Would you pay a subscription to Literotica if it led to better service?

[DEFCOM5]

Yes, I know there is, but don't ever use those; they make the "publisher" money and FU in the ass.

Without lube nor preparation and without a kiss .....

The worst part is when the sucker has to buy back the unsold copies, per the contract

 

[dirk2024]

Laurel & Manu won't let my answer to be posted.

I don't blame them. I wouldn't want my income to be blasted over the internet either. We are not entitled to that information.

 

[crookedletter]

Would you pay a subscription to Literotica if it led to better service?

Absolutely not. Unless that "service" consisted of far more than a place to post content. Maybe if there was some kind of sales structure, where a certain level of success with stories gives you a chance to make your money back and potentially turn a profit. Even still, that would likely smell a little scammy to me, and chances are I wouldn't have landed here in the first place.

 

[SmilingLez]

And that's why my answer is sarcasm and hyperbole (as noted).

I don't understand why we as a group spend so much time discussing things that just don't matter instead of honing our craft and creating relationships.

Come on, we don't have any clue what's going on with the site, how much help Laurel and Manu have, what their priorities are, how complex some of the stuff they're doing might be, yet we sit out here in our echo chamber and complain like any of this shit matters. If my 90 stories weren't here, if I never wrote another one, it wouldn't matter to anyone. Sure a few might miss me, but that would be short lived.

I get tired of people complaining because the site isn't meeting their individual expectations, that they didn't get the treatment they expect, that laurel didn't respond to their 157th complaint about someone bombing their stories when the math shows it statically doesn't happen that often. And so what if it does. That stupid number isn't real, anyway. What are we, a bunch of narcissists, a bunch of toddlers who don't want to take a nap?

Grow up people. Write the stories you want to write and set them loose into the ether and move on to the next one.

Verifiable facts

1. Laurel and Manu need to make money in order to keep this site up
2. Radio silence about "pending purgatory"

 

[MillieDynamite]

If people have to pay to read, there will be fewer readers. This would reduce the number of authors willing to publish, since most of the authors here aren't publishing books on sales sites.

 

[TheJizzWizard]

Hell no. I would perhaps be ok with an optional sub like pillowfort has to go towards running costs, which is more like a donation with purely cosmetic rewards and a larger image file upload limit. Full monetisation of the site would kill it, with a diminished audience and if there ends up being a tiered structure (there always is, eventually) then better off authors will get all the attention because they can buy visibility. I like the way the site is. It's one of the few places left on the internet that feels like how it used to be. Most sites now are impossible to read and offer nothing of value. There could be some better protections for authors from abusive comments, but other than that, I can't really see what improvements would actually be beneficial. I can put my stories here, and people are reading them. Way more than I ever expected when I started.

 

[Justplainjeff]

I don't blame them. I wouldn't want my income to be blasted over the internet either. We are not entitled to that information.

Yes, but even their state's Attorney General could find a definitive income for them. Neither could the United States Attorney for the Eastern district of their state.

 

[Justplainjeff]

Couldn't

 

[SimonDoom]

Yes, but even their state's Attorney General could find a definitive income for them. Neither could the United States Attorney for the Eastern district of their state.

OK, so let it lie. That's not something you should be digging into, and it's not something you should broadcast here even if you somehow found out the data.

 

[MillieDynamite]

The site owners live in the USA; therefore, they are required to submit taxes and disclose all their income. Just because you can't find a total, doesn't mean A. They don't report it to the government. B. That the IRS can't find what that income is or how much it is. And C. if they haven't reported all income, they have a lot more to worry about than who is or isn't using AI.

Yes, but even their state's Attorney General could find a definitive income for them. Neither could the United States Attorney for the Eastern district of their state.

 

[ebony_pussy]

The argument that is always put to anyone with any issue with the site is, “It’s a free site, ask for a refund.” The obvious rejoinder is, “But they are running a business.”

But… putting out money where our mouths are, would you consider paying a subscription to Literotica if it led to better conditions for authors?

Not a writer, not sure if you want a regular member's response, but I'll jump in.

I would not pay for the basic service or a premium membership. I have some fun here but could live without it.

