# What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each part?



## Murphy Z (Jul 9, 2009)

Let's say you have a multi-part story, and each has a different rating. Let's say the first part is acceptable for anyone to read, but the second part is for mature audiences only. Do you give all the parts a mature rating or do you let younger audiences read the first part while knowing they can't read the second part? I've seen it done both ways, and wondered what people's opinions were.


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## ElizabethAlexandraMary (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

Better to rate it the highest all along.

Else you could spend some time writing a few buildup chapters for a yiff story and let everybody read them, which is quite a ridiculous situation.


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## Shouden (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

I have a multipart story, and I just use the same rating for all. That way a 6-year-old doesn't read a clean part and try to read another part only to find it not so clean.


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## Xipoid (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

I rate each story individually. I don't really see the point of doing otherwise because it might give the impression that the entire series is adult of mature, which to me is a bit unwarranted.


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## AshleyAshes (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

"This film is rated G!  Then PG after the first plot elevation and rated R for the last 20mins due to the chansaw brawl."


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## panzergulo (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

I write mostly short stories, so I have the freedom to rate every and each story individually. Although, some of the short stories form story arcs and with these I have the same problem: Two individual stories, which are actually linked to each other have different ratings. I have taken the road of different ratings. Nobody has complained yet. Seems I don't attract readers who have issues with mature/adult material.

Also, there is always the possibility to write story arcs where the adult material is optional. I used this method with my older prose. The adult parts got more attention than the "frames", but it didn't really matter, because they were written as individual stories anyway. There weren't but a one or two readers who actually followed the story arc.

So yeah... either way is good to me... It's a matter of personal tastes. I've seen whole multi-part stories under one rating and under all three ratings FA has. Doesn't matter me. As long as there are no porn in general rated submissions, everything should be good, right?


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## Xipoid (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*



AshleyAshes said:


> "This film is rated G!  Then PG after the first plot elevation and rated R for the last 20mins due to the chansaw brawl."




I see it more as giving every movie in a trilogy an "R" rating just because one of them earned it. This is because mine tend to be more like sequels than just a single story broken up into shorter pieces.


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## GraemeLion (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

If each story can be read individually, then I go with the individual ratings.  If it's "required reading" to read the stories together, then I go with the highest rating overall.

I might also take the middle ground and rate chapters, with an overall rating.


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## Whipblade (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

A novel by Edward Lee isn't rated by one chapter and then the other. Sure the internet enables us to write and post out chapters seperately but as a whole, one chapters rating isn't the entire story.

I have several fanfictions with good clean build up chapters and then the climax of sex, violance and death. Its that last chapter the entire story is rated on.

Like most movies and books it's the violance or whatever is the highest rating that see the overall of the story.

Unless each chapter is a stand alone and able to be read without any prior or after chapters, then it can be rated seperately as such.

(Ficwad is a little different and yeah, a whole other discussion)


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## Internet Police Chief (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

Right now I don't really have anything uploaded simply because most of what I write is heavily violent, and I can't upload "mature" things until I'm 18. But, when I can manage to upload_ my own fucking stories_ without getting banned or agelocked, I'll be rating them individually, and include a short, G-rated summary at the beginning of the next G-rated chapter for under 18s.


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## ElizabethAlexandraMary (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*



Baron Von Yiffington said:


> Right now I don't really have anything uploaded simply because most of what I write is heavily violent, and I can't upload "mature" things until I'm 18. But, when I can manage to upload_ my own fucking stories_ without getting banned or agelocked, I'll be rating them individually, and include a short, G-rated summary at the beginning of the next G-rated chapter for under 18s.


 Are you saying there is absolutely no distinction (of age) between the mature and adult category?


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## Xipoid (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*



FrancisBlack said:


> Are you saying there is absolutely no distinction (of age) between the mature and adult category?



At least 13 to post general.
At least 18 to post mature or adult.


Same for viewing. There is no age based distinction between them.


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## Internet Police Chief (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*



FrancisBlack said:


> Are you saying there is absolutely no distinction (of age) between the mature and adult category?



Yes, that's _exactly_ what I'm saying. As Xipoid said, 13 for "clean" art/stories, 18 for both "mature" and "adult". Both for reading/viewing and uploading. I personally think not being able to view violent stories/art until you're 18 is a little extreme - honestly, I can see all the violence I want on TV, YouTube, movie theater, M rated video games... I don't see why the art/story having furry characters makes it worse.

Honestly, I don't know why they have two different categories. Is adult just for porno while mature is for not sex, but really violent/fetishy things?


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## Xipoid (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*



Baron Von Yiffington said:


> Honestly, I don't know why they have two different categories. Is adult just for porno while mature is for not sex, but really violent/fetishy things?



The difference between them is idealistic. Pragmatically, they are one and the same. Therefore, it would stand to reason that one should be eliminated, expanded, or changed to provide some distinction.


I suppose Mature is for more tasteful/artistic things involving mature themes while Adult is essentially just pornographic materials.


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## Internet Police Chief (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*



Xipoid said:


> I suppose Mature is for more tasteful/artistic things involving mature themes while Adult is essentially just pornographic materials.



I guess that makes sense. Still think that "mature" should be viewable around 15-16, though. If it isn't porn, don't see the reason at keeping it at 18.


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## Xipoid (Jul 9, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*



Baron Von Yiffington said:


> I guess that makes sense. Still think that "mature" should be viewable around 15-16, though. If it isn't porn, don't see the reason at keeping it at 18.




I would tend to agree with you, alas I do not make the rules.


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## Tanzenlicht (Jul 10, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

Well it all contains porn.  Mature is the soft porn and the violence, like R-rated movies (no admittance under 18 unless you have an accompanying adult) and Adult is the hardcore, often creepy porno (illegal to show to minors, jail forevers).  It could be a useful distinction if it were used properly.

Of course I had my dirty little hands on pornographic writing and hauled it around school with me (yay romance novels) long before it was appropriate and I didn't turn out so...er, hmmm.  Maybe those are pretty good rules after all.


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## Internet Police Chief (Jul 10, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*



panzergulo said:


> I wouldn't mind if FA prevented all under eighteen posting anything. Sure, an underage can be a good artist or writer, but there's so much crappy art and s/he-is-again-doing-mary-sue stories by teenagers, that it would be worth it.



You bitch about people under 18 writing bad stories and uploading them like you're being _forced_ to read them.

Tip: You aren't. Don't like a story? Don't read it.

I fail to see what age has to do with good stories or art. You say this like everyone over 18 is a SUPER AMAZING artist or something.



> I can't understand how some can upload the stuff they upload. Even less, if they come here to the forums and ask for "opinnions" and "criticue".



Okay, so, do tell how people are supposed to get better without critique? Yeah, sometimes people have bad grammar. Welcome to a message board, and the internet in general.



> But asking for feedback... why?



Uh... to get better? I don't know about you, but I didn't just wake up one morning and suddenly be great and the things I'm great at. If you want to be good at something, you need to practice and get critique from people better than you.

Christ, you are such a tool I can't even form a good enough insult.


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## AshleyAshes (Jul 10, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

Let's be honest, the furry fandom's membership that is older than 18 years old can be just as retarded, plot wise.


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## AshleyAshes (Jul 10, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

I think the issue is that a lot of furry writers, or anyone trying to come up with a PLOT for any furry media, seems to not TRY.  The sense of ligitimate effort, even if they were to not succeed in that effort, is not there.

Instead it's just slapped together and held up by mary sues and plot holes.  It's contrived and childishly thought out and you have to wonder how someone could have come up with it, because if they had seen a similar plot and story evolution in any professional media they'd have responded with "WHAT IS THIS AWEFUL SHIT!???"

I do furry writing and I know I'm no where near a literary genius but I try.  I try to make the characters interesting.  I try to give them depth.  I try to give a plot that is both interesting but is not greedy in it's demand of suspension of disbelief.


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## Internet Police Chief (Jul 10, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*



panzergulo said:


> Ah, how I laughed to this reply. It surely lightened my morning. Aww... somebody has hurt his ego... I tread on egos... Unfortunately teenagers have big egos...



Oh, no, you haven't stepped on any egos. Your logic just makes zero sense. If people under 18 can't post their work where it can be seen and critiqued, then they will never get better before they do reach 18. Then, we have people 18 to, say, 22 who can't write well, because they never learned properly before turning 18.

Then, all the awful writers are 18-22. Okay. Now what? We banned the underage writers because they were bad, but now everyone 18-22 is bad. So, do we ban them? Then people never learn how to write properly before turning 23, etc, etc. Goes on until everyone is banned.

Also, once again, I can't stress enough: Don't like the story? Don't read it.



