Arena Ratings

[James]

[quote name='Dragon Warrior']The system is broken if it doesn't have enough boundaries to stop people from misusing it. If it was made for people to rate their threads correctly, but no one does it, what's the point of having it?[/quote]

[font=franklin gothic medium]But that's a kind of ridiculous point. That's like saying that we shouldn't have rules because most people probably won't completely follow them. I mean, people make mistakes and people follow them in a general way - but we try as much as we can to keep things within the guidelines.

The ratings are there simply to advise people about what the RPG may contain. So it is not really our responsibility to tell people what rating to use - we do tell them that they need a rating, but they have to choose what rating is most suitable for their RPG. Obviously some people will get that wrong or they will use the wrong rating "just in case". That doesn't mean that the ratings themselves are messed up, it just means that people need to have a clearer understanding of what we are looking for.

I am not convinced that making any modifications to the ratings themselves will make one single difference. People will still misuse ratings, regardless what they're called or how many we have. What is really at issue is ensuring that people have a clear understanding of how we want those ratings to be applied - or at least, how they should be applied to be most accurate.

If we change the ratings at this stage, we'll have to go back and pretty much retro-fit a great deal of threads. As far as I'm concerned, that's totally unnecessary.

What's most important is that we find ways to improve communication with members, so that our still-young ratings system is used more accurately across the site.[/font]

[Delta]

[COLOR=#C352AC][SIZE=1]Many [M-LVS]-rated RPGs I read down at the Square merit mere [PG]'s or [M-V]'s by the way the players are posting. Too tame for the [M-VLS] tag, yeah?

I think it's not the creator's fault alone, why threads do not live up to their ratings; it's the participants themselves who determine the [i]maturity[/i] of a story. I say a thread's rating should be decided after a number of posts into the game, when the creator has seen how the participants post.
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[Dragon Warrior]

[QUOTE=James][font=franklin gothic medium]But that's a kind of ridiculous point. That's like saying that we shouldn't have rules because most people probably won't completely follow them. I mean, people make mistakes and people follow them in a general way - but we try as much as we can to keep things within the guidelines.

The ratings are there simply to advise people about what the RPG may contain. So it is not really our responsibility to tell people what rating to use - we do tell them that they need a rating, but they have to choose what rating is most suitable for their RPG. Obviously some people will get that wrong or they will use the wrong rating "just in case". That doesn't mean that the ratings themselves are messed up, it just means that people need to have a clearer understanding of what we are looking for.

I am not convinced that making any modifications to the ratings themselves will make one single difference. People will still misuse ratings, regardless what they're called or how many we have. What is really at issue is ensuring that people have a clear understanding of how we want those ratings to be applied - or at least, how they should be applied to be most accurate.

If we change the ratings at this stage, we'll have to go back and pretty much retro-fit a great deal of threads. As far as I'm concerned, that's totally unnecessary.

What's most important is that we find ways to improve communication with members, so that our still-young ratings system is used more accurately across the site.[/font][/QUOTE]

But unlike rules, ratings aren't backed up. The most mods can do is close a topic that doesn't contain one. If someone doesn't follow a rule, they're told to. If someone uses a wrong rating (which everyone tends to), nothing happens. The Rating System is not like the rules because people follow the rules (aside from a select few), but we have yet to see the community fully use the rating system accurately.

And of course, it's the creator of the RPG's fault as well.

[James]

[QUOTE=Dragon Warrior]But unlike rules, ratings aren't backed up. The most mods can do is close a topic that doesn't contain one. If someone doesn't follow a rule, they're told to. If someone uses a wrong rating (which everyone tends to), nothing happens. The Rating System is not like the rules because people follow the rules (aside from a select few), but we have yet to see the community fully use the rating system accurately.

And of course, it's the creator of the RPG's fault as well.[/QUOTE]

[font=franklin gothic medium]But how do you define "wrong rating"? I mean, yes, I know we're talking about people over-using the mature rating...but that's it really.

The point is that RPG creators are solely responsible for selecting a rating that they feel is appropriate. It's not my business to necessarily say "you're using the wrong rating", it's more my business to say "you can use whatever rating you want, as long as you understand what each rating means".

In addition, ratings are enforced and corrected. If someone doesn't use a rating, their thread is closed. If they use a rating incorrectly (in terms of the sub-ratings), their thread is usualy edited to be in-line with the ratings system.

So ratings are as enforced as they can be, considering the nature of what they are. If we "enforced" ratings by literally changing them on someone, that would be pretty unfair and too time consuming.[/font]

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=trebuchet ms]I've always had this opinion about RPG's. You base your rating on what age group of people you want in it. [M] being 17+, [PG] being 13-17, and [G] being 12 and under.

I would think less of what the actual content is and decide on which kind of people you want to join the RPG, and base it around that. Most RPG's don't involve detailed sex scenes or even violence equating that which you'd see in an R-rated movie.

Most people use the [M] rating because they equate age with posting skill. They don't want a new member jumping in and ruining things (I'll apply this loosely). Instead of raising the rating, make the players audition for it instead, many RPG creators already do this. This way, you get your lower rating and no riff-raff. :)[/font]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[QUOTE=Revue][color=#c352ac][size=1]I think it's not the creator's fault alone, why threads do not live up to their ratings; it's the participants themselves who determine the [i]maturity[/i] of a story. I say a thread's rating should be decided after a number of posts into the game, when the creator has seen how the participants post.
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It's only too possible to PM the moderator with the new rating once the thread is underway, if you decide your rating is not correct; if it's too low or too high. Believe me, we're only too happy to oblige.

And frankly, I don't see people rating their threads M a problem at this point. What I'd be concerned about is people rating their threads too low-- E or PG when it should be M. That would negate the ratings system totally. This to me is more of a trivial matter; sure, it's not being correctly used and that isn't brilliant, but who is at a disadvantage? The people who want to avoid certain things can still do so, while the people who are over-rating their threads lose out.

[quote][/size][/font] [font=trebuchet ms]I've always had this opinion about RPG's. You base your rating on what age group of people you want in it. [M] being 17+, [PG] being 13-17, and [G] being 12 and under.[/quote] [font=Arial][size=2]
Considering that a lot [if not a majority] of people at OB are 17+, that's a pointless way to rate threads. In addition, the people I know between 13-17 are often fantastic writers. I agree that auditioning before the RPG is a good way of sorting out who you want posting; it's also a good way of measuring group dynamics to make sure you have a good group together.

Anyone with a 'just in case' rating should reconsider. All they're doing is limiting their own readership. If you're having difficulty in deciding on the rating, my advice is this; re-read the ratings thread. Try to decide how high you RPG will (honestly) go. If you're still not sure, PM a moderator with the summary and your basic plan for the RPG and get them to suggest a rating -- believe me, I've rated more threads in the past year than people have [i]made [/i]in their entire time at OB. If at some point you feel you need to change the rating, for whatever reason, PM us and we'll do it. There's really no need for a 'just in case' rating.
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