Does anyone have any thoughts on how the UMD Stories section could be improved? I suspect that there'll be some technical constraints on what's possible, and it's unlikely to be anywhere near the top of the site owner's priority list, but it can't hurt to consider what sort of changes might help.

My first thought was that there must be a better way of classifying stories. As things stand, once a story drops off the first page of results it basically disappears into the void. It's tough for readers to find something that suits their interests, since there's such a range of specific preferences and sub-genres and all the reader has to go by is a title. In fairness, there are filters for explicit and non-explicit (and R-rated, though that filter doesn't seem to work properly), plus tags - though I don't know to what extent people actually use them when searching. At a certain point I just started goofing around when adding tags to my stories (I'm particularly fond of "Accidental Lion King Re-enactment" and "Barnacle Memory Game").

Is there any value in coming up with different sub-categories that would help readers find what they're interested in? If not for stories, perhaps there could be a way for the list of authors to display a short description - or maybe icons beside their avatar - that pitches the type of stories they offer. I'm thinking along the lines of humiliation/fun, simple/complicated, long/short, that kind of thing.

Anyway, I'm just thinking out loud. If anyone has any ideas, I'd be interested in hearing them.

How about a short bio at the top of each author's page which allowed them to provide an overall comment on their own stories and perhaps link to their other stories on other sites. This could help readers understand what the author is trying to achieve and whether their stories are for them. And if they do like the stories then they can easily jump into reading more of them regardless of where they're uploaded.

I stopped posting my stories here as soon as AI slop started appearing. Getting rid of that, or at least seperating it from real work, would be a decent place to start.

Personally I find the 4 picture limit per story annoying, especially as this does not apply to posts on other 'forum' style pages.

I like this idea. My stories all appear in my fantasy world where WAM is much more mainstream and common and it would be nice for the reader to understand that.

Agreed on the profile idea, and on getting rid of the AI slop.

I'd like to see the story section be on the main toolbar, probably between "Store" and "Wall". I sometimes forget UMD even has a story section, given the lack of visibility. Stories are content, and having them listed under the "People" category is completely counter-intuitive to me. The whole layout of UMD could probably do with a rework in that regard.

I would like chapters and stories with multiple entries to be grouped together. Seeing something that looks promising, only for it to be part 6 or whatever and having to dig around for the previous five parts is a hassle.

While the previews are better than the mere title + tags that we had before, it's rare that they give much indication of what a story's going to be like. I'd prefer a bit more in the story list or better yet, a synopsis/blurb where the author can really sell the idea to the reader.

The heart rating system doesn't really give much indication of a story's quality. Beyond a few extreme, blatant one-heart examples, most people are just going to read what they want to read, and up/downvotes feel like more of a reflection of how much the actual content appeals to them rather than the quality of it. Not sure what the solution to that is, though.

This came up in a recent forum thread, too, and seems to be recurring theme. From what you've seen, are AI stories often being posted without the 'synthetic' tag, or is it the fact that AI stories are allowed in the first place that's the issue?

I believe this has been raised before with Messmaster and is a consequence of the software used to support UMD. I suspect the stories section is simply a re-skinning of the blog functionality which is why it's where it is.


This is a really interesting idea. Maybe in the listing of stories for an individual author there could be options to sort the stories by various categories such as alphabetical, date posted, series, rating, etc.


You bring up an interesting point here which I suspect could well be it's own separate thread on what do they actually mean and do they matter. I remember after the collapse of one of the various iterations of the WAM archive when authors were looking for another home from their stories there was a strong steer from them that a rating system was needed before they would consider posting here.

I totally agree with all of this. From what I've heard, there's some kind of technical limitation that prevents the Story section being placed on the main toolbar, though I don't know the specifics.

From what I can tell, the heart rating system isn't of much use. It seems more suited for comparison sites where each item gets hundreds of ratings, but here the sample size is too small for any rating to be useful, and it's often comparing apples with oranges. The system is also open to abuse (which, from what I've noticed just this year, seems to happen with disappointing regularity). If it was up to me I'd scrap the 5-star system and the 'highly-rated authors' list, and instead just let people 'heart' a story in the same way they can with individual posts.

I did ask Messmaster a few weeks ago if he would consider adding 'Stories' to the main tool bar for the prime reason that so many forum users are unaware of its existence or how to access.
He basically said ' no' partly down to the fact that other groups have requested their particular interest is included as a direct link. I suspect as there is no financial benefit for MM this may be a reason too.
I completely respect MM decision but perhaps now this group is flourishing it might be worth another approach.

And some great ideas for retaining access to old stories. As an author you do wonder how potential readers would enjoy accessing older stories.

Broadening this thread somewhat I have done some basic research on 'Active Authors' listed on the forum.
Surprisingly there are nearly 200 (192) individuals listed and perhaps equally surprising 60 +(nearly a third) have only contributed 1 story each.
At the other extreme we have the " legend" Deeppan9 who is close to reaching 100 stories!!

Perhaps if there was more publicity and accessibility there may be more encouragement for first timers to contribute more?

"Legend" = Old

I still have seven more stories before I reach the magic 100 on here but I'm slowing getting there!

Have you started planning for your 100th story? You should look to mark it with something special

No planning done yet but at my current level of writing that's over a year away so plenty of time

I don't see the point in trying to improve a sub-section of a site that's running on 1996 tech. With an admin who constantly ignores good suggestions from the community.

Honestly I'd love other authors to join me on Substack. Especially those with series here on UMD. Don't tie your stories to a weak platform, where they could just go bye-bye. (Substack isn't perfect by any means, but...)

At least you tried. Burying Stories under People suggests we are tolerated but not much valued.

Well, we don't make UMD any money, so...