My preferred category for writing stories was always incest (Family). Then the category was taken down from the main page and the likes and comments on my stories dropped off a cliff. So I penned another story in the Erotic Couplings genre which has done fairly well. I'm now working on ideas for my next project and the one I'm leaning towards would work very well in an incest/family setting. But I'd don't want to flog a dead horse, if incest/family is not getting any decent exposure any more then I don't want to waste my time. Has anyone else written an incest/family story since the category was taken off the front page? I'd be interested in how it went. Or has anyone got an ongoing incest/family story, and what happened to it post the take down, did it carry on as before or did the activity decline? In general I'm just curious what everyone's thoughts are on the current state of the incest/family category.
I write what I like, and incest stories is just one of those things. I'm not so much focused on trying to get the maximum amount of readers and likes, since I'm not getting any money from this hobby. Besides, people registered here are still able to see Incest category, so it's not like it is hidden from everyone.
I can understand the hesitation to write in a category (Family or Power Play) that is mostly hidden now, especially since they no longer have a category link on the main page. Yes, they can found, but it's difficult unless you save the link to that category or a random story appears under New or Updated Stories. I'm sure there are other ways to find those categories, but when users have to work for something... they usually don't, thus the drop in traffic (likes, comments, bookmarks). For Incest/Family I did notice there's now a "Step Fantasy" category, which could be a workaround, but I know there are some who say step-family stories don't count, so I guess it depends on how hard you (or your readers) want to scratch that itch. I'm sure you could create a step-family scenario that is more familial versus a "wow, my dad just married this hottie and now she's my stepmom!" type story? I've also seen "family" stories get listed under other categories, but I'm not sure if those are getting "policed" in anyway for getting around the rules/restrictions placed on CHYOA.
Oh wow, I didn't realise that there was a step fantasy category now. Is that new? That could work for me, I might give it a go. I've always said that first and foremost I write for me, which is still true. But over the years I've grown accustomed to interacting with the readers and I miss that when it's not there.
Is there a list of all the (not public) categories somewhere? I remember there used to be other categories in the past, also.
There is a thread on the forum somewhere, but I can’t locate it. I can’t remember what the categories were, just that incest was one of them, there were only a few though I think. Maybe message Friedman and he can advise.
https://chyoa.com/search?type=story&category=family https://chyoa.com/search?type=story&category=power-play https://chyoa.com/search?type=story&category=celeb-fiction https://chyoa.com/search?type=story&category=party-time https://chyoa.com/search?type=story&category=intelligent-species I think these are the only 2 5? Mind Control got pardoned.
Yeah, I think "Step Fantasy" is new, as well as "Amateur" (?), but I think the icons are the old "Incest" and "Teen" ones, so I'm guessing those are CHYOA's safe replacements for those categories with Incest/Family still existing as its own hidden category. I assume Teen was renamed to Amateur just for clarity/vagueness since some might see Teen and think underage, despite site rules? IDK
Looking at the story category drop down menu on the edit story page: Celeb fiction Family Party time Intelligent species Power play Are all tagged as being unlisted. So I guess think carefully about using those categories if are looking for a lot of user engagement
My main story is an Incest anthology. Around the time the category got hidden, I was having a long period of writer's block, but I remember it being decently popular. Whenever I released a new chapter I'd get like 5 notifications fairly soon-ish. It's an extensively-tagged, fairly wide and deep story too, so it would attract new readers. I recently updated it and now I get like one notification a day, so I'd say that putting those categories on ice has done some damage. It's a real shame. I was already struggling with motivation, but now I feel like I might as well not bother... It's bizarre that incest (which is so common as to be practically normal in Hentai) gets nuked while Mind Control (which is basically a less sporting version of non-con) gets to stay. Also, lol @ "Step Fantasy" having like ten stories in the category while "Family" has over 1400. lmao even.
What was party time all about? We're in a run up to an election here so I automatically thought 'ooh, a politics category' ! But seriously, what was the party category and why would it be binned? And Intelligent Species too, why would that be binned? (I'm guessing it may have been used to portray alien characters as under age?)
The whole thing is bizarre to me. I mean, this is lead by an ethics rampage by credit card companies of all things. I would argue that a bunch of people witting about incest is far less harmful than credit card companies tempting people into debt they can't afford. As for Step Fantasy...it's new, I never even knew it was there. I think it will build momentum at some point. I agree with your main point though, this is pretty much my experience too. My activity dropped off a cliff, it was horrible. I switched it up and wrote an erotic couplings story and it has performed quite well. But if you're going to focus on incest then I'd say just drop into the step category, which is what I'll do with my next project. I've taken all my old incest stories (there are 3) and changed them from Family to Step Fantasy. I couldn't do it myself as the drop down box is not there for Family stories, but Friedman had no issues changing them for me. Essentially, step fantasy is a pseudo Family category, so I'll try using it as such and see how it goes.
Party time is a coy way of saying gang bang from what I can tell. A tendency to violent non-con was probably the issue there. Intelligent species was probably too close to beastiality for the corperate overlords. Yay visa, keeping us safe from the perils of werewolf knot
"Yay visa, keeping us safe from the perils of werewolf knot" This made me laugh out loud! Thank you for that.
The whole thing is weird to me. Like, most Hentai doujin sites have basically all the no-no categories and then some, plus they're profiting off the original artists' work and yet they still stay up and profitable. What put this site under fire? We may never know...
Conspiracy theory: Some higher ups at credit card companies are rabid anti-furries and rammed these rules down the throats of their respective corporations, simply as a way to make things harder for furries.
I may be wrong but I think it started with Patreon picking up on the stuff they didn’t like and cancelling the chyoa account. Then it was a challenge to find a payment system that accepted the various categories.
Yes. Wow, I would never have come up with that meaning on my own, but it does make a certain amount of sense. Unfortunately, all 5 stories in the Party Time category are sexy truth-or-dare style stories, so I doubt that meaning will stick.
