Noticed a nasty trend with the loving wives catagory

[pink_silk_glove]

The category has a smattering of highly reactive voters

And large throngs of judgemental spiteful haters. We all know this.

 

[Lifestyle66]

yes, but this is diffrent, either way I have shut down comments and voting, and requested a move to another catagory, and reset of vote counter.

I don't feel these guys can be trust to vote fairly or comment with any level of reasonableness, and had I done a little more resarch I may never have posted in there in the first place...

seems I am not the only one who has been burned in this way. Still, if I ever do post in there it will be simliar to what i doing now, no votes and no comments, they don't deserve it.

Yes, if you are sensitive about audience reactions to your story, stay out of Loving Wives!

That category's audience is divided into two factions, one which likes promiscuous women, and the other who HATE them!

However, regardless of which category you post stories, you can't assume that the reader of your next chapter read the previous ones. WHY would you assume that they did, if you're dropping the stories randomly into differing categories; post to Exhibitionism, then in Reluctance, some in Group Sex, and one in LW?

Every time you post a story, a different set of readers sees it for the first time, opens it, and reacts to THAT one story! And each category has a different set of followers! If you have triggers in there which offend them (ie, post to Loving WIVES, and describe two GAY males going at it), you'll get bombed. Post to the appropriate category! But just because you have a WIFE in the story does not make it a Loving Wives story!

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Loving Wives has been this way for a long time, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the category description.

This. This category has been horribly euphemized. It should just be called extra-marital because that clearly states what it is. Anal is called anal because that's what it is. Lesbian is called Lesbian Sex because that's what it is. BDSM is called BDSM because that's what it is. You get the picture. When you open Loving Wives you do not get what it says on the tin because it is not remotely clear what is inside said tin.

And after 20 fucking years, Laurel STILL hasn't fixed this! Of course changing it now won't change much, or at least will take a decade or two to change, but changing it 15-20 years ago at the first signs of abuse (because that's what it is - readers not reading for titilation at all, in fact some not even reading, just skipping to the last page to see if lynch justice is served or not) would have headed off the level of nastiness that it has degraded to today. And I'm not talking at all about poor authors and their poor scores, fucking boohoo. I'm talking about the cesspool of spiteful misogyny that it has attracted and fostered. I mean I'm all for free speech and expression but you get the community that you ask for. Way to go Laurel. : /

And while we're at it, fix that total bullshit that is Erotic Couplings. Call it what it is, Miscellaneous Vanilla.

 

[lc69hunter]

This. This category has been horribly euphemized. It should just be called extra-marital because that clearly states what it is. Anal is called anal because that's what it is. Lesbian is called Lesbian Sex because that's what it is. BDSM is called BDSM because that's what it is. You get the picture. When you open Loving Wives you do not get what it says on the tin because it is not remotely clear what is inside said tin.

And after 20 fucking years, Laurel STILL hasn't fixed this! Of course changing it now won't change much, or at least will take a decade or two to change, but changing it 15-20 years ago at the first signs of abuse (because that's what it is - readers not reading for titilation at all, in fact some not even reading, just skipping to the last page to see if lynch justice is served or not) would have headed off the level of nastiness that it has degraded to today. And I'm not talking at all about poor authors and their poor scores, fucking boohoo. I'm talking about the cesspool of spiteful misogyny that it has attracted and fostered. I mean I'm all for free speech and expression but you get the community that you ask for. Way to go Laurel. : /

And while we're at it, fix that total bullshit that is Erotic Couplings. Call it what it is, Miscellaneous Vanilla.

Tell us what you really think.... But you are correct on that genre in general. The top 4 or so commenters of all time are part of the BTB community, but the real stink of the place comes from the anonymous commenters who sit behind their keyboards in their Mommy's basement posting their vile shit, with no one able to call them on their crap.

 

[Lifestyle66]

This. This category has been horribly euphemized. It should just be called extra-marital because that clearly states what it is. Anal is called anal because that's what it is. Lesbian is called Lesbian Sex because that's what it is. BDSM is called BDSM because that's what it is. You get the picture. When you open Loving Wives you do not get what it says on the tin because it is not remotely clear what is inside said tin.

