Message-ID: <49427asstr$1097637006@assm.asstr.org>
From: anon584c@nyx.net (Uther Pendragon)
Reply-To: anon584c@nyx.net
Subject: {ASSM} {FAQ} {ASSD} Story Codes for authors.
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Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 23:10:06 -0400
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Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories,alt.sex.stories.d
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                   Frequently Asked Questions
                              about
                ABBREVIATED STORY CODES IN A.S.S.
                        Authors' version


v 6.2 -- October 2004


Q    How do I code a story I have written so as to communicate 
most accurately with potential readers?


                             Changes 


None this month.

                              - = - 

Q1   What does "story code" mean?

A1   Story codes are a group of symbols on the subject line of 
stories posted in alt.sex.stories and alt.sex.stories.moderated 
and several closely-related newsgroups.  They communicate to some 
of the readers some of the contents of the story.  Generally, 
codes are intended to address the download decisions of many 
potential readers.  Some warn of content that some readers want 
to avoid.  Some advertise content that some readers want to 
download.  Most codes do both.


Q2   How do I use this FAQ?

A2   If you are new to coding, you should probably browse through 
it once.  You should learn the codes used in the area in which 
you want to write (we call that your subgenre).  For a new story, 
and especially for a new subgenre, you can check the section 
involved. Otherwise, check out the "changes" section at the top 
of each posting.

You should know the codes for sex, age, and number in part 3.0 
below.  You should be aware of the hot codes in part 3.1.  And 
you should know the codes of your own subgenre.  You needn't 
necessarily know the code subtleties of other subgenres, except 
to know that you shouldn't use those codes for another purpose.  

    * In the *FAQ*, we often write a single code within its 
    * own set of parentheses.  This is to signal that we are 
    * looking at codes; use only one set of parentheses on 
    * actual stories.


Q3   What are the codes?

A3  Here they are broken down into categories.  Some codes are 
repeated, with the same definition, in more than one category.


                              INDEX

3.0:      Sex, age, and number.
3.1:      Hot codes.  It is considered brutally rude to omit 
          these codes if they apply.
3.2:      Willingness or unwillingness.
3.3:      Dominance, submission, bondage, pain and violence.
3.4:      Relationships.
3.5:      Activities.
3.6:      Various kinks.
3.7:      Other particulars.


                   ******   The CODES   ******

* It is considered viciously rude to include the categories that 
* I have marked with an asterisk (*) without warning of them in 
* the story codes.  See section 3.1.

                              *****

3.0:   Sex, Age, and number of persons engaged in sexual 
          activity.  (Not only intercourse.)

M    An adult man (18 or older) 
m    Boy - Teenager (13 - 17)
b*   Boy - Preteen (age 12 or younger)
F    An adult woman (18 or older)
f    Girl - Teenager (13 - 17)
g*   Girl - Preteen (age 12 or younger)

Some examples of how these are used:

MF   Heterosexual adult sex
mf   Young heterosexual sex
FF   Homosexual adult female sex
MM*  Homosexual adult male sex
ff   Young lesbian sex
mm*  Homosexual, young male sex
Mg* or mF  Permutations of this are an adult having sex with a 
    minor.

+    2 or more of the same sex, that is
M+F  Several men having sex with the same woman
MF+  Several women having sex with the same man
M+F+      They all mix it up
MF mf     Two couples, not a foursome

fsolo    e.g.   Masturbation by an adolescent girl.

When these are not sufficient to distinguish who is doing what 
with whom, there is a discussion of connectors, ~, (or /) in 
/~Uther_Pendragon/code/subtle.htm
The FAQ on coding subtleties.

Fembot    A female robot, designed to give sexual pleasure.
fembot    A version of the same, designed to look like a teenaged girl.

                              - = - 

3.1: Hot codes.   It is considered brutally rude to omit these 
          codes if they apply:

bd        Bondage and Discipline
best      Bestiality. Sex with an animal (see also zoo)
blackmail Forcing sex through threat of exposure.
cbt       Cock & ball torture
fist      Fisting 
inc       Incest
mc        Mind control
nc        Non-consensual Sexual Activity
nec       Necrophilia. Sex with a dead person
ped       Pedophilia. Participants age 12 or below. 
rape      rape
reluc     starts out as rape, but she loves it.
sad       For "just" inflicting pain. Can be used with 'nc' or 
          'cons'.
scat      Scatology: Fun with feces.
sm        Sadomasochism: pain which gives pleasure to both 
          parties
snuff     Killing
tort      Torture. 
viol      Violent, not always sad
ws        Water Sports 
zoo       Zoophilia. Caring and consensual relationships
          between humans and animals. (See also best)

And generally any level of sex-related violence.  Of course, some 
of these terms include others.  If you include (tort) and (snuff) 
then (sad) is redundant.

