From anon584c@nyx.net Sat Apr 14 19:11:55 2001
Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 18:57:40 -0700
From: Uther Pendragon <anon584c@nyx.net>
To: story-submit@asstr.org
Cc: NiteSweats@aol.com
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d
Subject: Story Codes for authors.
Frequently Asked Questions
about
ABBREVIATED STORY CODES IN A.S.S.
v 5.0 -- April, 2001
The need for *authors* is a prescriptive set of codes. The
need for *readers* is a descriptive set of what authors, past &
present, have done. This is podt represents what the authors
need. The readers' code list is posted simultaneously; see
bottom of page.
Stored at:
http://www.nyx.net/~anon584c/code/scfa.txt
Changes.
Critical changes in descriptions of (rom), (cons).
Several other clarifications. Store this document.
Story Codes - Why bother?
The story-codes are a classification of the contents of a
story. They're written by the poster on the Subject-line as a
courtesy to the readers of the newsgroup and are very helpful in
deciding whether or not to read a particular story.
They serve two different purposes. They are advertisements
and warning labels. If people are looking for your kind of
story, then the story code will attract them. If they are
squicked by this kind of story, then the story code will warn
them. And if they are squicked by a different kind of story,
then seeing a story code will reassure them that there are no
land mines ahead. Remember that simple *possession* of some
types of story is a crime in some countries. That makes people
in those countries reluctant to download a story and decide if it
is the right sort of story later.
Unlabeled stories can (and often will) go unread due to
unclear content - particularly by those paying per-minute connect
charges and due to the large traffic in a.s.s.*
Obviously, a reader will pick those stories first that are
directly flagged with codes for his/her particular interest. Next
will probably be stories with codes at least related to their
interest or interesting titles and at the very bottom, the
"unspecified" stories.
On the other hand, the story codes are not the full
description of the story. You don't have to invent your own
codes to communicate a nuance which is not covered by the
standard codes. The codes are not intended to convey nuances.
These story-codes should be enclosed in ( 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) (M-solo) (f-1st)].
INDEX
0: Sex age and number.
1: Willingness or unwillingness.
2: Dominance, submission, bondage, pain and violence.
3: Relationships.
4: Activities.
5: Various kinks.
6: Other particulars.
7: Special codes for MM and interr stories.
8: Musts. It is considered brutally rude to omit
these codes if they apply.
All applicable keywords could (and should) be used to
describe the story, regardless of the level of their inclusion;
although petting and oral sex are so frequently a prelude that
their codes may be omitted when they serve as a prelude. Note
that (cons) and (rom) assert that *no*B non-consensesual sex
occurs in the *story*.
It would be a politeness though, if the code for the
essential theme in the story appears early on. Traditionally,
the codes for sex, age, and number precede the others.
These codes are given in case-sensitive form. Although we
only have two situations in which there are codes where the
CAPITAL and the lower case codes are both meaningful, we
recommend that you use the code in the case used in the FAQ.
First, readers may use case-sensitive searches. Second, using
(for example) (FF ROM) might raise the possibility that you
meants (ff rom) instead of (FF rom); in countries in which
*possession* of pedophilic material is severely punishable, this
difference matters.
****** 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.
*****
0: Sex, Age, (and number)
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)
MF Heterosexual adult sex
mf Young heterosexual sex
FF Homosexual adult female sex
MM* Homosexual adult male sex
ff Homosexual, young female 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
MF MF John has sex with Mary and Ted has sex with Alice OR
MF John has sex with Mary and Ted has sex with Alice
M+F+ They all mix it up.
_-solo Masturbation by M, m, b, F, f or g.
f-solo e.g. Masturbation by an adolescent girl.
group More than 3 people having sex.
orgy Large-group sex. When group isn't good enough.
When there are more than two persons involved or there is another
reason for this practice, Dr. Bob suggested:
~ instead of / signifying "with", i.e. (M~dog) for male with
dog. This distinguishes (M~FF) where a man has sex with two women
from (MF~F), eg.
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.
*******
1: Willingness or unwillingness.
cons *Only* Consensual Sexual Activity (including some
non-intercourse sexual activity) is in the story.
nc* Non-consensual Sexual Activity (including some non-
intercourse; including blackmail).
rape* Brutal non-consensual intercourse.
reluc [Also include the code (rape)]; 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.
* Consensual sex is, of course, the standard. Technically, it need not be
* labeled. I would, however, recommend using it since some people sort on
* that code. Where there is both consensual sex and non-consensual sex in
* the same story (cons) and (rom) are inappropriate.
*******
2: 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
caution Something is going on that is not covered by the story
codes but which might reasonably be expected to
offend a fair number of people.
