I'm curious to see what sort of ways people manage the amount of adult content on their boards and why. I haven't got a board of my own, but if I had I own, I'd go with option two because so many forum services forbid adult content in their TOS. IF that wasn't an issue, I'd limit my forum to 18+ and probably go with option two.

Another thing that might be worth talking about is what you consider mature content. For me, it's sex, violence, offensive language (not strong language, but offensive words like the n word), and hard drug use (not weed and alcohol).

More or less whatever the host service's TOS allows. What I would LIKE to allow is anything goes, provided people respect other players who might have to read your smut or graphic torture scenes. You're not censoring yourself if you colour the X-rated part so it needs to be highlighted to see or putting a "mature" tag on the thread title, that's just being considerate.

I chose the third option, because from my experience, most people know where to draw the limit between what is inappropriate and what is not. I think of mature content as extreme violence (gore, torture, the like) and explicit sex. Fade to black is fine and if you're leaving out the gory details of a fight-scene, that's fine too. SOME language I consider mature, especially if it's discriminatory or vulgar, but regular swear words are so common-place now they hardly warrant PG-13. Hard drugs usually aren't involved in my RPs, since they're fantasy and few bring it in. If they did, I'd say those threads are rated [m] because I don't want to ENCOURAGE drug use in my RPs.

I do have some guidelines, but for the most part I just give the RP an R-rating and if people want to post something of that nature then they can just mark their thread as [m].

My only beef with mature content is if it becomes the ONLY content. I've only really seen this with sex-related posts.

I'm really all for the violence, though. It spices up my RPs, since most of them revolve around a battle of some kind.

I chose number three. Since my games are hosted and we use phpbb, I don't have to worry about ratings and stuff. Thus mature content is allowed with a warning and we also all have an idea on what other players' limits are since I have a "Player Limits" system and form in place. It makes it veeeery handy when doing plots and stuff.

I let the members police themselves because I trust them to be mature and responsible, and they haven't done anything to prove otherwise. :3 I would step in, however, if I noticed certain players were doing nooothing but smutting it up. I'm down with smut and it doesn't even have to be deep and meaningful, but if it's all someone is playing...nngh. There are plenty of games dedicated to nothing but smut play, so they might be better off going to one of those games if that's all they're interested in playing. Nothing wrong with it; it's just not what my games are about. :3

Luckily, everyone's all about the plotting.

But yeah, I define mature as anything graphic. Graphic violence, explicit sex, and extremely vulgar language.

Some is allowed, and I have specific guidlines. Those guidelines being follow a PG-13 to PG-15 rating, since that's IF's Terms of Service, and I don't want some denied member taking his frustration out on the board and reporting us for having smutty content.

I go by the Motion Picture Association of America's guidelines:

It's pretty vague... I mainly just use this example: Kissing, making out, groping, heavy insinuations... those are okay, for the most part. But going into graphic detail and actually RPing out the sex or foreplay is not. Same goes for violence. Punching, arguing/insulting one another, using magic (in HP roleplays) etc. is fine, but you can't go Saw or Hostel on us.

We're rated mature because I want to give my members the freedom to post at whatever level they deem appropriate for what they are trying to convey. The board has a rating of mature because the content is not suitable for those under the age of 15. All threads containing mature content must be clearly marked, or I'll break out the Player Beating Stick I stole from DEM.

To this extent, I let members police themselves. They are the ones participating, the board I run allows for content of any kind so I don't tell my members what I do and don't want to see because with the legalities out of the way, it comes down to their personal taste.

As a result, we don't have a porn-porn-porn atmosphere. Quite the opposite, as it goes. The members by and large apply their personal limits and it's rare to see an explicit thread. I'm all for them going nuts--the nature of the game makes everything perfectly plausible and when things are marked, even if we're talking excessive violence or non-sexual taboo subjects. That way people can pick and choose their content. Because of how the game is set up and what is going on, I would be hard-pressed to feel like we were being as realistic as was plausible, if we slapped a pg-13 rating on it. I just couldn't visualise someone waking up in a magic-proof cell and going, 'ah...nuts.'

