Fanfic Ratings
So a few years ago there was a kerfluffle about rating your fic.
On one hand - if you don't rate your fic the reader can be in for some nasty surprises. But it is such a subjective thing.
Most of fandom was (and in Supernatural Fandom at least, still is) using the self imposed MPAA ripoff. (G, PG, PG13, R, NC17). Most of the larger internet sites are not because the MPAA sent several cease and desist letters to them as the MPAA and it's rating system are copyrighted.
It was copyrighted so that movie studios can't do what fanfic writers do - they can't just make up a rating and send it out into the world.
And apparently the MPAA really, really cares about this and will go after fanfiction.net to stop it.
By the way, the MPAA wouldn't share with television either. It's why they have separate systems. The US TV system was actually saner and also put "TV" on the rating to distinguish it. This is most likely because several countries are rating things differently and the US was relatively late to the TV rating market and as such can't bitch about the evil planet stealing our copyrights.
But the end result is sane - and as it's the images that are copyrighted and the content providers have more say, I think I'd base my fanfic rating system off of it. I'd just use "FF" for fanfic.
FF:Y I don't think this exists. I don't know of any fan fic that is specifically written to be shared with children. We're talking fic you print out and deliberately read to kids in a public library. But I put nothing past the internet.
FF:G - Fanfic that could be shared with children or the non-fandom public at large. ("Fanfic, you say? Why yes, I've heard of that. Here's a sample. Now please go away and don't ask me what a "Ship" is.") If you were reading on a bus with children present, you wouldn't be hiding the screen or looking for their parents' approval.
FF:PG - Fanfic you would share with children as long as their parents properly used the internet filters.
FF:Teen - Fanfic that is appropriate for anyone deemed old enough to explore the internet unmonitored.
FF:Adult - Fanfic that is appropriate for anyone fitting their countries definition of "grown-up" and more specifically - NOT meeting the definition of "jailbait"
FF:Explicit - Ah, and at last, we get to the porn. I wouldn't do FF:Sex because there's a lot of really dark and violent fic that falls under my FF:Explicit that is rather tame in the sex department.
Truthfully, given the choice, I'd never go below FF:PG just because I don't have kids and hate forming opinions on what is or is not appropriate for children. That's the parents job and is so individualistic.
What would your system look like?
Cross posted at my dreamwidth
On one hand - if you don't rate your fic the reader can be in for some nasty surprises. But it is such a subjective thing.
Most of fandom was (and in Supernatural Fandom at least, still is) using the self imposed MPAA ripoff. (G, PG, PG13, R, NC17). Most of the larger internet sites are not because the MPAA sent several cease and desist letters to them as the MPAA and it's rating system are copyrighted.
It was copyrighted so that movie studios can't do what fanfic writers do - they can't just make up a rating and send it out into the world.
And apparently the MPAA really, really cares about this and will go after fanfiction.net to stop it.
By the way, the MPAA wouldn't share with television either. It's why they have separate systems. The US TV system was actually saner and also put "TV" on the rating to distinguish it. This is most likely because several countries are rating things differently and the US was relatively late to the TV rating market and as such can't bitch about the evil planet stealing our copyrights.
But the end result is sane - and as it's the images that are copyrighted and the content providers have more say, I think I'd base my fanfic rating system off of it. I'd just use "FF" for fanfic.
FF:Y I don't think this exists. I don't know of any fan fic that is specifically written to be shared with children. We're talking fic you print out and deliberately read to kids in a public library. But I put nothing past the internet.
FF:G - Fanfic that could be shared with children or the non-fandom public at large. ("Fanfic, you say? Why yes, I've heard of that. Here's a sample. Now please go away and don't ask me what a "Ship" is.") If you were reading on a bus with children present, you wouldn't be hiding the screen or looking for their parents' approval.
FF:PG - Fanfic you would share with children as long as their parents properly used the internet filters.
FF:Teen - Fanfic that is appropriate for anyone deemed old enough to explore the internet unmonitored.
FF:Adult - Fanfic that is appropriate for anyone fitting their countries definition of "grown-up" and more specifically - NOT meeting the definition of "jailbait"
FF:Explicit - Ah, and at last, we get to the porn. I wouldn't do FF:Sex because there's a lot of really dark and violent fic that falls under my FF:Explicit that is rather tame in the sex department.
Truthfully, given the choice, I'd never go below FF:PG just because I don't have kids and hate forming opinions on what is or is not appropriate for children. That's the parents job and is so individualistic.
What would your system look like?
Cross posted at my dreamwidth