The YWS Censorship Policy

As a general rule of thumb, YWS is strongly against literary censorship. However, as YWS is a site geared towards minors, some of whom are 13 and under, there are certain rules and guidelines we apply to sections of YWS. Below is YWS' Censorship Policy.

The entire site

Any images depicting nudity will be removed without notice, regardless of their artistic merit.

YWS does not allow pornography on its website.

Additionally, any topics or discussions encouraging harm against oneself or others will be deleted.

The Literary Section

We ask members to rate their literary works properly (E, 12, 16, and 18) so one may avoid certain topics should they so choose. Learn more about Content Ratings here.

Additionally, we ask that members avoid posting expletives in the titles and summaries of their literary works. If a title or summary does contain an expletive, the first letter may remain, but all other letters should be replaced with the asterisk (*) character.

This only applies to literary titles and summaries because these are visible throughout the entire site. The literary work itself need not be censored of expletives at all.

YWS also does not allow literary pornography. Literary works that are only explicit sex scenes unattached to a larger narrative (scenes within larger work withstanding) are therefore not allowed. The work must be a literary one. Singular explicit sex scenes will be removed.

YWS does not allow any works that explicitly promote or encourage violent criminal activity, or works that promote or encourage violent sexual activity, and especially so against minors. References are allowed for the purposes of a broader narrative, but works that actively promote such behavior will be deleted and the author banned from the site.

In the Forums

There is seldom need for profanity outside of literary works and roleplays, and we thus ask members not to use profanity in the forums. We do so because swearing in a casual context can be considered offensive and contribute to a hostile atmosphere in forums with minors.

For roleplays, please censor any expletives in the first paragraph of your post, as this part is visible throughout the entire site. For more information on roleplay rules, visit here.

In profiles and blogs

YWS does not practice strict moderation of profiles and blogs, allowing members to post content that may include profanities in these areas. Nonetheless, profanities directed toward another user are not allowed in any context.

In clubs

Each club has its own moderating team, set up by the creator of the club. Any rules regarding subject matter are set by the club's mod team.

Questions

Any questions about the above should be directed to Big Brother.

I agree with le K on this one.

How does this fare in terms of using warnings and spoilers in normal posts?
E.g.
Warning - Expletives.

Spoiler

Blah blah blah expletive blah blah blah.

Please don't use it even in spoilers. There's always a way around swearing - you can even make up creative swears and turn it into a game. I've seen everything from 'Oh light' to By Merlin, that's a tricky one!

We'll accept dungheap, sheep bladder, dragon balls.

If you can show me a sentence where swearing is absolutely necessary and could not have been replaced with anything else, then I'll tip my hat to you, but there really isn't a need.

Think of this as a kiddies club - would you call out a swear word while you're showing the kids how to play a game of musical statues?

What you do on blogs, walls and clubs is up to you, but let's keep it clean in the forums.

If conventional swearing is a blaster, then an elegantly crafted insult is a lightsaber.

For instance, if I had a desire to insult Rydia in a conventional manner, it would probably be a more colorful variation of "Shut up." Rydia would be completely unaffected because it is so cliche and devoid of originality. In fact, she could easily counter with a well crafted insult in response, such as;

"You should check the lost and found portion of the site, someone may have returned your creativity."

Which is why I wouldn't even bother with shut up, if I had the desire to say something like that to Rydia. Instead, it would be more along the lines of this:

"Does thou hear
the raucous snores
caused by the horrid bores
of your lectures given clear?"

See? Much better.

Love you Rydia!

Rydia wrote:If you can show me a sentence where swearing is absolutely necessary and could not have been replaced with anything else, then I'll tip my hat to you, but there really isn't a need.

"Alright, then, I'll go to hell." - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

technically, saying that isn't cursing. You're referring to the place. Hell. However, saying "What the He*l" is cursing. There's a difference. You're not talking about the actual place in this instance. And why would you be saying you'll go to hell or tell someone to go to hell in the forums anyway? That is not appropriate in more ways than one.

I am curious about more offensive cuss words. Is there a guideline for which words are considered appropiate for a certain age group?

@fuzzjohnson

First off, remember that cursing is only allowed in literary works. With that in mind, a moderator applies a rating of 16+ for instances of the word brought to us by the letter S, and 18+ for the nuclear F-bomb.

If you're posting a work and the thought crosses your mind: "Is this offensive?" then it would be wise to err on the side of caution and rate higher as opposed to lower.

Outside of literary works, however, swearing is never justified and will be censored. This includes usernames, avatars, and signatures.

The latter two on that list usually catch users by surprise as it's easy to slip up when customizing your user interface.