We are making major changes to how the Fan Fiction forum will work, after receiving complaints and concerns about the content of some of the stories. As most of you know, we strive to ensure that our forums are consistent with the E for Everyone ESRB rating. Even though the Virtual Villagers games, which have inspired most of the fan fiction, are rated E-10+, our forum community has members of all ages and the forums will continue to be maintained according to the E-for-Everyone ESRB standards.

The ESRB defines the allowable content for E-for-Everyone games like this:

Notice that there are no suggestive themes allowed, not even mildly suggestive themes (which is why VV games are 10+, since they allow kissing stuff). We will allow "kissing stuff" only as far as it is depicted in the games, along with reasonable and tasteful development of villager relationships. Violence is never depicted in our games, not even the VV series, which contain only sometimes "violent" acts of nature. Therefore, we will likely not approve any stories that contain overt violence. "Bad words" are a no-no, as well as any act that would be considered illegal in the US (and there are many of those).

If you care to delve more into the ESRB ratings and how they are defined and implemented, you should check out the ESRB site, particularly this page, this page, and this page.

Many of the stories that have been posted in the past contain themes that go far beyond the story line and content of the VV games. Repeated attempts to gain voluntary compliance with those standards have failed, so we are taking steps to make sure that all fan fiction is appropriate for all ages. Rockmower has graciously agreed to partner with me to moderate and review Fan Fiction, so that we can get the work done more quickly and effectively. Thanks, Rockmower!

Beginning immediately, the Fan Fiction forum is on full moderation, which means that posts must be approved by a moderator or admin before they will appear in the forum. All existing fan fiction threads are in an archive area until they can be reviewed and, if appropriate, restored to the fan fiction forum.

We are sorry for the inconvenience and turmoil that this action causes for writers who have carefully followed the guidelines, but we believe that this approach is a far better option than shutting down fan fiction permanently. We really do appreciate your creativity and the fan fiction that has been posted, and we hope that you will continue to write and post appropriate stories of your villagers.