> I have heard that they don't teach literature in schools in America. I might be wrong. If I am, correct me.



The US teaches literature all through high school, which is about 14-18.

Edit: Also, critiquing my critique is lol worthy. That person posted on the wrong forum and I didn't care enough to help them. It was one big long block paragraph about furries punching each other. You said yourself that some things are just un-critique-able, and that was one. I write what I want to write and ask for help from friends because I can't post _my own work_ on FA because obviously someone under 18 can't manage to read about guns or blood or violence.


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## Xadera (Jul 10, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

Ignoring the off-trackedness of the thread (way too tl;dr for me), I go with individually rating things. I see the rating system as being more of a way to let people know ahead of time, before they click to view, what they should expect, with mature being kinky material and adult being down-and-dirty (otherwise, my writing is all porn so there's no point in differentiating XD). It's like using keywords, but in a way that viewers can see right from the gallery or front-page. 

Otherwise, I don't care if someone under 18 reads the stories that are going to eventually be sexual. In fact, I think any sort of rating system is just dumb. If a parent doesn't want their child seeing such material, it should be their problem, not mine. Hell, if you're raising the kid well enough, it shouldn't matter if they see the material in the first place...


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## ElizabethAlexandraMary (Jul 10, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

I agree with Panzergulo on so many levels, yet he is completely off-target here.

Even if there are some very good underage submissions, I'd probably be ready to give up on them *if this fixed anything*. However, it clearly doesn't. This isn't an age issue. Welcome to the internet, where everybody is lying about something. What would prevent any of the idiots who post crap from pretending they're over eighteen if they are not? I'm pretty sure everybody would check the age requirement upon registering, even if they had no interest in submitting any content what-so-ever, just in case they eventually change their minds.

This whole "adults-only" thing would just give the people here more reasons to complain.

And let's face it. Some otherwise mature people can be total asses. It's not only an issue with hyperreactive teenagers.

(sorry for derailing the thread again)


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## Alex Cross (Jul 10, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

I have my stories rated Mature for the most part. I only venture into Adult if there is obscene language or sexual scenes in the chapter.


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## wendyw (Jul 13, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*

On topic:

If the different submissions are only supposed to be read together then use the highest rating. I can see it being really bloody annoying for someone to read one part which is rated for general readership, enjoying it and then finding out that the next one is mature and they can't read it.

Either that or you end up with people who have the mature filter turned on thinking you never finish anything because they can't even see that the endings of your stories are there.

Off topic:

On a comic forum I used to use one of the funniest, most creative people on there was 14, running circles around some people there twice his age. 

Also, I doubt very much I would have registered here if it required you to be 18, not because I was too young, but because generally when a site requires someone to be 18 to register it's a porn site and the impression given by that 18 and overs only message when trying to sign up would probably put off a lot of other writers and audiences who create more general audience friendly works.


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## ScottyDM (Jul 15, 2009)

*Re: What if your multipart story has different ratings (all, mature/adult) for each p*



Whipblade said:


> Sure the internet enables us to write and post out chapters seperately...


I'd just like to point out that for the reader, this isn't a happy state of affairs.

Too many authors cannot seem to come up with a story plan, and so they write themselves into corners, then use various craptastic ways to get the story back on track. Such as the asinine "it was all only a dream" trick. Of course once you've web-published a chapter heaver forbid you should edit the thing.

And even more start a story but never finish, or go into "one chapter a year" mode.

The only plus side seems to be for the author. Face it, most of us are attention whores and posting the first chapter of our Magnum Opus to gauge reaction is far less work than actually writing and editing the thing.


Sex versus violence

American society is seriously bent. Why is violence on TV okay, but we're not allowed to see a woman in a brassiere acting as if she'd enjoy a little TLC. My gawd, they have decayed bodies and some really nasty bits on shows like _CSI_. Violence is destructive and hateful. Sex is beautiful and positive (at least it should be, rape is about violence).

We Americans are AFU.


18 Only

I agree with the observation that an "18-only" site would give the impression that everything on the site is porn or gore. Personally I wouldn't join such a site, although I passed 18 before most of you were born--at the end of 1972.


COPPA

Some websites claim it is illegal for folks under 13 to join a site--untrue! It is illegal for a site owner to knowingly allow a child under the age of 13 to join a site unless there is accommodation for pre-teens built into the site. COPPA compliance is something I'm working on for Anthrofiction Network.


S-


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