PG-13? What does it mean?

[Medesha]

I drafted this announcement in response to poster queries about what is acceptable on RPG Crossing. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM any of the mods or admins. Thanks!

What the PG-13 Site Rating Means

In other words, what is acceptable on the site and what is not?

First off, we are governed, in part, by the Google AdSense constraints. If we violate these terms, we lose our advertising, which would suck. Thus, we may not post the following content on this website:

Excessive profanity
Our language filter edits out most of that, along with some non-profane words that we don't want used here. You can say 'damn' and 'hell' and inventive things like 'son of a wombatting mothership.' If you cleverly find a way around the filter, or find an un-filtered word, we will probably edit it from your post. If you don't want your post edited, don't swear.


Violence, racial intolerance, or advocate against any individual, group, or organization
D&D is a game of violence. While we aspire to excellence in roleplaying, at its core, D&D is a game of killing things and taking their stuff. However, you cannot post violent content directed at a particular real-world race, group, (including religious groups) or organization. You also cannot use racial, ethnic, or other epithets/slurs.

As for the level of violence in game, remember this is a site for young adults and children as well. We frown on posts containing torture, extreme violence, and sexual violence in detail. This is not part of our Google adsense, but our own guidelines. In general we leave the level of violence to the DM to set, but if a post seems excessive, we'll ask the DM to tone it down first, before editing or removing it. DMs worried about pushing the limits can make the super-violent thread private, allowing only players to read or post.


Hacking/cracking content
Don't hack or crack, or your account we must whack.


Illicit drugs and drug paraphernalia
Portraying drug addiction or fantasy drugs in-game is fine. Talking about your own drug use is not fine. Encouraging others to try drugs is not fine. Selling drugs using our website is not fine.


Pornography, adult, or mature content
By adult/mature content, we don't mean any discussion of sex. Your characters can have sex, talk about sex, and think about sex. So can you. But you can't have online sex on the site. You can't use language you'd find in online smut. As a rule of thumb, if your post contains words like 'throbbing,' 'heaving,' 'pulsing,' or 'thrusting,' it's probably over the top. In-character sex can also happen off-stage, or be described in terms you'd find in a tame romance novel. You cannot link to adult sites or post naughty pictures, or links to naughty pictures. I'm honestly not sure what Google's policy on nude artwork, like David or Venus, so I'll check into that.


Gambling or casino-related content
We're watching all you gamblers! Seriously, no betting on the site.


Excessive advertising
Don't shill for other sites, thanks.


Any other content that promotes illegal activity or infringes on the legal rights of others
This is a blanket requirement, and is basically used to cover situations we didn't think would ever occur, so we didn't strictly ban them. For instance, if we catch someone trying to encourage cannibalism, or wife-beating, it would fall under this clause.


Sales or promotion of certain weapons, such as firearms, ammunition, balisongs, butterfly knives, and brass knuckles
Sales or promotion of beer or hard alcohol
Sales or promotion of tobacco or tobacco-related products
Sales or promotion of prescription drugs
Sales or promotion of products that are replicas or imitations of designer goods

The only one of these limitations likely to come up on this site is the sales or promotion of certain weapons. Some areas of the United States and other countries prohibit the sales of bladed weapons (knives and swords) and exotic weapons (sai, nunchuks, etc). Unless you are a for-sure licensed seller and know the ins and outs of the law, it's safer not to recommend that people buy particular weapons, or to recommend sites where they can. If you want to pass on such information to a poster, use a PM or email.


If there are any other questions, please PM one of the mods or admins. Thanks very much!

-Da Staff