Question about new Rule 5.a

[Saber]

I see your concerns, but as I've stated before, it wouldn't be extremely difficult to work around some member's concerns or issues. This would actually be a good use for the Constructive Criticism thread to seek guidance when writing out a scene that you need to be particular about. I also think people are overthinking this rule quite a bit.

Legally (most of the time) a 15 year old is a child. So I guess my question is, why is everyone seemingly having such a hard time aging a child to 15, when they're still technically a child? I also don't see the corroboration between comparing roleplaying to a movie or a novel. We are here on this adult writing site to mainly write out or kinks and fantasies. Why does the harm of a child younger than 15 have to be a part of that? Again, these are just my questions. I understand the significance they could have in a story, but again, to me it's simple. Age the character up to 15.

 

[Jericho Z. Barrons]

I'm adding in my voice wanting to push the age limit higher than 15. If there is a culture we really don't want to encourage here in regards to minors being depicted as exploited or harmed, then being the singular place for adult rp online that allows under 18 is surely a draw to those types of people.

 

[whitechapel]

Here, I made something with my super elite Photoshop skillz to more better help people more better understand what they want and how they should proceed.

 

[Doctor Manhattan]

That is a false equivalency, however, as no one is talking about sex with characters who are 15 - and yes, at least 15 and not a day under. This discussion is about the new rule specifically affecting specific actions as it is outlined:

5a. No major abuse or actions may take place toward a character younger than 15. Beyond sexual acts, this means that you may not expound upon abuse, be it mental or physical, toward a pre-15 within your story. This is an adult writing site and stories should not include such serious acts toward or from pre-15 characters. One may include minor wrongdoing type of acts, such as shoplifting, sneaking beers & smokes and the like, typical for teenage rebellion, but major offenses and abuse that are violent and torturous toward pre-15 characters is not to be included in writing or backstory.

No major abuse or actions - that is it, that was the lone update, and it makes sense to me logically.

Now as to the question about whether it personally makes you uncomfortable that there are writers who work with characters between 15 to 18 - which is often considered legally the age of adulthood in most places and also the age of consent - that is another question entirely. Regarding how it may negatively affect the background of a specific RP, I see both sides of the argument and fundamentally I would agree with Saber that if you are unsure just age up the characters to an appropriate level and you'll be fine. Something that might have happened to a 13 year old would still happen to a 15+ year old and with very minor exceptions doesn't really affect much at all.

 

[whitechapel]

between 15 to 18 - which is often considered legally the age of adulthood in most places and also the age of consent

Actually, this isn't entirely true.

So, in the majority of the English speaking world (including the United States where BMR is based), the age of consent is usually between 16 and 18 depending on which state/province/area you're in. Of note, the majority of those places still consider anyone under 18 a minor and not an adult. Thus, in most those places, having sex with someone under 18 has caveats attached; such as being restricted by authority (meaning a 16 year old can't have sex with an older person if they're in a position of authority or power that would allow them to take advantage of the younger person's inexperience or trust). 15 year olds aren't on the menu in pretty much any of these places unless we get into Romeo and Juliet laws.

Now, this is all muddled by the simple fact that we're talking about writing and characters as opposed to real life and people. So, basically, actual laws can't really apply. And, admittedly, this conversation wasn't even originally about all this, so I kinda hijacked the thread (whoopsie daisy). All that said, my logic in all this is pretty simple:

The age required to be a member of BMR is 18. This is because this site largely contains content that's sexual in nature. We don't allow 15 year olds to be members of the site. Thus, the age for characters involved in sexually explicit scenes should be 18 as well.

Even more, adjusting the age to 18+ would eliminate any gray area. Suddenly, nobody can write about having sexual relations with a minor. Problem solved. No more addendums on what is and isn't allowed as far as age and what constitutes as the proper way to write about banging a minor. That doesn't even disallow characters under the age of 18 from being involved in a roleplay/scene; it just keeps the sexualization of minors away from the forums.

