the military to learn how to kill proficiently.

But you can't buy a drink or a cigarette until you're 21.

Go figure.

 

[SimonDoom]

Honestly? I would probably say 16 and not any younger than that. And the reasons for that are because most teens are sexually active by then. A story about how lost virginity for instance probably feels more realistic than when It's someone in college. Sure, it's possible, but making characters older might not be what the author has in mind. It's not the story that the person wants to tell. But I'm not here to discuss Laurel's rules or dispute them.

From an artistic point of view, I think 16 makes more sense as a cutoff. 16 is closer to the age at which the average person actually loses his/her virginity, and it's a more plausible age for "coming of age" type stories, some of which I've found have been very good. I also think it is extremely likely that an author or publisher would get in any legal trouble for stories about 16-17 year olds having sex. They're clearly post-pubescent at that point, and in a biological sense have reached their sexual prime.

But I understand Laurel wanting to set 18 as a hard and fast cutoff age. It conforms to the most conservative jurisdictions in the US, and I think elsewhere, and it's simple to remember, and it most clearly avoids any legal fuss or trouble.

 

[OmnislashXX]

From an artistic point of view, I think 16 makes more sense as a cutoff. 16 is closer to the age at which the average person actually loses his/her virginity, and it's a more plausible age for "coming of age" type stories, some of which I've found have been very good. I also think it is extremely likely that an author or publisher would get in any legal trouble for stories about 16-17 year olds having sex. They're clearly post-pubescent at that point, and in a biological sense have reached their sexual prime.

But I understand Laurel wanting to set 18 as a hard and fast cutoff age. It conforms to the most conservative jurisdictions in the US, and I think elsewhere, and it's simple to remember, and it most clearly avoids any legal fuss or trouble.

Yes. Most of the hentai stories you come across deals with schoolgirls for instance. At the beginning of the show though, they often say the characters are of legal age, but It's strongly hinted at otherwise.

 

[NotWise]

From an artistic point of view, I think 16 makes more sense as a cutoff. 16 is closer to the age at which the average person actually loses his/her virginity, and it's a more plausible age for "coming of age" type stories, some of which I've found have been very good.

There's actually a study (funded by Durex) of the average age of first sex. In the US and western Europe, it's 18. It's later in Japan, and earlier in northern Europe.

 

[OmnislashXX]

But all are usually in their last year of high school or their first year of college. So it's entirely plausible to do a story about an eighteen year old girl, who is in high school who has younger friends.

I think the point has to be made though, that the character is 18, even if you need to put the disclaimer in.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

'Moot', meet 'Point'.

One could make an argument, I suppose, for 13 being the minimum age, based on the fact that the most renowned love story in English literature centres on a 13-year-old girl who marries a boy about her own age and spends a night in 'marital bliss'.

But we aren't Shakespeare, we aren't writing about Romeo or Juliet and we are bound by the '18-year-old' rule of the site we choose to contribute to. Everything else, however fun to discuss, is just spinning our wheels. If there's any doubt, just come out and say it and get on with life.

 

[Hypoxia]

How-2 Change LIT's underage, snuff, and bestiality rules:

1. Buy LIT from Laurel and Manu.
2. Change any rules you want.

Otherwise, we know the parameters, the limits. Everyone's gotta have limits or we just shoot off into the void.

 

[KeithD]

Think you guys need to wrap this thread up. The next underage thread is expected to drop in twenty minutes.

 

[moonflasher]

Think you guys need to wrap this thread up. The next underage thread is expected to drop in twenty minutes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[OmnislashXX]

Yeah. Keith is an ass, ao what? It's not like I know him enough to care.

As for the threads....maybe there wouldn't be so many if Laurel lightened up on the restriction a bit. But like I said before, there are other places to go.

 

[Voboy]

Is Keith a fucking asshole or what....Just ask around and he has no problem proving it with every post .

He can be. This isn't one of those times.

Because he's also been here awhile, and he's not wrong often. He's certainly right about this. These threads show up constantly. The posts are always the same. The "answer" is always the same. There are always newer posters who excitedly post about what Laurel "should" do. There are always tired responses about how there's nothing to be done but to toe the line or post elsewhere.

Feathers are ruffled. Feelings are hurt. Stories are rejected. Defiant proclamations are made. And, in the end, nothing changes. So the AH merely reloads for the next such thread. Rinse and repeat.

I don't blame Keith for being annoyed sometimes. Nobody's got a gun to his head, forcing him to post the same thing over and over again, but he does. It's bothered me too, but I think he's trying to be helpful. However he's then seeing the same tired rejoinders to his same old advice, and that gets old.

ETA: Oh my! Your anti-Keith message is in your SIG! Wow. Not like you posted here with an axe to grind, obviously.

 

[KeithD]

ETA: Oh my! Your anti-Keith message is in your SIG! Wow. Not like you posted here with an axe to grind, obviously.

Moonflasher is a GB alt whose sole mission and posting history in Lit. life is to harass me. I'm mortified by it all, of course--and a bit honored at the dedication to me.

