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Image Flagging

Images are flagged for sexual content and violence. There are three options for each aspect:

Detailed guidelines for these options are listed below.

The rating should be based solely on the graphical aspects of the image. Any text in the image has no bearing on its rating, even if the text contains offensive or suggestive language.

Even with these guidelines it may not always be easy to determine the rating of an image. When in doubt, it's often best to choose the more conservative option.

1. Sexual Content

1.1. Safe

Images flagged as "safe" in terms of sexual content do not depict anything sexualised. Obviously nothing explicitly sexual belongs here, even if there is no nudity involved. The only thing that could be fine is not mouth-to-mouth kissing, as long as it is performed by fully dressed individuals.

In terms of clothes, fully visible underwear, especially if the image focuses on it, should be flagged as suggestive in and of themselves. Other clothes are safe as long as they are not see-through, torn in inappropriate places or so skin tight that you can easily see every little curve under them.

Examples:

  • Safe,Tame - Fully clothed, no hint of any sexual actions.
  • Safe,Tame - Male upper body nudity is "safe", unless the character is touching someone erotically or posing in a suggestive manner. In case when it's impossible to tell from the picture alone if the character is female or a feminine-looking male, assume a more conservative position and treat the character as female.
  • Safe,Tame - Obviously images without any people in them whatsoever are always sexually safe, unless they depict outright sextoys.
  • Safe,Tame - Both characters are fully clothed and the peck on the forehead is very much safe.
  • Safe,Tame - Front covering swimsuits (including the school swimsuits in two parts, and normal full cup bikinis) should be considered safe, unless they are stretched by visibly erect nipples. However, micro-bikinis and sling bikinis that only cover the areola should fall under "suggestive".
  • Safe,Tame - Wearing a bath towel that covers everything without showing implicit anatomy, should be treated the same as wearing a swimsuit and be "safe".

Counter-examples:

  • Suggestive,Tame - Both characters are fully clothed, but "proper", mouth-to-mouth kissing should be flagged as suggestive.
  • Suggestive,Tame - Male upper body nudity becomes "suggestive" if the character is touching someone erotically or posing in a suggestive manner.
  • Suggestive,Tame - Fully visible underwear is always "suggestive" at least, no exceptions.
  • Suggestive,Tame - Micro-bikinis and sling bikinis should fall under "suggestive", regardless if they are stretched by pronounced nipples.
  • Suggestive,Tame - See-through clothes (regardless whether they are like that by design or because they are wet like in this example) that allows underwear / naked body to be seen is always at least suggestive.
  • Suggestive,Tame - Even if the character is fully dressed, the image can be still not safe if it is eroticised in some way. In this case the condom in her mouth makes this suggestive, without that the image would be safe.

1.2. Suggestive

Suggestive images are in some way sexualised, however they are not enough to be called outright pornographic.

In terms of action this can mean "proper" mouth-to-mouth kissing, posing in a clearly suggestive, erotic manner, mimicking sexual acts, having sextoys in the background and so on. Any form of penetrative sex should be flagged as explicit, even if the image does not involve full nudity.

Clothing-wise anything goes as long genitals, and for female characters, nipples are not shown naked. Skimpy outfits, bondage gear, even "ecchi style" full nudity: like taking a bath while a strategically placed mist hiding the naughty bits.

Examples:

  • Suggestive,Tame - Even though both characters are fully clothed, mouth-to-mouth kissing makes the image suggestive.
  • Suggestive,Tame - See-through clothes (regardless whether they are like that by design or because they are wet like in this example) that allows underwear / naked body to be seen is always at least suggestive.
  • Suggestive,Tame - Even if the character is fully dressed, the image can be still not safe if it is eroticised in some way. In this case the condom in her mouth makes this suggestive, without that the image would be safe.
  • Suggestive,Tame - If the character has erect nipples that visibly stretch the material of their clothing, then it falls under "suggestive". It applies, even if the clothing itself would not be considered skimpy.
  • Suggestive,Tame - Micro-bikinis and sling bikinis should fall under "suggestive", regardless if they are stretched by pronounced nipples.
  • Suggestive,Tame - Even if the character is wearing a clothing that would be considered safe under normal circumstances and is not posing in a suggestive manner, the image can still be considered "suggestive" if the camera unduly focuses on the character's sexual attributes
  • Suggestive,Tame - Fully visible underwear is always "suggestive" at least, no exceptions.
  • Suggestive,Tame - Full nudity in and of itself is normally explicit, but if it is framed in a way where female nipples and genitals of any kind are not actually visible, it should be flagged as suggestive instead.
  • Suggestive,Tame - Kinky outfits and bondage is always at least suggestive.
  • Suggestive,Tame - The very presence of sextoys makes any image at least suggestive, provided that they are not actually in use. Actively using sextoys is always explicit.

