Network content ratings and my own promise

by Blue Ruin1

So there's recently been a little craziness on the internet... well, I suppose there's nothing unusual about that. Perhaps I should clarify - in our little corner of the blogosphere there's been some controversy over appropriate content and sexism, which while following on the heels of the psychoticness of the recent treatment of a certain girl who just wanted to raise some money to do a geek-girl documentary, could explain why tensions are already a little high.

Now, I'm not going to link or point fingers, and I hold no ill-will against those involved. It does no good, I follow the site it occurred on, and I enjoy most of the author's work. Because of some of the comments though, it shows that there are people concerned about kids exploring the hobby while online. As such, I wanted to re-iterate a principle that I've held since launching this site a few years ago:

Wargaming Tradecraft is appropriate for all ages.

and now,

Visitors of the Find a Blog network list can now view (and sort by) content ratings.

(as chosen by blog authors - NOT reviewed by me, unless I get complaints)

source

For the record, I'm not some goody-two-shoes and I enjoy reading blogs aimed at more mature audiences - it can actually be refreshing to read authors who don't pull punches. The reason I do this is because I started the hobby at a very young age, and still remember some of the fascination that came with the beginnings of the creation process and seeing what fantastic works others had created. I promised myself that my site would be accessible for all, and I'm sticking to that.

Parents, teachers, etc, should keep in mind that the hobby IS about war-gaming, so there's going to be some content that involves fighting, blood, monsters, etc. That's fairly unavoidable. But you won't find me cursing and there certainly won't be any (obviously) offensive material or nudity.

This is the standard I expect from any bloggers who choose the "EVERYONE" rating.

I've set "TEEN" as default. This is your all around level and a safe way of saying "browser beware". Language could include some swearing, crude humour, suggestive themes and  imagery could include more violence, gore, and/or scantily clad figures. By making this the default, it also means that an author has to make the effort to choose "EVERYONE".

For the more adult crowds, I've included a "MATURE" rating. I'm not going to link to porn, but this could mean extremely violent artwork, common swearing, and possibly even topless heroines.

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