Message Board Topic For 2/25

[Comsie]

There have been a lot of times when I've seen a story title, and it was compelling enough for me to click on the link and check it out. I, personally, try to avoid reading the descriptions in the header that tell me exactly what's going to happen in the story I'm about to read. Just because I prefer to let the story guide me blindly as I'm reading.

 

However, I've found myself in some very...umm...'undesireable' places doing that. And it's at times like that when I wish I had known ahead of time what I was in for before getting that particular shock.

 

This week's question is...do you find it helpful to know what the content of a story is going to be beforehand? Through codes or warnings in the header. Or is it distracting to you, and you'd rather find out as you read?

 

Do you want a heads up if the story is going to contain certain fetishes? Do you want to know ahead of time if the story is going to contain sex or not? Do you want to know what 'kind' of sex is going to take place? Oral, anal, masturbation? How much or little warning do you want? Let us know!

[Mikie]

For the most part, I try and play it by title.

 

Every now and again there'll be a good title but I don't like the story, but other than that occasional one, I've done pretty well.

I don't really need to know the content before hand because it really doesn't matter what it is as opposed to how it's portrayed.

 

I'm tired though, so I might try and elaborate more on the topic tomorrow.

 

~Mikie

[Tiff]

For the most part, I try and play it by title.

 

Every now and again there'll be a good title but I don't like the story, but other than that occasional one, I've done pretty well.

I don't really need to know the content before hand because it really doesn't matter what it is as opposed to how it's portrayed.

 

I'm tired though, so I might try and elaborate more on the topic tomorrow.

 

~Mikie

I do the same; I usually play it by title and click on it and hope for the best. However, a lot of times, I read a few paragraphs or a couple pages, and either it hooked me or it didn't. Not a big deal.

 

Sometimes though, I like a little description or header- like one story on Nifty had a lot of gore because it contained cannibalism. Well, I could handle that and would have continued reading anyway, but it was nice to know it beforehand, I suppose. Or if there's a lot of abuse/sexual stuff/rape, I like to know before I read, because honestly those stories aren't for me, unless it's portrayed correctly, like in Vlista's work. A lot of abuse there, but it's portrayed and woven into the story well/deliberately, and at the end of the day, is a love story.

 

As for knowing whether or not a story contains sex or certain kinds of sex, that doesn't matter to me. I don't necessarily need that kind of information beforehand, but things like sexual abuse/really gory stuff, perhaps.

 

I don't know if I'm making sense, because it's late for me too! B

[Graeme]

While I appreciate what is being suggested, and would personally find it useful, the problem is that there are too many differences between reader perceptions, likes and dislikes.

 

As an example, there is one excellent story (from what I've been told) that I read the first chapter and stopped. I stopped because the author was too good... and the open chapter was a flashback to an episode involving a pedophile predator trying to trap the character. I didn't want to read any further because that opening chapter disturbed me enough. Many other people wouldn't have that problem, though.

 

Codes by themselves are insufficient. If another, less skilled, author had tried that chapter, I probably wouldn't have been as upset. It is not only the subject, but the way it is treated that determines whether I want to read it, or whether I'd prefer not to.