Multiple "Catagories" per story:

[Nemo of Utopia]

This is something that has come up several times, but is not listed separately yet:

Instead of each story being pigeonholed into only one category, allow between 1 and a a specific number, (somewhere between 3 and 7 or so, I'd personally say 5,) to be selected.

Coupled with this sugestion, I think this would improve the quality of the categories system immensely, make them work almost like a standardized version of tags...

 

[RicoLouis]

Currently this is the most requested thing by the readers with 21 votes.

If this is implemented maybe one can go to the search page and have + or - beside the categories. So you can click on one or two and it will show you stories that fit both categorizes. If you click - then it will block those stories.

 

[Nemo of Utopia]

So much yes to this additional sugestion!

 

[gene.sis]

An initial question for this would be the definition of categories.

Using more categories would just make them predefined tags. (Doesn't mean I don't like predefined tags ^^)

 

[Sthaana]

Very yes. The current category system is woefully inadequate. Honestly, I feel like one could just scrap the categories entirely in favour of tags like one would find on a Booru or any other porn site.
The fact that "Erotic Couplings" is even a category (aren´t all stories here about that to some extent?) and that Scifi and Fantasy are lumped together like it´s the 60s shows this. And what exactly is the practical difference between "Mature" and "MILF" anyway?
I imagine every writer who creates an interracial, incest-themed, nonconsensual BDSM story set in a Fantasy world and featuring teen lesbian group sex has to use a bloody RNG to determine which category to actually go with...

 

[Swallows999]

I think this is one of the most important suggestions that needs to be implemented as soon as possible. Too many stories fall under more than one category.

Very yes. The current category system is woefully inadequate. Honestly, I feel like one could just scrap the categories entirely in favour of tags like one would find on a Booru or any other porn site.

This is also a good alternative. In addition to custom tags, the site should create a list of common predefined tags so people aren't searching for "blowjob", "blow job", "oral", "cock sucking" etc.

 

[RicoLouis]

Unfortunately there would have to be some kind of limit or else someone could abuse the system.

 

[Swallows999]

Unfortunately there would have to be some kind of limit or else someone could abuse the system.

We could expand on what Literotica does: 10 tags and an overall category. We could eliminate the category part and instead have just a certain number of tags.

 

[RicoLouis]

That would work for those who have been around awhile but for a new person coming to the site Categories are very useful instead of just pushing someone in and see if they swim but I do like the idea of limiting Tags but making them more important. Some stories use everything and the kitchen sink when it comes to Tags.

 

[RicoLouis]

I have been playing around with the tags and found a method to make this work. While it is not perfect system a story can have multiple categories if the proper tags are added though for best results you should use plus and minus signs. For example if you type Lesbian+Group+Sex you get 77 stories that will have either the tag lesbian group or group sex.If you add -gay-interracial the stories drop to 56 stories. Actually picking a category will narrow it down even more.

 

[RejectTed]

Unfortunately there would have to be some kind of limit or else someone could abuse the system.

I would suggest capping at two or three. Anything seriously spanning four or more categories can go in miscellaneous.

 

[Nemo of Utopia]

I would suggest capping at two or three. Anything seriously spanning four or more categories can go in miscellaneous.

I still personally find five to be a practical and reasonable limit: Let me Elucidate why:

1: Teen: the protagonist is a Teen
2: MILF: protagonists primary partner is his mom's co-worker who just escaped an abusive relationship with her four young children. (Ergo making her the textbook definition of a "Mother I would Like to Fuck")
3: Sci-Fi: Did I mention this was happening in a colony on the moon?
4: BDSM: Did I also mention the protagonist is a dom and his primary partner is a sub, who the protagonist 'saved' from a 'master' that wouldn't respect her safe word?
5: Fan Fiction: Oh, a final point of note, all of this is happening amidst the backdrop of the lunar colonial period from Robert A. Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress": which has no _direct_ bearing on the story but characters and events from that book will be frequently referenced...

 

[Loeman]

I only worry about adding so many categories in that, in the interest of exposure, one is almost obligated to assign as many categories as possible to a story.

I get that, for example, in a MILF/TEEN/SCI-FI/ROMANCE/BDSM story all that *can* be central to the story (rather than peripheral), but I'm not convinced it's necessary to have all that as a category... and many stories will only add peripheral elements in the interest of 'filling out' their categories.

Indeed, going that route (5 or so categories), I'd prefer to eliminate categories in favor of universal tags. Which is a thought, but also more radical (and difficult to implement).

...

But, its not a big negative - having more. So, I guess I'm not a strenuous objector.

 

[Nemo of Utopia]

Hum, you're right that only four of those categories I listed are plot-centric, but, in your example, you found a more-plot-centric fifth category, thus, even so, I'm still in favor of setting the capstone at five categories.

and many stories will only add peripheral elements in the interest of 'filling out' their categories.

I wanted to address this specifically: is that necessarily a bad thing? Adding more diverse content to a story, in my opinion, would strengthen the story, rather than weaken it: if the temptation to fill out the five available categories drives authors to do that I think that's for the best. Please explain to me why you feel otherwise, as it could be a major issue which I have not foreseen...