 

[KeithD]

I'm more than somewhat amused by the criticism of late that I give the same-old-same-old advice. I don't really know of any of the regulars here who don't give their same-old-same-old advice to the same-old-same-old issues posted here. Do you?

Perhaps the superior and always oh-so-helpful OmnislashXX can give us our marching orders in his usual "show up now and again and, 'since I've posted two stories here in fifteen years, the last one four years ago,' instruct us" style.

 

[moonflasher]

Moonflasher is a GB alt whose sole mission and posting history in Lit. life is to harass me. I'm mortified by it all, of course--and a bit honored at the dedication to me.

And you said you had me on ignore

 

[Voboy]

I'm more than somewhat amused by the criticism of late that I give the same-old-same-old advice. I don't really know of any of the regulars here who don't give their same-old-same-old advice to the same-old-same-old issues posted here. Do you?

Perhaps the superior and always oh-so-helpful OmnislashXX can give us our marching orders in his usual "show up now and again and, 'since I've posted two stories here in fifteen years, the last one four years ago,' instruct us" style.

Don’t get me wrong. In this case, there’s a reason your advice is “same-old...” it’s good advice.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Numbers are arbitrary. In many states you can marry at 16, some younger with parental permission.

Some states have no statutory minimum age for marriage beyond "what a judge will sign off on". It's not long since Tennessee was marrying off 10-year-olds.

From an artistic point of view, I think 16 makes more sense as a cutoff. 16 is closer to the age at which the average person actually loses his/her virginity, and it's a more plausible age for "coming of age" type stories, some of which I've found have been very good.

https://www.whijournal.com/article/S1049-38671400008-5/abstract

"Women's and men's median ages at first sex declined through the 1978 birth cohort, but increased slightly since then, to 17.8 years for women and 18.1 for men. "

I found other references giving a median age of about 17, attributed to CDC, but I haven't managed to track down the CDC source.

So it looks like about 17-18 is the typical age for the USA - but of course there will be plenty of people whose experiences fall on either side of that midpoint, some much younger or older. 16 is plausible, 18 is plausible, 20 is plausible.

But I understand Laurel wanting to set 18 as a hard and fast cutoff age. It conforms to the most conservative jurisdictions in the US, and I think elsewhere, and it's simple to remember, and it most clearly avoids any legal fuss or trouble.

That, and the lower the age, the greater the risk of attracting unsavory types who might cause the site problems. Nobody wants to be featured in a "pedophile used stories from X site to groom victims" story.

(Bahrain's AoC was 21 years, last I looked, but I doubt L&M are trying to keep this site acceptable to Bahrain's standards.)

 

[OmnislashXX]

You can do whatever you like. I am just giving you the reasons why the subject comes up all the time. Things won't change on this website. Hence, we'll continue to hear about the subject.

 

[Hypoxia]

You can do whatever you like. I am just giving you the reasons why the subject comes up all the time. Things won't change on this website. Hence, we'll continue to hear about the subject.

Because newbs don't read rules and thread archives, and do mistake LIT for somewhere else with other rules and histories. "Well, why can't my underage charge die while fucking a dog?" Because that breaks'em all. Learn.

 

[OmnislashXX]

Uh, by the way. I want to apologize to Keith, as nothing that He said beforehand warranted me to talk bad about him. I have been in a foul mood today but I should not be taking it out on random people.

 

[LexxRuthless]

Uh, by the way. I want to apologize to Keith, as nothing that He said beforehand warranted me to talk bad about him. I have been in a foul mood today but I should not be taking it out on random people.

Keith is not random people! How dare you!

Just wanted to weigh in on this briefly. I had two of my early stories kicked from the site for obliquely referencing a character having sex before they were 18. Since then, I just include a "standard disclaimer" at the beginning of each story stating that all characters participating in sex are over 18, and it has not been a problem since. I'm not a fan of the "boilerplate disclaimer" but I use it just to keep from having the issues described in the OP.

 

[ThisNameIsntTakenYet]

Just wanted to weigh in on this briefly. I had two of my early stories kicked from the site for obliquely referencing a character having sex before they were 18. Since then, I just include a "standard disclaimer" at the beginning of each story stating that all characters participating in sex are over 18, and it has not been a problem since. I'm not a fan of the "boilerplate disclaimer" but I use it just to keep from having the issues described in the OP.

I put the "characters are 18 or older" disclaimer on my nude day story because it featured characters who had just graduated high school, so could potentially be underage. I'll probably use it on future stories if it's not blatantly clear from the setting and plot that the characters are of age, but I'll leave it out when there's no reasonable chance of that confusion. I have a feeling it might help prevent the story from getting send back occasionally should Laurel be not 100% sure the characters are of age.

 

[astuffedshirt_perv]

As I said in the original post, I had quickly resubmitted with a note for the reviewer that 'all characters are hs seniors as demonstrated by graduation and college talk'. The story was approved and is now posted without any direct mention of character ages.

So there's that.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Still, most seniors graduate at 17 in the states.

My two cents...

1. not my site, so I follow the rules set down by the owners.

2. when all else fails, see rule #1.