*    However, we consider it fair to use (caution) in story codes 
*    to indicate that the story might squick some people, but 
*    telling *why* it might squick them might spoil the story for 
*    others.   

Generally, male homosexual activity squicks a fair number of men.  
Lesbian activity doesn't seem to bother very many people.  
However, some jurisdictions forbid the depiction of sexual 
activity which are illegal there.  So casual FF activity should 
probably be labeled as well, even if it is not a major theme of
the story.

                             *******

3.2: Willingness or unwillingness.

blackmail*  Forcing sex through threat of exposure.
cons       *Only* Consensual Sexual Activity (including possible 
               non-intercourse sexual activity) is in the story.
mc*        Mind control.
nc*        Some non-consensual Sexual Activity (including 
                possible non-intercourse sexual activity.)
rape*      Brutal non-consensual intercourse.
reluc*     Starts out as rape, but she loves it.
rom        Romantic;  Consensual Sexual Activity only.  Based, 
               at least in part, on the characters' love for one 
               another.  Just now, wisest to include (cons).

For multiple nonconsensual codes, see 
/~Uther_Pendragon/code/subtle

                             *******

3.3: Dominance, submission, bondage, pain and violence.

_dom      Domination by member of sex/age "_"
               e.g.
Mdom      Dominant adult male
Fdom      Dominant adult female

bd*       Bondage and Discipline
cbt*      Cock & ball torture
fist*     Fisting 
humil     Humiliation.  Some of the sexual charge of the story 
          involves the humiliation of one of the characters.
mc*       Mind control
rough     Consensually rough sex, not always sm.
sad*      For "just" inflicting pain. Can be used with 'nc' or 
          'cons'.
sm*       Sadomasochism: pain which gives pleasure to both 
          parties
snuff*    Killing
span      Spanking, Mild (sm)
tort*     Torture. Severe non-consensual pain-giving
viol*     Violence, not always (sad)

* Generally, (snuff) applies to killing in which the description 
* of the killing is supposed to add to the sexual charge;  
* (viol) includes stories which are violent, even if the sex 
* isn't.

                             *******

3.4: Relationships

cheat     Married or committed people having sex outside of the 
               commitment, cheating on their partner, as distinct 
               from swinging.
inc*      Incest
interr    Interracial 
rom       [Romantic]  Consensual Sexual Activity only.  Based, at 
               least in part, on the characters' love for one 
               another.
wife      Wife *watching* (participatory cuckoldry) 
wl        [Wedded Lust] Sex within the marital relationship.

                             *******

3.5: Activities
_solo     Masturbation by M, m, b, F, f or g;  e.g. Msolo
anal      Anal sex, not always genital penetration.
best*     Bestiality. Sex with an animal (see also zoo)
copr*     Coprophilia (Fun with feces)
enem      Enemas
exhib     Exhibitionism 
fist*     Fisting 
inc*      Incest
mc*       Mind control
nec*      Necrophilia. Sex with a dead person
nosex     There is no intercourse in the story.  This is a preemptive code
               in the sense that it overrides any implication of 
               intercourse by other codes used.
oral      Oral-genital contact.
ped*      Pedophilia. Some participants age 12 or below. 
rim       Oral-anal contact.
scat*     Scatology: Involving feces.
tg        Transgendered (Transsexual)
vore      Eating (literally) someone or something alive.  Think Jonah.
voy       Voyeurism
wife      Wife *watching*  (participatory cuckoldry) 
ws*       Water Sports (aka golden showers, that is: people who 
          like getting pissed on (as opposed to pissed off).
zoo*      Zoophilia. Caring and consensual relationships
          between humans and animals. (See also best)

                             *******

3.6: Various kinks.

bi        Bisexuality of one or more characters.
lac       Lactation. Playing with (human) milk.
preg      Pregnant. Sex with a pregnant woman or impregnation.
toys      Vibrators or other adult toys

                             *******

3.7: Other particulars.

