Rating Service << Internet >> Content Selection

The Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSACi) is the rating service for the internet. After the year of 1999, it is folded into Internet Council Rating Association (ICRA). This system is basically implemented for the use of parents to monitor their children’s activity online while practicing free speech online.

Wonder how does this rating works?

The ratings are a list of codes each with a letter and digit. Each letter initiates the type and the digit shows the ranking of how explicit the content is:

Letter = (l)anguage, (n)udity, (s)ex, (v)iolence
Digit = 4 (most), 1 (least), 0 (implying no content)

Example A,
1. Vulgar language – l4
2. Frontal nudity – n3

3. Passionate kissing – s1
4. Destruction of objects – v2

Table 1 - Level of explicit rating:

URL:http://256.com/gray/docs/pics/rsac.html

This is where PICS comes in work. PICS is a voluntary self rating specification recommended by W3C which is a Platform for Internet Content Selections which is a protocol that enables rating systems to be read and understood by browsers, web masters and search engines. It is the HTML code of rating systems. Example of the HTML tag for Example A would be:

URL:http://256.com/gray/docs/pics/rsac.html

Basically content rating for the internet is very helpful to aware the users' mainly parents to identify if that particular content is suitable for their children.

Well I hope I have given a short brief and inclusive of examples on how rating system and content selection are implemented. What do you think about this post, do feel free to share your thoughts with us. Have a great blast. =)

References:

Recreational Software Advisory Council official website
[Online], Retrieved 3rd March 2009.

URL:http://www.rsac.org/

Stephen Balkam, Content Rating for the Internet and Recreational Software, Recreational Software Advisory Council [Online], Retrieved 3rd March 2009.

URL:http://web.archive.org/web/19970414061624/www.rsac.org/talk/balkam1.html