Originally posted by nemesio
One thing I think would be helpful would be to give a maximum threshold to certain forums.
pradtf responded:
i don't think i like this too much. i think there are excellent debates which are quite beneficial for younger people. also, a lot of fun stuff goes on in the clan forums - the goading is quite playful. i think it is better to have the threshold set by the thread. nor do i like the adults forum idea for the reasons that bf gave. if the threads are controlled properly, there is no reason for the forums to be.

I simply said maximum, not minimum. Nothing would preclude a 'G' rated debate in the debates forum.

Having an adult forum would only be necessary if the general forum were given a maximum 'G' threshold. I only suggested so that an entire forum could be devoted to talk that all would find comfortable.

pradtf wrote:
another idea that comes to mind, if you really want this to be poster driven is to have category buttons for each post (similar to alert mod or recommend). that way anyone can put the rating up. i don't know if this is necessarily a good idea or whether it would be better to have an independent body make the determination.

I can forsee abuses where people simply raise the bar on a thread (or threads, as will likely be the case) that doesn't merit it. I think that leaving that decision up to moderators would be a better idea.

As for categories, I would suggest K for kid (=<12), A for adolescent (=>13 and <=17), and M for mature (>=18). Such decisions with a thread would be entirely subjective, but since people can change their filter settings themselves, this shouldn't be an issue.

These sound like dumb category titles to me, so I am opened to other suggestions. But I think the general divisions are reasonable.

Nemesio

edit: another possibility: instead of letters, we could use little icons. Barney for K, and I don't know what else for A or M.

Originally posted by nemesio
I simply said maximum, not minimum. Nothing would preclude a 'G' rated debate in the debates forum.
ok i understand and this makes sense now. i was looking at it from the wrong end. it will help posters figure out which forum to post in. still, i don't think it is necessary if the thread categorization works properly.

I can forsee abuses where people simply raise the bar on a thread (or threads, as will likely be the case) that doesn't merit it.
ya me too. that's the problem they always have with movies right? one group tries to lower the rating while the other tries to raise it.

These sound like dumb category titles to me, so I am opened to other suggestions.
actually, i don't think they are dumb at all. i had never considered using age as categories. of course, i realize that age is no reflection of maturity, but such ranges might be very convenient for documentation purposes. i like your KAM concept - it is really quite elegant.

all that's needed now are brief descriptions so that people have a rough idea as to what to expect in each of them.

this is starting to look good!

in friendship,
prad

Since age is not going to work we have to use letters, I think that will work best.

C=anything relating to crude, sexuality, dirty jokes, language, body parts (in a disrespectful way) the only exception of this would be like "my wife has breast cancer" this would fall in PG.

PG= drugs, alochol, violence, (I'm missing something)

G= everyone

inportant discussions such as "should gay be legal" will fall a section of it's own, (don't know what yet)

things that had more than one type of rating in it should have all the letters that apply. tell me if I missed anything.

any sugggestions/comments?

Originally posted by gameover9
Since age is not going to work we have to use letters, I think that will work best.

C=anything relating to crude, sexuality, dirty jokes, language, body parts (in a disrespectful way) the only exception of this would be like "my wife has breast cancer" this would fall in PG.

PG= drugs, alochol, violence, (I'm missing something)

G= everyone
...[text shortened]... ve all the letters that apply. tell me if I missed anything.

any sugggestions/comments?

M=moderate=important discussions?

You will definitely have to have a place somewhere (FAQ maybe?) that explains the rating system once it's decided upon. The ratings used in each country for films, etc are not the same. I know for example that the Australian system is not the same as the American one.

The basic idea is good though!