Wow....I am seriously glad that I just read this.

I think my story may actually warrant an MA rating because the battle scenes and such are pretty graphic. Again, I'm not sure how graphic is actually considered "graphic". I usually don't tiptoe around describing injuries and such, but I don't blatantly describe things that would make someone go "eww".

I'm also concerned about future stuff going on with my characters and their relationships.

I know that I have used a swear word here and there so far. I think that this already warrants a switch. In any case, I'm not sure if it's completely MA, but I don't want to break any rules. I'm sure the mods have already taken a look at my story. I haven't been contacted about the rating yet. It could be just an oversight on both our parts, but should I switch it to MA just in case?

EDIT: I've switched the rating just in case and I'll figure out how to notify my readers of that in my author's notes. I love Dokuga, and even though some readers may not be able to read my story because of the new rating, I don't want to do anything to compromise the community.

Restless Quill, I just read your response, and was going to say, if you could let me know the story you're referring to, I could look it over and let you know. However, if you do anticipate somewhat detailed descriptions of wounds and deaths, MA is a safe choice.

However, I want to emphasize to EVERYONE... please do not worry about contacting the Admins with questions if there's any doubt! We would all be delighted to go through your story and let you know if there are any problems, or potential problems, that need to be addressed. As an Admin, I know I would far rather answer a question and head off a problem than stumble across one and have to write a warning.

So, please, feel free to contact any of us with your questions or concerns!!

~~Wiccan~~

PS - Thanks so much for your concern for the site. Dokuga is dear to the hearts of many, and I can't help but LOVE anyone who helps us keep it safe!!

It's not a problem at all Wiccan ^_^
We love you too!

The story I'm referring to in my post is "Limerance".

Restless Quill wrote:
It's not a problem at all Wiccan ^_^
We love you too!

The story I'm referring to in my post is "Limerance".

Ah, yes. I read through that and, although there is quite a bit of death, none of it is horrifically graphic. For now, the M rating was okay, but I was going to keep on eye on where you were going with it just in case.

By graphic, I mean things that would tend to give the more imaginative among us a mental vision of things like wounds, or actions that caused severe, fatal-type wounds, or descriptions of wounds that Kagome had to heal... than kind of stuff. Again, as Moxy pointed out, I can't get too specific given the constraints in the forum, but if you would like a more detailed list, please don't hesitate to PM me.

Intriguing story, by the way, thanks so much for sharing it with us!

~~Wiccan~~

Thanks, Wiccan! Both for saying that about my story and for checking that to clarify it for me. I sincerely appreciate it!

QUESTION!

Based on this thread, Restless Quill's posts and my own concerns, I just looked through It Broke, and now I'm a little doubtful too. Should that story have a mature rating, about an M? I haven't graphically described anything, but I HAVE hinted at child abuse and a VERY large part of (in fact the ENTIRE) plot stems from the fact that Sesshoumaru's castle staff and officials mistakenly believe or suspect that he has brought Rin home not as a ward, but to be a child concubine, and that they are growing angry and distrustful of him because of her presence and his suspected perversions of desire. There is no mention of details, nor does it go anywhere, it's just mentioned as a suspicion in a few chapters, and as more innuendo than anything (the way I put it now, in fact) to get things moving.

Still, right now the story is rated T and I'm not sure if it might not be better to bump it to M because of those few chappies. What do you think?

Sweetheart, you know I've been reading that one right along. While the fight between Sess and his eagle (not trying to give anything away for those who haven't read it) was violent, I'm not sure if it was that graphic. I wrestled with that one for a couple days, frankly.

As far as the implication that Rin was brought to Sesshoumaru's castle for nefarious reasons - that was rumour and not a true part of your story... simply a background noise, so to speak. So far, we've been skimming along at the top end of T. Like I said that fight was so close to M, but I'm not sure it went over the boundaries. In my mind, it didn't, hence the reason why I haven't asked that you change it.