I think the social compact we have here is, we get the service free and will accept some flaws. But the service requires SOME level of effort and investment or people won't use it even if it's free.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Not a writer, not sure if you want a regular member's response, but I'll jump in.

I would not pay for the basic service or a premium membership. I have some fun here but could live without it.

I think the social compact we have here is, we get the service free and will accept some flaws. But the service requires SOME level of effort and investment or people won't use it even if it's free.

I wasn’t suggesting readers pay.

 

[dirk2024]

Not a writer, not sure if you want a regular member's response, but I'll jump in.

I would not pay for the basic service or a premium membership. I have some fun here but could live without it.

I think the social compact we have here is, we get the service free and will accept some flaws. But the service requires SOME level of effort and investment or people won't use it even if it's free.

Sure, you get a say as you invest your time here.

 

[ebony_pussy]

I wasn’t suggesting readers pay.

Ok sorry

 

[jsmiam]

…

I sure as hell never begged for attention from other authors or readers. Desperate and needy aren't positive traits in any field. Here's my story, hope you like it, but if not, okay, I'm already on the next one.

…

Welcome back. As someone who remembers a time when you were “the sane one” (circa 10 years or more ago now), I still find myself hoping for the day you de-radicalize yourself, turn in your tin-foil hat, and return from the brink. But I partly digress. I say “partly” because you harshly and regularly criticize things you do yourself, on a regular basis. That’s “brink” territory.

Also btw, in another thread kelziegirl, in a dig toward Emily, chastised anyone who announced their departure (and more generally engages in seeking attention too). This may affect your membership statuses (statii?) in one another’s fan clubs.

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/when-theres-nothing-left-to-do-and-winding-down.1621276/

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/this-13th-day-marks-my.1587561/ (Be sure to keep reading through post number two. )

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/oh-how-great-thou-arent.781099/ - from 2011, an “I’m leaving” announcement

There’s one in particular I recall that was the one I was actually looking for. There’s a chance it’s one of the ones above, and an equal chance it’s still out there.

Next: These last one(s) were replies, not threads started by lc (all the above are) so not quite like the others. But I gave myself 30 minutes for this. Consider it just a “see also”: (there are others too.)

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/why-do-you-stay.1296044/page-3#post-76243904

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/disappointments.763140/page-15#post-40221028 - alludes to earlier announcements etc of leaving.

P.S. Oh yeah. The topic. Would I pay for lit in any way? No.

Would I volunteer in some way? Like many of us, quite probably yes. But that’s a pointless topic that’ll just derail further.

Also, I composed this yesterday. Left the draft, internally debating whether to even bother or not. Bad habit of mine. I probably draft three posts for every one I actually post, when I’m being obnoxious like this. I blame lit for keeping draft responses for a few days usually, before they vanish. ;-) will i, wont i?

 

[jsmiam]

Speaking of bad lit habits:

In the forums, I ALWAYS spot typos after I post. So the routine is…

• Compose reply. (I could say compost reply too)
• But since the draft remains mostly intact (it doesn’t always save the most recent edit perfectly)
  • If I’m being a dick, I usually think about it for days, wordsmithing here and there, without posting.
  • Then, depending on how much of a dick I’m being, I waver for days, perhaps Freudially hoping the draft will disappear.
  • Sometimes I do post. Sometimes I intentionally don’t. Sometimes I let the disappearing draft gods decide for me.
  • When I do post, it’s more often when the other person has also been a dick, but I will take ownership of my behavior and concede, sometimes I’m just being a dick.
• If during the wordsmithing phase I really want to be sure a draft edit doesn’t lose the last things I typed, (orrrr, the all too common “oops there was a problem), I copy it. Lit’s crack programmers make that usually a requirement.
• But full circle back to this posts topic: the final step in my posting life cycle is finding typos or missed words, usually one at a time, leading to a flurry of edits in the minutes after making a post.

 

[lovecraft68]

ee

Welcome back. As someone who remembers a time when you were “the sane one” (circa 10 years or more ago now), I still find myself hoping for the day you de-radicalize yourself, turn in your tin-foil hat, and return from the brink. But I partly digress. I say “partly” because you harshly and regularly criticize things you do yourself, on a regular basis. That’s “brink” territory.