And after 20 fucking years, Laurel STILL hasn't fixed this! Of course changing it now won't change much, or at least will take a decade or two to change, but changing it 15-20 years ago at the first signs of abuse (because that's what it is - readers not reading for titilation at all, in fact some not even reading, just skipping to the last page to see if lynch justice is served or not) would have headed off the level of nastiness that it has degraded to today. And I'm not talking at all about poor authors and their poor scores, fucking boohoo. I'm talking about the cesspool of spiteful misogyny that it has attracted and fostered. I mean I'm all for free speech and expression but you get the community that you ask for. Way to go Laurel. : /

And while we're at it, fix that total bullshit that is Erotic Couplings. Call it what it is, Miscellaneous Vanilla.

So, basically Laurel should have long ago changed Loving Wives to what YOU think it should be, rather than what the tens/hundreds of thousands of faithful readers there think it should be.

Like them or not, everybody has an opinion. I prefer resisting the urge to hate and ban those other "sickos who enjoy those disgusting sexual habits!!!"

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

So, basically Laurel should have long ago changed Loving Wives to what YOU think it should be, rather than what the tens/hundreds of thousands of faithful readers there think it should be.

Like them or not, everybody has an opinion. I prefer resisting the urge to hate and ban those other "sickos who enjoy those disgusting sexual habits!!!"

At some point in time, it should have been split between those who share and those who cheat.

We've seen such splits in other categories, so we know it's possible.

 

[Doc_Sportello]

LW, as it has evolved, is not a porn category. Many of its highest scoring stories have no sex scenes at all. These stories are, at heart, about marital betrayal, one of the great themes of literature. (Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, etc.)

 

[Lifestyle66]

At some point in time, it should have been split between those who share and those who cheat.

We've seen such splits in other categories, so we know it's possible.

It's not that simple.

Some stories describe a transition from a cheating spouse to acceptance and sharing.

Others having a sharing/swinger relationship, but one of the couple breaks a rule they agreed to. Does that story go to "Cheating" or "Swingers" category? My story "What Were You Thinking?" is exactly that, swingers where the wife "cheated" on their rule.

I have one story I carefully crafted ("Aftermath, or I Can't Go for That") to show a wife who had been raped but now longs for multiple partners in extramarital sex. So, she wants a divorce BEFORE ever looking for what she now needs, and she takes NOTHING from their household assets or finances when she leaves. Is she a Loving Wife? Did she "Cheat"? Is that "Swinging/Sharing?"

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Others having a sharing/swinger relationship, but one of the couple breaks a rule they agreed to. Does that story go to "Cheating" or "Swingers" category? My story "What Were You Thinking?" is exactly that, swingers where the wife "cheated" on their rule.

Those who cheat.

I have one story I carefully crafted ("Aftermath, or I Can't Go for That") to show a wife who had been raped but now longs for multiple partners in extramarital sex. So, she wants a divorce BEFORE ever looking for what she now needs, and she takes NOTHING from their household assets or finances when she leaves. Is she a Loving Wife? Did she "Cheat"? Is that "Swinging/Sharing?"

Somewhere else, maybe EC.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

yes, but this is diffrent, either way I have shut down comments and voting, and requested a move to another catagory, and reset of vote counter.

I don't feel these guys can be trust to vote fairly or comment with any level of reasonableness, and had I done a little more resarch I may never have posted in there in the first place...

seems I am not the only one who has been burned in this way. Still, if I ever do post in there it will be simliar to what i doing now, no votes and no comments, they don't deserve it.

comments, they don't deserve it.

In my opinion, you shot yourself in the ass by category jumping the story, especially where the denizens of the Loving Wives category are concerned. To read the previous chapters, they would have to find them (you could have linked to them in the most recent chapter). From what I saw, the previous chapters were published in Reluctance/Non-Consent and Exhibition/Voyeur. How appealing are those categories going to be to the typical Loving Wives aficionado?

I read your latest, or I should say that I "tried" to read it. Comprehending what was going on and who the characters are would require me to start with the first chapter, which I had no motivation to do based upon what I was reading in the latest chapter. There was nothing drawing me in. Then, the lack of dialogue tags made it challenging to understand who was saying what to whom.

