***IMPORTANT*** Forum content standards discussion--FINAL DRAFT FOR REVIEW (12/14)

Would it make more sense for me to edit it into the first post of TSL's FAQ (maybe in red or something) rather than putting in another sticky with the rules? And then I'll ask KW to put up an announcement, and we'll get a link in the header.

 

That sounds like a fantastic idea. More sticky threads would just create redundant clutter.

The Announcement Link is also a great idea and it should help get rid of a lot of the confusion.

Again, Great Job!

 

Okay. I have to write a scene tonight; I have tomorrow off and can go ahead and write a draft.

 

Sure, that works, JG. Thanks again for all your work on this.

Mel

 

Breezy's passage (quoted above) has been accepted by Josh as within bounds, but at the very top of them.

Thank you, God. I was really going to worry if it was going to be considered "not OK" for two people to have consensual sex within marriage. Geez. Where do people think Luke and Leia came from? A flying Ewok with a baby pack? And I think the whole "how she got pregnant doesn't need to be talked about" thing is a bunch of bull. On a family-friendly board, I understand not showing, or giving graphic detail--but pretending Anakin and Padme did nothing more than kiss, and then went to sleep in separate bedrooms afterwards? Please. My favorite line in Gone With the Wind is when Rhett Butler says to Scarlett, "You little hypocrite. You don't mind my thinking about them [these things], just my talking about them." Maybe growing up in the South, where the behind-closed-doors hypocrisy is still prevalent in some places, makes the whole issue, and therefore some of the stuff we've talked about here, really hit close to home for me. And hypocrisy is a personal pet peeve of mine anyway. But that's a rant for another thread, and I'll take it off here.

Anyway, I'm glad things seem to have worked themselves out. JG, my personal opinion is that you took a lot of the heat that Josh should have come onto the forum and taken himself, and you deserve a medal for this one--or at least a paycheck.

 

Just a note here - George Lucas allows fanfiction to exist, but when it gets . . . un-family-friendly, he has shut down web sites by threatening to sue. I have seen this, this isn't just rumor I'm talking about here. For safety's sake, I don't think anything on this board should go beyond PG, moral issues aside.

I think this whole argument is moot. The owners will decide.

 

The decision has already been made, obaona. Or are you referring to something else?

 

Then I guess I just have to hope that this part of TFN doesn't get shut down, now don't I? *is disgusted*

 

Things will remain PG here. The standard was simply clarified by TFN.

 

obaona: Coming from someone who has no qualms about telling another person in a chat room to "Go **** someone, get AIDS and die," I don't see exactly where you have room to be disgusted about anything that has been decided here.

Your hangups about sex are exactly that--your hangups. Leave the rest of us, especially those of us who are twice as old as you are and who are not trying to impose our "moral" standards on other people, out of it.

Which, BTW, if the way you've been treating those who have opposing views from you is the mark of a "moral" person with "standards", then, please, allow me to be an immoral person without standards. I find it very poor logic that liking sex and having sex is immoral, but hurling insults, passing judgment, and wishing death upon those who disagree with you is moral.

 

The main issue has been settled here. Let's try to be civil with any disagreements we have.

 

You call that civil - a disagreement? That's a flame.

But apparently my opinion doesn't matter.

 

Let me clarify this a bit more:

The main issues have been resolved and I believe this would be a good time to lock things up. Further questions or concerns can be directed to JediGaladriel.

We don't need any more conflict here.

 

Off-site stuff should stay off-site, and we should be arguing with positions, not people. Just a warning there--we did largely agree not to attack other posters on the JC.



Okay, I think this consolidates things. I don't think anything has been randomly tossed in, but here it is. It will go up in the FAQ later.

----------
Board wide standards

Language: The Jedi Council forums aren't a free-for-all on language, including things that fictional characters say to one another. The general rule of thumb is that curses used in the Star Wars movies ("hell" and "damn") are allowed, as well as curses from the books. This subject comes up periodically from other parts of the boards, and certain words may be debated again in the future. Because there may be different standards elsewhere, this will usually meet either with a request to edit or simply an involuntary edit with a PM explaining the action. If it becomes a repeat, pattern behavior, then disciplinary actions may be called for.

