Genre-based attacks on stories posted as comments are not allowed. I'm tired of this unfriendly behavior. Multiple and repeated attacks of this sort MAY NOT get further warnings and MAY result in banning from the site.
If you don't like the genre of the story you are reading, exercise the muscle between your ears and stop reading it! You don't have to tell anyone publicly about it either.
If you like BC as a place to come and read the kind of stories you like, allow other people the same dignity and respect you would like to have.
Hugs to all,
Erin
Comments
Genre Baiting
Thanks, Erin. I for one read most genres
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Is it Genre Baiting
Is it Genre Baiting or reader baiting if there is nothing in the title or the keywords header to indicate the genre of the story and people have no historical experience with the author, then at some point in the story get the direction this is headed and voice their opinions on it? Just asking.
I stopped reading and did not bother to comment.
What I said
What I said is pretty self explanatory. If you don't like something because of the genre, don't make a public comment attacking the story for being an example of the genre.
And except for a few minor exceptions, the tags are always optional and up to the author. Think about it and you will understand why: there is no way I'm going to spend all my time policing tags and arguing with people about them.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Genre baiting
Erin, fare enough. Would it be out of line to make a comment suggesting tags and expressing the feeling there should be?
I guess stuff like this is
I guess stuff like this is why I stopped reading most stories without tags and teaser.
I like to have a general idea what a story is about before I start reading.
Beyogi
Best clue
The best clue for me as to whether I'm going to like a story or not is whether I have liked other stories by the same author. I only look at the tags on new authors, and even then, I usually ignore them and sample the story instead.
That's because genre and categories are not important to me. What I want is a good story, and there's no reliable tag for that except the author's name and past history.
My problem is that there are about 90 authors here who I can feel assured will write a good story, and I can't read them all, I don't have time. There may be another 90 or so good authors that I have not yet discovered. And my favorite authors may not necessarily be anyone else's favorites.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
No, it would not
Suggestions about tags or typos should be sent privately. Think about it and you will see why. Really think. Harder than that. :)
Okay here's a clue: what happens next?
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Okay, more specific
If you make public suggestions about tags, typos, or nitpicks, either the author follows your suggestion or they don't. Either way, your comment becomes an irrelevant distraction to others reading the story. Things like that should be sent privately and the mechanism is in place to do that.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I agree.
I learned a little saying in "supervisor school" that I think is appropriate here. "Praise in public, criticize in private." I don't recall a single time when this strategy failed me.
.
The girl in me...
She's always there and usually in charge.
Genre baiting
I've been genre baiting for a while and still having caught a genre yet. I beg for someone to give me a genre, no one answers. I don't know if tear-jerker is a genre because i like making people cry.
BTW sometime tagging a story ruins it. When I did the Dress Punishment, I really wanted to tag it forced fem even though that wasn't what the story was about, it was a faux force fem story but if i tagged it that the ending would be ruined.
K.T. Leone
My fiction feels more real than reality
Katie Leone (Katie-Leone.com)
Writing is what you do when you put pen to paper, being an author is what you do when you bring words to life
Very true.
You are absolutely correct that tagging something can ruin it. I bet a lot of people who enjoyed your Dress Punishment would not have even bothered to read it had you tagged it "forced femme".
I can actually think of quite a few amazing stories, that had I not decided to ignore tags I typically find distasteful, I would have missed out on completely. I suppose my life lesson on that was "don't judge something by it's story blurb/tagging". Sometimes authors over-tag and sometimes they under-tag.
As long as the author isn't writing something illegal then I have no issue sampling a bit of the story. I can usually tell if I'm going to enjoy the story within the first few paragraphs.
Yes overtagging is a problem
Yes overtagging is a problem too... I don't know why some authors feel the need to reveal every single element of their story in the tags...
Whatever, I guess it is impossible to tag in a way that everyone will like.
I thought this...
was a trans-genre website?
Angharad :)
Angharad
Groan
Here is your coat; the taxi will arrive shortly.
My take
Any stories containing the following things I vehemently dislike
Left-handed Albanian tapdancing bartenders
Potato Chips dipped in Soy Sauce
Skydiving Lesbians trying to eat linguine
Kangaroos swinging from chandeliers
Yahtzee tournaments
Smart aleck children rowing a canoe
Tiny Tim singing New York New York
Crossword puzzles designed by leprechauns
Can I expect to be banned by Erin as soon as she gets control of herself?
Daniel, author of maid, whore, bimbo, and sissy free TG fiction since 2000
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.- Oscar Levant
I think it should be a challenge...
To actually write a story containing all of these things and remain fully coherent and with a reasonable plot - not just a spoof.
Hm...
Dangit Danielle, I haven't got the time to be writing this now!
Abigail Drew.
Abigail Drew.
I can write a spoof
Like this almost 10 years ago that featured Batman & Robin, Martha Stewart, Muppet Show Characters, cast members from F Troop, Miss Saigon, ER, and Lost in Space, The Coyote and The Roadrunner, plus a truckload of kangaroos and a circus elephant.
While I've had the idea floating around in my head almost since I finished the original, I've never been able to get the story sufficiently gelled in order to write it. Maybe due to my planning to have Godzilla, Charlie's Angels, James Bond, Bugs Bunny, Sergeant Schultz of Hogan's Heroes, plus Slim Dusty and Tiny Tim all in one story. A cheerleader named Ann Rkey kidnaps TG fiction authors in her plan for world conquest. First Fictionmania, then the world!
Now you might understand how I think.
“One of the definitions of sanity is the ability to tell real from unreal. Soon we'll need a new definition.â€- Alvin Toffler
Daniel, author of maid, whore, bimbo, and sissy free TG fiction since 2000
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.- Oscar Levant
I think I wrote one like that once
I do remember everbody being Kangaroos at one point in it.
-- grin --
Did it for a Christmas(?) writing contest here some years back. A spoof on that *cold fussion* scandal of a while back.
IF you feel needed tags might give away the plot perhaps the best tag or teaser would be to say "This story contains language or situations that some may find upsetting or offensive."
Kind of like those disclaimers at the start of some TV or movies.
IE the reader knows this contains potentially upsetting subject matter but does so without spoiling the plot. Not perfect but at least the reader can't say they were mislead.
And I agree over tagging is almost worst than failing to tag. Renders the information all but useless to a potential reader.
And always, even if you feel provoked by a story or blog, comment via a PM if it is something best said in pravate. And think before you send it off. If it is truely unsuitable matterial for BC, PM Admin. ALWAYS do so politely, even if the story pissed you off, OKAY?
Erin's sandbox in any case so treat BC like you are a guest in her home.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa