I don't know why people worry about having their stories stolen. If someone stole mine, published it, and began to make money from it, I'd thank them for proving it's publishable, then sue their pants off. Then rake in the royalties myself
. I doubt theft happens often though, and what are the chances that it will happen to you?
I post my work to get feedback. I might just want to know if the material's interesting, or I might want serious tear-me-apart-I'm-ready-for-it critique. Either way, I like it when someone says something nice