Post by SiriusMarauderFan on Nov 5, 2006 16:43:11 GMT -5
This page explains the ratings you'll find on most fan fic sites. It also gives advice to writers.
G -General Audience.
(Similar but not identical to U in the United Kingdom)
Appropriate for all ages. This signifies that the fanfic rated contains nothing most parents will consider offensive for even their youngest children to read or have read to them. Nudity, sex scenes, and scenes of drug use are absent; violence is minimal; dialogue may go beyond polite conversation but do not go beyond common everyday expressions. Wizard World does not consider any of the Harry Potter books the equivalent of a G-rating, and notes that both Chamber of Secrets and Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone have been given PG ratings in the US and the UK.
PG - Parental Guidance Suggested.
(Similar but not identical to PG in the United Kingdom)
Some material may not be suitable for children. This signifies that the fanfic rated may contain some material parents might not like to expose to their young children - material that will clearly need to be examined or inquired about before children are allowed to read the story. Explicit sex scenes and scenes of drug use are absent; nudity, if present, is described only briefly, horror and violence do not exceed moderate levels. Wizard World considers Book 1 the equivalent of a PG rating and notes that both Chamber of Secrets and Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone have been given PG ratings in the US and the UK.
PG-13 - Parents Strongly Cautioned.
(Similar but not identical to 12-A in the United Kingdom)
Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. This signifies that the fanfic rated may be inappropriate for pre-teens. Parents should be especially careful about letting their younger children read it. Rough or persistent violence is absent in fanfiction; violence towards fantasy characters and/or people rendered in cartoon-style is permitted; sexually-oriented nudity is generally absent, although sexual activity may be implied and non-sexually oriented nudity (like Voldemort rising from the cauldron in GoF) is permissible if not described or depicted in a graphic manner. Sexual references may reflect the familiarity of most adolescents today with sex education through school, such as JKR's inclusion of Ron's making a joke about "Uranus" in Goblet of Fire. Some scenes of drug use may be described and some use of the harsher sexually derived words may be included; the strongest terms will be acceptable only where justified by the context. Wizard World considers Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban the equivalent of a PG-13 rating. Wizard World also considers Goblet of Fire to be the equivalent of a PG-13 rated story in terms of language and tone; although the graveyard scene at the end of the book could have been written in a style that would have required an R-rating, JKR did not dwell on the violence and the blood in that scene, so in our view, it is on the PG-13 side of the dividing line. Likewise, a reference to the performance of the Cruciatus Curse may appear in a PG-13 rated story, as it appeared in both GoF and OotP, but an extensive description from the perspective of the curser or the victim could cause the story to deserve an R rating. Accordingly, is possible that a story including those same elements from GoF and/or OotP could be written in an R-rated style.
15 - Restricted to those 15 years old and over
(Similar to the 15 rating in the United Kingdom)
No theme is prohibited, and there may be frequent use of strong language (eg 'f***'), especially if justified by the context, although repeated use of graphic terms for body parts, in connection with action verbs, will merit an R-rating. There are no constraints on descriptions or depictions of nudity in a non-sexual context. Sexual activity may be portrayed but without strong detail. Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. Dangerous techniques (eg combat, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on imitable detail. Strong threat and menace are permitted, as are written descriptions of gory material, but intensely gory images will merit an R-rating. Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse.
R - Restricted
(Similar, although somewhat more restrictive than, 15 in the United Kingdom)
Children under 17 should generally not read this fic without parental permission, as it contains adult material. An R may be assigned due to, among other things, a fanfic's use of language, theme, violence, sex, or its portrayal of drug use. While there are no restrictions on nonsexually oriented nudity, as explained in the previous section, and while sexual activity and nudity may be portrayed, the use of the most graphic terms for such depictions is not permissible in R-rated fanfiction, and the first and sixth elements listed in the "Nudity and Sexual Material" section of the ICRA Label Generator, if shown in close-up or detail, are never permissible in R-rated fanart. There may be occasional strong verbal references to sexual behavior. Violence may be strong but should not dwell on detailed and realistic descriptions of the infliction of pain. Scenes of sexual violence must be handled carefully. Drug taking may be shown but instructive, imitable detail is unacceptable. Dangerous techniques (examples include: combat, hanging, suicides) should contain no instructive and imitable detail. We recommend use of the "fade to black" technique, instead of use of action verbs, in describing otherwise-explicit sexual interactions.
