What is your opinion on including disclaimers at the beginning of a story ?

[Luv4hotwives]

Have you found disclaimers help or hurt?

I know my subject matter won’t appeal to everyone. I’ve tried using disclaimers in some stories to let people know about the subject matter up front. But based on feedback it sounds like there are some people who upon reading said disclaimer stop reading immediately and go 1 star everything. Leaving that out seems to have attracted less hostility and I’ve been more mindful of the categories I choose.

Even so I still get a fair amount of people reading who hate the subject matter. I wonder do a lot of people not read tags?

Which brings me to one other thought. I’ve thought this after going through the comments of other authors stories as well. Why do so many people spend their precious time reading a story that by all indications they’ll very much dislike even before reading the first word. Then waste more time trolling after? I get criticism of the quality of a story, editing, dialogue and so on... That makes sense and is very much expected, but if someone hates the subject matter why read it?

 

[YDB95]

I haven't seen any difference in my readership based on disclaimers. Haters gonna hate, warned or not.

 

[NotWise]

I don't use disclaimers. To me, they're just a flag at the top of the story that says "Don't read this."

And do they work? I doubt it. Readers will pick a story off the New list without even knowing the category. Maybe they read your disclaimer, but maybe they don't. Then it turns out to be a romance, or a GM story. They go on, but maybe they'll leave a nice 1* or 2* egg before they go.

 

[Blind_Justice]

As an author, I find them a necessary evil. I've got too many complaints to the tune of "you should have warned me this and that would happen!" Attaching disclaimers makes it harder to surprise and shock the reader. I was under the impression we're all self-aware adults on this site, but said complaints have thoroughly readjusted that notion. Now I'm treating my readers like precious snowflakes.

 

[SisterJezabel]

I think it depends on the disclaimer. I saw one recently that warned there was finger in ass play and the author knew there were those that hate all kinds of ass play. I guess there are all sorts then, but I would never have thought to warn for that!

I really dislike the all characters are over 18 comments, even though people claim it gets their story published. If your text implies the character is acting in an under 18 way then it should not be approved according to the rules.

 

[Voboy]

My "disclaimers" started as forewords, placing the story into the broader scope of my other stories. Very occasionally they've added in warnings, mostly where I suspected Laurel might have an issue; I wanted to head her off.

Has it made a difference? How would anyone ever know?

 

[NotWise]

I really dislike the all characters are over 18 comments, even though people claim it gets their story published. If your text implies the character is acting in an under 18 way then it should not be approved according to the rules.

I second this. "Over 18" is my least-favorite disclaimer. To me, it implies that the story and characters are immature.

 

[AlexBailey]

It depends on the category and the content of the story.

I write in Transgender / Crossdressers, but a lot of my material may be objectionable to many who would choose that category. I don't want readers to get into my story and find something they would be uncomfortable with.

If you find a story in the new story hub, the only way to find the tags is to select the story and flip to the last page. Searching in the tags hub turns up anything with that tag, regardless of what other tags it may also carry.


I think of it less as a 'disclaimer' than as the synopsis in a back cover blurb of a hard copy book.


This is the note I put at the beginning of my series:



_________________________

Hello!

This is part one of a full length novel in four parts. It's a gender-fluid, 'what if everything fell into place,' fantasy about self-discovery, coming out and coming of age. It explores pansexuality, cross-dressing and several fetishes -- especially for things like swimsuits and athletic-wear. Some parts have bondage and D/s themes. There are family dynamics and dysfunctions, social conflict and misconceived religious interventions. The enthusiasm and foolishness of youth is at play, and there is experimentation with drugs. Some characters are hostile and bring a touch of violence, and of course, there is a lot of kinky sexual adventure, often gilded with loving romance. All characters are 18+. Enjoy!

_________________________


Even with this warning, I had a few comments by readers who were turned off by the use of the drug ecstasy, so I'm guessing they probably skipped over the disclaimer anyway. Also, most of the characters are high school seniors, so I feel saying 18+ is important.

 

[Bramblethorn]

My current story involves a couple of chapters of vanilla content before BDSM becomes a bigger part of the story. I know not everybody's into that, and it seems like basic courtesy to let them know what they're starting on before they get invested in a story that's going to go way outside their comfort zone.

From comments, I know at least one reader did see that disclaimer and decide "nope, not for me".

(And then, having read my other stories, they made an informed decision to come back and try it after all. That's cool too!)

