Community Guidelines

The rules of engagement for our shared stage

Last updated April 17, 2026

Version 2026-04-14.1

Plotlight Studios Community Guidelines

Effective Date: April 14, 2026 Last Updated: April 14, 2026

Plotlight is a growing platform. These guidelines will evolve as our community grows and as we learn what works. We'll always announce significant changes in our Discord and via in-app notification. If something feels unclear or unfair, talk to us. We're building this together.

These guidelines apply to all content on Plotlight: characters, presets, lorebooks, personas, prompts, portfolio pages, and images. They apply to both published (discovery-visible) content and private library content where noted.

By using Plotlight, you agree to follow these guidelines.

1. Age Requirements

All Characters Must Be 18+

Every character on Plotlight must be 18 years of age or older. This applies to:

Stated age in the character card
Physical appearance in the character image and description
Behavioral maturity in personality, dialogue, and scenario
Setting context (school grade, living situation, relationships)

These four factors must be consistent. A character cannot be listed as 18 while placed in a middle school setting, depicted with a childlike body, or written to behave as a minor.

Characters whose age is contradicted by their appearance, setting, or behavior will be treated as the youngest reasonable interpretation, regardless of stated age.

"She's actually a 500-year-old dragon" does not override a childlike physical appearance. "He's 18 but in 10th grade" does not work because 10th graders are 15-16.

Characters That "Look Young"

Characters that appear childlike, regardless of stated age, will result in an immediate strike and a case review to determine whether the violation warrants a warning or a ban. This is evaluated case by case, but we take it seriously every time.

We do not need to prove intent. If the character reads as a minor, it is treated as a minor.

Canon Characters Who Are Minors

Characters who are canonically under 18 in their source material may only appear if:

They are explicitly aged up to 18+
The character image depicts them as an adult (no images from their minor years)
The scenario is set outside the timeline where they were a minor

Minor NPCs

Minor characters may be briefly mentioned as background elements in a card's description or scenario ("the character has a teenage daughter," "works at a school"). These references must:

Remain minimal. No detailed character development for the minor.
Include no dialogue, interaction prompts, or scenario focus involving the minor.
Never appear in any romantic, suggestive, or sexual context.

Enforcement

CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) or any sexualized content involving minors results in immediate, permanent account termination and reporting to NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children). Zero exceptions. Zero strikes. This applies to all content on the platform, including private libraries.

2. Content Ratings

Plotlight uses three content ratings. All published content must be accurately rated.

All Hours

General audience. No sexual content, no explicit violence, no mature themes. A story you'd be comfortable reading in public.

Flirting, light romance, and non-explicit affection are OK
Mild conflict and action are OK
No nudity, no sexual scenarios, no graphic violence

Late Night

Mature themes. Not explicit, but deals with adult subject matter.

Suggestive content, sexual tension, and implied intimacy are OK
Dark themes: substance abuse, trauma, psychological horror, moral ambiguity
Moderate violence and intense emotional content
Non-sexual nudity in artistic context
No explicit sexual content or graphic sexual nudity

After Dark

Explicit content. Adults only.

Explicit sexual content is permitted
Graphic violence and gore are permitted
Extreme and taboo themes are permitted (with proper content warning tags)
Must still comply with all other guidelines (18+ characters, no CSAM, etc.)

How Ratings Are Determined

Your content rating should reflect the most mature content present anywhere in the card, including the description, personality, scenario, first message, example dialogue, and images. If your greeting contains explicit content, the card is After Dark, even if the description is tame.

Mistagging

Intentionally mistagging your content rating is a moderation offense. If your card contains After Dark content but is rated All Hours, it will be re-rated and you will receive a warning. Repeated mistagging leads to suspension.

3. Imagery Standards

No Photorealistic Imagery

All character art on Plotlight must be illustrated, stylized, or clearly non-photographic. This applies to all content ratings, all image slots, and all content in your library.

Hand-drawn art, digital illustration, anime/manga style, painterly, cartoon: all OK
AI-generated art in stylized/illustrated styles: OK
Photorealistic imagery (AI-generated or otherwise): banned

This rule exists to eliminate an entire class of legal and ethical risks. No exceptions. This is not negotiable.

Primary Image Rules

Your character's primary image (the one shown in discovery and search results) must not contain:

Exposed genitalia
Explicit sexual acts
Graphic gore

Explicit imagery may be used as secondary variant images on After Dark rated cards, as long as the primary image is appropriately covered.

AI-Generated Art Disclosure

While not required, we encourage creators to note when character art is AI-generated. This helps the community make informed choices.

4. Real People

Living People and Recently Deceased

Characters based on real people who are living or have been dead fewer than 100 years are not permitted as primary characters on Plotlight.

This includes celebrities, public figures, politicians, content creators, streamers, and private individuals.

Historical Figures

Real people who have been dead for 100 years or more are considered historical figures and may appear as characters (Cleopatra, Shakespeare, Genghis Khan, etc.).

Exception: Figures primarily known for genocide, crimes against humanity, or mass atrocities committed within the last 200 years are permanently banned regardless of death date.

5. Content Quality

Published content that appears in discovery should demonstrate genuine creative effort. We are not looking for perfection. We are looking for someone who tried.

Quality Threshold

A card meets the quality threshold if it satisfies at least 3 of the following 5 criteria:

Description is 500+ characters and describes the character meaningfully
Personality section is filled out beyond a single sentence
Scenario provides actual context and setting (not "You meet them somewhere")
Example dialogue includes at least 2 distinct exchanges showing the character's voice
First message / greeting is 200+ characters and sets a scene

Cards under 1,000 tokens total are automatically flagged for review.

