Romance Story Tagging aka Warning Labels

[LitLover]

I have run across this a few times now and I know I sound like a prude, but I really, really wish authors would tag their "romance" stories as "polyamorous" if that's what the story involves. Even something in the author's notes would be great. I know that some people indulge in that type of relationship or enjoy reading about it and to each their own, but for some readers (like me) polyamorous relationships and love are not mutually inclusive and I don't enjoy stories about them. I'm not talking about tagging everything to death but the big things that not everyone associates with romance or love would be great (bdsm, rape, incest, polyamorous, etc). Heck I even saw a "Warning: straight sex" author's note on a story one time! Lol. There is some great writing here from some very talented people. Please don't make me have to resort to reading reviews before I start a new story.

[Stellar]

I think this would not be an often-used tag, but the list from memory has several tags that are quite specific and not so generalised or broad. So, maybe there could be cause to add it. I don't know of any particular restriction why this couldn't happen so who knows -- perhaps the admin are open to expanding the current story tags? Not sure if this is something that will be touched on with the oncoming software upgrade or not.

[Timothy M.]

Right now there are only two possible tags to indicate polyamorous stories: the Menage tag under Relationship and the Group sex under Sex.

Since I guess few people below the age of 50 knows what Menage á trois means, you could suggest that this tag changes name to Polyamorous. I'm sure it would be used a lot more often in that case.

[LitLover]

I would even be happy with an author's note if there are no tags that apply. I didn't realize that there were limited tags that could be used. Maybe the powers that be can expand this list during the next update as Stellar suggested? (Hint, hint)

[Cia]

You know, I have my latest anthol as a MMM series with that tag for all but the last story, where it just slipped my mind. My descriptions are usually pretty clear if that element is in my stories. I hate getting ambushed as a reader myself. And yes, we don't allow custom tags, but we do have a list that covers most things.

[Timothy M.]

You know, I have my latest anthol as a MMM series with that tag for all but the last story, where it just slipped my mind. My descriptions are usually pretty clear if that element is in my stories. I hate getting ambushed as a reader myself. And yes, we don't allow custom tags, but we do have a list that covers most things.

 

And it's certainly one of the best polyamorous stories around.

 

But I still think it makes sense to rename the tag, if it can be done technically, so that all the stories now tagged with menage will say poly instead.

[Caz Pedroso]

Right now there are only two possible tags to indicate polyamorous stories: the Menage tag under Relationship and the Group sex under Sex.

Since I guess few people below the age of 50 knows what Menage á trois means, you could suggest that this tag changes name to Polyamorous. I'm sure it would be used a lot more often in that case.

 

I think you may be a bit wrong. I had heard of a ménage a trois by the age of twelve but i had never heard of a 

Polyamorous till i joined this site. 

 

Otherwise adding some new tags is a good idea and maybe allowing authors to add more than the current limit so they can give more info about their story. 

[Timothy M.]

I think you may be a bit wrong. I had heard of a ménage a trois by the age of twelve but i had never heard of a Polyamorous till i joined this site.

 

Interesting. I haven't come across the poly word much either, but at least it's self-explanatory.

if I google translate menage (from English to Danish) nothing is suggested directly, but ménage (French to English/Danish) equals Household or 'the members of a household'.

[LitLover]

Even a "threesomes" or "open relationship" warning in the authors notes for the story would work in the absence of a suitable tag. That would clue readers in about the content, even if you have never heard of ménage or poly.

[Sasha Distan]

threesomes, open relationships, and polyamorous relationships are VERY different things.

 

A threesome is just sex.

An open relationship is a couple who decide to share.

A polyamorous relationship where three people love all of each other equally and is and should be defined as a romance in the most classical sense.

 

A poly tag would be fun, but isn't really required. After all, romance can means LOTS of things to different people, and I see no need to define it as just a certain type of relationship between two people.

[Caz Pedroso]

threesomes, open relationships, and polyamorous relationships are VERY different things.

 

A threesome is just sex.

An open relationship is a couple who decide to share.

A polyamorous relationship where three people love all of each other equally and is and should be defined as a romance in the most classical sense.

 

A poly tag would be fun, but isn't really required. After all, romance can means LOTS of things to different people, and I see no need to define it as just a certain type of relationship between two people.

 

I agree in principle but it wouldn't be much for us to warn our readers so they know what to expect.

 

BTW Polyamorous could be more than three, what about Roland's story, Sharing?

[LitLover]

 

A poly tag would be fun, but isn't really required. After all, romance can means LOTS of things to different people, and I see no need to define it as just a certain type of relationship between two people.

I understand that romance means different things to different people. I really do. But some people might define romance as something that can happen between siblings, or other relatives, bdsm relationships, master/slave, a man and woman, a man and a man, a woman and a woman, wolf to human, 20 of a person's nearest and dearest (eg sister-wives), or anything that the mind can come up with, but not everyone feels the same or wants to read a story about it. All I ask is for some type of warning about the type of romance being portrayed so I can make an informed decision if I want to read that particular story or not.