 

[KeithD]

No disclaimers here. I think they suggest weakness and point out where to find it. You are supposed to be an adult to read here, so you should be able to back out of something you suddenly don't like without fainting. I do try to cover the most extreme elements to be found in the keywords, which also is the reader's responsibility to check if they tend to be squeamish about something. This is a sex story site for adults.

What I provide on chaptered series is a declaration that the writing is finished, how many chapters are included, and an estimate when posting will be completed. I let them know that if they start reading it now, they'll reach the end of a completed story by X date. I won't just ramble on or waltz off without reaching a conclusion.

 

[SamScribble]

I wonder do a lot of people not read tags?

I suspect that very few people read tags.

 

[Luv4hotwives]

I think it depends on the disclaimer. I saw one recently that warned there was finger in ass play and the author knew there were those that hate all kinds of ass play. I guess there are all sorts then, but I would never have thought to warn for that!

I really dislike the all characters are over 18 comments, even though people claim it gets their story published. If your text implies the character is acting in an under 18 way then it should not be approved according to the rules.

Yeah I assume they do in fact have characters under 18 and the statement is just a cover.

 

[SimonDoom]

I really dislike the all characters are over 18 comments, even though people claim it gets their story published. If your text implies the character is acting in an under 18 way then it should not be approved according to the rules.

I agree. I don't personally get worked up about stories involving people under 18, but the Site has its rules and it's fair to respect them. If the story makes it clear that the characters are over 18 (which, on this Site, it should), then no disclaimer is needed. And if it doesn't, then the disclaimer is disingenuous. I feel like I'm getting the "wink wink" treatment when I see this disclaimer.

 

[Blind_Justice]

I agree. I don't personally get worked up about stories involving people under 18, but the Site has its rules and it's fair to respect them. If the story makes it clear that the characters are over 18 (which, on this Site, it should), then no disclaimer is needed. And if it doesn't, then the disclaimer is disingenuous. I feel like I'm getting the "wink wink" treatment when I see this disclaimer.

I have been repeatedly falsely flagged for underage content. The disclaimer in conjunction with a duplicate notice in the ADMIN field seems to have fixed that. So, no, not everyone posting an "everyone boinking in here is an adult" notice is skirting the rules.

 

[KeithD]

I suspect that very few people read tags.

That doesn't diminish their responsibility to do so if they are looking for guidance on whether to read something or have the vapors. This is an adult site. I don't believe in babysitting on an adult site. I believe in adults taking responsibility for their own reading. So, I don't do it. I don't read many stories here, but I don't think I'd bother to read further than than defensive babysitting proslug.

 

[SimonDoom]

I have been repeatedly falsely flagged for underage content. The disclaimer in conjunction with a duplicate notice in the ADMIN field seems to have fixed that. So, no, not everyone posting an "everyone boinking in here is an adult" notice is skirting the rules.

OK, that's a fair point. I don't mean to impugn people's intentions. If you're just trying to navigate your way around the Site's peculiarities, then nobody can or should blame you for that. I don't.

But if the disclaimer makes a difference in terms of getting your story approved, then there's something wrong with the approval criteria. The story ought to be able to stand on its own, with or without a disclaimer.

 

[NotWise]

If you find a story in the new story hub, the only way to find the tags is to select the story and flip to the last page. Searching in the tags hub turns up anything with that tag, regardless of what other tags it may also carry.

This was true with the old story page, but not with the new one. In the new story page, there's a "story info" block to the top right of the first page that contains a "tags" icon. Click on it and you get the tags.

After years of sameness, changes are coming to Lit pretty quickly.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I put a disclaimer in my India vs Australia story stating it mentioned Vegemite. I had a comment in a previous story making it down because of “that horrible crap.”

 

[SimonDoom]

I put a disclaimer in my India vs Australia story stating it mentioned Vegemite. I had a comment in a previous story making it down because of “that horrible crap.”

But aren't you worried that you'll just draw the vegemite haters?

 

[JJA122]

Feels like the best disclaimer is the title and description you give the story.

 

[Bramblethorn]

But aren't you worried that you'll just draw the vegemite haters?

It'd be pretty quiet without them.

 

[Emirus]

This is the note I put at the beginning of my series:
_________________________

Hello!

