First, I would let me say I completely agree that there should be no kiddie-porn on this site. Yikes, even the thought of that stuff is disgusting. Question: Is it okay to have PG-13/R related material between an older woman and teenage boy, however? To give an example: A teacher is seen naked by one of her high school students? Or a sixteen year old boy is allowed to touch an adult woman's breasts? I admit, I am old school when it comes to these things. A sixteen year old guy feeling up his adult female teacher is called getting lucky. An adult male teacher touching a sixteen year old female student's privates is a crime. I have no problem if the answer to my question is a "no." I understand the slippery-slop argument. As always, thank you for this site. Cheers.
The second example is a hard no. Anything that can be considered a sexual act with a minor should be avoided. I think there's nothing wrong with hugs and kisses, though the latter can broach some dangerous waters, but anything grander is best left as a Noodle Incident that is never explicitly elaborated upon. The first example, however, is a bit of a problem in its own right. Explicitly, the rules state that any involvement, whatsoever, is also to be confined to an expositional Noodle Incident. However, due to the way the rules are written - which can imply the restriction is only on involved roles like your second example, rather than observational roles like your first example - our typical ruling goes the other way. Typically, we would say the student's reaction can't be more than shock, awe, and perhaps humor depending on the circumstance, but no mentioning of any sexual excitement derived from the student, and the teacher's feelings must be restricted in the same way. Generally, we've allowed minors in a voyeur and prankster capacity, but only so long as the sexualization is missing in the moment, yet that's already more than the rules allow. If you want to avoid churning the waters, avoid voyeuristic minors, or slip them in anyway and don't attract attention to it. It's not so much a slippery slope as it is an arbitrary law. Obscenity is not considered Free Speech, but the only consistent argument we've had on what constitutes obscenity is "I know it when I see it." It gets worse since the legal protection afforded to a website (or anyone really) found to be sharing obscene material is very poorly defined, both in what responsibilities they have and what consequences they face. And this is before we consider how the system is working against itself these days now that everything has gotten so polarizing and the gray areas seems to have vanished, a climate that could quite easily turn the communal opinion demanded by The Miller Test into the whims of a single person. Given that the only successfully prosecuted obscenity cases for written and illustrated works have involved minors, we need to play it incredibly tight to protect CHYOA and ourselves.
Right! That is what I thought, but I figured it was better to ask first. That is what I was thinking too, so I will take it also as a "hard no". Much better to be safe. Understood. I will make all characters, even incidental ones, 18+. Thank you for the clear answers.
Porneia and I seemed to have had some sort of Vulcan mind meld, our opinions are remarkably similar. I see both sides of this. I live in the UK, the legal age is 16. I'd like to write a story about students in the UK between 16-18. I don't see the harm with a 16 year old and 18 year old having sex, providing it's fully consensual and legal etc. Seriously, the things I was getting up to at 14 or 15 would be good reading! And I'm old school like porneia, for reason's that are beyond me a female teacher and a male 16 student seems OK, wheres the reverse is a crime, and quite rightly so. However, Porneia and are nice guys (I hope!), and only intend to write with a high moral fiber, alas this cannot be said of some people. There is a need for a zero tolerance policy with the 18 rule. No exceptions. It is a VERY slippery slope. If anything CHYOA already treads a fine line. I've read stories on here where the character is 18 we are told, but clearly is not when you read the context it's written in. If we lowered the 18 rule, or loosened it in anyway then I'm afraid the rule will continue to be pushed to it's limits and beyond. Just as an aside...In the UK, although the age of consent is 16, a teacher can still not have sex with a 16 or 17 year old, as they are in a position of care. It's the same for police officers, prison officers and pretty much anyone who has influence/power over/responsibility for under 18's, they'd be struck off the teaching list, placed on the sex offenders register and in a lot of cases face jail time, it's almost the same as if they were under 16. Also the age of the abuser does not matter, 18 and 1 day old, if you are say a football coach and you have a relationship with a 17 year old girl then you'd be breaking the law.