I have stronger reasons, but that one amused me the most.

I can't see a dark themed board not encountering the possibility of certain types of storylines or events that may not be suitable for other boards. Having the dark label slapped on it means I can get away with a huge amount.

Basically, I am happy to let people play and write how they want because I trust them. The only thing I want to protect against is all sex all the time--if people want to do that, I'll make them a little AU-board: 'AS: XXX' and they can write all sex all the time and not worry about unsexy storylines. I think however, that the liklihood of that happening is slim. Very slim where we're concerned, and to hit people with a rating because of that seems unreasonable.

Think about what your rp intitiles and what you feel comfortable with. If youwant Sex Drugs and all that Jazz on the site, Check the Tos of the server and see how far you can go. Also look at the content of your rp. Is it site that might go sex crazy or be far from the word.

War sites are going to have gore, you can't say lets might them all butterflies and bunnies it's basically not going to work. But I would look at the Tos and go with your personal zone.

I find that the best policies I've seen are ones that allow as much adult content as the members want, but they mark in the topic description that the nature of the topic is explicit, and every post that contains explicit content has a warning in a larger size, or in another way that it is clearly visible. Also, make sure that no under-13s are participating in those threads, because that can be punishable by law.

I allow any and all "adult" content on my site. Of course, I wish to respect members that are not comfortable with whatever type of content may be posted. Therefore, topics containing mature themes (harsh language, excessive violence, etc. Basically anything a little more intense than your standard PG-13) must be marked with an M. Sexually explicit threads must be marked with an X. So, there are no restrictions, but people are required to provide a warning so people know that they are viewing these mature threads at their own risk.

Also, it is stated in the site's rules that a member may be punished after a warning if they continue to post an excessive amount of mature or explicit content. Of course, this is simply to make sure that all members are aware that we do not desire a board full of sexually driven plots and gore. There is no way to set an exact limit on how much is too much, but the members are warned that the administration will step in if we feel someone is crossing the line.

Due to the content and storylines of my current rpg, anything goes - as long as it's not something that will get my site shut down and the Powers that Be knocking on my door - it, pedofilia, bomb-making instructions, etc.

I figure people are mature enough to actually police themselves... I've been on forums where there are forums designed for people to post R rated content, although on my site... PG 13, simply because most of the senior members would have something to say if we added a mature forum, lol. But I don't mind - I figure hey, if you want to write that kind of stuff, take it to IM or take it to a PM.

As long as it doesn't get the forum shut down (lol Zetaboards/Invisionfree content rules), I don't care what happens. Who am I to tell people what they can or cannot do with their imagination?

Ayep.

Munch, I like you. And I agree.

Little to none. I don't think the TOS allows for much of it, and really there's no real way to verify people's ages.

Well, IF/ZB Terms of Service outlaw sexual content (which I assume includes cybering) and "excessive swearing," but I brandish the f-bomb like a drunk sailor, and we haven't gotten shut down yet! We just sacrifice virgins to the powers that be and hope for rain. Rain, and not getting shut down.

I chose option number three. I have faith that at the end of the day, most people have common sense and know where to draw the line when it comes to these things. Ya know, keep it legal, tag your threads if you take it further than kissing, etc.

I usually allow my members to police themselves. Call me one of those crazy people who actually assumes that people are mature enough to know the limits of what is considered 'appropriate', but I honestly believe that most people won't get too explicit. If they do decide to go down the more mature route with their threads, all I ask is that they do he oh-so-popular tag their thread as mature that way innocent eyes don't come across explicit materials.

Along those lines, I also have strict rules about age. I know that you can't prove somebody's age, but in my rules I state that all members must be at least 13 years of age and if a member of the staff finds out that a member has lied about their age, the staff has right to ban said member. We've yet to have that happen on any of my previous roleplays, but hopefully it helps keep twelve year olds from running across excessively graphic material

I like there to be some guidelines...I don't like really explicit verging on porn sort of stuff, but most of the time I don't mind as long as it wouldn't breech a PG-13 rating. I prefer language to be kept to a minimum, though most of my forums are usually of a genre where current swear words wouldn't even be used (fantasy/sci-fi type stuff). I'll let some slide in but I prohibit (wow, I sound powerful) really offensive stuff like the f- and n- words.

