Notice Rule #4 adjustment (Minimum age of characters in adult situations).

[TangerineAly]

This is something staff has been considering in some capacity for some time, and this is the final adjustment to the age rule that will be pitched and considered. The main reason that I personally was most in support of it is because 16 is the lowest age of consent within the USA, where the website is based and hosted out of. I do firmly believe that there should be a place for people to be able to explore these coming-of-age stories in a safe environment, where things aren't cranked up to the extreme and predators are not welcome.​

Bit annoying for anime-based stories, though. The reason I liked it at 15 was because that's when Japanese high school starts, so it was pretty convenient and you could basically do their whole high school journey. But I guess this isn't an anime-focused site.

 

[raison detre]

Bit annoying for anime-based stories, though. The reason I liked it at 15 was because that's when Japanese high school starts, so it was pretty convenient and you could basically do their whole high school journey. But I guess this isn't an anime-focused site.

It's still possible to do a first through third year of high school in a Japanese setting. Maybe not from the very start, but a high school student could turn 16 and still be in their first year. Might not be ideal depending on what it is you want, but it still works, no?

 

[cosmos]

It's 1 year age difference. Staff isn't asking for a lot.

16 IS legally the minimum age of consent for most USA states and European countries. I'll only ever do 18+ only for characters [as I live in a state where 18 is the age of consent] but this makes me feel more comfortable than it originally was. As 15 IS underage.

 

[Jeufufns]

It's 1 year age difference. Staff isn't asking for a lot.

16 IS legally the minimum age of consent for most USA states and European countries. I'll only ever do 18+ only for characters [as I live in a state where 18 is the age of consent] but this makes me feel more comfortable than it originally was. As 15 IS underage.

I hate to be the Nerd Emoji here and this has very little effect on the veracity of the rules change but most european countries are 14 or 15 not 16. That is not to say that a decent chunk of them aren't 16 but the average is definitely a firm 15.

And yeah again I agree staff asking for a lot. So far it's also only been 1-1.5 guys having a real problem with it.

 

[cosmos]

Regardless, this IS a USA based site so abiding by their laws is to be expected.

Anyway, said my piece. No longer engaging in the conversation as this doesn't effect me in any way.

 

[Jeufufns]

There's nothing wrong with discussing things that don't effect you.

 

[TangerineAly]

I hate to be the Nerd Emoji here and this has very little effect on the veracity of the rules change but most european countries are 14 or 15 not 16. That is not to say that a decent chunk of them aren't 16 but the average is definitely a firm 15.

And yeah again I agree staff asking for a lot. So far it's also only been 1-1.5 guys having a real problem with it.

I believe what upsets people is that...well, there's not really many alternative sites they can go to.

 

[cosmos]

There's nothing wrong with discussing things that don't effect you.

Believe it or not, I've had people jump down my throat so I leave the conversation as it takes 2 people to make it an argument lol. Thank you for saying this though.

Anyway, you all have a great day.

 

[Jeufufns]

Anyway, you all have a great day.

You too and no problem.

I believe what upsets people is that...well, there's not really many alternative sites they can go to.

Yeah, especially good alternative sites. I can get that.

 

[The_PG]

Edit: For further clarification, this is primarily a response about active RPs. We aren't going to be sanctioning users for years old RP's that are no longer in use/play.

This should be added to the announcement and rule, I was just going to accept my ban for threads that happened 10 years ago lol.

And because I'm pedantic what about Active PM stories that contain 15 year olds? They were following the rules, but can no longer edit the reply's. I assume because they are private and Admin can't possibly be bothered to go check the ~3million PM's a month they'll be dealt with like actual predators, where the admin only take action if there is a complaint?

I applaud the staff for drawing their line in the sand, most sites just go to 18 or move their hosting location overseas and go off the deep end to be overrun by pedo's. But I absolutely cannot say where that line is for users, it feels like the majority of RT threads will stay in compliance, but who knows if the vast amount of PM's are here for the age bracket or just to write, guess we'll find out!

I do find it a bit ironic that Solo's post about it being the final change was already deleted, staff and the world's view on the topic shift and change, it has to be expected.

 

[Revelations]

This should be added to the announcement and rule, I was just going to accept my ban for threads that happened 10 years ago lol.

And because I'm pedantic what about Active PM stories that contain 15 year olds? They were following the rules, but can no longer edit the reply's. I assume because they are private and Admin can't possibly be bothered to go check the ~3million PM's a month they'll be dealt with like actual predators, where the admin only take action if there is a complaint?

