Literotica

Literotica (a portmanteau of literature and erotica) is a free erotic fiction website. It allows any user to register as an author and submit stories and has over 2.5 million registered users. Amateur authors contribute stories, poems, essays, illustrated stories and audio stories in a variety of categories. there were more than 500,000 erotic stories posted, and the site allows stories to be posted in several different languages.

, it had 4.5 million visitors per month. In addition to written works, the site includes erotic audio and a store page.

Story submission
Literotica is among the first adult sites open to story creators, having replaced the Usenet erotic story sections. Its few rules prohibit stories about pedophilia and bestiality (except that involving fantasy creatures such as dragons and unicorns), and it is mostly aimed at amateur writers and readers who prefer a largely image-free environment. Stories include short, one-off stories, chain-stories written in collaboration with other authors, and entire novels submitted in a "chapter-by-chapter" mode.

The stories themselves are categorized by various themes, and there are categories for stories with pictures and stories with audio as well as for stories that do not actually feature erotic content.

Message boards
Literotica's forum has over 2.4 million registered members,. Users can participate in 52 forums, consisting of 38 English-speaking and 14 non-English-speaking language boards. Topics include "Amateur Pic Feedback", "Authors' Hangout", "Online Role Playing", "Poetry Feedback & Discussion", "Sexual Role Playing", "General Board", "How To...", a place for writers to seek feedback on their stories, and BDSM and "LGBT" sections.

Members of the message boards, known as "Literoticans", "Litizens" or "Litsters", sometimes meet in "Litogethers", where members from particular areas plan an event, in order to socialize with others with whom they have formed online friendships.

After having been on the VBulletin platform since inception, the forum was converted to XenForo in February 2022.

Literotica chat
The site also provides a series of chat rooms. Originally this service was through DigiChat OR Literotica's Java client software, but, because of continued cyberattacks, the chat platform moved to a Flash-based client. , it has been operating on a web-based client. Profiles are shared in the story section, and registration is required. Chat registration is free, and users can create their own public rooms. Chat rooms are moderated, and users who discuss forbidden topics are banned from the system.

Reception
Searches for Literotica peak at 4 am. On a list of 7 classiest porn sites by Salon, Literotica came fifth. Bustle recommends Literotica for women. Literotica has been used in scientific research.

Publications
Literotica has published two books containing collections of stories from the website.
 * Literotica: The Very Best of Literotica.com (2001)
 * Literotica 2: The Very Best of Literotica.com (2009)