I'm doing the best I can to read EVERYTHING that crosses the front page. That way, I know what's in there and I have a good idea where a story might be heading regardless of its current rating. Those that are tip-toeing along the line, I watch closely. Those that are firmly within their rating, I just read through.

And, now that it's 3:30am for ME, *I* am heading to beddy-bye. Hope this answers your question!! If not, PM me and we can get more descriptive about things. Wow, that sounded kinda off, didn't it? *sigh* Tired... bed calling... catch you later!

~~me~~

Could someone send the contents of this to me through PM? I've brought it up under bugs but I still can't view the first page of any topic. If someone can, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Done! Please check your private messages.

Knight of Disorder wrote:
Could someone send the contents of this to me through PM? I've brought it up under bugs but I still can't view the first page of any topic. If someone can, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Try this link:

http://www.dokuga.com/forum/34-authors-tools/51603-dokuga-authors-tutorial-ratings?limit=25#51603

That should work to bring up the original post. If not, please let me know!

~~Wiccan~~

I have a question~

I've noticed how for some MA rated fanfictions, authors have put a notice, such as "***MA RATING, FOR 18 OR OLDER***".

Why do they do that when they have already rated the fanfictions under MA ratings? Is it because it is better when they state clearly in the description like that? Should I also do that too?

My story, 'Existence of Empathy' is under MA for explicit scenes of nudity.

Lionel wrote:
I have a question~

I've noticed how for some MA rated fanfictions, authors have put a notice, such as "***MA RATING, FOR 18 OR OLDER***".

Why do they do that when they have already rated the fanfictions under MA ratings? Is it because it is better when they state clearly in the description like that? Should I also do that too?

My story, 'Existence of Empathy' is under MA for explicit scenes of nudity.

This is something some of our authors do in an effort to help their under-aged readers. When one "faves" an author, sometimes they get story alerts for stories that are above their age rating, in which case, a minor can get themselves banned from the website for viewing the adult materials. To attempt to avoid that, some authors will go the extra mile to make sure that their under-aged readers are well aware of what they're clicking on before they do so.

In your case, with "Existence of Empathy" being your only story, I wouldn't anticipate that you have younger readers having "faved" you - or, at least, they'd better not have if they want to stay on this site. We are VERY hard-line about the ratings and minor's access to adult materials here. As an all-ages site, we police our minors regularly and, if we find them accessing adult materials, they receive one warning. A second instance will result in them being banned from the site for the violation.

If you want to take that extra step, that is totally up to you. If, at some point, you write something that is less than MA, you may want to assist your under-aged readers in a similar fashion. Right now, it's purely the author's choice.

Hope that helps!

~~Wiccan~~

Ah, that explains so much now!

Thanks Wiccan!!!

You are most welcome, m'dear, anytime!!

~~Wiccan~~

My story "The Miko and her Faithful White Dog" is currently rated K. However, what must come next has me concerned about what I need to rate it. Sessh (in a small dog form and injured) is going to be captured by an oni. Kagome comes to his rescue and purifies the oni but in the process, Sessh is dropped and when Kagome reaches him, he has died. Kags also has to retrieve the "magic stone" aka shikon no tama that is embedded in his skull. Then she wishes him back to life. All of this is kind of graphic for a K or K+ rating (even if I don't give too much detail and he doesn't stay dead, there's still a character death and cutting him open to get the tama) so would it be a T or M rating?

Thanks,
Kae
PS- upon writing this story I realized how morbid some fairy tales are! My goodness!

Probably this will be the silliest question ever... but... What "YIMS" means? I am not a native speaker and I couldn't find what this acronym stands for.

It's a Dokuga-specific acronym. It comes from "Young Impressionable Marble", which basically is another way of saying minors/underage people.

So sorry... that's our own, unique shorthand for a site designation. It all began when one of our members, I believe it was sugar0o, coined the phrase "Gutter Marbles" or GM to denote those old enough to read MA rated material. From there, we coined the phrase "Young Impressionable Marbles" or YIMs.

So, that's were all that came from. Don't feel bad, it's an acronym that's unique to Dokuga!

~~Wiccan~~