Sex and violence: The Jedi Council forums are rated PG, by the standard of American movies, and fanfic writers, like other board members, agree to uphold the site's Family-Friendly rating upon registration. The line can be fuzzy and hard to define, but there is a point at which it is passed, and in fanfic it can be particularly difficult. The following two excerpts, donated graciously by their authors, have been chosen as the "high water" marks for violence and sex respectively. Anything that goes beyond these in explicitness of description will result in a request to edit.

Violence
?[That may be so, but you have been gone for hours. And that is still an offense.]? Slightly calmer, the small floating man pulled a strip of flexi-steel ribbing from a shelf behind him. His hand moved down to the controller, once again activating the impulse. Obi-Wan was rendered immobile as waves of torment crashed through him. A new agony ignited as the strip landed across his shoulders. Quickly and efficiently, Watto flogged the boy. Fifteen lashes in total were dealt but they were enough to make the suffering child cry out in protest. After the last stroke fell, Watto spat down at the imp, ?[You?re lucky you?re getting off light. Now close up.]? The Toydarian flew away without another thought. Curled in on himself, Obi-Wan wallowed in his wretchedness. Hugging himself to fend off the anguished remonstration of his body. Tears streaked his dusty cheeks, leaving distinguishable trails. He remained on the floor waiting for the distress to abate enough to allow movement.
--Arldetta, The Enemy Beside You

While it is clear what is happening here, Arldetta only mentions a few specific actions, and often in a distant way. The focus is more on what Obi-Wan is feeling rather than what is happening. It is also less than half a screen long. As a rule of thumb, any "torture" sequence that goes on for more than two screens of text is going to get an automatic request to edit. Within that limit, extremely graphic depictions (which go beyond the above excerpt) may also be asked for an edit.


Sex
Anakin pulled her in even closer. "Oh Padmé," he whispered softly into her ear. "Never, never, never think that..." he started to undo the fastenings on her coat. It was an oddly heavy coat for the season, and he figured that even in the chill of the flat she would be hot. He slipped his hands inside and to his surprise, they met bare flesh. Anakin pulled away and looked at Padmé, thoroughly puzzled.

Padmé smiled sweetly at him and began to finish undoing the buttons.

"I wanted to make my apologies to you... in person," she said huskily, and dropped the coat to the floor where it pooled around her ankles. The only thing that adorned her now was a pair of slip on shoes that were quickly and carelessly kicked aside. She kissed his open palm, delighting in his reaction.

"I'm sorry Ani..." she whispered, and then began to tease his finger tips over her lips suggestively.?Can we kiss

 

Very clear and suscinct. Well done! I think that helps to define more closely the lines we should be walking.

 

Thanks for all the hard work JG!

 

Thumbs up.

 

Excellent JG! That's perfect.


Hugs
Kithera

 

"We also do not criticize spelling and grammar."

Does this mean that a friendly suggestion that better proof-reading would help the story is not allowed? Personally, I find it frustrating when a story that is really good otherwise is ridden with typos.

 

I don't think there would be anything wrong with a friendly PM on the subject, particularly if the grammar and/or spelling makes the author's intent unclear. But it's kind of embarrassing for it to be taken up in public.

 

Thank you, JG! This is stated very plainly and it should help a lot.

 

almost gave a start there with the actor fics...i am so happy i get to finish currently untitled.

 

Thanks! That should work for me. I think most of the confusion over the sex was cleared up in Breezy's litte passage and your reaction to it.

Although I do have one more question...

What if a parent has to explain the birds and the bees to his kids? (no, I'm not looking for trouble, but I felt it would have made for a very amusing scene. Now that I've seen all of this, I'm not sure if I would be permitted to have a scene like this)

 

If the parent is like most parents, and tries to explain everything in analogies that don't make any sense, I don't think there'd be any problem with the "Explaining the Birds and the Bees" scenario.

Or the parent could be like my dad, and just hand them several books on the subject. My dad never met a problem that a book couldn't solve

 

*shrugs* As far as explaining the birds and the bees goes, I think parents will simply have to watch what kids read now, on this site (read it first, etc). There doesn't seem to be any other solution, since older writers want a certain level of etc, etc.

Concisely put, JG. Are you going to put this in a sticky thread or something when its approved?