Also btw, in another thread kelziegirl, in a dig toward Emily, chastised anyone who announced their departure (and more generally engages in seeking attention too). This may affect your membership statuses (statii?) in one another’s fan clubs.

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/when-theres-nothing-left-to-do-and-winding-down.1621276/

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/this-13th-day-marks-my.1587561/ (Be sure to keep reading through post number two. )

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/oh-how-great-thou-arent.781099/ - from 2011, an “I’m leaving” announcement

There’s one in particular I recall that was the one I was actually looking for. There’s a chance it’s one of the ones above, and an equal chance it’s still out there.

Next: These last one(s) were replies, not threads started by lc (all the above are) so not quite like the others. But I gave myself 30 minutes for this. Consider it just a “see also”: (there are others too.)

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/why-do-you-stay.1296044/page-3#post-76243904

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/disappointments.763140/page-15#post-40221028 - alludes to earlier announcements etc of leaving.

P.S. Oh yeah. The topic. Would I pay for lit in any way? No.

Would I volunteer in some way? Like many of us, quite probably yes. But that’s a pointless topic that’ll just derail further.

Also, I composed this yesterday. Left the draft, internally debating whether to even bother or not. Bad habit of mine. I probably draft three posts for every one I actually post, when I’m being obnoxious like this. I blame lit for keeping draft responses for a few days usually, before they vanish. ;-) will i, wont i?

Your obsession with me is flattering, but sorry, I'm married.

There's an interesting story behind a couple of those old posts, but I'll let you have your fun.

 

[jsmiam]

Your obsession with me is flattering, but sorry, I'm married.

There's an interesting story behind a couple of those old posts, but I'll let you have your fun.

You sound more like someone every day.

And you’re right. I spend more time keeping you honest than most. But you are also the one most in need of being kept honest.

When i keep you honest it only takes 30 seconds, usually. I confess I spent about 30 minutes on this one. Was it worth it? Probably not. but it was for entertainment purposes for myself, and hopefully for others too. I dont see any denials or refutations in your reply, do i?

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Welcome back. As someone who remembers a time when you were “the sane one” (circa 10 years or more ago now), I still find myself hoping for the day you de-radicalize yourself, turn in your tin-foil hat, and return from the brink. But I partly digress. I say “partly” because you harshly and regularly criticize things you do yourself, on a regular basis. That’s “brink” territory.

Also btw, in another thread kelziegirl, in a dig toward Emily, chastised anyone who announced their departure (and more generally engages in seeking attention too). This may affect your membership statuses (statii?) in one another’s fan clubs.

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/when-theres-nothing-left-to-do-and-winding-down.1621276/

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/this-13th-day-marks-my.1587561/ (Be sure to keep reading through post number two. )

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/oh-how-great-thou-arent.781099/ - from 2011, an “I’m leaving” announcement

There’s one in particular I recall that was the one I was actually looking for. There’s a chance it’s one of the ones above, and an equal chance it’s still out there.

Next: These last one(s) were replies, not threads started by lc (all the above are) so not quite like the others. But I gave myself 30 minutes for this. Consider it just a “see also”: (there are others too.)

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/why-do-you-stay.1296044/page-3#post-76243904

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/disappointments.763140/page-15#post-40221028 - alludes to earlier announcements etc of leaving.

P.S. Oh yeah. The topic. Would I pay for lit in any way? No.

Would I volunteer in some way? Like many of us, quite probably yes. But that’s a pointless topic that’ll just derail further.

Also, I composed this yesterday. Left the draft, internally debating whether to even bother or not. Bad habit of mine. I probably draft three posts for every one I actually post, when I’m being obnoxious like this. I blame lit for keeping draft responses for a few days usually, before they vanish. ;-) will i, wont i?

If you are going to mention me and make cracks about fan clubs, at least get my name right. I wasn't aware I was in a fan club, was I supposed to get a membership card, maybe a poster for my wall? I feel like I've been ripped off.

