This is a page I have put together to try to define a system which will help parents and teachers protect children when they explore the web. There are other systems around. The reason I want to suggest another is that, although those systems are good, I feel there is a need for a different way which is simple, clear, effective and acceptable to as many people as possible.
The system I have designed allows you, as web page author, to place hidden information in the header of your pages which can be used to provide parents and teachers with what they need to know to choose suitable pages for their children to see. For the system to work it would need to be recognised by others running projects to index the web, or provide specialised browsers for kid's web exploration. They are already using similar information to provide page description and other indexing info, so this should not be a big step once authors have introduced the information into their pages.
To provide the necessary information I have defined two HTML meta tags. If your pages are designed to be completely safe for unaccompanied children to view you need only introduce the following tag into the header of your pages between the <head> and </head> tags or immediately after the title. It will be necessary to place it on all pages, not just the home page.
<meta name="rating" content="safe for kids" >
If your page has content which might be suitable for older children or children in the company of an adult then you should use a different rating together with a suitable warning, e.g.
<meta name="rating" content="over 13" >
<meta name="warning" content="sex education" >
The main ratings you can choose from are,
If you really want to put another rating with e.g. a different age, then go ahead.
The beauty of the rating system is its simplicity but it does require a judgement on the part of the page producer. Parents may wish to be selective about what they wish their children to see according to their age, maturity, sensitivities and beliefs. That is why there is the additional warning tag.
There is no fixed set of warnings yet. As more people take up this system some general agreement as to which warnings are useful might be reached. The warnings should be used along with the parental guidance and over 13 ratings. Where a safe for kids rating is used no warning should be necessary. Here is a list of some of the possible warnings which might be used. Note that these are all things which might be acceptable for older children, or children who are being supervised.
drugs education, sex education, naturism, artistic nudity, scary story, worrying, bad language, simulated gambling, disturbing news
Otherwise invent your own warnings which are fitting for the content of your page and which will allow parents to select suitable material. Keep the warnings to as few words as possible and where more than one warning seems needed separate them by commas. e.g.
<meta name="rating" content="parental guidance" >
<meta name="warning" content="drugs story, bad language" >
In addition to the rating and warning you are strongly encouraged to add a description meta tag to provide further information. These tags are already being used by some directories such as InfoSeek. An example:
<meta name="description" content="A moral play about a young teenager who experiments with drugs. Strong language is used in the context of the story." >
Bear in mind that if the description goes over 250 characters it will be truncated in some directories.
You will have to make your own judgements about what is acceptable under each rating. It is probably best to be conservative. Of course each case has to be taken in context. Some things may be more acceptable in an artistic, literature or discussion setting. In any case, don't use the safe for kids rating unless it is free from anything a parent might object to. A few things which would generally be regarded as unsuitable for children are these.
unregulated material, profanity, promoting drugs, pornography, shocking images, violent images, hatred, tastelessness, vulgarity, gambling, horror pictures, dating services, animal cruelty
If your pages are intended for adults and do contain material which is not suitable for children of any age then you should think very carefully about what you wish to do. You could place an adults only rating and/or a warning containing any of the above or other stronger warnings. Alternatively you could just put nothing at all. My preference would be to see just the adults only rating, if you as author consider it off limits for all children.
Software which is indexing pages for children should work in a positive fashion selecting only material which is marked as safe or subject to parental guidance. In principle it should be sufficient not to mark adult pages. There is no need to classify different types of adult only material because as far as children are concerned it is all off limits.
If you want to put in warnings on adult only pages using this same system in order to help adults who may also wish to be protected from certain things, then of course you can do so. In that case you should be aware that these tags can be used by anybody to provide censorship. For example businesses may wish to restrict what their employees can see while at work, or web access providers may wish to filter what they are allowing access to. Perhaps even governments may filter internet traffic according to the laws of their country. If you think that they have the right to do that then by all means label your pages accordingly. Otherwise place just an adults only rating or nothing at all. It is up to you how you use this system. Do what you think is right.
Let me make a few points about why this is a good system
If you like this system then use it now on your pages and encourage others to use it by making a link to this page. Better still, write your own version with your ideas about suitable ratings and warnings to use.
If you can do a good deed today
!!!There is now a Safe For Kids Site of the Week Site!!!
One last thing while I am on the subject. Some people have been marking their pages as G rated as a sign that they are safe for children. I would advise against this, firstly because it is not understood by all people in all countries. Also, the G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 ratings are registered certification marks in the USA and must never be used except as and when authorised by the appropriate body (the MPAA). Mark your pages Safe for kids instead. This is not a mark of any kind, it is just plain English.
This page was last updated 11 November 1996.
