[Announcement] Content notices / Trigger warnings

Our hope as an Admin Team is for MH to be a safe space for everyone to read, write, and socialize. Although certain areas of our site, namely the NC17 boards, contain and allow more mature content than others, we would like to do all we can to ensure that we as a community are sensitive about the topics we are exploring and thoughtful about the ways in which we share our writing with others.

As such, and based on feedback from members, we would like to suggest that drivers begin to implement trigger warnings (also called "content warnings" or "content notices") into any of their threads which contain mature or potentially upsetting themes, either as a tag in the title or by using the spoiler function. For example, threads might be tagged in a general way:

            [l] for language, [s] for sexual content, [v] for violence,

or might be tagged with specific warnings to alert individuals to commonly triggering topics, such as:

            [substance use] or [death/dying].

These tags are not required, but we hope that as a writing community we will be doing our best to make MH a comfortable and safe place for everyone, regardless of their personal backgrounds or preferences. The NC17 board restrictions are not changing at this time, and all drivers are asked to remember that they have agreed to be exposed to mature content when requesting access to the NC17 area. These tags will not be officially monitored by the admin team, and drivers should take caution when opening any NC17 thread as threads may be mislabeled. However, we request that drivers do their best to make others aware of what sorts of content they might find in specific threads.

If you are unsure what trigger warnings are, why they might be used, or what sorts of topics ought to be tagged, we suggest you read more.

Please feel free to message any questions or concerns to a member of the admin team.

Thank you,
The Administration

Hi everyone,

Just a gentle reminder that any topics that exceed our 2-1-1 rating should be posted in the NC17 Board. Access to the NC17 board can be applied for here.

What's a 2-1-1 rating? According to the rpg rating guidelines, the publicly accessible area of Magical Hogwarts is a 2-1-1 which translates to:

Language 2: Swearing is generally permitted, with some limitations. (For reference, Level 1 is "Infrequent, mild swearing is permitted")
Sex 1: Mild sexual innuendo and references permitted
Violence 1: Mild violence permitted

Additional to the above, though we have not enforced content or trigger warnings, we do feel that some threads that touch on more sensitive topics should also be posted in NC17, particularly any references to severe PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) or any other mental illnesses.

If you are ever unsure where your thread should be located, don't hesitate to get in touch with one of the admins - we're here to help!

Thanks,

[lau]The Admin Team[/lau]

is it possible for us to have a more concrete guide? i just think everyone's standard of swearing/sexual references etc is different, so if there could be some examples of how explicit is too explicit for the main boards that'd be great ^^

is it possible for us to have a more concrete guide? i just think everyone's standard of swearing/sexual references etc is different, so if there could be some examples of how explicit is too explicit for the main boards that'd be great ^^

I'll bring this up in the admin discussion, but it is hard to give hard and fast rules around this. I'll get back to you.

Personally I use the rule of thumb "would it fly in a PG-13 movie" but thats just me. maybe that could help in said discussion?

Just to add to the above while we discuss clarification in admin, please don't be too worried about this reminder -- we would have contacted drivers directly if there were any serious issues. If you do have any concerns don't hesitate to PM or Skype me if you have me on Skype!

"This is because I'm back, isn't it? You muggles just think I'm one large walking trigger warning..."

 

To clarify regarding the sexual content: nothing sexually explicit should be posted on the main boards, but as per our rating mild innuendo and references are permitted. We will not be providing a list of what swear words are and are not allowed in the main boards. We trust our members to use good judgement on what is considered mild and what isn't. We won't be policing threads but if we do notice something, or something is reported to us, we will move the relevant thread to NC17 and notify the drivers involved.

If your thread starts in the general boards and you need it moved to NC17 as it progresses, we can do this for you - just send one of the team a PM!