But really though, when we get down to brass tacks, I'm just going out on a limb and saying written pedophilia and abuse of children is gross and has no place here regardless of what rules/addendums/mental gymnastics might say.

 

[Doctor Manhattan]

Here is the complete list if anyone is curious.

You said the majority of the English-speaking world but globally it is far more nebulous than that, as the evidence shows. You are correct about the additional restrictions, yes, and in many cases it is true, though in many it is also not. Hence it's definitely a very murky and complicated area in terms of legality - though not in terms of morality.

But really though, when we get down to brass tacks, I'm just going out on a limb and saying written pedophilia and abuse of children is gross and has no place here regardless of what rules/addendums/mental gymnastics might say.

Fine, that is how you feel. Abuse of children as covered by the added expansion of the rule covers this up to a certain age - and whether you agree with that part or not, currently that is the exact line that this website has drawn in the sand as far as participating characters. People are not their characters, and can usually distinguish that, though not always. Perhaps I might think "XXXX" is gross but if it's allowable then that's not my thing; to each their own. I personally don't support whatever "XXXX" may be so who cares? I just won't engage with it.

So, basically, actual laws can't really apply. And, admittedly, this conversation wasn't even originally about all this, so I kinda hijacked the thread (whoopsie daisy).[...]Even more, adjusting the age to 18+ would eliminate any gray area. Suddenly, nobody can write about having sexual relations with a minor. Problem solved. No more addendums on what is and isn't allowed as far as age and what constitutes as the proper way to write about banging a minor. That doesn't even disallow characters under the age of 18 from being involved in a roleplay/scene; it just keeps the sexualization of minors away from the forums.

It could that I agree with you absolutely 100% here but even if we believe that, as of this moment it isn't the subject of discussion and to my knowledge if that is what you want to discuss further then I would suggest creating a thread for that purpose, should you wish to gain traction on this issue. Otherwise, as far as this rule itself and what it entails goes, I think we can agree it's not a bad thing at all and certainly a good step to take.

 

[whitechapel]

You said the majority of the English-speaking world but globally it is far more nebulous than that, as the evidence shows. You are correct about the additional restrictions, yes, and in many cases it is true, though in many it is also not. Hence it's definitely a very murky and complicated area in terms of legality - though not in terms of morality

The problem with this being, of course, that BMR is implicitly a part of the English speaking world. It's based out of the United States. You can't be a member here if you can't communicate in English.

Fine, that is how you feel. Abuse of children as covered by the added expansion of the rule covers this up to a certain age - and whether you agree with that part or not, currently that is the exact line that this website has drawn in the sand as far as participating characters. People are not their characters, and can usually distinguish that, though not always. Perhaps I might think "XXXX" is gross but if it's allowable then that's not my thing; to each their own. I personally don't support whatever "XXXX" may be so who cares? I just won't engage with it.

That is the line that the site has drawn in the sand. And that's why I'm calling for that line to be pushed back further.

It could that I agree with you absolutely 100% here but even if we believe that, as of this moment it isn't the subject of discussion and to my knowledge if that is what you want to discuss further then I would suggest creating a thread for that purpose, should you wish to gain traction on this issue. Otherwise, as far as this rule itself and what it entails goes, I think we can agree it's not a bad thing at all and certainly a good step to take.

Well, it's already gained traction here if you look back. Others have already chimed in that they'd like to see the age limit lifted to 18+. Another thread can definitely be created, if that's what the staff would like to see. Otherwise, the discussion is now about more things than one.

 

[Doctor Manhattan]

While that is certainly true, again the big difference is characters, not individuals themselves, which is why there is a rule that allows for the fantasy scenario to occur in RP.

Again, as for the rest, it's not meant for this thread but I respect your ideas and perhaps you can motivate a change elsewhere, should you so wish.

 

[Lady Bloody Ava]

I am locking this thread as the OP's question has been answered and any further discussion of this can be taken over to the appropriate subforum.