If you've paid attention LC and I disagree on quite a few things. Grownups can do that and still maintain a civil relationship. Other people here seem to demand absolute agreement from their fan clubs and use alts to enforce conformity.

The threads here littered with passive aggressive, "how terrible are these people who don't agree with us about how terrible things are, Lit is collapsing around us, and only I can lead you all to safety" comments seem to be beyond your concern for some reason...
Of course, there's no social cost to attacking LC, unlike calling out those threads.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Absolutely not. Unless that "service" consisted of far more than a place to post content. Maybe if there was some kind of sales structure, where a certain level of success with stories gives you a chance to make your money back and potentially turn a profit. Even still, that would likely smell a little scammy to me, and chances are I wouldn't have landed here in the first place.

The point here is to tease out what’s important to people. These are good ideas.

 

[lovecraft68]

You sound more like someone every day.

And you’re right. I spend more time keeping you honest than most. But you are also the one most in need of being kept honest.

When i keep you honest it only takes 30 seconds, usually. I confess I spent about 30 minutes on this one. Was it worth it? Probably not. but it was for entertainment purposes for myself, and hopefully for others too. I dont see any denials or refutations in your reply, do i?

I sound like me, any resemblance is coincidental.

I was going to let you have your win, but something occurred to me when I decided to put some thought into your post.

First, you're referencing another poster and inferring that because they said something and it was something I did in the past that I'd lose my status with them? Like we're some kind of a cabal or something?

Let's be clear, no matter what I say, I say it for me. People agree fine, they don't fine. But although like everyone else here I have people I do and don't get along with, nothing I say is to be in league with someone else. I might defend someone if I think they're being attacked for something they didn't do, but I don't need the approval of anyone else, and they don't need mine. There's a clique of cool kids here, I'm not one of them. I'm a lone wolf type poster, I don't need back up.

Having said that, what really struck me was I don't recall saying anything about someone leaving and not leaving.

What I called out was someone starting a theatrical drama filled 'I'm a victim" thread about their story underperforming or mistreated and some other issues, all of which have been going on for years and complained about by many.

If it were anyone else here, my response would have been, welcome to the club, you do you, but you shouldn't let them win. Many of us have been there.

But not in this case. Months of staunchly defending this place to the point of demeaning people who complained about these issues. Months of "I know Laural, we're friends and the mod is my friend and I know everything" but suddenly all the issues so many people complained about are now real because they found out they weren't exempt from them. The 'I know Laurel" story proved to be just that, now the mod won't help them! And there is a reason for that and it should be obvious to anyone in the know. the real know, not a made up know.

Then not a week later, here's another story and more of the same behavior over it that leads to people being petty and doing shitty things.

I'll repeat that all of that is a self-inflicted wound. Many here are tired of the act. Like the act that this thread is about anything but them having this issue and trying to bully the site.

So, end of the day, those threads you posted don't seem to apply to anything I said here. you're trying to connect two out of line dots.

I am honest, that's why the popular kids don't like me. Well, one of the reasons, the other can be found on story side of things.

Thank you again, for allowing me to live rent free in your head. I have my own personal lit parole officer!

Good talk.

 

[lovecraft68]

If you are going to mention me and make cracks about fan clubs, at least get my name right. I wasn't aware I was in a fan club, was I supposed to get a membership card, maybe a poster for my wall? I feel like I've been ripped off.

If you've paid attention LC and I disagree on quite a few things. Grownups can do that and still maintain a civil relationship. Other people here seem to demand absolute agreement from their fan clubs and use alts to enforce conformity.

The threads here littered with passive aggressive, "how terrible are these people who don't agree with us about how terrible things are, Lit is collapsing around us, and only I can lead you all to safety" comments seem to be beyond your concern for some reason...
Of course, there's no social cost to attacking LC, unlike calling out those threads.

Yeah, speaking of, you're late on your dues. By Monday or you incur a late fee.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Yeah, speaking of, you're late on your dues. By Monday or you incur a late fee.

Here we go...

