Australia Approves Final R18+ Gaming Guidelines 67
dotarray writes "Despite stories suggesting that a change to the Australian ratings system may be as far as two years away, the Federal Minister for Home Affairs has announced that each Australian state and territory has signed off on the final guidelines required for the introduction of an adult R18+ classification Down Under."
Its been a long time coming (Score:5, Interesting)
What is particularly interesting about it is that it highlights the disparaity between the speed that technology moves, and the speed that our lawmakers move.
I believe we may be an entire generation away from a government of technology-savvy lawmakers.
Re:What guidelines? (Score:2, Interesting)
In Australia, X-rated material is still banned, with the exception of in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territories (NT).
Thus, anything which doesn't fall under R18 classification falls instead under "Refused Classification". As there's no X rating available, it's simply not saleable. Of course, there's plenty of X-rated material imported to Australia every day (via the internet, largely). There's no law against possession of X-rated material, however it is illegal to possess certain material (bestiality, child porn, snuff, etc).
And no, it's not really chilling. You seem to overestimate the self-regulation abilities of your fellow man. Most people are drooling idiots. If it wasn't illegal to buy snuff films, they'd be widely purchased and a market created for such - even though people know they're creating a market for it by buying it. You think censorship is obscene, I see it as a necessary evil - because there are worse evils out there. If you can think of a way to remove all censorship, and at the same time not create a market for snuff or child porn, please let me know.
Re:What guidelines? (Score:5, Interesting)
If it wasn't illegal to buy snuff films, they'd be widely purchased and a market created for such
Actually, I just read an article, I think it was by BBC, that said that after doing much research, their conclusion was there is no such thing as a snuff film, nobody has actually made a snuff film, and there is no market for snuff films. Its just too difficult / costly to murder people for entertainment as opposed to doing fiction.
:P
SOMETIMES the world isn't as bad as it seems.
Drug incentives still not allowed (Score:3, Interesting)
In the article for R 18+ classifications:
Drug use related to incentives and rewards is not permitted.
Depending on how 'drug' is defined, a game could be banned if using apsrin was part of the plot to recover some ailment.
If this was only related to controlled substances, then a fictional drug could be used instead without problem, making the rule near useless.