I have published in seven categories. My average score in Loving Wives is .35 lower than my average in all the other categories combined, but I still place stories there if I believe it is the best fit for them. I don't think that your story deserves the rating it has so far. However, I can't see it getting too much higher based upon the factors that I mentioned.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I read your latest, or I should say that I "tried" to read it. Comprehending what was going on and who the characters are would require me to start with the first chapter, which I had no motivation to do based upon what I was reading in the latest chapter.

That's always an issue with spreading across categories.

There was nothing drawing me in. Then, the lack of dialogue tags made it challenging to understand who was saying what to whom.

That's a different issue I eluded to above and in a couple of other threads.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

So, basically Laurel should have long ago changed Loving Wives to what YOU think it should be, rather than what the tens/hundreds of thousands of faithful readers there think it should be.

No, I think it should be named the same way that almost all of the other categories are named - simply by what they are. No one is confused about what they might find in First Time, or Toys and Masturbation, or Gay Male, or Sci-Fi Fantasy, or even Novels & Novellas. But many are shocked to find what they did not expect the first time stepping into Loving Wives. Even I myself thought it an odd name when I first saw it, thinking that it was happy marriages with dutiful 50s style wives, only to find out that it's supposed to be hotwifing and couple swinging and the like, but it is actually overrun with heartless (and sometimes even smutless) misogyny. Yes, the intended things are there, but they are buried under a layer of shit.

I don't have a problem with someone who wants to write or read about misogyny, but I don't think that such a culture should be nurtured and allowed to fester out of control by the admin, and that;s what has happened by titling the category so terribly. It is openly sarcastic to the BtB crowd whether it was intended to be or not. It taunts them. Now mistakes are made, that's okay, I understand that, we're all humans including the admin ... but FIX THEM! For God's sake, FIX THEM! Because if the admin refuses to fix the mistake for TWENTY FUCKING YEARS (!!!) then the admin is complicit in fostering and nurturing a sick culture of misogyny on the site.

I also don't see anyone standing up for the wonderfully named category. A couple of us don't like it, the rest of us couldn't care less if the category name was changed and no one is going to hold a protest rally if it does change.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Like them or not, everybody has an opinion. I prefer resisting the urge to hate and ban those other "sickos who enjoy those disgusting sexual habits!!!"

I'm not talking about banning anyone. I never have. Just pointing out that the site gets what it fosters.

 

[Voboy]

So, basically Laurel should have long ago changed Loving Wives to what YOU think it should be, rather than what the tens/hundreds of thousands of faithful readers there think it should be.

No. Read Laurel's own category description. It's what SHE thought it should be.

I think her intent with that category was quite clear, and it's the opposite of what some readers there wish it was. Laurel remained supine while that category was turned into something that didn't reflect her intent.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Laurel remained supine while that category was turned into something that didn't reflect her intent.

I'll see your supine and raise you a comatose. x-Q

 

[big_cane_sugar]

IMO, you post a story in LW for the "likes," not the rating.

 

[SoftTouch99]

Yes, if you are sensitive about audience reactions to your story, stay out of Loving Wives!

That category's audience is divided into two factions, one which likes promiscuous women, and the other who HATE them!

However, regardless of which category you post stories, you can't assume that the reader of your next chapter read the previous ones. WHY would you assume that they did, if you're dropping the stories randomly into differing categories; post to Exhibitionism, then in Reluctance, some in Group Sex, and one in LW?

Every time you post a story, a different set of readers sees it for the first time, opens it, and reacts to THAT one story! And each category has a different set of followers! If you have triggers in there which offend them (ie, post to Loving WIVES, and describe two GAY males going at it), you'll get bombed. Post to the appropriate category! But just because you have a WIFE in the story does not make it a Loving Wives story!

yes, I release the chapter elements into the catagory that best fits that chapter. this one had some elements that were involving cheating, which I though was what Loving wives was for, but I think that is where I went wrong.

should we not just have a cheating and cuckhold section? thats what I thought the implication was for lovng wives so that is my fail.

spelling yes, I have thoses issues, not going to lie, but as much as you want to shame me for that, it dose not matter as it won't change without high priced editors which I can't afford for this sort of hobby. so yes is what it is.

also, I don't pander to my readers, infact I am quite vocal if they don't like my stuff they don't need to read it so my stories are for readers who like my stuff.

