# Question About FA Content Filters



## HappityCat (Feb 9, 2010)

Does the infrequent, but character related use of "Oh fuck!" or "Fucking hell!" and such render a story as mature content?
  Does a paragraph, or fairly graphic description of gore (i said gore, not vore or sexual description) render a story as mature content?


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (Feb 9, 2010)

Your first one: No.
Your second one: Yes. Even while not used in any manner of fetish, a graphic description of gore paints a picture in the mind of the reader that may be unsettling and should be handled by those of a 'mature' mind set, even if it's going to be read by someone that isn't 'mature' anyway.


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## Scarborough (Feb 10, 2010)

Are there official guidelines for this? Because I think I've mislabeled some of my own works.


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## ShÃ nwÃ ng (Feb 10, 2010)

Not to my knowledge. It's one of those "up to the discretion of the writer/moderator" type of deals. However, if you give your audience fair warning that some disturbing/graphic violence is ahead you shouldn't have to worry too hard about the works in that 'grey area'.


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## Atrak (Feb 10, 2010)

Well, if we go by the American movie rating system, then violence is just PG-13, and sex/nudity is R/Mature.


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## ekobor (Feb 10, 2010)

I've always used a sliding scale of description for thinking of mature ratings for violence.

Pretty much if it is a simple action without much description (he stabbed him) I won't put a warning. I'll put a light warning if the description comes in (He punched the knife deep into the man's flesh, rending muscle from bone. He aimed to kill). Anything more violent than that I'll put a strong warning. 

For sexuality I have a harder time. I don't find sex or sexually based acts to be particularly disturbing myself, so I have a hard time judging them. To be safe anything I write that does more than hint at a sex gets a light warning. If I decide to start getting graphic and detailed, I'll put a strong warning.

I have been told both that I have put warnings on things for sexuality that didn't need them and that I haven't on ones that do. I wish I could just ignore sexuality warnings, as I just don't understand them. @-@


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## M. LeRenard (Feb 10, 2010)

I've rated some of my writing mature for gratuitous swearing before, but that's only because I'm sort of basing the way I rate things off of the American film industry scale.  Not that I think the scale makes sense, but it's easier for me to just go with that.
I do recall looking for specific guidelines in the ToS or what have you for what the ratings should actually mean, and didn't find anything, so in the end I suppose it's up to you.  If worse comes to worst, you'll get a message from an admin asking you to change the rating of a piece, which is an easy fix.


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