Ho do I insert images in a story?

[LitEroCat]

Found it once, not now! I usually send in my stories in RTF which allows images. There is a published story Metro Magic ( http://www.literotica.com/s/metro-magic) that I'm sure had an image I drew, but it's now gone- replaced with "[sketch removed]" I got an email about it and sent that to the mods- never heard back. Someone recently left a comment about it missing too.

Unless I'm getting senile ( not confirming or denying ), the image WAS there. Where are the instructions to include them?

{WHY is my HTML off here - can't BOLD or smilies?} ;-O

 

[SweetErika]

There are no mods for stories, and the forum mods only deal with the forums. You could try PMing Laurel and ask her why your sketch was removed.

As for posting new Illustrated stories, I'd suggest asking in the AH or Visual Artists' forum for advice on how to upload and whether or not there are any guidelines (apart from the standard ones for the site, like no underage material, bestiality, etc.) for the images.

HTML has been off for a looooong time now. IIRC, they turned it off because it was a security risk. You can easily add formatting with vB code, though, which basically uses brackets ([ and ]) instead of arrows to open and close the command. Like bold is [bold*]yourtext[/bold*] without the asterisks. If you don't have the formatting icons at the top of each post, you'll need to change the text formatting editor display in your UserCP options. Then you can simply highlight the word(s) you want to format, then click the icon(s) to add the tags or bring up a box to insert a link, add an image, etc. It's very much like formatting in Word or your email.

 

[LitEroCat]

There are no mods for stories, and the forum mods only deal with the forums. You could try PMing Laurel and ask her why your sketch was removed.

Thanks SweetE! Someone screens for taboo topics, delays publishing and changes my categories. If not MODS who are they? ;-((

Have you tried chocolate and bacon?

 

[SweetErika]

Thanks SweetE! Someone screens for taboo topics, delays publishing and changes my categories. If not MODS who are they? ;-((

Have you tried chocolate and bacon?

No, I haven't tried it. It sounds like something my husband would love to make, though!

There are story editors who screen all of the submissions for content, category fit and compliance with the site's rules, as well as deal with any complaints on things that violate the current rules and might have slipped through the cracks previously. Those editors are not to be confused with the volunteer editors who help authors with their work. I'd imagine the story editors are paid for their work (the forum mods are volunteers, AFAIK), but don't quote me on that. Sometimes they disagree with authors on various issues, like the category that best fits the material and rule violations. Usually they're right, but when they make mistakes or choices that seriously impact the success of a piece, Laurel will usually at least review and give fair consideration to the author's objection via PM when she gets a chance, from what I've heard. I'm sure it helps to be very polite and professional should you ask for such a reconsideration (IOW, posting the complaints that I quoted above likely wouldn't help your case one bit).

Regarding your situation, let's just say the image in your story depicted someone/something that is found to be a violation of Lit's submissions or image guidelines (BTW, the image posting rules changed dramatically when the 2257 law came into effect, so things that were fine previously suddenly became problematic). Someone on the staff may have stumbled across it, or a reader may have expressed concern, and a staff member might have removed it in the interest of protecting the site from legal action.

Delays in posting are a result of the sheer volume of submissions that need to be reviewed and the site's commitment to maintaining certain standards. Pieces usually don't take that long to be posted if they're submitted properly (and it's quickest to go via the form vs. email or attaching), in compliance with the submission guidelines, the author doesn't send their piece to the back of the line by clicking on it, and there's not a contest or something else that drastically increases the workload happening at the time.

Personally, I'm grateful this site has the standards it does. If I wasn't, I'd go to a site that allowed people to upload anything at will, whether it was sheer crap, involved minors, bestiality, extreme violence, etc. On the whole, the readership here likes stories that are appropriately categorized and at least meet some minimum standards, so the editors are really doing authors a favor as well by screening the content of all of the submissions. I'd much rather have a submission rejected or changed before it's posted than receive a ton of negative feedback on it because I didn't put it in the most appropriate category or the content ran afoul of what the readers expect from Lit.

Basically, if you don't like the way Lit works, take your pieces to a site that allows you to post whatever you wish immediately or whatever. There are several of those sites to choose from that also have many readers. Complaining about delays and such isn't going to do any good because the vast majority of our members appreciate the current system (even if they're frustrated with some aspects of it at times). This is a free site that offers authors an immense number of fairly high quality readers and its readers an incredible amount of good material, as well as a great discussion board. You [general] can either be happy with those pros, or focus on what you feel are cons, and go somewhere that's a better fit for your particular style. It's all a matter of perspective, really.