This is part one of a full length novel in four parts. It's a gender-fluid, 'what if everything fell into place,' fantasy about self-discovery, coming out and coming of age. It explores pansexuality, cross-dressing and several fetishes -- especially for things like swimsuits and athletic-wear. Some parts have bondage and D/s themes. There are family dynamics and dysfunctions, social conflict and misconceived religious interventions. The enthusiasm and foolishness of youth is at play, and there is experimentation with drugs. Some characters are hostile and bring a touch of violence, and of course, there is a lot of kinky sexual adventure, often gilded with loving romance. All characters are 18+. Enjoy!

_________________________


Even with this warning, I had a few comments by readers who were turned off by the use of the drug ecstasy, so I'm guessing they probably skipped over the disclaimer anyway. Also, most of the characters are high school seniors, so I feel saying 18+ is important.

I would never have read your explanation because it’s just one long block of text containing a lot of information. I think you’re correct in saying, “I’m guessing they probably skipped over the disclaimer,” although not always for the reason I’ve given.

If you feel you need to give all that information, and I don’t think you do, I would suggest if you’d split it up it would have made it more readable and understandable. So this is how I would have set it out to make sure the potential reader knew what was coming. But it is only my personal opinion and so I’m not necessarily correct.

**********

This is part one of a full length novel in four parts. It’s a gender fluid,‘what if everything fell into place,’ fantasy about self discovery, coming out and coming of age.

It explores pansecuality, cross dressing and several fetishes — especially for things like swimsuits and athletic wear. Some parts have bondage and D/s themes.

There are family dynamics and dysfunctions, social conflict and misconceived religious interventions. The enthusiasm and foolishness of youth is in play, and there is experimentation with drugs.

Some characters are hostile and bring a touch of violence and, of course, there is a lot of kinky sexual adventure, often gilded with living romance. All characters are 28+. Enjoy!

**********

It is only my personal opinion and others will no doubt disagree but, just as in an actual story, an introductory explanation should always be easy to read.

 

[Rustyoznail]

But aren't you worried that you'll just draw the vegemite haters?

Haters are gonna hate, disclaimer or no.

If the peanut butter and jelly crowd take no notice, well, what can I do?

 

[Phantom300]

I both use and find disclaimers useful.

There are certain things I'm just not into. A warning that the story may contain such items is a good way to let the reader know not to waste their time & risk an undeserved bad rating.

On my more recent stories, I also included a blurb about there not being much in the way of actual sex, and I think it has helped avoid what I feared would be undeserved lower scores.

And no, scores aren't the, be all, end all, but I believe we all want validation on some level or another, (or why publish in public to begin with?) and that's the more obvious way to get it here. I'd rather include the blurb and give the reader some heads up than get an unexpected 1 rating for including some unexpected BDSM or whatever because a reader gets turned off by it.

Perhaps the new layout minimizes that, but before the beta rollout, you had to put in effort to see the tags included in a story.

I also thank my editor/beta-reader(s) if used.

I also include the 18+ thing in mine, not as a crutch, but more as a failsafe. I'd like to think my characters are fleshed out enough that it is obvious that they aren't immature enough to be mistaken as underage, but I'm also not confident enough in my writing to Not include it either.

As always, YMMV

 

[Emirus]

Disclaimer means denying responsibility.

The dictionary definition of a disclaimer is, “a statement that denies something, especially esponsibility.”

So, in the context that’s being discussed, using the word disclaimer it incorrect. You’ve written a story, put it in the public domain, and don’t accept responsibility for what you’ve done? Surely that can’t be right? I always think of it as an “introductory explanation” which doesn’t necessarily make it a warning about content.

I’ve always put an introductory explanation at the beginning of a story, mainly to make it more enticing, but on two occasions have included a warning about content. As to whether people read them I don’t think everyone does and many dive straight into the story.

I wrote a parody of the tv series Dynasty which was, naturally, set in the 1980’s. The very last sentence of my introduction, perhaps I should have made it a separate sentence, was the following:

“By the way, I know cellphones, as we know them, didn’t exist in the 1980’s but I needed it for the plot.”

Simple enough to understand? Apparently not for one reader who commented my reference in the story to a cellphone was wrong and he’d therefore voted 4 instead of 5. Which, to my mind, is evidence some people don’t read the introduction. But I’ll still continue to write an introductory explanation because, apart from anything else, the story description allowed doesn’t give you many words to tell the potential reader much about the story.

As an aside, when I see a story submitted in chapters and the description of every chapter is the same I tend to think, “if that’s an example if the writer’s imagination is the story worth reading?”