Okay.
First, I’m sure this has been addressed elsewhere. Certainly other forums have had this feature for ages… I guess. (I don’t go to any other forums really.) I’m also sure that it’s more or less self explanatory.
For those who missed it, it’s at the bottom of the page when you’re making a new thread or post. ‘Tags’ is fairly obvious.
For those whom I guess have met the rep requirement, it’s also at the bottom of the page when viewing a tread. (it’s below ‘similar threads.’ It took me a little while before I spotted it)
So we can add tags to threads now. (duh)
And if we stay in good standing regarding reputation, we can tag other people’s threads. (and remove tags, is that right?)
Right right, anyway… the basic function is not the purpose of this thread.
As it stands, most threads have no tags.
I’m not saying I’m going to, but I’ve had the idea of - not all at once - going back and tagging older threads. At least the ones I’ve read and can remember. But before that, I’ve got a question for the authors and readers here.
Spoilers?
Pretty simple really.
How to avoid spoiling things? And better yet, what would an author consider a spoiler?
Some readers want to be able to find ‘messing,’ ‘wetting,’ ‘age regression,’ etc, as fast as possible. That’s great and all, but.
But what about the stories that play the waiting game? What about authors who want to draw things out?
I’ll use the ‘messing’ tag as an example, because it’s further down the rabbit hole of this interest, in that there are less people into it than those who are ‘into’ wetting, for example. It’s significance is greater, whether you like it or not. If you do like it, it’s harder to find. If you don’t, then it can have more of an impact from the narrative side of things.
Anyway, I’ll not go on and on about what’s a good story or not. It’s totally possible to open the story with a messing scene, and still be compelling after that; but that’s usually not the case. As such, some authors tastefully chose to postpone such an event, in order to add more significance.
I’ll use… okay, this time I’m not going to use Lily the Liar as an example; thought it could just as easily be.
Instead, WBDaddy’s Wannabe Hypnotist. He took 20 chapters before there was any pants-pooping. Now regardless of the reader’s purpose for reading, that scene had more impact because it was delayed. If the hypnosis had been used to make Gabby mess herself on command, then the proceeding story would have just been about the use of that device. The impact of such an event (crapping her pants) could still be there, but there would be no building toward it; neither could there be the surprise, if it was played that it wouldn’t happen after all.
So if I knew beforehand that Gabby would inevitably be messing her diaper, or that Lily would, or that Penni would, or any of the other characters whom strive so hard to avoid it, but inevitably succumb, (I guess Lily might not quite fall into that description, but you get my point) then there’s less tension, and less significance when it does happen.
And that’s just one example.
The same can be said for pretty much every aspect of a story. ‘Transgender’ for example. Whetoric hid that bit in Tomorrow’s Agenda, so it was an impactful part of the story. I for one, may have skipped over it if it was tagged with ‘Transgender,’ not just because that’s not my interest, but because - sorry - most of the stories I have read on the topic have been pretty terrible. The same went for ‘Diaper Dimension’ until a little while ago.
My fear crops up from scrolling through IMBD where ‘protagonist dies’ was the top tag for a movie I was about to watch. Are you fucking kidding me? I guess this thread could be about spoiler alerts, and why it might be a good idea.
I don’t want to accidentally mouse-over (or randomly spot at the bottom of the page, on viewing) ‘diaper dimension’ if the author was going to use it for a big reveal 25 chapters in. I definitely don’t want to mouse-over ‘it was all a dream,’ ever.
So would authors like to address this? Can we have our cake and eat it to?
Would I just be fucking up all kinds of things if I started going back and adding tags to stories?
Do you authors want your stories tagged for better search results? Or would it actually spoil stuff?
Do you readers want tags for everything? Or are you willing to be surprised?
I guess my whole post would be nil if tags could be hidden behind a spoiler, or if someone replies with:
Just don’t mouse-over then, ya blithering idiot!
But still, it’s food for thought… I guess.
I’d like to know some thoughts before I accidentally spoil an intended big reveal.
Side note; there’s a tiny chance that WBDaddy/someone will spite me by writing a hypnosis story just to have the subject crap themselves in the first chapter, and still try to be compelling afterward. That was an example, not a challenge. 