I also see what your talking about posting in diffrent feilds, but again I post baised on content of the story chunk, is that wrong?

 

[Voboy]

yes, I release the chapter elements into the catagory that best fits that chapter. this one had some elements that were involving cheating, which I though was what Loving wives was for, but I think that is where I went wrong.

You weren't wrong. You posted where the category description said you should post.

You'd have been better served, though, to read a few posts in here before you submitted. The vicissitudes of the LW category are VERY well-trodden ground here in the AH.

should we not just have a cheating and cuckhold section?

You might be about the ninetieth different person to suggest this same fix...

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I also see what your talking about posting in diffrent feilds, but again I post baised on content of the story chunk, is that wrong?

You're not wrong at all. If the theme of that chapter is adultery of some sort, then it is totally appropriate to post it in LW. Some people will try to tell you that you need to post a certain way and others will tell you that you need to post a different way. My advice is to post your work wherever you feel that it best fits. The categories are there so that writers can place their stories where readers with certain interests can best find them.

However, it has been observed over time that chaptered series stories that hop from category to category do tend to take a hit in the score department. This doesn't mean that you should not category hop, but if you are writing to get the best score you may want to try keeping things in one category (or two tops) or just writing the entire story and posting it all as one file in one category (probably Novels & Novellas).

 

[Lifestyle66]

I also don't see anyone standing up for the wonderfully named category. A couple of us don't like it, the rest of us couldn't care less if the category name was changed and no one is going to hold a protest rally if it does change.

Excuse me, but I write the majority of my stories to post there, so I do stand up for the status quo!

Changing the categories risks the "unintended consequences" of readers venturing elsewhere to find stories they love or love to hate! And what the nay-sayers here in the AH fail to ask themselves is; "What do the Admins like Laurel get for their work in disrupting their site?"

If you know the haters hang out in LW, then you know to avoid it! If there is no single place for them, then next you'll complain about the haters showing up in other categories down-voting your stories there.

Yeah, a significant portion of the LW community are slinging hateful shit. I post my stories there to be the "shit magnet", keeping the rest of you safe.

 

[SoftTouch99]

You'd have been better served, though, to read a few posts in here before you submitted. The vicissitudes of the LW category are VERY well-trodden ground here in the AH.

yeah I see that now, been pretty busy just trying to get the content out there, so less time spent on researching the site and such.

as to my goals as a writer here?

pretty simple, get a guage on how people are finding my writing style and content. provide my followers valuable entertainment, and really just explore my passion projects.

Sofar I am finding good reasonable engament across most catagories, and happy that readers find my works apealing on the whole. I can accept constructive critism, and open to negetive feed back for stuff I am doing wrong, but yes, this LW cat dose not feel like that at all.

also, I see no reason to get rid of loving wives, but I also see no reason not to add a cheating/cuckhold catgory as well

 

[Lifestyle66]

I also see what your talking about posting in diffrent feilds, but again I post baised on content of the story chunk, is that wrong?

As BobbyBrandt said above, YES, category jumping with a series is wrong!

People read for their own entertainment. If they have a favorite category, they read new stories posted there.

When you throw "Chapter Six" in front of them, they'll click on it and rate and comment on what you are currently throw in their face! And if they HATE it, they have no reason to search for the other "crap" you've posted elsewhere. That's how they'll see it; "WFT was that? And WHY should I bother?

Basically, YOU are tasking the audience to WORK for you and your feelings.

 

[CalBishForNow]

I think the ratings in LW will often average out to something reasonable, even if they get there by splitting the difference between two diametrically opposed crazy camps. Ratings in most other categories are weird. It should be be a lot harder than it is to get 4.5+ stars and the coveted "hot" symbol.

 

[Britva415]

These stories are, at heart, about marital betrayal,

You'd never know it from reading the category's title and description, though.

A split is long overdue

 

[Britva415]

category jumping with a series is wrong!

How do you solve, then, for different chapters or episodes featuring different category content?

I don't think that "just don't write them that way" is a defensible position. This is a real issue. I'm not saying that that is your position, but it is one I have seen before and can anticipate someone offering again.