Counter-examples:

  • Safe,Tame - Both characters are fully clothed and the peck on the forehead is very much safe.
  • Safe,Tame - Erect nipples that only mildly stretch the material can still be considered "safe", in case of the image lacking any other suggestive elements
  • Explicit,Tame - No sexual acts, but the visible, naked nipples still upgrades this image from suggestive to explicit.
  • Explicit,Tame - Active use of vibrators makes this explicit, even without any nudity.
  • Explicit,Tame - Similarly, penetrative sex is always explicit, regardless of nudity.

1.3. Explicit

Explicit images are the ones that could be easily considered pornographic in their content. Performing any and all sexual acts that involve genitals or penetration goes here, regardless how well dressed the characters doing them are.

The lack of clothing alone can only make an image explicit if it shows naked female nipples or naked genitalia (as a general rule of thumb: if the latter is exposed enough to be hit by the Japanese mosaic censorship, it's explicit).

Examples:

  • Explicit,Tame - Full frontal nudity is always explicit, regardless if the situation itself is sexual or not.
  • Explicit,Tame - Having sex in the nude is blatantly obviously explicit, no matter what.
  • Explicit,Tame - No sexual acts, but the visible, naked nipples still upgrades this image from suggestive to explicit.
  • Explicit,Tame - Active use of vibrators makes this explicit, even without any nudity.
  • Explicit,Tame - Similarly, penetrative and non-penetrative sexual activities are always explicit, regardless of nudity.
  • Explicit,Tame - The presence of sexual fluids (most commonly semen) turns the pictures "explicit", even if they would otherwise be "safe" or "suggestive".

Counter-examples

  • Suggestive,Tame - Full nudity in and of itself is normally explicit, but if it is framed in a way where female nipples and genitals of any kind are not actually visible, it should be flagged as suggestive instead.
  • Suggestive,Tame - Kinky outfits and bondage is always at least suggestive, but they are only explicit if they are used as part of a sex scene or if they leave either the genitals or female nipples visible.
  • Suggestive,Tame - The very presence of sextoys makes any image at least suggestive, provided that they are not actually in use. Actively using sextoys is necessary though for this alone to make the image explicit.

2. Violence

2.1. Tame

Images flagged with "tame" either contains no violence whatsoever or it is very mild. Namely:

  • Tame slapstick comedy (tsundere heroine slapping male love interest, guy flicking the forehead of heroine, most chibi slapstick comedy, it only becomes more than tame once this involves serious injuries or worse, basically when it enters black comedy territories).
  • Character brandishing a weapon, but said weapon is not actually hurting anyone in the image.
  • Very minor bruises or cuts in an otherwise non-violent context (like clumsy heroine cutting her finger with a knife where a single drop of blood shows up before getting a bandaid on it).
  • A character losing her virginity, which is portrayed by adding a trickle of blood (whether it is consensual or not is of no import).
  • Friendly slaps and punches that aren't meant to seriously harm (nor do they actually seriously harm) the receiver.

Aside of the minor bruise example above, anything that draws blood or leaves a swelled up bruise belongs under "Violent". Obviously dead bodies also should be flagged at least as "Violent". Any example of torture, even if it draws no blood, is not "Tame". Images that otherwise would be tame, but show non-comedic depictions of criminal activity against someone well being (e.g. kidnapping, poisoning, drugging), become "Violent". Characters actively fighting in a non-comedic manner is also at least "Violent".

Examples:

  • Safe,Tame - Perfectly violence free image, so it belongs under "Tame".
  • Explicit,Tame - Sexual content flags are completely separate from violence flags: a sexually explicit image can very easily be "Tame".
  • Safe,Tame - The character brandishes a weapon, but it is not actively used to VISIBLY harm anyone, so it's tame.
  • Safe,Tame - Clear cut case of comedic violence, tame.
  • Safe,Tame - Minor bruises in an otherwise non-violent environment.
  • Explicit,Tame - A loss of virginity, accompanied by blood.
  • Safe,Tame - Characters taking up a fighting stance, but not actually engaging in a fight (yet) is considered tame.
  • Explicit,Tame - The mere presence of a weapon is NOT enough for an image to be violent, so this image is tame. And again, nudity has no bearing on the violence scale.

Counter-examples:

  • Safe,Violent - Obvious kidnapping attempt, not tame.
  • Safe,Violent - Being drugged is not tame.
  • Suggestive,Violent - Separately the character being armed and ready for a fight AND the small cut on her arm would be tame, but the two together is not.
  • Safe,Violent - An actual, non-comedic fight scene with physical contact belongs at least under "Violent", even if no blood is drawn.
  • Safe,Violent - A bloodied weapon, even if the source of the blood is not visible, is at least violent.

