Fridaily, Triggers, Ratings and Progress!

[ellenmillion]

Thanks for the input on my last post, asking for input on what constitutes a trigger and what requires warning. The answers were... varied. Some folks find warning labels in general over-protective and irritating and some feel like it's better to be kind and safe. I'll be looking at some middle ground. I'll post my draft ratings at the end of this post...

My biggest push for the day, however, is commission-control.com.

If you enjoy watching works-in-progress, you may play along at home at this link. Don't register yet (not that you CAN right now...); I'll let you know when it's safe to. And most of you folks with lilypad and/or PA logins won't need to re-register. 'Cause I'm awesome like that.

You may comment about the look or anything else, all input is very welcome, even if I have been stabbing CSS all day and will not actually change anything. :P




* GC (General Content): No sex, foul language, or violence. Topics may still include loss, non-sexual romance and minor injury. No nudity in art.

* EC (Edgy Content): Some controversial issues as a focus, rough action, and/or coarse language occur. Sex and violence may happen or be referred specifically to, but are not graphic or in full view. In artwork, there may be nudity, but everything naughty is covered. (available for public viewing, but marked as such)

* SC (Spicy Content): Some sexual situations, but leaning toward romance rather than erotica; more is implied than portrayed. Some violence and rough activity, injuries are described, but not graphically. Frank language may be used. In art, bodies are not interpenetrating, but there may be artistic nudity and implied circumstances. (filtered from public view and only available to registered users over 15)

* AC (Adult Content): Explicit sexual activity is portrayed in detail. Graphic violence occurs on-screen. Expect frank language in fiction and un-obscured copulation in art. (filtered from public view and only available to registered users over 18)



In addition, there will be flags for the following kinds of content (more than one possible):


* T (Trigger): Descriptions of events such as rape, torture and abuse that may trigger flashbacks. Casual reference to such events does not warrant this flag.

* V (Violence): Significant injuries happen "onstage," possibly with graphic portrayals, accidental or inflicted. Character death may occur in full view.

* S (Sex): Graphic sexual references and encounters, on-screen or referred to in detail. Frank language.

* L (Language): Strong swearing (in English), verbal abuse, strong slurs, explicit names of body parts and functions.



All that... and I've also got new artwork up!

Comments

[pixiewildflower.livejournal.com]

Have a good weekend!

[renatus.livejournal.com]

I like those ratings. They're very inclusive for an all-ages type of site without trying to break everything down into such tiny chunks they're tedious and you'd need a decoder ring to figure them all out. X)

Thank you for taking the time, effort, and understanding to be kind and safe with these. Everybody has different tolerance level for different difficult topics. Sometimes, there are things that a person just can't deal with in their 'fun' reading, or may not want to deal with right then. A small kindness like this can help quite a lot.

[jenelycam.livejournal.com]

I've think you've done well covering all your bases! ^^

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

"AC (Adult Content):"

I don't like the phrase "adult content" because it's vague and supports some social oddities that aren't a great idea. "Carnal Content" is better, or if you don't like that one, perhaps "Sexual Activities."

"L (Language):"

Same problem, this is vague. We have "language" for the Torn Tongue posts! In some fashion this needs to indicate the type of language: strong language, vulgarity, etc.

Re: Hmm...

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

The fourth category also covers violence, though, so neither sexual or carnal works. I do like the term, because it fits with the fact that the content will not be shown to anyone under 18, regardless of the why - it's as much a legal choice as anything.

I don't mind specifying 'strong language'. It will still be shown by a single letter - I want to distinguish the ratings from the tags.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I'm glad! This was a tough one.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>The fourth category also covers violence, though, so neither sexual or carnal works. I do like the term, because it fits with the fact that the content will not be shown to anyone under 18, regardless of the why - it's as much a legal choice as anything. <<

I want to avoid equating sex and violence. They bother different people. Sex is a wonderful thing; violence is not. There's no reason we can't restrict access for both to "18+ viewers only."

If the legal issue is the only concern, then we don't need labels that describe the content (which is useful) just "all ages" and "18+ only." I think it's more useful to give people an idea of what's behind the labeling.

Re: Hmm...

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I want to avoid equating sex and violence. They bother different people. Sex is a wonderful thing; violence is not. There's no reason we can't restrict access for both to "18+ viewers only."

Isn't this what I've proposed? Flags and ratings are independent, and do different things. The adult rating will filter the work from view of all minors. The flags will appear on work it applies to, regardless of the rating, so people can decide if they want to read it or not. An AC story may have S and L tags, but no violence at all. Even an EC story may have a V tag, too - the tags are not rating specific in any way.

Input from Jeffrey

[(Anonymous)]

At first reading, I think that "Edgy Content" vs. "Spicy Content" has serious potential for misinterpretation and/or misapplication. Without the supporting text at hand, is Edgy "cleaner" than Spicy or vice-verse? Think way back in computer tech and you may recall similar difficulties remembering the difference between "high density" and "double density" floppy disks.

Re: Input from Jeffrey

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Can you think of a word between General and Spicy that could replace Edgy? (I HATED that double vs. high density thing!)

It should be noted that everywhere these ratings appear, they will be active links to a complete explanation of the rating system. Likewise, when submissions are entered at the site, the ratings will have explanations next to each choice.

Re: Input from Jeffrey

[(Anonymous)]

To my ears, Edgy sounds more risque than Spicy. Maybe that's just me, or maybe it's symptomatic of the double vs. high density type of issue. Having explanations of the ratings prominently live-linked should prevent confusion. Especially if you handle it better than the way the floppy makers did, with the storage capacity of the discs listed on the box in small print, and not anywhere on the discs themselves.