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DoodleDamage
Jan '16

(´・ω・)ﾉ Hello!! I have a question that I've been thinking about for a while (and couldn't find any similar topics so I apologize if this has been addressed) I've been wondering when to cap the NSFW mark on pages in regards to swearing/profane language? Is it ok to leave it be if it's one F-bomb? 5 + F-bombs? Same goes for any other form of profanity, like the kind where they don't use blatant swearing but you would still do a double take at the things they say.

ps. My comic won't be filled to brim with profanity, I just want to know the limits to keep things safe for readers (๑•﹏•) thank you for reading!

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    Jan '16

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AnnaLandin
Jan '16

I think profane language is not as important to label as NSFW as, say, nudity or violence. However, I think I might personally draw the line at multiple uses of the f-word, OR language that is very graphic.

NSFW means, well, Not Safe For Work - so if you have a page that you think YOU would get in trouble for being caught reading at work or at school, tag it as NSFW. It's really that simple. It's not really about what should or shouldn't be offensive - it's about what might make your boss/collegues/teacher/fellow students look at you sideways or get upset about.

Kaykeactual fraggle
Jan '16

Adult Material: Tapastic ALLOWS mature content featuring nudity, non-graphic sex, extreme violence, and strong language as long as it is behind our NSFW filter. Tapastic DOES NOT ALLOW pornography or hateful content that targets a specific person or group of any kind. Any content deemed unsuitable that is not behind our NSFW will be requested to take action. Failure to comply with this request will result in the image being taken down. Repeat offenses will result in the suspension or removal of the user’s account.

So that's the official rules about the NSFW filter buuuut the term "strong language" is kind of ambiguous. I remember ar one point the rule had been like "if you wouldn't say it to your mother" or something like that... which was also ambiguous.

I've found, personally, that I kind of just tag any foul language. My audience skews kind of young and I've had people actually ask me to tag pages that have words that are barely swearing in my opinion (like "ass"). It doesn't hurt me in anyway to mark these pages, so I do it to help keep my readers comfortable and save them from getting in trouble at school or with their parents.

Ultimately, it's up to you what you consider harsh language. Consider the type of story you're telling and who is reading it.

Doubtcent
Jan '16

Personally, if you THINK that something in your comic could come across as too adult, mark it as NSFW. Best to be safe rather than sorry.
Anyone can flag your comic, so it's best to work with the vagueness to the best of your own understanding of what is NSFW.

mariusthered
Jan '16

personally i'm opting to use the old *** stars trick on words like F**K or opt for made up words like frack! either way will not need a NSFW

saeedfaridzadeh
Jan '16

My personal view is NSFW is an image that can be seen from a few feet behind a person's shoulder. If there is strong sexual content, or graphic violence, that can probably be seen from across the room, then YES it would be NSFW. Text on the other can't even be seen by the guy sitting next to you unless they take a peek.

Profanity, while could be offensive, is a different category altogether. Yes it COULD be considered an adult comic is you use it enough, but that's different than NSFW.

My comic makes a pretty liberal use of the English language, and I classify as Saturday Morning Cartoon show for adults (I even have a sign at my convention table that says "Not for children"), but it's not visually vulgar or crass, so I don't label it NSFW.

shazzbaa
Jan '16

My view's similar to @AnnaLandin's and @saeedfaridzadeh; if you opened up the page with a colleague sitting next to you, would you feel uncomfortable? If one character drops an f-bomb in normal-sized text, probably not. If the entire page is someone swearing up a storm in large yelling font, or speaking so graphically that you'd be pretty embarrassed if someone looked over your shoulder, I could see tagging NSFW for language.

I dunno, I almost feel like "contains a lot of swearing" in the comic description might be more useful than the NSFW filter for this kind of thing if there's a bunch of swearing throughout? Like, if you normally avoid language but have one page where one character gets really out of hand, I could see that being filtered just because readers wouldn't be expecting it. But if every page of your comic is NSFW filtered due to multiple f-bombs that's weirdly useless? Like there's no way to warn me that "okay all the other pages are tagged NSFW because of the one guy who says FRICK all the time, but THIS one is tagged because there's a naked lady so like, REALLY ACTUALLY don't open this one at work"

zetina
Jan '16

Looking at the excerpt from the official rules, it looks like tapastic is pretty much misusing the term NSFW since it includes language. The font would have to be very big :9 Instead of tagging we should be able to add a rating category to our comics. "PG-13 for violence and mild language" etc. NSFW isn't the same thing as a content warning, imo. It's a safety tag for public browsing.

Aetherwing
Jan '16

I've had a couple characters swear in my comic but only a couple of times, and only once on a page, and I haven't deemed it anywhere near the need for an NSFW tag. I think as long as the language isn't excessive or graphic, you don't really need the filter.