Timers and Coutdowns in Flashteases

[ginjon]

Flashteases are a fantastic medium and the countdown/timer options help keep you honest and when combined with a metronome provide great fun and a good challenge.

However, I sometimes get put off a tease when I see a long countdown, the second page of the recent 'Banana test' had a 3:30 minute countdown, where you were required to stroke once per second, which put me off straight away. The 'question mark' time periods can be great, but if they go on too long I find myself getting bored.

On the other hand, teases where you are told to go away for an hour (with a countdown) are great, especially a tease (whose title I can't remember) I did recently where you did so in chastity. However, I imagine too much of this can be a bad thing too.

What do other people think on this?
How long is too long for stroking without change?
How long is too long for a break?

I ask because it's been a very long time since I wrote my last tease and I'd like to write more.

[SissyNicole]

I was thinking the same thing not too long ago. But I think it also depends on the person. I have no patience whatsoever so I usually get bored if the timer is 1 minute or higher, unless it is a really interesting tease. Also, they say that the younger generation has a 5 minute attention span because of everything they put out on the market. I'm 19 so my views might be different from that of someone who is 45.

[ginjon]

I'm not suggesting a rule be created, but dialogue about what people enjoy.

[masterstroke]

When I write teases, the rule I generally follow is that a timer should be no longer than 1 minute. I tend to use hidden timers but my timing between pages is usually around a minute and my breaks are usually no longer than 30 seconds. I wrote a tease and used a 2 minute hidden timer. The feedback I received was the time between page changes was too long. Even if you use the same picture with different phrasing and change around 1 minute it seems to keep the reader interested (at least me).

If the time between page changes is longer than 1 minute I recommend having the timer visible. The timer should also be visible if you're using a command such as "Stroke your cock 2 strokes a second."

When I do teases, I prefer teases with page changes around one minute to two minutes. It seems to keep me engaged.

As for breaks, I lose interest in teases with long breaks. If you want to incorporate a break, there's always the option of using a Continue button or other type of button. That gives the user an option on how long he wants to break.

[janmb]

The trick is to keep me interested. Long activities need to be split into several shorter pages.

I agree with masterstroke, 1 minute is a good maximum per page.

[Nezhul]

I'd rather say 30 sec is good, 1 minute is a bit longer. Better spend more time to make a few pages if you want a player to stroke for a few minutes.

[sweden123]

I think 30 seconds max is a good rule. More than 1 minute and I'm very likely to close or just tab out of the tease and do something else, especially if it is early in the tease. It doesn't help either that the images in flash teases are so low in resolution. The images in regular teases could be bigger as well I think.

I can endure one minute if there is a metronome or if you get a task like 100 strokes, since it is a challenge to get the pacing right.

The banana tease is a good example; I closed it as soon as that long timer showed up.