G -General Audience.
(Similar but not identical to U in the United Kingdom)
Appropriate for all ages. This signifies that the fanfic rated contains nothing most parents will consider offensive for even their youngest children to read or have read to them. Nudity, sex scenes, and scenes of drug use are absent; violence is minimal; dialogue may go beyond polite conversation but do not go beyond common everyday expressions. Wizard World does not consider any of the Harry Potter books the equivalent of a G-rating, and notes that both Chamber of Secrets and Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone have been given PG ratings in the US and the UK.
PG - Parental Guidance Suggested.
(Similar but not identical to PG in the United Kingdom)
Some material may not be suitable for children. This signifies that the fanfic rated may contain some material parents might not like to expose to their young children - material that will clearly need to be examined or inquired about before children are allowed to read the story. Explicit sex scenes and scenes of drug use are absent; nudity, if present, is described only briefly, horror and violence do not exceed moderate levels. Wizard World considers Book 1 the equivalent of a PG rating and notes that both Chamber of Secrets and Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone have been given PG ratings in the US and the UK.
PG-13 - Parents Strongly Cautioned.
(Similar but not identical to 12-A in the United Kingdom)
Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. This signifies that the fanfic rated may be inappropriate for pre-teens. Parents should be especially careful about letting their younger children read it. Rough or persistent violence is absent in fanfiction; violence towards fantasy characters and/or people rendered in cartoon-style is permitted; sexually-oriented nudity is generally absent, although sexual activity may be implied and non-sexually oriented nudity (like Voldemort rising from the cauldron in GoF) is permissible if not described or depicted in a graphic manner. Sexual references may reflect the familiarity of most adolescents today with sex education through school, such as JKR's inclusion of Ron's making a joke about "Uranus" in Goblet of Fire. Some scenes of drug use may be described and some use of the harsher sexually derived words may be included; the strongest terms will be acceptable only where justified by the context. Wizard World considers Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban the equivalent of a PG-13 rating. Wizard World also considers Goblet of Fire to be the equivalent of a PG-13 rated story in terms of language and tone; although the graveyard scene at the end of the book could have been written in a style that would have required an R-rating, JKR did not dwell on the violence and the blood in that scene, so in our view, it is on the PG-13 side of the dividing line. Likewise, a reference to the performance of the Cruciatus Curse may appear in a PG-13 rated story, as it appeared in both GoF and OotP, but an extensive description from the perspective of the curser or the victim could cause the story to deserve an R rating. Accordingly, is possible that a story including those same elements from GoF and/or OotP could be written in an R-rated style.
15 - Restricted to those 15 years old and over
(Similar to the 15 rating in the United Kingdom)
No theme is prohibited, and there may be frequent use of strong language (eg 'f***'), especially if justified by the context, although repeated use of graphic terms for body parts, in connection with action verbs, will merit an R-rating. There are no constraints on descriptions or depictions of nudity in a non-sexual context. Sexual activity may be portrayed but without strong detail. Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. Dangerous techniques (eg combat, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on imitable detail. Strong threat and menace are permitted, as are written descriptions of gory material, but intensely gory images will merit an R-rating. Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse.
R - Restricted
(Similar, although somewhat more restrictive than, 15 in the United Kingdom)
Children under 17 should generally not read this fic without parental permission, as it contains adult material. An R may be assigned due to, among other things, a fanfic's use of language, theme, violence, sex, or its portrayal of drug use. While there are no restrictions on nonsexually oriented nudity, as explained in the previous section, and while sexual activity and nudity may be portrayed, the use of the most graphic terms for such depictions is not permissible in R-rated fanfiction, and the first and sixth elements listed in the "Nudity and Sexual Material" section of the ICRA Label Generator, if shown in close-up or detail, are never permissible in R-rated fanart. There may be occasional strong verbal references to sexual behavior. Violence may be strong but should not dwell on detailed and realistic descriptions of the infliction of pain. Scenes of sexual violence must be handled carefully. Drug taking may be shown but instructive, imitable detail is unacceptable. Dangerous techniques (examples include: combat, hanging, suicides) should contain no instructive and imitable detail. We recommend use of the "fade to black" technique, instead of use of action verbs, in describing otherwise-explicit sexual interactions.