Fanfic Ratings Guide

Note: I'm an adult. Honest. So I write things that are potentially for adults. While I don't plan on putting anything here that is overly/gratuitously violent or heavy on the sex or slash (aka fanfic sex between characters of the same gender) I've decided to use a rating system for my stories so people know what they are getting into.

Any fanfic posted to any of the fanfic archives requires it so I'll just use here what I use when I post something there.

There isn't any way to enforce such things in a reasonable manner (until I implement a software based archive system). So at this point I'm not going to block access to these fics, like LiveJournal and a few other sites do. I'm just using them for those who insist on knowing before they read something

There are assorted rating systems in widespread use. Here are a few:

• TV Parental Ratings in the US - The V-Chip stuff.

• Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Ratings - This is voluntary. We all know what that really means. It's all about the money. And how to keep the government from doing it for them. They don't really like anyone else using their system and have been known to send lawyers after MPAA rating abusers.

• British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) - A little more civilized. All movies/videos get rated if they are going to be shown in Britain but enforcement is at the local level.

• Entertainment Software Rating Board - A slightly different rating system.

I'd originally planned on using the MPAA ratings system but that was before they started sending out Cease and Desist letters to some fanfic sites.

Also, most rating systems don't really provide enough info. My system is more of a content info/warning rating. I'll eventually use both my own system (as I refine it) and whatever my favorite fic archive sites use.

My rating system - subject to change at any time.

Rating	Description
A	Good enough for anyone. No sex, no violence, no subtext. Only canon relationships among the fic characters (aka - no character gender preference changing.)
15C	Non-graphic violence. Subtext. Possible adult situations. Any sex happens off-screen. C = Canon pairings, if any (Yes, that does mean that a Willow/Tara or Willow/Kennedy pairing would get this rating if all the other pairings are canon. The rating isn't about gender preferences.)
15U	Non-graphic violence. Subtext. Possible adult situations. Any sex that might occur happens off-screen. U = unconventional/non-canon pairings (includes non-canon m/m or f/f)
18V	Adult situations. This includes graphic violence or possible character death. +U = unconventional/non-canon pairings (includes non-canon m/m or f/f) +C = canon pairings (includes canon m/m or f/f)
18S	Adult situations. This includes non-graphic sex. +U = unconventional/non-canon pairings (includes non-canon m/m or f/f) +C = canon pairings (includes canon m/m or f/f
M	Adult situations. This includes graphic sex and violence. None of my stories should ever have this rating.