2.2. Violent

Violent images can be violent mostly based on either the presence of blood (beyond the limitations for tame images above) or non-comedic, active fight scenes. These two aspects are the major contributors to flagging an image as "Violent", but there are some additional cases as well: physically harmful criminal activity against someone is in general also belongs here: kidnapping, drugging, torturing, etc. And finally BDSM sadomasochistic acts belong here, as long as they are heavy enough to leave a mark. A light slap on the ass is tame, but if it's enough to leave a red hand mark on said ass, it should not be flagged as tame. dedicated spanking session (like the spanked character is tied down with their ass being slapped or spread out over the knees of another character who spanks them) should not be tame, unless it's a clear example of comedy violence. Whipping, caning, flogging, wax play, ryona, wooden horse, breast press and so on all belong here. Bondage in and of itself should be considered tame however.

Generally the upper limit for this flag is excessive blood, gore and snuff. Those should be flagged as a "Brutal" instead.

Due to how difficult it is to judge consensuality through images alone, rape and other forms of non-consensual sexual activity should not be flagged as "violent" by themselves, unless other actions that would be considered "violent", even without the presence of sexual content, are portrayed in the image (e.g. rapist slapping his victim).

Examples:

  • Safe,Violent - Obvious kidnapping attempt.
  • Safe,Violent - Being drugged belongs under the "Violent" flag
  • Suggestive,Violent - Separately the character being armed and ready for a fight AND the small cut on her arm would be tame, but the two together is not.
  • Safe,Violent - An actual, non-comedic fight scene with physical contact belongs at least under "Violent", even if no blood is drawn.
  • Safe,Violent - A bloodied weapon, even if the source of the blood is not visible, is at least violent.
  • Safe,Violent - Dead body is only a "violent" image if the character has not experienced grievous bodily harm, mutilation or perverse desecration, or if the particular details cannot be seen. Bodies fully decomposed to skeletons are always only "violent".
  • Safe,Violent - Torture is always at least violent, even if no blood is drawn.
  • Explicit,Violent - Ryona is torture, and as such it is at least violent, possibly brutal if it gets to borderline guro territories.
  • Explicit,Violent - Spanking with visible hand-marks.
  • Suggestive,Violent - Dedicated OTK spanking session. Even though the reddening is not visible, it's still more than just some light slaps at the heat of the moment, so it is considered violent.
  • Explicit,Violent - Wax play and other hardcore sadomasochistic BDSM practices are all to be flagged as violent.

Counter-examples:

  • Safe,Tame - Spanking, but it's clearly played for comedy, as such it is tame.
  • Explicit,Brutal - Excessive blood or visible grievous bodily harm are both enough to make an image brutal on their own, this image has both.
  • Safe,Tame - The character brandishes a weapon, but it is not actively used to VISIBLY harm anyone, so it's tame.
  • Safe,Tame - Clear cut case of comedic violence, tame.
  • Safe,Tame - Minor bruises in an otherwise non-violent environment, tame.
  • Safe,Tame - Characters taking up a fighting stance, but not actually engaging in a fight (yet) is considered tame.
  • Explicit,Tame - The mere presence of a weapon is NOT enough for an image to be violent, so this image is tame. And again, nudity has no bearing on the violence scale.

2.3. Brutal

Brutal images push violence to the limit. Images belonging here feature an excessive amount of blood, characters being tortured to death, limbs (or other body parts) chopped off, bodies being gutted out, corpses torn apart, eyes being scraped out and so on. Generally the violence in these images are either impossible to survive or at the very minimum would cause irreversible, crippling damage.

Examples:

  • Explicit,Brutal - Excessive blood or visible grievous bodily harm are both enough to make an image brutal on their own, this image has both.
  • Explicit,Brutal - Executions, eroticised or not, are always brutal.
  • Suggestive,Brutal - Chopping off limbs on screen is always brutal.
  • Safe,Brutal - Even if the act itself is not on screen, if the fresh, bloody result is (like a bloody, empty eye socket in our example), it still considered brutal.
  • Explicit,Brutal - Being tortured to death (regardless whether it is an intentionally brutal execution or the torturer overdoing it), is always brutal.
  • Explicit,Brutal - Guro is always brutal.

Counter-examples:

  • Safe,Violent - Torture is violent, but it only becomes brutal if excessive blood is involved (we are talking about a literal pool of it) or it causes permanent, crippling harm.
  • Explicit,Violent - Ryona is only brutal if it gets to borderline guro territories. "Just" beating someone like in the image is "only" violent.
  • Safe,Violent - Implied death, where the body is not or only partially shown to the point that death cannot be ascertained without context is violent, not brutal.
  • Suggestive,Violent - Even if the text describes details that would be considered "brutal", the image is still "violent" if the described details cannot be clearly seen.
  • Safe,Tame - While the process of amputation is brutal, actual amputees in a non-violent context, where the amputation wound is not open or bleeding, are actually tame and do not trigger either the "Brutal" or even the "Violent" flags.