I'm confused as to why everyone refers to this as the "gender" war or about "gender" issues. I don't think it really has to do with gender. This topic is more about loving.

@Admins 

I hope this is okay and not an inappropriate explanation. 

You're right, Applejaguar. And explicit loving/romance is on our list of inappropriate themes for Chatterbox.

Admin

I've seen a real surge in LGBTQAI+ characters and characters of different races recently. I think the Diversity War opened our eyes a bit, and now asking for diverse characters is a common rule in solo writes/RPs (I've also noticed an upsurge in male characters, which is also something that's been asked for). Yes, the CB's certainly not perfect, but the Admins are doing a great job to keep it both safe and diverse, so I applaud that.

I created this thread and I do not want it deleted

Although... Admin, I understand why you deleted a comment and half another one. I got too rash too quickly, which is why I apologized. But why part of this one too? I only said something like, "While I am still upset-" just expressing my feelings. Because I was a bit offended. Is that not allowed, to express that?

I can't remember specifically. There are too many comments each day to remember them all. It may have been because of what you said you were upset about.

Admin

That sounds fair, and to my understanding is the current stance by the Admins.

Adding on some stuff on my own... 

The CB is welcome to people of everything--race, religion, ethnicity, personality, orientation, gender. Based on the Admins' decision that ended the Diversity Conflict, no kind of discrimination is acceptable. I don't believe we've had any problems with that recently. In fact, as I have expressed before on this thread, I think the CB is more open than ever before. It makes me really happy when I see RP's that even specifically encourage this kind of diversity. That's a really awesome thing. It makes me hopeful of us, the next generation and--although I know this sounds dramatic, but it's true--the future of the world.

Admin quote on that:  "Diverse characters are allowed on all threads. We won't allow threads that specify or are restrictive." If someone wishes to know more on this point, that Admin did have a followup to someone who needed clarification.

Changing what I'm talking about to how the Admins have things set up, to my udnertanding. Now here, to my understanding (I'll probably repeat that phrase a lot) is some of the standards set by Admins that are specific to the age range of Chatterboxers. 

As far as crushes/romance goes: What isn't fine by the Admins, to my understanding is really romantic scenes--and this goes for any characters, whether it's boy-girl, girl girl, boy boy, anything anything. We're allowed to have shipping, and crushes and such with our characters and alter egos as long as there is no inappropriate dialogue or action.

Here is an Admin quote about that. You may also refer to the entire Decision down below.

CBer: So, just to clarify, a "scene of light romance" between two AEs of the same gender would be okay, and not inappropriate? For example, if I have ____ and ____ go to a ball together and dance/hold hands/stuff like that, would it be considered post-able?

Admin: Yes, that is allowed as long as there are no overt scenes of romance like kissing etc. That goes for every character, straight or not. We will use our judgment as posts come in. ~Admin 

As far as discussing world issues go: We all know that the world (I refer to outside the CB, not the CB world) isn't perfect. Therefore, there are plenty of issues, some quite serious, or even mature. Plenty of CBers on here are what would be considered older, myself included. We are well aware of what goes on around us, and we often have the urge to discuss it. Some things we can, and those that we can have different degrees to which we can discuss them, in vauge or specific terms. The explanation for this, given by Admins, is that we have younger CBers, and the topics aren't appropriate for them.

What is considered appropriate?

Here is what the Admins' Decision we all refer to said:

"Cricket’s mission is to promote reading, writing, creativity, and community among all kids ages 9 to 14. We want the Chatterbox to be a welcoming place where everyone who visits feels encouraged to join in the stories and discussions. 

Not every topic on which you have passionate convictions is appropriate for this forum. Because of the range of age and maturity levels of kids who come to the Chatterbox, it remains our policy that this is not the place for discussions of gender identity issues and other controversial issues. Our older magazine for teens, CICADA, hosts a forum called the Slam, at cicadamag.com/theslam, with active discussion of gender issues within a very creative and supportive community. 

A second CB policy is that posts must be respectful and never hurtful. Disagreements are expected, but recently admins have had to delete, or leave unposted, a number of comments that, perhaps unintentionally, crossed the line of what we will allow. The admins become especially concerned when comments, whether meant to or not, have the effect of suppressing or shaming who another CBer is. That is not allowed.

The stories and role plays CBers create are mostly tales of adventure and light romance that can be enjoyed by kids in the full age range of the Chatterbox. A third fundamental Chatterbox policy is that stories about sexual themes, or with scenes of disturbing violence, drug abuse, etc., will not be posted. 

These polices help us make the Chatterbox an exceptionally great community of readers and friends. 

We hope that other CBers, while respecting the sensitivities of the broader Chatterbox community, will also feel comfortable creating characters as they wish to imagine them."

The Chatterbox is a big space with room for all. The admins will continue to monitor posts and comments closely, and there will always be borderline cases of what’s appropriate. The admins will try to make judgments that are in the best interests of the CB community and of individual CBers. 

Admins"

Admins, does all this sound right? If I am off on a point, please do not delete it...simply let me know how the actual judgement differs.

Owlgirl, right on! Thank you for taking the time to compile this. It will be very helpful to have it posted here.

Admin