Simplified Acceptable Content Guide

Emoticons (sequence of symbols) are okay.

We avoid using emojis (the images) because some systems don't recognise them and for some they may appear like a square.

Quote by Safryzer

Is it still the case that emojis are banned within stories, even where exchanges by text message are depicted? Generally, I think it’s a good rule. But emojis are so ubiquitous in text messages these days that it feels like a forced error to omit them. 😖 For many people, emojis are part of natural text speak. In a couple of cases recently, the lack of emojis in text messages, where it feels like a character would use them, has actually pulled me out of the story.

As Seeker said, text emojis are fine when used in text messages as long as you don't go crazy with them, then they become distracting. The graphical ones sometimes show up as empty squares on some devices/browsers. Plus they don't work for screen readers

Edit to add:

Quote by AvidlyCurious

Emoticons (sequence of symbols) are okay.

We avoid using emojis (the images) because some systems don't recognise them and for some they may appear like a square.

Yes, this. She was faster than me.

Yes, I echo the above. And also, graphical emoji don't translate well into a screen reader or other assistive tech experience, as MollyDoll said.

Some might argue that "colon close parenthesis" isn't very meaningful either, but at least screen reading software has a chance of interpreting ASCII sequences and converting them to something meaningful when reading them aloud.

That is not the case with graphical symbols which, on a technical level, tend to occupy the upper ends of the Unicode character space, or be custom graphics for particular applications, and may be interpreted as garbled multi-byte sequences depending on the user's locale.

It's all a bit of a mess, so we err on the side of caution. Text-only emoticons please and, like all literary devices, sparingly.

Ah, okay; thank you for all of the insights, which make perfect sense.

I’ll think twice about using texts in the story in question, as there doesn’t seem to be a way to reflect how people text in the real world, without causing such issues.

It’s helpful to know that emoticons are allowed, but they often can’t replace emojis, and purely using them might date an exchange misleadingly.

I agree writers should be judicious with such devices. But, as I say, their omission can also be a distraction.

It seems to be a Catch-22. 🤷🏼‍♂️ [Shrugs-shoulders emoji.]

I have an idea for a politically motivated story floating around my head and didn't want to get started until my understanding of the rules were crystal clear

To my understanding, we are not allowed to use real people? Assuming that is correct, what is the criteria for avoiding crossing the line of a story rejection? I.e, if I used similar names and attributes which would make the subjects of my story crystal clear without mentioning names directly, would that still be against the rules?

Quote by carlsnap12
if I used similar names and attributes which would make the subjects of my story crystal clear without mentioning names directly, would that still be against the rules?

As long as it's woolly enough that nobody sues the site, you're good. So it's better to steer clear of names that sound too similar.

What, I can't have actor Tod Cruze hook up with singer Tyler Fast?🤣

This is not your site, so you have no say in its rules and strictures. The solution to your outrage is quite simple: build your own and open the flood gates wide. The results might prove amusing.

Perhaps you should spend some time learning to read. "...you have no say in its rules and strictures." Please feel free to blather all you wish about your ethics, but do not expect anything to change simply to placate your moral outrage.

Again: build your own site. I believe there is a gentleman in Paris who can offer pointers.

Again: build your own site.

Please forgive me everyone for feeding the troll. I will retire now and do penance.

(He wasn't that interesting anyway.)

Kistin is correct. This site is privately owned, and the site reserves the right to enforce its own regulations and standards of conduct among its members. It has no obligation to publish the speech of any of its members, especially when that speech violates the terms of service for the site. Call it censorship if you must, but if you feel that the site guidelines are too restrictive, publish elsewhere or self-publish.

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know

Kistin is correct. This site is privately owned, and the site reserves the right to enforce its own regulations and standards of conduct among its members. It has no obligation to publish the speech of any of its members, especially when that speech violates the terms of service for the site. Call it censorship if you must, but if you feel that the site guidelines are too restrictive, publish elsewhere or self-publish.

What he said. A site having rules for what content it wants to publish is not the same as censorship. It is in the same league as a science site having a rule that they won't accept a science fiction story. It's simply a site wanting to publish a certain type of content and having a particular vision for what it is about.

Quote by EAM6690

So you admit you're dishonest, can't / won't refute my logic. Just you being a troll saying in essence " don't try to improve this site, go away". You support censorship here, which means you support ALL censorship.

A Christian fundamentalist state prosecutor could file to have this site taken down for "obscene content transported over state lines". That has happened before.

Elon? That you, bud? Everything okay?

Quote by EAM6690

So you admit you're dishonest, can't / won't refute my logic. Just you being a troll saying in essence " don't try to improve this site, go away". You support censorship here, which means you support ALL censorship.

A Christian fundamentalist state prosecutor could file to have this site taken down for "obscene content transported over state lines". That has happened before.

These are the terms of your membership here whether you have read them and understood them doesn't matter. They are there in writing, nonfiction and completely enforcable. If you vehemently disagree with the terms of your membership below you should not have agreed to them by creating an account.

https://www.lushstories.com/legal/acceptable-use-policy

Quote by Seeker4

What, I can't have actor Tod Cruze hook up with singer Tyler Fast?🤣

Kravitz Yeltzie wouldn't be too happy about that.

