FAC Ratings & Content Advisories Policy

0 - Overview

This policy was last updated August 21st, 2006, and may be updated by Fanart Central staff at any time, with or without notice. ALL SUBMISSIONS PAST AND PRESENT ARE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS POLICY.

Unless otherwise noted, all first-person pronouns ("we", "us") used in this Policy refer to Fanart Central's staff members, and all second-person pronouns ("you") refer to the registered member of Fanart Central and/or the unregistered visitor to Fanart Central, though this Policy is written primarily with regards to registered members.

This Policy in a Nutshell:

• NO submission to Fanart Central may EVER depict or include explicit sexually-oriented content.
• ALL submissions must be accurately labelled to identify any and all potentially offensive content depicted in them.
• YOU assume ALL responsibility for content you view on FAC, whether potentially offensive or otherwise. If you do not wish to encounter offensive content, it is YOUR responsibility to specify appropriate content filtering levels to block them from view.
• WE reserve the right to monitor any submissions (past and present) for the correct application of content advisories; and to moderate, reject, and/or delete any material which has not been correctly labelled to match its content.

1 - Explanation of Content Descriptors

We realize that not everyone has the same tolerances for certain types of content, and that some content is generally agreed as upsetting to view. Therefore, we provide a filtering system to allow users to automatically block content which they consider offensive. In order for this system to work correctly it is critical that you understand what types of content descriptors we use, and apply them if and where needed for your submissions.

Specifically, any submissions that contain depictions of nudity or sexual content, violence or racist content, profanity, or "Spoilers" must be accurately labelled as containing said content.

We have the following content descriptors available. Most of these descriptors have varying levels, each of which is cumulative.

• Nudity: This warning identifies the depiction of a nude figure (either partial or full) in the submission, and more specifically, the depiction of nude anatomical traits such as genetalia, buttocks, or breasts (hereafter called nude anatomy) in said figure. Please note that this descriptor should be applied regardless of whether said nudity is portrayed artistically, or provocatively (the latter being often labelled with terms such as "suggestive" or "erotic"). That is to say, this advisory should be viewed separately from the Sexual Content advisory.

  • Mild Nudity may include partial or implied nudity, and (in rare cases) full nudity, provided that there is no actual depiction of any nude anatomy.
  • Moderate Nudity extends to the depiction of bare breasts on female subjects. Partial or full nudity can be allowed provided that the genetalia or reproductive anatomy are not depicted.
  • Explicit Nudity extends to the depiction of bare genetalia and the reproductive organs, whether on male or female subjects.

  • Note: Although this content descriptor is intended first and foremost for depictions of human nudity, it also extends to depiction of any anatomy sufficiently resembling human nude anatomy. Conversely, it is generally not necessary to issue a Nudity warning for animal art or anthropomorphic ("Furry" or "Anthro") subjects unless the subject displays nude anatomy.

• Sexual Content: This warning identifies the representation of innuendo or suggestive content in a submission. Note that depictions of general public affection (e.g., non-intimate hugging or kissing, holding hands) may not necessarily require a Sexual Content advisory of any level.

  • Mild Sexual Content may include minor suggestive content, such as implied references to body parts or romantic activity.
  • Moderate Sexual Content may include depictions of arousal or intimate behavior provided that it does not qualify as Explicit content.
  • Explicit Sexual Content may include any depiction of patently sexual behavior or activity, usually but not necessarily in combination with explicit nudity.
    
    Please note that the Explicit level of Sexual Content advisory is kept for historical purposes only and we cannot actually allow any submissions to include explicit content; refer to Section 3 for more information about what types of content are deemed explicit and therefore cannot be allowed.

• Violence: This descriptor identifies depiction of gratuitous violence and/or bloodshed in a submission. It is generally not necessary to assign this descriptor for portrayals of "slapstick" comedy or mild "comic" violence where there is obviously no signs of injury, bloodshed, or other destruction.

  • Mild Violence is generally limited to depictions of minor injuries as well as clearly fantasy or comic violence without bloodshed, serious injury, or dismemberment (e.g., on a level comparable to most animated cartoons).
  • Moderate Violence may include most violence that does not portray gratuitous dismemberment or bloodshed (comparable to a PG-13 movie, such as Lord of the Rings).
  • Explicit Violence identifies graphic depictions of bloodshed or dismemberment (comparable to an R-rated movie, such as Kill Bill).

• Language identifies the use of profanity ("swear words") in a Submission. Please note that according to the guidelines of our general Submission Policy, this descriptor applies to your submission as a whole and must reflect any use of profanity regardless of whether it is included as part of the actual piece, or as part of the Description you provide.