I applaud the staff for drawing their line in the sand, most sites just go to 18 or move their hosting location overseas and go off the deep end to be overrun by pedo's. But I absolutely cannot say where that line is for users, it feels like the majority of RT threads will stay in compliance, but who knows if the vast amount of PM's are here for the age bracket or just to write, guess we'll find out!

I do find it a bit ironic that Solo's post about it being the final change was already deleted, staff and the world's view on the topic shift and change, it has to be expected.

Given that non-supporter users cannot edit PMs, it will be assumed any PM RP's will be going through this change via a retcon to the character ages. I will likewise edit this into the opening post for further clarification.

It should be noted that despite the deletion of the post, we will not be changing the age rule any further in regards to the minimum age. This is a final decision in regards to that.

 

[-NekoUke-]

I ought to pose this question since I don't think it's stated. But what of age ups? Say a character is 15 in canon but 18+ within the roleplay and the setting of said roleplay itself. Would such a thing fall afoul of the new rules or be within the acceptable boundaries?

 

[Virginia Greene]

I ought to pose this question since I don't think it's stated. But what of age ups? Say a character is 15 in canon but 18+ within the roleplay and the setting of said roleplay itself. Would such a thing fall afoul of the new rules or be within the acceptable boundaries?

It would continue to be within the site rules.

 

[Murdergurl]

Regardless, this IS a USA based site so abiding by their laws is to be expected...

I think it's odd that anyone thinks that writing a 15 year old in a sexual situation with an adult is illegal. Cause... well, it isn't. There are no laws in the US restricting written works of fictional characters. Period.

Also, if this weird and grasping connection to legality is something people are really concerned about, then I mean... what about all the RPs that include murder and rape and all that? Those things are illegal no matter what the age of the characters. But... they are written works of fiction. So, nothing is actually wrong with it. I guess what I'm trying to convey is... why are only certain comparisons to irl legality made to fictional works made into an issue, and others have the green light when they are more heinous acts?

Personally, I really enjoyed the fact that BMR didn't have its panties in a bunch over this issue. But this change is kind of a buzzkill. Not because the 1 year makes a big difference. But because it seems like a petty thing to comply with when other "illegal acts" are totally okay to write about. I dunno... i guess I felt like BMR was a last holdout. Kind of a bummer it went this way, tbh.

I'll be deleting and/or revising my relevant posts on the site to reflect the new change. I mean, physically and mentally, there is little to no difference between someone who is 5,839 days old and someone who is 5,840 days old, anyway. lol

 

[tsukasa]

The entire point of writing is escapism, to not be bound by reality, to escape it (hence escapism); by enforcing real-life rules, you are tying writing to the laws of reality, making it no longer escapism or a chance to do what reality makes impossible. Some people even use writing as a form of therapy, and therapists even support this method of self-help. Some people just want to put themselves in the position of being in a childhood they wished they had, but never did. You are removing all of this by enforcing this rule; there is nothing gained, only lost, as anyone not wanting to have 15-year-old-or-under characters don't have to use them, and never did, with or without this rule.

If you're banning this, you should also ban furries, rape, hardcore BDSM... The list goes on. Fairies and magic should be banned, too, since fantasy isn't real. As for age of consent, another particular roleplaying site allows as young as 13, is also based in US, and has had FBI scrutinise their site when a real predator was on there, who said there is no law in any US state which forbids anything like writing as underage characters and their site was completely fine and legal. If you'd like to know which one, I'll tell you in private, since it's apparently a rule to not post other sites here (why?).

I can't agree with any of this, and never will be able to, so my Supporter subscription has been terminated, and this site will never see another cent from me. This is all I have to say on the matter, so you won't see me again in this thread. This is both disappointing and infuriating, but it's clear the staff have made a decision and are going against what half of the members here are discussing, so I'll not waste any more of my time or energy here.

 

[raison detre]

I'm not a very active user of the forums, mostly a lurker, but I do read threads regularly whenever they pop up.

People complain about the character age limit so low, and people are complaining now that it's being raised. Of course these aren't the same people making those complaints, but I think it goes to show that you can't please everyone. I'd go ahead and make the assumption that people who complain on either side are really just the vocal minority.

Most people are just here to indulge in a hobby, so they don't really have an issue with the rules. Just follow the rules if you want to use this site and if you don't want to follow them, it's totally fine to just leave. I don't think it's that big of a deal.

