H
HandsInTheDark
Guest
This is canned text I'm going to start dropping into threads where the 18 rule gets discussed. The hope is that if I do it fast enough, pointless discussion might get shortcutted. This thread is not intended as a ground for argument; and unless you go by Laurel here I'm not interested in your sass concerning this material, though I'm interested in ideas for improving it.
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This is a privately owned site. All of Literotica is owned and moderated by a single person, who goes by Laurel. She makes her livelihood from it. All that gives her the unquestionable and unlimited right to reject or subsequently delete any story, forum post or comment she thinks isn't in the site's best interest. She and she alone gets to decide what that means.
One of the biggest surprises people get on coming here as a writer, is the "18" rule. As the rule is written, no character in a story can be under 18 if they are exposed to sexual situations of any sort.
You are not the first person to ask about this rule. You probably aren't the first person in the last 30 days, which is why some replies you get from other authors may seem grumpy. We see these questions a lot.
The 18 rule, like everything else here, is interpreted and applied by Laurel, and she takes a conservative stance with this one - if she thinks a story is going to encourage people to think about sex with people under 18, she'll generally reject it. That means that it's not enough to state your character is 18. He or (generally) she has to act 18+ as well. In Laurel's opinion, not yours.
Note that this rule isn't in place because of any existing laws. There are few if any countries where a written story describing sex between seventeen years olds is illegal. That's not the point. The argument "but the law says it's legal!" is meaningless here. This is Laurel's site, aka her property, and she's not required to accept stories just because the law doesn't forbid them. This is not a free speech issue because private properties (like Literotica) are not required to allow free speech. The internet *in general* is not a haven for free speech - someone owns those servers you are using, whatever site you go to, and that gives them the right to filter content they don't like. The rules are just more pronounced here than you may be used to.
Note that the rule has nothing to do with pedophilia. Pedophilia is an interest in pre-pubescent children, formally defined as age 12 and younger. The under 18 rule is in response to different concerns - but it should be trivially apparent that an actual pedophile story is beyond unacceptable here, and generally anywhere. You'll be banned from the site if you push for this - at least, that's what I'd do.
Evidence suggests Laurel is firm, but reasonably even-handed, in implementing her interpretation of her "18" rule. If you're here because the story was rejected, you probably weren't singled out and you're definitely not alone. Rewrite your story until it passes muster. Or take it to a site without such rules. Those are your only options.
Because the interpretation of the rule is (apparently) intended to stop stories from making people think about sex with under 18's, there are a few red flags which may cause your story to get extra scrutiny and a higher chance of rejection:
1. characters in High school. Not many people in high school in the US are actually 18. Some authors here feel strongly that any mention of high school is an attempt to imply to the readership that your "18 year old" is really younger, in short that you're speaking in a kind of code and luring people to think about underage characters. Laurel may or may not agree. If you want to write about an 18 year old in high school, you may want to discuss it with Laurel first (use the Private Message mechanism - don't ask in a forum here.)
2. Characters described as having physical characteristics that sound more like 14 than 18. Slight breasts on someone just turned 18, a beard just starting to come in, excessively junivile behaviour - all these are going to look to many people like you're attempting to sneak an underage character in, and are very likely to get a story rejected.
3. Historical setting for stories. Romeo and Juliet is probably not what you'd consider racy filth; but Juliet lost her virginity at fourteen. That story would certainly be rejected here. It has a fine moral message, it was startling but not shocking when it was written, and it's clearly a well crafted story, but none of that matters here. Just because laws about the age of consent have varied quite a bit historically, doesn't mean they vary here.
4. Incest stories. In the real world, incest is almost always tied to underage sexuality and hence is abusive by definition. Despite the fact that the site has an Incest category, stories in that category should never depict incest as it most commonly occurs in the real world. It's largely a fantasy category.
5. Fantasy stories. I once submitted a story about a 6,000 year old succubus; i.e., not underage and not human. It was rejected under the "18" rule because the character, in human form, was described as "not of an age to be married". I didn't even define what the marriage age was - but Laurel decided it was too risky for her site. Take that lesson to heart.
6. First time stories. Statistically speaking, in the US at least, you probably lost your virginity at an age younger than 18. (The average age of first sexual experience was hovering around 17.9 when I last looked). Sorry, you can't write an accurate account of it in that case. You have to change the character's ages. Laurel is likely to look for evidence that you're hinting at younger ages in other ways, so write carefully.
Please note that occasionally an underage story "gets past" Laurel and gets posted. If you see one, report it using the [!] reporting mechanism at the bottom of most pages. Finding such stories doesn't give you permission to write under 18. It gives you an obligation to report it, so people don't get confused about the rules.
Yes, there are a few people here who think the "18" rule is unnecessary and onerous. But that doesn't matter. Authors do not make the rules here. We can't help you convince anyone, least of all Laurel, that the rule is wrong. We know better than to try, so please don't waste time agitating for change. It's not happening.