I thought we could have real life characters as long as they are long dead.. e.g. I wrote a story about a time traveller shagging the painter Degas in 19th century Paris. Other stories from other authors include long dead royalty and such like. I know fan fiction isn't allowed but if they've been dead so long they are out if copyright (70 years) isn't that OK?

Quote by deviantsusie
I thought we could have real life characters as long as they are long dead.

In the 21st century, even the dead can sue...🙄🤣

But, yeah, that was my understanding, too. Basically, pre-20th century is good or something like that. Hope Jen or a mod chimes in soon to confirm and clarify, though.

Dead people and characters in the public domain are okay (fanfiction is not, though).

But not like dead in the story, cause that's just ick.

Quote by kistinspencil

But not like dead in the story, cause that's just ick.

Yeah, I think it needs to be clear that we are talking setting the stories when the dead people are still alive.

There also probably needs to be a qualifier that this is people dead long enough to be public domain (i.e. died more than 70 years ago). Estates of more recently deceased folks might not like us using them in our smut.

Quote by kistinspencil
But not like dead in the story, cause that's just ick.

What about the 'living dead'? Hallowe'en is just around the corner:

"Unnggghhhh" he said, shuffling from side to side as his tattered rags flapped in the breeze.

"Urrrhh," she moaned, swaying slowly and gazing deep into the dark hollow sockets where his eyes had long ago been pecked out by scavenging birds.

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know

What about the 'living dead'? Hallowe'en is just around the corner:

"Unnggghhhh" he said, shuffling from side to side as his tattered rags flapped in the breeze.

"Urrrhh," she moaned, swaying slowly and gazing deep into the dark hollow sockets where his eyes had long ago been pecked out by scavenging birds.

living dead are allowed. vampire stories are usually the go to, but mummies and zombies shouldn't be an issue (tho the idea of a zombie penis falling off mid sex act makes me giggle a bit).

Quote by EAM6690

Censorship of any kind, under any circumstances, is dangerous. Everything posted on this site would be censored off by Christian fundamentalists, because the stories don't match their delusions of how life should work. Your woke/snowflake delusions should not restrict writers from publishing any content, whatever you choose to name it. Real adults don't practice censorship.

many of the rules and regulations exist for legal issues. pure and simple, the subjects banned are considered felonies. Many of them put up red flags on the internet and draw unwanted attention. i am sure there are people here who would like the freedom to write b estiality stories for example. if we allowed that we'd pretty soon be overrun with people submitting such, chatting about it, starting threads about it - it's a divisive subject and I think it would end up driving off people who think the subject unethical, immoral, and just plain disgusting. it's in the interest of the site to cater to our current membership rather than drive them off, a lesson taken from first removing I ncest stories and then adding an I ncest Fantasy category.

also, we don't allow hate speech. Go to the site formerly known as Twitter if that's what you're looking for. and if you don't like our brand of "censorship" feel free to move on. there's plenty of sites that publish the kind of stuff we won't. the quality doesn't tend to be as good, but that's the trade-off.

FYI - people who think the word "woke" is a negative crack me up. to be caring and empathetic and treating others with kindness rather than judgement is kind of a positive in my book.

sincerely,

A real adult.

Quote by Seeker4

In the 21st century, even the dead can sue...🙄🤣

But, yeah, that was my understanding, too. Basically, pre-20th century is good or something like that. Hope Jen or a mod chimes in soon to confirm and clarify, though.

yeah, pre-20th c characters should be fine.

Quote by nicola

Our terms and conditions outline a few very simple core rules (who reads those? ).

Do not post stories that feature minors (under sixteen years old). This includes flashbacks or memories pertaining to the sexualization of anyone underage.

Do not submit stories that include: r a pe, grooming, racism, homophobia, racist or homophobic slurs, graphic violence, totally unwilling participants, drugging, dangerous sexual acts, snuff, scat, ending your own life, or .

Do not use a cover photo that contains visible genitalia, penetration, ejaculation, or graphic or violent scenes.

Please use your common sense. If you think your submission may cause gross offence, it's probably not a good fit for this site!

Quick tips to help with approvals. https://www.lushstories.com/forum/writing-resources/before-you-submit-a-story

Thank you.

Nicola

I'm not sure if this was asked earlier in the thread but what is the 'or' it kind of has a cliff hanger of don't submit stories .... and it ends with 'or .' like ... I keep checking back to see if it has been updated /tweaked but the cliffhanger still stands.

Crap, I had never noticed that before. And given that this post was by Nicola, who knows anymore?

Quote by LuceDevlin

I'm not sure if this was asked earlier in the thread but what is the 'or' it kind of has a cliff hanger of don't submit stories .... and it ends with 'or .' like ... I keep checking back to see if it has been updated /tweaked but the cliffhanger still stands.

Quote by Seeker4

Crap, I had never noticed that before. And given that this post was by Nicola, who knows anymore?

...or anyone else's perhaps?

Quote by LuceDevlin

I'm not sure if this was asked earlier in the thread but what is the 'or' it kind of has a cliff hanger of don't submit stories .... and it ends with 'or .' like ... I keep checking back to see if it has been updated /tweaked but the cliffhanger still stands.

stories that take place in Oregon.