The arrangement seems like the happiest of only-on-the-Net economies: Writers whose work lacks a traditional market distribute their words themselves and find an audience, while the randy readers enjoy a free literary frolic. It's a cheap -- and safely anonymous -- way for these authors (many of whom, like Delta, write under pseudonyms) to reach their readers. Sex stories for all! Free the smut!

The cold realities of publishing online, however, are anything but a turn-on for Delta.

"Every time I post a story, I know it will be used in a manner in which I would not have it used. It will be stolen," she says. Now that she has discovered where her words end up after she sets them free -- in the greedy hands of a few rogue adult-site operators looking to make a buck or reposted around the Net without her name, copyright information or even the complete text of the story -- she has cut back dramatically on putting her stories online at all. Every time she puts up a new one, she says, "I regret it."

"It may be great exposure for Delta if greatbigboobsandhardsex.com puts my story on their site, but I'd rather not be associated with sites like that," she laments, "and I certainly don't want my name used to attract other readers to their site."

Like open-source hackers who are "paid" by the reputation they develop among their peers, writers of erotic fiction who give away their stories are paid in the adulation and constructive criticism showered on them by their fans. Getting stripped of that credit often galls as much as missing out on any monetary compensation for their work. "For many here, the only 'pay' we get (besides seeing our stories 'up in lights') is feedback from the few who are considerate enough to write," says Delta. "By removing the names and addresses of these authors, those who do so are effectively robbing us of our 'pay.'"

In contrast to the online music wars -- in which a whole multibillion-dollar commercial industry is screaming bloody murder -- you're unlikely to see any congressional hearings on online erotica copyright disputes. "I find it hard to believe that someone like George Bush Jr. would stand up in front of the media and proclaim that those poor authors on alt.sex.stories are being screwed by unscrupulous copyright infringers," quips Delta. But like the debate over music file swapping, the unsexy copyright issues around publishing erotica online raise questions about how much control artists can really have over their work in a medium in which copying is essentially free and potentially infinite.

If you set your smut free, can you control it ever again?

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