1st       First time intercourse.  You may also use m1st, F1st, 
          etc.  Sometimes first time MM or FF intercourse for 
          someone who has already experienced MF.
Fembot    A female robot, designed to give sexual pleasure.
fembot    A version of the same, designed to look like a teenaged girl.
filk      New lyrics for a familiar tune.
furry     Anthropomorphized animals
hist      Has a historical theme
humor     Humor. Funny
interr    Interracial 
parody    Imitation of a style or particular story with
               the intent to amuse.
ScFi      Science fiction setting.  Please note spelling.
size      Overdeveloped body-parts

                             *******


Q4   What if none of these codes cover my needs for my story?

A4   Consult 
/~Uther_Pendragon/code/subtle.htm  The FAQ on 
coding subtleties, which has less-often-used codes and comments 
on dealing with a case where new codes are really needed.


Q5   What happens if I use these codes exactly?

A5   Some readers search on these codes, by eye or by search 
engine.  The ones who are looking for a story like yours will 
find yours.  Of those who enjoy it, some will look for more of 
your stories.  Your readership will be increased; one or two of 
them might even write you fan mail.

Also, every pleased reader will have been "positively reinforced" 
for reading alt.sex.stories.* and for using the codes.  You will 
have helped not only yourself, but the rest of the authors.


Q6   What happens if I misuse these codes?

A6   The reader who is using the codes to look for precisely that 
sort of story will miss yours.  The reader who downloads your 
story will be displeased.  Depending on his level of displeasure 
and his tolerance, his actions can range from junking that 
particular story to kill-filing you or even writing you a nasty 
letter or a comment in the group.

Certainly, each such reader will have been "negatively 
reinforced," *very* slightly less likely to trust codes, to use 
codes, and the read alt.sex.stories.


Q7a  What happens if I use the codes *I* think fit, but not the 
ones in the FAQ that the reader expects?

Q7b  What happens if I use precisely the codes in the FAQ, but 
those aren't the ones the reader considers appropriate for the 
story?

A7   Pretty much the same thing as A6.  Readers react according 
to their expectations.  The FAQ follows usage, not usage 
following the FAQ, much less your opinions.


Q8   What happens if I don't use codes?  

A8   Some readers won't touch an uncoded story.  The readers who 
*do* download your story are likely not looking for that sort of 
story.  Almost certainly, coding increases your readership -- how 
much depends on the subgenre and other particulars.  More about 
this in /~Uther_Pendragon/code/subtle.htm



Q9   How much code should I put on the story.  

A9   You should use the appropriate sex and age codes in section 
3.0, any hot codes from section 3.1, and the main theme of the 
story.  Beyond that, consult 
/~Uther_Pendragon/code/subtle.htm, the FAQ on 
coding subtleties.  You might also check out the coding of some 
stories which you have read and remember, although the best 
writers aren't always the best coders.  


Q10  What is in the subtleties of coding FAQ?

A10  Rarely used codes and codes from specialized newsgroups and 
for (MM) or (interr) stories.  The order of using codes.  More on 
how much code is necessary.  


Q11  How are these codes presented?

A11  The story-codes for each story should all be enclosed in one 
set of ( parentheses ) after the story name.  The codes should be 
separated by spaces, and no single code should include a space 
[e.g. (ScFi) not (sci fi); (Mdom} not {M dom)].  

The codes for sex and age are run together when those persons are 
involved with each other [(MFF) not (M F F)].  These codes are 
run into the following codes when they are modifiers [(Fdom) 
(Msolo) (f1st)].  

Usually, the codes for sex and age come first.

It would be nice if you used these codes just as they are given, 
capitals and lower-case letters and all.


If you are posting to ASSM, then 
Romeo and Juliet 1 {Shakespeare} (Mf viol 1st) [1/5] 
     works for a subject line.

If you are not posting on ASSM, but are posting on ASS, then use:
{ASS} Romeo and Juliet 1 {Shakespeare} (Mf viol 1st) [1/5] 

Much more on the entire subject line at:

/~ASSFAQs/sslfaq.html
The ASSM subject line FAQ 


Q12  What other resources are available?

A12 
/~Uther_Pendragon/code/subtle.htm
The FAQ on subtleties of story coding.

/~Uther_Pendragon/code/scfr.htm
The story-code FAQ for readers.

/~Uther_Pendragon/code/scfr-lng.htm
The alphabetical list of all story codes. 
                               and
/~Uther_Pendragon/code/scfr-sub.htm
The list of all story codes by type of story. 



                    - = -  End of FAQ  - = - 

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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