 

[gene.sis]

I still personally find five to be a practical and reasonable limit

Three is a sufficient number as you can define the setting, involved persons, and the main fetish.

1: Teen:

2: MILF:

not necessary... if the story contains teen girls as well as MILFs, both categories would be wrong.
In case of couplings with a big age gap, a category Old&Young could be helpful, though that might rather count as the fetish. Then, the fetish would be Old&Young, while involved persons would either be teen or MILF.

3: Sci-Fi:

5: Fan Fiction:

Fan fiction defines the universe, so there is no need to define it again.

But, its not a big negative - having more.

actually, it is.
Being able to choose multiple categories urges the story owner to use all slots, even if they don't describe a central theme.

If you allow 3 categories per story, the number of stories within a single category will rise by 3.
If you allow 5 categories per story, the number will rise by 5, which will make browsing a single category pointless.

The more categories you have, the less meaningful the search results. If you allow 5 categories, you'll get either too few results (if you search for 5 categories) or the results wouldn't be near the thing you're searching for (if you search for 2 or 3 categories).

 

[grimbous]

Looks like I'm in the minority but I'd like to see it stay to a story only having only one main category. Leave it to the author to decide what category is most appropriate. If it simply does not have one category where it belongs throw it in Misc or Fetish or even Erotic Couplings, those are pretty broad categories. I think most readers understand that different paths in a Choose Your Own Adventure stories are going to stray from the initial concept.

I ABSOLUTELY agree on a universal set of tags though. The tags on Chyoa right now are a dogs breakfast.

 

[Nemo of Utopia]

Three is a sufficient number as you can define the setting, involved persons, and the main fetish.
The more categories you have, the less meaningful the search results. If you allow 5 categories, you'll get either too few results (if you search for 5 categories) or the results wouldn't be near the thing you're searching for (if you search for 2 or 3 categories).

That makes sense, quite logically presented and laid out: I now support three as the limit.

 

[gene.sis]

Misc or Fetish

I think misc doesn't do a story any good, so I'd rather put it in some random category instead of misc. I mean, "What are you searching for?" - "Umm... well... nothing..."
And fetish would be quite the opposite of having multiple categories.

 

[grimbous]

actually, it is.
Being able to choose multiple categories urges the story owner to use all slots, even if they don't describe a central theme.

If you allow 3 categories per story, the number of stories within a single category will rise by 3.
If you allow 5 categories per story, the number will rise by 5, which will make browsing a single category pointless.

The more categories you have, the less meaningful the search results.

I guess I just don't see why 3 is the magic number here. Same problem as 5.

Sure, three categories might define a story better than one. But five defines it even better than three, and ten better than five. Some stories are extremely wide ranging. Setting, defined persons, and main fetish can vary greatly between the branches within a single story. Personally I like the current system of picking something that feels right and trusting the readers to understand that the different branches might take you far afield. As mentioned, a better tag system would help the search results greatly.

Also, the more categories you let the big stories inhabit the less room there is for the smaller stories near the top of the list when searching by Most Views and Rating in a particular category. Looking through the top stories of different categories would turn up the same few big stories again and again. For example, The Gamer would instantly go to the top of the list in two other categories, bumping smaller stories off of their particular first page search results list. From what I understand, many people never look beyond that first page of search results.

This isn't something I am passionate about, but I do prefer the current system.

 

[gene.sis]

I guess I just don't see why 3 is the magic number here. Same problem as 5.

no, with 2 of 3 you get still reliable results. You would get results which are actually the categories you aimed for.
3 of 3 might give you perfect results of a relatively specific search request.
5 of 5 won't give you any search results.
3 of 5 would give you a lot of search results which wouldn't fit well as you will have a lot of results from filling or peripheral categories.
You could also cover 3 different category "levels" (see this thread about the idea behind that)

But five defines it even better than three, and ten better than five.

No, because if you allow too much of them, you basically choose contrary categories like "MILF" and "Teen" or "Cheating Spouses" and "Romance" (sure, there could be a story with these two but would it mean that the romance is with the fling or with the spouse?

And the more categories you allow, the fewer are left.
10 out of 15 makes a horrible ratio

and main fetish can vary greatly between the branches within a single story.

If that is the case, none of the categories would fit as every category would only apply to a single branch.
So you wouldn't describe the whole story.

Also, the more categories you let the big stories inhabit the less room there is for the smaller stories near the top of the list when searching by Most Views and Rating in a particular category. Looking through the top stories of different categories would turn up the same few big stories again and again. For example, The Gamer would instantly go to the top of the list in two other categories, bumping smaller stories off of their particular first page search results list.

In general, I agree.
That is the case when you go into a single category but if you filter for categories, you will get much better results than currently.
And surely, big stories are quite dominant but everyone who has them on fav (and probably read it completely) will just skim over them.

From what I understand, many people never look beyond that first page of search results.

Well... if you open a category, you obviously search for something, probably out of boredom, so I guess the readers would turn over.