World Ratings
Active Worlds supports the concept of World Ratings. This is a mechanism that allows
world owners to give an indication to their visitors of the type of content they can expect
to encounter in their world. There are four rating levels available:
- G - This world is suitable for all ages; children are welcome.
to supervise young children while visiting this world. Parental guidance is advised.
- PG - This world is generally suitable for all ages; however, parents may want
- PG-13 - This world is generally unsuitable for young children, below the age of 13. Parental guidance is strongly advised.
and discussed. In addition, material may be present that some adults may find objectionable.
- R - This world is generally unsuitable for children. Adult topics may be presented
- X - This is an adults-only world which may contain material of a pornographic or other potentially offensive nature.
World caretakers can adjust the rating for their world under the World Features
dialog box.
As a user of Active Worlds, you can pre-set the maximum world rating that you want to be able to
view. If you attempt to enter a world with a rating higher than your preferred maximum, you will
not be let in. This allows you to avoid accidentally entering a world that contains content
that you might find objectionable. You can set your maximum rating preference under the
General Settings dialog.
Important Notes about World Ratings
Always keep in mind that the World Rating serves only as a guideline. Due to the dynamic, multi-user
nature of Active Worlds and the Internet in general, offensive material may be encountered in any
world at any time. Only you can be responsible for avoiding material that you
may find objectionable. In particular, the responsibility to keep children from accessing inappropriate
material lies ultimately with parents. The world-rating concept in Active worlds is
not a parental "lock out" feature and should not be treated as such!
Technology alone simply cannot guarantee that no one will ever be exposed to offensive
content.
responsible** for locating and removing offensive material from anywhere within the Active Worlds Universe.
Furthermore, while we reserve the right to require world owners to modify the rating level of worlds
running within the Active Worlds Universe, Activeworlds Inc. is not responsible for
ensuring that world owners have selected a world rating level that is appropriate for their worlds.