  • Mild Profanity includes use of "Bowdlerisms" (nonprofane substitute words, such as "arse" or "F-word"_[sic]) or fully self-censored profanity (self-application of asterisks or black censorboxes to obscure the entire word, e.g, "****"_[sic] in place of "shit"). Certain semi-profane words used in a non-profane context ("damnation", "hell", "jackass") may also be permitted on a case-by-case basis.
  • Moderate Profanity includes most of the common "four-letter words" (excluding the infamous "F-word"), as well as partial self-censoring of profanity that would otherwise qualify as Explicit level (e.g. "f**k"_[sic]).
  • Explicit Profanity includes the so-called "F-word" as well as proliferous use of any profanity.

• Racism identifies the depiction of racist themes in the submission as a whole; generally real-life racist themes (such as Anti-Semitism). Please note that although we can accept these themes depicted in art when this descriptor is applied, we can not accept racism in your general behavior towards other users, such as advocating racist viewpoints in our discussion forums.

  • Mild Racism is generally limited to neutral depiction of racist themes or symbols; such as the so-called "Rebel Flag" or historical depiction of the Nazi regime.
  • Moderate Racism may include most racist themes excluding depictions of actual race-based violence or killing.
  • Explicit may include any depiction of racist themes or race-based violence.

• Shonen-ai (or Yaoi) identifies the depiction of male homosexual themes, or male-to-male sexual activity. Note that while this advisory includes both types, "yaoi" is by definition a specific, explicit subcategory of "shonen-ai" and will generally require issuing a Sexual Content descriptor at the same time.

• Shojo-ai (or Yuri) identifies the depiction of female homosexual themes, or female-to-female sexual activity. Again, while this advisory includes both types, "yuri" is by definition a specific, explicit subcategory of "shojo-ai" and will generally require issuing a Sexual Content descriptor at the same time.

2 - The Spoiler Advisory

In addition to labels for offensive content, we also provide a content descriptor for "Spoilers", depictions of plot, climax, and/or ending details from a narrative work, the revelation of which is intended for the viewer to experience firsthand from the narrative work itself, rather than secondhand from a fanart inspired by that work (as doing so may "spoil" the experience or surprise -- hence the term, "spoiler"). Spoilers are not offensive in the usual sense, but as some users may prefer to "not know" about a certain plot development or ending in a movie, book, or other narrative work, we provide this descriptor as a filtering option nonetheless.

Note that, over time, certain spoilers may become a part of popular culture and grow so well-known that they are no longer a surprise, and hence, no longer a spoiler. The famous line "I am your father!" from The Empire Strikes Back is one such example.

Although this content descriptor has several levels, it is difficult to evalute the "level" of a spoiler. However, by definition, this descriptor should not be applied to submissions of original art.

The level of a spoiler is determined rather subjectively based on the importance to the plot and the location in the plot. Death of a main character is generally a major spoiler, and something about the end of the series is more serious than something early in the series (or book/movie/etc).

3 - Limitations on Sexual Content

Effective since July 18th, 2006, we can no longer accept any submissions which require an Explicit-level Sexual Content descriptor, because FAC is an all-ages accessible site and we will not risk having explicitly "adult" content available here. In other words, this decision is out of legal concerns only and is not because of any user or submission in specific.

The following types of content are generally considered to qualify as Explicit Sexual Content and therefore we cannot allow them in a submission to FAC:

• Depiction of sexual positions or sexual contact between two subjects, regardless of whether the nudity is actual or implied, and whether or not the subjects are male and/or female;
• Depiction of an erection or other sexual arousal;
• Depiction of masturbation or other fondling of the genetalia, whether male or female;
• Depiction of adult-oriented objects (sexual "toys") in a suggestive manner;
• Depiction of sexual fluids such as semen.

Please note that these criteria are intended as guidelines, and the specifics will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

We do acknowledge that there are artists who compose explicit artwork, but we will not allow such submissions here on FAC and we reserve the right to reject, remove and/or delete any submission which is agreed to be sexually explicit. We have set up a sister site -- Hentai Foundry, restricted to users of ages 18 or older -- to accommodate such submissions.

4 - Content Filtering system

Our content advisory system works in conjunction with viewing category or artist galleries on this site: We provide a set of filtering levels for each content descriptor, and by adjusting the levels of each descriptor you may restrict your viewing of a gallery to exclude any content which exceeds the levels chosen. While registered on FAC, you may also specify the default levels for these filters by reviewing the options on your FAC user profile.

Obviously, when these filters are set to their highest level, no content filtering will occur when viewing a gallery. You are therefore responsible for adjusting the filtering levels to exclude any content that you do not wish to encounter; we have no obligation nor any responsibility for content that appears in a gallery, so long as said content has been accurately labelled in accordance with Section 1 of this Policy.

If you should encounter a submission which you believe has not been correctly labelled for objectionable content, you may report the submission to us and we will investigate whether or not it has accurate content labels applied. If we agree that a submission is not labelled appropriately we will decide on a corrective action, such as the application of correct content descriptors, or the removal of that submission.