What do the various Audience Ratings mean in the story submission form? It is very annoying to have a list of overlapping choices and then read the caution: "Please rate accurately". Ugh. Most of the story submission is similar. Don't get me started on "TG themes." I was hoping there might be something here or the wiki but I couldn't find anything.
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Ratings
Are you familiar with the ratings system of any country for movies or television? Use that and the descriptive labels in the options as your starting point. (PG means "Parental Guidance".)
I had a problem with one story I did in a single post. About half the story was at the edge of PG and PG-15, definitely entering PG-15 at one point. But it also had a sex scene near the end. I decided to rate it R because an R-rated movie could have such a scene with careful visuals. I could have isolated the scene in a separate post, giving it an Explicit-Content rating, and included what followed in a 3rd part. (I did that in another story.)
-- Daphne Xu
The problem is the Audience
The problem is the Audience Rating on the story form contains a mix of rating systems with conflicting definitions from multiple countries. The US system, the one I'm most familiar with, has no PG-15, it has PG-13. And "Restricted" in the US is 17 and under, not 21 (and presumably older), which is different from NC-17. R means children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. NC-17 means children cannot be admitted. Presumably EXPLICIT in the drop down is for NC-17 and Extremely Explicit for good old XXX (which is not an official designation in the US).
Also, is there a better place to post this stuff then in the "Forums" page where there are a thousand topics most of which have no responses? I have additional questions.
Read more of my works on Patreon.
These Might Help
These Posts/Comments Might Help:
Topshelf for DumDums
Also if you need help with formatting: TopShelf for DumDums -- https://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog/16141/topshelf-dumdums
and our General FAQ Section -- https://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/forums/just-faqs
The USA movie rating system ...
... is rather a mess.
And keeps changing.
And movie makers pressure the ratings board to lower age limits and such, all to get more sales.
And I have not even tried to look at the rating systems of other countries ...
What I find much more useful, is the rest of the descriptions that Authors can put on their stories.
> For me, personally <, I might 'bail out' of a story if the Descriptions & Cautions include rape, non-consent, abuse and such, before I even read the first paragraph. [1] So I apologize to the Authors when I skip those stories; and I also thank those Authors for warning me off.
Ultimately, ratings are subjective. Some of us here might have no problems with 'off stage' gender-affirming surgery ... while USA self righteous wing-nut jobs want to XXX or ban a story that even whispers of transgender or of anything non cis-het.
===
My thoughts on applying ratings, cautions, etc. to our own stories: Err on the side of caution. If we can't decide if our story is PG or PG-13 (and 'having a cup of tea' doesn't help) - then it's PG. If we can't decide whether or not to tag it "CAUTION: Physical or Emotional Abuse" - then so tag it.
We can also put in a paragraph or two of 'Author's Notes': "Military-grade cursing in chapter 17. Chapter 18 will summarize without 'paint-removing' language".
You might lose 'Reads' and 'Kudos' - but you don't take some of us where we don't want to go. And also, you don't put a 'tag' in our minds of "this author writes 'icky' stuff" - and then we won't even open up your "G - For Everybody" works.
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[1] There is "another part of my life" where (via Facebook & such) I routinely encounter cruelty, abuse and killing at levels sufficient to make me grab my Teddy Bear (plushy) and get off the net for a couple of hours.
As for current events reported on even a brief 'neutral' newscasts ... There are days I assiduously avoid same.
So, you'll understand if I avoid similar stories here, even if they are fiction.
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This one (minus the vests) is close to my Sandy Bear: https://www.amazon.com/Galatee-Stuffed-Animal-Coffee-Childre.... Sandy was custom made for me by a friend, so I got to pick her eyes - a couple of brown wooden buttons with very nice grain.