Scope

Drafts and private cards have no quality requirements. This only applies to content published to discovery.

6. Tagging

Required Tags

When publishing content, you must include accurate tags for:

Content rating (All Hours / Late Night / After Dark)
Genre (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance, etc.)
Content type tags as required by each content type's tag system

Content Warning Tags

If your card contains any of the following themes, you must apply the appropriate content warning tag:

Gore / graphic violence
Self-harm / suicide themes
Sexual assault / non-consensual themes
Abuse (physical, emotional, domestic)
Substance abuse / addiction
Body horror
Death of major characters

Failure to tag content warnings is treated the same as mistagging content ratings.

Tag Integrity

Do not apply tags that don't accurately describe your content. Tag stuffing (adding popular tags for visibility) is a moderation offense.

7. Animal and Non-Human Characters

Anthropomorphic Characters

Anthropomorphic characters (walk upright, speak, possess human-level intelligence) are permitted at all content ratings.

Bestiality / Feral / Non-Anthropomorphic Animals

Non-anthropomorphic animal characters are permitted in SFW contexts only.

Bestiality and feral NSFW content is explicitly banned. Any depiction of sexual acts between humans and animals is prohibited. This is a zero-tolerance rule.

8. Attribution, Variants, and Plagiarism

Original Content

When you create something from scratch, mark it as an Original Creation.

Uploading Someone Else's Work

If you are uploading content created by someone else, you must:

Set "Is this your original creation?" to No
Fill in the Original Creator Name field
Fill in the Original Creator URL field
Fill in the Source URL if available

Uploading someone else's work without attribution is plagiarism.

Forking (Platform Remixing)

Plotlight has a built-in Fork system that automatically preserves full attribution. If the content you want to remix is already on Plotlight, use the Fork button. Direct copy-paste reuploads without using Fork are treated as plagiarism.

Respecting Creator Wishes

If a creator has publicly stated their work should not be reposted, do not upload it to Plotlight, even with attribution.

Original Creator Takedown Requests

If you are an original creator and find your unaltered work uploaded without permission, contact us at boxoffice@rolecallstudios.com or through our Discord with proof of ownership. We will remove the content.

Plagiarism

Uploading someone else's work as your own results in content removal and a warning. Repeated plagiarism leads to suspension.

9. Canon and Fandom Content

Characters from existing fictional works are welcome on Plotlight.

Fandom content must be tagged with the Fandom tag
Standard age rules apply to canon characters (see Section 1)
Plotlight is not affiliated with any rights holders
We comply with valid DMCA takedown requests from rights holders

10. Advertising and Spam

External links are permitted in Creator Notes only. Links in character descriptions, personality, or scenario fields will be removed.
Cards that exist primarily as advertisements will be removed as spam.
Duplicate posting of the same card is spam.

11. User Conduct

Be Decent

No targeted harassment of other creators
No hate speech, slurs, or discriminatory language in public-facing content
No doxxing or sharing private information about other users
No impersonating other creators or Plotlight staff

Report System Integrity

Do not file false or malicious reports
Do not coordinate mass-reporting campaigns
Report abuse is a bannable offense

12. Private Libraries

Your private library is your workspace. We do not actively monitor private content.

However, private content is not exempt from the law:

CSAM is illegal regardless of visibility. If illegal content is discovered in any user's library, we are legally required to report it to NCMEC and terminate the account.
Photorealistic imagery rules apply to all content, including private libraries.

Everything else in your private library is your business.

13. Trust-Based Publishing

How It Works

New creators start with a low Trust Score. Initial submissions may be held for moderator review before appearing in discovery. As you build a history of approved content, your Trust Score increases and your content is published immediately.

Why This Exists

This system prevents spam, low-effort content floods, and policy violations from reaching discovery. It is not a judgment of your creative ability — it is a safety measure for the community.

Expedited Trust

Creators who demonstrate consistent quality and policy compliance will earn elevated trust more quickly. We want good creators publishing freely as soon as possible.

14. Moderation Process

How It Works

When content is flagged or reported:

Review: A moderator reviews the content against these guidelines.
Action: If a violation is found, the moderator takes appropriate action.
Notification: You will be notified with an explanation of what was found.
Response: You can respond through your Moderation Inbox.
Resolution: After making requested changes, your content will be re-reviewed.

How We Handle Violations

Our primary tool is hiding content from discovery. Hidden content is not deleted — it's still in your library. You can edit it and resubmit.

For blatant violations (CSAM, feral NSFW, ban evasion), content may be deleted and the account terminated.

Consequences

Violation Type	Consequence
CSAM / sexualized minors	Immediate permanent ban + NCMEC report
Childlike character appearance	Immediate strike + case review
Feral NSFW	Immediate permanent ban
Content mistagging	Warning → hide → suspension
Quality below threshold	Content hidden with feedback
Plagiarism	Content removed + warning
Spam / advertising	Content removed + warning
Harassment / hate speech	Warning → suspension → ban
Report abuse	Warning → ban
Ban evasion	New account banned

Communication

When we take action on your content, we tell you why. We don't silently delete things. You can reply through your Moderation Inbox. We read every response.

15. These Guidelines Will Change

Plotlight is a growing platform and these guidelines will evolve. Significant changes will be announced in our Discord and via in-app notification. Continued use of Plotlight after changes constitutes acceptance of updated guidelines.

Questions? Concerns? Feedback? Reach out in our Discord or contact moderation through the in-app report system.