[Gene Splicer PHD]

I'm all for a poly tag, rather than a ménage tag. I'm also for banishing the "oral" and "anal" tags. This ain't nifty, this isn't some 1997 newsgroup where tags were how you found your porn.

 

So there.

[Sasha Distan]

I understand that romance means different things to different people. I really do. But some people might define romance as something that can happen between siblings, or other relatives, bdsm relationships, master/slave, a man and woman, a man and a man, a woman and a woman, wolf to human, 20 of a person's nearest and dearest (eg sister-wives), or anything that the mind can come up with, but not everyone feels the same or wants to read a story about it. All I ask is for some type of warning about the type of romance being portrayed so I can make an informed decision if I want to read that particular story or not.

 

As an author, I'm against all but the most general of tags. They give the plot away all too often, especially if what you're writing is more than just a short one shot. I do genuinely think that story descriptions are the way to go - after all, no one 'tags' a professional published book, do they?

the only author warning I have ever used were for extreme and graphic violence, and I intend to keep it that way.

[LitLover]

the only author warning I have ever used were for extreme and graphic violence, and I intend to keep it that way.

As an author that is definitely your right. It's your hard work so you get to decide how you want it presented to the potential reader.

 

It's true there are no tags on professionally published works, but most people also read reviews before they decide if they are interested in buying. I suppose that can be the answer here as well, but I find that the type of reviews that are given on chapter updates give away the plot more than any author's note ever could.

[Cia]

We cannot dictate how comprehensive a description authors place on their stories, or require that they use exact tags for their content, for the most part. Obviously, for sensitive content that can trigger negative reactions for some people, eg abuse, extreme violence, incest, etc... we do require that information shared, because that can cause a site disruption. While multi-person relationships are not to everyone's taste, they are not an issue that will usually cause mental trauma so we do not require warnings placed on those style of stories.

 

Any time members have a suggestion for Stories for things like tags they'd like to see changed or included, please feel free to PM me. Staff doesn't always track all topics and conversations on the site, so just bringing it up here or in another topic won't guarantee your voice is heard. Making a suggestion or request doesn't mean it will be implemented immediately or at all, I'm always willing to listen!  

[LitLover]

We cannot dictate how comprehensive a description authors place on their stories, or require that they use exact tags for their content, for the most part. Obviously, for sensitive content that can trigger negative reactions for some people, eg abuse, extreme violence, incest, etc... we do require that information shared, because that can cause a site disruption. While multi-person relationships are not to everyone's taste, they are not an issue that will usually cause mental trauma so we do not require warnings placed on those style of stories.

 

Any time members have a suggestion for Stories for things like tags they'd like to see changed or included, please feel free to PM me. Staff doesn't always track all topics and conversations on the site, so just bringing it up here or in another topic won't guarantee your voice is heard. Making a suggestion or request doesn't mean it will be implemented immediately or at all, I'm always willing to listen!

 

Thank you Cia. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Honestly, I never expected or thought that this would be something that Admin would need to be involved in. This was more of a request to authors because there were a couple of occasions where I stopped reading a story after a couple of weeks and was disappointed because I really would never have started it if I had known some of the content (not all were poly stories). Not a huge deal. I can work around it.

[Cia]

My earlier post was an author who does have that type of story (I did go back and add the menage tag) and also understands your problem with ending up with content that just turns me off when a story takes a twist that isn't to my taste. I can't stand stories that have love triangles, for example, and sometimes I'll see things tagged menage but they're not really (not on GA) and it drives me bonkers So, I wasn't just speaking as 'Cia the Admin', though I responded mostly because there were other members making statements about changes they'd like to see as well. I'm the staff member who oversees Stories, so it's best to remind folks from time to time that they can contact me if they have suggestions or problems with the system--readers as well as authors.

[wildone]

Well now that I went to Wiktionary and looked up the word polyamorous, I guess my excuse is I was born in 1968 (I'm not embarrassed to say that I didn't know what it meant).

 

English Alternative forms

• polyamourous (rare)

Etymology

The term dates from the 1960s or earlier, a hybrid of the Greek poly for many and the Latin amor for love.

Adjective

polyamorous (comparative more polyamorous, superlative most polyamorous)

1. Following one of various practices of having relationships with multiple partners, with the knowledge and consent of all involved.
2. Having personal beliefs regarding relationships that are compatible with polyamory, regardless of one's experience or current practices.

 

Personally not sure how many stories are applicable to the that title though . Like Cia mentions, it is kind of hard for staff to read all the stories completely on site to ensure proper tagging or if such a relationship occurs in latter chapters, most wouldn't know but the readers. Also, as she mentions, she is the Admin overseeing Stories, and she is always open to ideas that can make the site better

 

Thanks for bringing it up LitLover