Site Image Policy
While our rules regarding images have not changed much in the decade we have been running this site, we have decided that it cannot hurt to elaborate on some of these policies to help members more clearly understand those rules.
These are going to be written for detail and thoroughness. They are intended primarily for users whose image use may walk the line, but all users should understand them.
Uploaded Images
These policies are set as a matter of site health. While growth is inevitable, image storage is one of the largest causes of bloat, so our policy is to minimize it in ways that are as unobtrusive as possible. In particular, we aim to reduce "transient" images—ones that are posted for a temporary purpose, but stored forever.
1. Images may be freely uploaded (or attached) in our character and worlds forum, as well as our picture forum and art forum. These images will be maintained indefinitely. These are subject to reasonable limits—if you spam endless images of the same character or turn a thread into a copy-paste of Facebook memes, these privileges might be revoked.
2. Images may be uploaded in Intro, Request and Roleplay threads, but these are subject to severe limits. An image or two for a thread is fine. Images constantly used in every other post are not.
3. Images uploaded to conversations will remain for a year and a day. After that, they are subject to removal without notice and we clear them regularly, as these images are typically transient and rarely relevant in the long term. If you want to keep reference images, do so in a character thread.
4. We ask all users to be mindful of their use. If you upload half a dozen face claim options for your partner to pick from, it saves us a lot of work if you remove the ones that are not used after a choice is made. This is especially relevant due to the growth of AI—if you are sharing dozens of nearly identical gens of the same characters, we may be required to restrict upload permissions. To remove any unused attachments, deleting them from the post doesn't work. You have to scroll to the section under your post where the icons of your attachments are located and click the delete button.
5. These restrictions only apply to images uploaded by means of the " attachment" feature, which includes pasting a copied image. If an image is linked from a url that is off-site, then it is not stored on our servers and does not have the same restrictions such as how many images are allowed to be posted in an area. You may also link images from elsewhere on site, such as using an image link from a character thread in a roleplay post. Users who make heavy use of images in their threads, through coding or other means, are recommended to look up services such as: imgbb or postimages. Please Note: Imgur is banned in the UK.
6. There is a sitewide ban on uncovered GIFs. This includes GIFs within div code, signatures, avatars and posted in public threads unless contained in a spoiler. This does not apply within conversations, character threads or in roleplay threads (so long as it does not bother your partner).
Image Content
We occasionally receive requests for clarification regarding our rule on inappropriate images as defined under Rule 9. To help clarify, I have broken down how we assess images and what they can be used for.
Underlying all this, I will also mention the question I always use to determine "pornography" on site: "Is the primary intent of this image to amuse or to arouse?"
PFPs
Tier 0: Images with no figures depicted. Not considered on this scale
Tier 1: An adult human or animal. Totally nonsexual. Allowed in all cases. Characters that are under 18 from cartoons and anime (excluding young children and babies) are allowed as avatars, but they must be unambiguously non-sexual. Moderators have final say.
Tier 2: An adult human in a sexualized image, but no nudity or gore. Indicators for this are revealing clothes, exaggerated characteristics (large breasts, bulging muscles, etc.), the presence of certain implements (such as a woman wearing a collar) or clearly sexual poses (kneeling, lying back, "draw me like one of your French girls"). Men and women with clearly visible buttocks represent an edge case—side view is more likely to pass muster. Allowed in all cases.
Posts
Tier 3: Adult human, artistically nude. This applies to any image that depicts a woman bare-chested. Any image that depicts a woman clothed in a way where nipples are clearly visible. Any historical artistic depiction of genitalia (think Michelangelo's David) or depiction in a similar style. These images may be used in posts, but not as avatars. These images must be in a spoiler in Request and Character threads.
Warning
Tier 4: Pornographic. This category is banned altogether. It includes any depiction of genitalia (barring the narrow exceptions mentioned before), in particular erections, any depiction of pubic hair, any depiction of the act or aftermath of sex, including but not limited to: Bodily fluids, marks, depictions of real-life bondage, "sex face" or similar. Also included are any images where genitals are covered but obvious (bulges or translucent underwear) or images where nudity covered in Tier 3 is made excessive or ostentatious. Any depiction of any degree of nudity from either tier is banned if the image is of a user on this site.
Banned
Tier 5: The Instant Ban tier. These are images we consider so unreasonable that no possible mistake could have been made and the violation could only be deliberate. This includes anything that is obviously a screenshot from a porn site (and obviously, any porn site links). It includes art depicting sex with animals or animals with human sexual organs. It includes any image, as far back as Tier 2, that depicts a character who looks underage.
A note on underage characters: There are an unfathomable number of celebrities, anime characters and shows out there, many of the latter two with unique art styles. It is neither reasonable nor sane for me to expect our staff to know all of the character names and ages on sight. So our rule is simple: Factoring in the art style is your job, not ours. If you post from a hentai where a 30-year-old looks 15, you will be banned as surely as if you had posted an actual 15-year-old. This is of particular relevance for AI images, which are prone to making women well into their 20s look underage. If your image has nudity in it, be it on your head.
This also applies to non-human characters. It is your job to confirm that a character is considered humanoid enough within our rules for a sexualized depiction.
If you are ever unsure, message a staff member and ask first. We will never punish someone for asking to be sure. If they are unsure, staff will discuss and issue clarifications. Ultimately, art is subjective, and while we strive for consistency, it will not always be totally possible..