Good luck, and welcome to Literotica.
---
This is a privately owned site. All of Literotica is owned and moderated by a single person, who goes by Laurel. She makes her livelihood from it. All that gives her the unquestionable and unlimited right to reject or subsequently delete any story, forum post or comment she thinks isn't in the site's best interest. She and she alone gets to decide what that means.
One of the biggest surprises people get on coming here as a writer, is the "18" rule. As the rule is written, no character in a story can be under 18 if they are exposed to sexual situations of any sort.
You are not the first person to ask about this rule. You probably aren't the first person in the last 30 days, which is why some replies you get from other authors may seem grumpy. We see these questions a lot.
The 18 rule, like everything else here, is interpreted and applied by Laurel, and she takes a conservative stance with this one - if she thinks a story is going to encourage people to think about sex with people under 18, she'll generally reject it. That means that it's not enough to state your character is 18. He or (generally) she has to act 18+ as well. In Laurel's opinion, not yours.
Note that this rule isn't in place because of any existing laws. There are few if any countries where a written story describing sex between seventeen years olds is illegal. That's not the point. The argument "but the law says it's legal!" is meaningless here. This is Laurel's site, aka her property, and she's not required to accept stories just because the law doesn't forbid them. This is not a free speech issue because private properties (like Literotica) are not required to allow free speech. The internet *in general* is not a haven for free speech - someone owns those servers you are using, whatever site you go to, and that gives them the right to filter content they don't like. The rules are just more pronounced here than you may be used to.
Note that the rule has nothing to do with pedophilia. Pedophilia is an interest in pre-pubescent children, formally defined as age 12 and younger. The under 18 rule is in response to different concerns - but it should be trivially apparent that an actual pedophile story is beyond unacceptable here, and generally anywhere. You'll be banned from the site if you push for this - at least, that's what I'd do.
Evidence suggests Laurel is firm, but reasonably even-handed, in implementing her interpretation of her "18" rule. If you're here because the story was rejected, you probably weren't singled out and you're definitely not alone. Rewrite your story until it passes muster. Or take it to a site without such rules. Those are your only options.
Because the interpretation of the rule is (apparently) intended to stop stories from making people think about sex with under 18's, there are a few red flags which may cause your story to get extra scrutiny and a higher chance of rejection:
1. characters in High school. Not many people in high school in the US are actually 18. Some authors here feel strongly that any mention of high school is an attempt to imply to the readership that your "18 year old" is really younger, in short that you're speaking in a kind of code and luring people to think about underage characters. Laurel may or may not agree. If you want to write about an 18 year old in high school, you may want to discuss it with Laurel first (use the Private Message mechanism - don't ask in a forum here.)
2. Characters described as having physical characteristics that sound more like 14 than 18. Slight breasts on someone just turned 18, a beard just starting to come in, excessively junivile behaviour - all these are going to look to many people like you're attempting to sneak an underage character in, and are very likely to get a story rejected.
3. Historical setting for stories. Romeo and Juliet is probably not what you'd consider racy filth; but Juliet lost her virginity at fourteen. That story would certainly be rejected here. It has a fine moral message, it was startling but not shocking when it was written, and it's clearly a well crafted story, but none of that matters here. Just because laws about the age of consent have varied quite a bit historically, doesn't mean they vary here.
4. Incest stories. In the real world, incest is almost always tied to underage sexuality and hence is abusive by definition. Despite the fact that the site has an Incest category, stories in that category should never depict incest as it most commonly occurs in the real world. It's largely a fantasy category.
5. Fantasy stories. I once submitted a story about a 6,000 year old succubus; i.e., not underage and not human. It was rejected under the "18" rule because the character, in human form, was described as "not of an age to be married". I didn't even define what the marriage age was - but Laurel decided it was too risky for her site. Take that lesson to heart.
6. First time stories. Statistically speaking, in the US at least, you probably lost your virginity at an age younger than 18. (The average age of first sexual experience was hovering around 17.9 when I last looked). Sorry, you can't write an accurate account of it in that case. You have to change the character's ages. Laurel is likely to look for evidence that you're hinting at younger ages in other ways, so write carefully.
Please note that occasionally an underage story "gets past" Laurel and gets posted. If you see one, report it using the [!] reporting mechanism at the bottom of most pages. Finding such stories doesn't give you permission to write under 18. It gives you an obligation to report it, so people don't get confused about the rules.
Yes, there are a few people here who think the "18" rule is unnecessary and onerous. But that doesn't matter. Authors do not make the rules here. We can't help you convince anyone, least of all Laurel, that the rule is wrong. We know better than to try, so please don't waste time agitating for change. It's not happening.
Good luck, and welcome to Literotica.
