Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Ratings (But Were Afraid to Ask)

[LightningTopaz]

Been browsing around the Workshop and want to know what all those letters and numbers by the fics mean? Never fear, cause LT's here to help!

Those letters and numbers are what's known as ratings--in other words, how appropriate the story is for various audiences.

The two most common rating systems you will see around here are the MPAA guidelines (AKA the US movie ratings guide) and the ESRB ratings (or, the North American game ratings system). For the purposes of this guide, I will be explaining the ESRB ratings and their MPAA equivalents as they pertain to fics.

If a story is rated...

E for Everyone/G: This story is okay for anyone to read, and should be squeaky clean in terms of language and violence.

E10+/PG: This story is still relatively okay for younger surfers to read, but may have a little language and/or mild violence.

T for Teen/PG-13: This story is likely for the 13 and up crowd, and will probably contain stronger language and/or violence than an E10+/PG fic

M for Mature/R: Younger readers beware! This story is suited for the 17 and up crowd, and may contain strong sexual content on top of language and violence.

If you have any questions as to where your story falls on this spectrum, or have a suggestion to add to this guide, drop me a PM and I will be happy to help.

Happy writing!
LT

 

[Necrozma]

Oh my, this is everything I ever wanted to know about the ratings. (but was afraid to ask) In all seriousness, thanks for creating this thread, nice to have this kind of info on here! ^^

 

[LightningTopaz]

My pleasure--but if I missed something or you have a suggestion, just tell me.

 

[Shadow Raikou]

Thanks for posting!

 

[LightningTopaz]

You're welcome. Let me know if there's something that needs to be added

 

[Zekurom]

You forgot NC-17. But then again, R is probably a higher level than that, unless it's R-16 like it is on US TV.

 

[Kayi Rowling]

You forgot NC-17. But then again, R is probably a higher level than that, unless it's R-16 like it is on US TV.

It's based on the future story labels we'll be using shortly, which are "Everyone", "Teen" and "Mature", less narrow than the age-specific ones.

Topaz has provided an appropriate translation between several ratings, though.

 

[LightningTopaz]

NC-17 would be equal to the AO rating ESRB wise

 

[Joshawott]

Being a Brit, some of them have confused me. In the UK, we just have:
U = Suitable for all.
PG = Same thing really.
12A = Suitable only for people over 12, unless accompanied by an adult (DVDs just use standard 12).
15 = Guess?
18 = We're so cryptic aren't we?
R18 = Can only be shown at licensed cinemas or sex shops (there are only around 250 licensed shops in the UK). Basically, hardcore porn. I doubt we'll see fanfics with this rating though.

 

[OverlordRuby]

What would a fic be called if there is some violence and hardly any language? I'm stuck between PG and PG-13.

 

[CrystalGlacia]

What would a fic be called if there is some violence and hardly any language? I'm stuck between PG and PG-13.

I would think PG/E10. I know of a ton of video games that are centered around fighting, yet have the E/E10 rating. And the first two Harry Potter movies had some fighting and violence, yet were still just PG.

 

[OverlordRuby]

^ Sounds okay. The main character will get beat up and her mom will almost die. But it isn't very graphic. And like I said, hardly any language.

 

[Flygon 101]

What he rating be for a fic with frequent bad language, occassional violence (but not frequent blood and gore) and some sexual content? Just wondering since a fic Im designing now is pretty much based on real life attributes of the world.

 

[LightningTopaz]

I would give that a T for Teen rating to be safe

 

[Flygon 101]

Thanks, I was wondering about giving it a T anyway but it's good to know I'm doing things right.

 

[LightningTopaz]

You're welcome--if there's something this guide needs to address, just let me know

 

[Gama]

With the prefix system, this thread is unnecessary so I've closed and unstuck it.