howto:rate (locked)

Ratings are used to categorize content on Danbooru. Danbooru has four ratings: rating:general, rating:sensitive, rating:questionable, and rating:explicit.

Broadly speaking, these categories are:

• rating:general - G-rated content. Completely safe for work. Nothing sexualized or inappropriate to view in front of others. Trivial or cartoon violence.
• rating:sensitive - Ecchi, sexy, suggestive, or mildly erotic. Skimpy or revealing clothes, swimsuits, underwear, images focused on the breasts or ass, and anything else potentially not safe for work. Mild violence.
• rating:questionable - Softcore erotica and/or graphic violence. Simple nudity or near-nudity, but no explicit sex or exposed genitals.
• rating:explicit - Hardcore erotica and/or extremely graphic violence. Explicit sex acts, exposed genitals, and bodily fluids.

Guidelines

Rating:General

• G-rated, completely safe for work content.
• Completely non-sexual scenes (fully clothed characters, innocent comics and 4komas, portraits, chibis, cute things, etc).
• Content without people (scenery, still lifes, no humans, text-only pages, food focus, animal focus, mecha, SFW Pokemon, etc)
• Innocent displays of affection (hugging, holding hands, kissing that isn't sexually charged, etc)
• Trivial or cartoon violence (comedic or non-serious fighting, minor head bumps, cuts, blood, or bruises, or other injuries that don't result in lasting harm).
• Legal drug use (smoking or drinking alcohol).
• Mild profanity, insults, or rude gestures (e.g. middle finger) without lewd or sexual connotations.
• Note that anything involving child-like characters that is the least bit inappropriate or suggestive should not be rated G.

Rating:Sensitive

• Ecchi, sexy, risqué, or suggestive content, even mildly so.
• Skimpy or revealing clothes, including swimsuits, lingerie, underwear, cleavage cutouts, playboy bunnysuits, skin tight or impossible clothes, etc.
• Anything focused on the ass, breasts, cleavage, underboob, sideboob, feet, armpits, midriff/stomach, navel, lips, or other sexualized parts of the body.
• Exposed groin area (hip lines) or dimples of venus.
• Pantyshots, upskirts, and similar fanservice.
• Thin, see-through, or wet clothes that reveal the underwear or body underneath.
• Subtle cameltoes or covered nipples not blatant enough for rating:questionable.
• Implied sexual situations (visible condoms, sex toys in the background, penetration gestures, etc)
• Mildly disturbing violence (blood or injury that is not G-rated).
• Depictions of thoughts of suicide or self-harm (including gun to head).
• Hard or illegal drug use.
• Anything not G-rated, not completely safe for work, or not completely safe to view in front of others.
• Anything you're not sure is safe enough for rating:general. When in doubt, use rating:sensitive.

Rating:Questionable

• Simple non-genital nudity, including nipples, areolae, and bare ass.
• Visible vulva or pubic hair, if subtle and not blatantly exposed, such as in standing full-frontal nudity. "Blatantly exposed" means spread legs, spread pussy, presenting, anything focused on the crotch, and anything where the pussy is fully visible.
• Near-nudity, such as highly revealing clothes or swimsuits, clothing that barely hides nudity, and clothing that is partially removed or torn.
• Nipples or genitals clearly visible though clothing, including covered nipples, pronounced cameltoes, wedgies, bulges, and erections under clothes.
• Mild sexual contact (ear biting, groping, grabbing another's breast, heavy kissing, etc)
• Implied sex acts that aren't clearly shown.
• Simulated sex acts (simulated fellatio, simulated footjob, etc).
• Blatantly sexually suggestive situations (fellatio gestures, oral invitations, etc).
• Suggestive fluids (unless they're obviously cum or pussy juice, in which case they're rating:explicit).
• Bondage, spanking, BDSM, and other fetish activities without visible sex acts or bodily fluids.
• Sex toys that are plainly visible but aren't in use.
• Graphic or disturbing violence (death, major blood or injury, ryona, CBT, serious abuse).

Rating:Explicit

• Exposed genitals, including the pussy, penis, and anus, whether censored or uncensored.
• Explicit sex acts, including sex, fellatio, masturbation, handjobs, fingering, sex toy use, etc, whether censored or uncensored.
• Bodily fluids, including cum, used condoms, and pussy juice.
• Guro, scat, extremely graphic violence (gore, dismemberment, etc), and NSFL content.

If you are unsure of what rating to use, post a comment or ask in topic #8495.