OR
caution The story code would give away too much of the plot, but
the story might offend a fair number of people.
cbt* Cock & ball torture
fist* Fisting
mc Mind control
rough Consensually rough sex, not always sm.
sad* For "just" inflicting pain. Can be used with 'nc' or 'cons'.
sm* Sadomasochism (inflicting pain)
snuff* Killing
span Spanking, Mild sm
tort* Torture. Severe non-consensual spilling of blood-'n-guts
va Verbal abuse. (Abusive and "dirty" language)
viol* Violence, not always sm
* 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: 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)
*******
4: Activities
anal Anal sex, not always genital penetration.
best* Bestiality. Sex with an animal (see also zoo)
cd Cross-dressing (Transvestite)
copr* Coprophilia (Fun with feces)
enem Enemas
exhib Exhibitionism
fist* Fisting
inc* Incest
inf Infantilism
magic Not only magic, per se, but also demons, fantasy worlds, etc.
mc Mind control
nec* Necrophilia. Sex with a dead person
no-sex There is no intercourse in the story.
oral Oral-genital contact.
ped* Pedophilia. Some participants age 12 or below.
pett Heavy petting
safe Safe sex
scat* Scatology: Involving feces.
solo Masturbation
tg Transgendered (Transsexual)
toys Generally, adult toys
tv Transvestite - man dressing as woman
voy Voyeurism
veg Vegetable. Sex with food.
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)
*******
5: Various kinks.
bi Bisexuality of one or more characters.
breast Abnormally large breasts
feet Foot or shoe fetish-story
hair Hair fetish
hirs Hirsute - natural unshaved genitals and/or armpits
lac Lactation. Playing with (human) milk.
preg Pregnant. Sex with a pregnant woman or impregnation.
size Overdeveloped body-parts
tg Transgendered (Transsexual)
toys Generally, adult toys
tv Transvestite - man dressing as woman
veg Vegetable. Sex with food.
*******
6: Other particulars.
1st First time intercourse. You may also use m-1st, F-1st, etc.
bibl Bible. Has a religious theme
caution Something is going on that is not covered by the story
codes (or which you want to come as a surprise)
but which might reasonably be expected to squick a
fair number of people.
coll College-theme
dream Sexual activity during a dream, (daydream or sleep.)
fat Involves fat people
furry Anthropomorphized animals
giant Abnormally large (tall) persons
goth Gothic (dark) setting
hist Has a historical theme
hs High School-theme
humor Humor. Funny
interr Interracial
job Place-of-work theme
real Supposedly true
ScFi Science fiction setting. Please note spelling.
size Overdeveloped body-parts
stroke Story is intended to convey only sexual charge without plot
development.
*******
7: Special codes for MM and interr stories.
bear Hairy male. Usually gay. (Grizzly Adams)
twink gay male: Young and hairless-type (Tom Cruise)
BC (with interr) Black Couple
BF (with interr) Black Female
BM (with interr) Black Male
WC (with interr) White Couple
WM (with interr) White Male
WF (with interr) White Female
*******
8: Musts. 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)
copr Coprophilia (Fun with feces)
inc Incest
nc Non-consensual Sexual Activity
nec Necrophilia. Sex with a dead person
ped Pedophilia. Participants age 12 or below.
However, the codes b, g may be used instead.
rape Brutal nc.
sad For "just" inflicting pain. Can be used with 'nc' or 'cons'.
sm Sadomasochism (inflicting pain)
snuff Killing
tort Torture.
viol Violent, not always sm
ws Water Sports
zoo Zoophilia.
And generally any level of sex-related violence. Of course, some
of these terms include others. If you include (tort) and (snuff)
then (sm) is redundant. (reluc) is not a required category
BECAUSE it should always be accompanied by (rape) or (nc).
* 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.
It is also rude to use any code to describe your work if it
does not apply within these guidelines. That is to say, "Hey,
all those people who read romantic stories (yeah, right, both of
us) should have their horizons expanded by my great rape-&-
torture story, so I'll label it (rom)." is vicious. So is doing
the reverse. However, precedence should always be given to the
feelings of the people who might be squicked over the people who
might be looking for that sort of story. If the story feels like
Mf, but the girl is [just} over the line into adulthood and the
man much older, then (Mf) as a warning is fair, even if it
disappoints the people hoping for a girl of 14. Similarly:
If you have a story which appears, at some point, to involve
one of these "must" labels, then you should use the label. i.e.
a story in which the man strangles the woman, she collapses in
death, and then--at the end--she gets up and says: "That was the
most realistic game yet," should be labeled (snuff).
.RM 65
*******
PURPOSE
The story code FAQ is needed to communicate certain aspects
of the stories which may either repel some readers, greatly
attract some readers, or both. If you see other particular
aspects, you are free to suggest a code for them.
Tou should be aware that the general position is:
1 There are *way* to many codes, we should publish much fewer.
2 The codes for *my* type of stories, however, are much too
coarse a filter; we need about twice as many about that type.
[And I believe those opinions to be both correct for any
particular type of story.] So there may well be a fairly
strong resistance to adding finer distinctions to the codes for
your sort of story.
Finding how else the story codes might be interpreted [rom =
in Roman times, zoo = two people fuck while visitng the zoo,
reluc = she has to talk him into it, etc.] is a great game. It
has nothing to do with the need for teh FAQ, however. On the
contrary, once a code has been published in the FAQ [or even
widely used] it must keep the same meaning. [Else authors would
have to go back to relabel their stories all the time.]
When you have seen a code used and it seems to fit your
story, please consult the FAQ to make certain of its definition.
[And of the spelling.]
*******
See Also:
http://www.nyx.net/~anon584c/code/scfr.txt
For the story codes FAQ for readers.
And:
/~ASSFAQs/sslfaq.html
For guidance on the rest of the subject line.