 

[jsmiam]

If you are going to mention me and make cracks about fan clubs, at least get my name right…

Good point. The misspelling wasn’t intentional, I apologize. To my brain, and I acknowledge it’s my fault, the Z in your name is in the wrong place. I can’t help it. I’m not dyslexic, but a very small handful of letter combinations just don’t click with me. I think I mentioned here once, I thought “neodymium” magnets were “neodinum” for over fifty years of my life.

I will admit that I only read your short posts. My brain habitually skims past walls of text. (That’s a hint btw.)

But. My perception of you, whether right or wrong, is you argue for the sake of arguing. I can’t pin down a consistent belief system from you overall, at times even in the same thread. You argue with everyone about everything is how I see you. And that’s fine. See earlier, me acknowledging and owning being a dick sometimes. Be proud

You specifically criticized Emily for posting an “I’m leaving” thread elsewhere. My only link to you and lovecraft was that he’s posted many an “I’m leaving” thread too, while also criticizing others for posting “I’m leaving” threads. I pointed that out. Should I have used your name, probably not. I’ll apologize for that too.

“Attacking”: I’m good (and fast too!) at searching the internet when the mood hits me. I do enjoy alerting LC to his contradictory and hypocritical and sexist and mysoginistic and conspiracy theorist things he says, by listing his own words via his own posts. It’s fun. Over the years I’ve occasionally taken time to document a few other people’s contradictory posts too.

And finally, perceived inconsistencies about people unhappy with the site malfunctioning. The site is malfunctioning more than its normal amount of malfunctioning.

Your main target is Emily, I get it. Yes she was inner circle once. Now she isn’t. But in between, when this started, it was still appropriate, polite, and pretty please with sugar on top asking for a reply from the site admins. Respectfully at first gradually growing into criticism. I’m not here to defend Emily, she does that fine on her own. i don’t think anyone, including you, can deny the pending hell problem has gotten far worse.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Good point. The misspelling wasn’t intentional, I apologize. To my brain, and I acknowledge it’s my fault, the Z in your name is in the wrong place. I can’t help it. I’m not dyslexic, but a very small handful of letter combinations just don’t click with me. I think I mentioned here once, I thought “neodymium” magnets were “neodinum” for over fifty years of my life.

I will admit that I only read your short posts. My brain habitually skims past walls of text. (That’s a hint btw.)

But. My perception of you, whether right or wrong, is you argue for the sake of arguing. I can’t pin down a consistent belief system from you overall, at times even in the same thread. You argue with everyone about everything is how I see you. And that’s fine. See earlier, me acknowledging and owning being a dick sometimes. Be proud

You specifically criticized Emily for posting an “I’m leaving” thread elsewhere. My only link to you and lovecraft was that he’s posted many an “I’m leaving” thread too, while also criticizing others for posting “I’m leaving” threads. I pointed that out. Should I have used your name, probably not. I’ll apologize for that too.

“Attacking”: I’m good (and fast too!) at searching the internet when the mood hits me. I do enjoy alerting LC to his contradictory and hypocritical and sexist and mysoginistic and conspiracy theorist things he says, by listing his own words via his own posts. It’s fun. Over the years I’ve occasionally taken time to document a few other people’s contradictory posts too.

And finally, perceived inconsistencies about people unhappy with the site malfunctioning. The site is malfunctioning more than its normal amount of malfunctioning.

Your main target is Emily, I get it. Yes she was inner circle once. Now she isn’t. But in between, when this started, it was still appropriate, polite, and pretty please with sugar on top asking for a reply from the site admins. Respectfully at first gradually growing into criticism. I’m not here to defend Emily, she does that fine on her own. i don’t think anyone, including you, can deny the pending hell problem has gotten far worse.

Well, actually I have a pretty consistent ideological framework. If you can find me arguing inconsistent positions please feel free to point it out, since you seem to delight in that. It should be super easy, right?

As for walls of text.... so you by your own admission skip over longer nuanced explanations of things and then you can't pin down a consistent belief system... weird how that works. (That's a hint BTW),

I don't "target" anyone. I'm just calling out hypocrisy. I mean, it's ok when you call out LC68 for supposedly doing that, so that must be above board?