I've never had a problem here, and I doubt I ever will because the staff does a good job of keeping things in order. I don't think it's really that big of an issue, but clearly some people do. It is what it is.

 

[Murdergurl]

I'm not a very active user of the forums, mostly a lurker, but I do read threads regularly whenever they pop up.

People complain about the character age limit so low, and people are complaining now that it's being raised. Of course these aren't the same people making those complaints, but I think it goes to show that you can't please everyone. I'd go ahead and make the assumption that people who complain on either side are really just the vocal minority.

Most people are just here to indulge in a hobby, so they don't really have an issue with the rules. Just follow the rules if you want to use this site and if you don't want to follow them, it's totally fine to just leave. I don't think it's that big of a deal.

I've never had a problem here, and I doubt I ever will because the staff does a good job of keeping things in order. I don't think it's really that big of an issue, but clearly some people do. It is what it is.

Both sides of people voicing their concerns are most definitely not the bulk of the users. Most people probably don't care because they have the healthy mentality that it doesn't affect them. In MY case, it takes a direct shot of one of my favored writing elements on adult site. The people who are complaining about the age being too low... really have nothing to complain about. No one is making them read anything they dont want to. No one is shoving the narrative in front of them and saying hey, look at this thing you dont like. There are a few subjects I don't like reading or writing about. But I simply dont read or write them and go on my way. It literally effects nothing if someone else writes with another person on a subject matter I dont like. The only people who lose here are the ones with an interest in the writing material.

Like I said in my last post, the number is negligible. there is little to no difference in a 15 year old to a 16 year old. especially if the RP setting isnt even one based on the modern world. It's the principle of it that irks me. Its an unnecessary clamp down on what is essentially giving in to people kink-shaming en masse. There are lots of immoral and illegal things written about in a great many RPs on a great many sites. So why this one thing? If you dont like it, dont read it.

But... whatever. I'm complying because realistically, what else CAN i do? Good RP sites are hard to find. Good ADULT RP sites are even harder to find. And good Adult RP sites that let you write a >18 year old are practically non-existent. Many also dont allow other fun subjects like incest, beasty, and bathroom stuff. So BMR is still pretty liberal in that regard. I'm sure it wasnt staff just coming down because they felt like it. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and I'm sure they had a fair share of whiners bitching and moaning about these very rare RTs that obviously werent meant for them in the first place.

C'est la vie

 

[raison detre]

Both sides of people voicing their concerns are most definitely not the bulk of the users. Most people probably don't care because they have the healthy mentality that it doesn't affect them. In MY case, it takes a direct shot of one of my favored writing elements on adult site. The people who are complaining about the age being too low... really have nothing to complain about. No one is making them read anything they dont want to. No one is shoving the narrative in front of them and saying hey, look at this thing you dont like. There are a few subjects I don't like reading or writing about. But I simply dont read or write them and go on my way. It literally effects nothing if someone else writes with another person on a subject matter I dont like. The only people who lose here are the ones with an interest in the writing material.

Like I said in my last post, the number is negligible. there is little to no difference in a 15 year old to a 16 year old. especially if the RP setting isnt even one based on the modern world. It's the principle of it that irks me. Its an unnecessary clamp down on what is essentially giving in to people kink-shaming en masse. There are lots of immoral and illegal things written about in a great many RPs on a great many sites. So why this one thing? If you dont like it, dont read it.

But... whatever. I'm complying because realistically, what else CAN i do? Good RP sites are hard to find. Good ADULT RP sites are even harder to find. And good Adult RP sites that let you write a >18 year old are practically non-existent. Many also dont allow other fun subjects like incest, beasty, and bathroom stuff. So BMR is still pretty liberal in that regard. I'm sure it wasnt staff just coming down because they felt like it. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and I'm sure they had a fair share of whiners bitching and moaning about these very rare RTs that obviously arent meant for them.

C'est la vie

Only the staff knows what was discussed and how the final decision came to be, but I don't believe it was necessarily out of a desire to give into people 'kink-shaming'. I suppose it does suck for people who liked to make use of the minimum age.

As I said before though, I don't feel strongly about the change one way or the other, so I don't feel like I can contribute much to the discussion here. And in the end it's been made clear it was the final change that would be made regarding the topic, so I doubt it makes much of a difference.

 

[DraivinAiNeghavi]

.....I started rping on MSN messenger and Yahoo Chat rooms.....oh God.....yeah....where the hell are we?!