Which isn't the admin's problem. If a member signs up and lies about their age, the registration form acts, for lack of a better word, as a signed contract. It is their declaration that they have read the TOU (whether they did or not is on their head, not yours) and that they are of 13 years or older (when following the IF TOU, for example). If they are younger than that and parents complain, you are not liable. the COPPA is set down to protect people underage, so if people choose to lie to get onto a game, then unfortunately they've not got a leg to stand on. You allowed them to view board content that stays within the realms of what is suitable for people of 'x' years old because they agreed that they there that age.

As for mature content and guests...hide forums from guests where it's likely to happen. Dorms/homes for example. Also if you have archives, make those member-only. You still have loads of stuff on show and no one can complain that there isn't any sample content for them to view.

Viva Las Vegas is pretty easy going. We have one guideline and one guideline only. If you're going beyond the undergarments the scene needs to cut out and back into the afterwards portion of the scene.

Swearing, drug use, drinking, sex, all that happens in Vegas so we're cool with letting it happen in the RP, we just don't want this site to become pornographic.

I think that members really should be allowed to RP what they want to RP. If the board, for example, is set in New York City, people are not going to happy and skipping around in circles. I think just as long as the members participating in it are both willing and the thread has been clearly marked, then it's fine. If other people don't want to RP in sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll type threads, then that's fine too. I just think that members should have freedom to do what they want to do, but be patrolled so it doesn't get out of hand or members aren't being bullied to do X-rated threads.

I have found that most people are able to monitor themselves and stay in the realm of decency. On all of my sites we always ask for a tag of the rating to be put in the thread title along with a spoiler noting when the mature content begins and ends. That way if there are some important pieces of character development before or after certain things (a gruesome fight, sultry sex scene, etc.) another player can see what is happening without having to read the mature content portion.

None of the sites I have staffed or participated on have ever turned into porn XXX sites where that is all there is. It all depends on the mood and maturity of the player. Though I have no problem as a player writing out explicit content there are times that I just don't want to and the same goes for many other players as well.

Just like any other thread people have a choice to read or not. The only time I really step in as an admin is if the majority of my members complain about something or a player feels like they are being forced into the situation (which is a rare occurrence).

At Bridgerton, it's part of the board rules to have members tag their posts if they're going beyond the usual amount of public displays of affection. But I chose option number three anyway, because though Bridgerton isn't big enough to have scenes like that yet, I think people would have the common decency to tag their posts in this case, whether they read the rules or not. xD

That might be just my naivety talking, but I dunno. :lol:

I allow anything as long as it isn't copious swearing or explicit sex. And I'd allow all swearing and explicit sex if it weren't for my board's TOS. It's the main reason I've considered moving, actually...

I've seen games that actually banned certain plots like teenage pregnancies, rape, etc. I would personally never join such a game. I only join games that allow any possible situation between characters that may naturally arise, to arise. Otherwise it's fake.

On my Narnia RPG, we do restrict the content to PG-13, primarily because it is based on a series of childrens books. It would be inappropriate on our part to inundate that with sex and drugs and lots of gore. Even the new movies don't include a lot of blood even though they do have violence. So we've basically kept it to Disney ratings, with PG-13 as our official standard. If someone starts getting out of hand, we can point them to that and know that we're in the clear.

Of course, on my Star Wars site, it's quite different. One of the admins doesn't care very much for constant cybering and such, which is understandable, I wouldn't either. But there, we're able to turn up the heat, so to speak, on the content and have a much more mature and flavorful RPG. Mostly, though, we'd let the members police themselves, most people are mature enough, and if they aren't, a few warnings and a ban gets rid of them.

I tend to allow members free reign on my sites, and because I usually join/run sites that have stories of gore, violence, sex, etc my rules will reflect that. Therefore I chose the first option.

