As I’m pretty certain that there’ll be the need to discuss this, and because I’d like to keep the discussion out of the “rules” posting, I’ll start a topic myself where you can just start to write ahead and shout at me… 
There you go…
Now that I’m early, maybe let me start by not shouting. I think this category is a good addition as GCS is (as far as I understand) perhaps a bit less sexual focussed and more focussing on romance.
I think that scenes more sexual in nature can be in a story pretty fine when it’s about younger teens, but maybe not when sex itself is the main driver of the story (as is the case with most GSS stories of course).
In short, in my eyes, this category gives authors a bit of a chance to publish stories that are perhaps more “in-depth” than just sex and dive into what happens when people grow up.
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The only reservation I have at the moment is that - as Transformheaven pointed out - a series can definitely move from the “Coming of Age” category into something else as the characters mature. Someone could reasonably then look at the series tags and content and feel squeamish that characters established as younger teens are now adult enough to engage with fetishes, etc.
I commend you (and by extension, the mods) for being willing to take on a larger burden of screening content and setting guides for what will and won’t be acceptable content in this category. I know it will probably attract the wrong kind of attention both from critics and perhaps also from fans who we don’t really want to be associated with the site very closely.
I think that the guidelines are appropriate, and that having an open and ongoing dialogue about what is and isn’t acceptable content for the community is the right way to go. I posted my first GCS story in the “Coming of Age” category even though both characters are implied adults; it made sense for the story that was being told. I hope that the narrow exceptions to the standard rules don’t become the definition of the category, or at least that it doesn’t pose a significant moderator burden on the site.
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So its not my thing, I am far over the age where young love is a thing I would want to read often, but at the same time it does make sense. Cupid is about romance and such and middle school and high school is where a bunch of that happens. So yeah it makes sense.
@Dace So after reading the description of Coming of Age I am not sure your story actually fits this category anymore. Just my opinion of course. (Also, the story was hot!)
But yeah, all in all, the category makes sense. The restrictions make sense. The potential for cute and romantic stories make sense.
Also, and I think this is a biggie, this isn’t a fetish focused site. Romance is romance. Its cute. One middle school aged person slapping a collar on someone or hypnotizing them into submission or spanking them and making them crawl on all fours is a bit different.
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Thank you all for your very constructive criticism.
About @Dace’s issue I’d recommend splitting up such a epic story into multiple series. The early stage, where the characters learn about love, marked as “Coming of Age” and then the later stages in a separate series which has another category. Coming of Age wouldn’t fit for such an epic story anyway, if it covers such a big arch.
“Coming of Age” doesn’t necessarily mean “young teenagers”. It just allows them to be younger. So your story, @Dace still fits in there. It it, after all, a coming of age story for the two guys.
And @Heru_Kane, I absolutely agree, especially with your last paragraph. And yes, that means that we have to monitor those stories more closely, especially within that category.
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Your rules and restrictions seem quite reasonable. This is a category I would most likely block not out of offense but just lack of interest. I think I’ve aged out of appreciating the coming of age genre (although perhaps I will age into it again due to nostolgia later in life).
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