Yes! Yes! Yahoo Chat in the RPG section. That was ages ago! What the hell happened!

 

[Sync]

It's far from dramatic. People just want to ban everything they don't like, even if they don't have to participate in it. And, again, reality has no bearing on writing and escapism, or what's the point of it? We can just go outside and see actual reality if that's what we accept.

I refuse to support anyone or anything reducing freedoms and imposing more pointless laws/rules.

Your original response was over-the-top.

Okay, you don't agree with the change in rule requiring that all characters engaged in sexual activity have a minimum age of 16 instead of 15.

Complaining about stripping of freedoms, threatening removal of your financial support, drawing comparisons between BMR and other "authoritarian" sites...not necessary.

FYI - you can still write Coming Of Age stories with 16 years olds...just saying. As others have pointed out - in most places, 16 is the legal age of consent anyway, so the site is really just aligning with basic legal requirements.

The rule change itself doesn't bother me - if I write younger characters, they tend to be of the 17-18-year-old variety anyway.

 

[Sync]

Yes! Yes! Yahoo Chat in the RPG section. That was ages ago! What the hell happened!

I cut my teeth on ICQ and the like...never really got into AOL, though.

 

[Fandomizer]

Bit annoying for anime-based stories, though. The reason I liked it at 15 was because that's when Japanese high school starts, so it was pretty convenient and you could basically do their whole high school journey. But I guess this isn't an anime-focused site.

You can still rp them at age 15, just not in adult situations. So just do a slow burn rp and don't let the sex or explicit stuff start until they are 16.

 

[JustAnotherDarkMind]

Well as European I find that any change moving it away from 15 or even 14 is detrimental and it brings it farther from reality so I don't support it. I do realize it can be done due to some legal worries or pressure though.

And still the site maintains the advantage over other sites in that respect and it is very reassuring that it won't be raised further. No use fighting over one year when there are still 2 more closer to the reality than competition. So, rules are rules and one needs to comply even with those they don't agree.

I have changed all the RTs already, would change PMs through retcon if the rule change applies to any of the characters and all my thread based RPs are dead so I hope it really won't be enforced for old posts in inactive RPs. By the way would thread RP be seen as inactive automatically if it had, for example, no new posts after the change of the rule or do I need something to declare them as such?

Also, if something would be monitored and seen as non-conforming I would appreciate a reminder while still in grace period, allowing me to change it before I get in trouble.

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

Just another step closer to me leaving the site entirely. Fictional writing content shouldn't be judged akin to reality and these constant changes to age restrictions are really wearing upon me even if I rarely even deal with characters under the age of adulthood in my roleplays. I agree with Murdergurl and Tsukasa, despite the seemingly strong backlash that other people are providing to this shared opinion.

Writing in roleplays are works of fiction, not reality. This shouldn't be a contested issue to allow people to write near anything they would like with consenting partners. Hide such sensitive topics away behind certain sections so that others can't see it if they don't want to but infringing on their ability to write stories and characters they want to because you don't like it is a form of censorship that shouldn't be supported.

 

[tsukasa]

Just another step closer to me leaving the site entirely. Fictional writing content shouldn't be judged akin to reality and these constant changes to age restrictions are really wearing upon me even if I rarely even deal with characters under the age of adulthood in my roleplays. I agree with Murdergurl and Tsukasa, despite the seemingly strong backlash that other people are providing to this shared opinion.

Writing in roleplays are works of fiction, not reality. This shouldn't be a contested issue to allow people to write near anything they would like with consenting partners. Hide such sensitive topics away behind certain sections so that others can't see it if they don't want to but infringing on their ability to write stories and characters they want to because you don't like it is a form of censorship that shouldn't be supported.

I came back just to support this MASSIVELY factual post. Thank you for standing up for writing and escapism, which is what we are all here for. I don't see staff changing their stance on this, but I am absolutely glad to see there are people out there who are against this censorship. Keep up the good fight.

What's ironic is how staff here stated they were against raising the age from the previous 13 years old to 15 years old (see here, here, and here) because of the same issues we are currently raising, yet here they are raising it again without any community pressure, showing that they clearly can't be trusted to stand by their own word. I have absolutely no intention of trusting that this will be the final increase of age, and I don't support this in the slightest even if it was.


I will quote @Vekseid :

Making it wrong for people to describe their own rapes is one of the most vile legal barriers I can think of.

Yet it's somehow wrong for people to describe their 15-year-old childhood. Go figure.


Keep up this mindset; we need more people like you in the world.