However, in my rules I state that the site will have explicit sex and gore therefore if someone is not able to handle roleplaying like that I will say that it is not for them. Also, as I use IF there is the over/under 13 rule though I say that anyone under the age of 16 shouldn't join as 16 is the legal requirement for sexual activity in the UK, therefore I am following the laws of my country.

Although I allow explicit material on my sites, it is not the only aspect that we roleplay and normally the threads are every now and then. However, I do not demand that you rate your thread in terms of content, my members are warned in the rules that explicit content may happen and therefore should be able to cope with the fact they joined and adult rated site.

All in all, I think that adult content is a good thing in roleplaying as there are many site which skirt around the issue, which is fine for them, but I prefer a site that reflects real life and sex, drugs and rock n roll are part of real life.

Because for the past two years or so my role play sites have centered almost exclusively around adults in the real world, I do allow mature content on my forums. However, I don't let it sit out in the open. If it gets too graphic and they don't have any sort of warning, I'll go tell them to tone it down. I rarely have to do this. Pretty much, I let people police themselves, so long as they follow my guidelines and my word. If I say no, they have to stop, no questions or arguments.

Swearing is alright because people swear, sex is alright because people have sex, violence is alright because people do hurt each other. I don't skirt these topics in my personal writing and I don't think that they should be skirted in a role play situation because they happen in real life. But having a board inundated with sex and violence beyond reason, and having posts so laden with curse words that they are hard to understand is not okay, and I let my members know this.

In the past I had an invisible board for people who wanted X-rated threads. They would ask for the URL which an admin would give to them, and they'd go do their business and be done with it. However, there was so little demand for it, I eventually just removed the board. The members that have come to my sites have been fairly good about it, and in the past I really haven't had to worry overmuch. They've done a good job without too much interaction on my part.

I think that having no restrictions is trashy...I don't get any enjoyment out of reading super graphic violence or sex acts, and I'm pretty sure that the people I roleplay with feel the same way. Mild adult content for all the categories (violence/substance use/language/sexual content) is allowed on AG, which is a site revolving around adults, and I have guidelines, but for the most part we don't even worry about it because we don't stray into mutilate-and-rape territory. That's the great thing about my members--most of them have common sense and know that once the clothes/limbs/f-bombs start flying, they need to stop.

As an admin I read all the threads on the board and keep tabs on what's going on, but for the most part the members do a good job of maintaining boundaries. It's written in the rules that they should contact the admin if they're not sure a thread crosses the line, and if someone gets offended they can contact me and we'll work it out with the other people involved.

i disagree with the people who say "anything goes" because really, that's just.. wrong. x]
i don't really like to see people working with drugs and needles and stuff (mainly because it's pretty icky), but also because it's not something people want to see on a forum. and it's the same with sex, so long as it's nothing weird like.. some kind of ten-person orgy or whatever.. xD

I do have specific rules that I enforce, such as no sexual or racial slurs, no sexual content, and no drug use (though I am planning on drugs being involved at some point). Other than that, I allow swearing and a certain degree of foreplay, so on so forth.

The fact is, everyone has heard the F-word, the B-word, H-E-double hockey sticks, so on. A ton of people use it in their everyday speech, me moreso. Why should I limit what people are allowed to say even though I do it to? Besides, the internets are filled with even worse stuff than the occasional F-bomb.

I lament the desensitization of today's youth.

Just because everyone does it doesn't mean that it's okay. Just because "everyone has heard/seen" something doesn't justify its presence on your board.

Would you allow porn on your board? I'm willing to bet that most of us have seen it, so by the reasoning of many people here, that's okay to have on the board?

But I digress. I guess I just don't see how people think it's entertaining to have their characters getting it on every three seconds. To each his own, but it's still rather disturbing. Haha, now I'm going to make my own poll to test something.

Edit--Here's the poll pertaining violence in RPs.

I allow pretty much anything as long as there is a rating in the title (if it goes above PG rating) and all involved are in an agreement for it. I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable with whats being written but I don't see a problem with it as long as both writers have an agreement and respect is maintained.

Literotica is not as heavily protected online as visual pornography because that depicts graphic images. Literotica is different and as such, one does not have to jump through hoops to view it. You can google the stuff and you can come up with a dozen sites that require a simple registration and not proof of ID beyond your word, and they don't require your credit-card. Take Adult Fanfiction.org for example. It operates using a signed contract for access to protect themselves but that's that. Now, if your site has a registration age above say, 15 and the content is suitable for people aged 15 and over, then as I said before, that is a contract.

I enjoy the freedoms that come with this kind of writing, just as I do with violence. I can explore writing styles I never considered before and I don't see why I have to feel like I must justify every naughty sentence I write, especially when I indulge so rarely.

Just because it might be all about sex doesn't make it wrong, either. There have been plenty of erotica boards out there which are heavily moderated. You jump through hoops to join, you get involved in a very private affair with other writers and while I've only ever joined one XXX site, they were fantastic writers. Not only that but, -gasp!- they were also capable of playing on other sites wherein they weren't all about the sex.

I let my members RP whatever they feel. The only thing that is not allowed on my forum is RPing Mating. Because they're warrior cats. But i do not tolerate it. Otherwise anything else is ok.

Usually on my sites I allow pretty much free reign and have the members police themselves, although there are circumstances when a line has to be drawn and I'll add a few bits into the rules about such issues.

Most things I don't mind and will allow, although when you get people posting and nearly all of what their character says is swearing, I usually step in with a warning - same as when intimate scenes get a little too graphical.

I just see no need for such things on RP sites, seriously. When people go into step by step detail of their character having sex... it's sick. I like to have my RP's open for most age groups and by having that kind of thing around, it gets rid of people that could possibly have joined.

Like many of you, I chose number 3.

I would've liked to say anything goes, but sometimes people have problems with mature content... and some feel it makes the board look "bad" (for lack of a better word). I don't think it does at all: sex and violence is a part of life, and in a weird way it's fun to RP. Still, the board I mod on set up a "mature", password protected board, where threads that become sexuall explicit, or just too intense I guess, are moved. Anyone can view the board, they just need to ask for the password. Basically, one of the admins wanted the board so you couldn't view the rated M posts in public (via view latest 10 posts [proboards]). -shrugs-

Personally, I think mature themes need to be handled both realistically and tastefully... not just for the sake of smut.

I went with "Anything goes." My site is 18+ and most of the members are 20 and over (several of us are over 30), and I won't tell adults what to write or how to write it. However, I do require that any and all "Above PG-13" material be confined to boards only members can see. And one must claim to be 18 or over three times before becoming a full member.

Good point, Angel. I'm 19 so yeah... kinda prefer "anything goes". But our youngest member is turning 15, so yeah. I mean, she's old enough and mature enough to decide what she wants to read, but the password protected board just seems to appease everyone.

I voted for Some is allowed, and I have specific guidlines.

Since one of my Forums is multi RPG formated (meaning you can role play any format be it chat, IM email or Forum threads) I mad a sticky post for the posting formats. at the top of each scean post is to be a rating. I know that when you start out there is non way of knowing really what way your thread is going to go but thats what the edit button is for. Edit the first post to disply its graphic nature as well as heading all your mature content posts with said words **mature content** at the top so when you view the threads in the 10 most recent threads they are marked . those who choose to view them can and those who dont can skip over them. This entire SL is 17 +

On my other forum i have a password protected board that I like to call "the Naughty Board." you have to be 17+ to get access and your DOB has to be listed in your profile. Obviously there are flaws in my system for this board because people can just lie and say they are of age when they are not. But thers no way to tell realls aside from the maturity level of the person your rping with. If they are cracking up when you say the word vagina then it is apparent they are lieing and should be removed immeadiatly.

My standard disclaimer:

My game is on LiveJournal, which has a mature-content filter, but it isn't mandatory. I hate the filter, so I have a disclaimer a few places and "trust" people to police themselves.

I should have selected the second option on the poll, because I don't really allow anything, but I need to add something explicit (ha) about that to the rules.