Regarding NSFW | OpenAI | Page 1

shut quartz Aug 7, 2025, 2:20 PM

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How suggestive can I go with novel writing before I get filtered?

faint sleetBOT Aug 7, 2025, 2:20 PM

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Hi @shut quartz. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave:

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OpenAI’s policies prohibit the creation or distribution of sexually explicit or suggestive content that is inappropriate for minors, except for content created for scientific or educational purposes. When building with OpenAI’s API or ChatGPT, you should not build tools that may be inappropriate for minors, including sexually explicit or suggestive content, and you should not target users under 13 years of age. This applies to both text and image generation tools. For example, the policies state:

Don’t build tools that may be inappropriate for minors, including:
Sexually explicit or suggestive content. This does not include content created for scientific or educational purposes.
Don’t build tools that target users under 13 years of age.
OpenAI Usage Policies – Building with ChatGPT

For image and video generation, the rules are even more explicit:

ChatGPT and Sora users are prohibited from creating or distributing content that promotes or causes harm. This includes content that is generated to harass, defame, promote violence, or sexualize children.
Creating images and videos in line with our policies

The Moderation API flags content meant to arouse sexual excitement or that promotes sexual services (excluding sex education and wellness), as well as any sexual content involving minors. The relevant moderation categories are:

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sexual: Content meant to arouse sexual excitement, such as the description of sexual activity, or that promotes sexual services (excluding sex education and wellness).
sexual/minors: Sexual content that includes an individual who is under 18 years old.
Moderation Content Classifications

In practice:

Mildly suggestive or romantic content (e.g., flirtation, innuendo, or non-explicit romance) is generally less likely to be flagged.
Explicit sexual descriptions, graphic depictions of sexual acts, or content meant to arouse are likely to be flagged and filtered.
Any sexual content involving minors is strictly prohibited and will be flagged.

Thresholds:
OpenAI’s moderation thresholds are set to balance user experience and safety, but you may encounter false positives or negatives depending on context. If your novel writing is “suggestive” but not explicit or pornographic, it may pass moderation, but there is no precise line published by OpenAI. If you are writing for a general audience or for minors, you should err on the side of caution and avoid explicit or highly suggestive content.

If you need to test specific passages, you can use the Moderation API to check if your content will be flagged before submitting it for further processing.

Summary:
You can include mild suggestiveness or romance, but explicit sexual content or anything meant to arouse is likely to be filtered. Always avoid any sexual content involving minors. When in doubt, use the Moderation API to check your content before submission.

Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon:

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@shut quartz Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

shut quartz Aug 7, 2025, 2:22 PM

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@faint sleet I don't include any minors in my writing, I just lean towards young adult. Should I stick with "fade-to-black" if I let two characters get at it in bed?

faint sleetBOT Aug 7, 2025, 2:22 PM

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Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! :books:

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Based on OpenAI’s published policies and moderation guidelines, if your writing is for a young adult audience and does not include minors in sexual situations, you should still exercise caution with explicit content. OpenAI’s policies prohibit sexually explicit or suggestive content that may be inappropriate for minors, except for scientific or educational purposes. The moderation system specifically flags content “meant to arouse sexual excitement, such as the description of sexual activity” under the sexual category, and this applies regardless of the age of the characters if the content is explicit in nature OpenAI Usage Policies Moderation Content Classifications.

For young adult fiction, a “fade-to-black” approach—where intimate scenes are implied rather than described in explicit detail—is safest and most likely to avoid being flagged or filtered by OpenAI’s moderation tools. This approach aligns with the intent to keep content appropriate for minors and general audiences, and reduces the risk of moderation issues.

In summary:
Yes, sticking with “fade-to-black” for intimate scenes is the recommended approach if you want to avoid moderation flags and ensure your content remains within OpenAI’s guidelines for young adult writing.

#Regarding NSFW

Summary: You can include mild suggestiveness or romance, but explicit sexual content or anything meant to arouse is likely to be filtered. Always avoid any sexual content involving minors. When in doubt, use the Moderation API to check your content before submission.

Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon:

In summary: Yes, sticking with “fade-to-black” for intimate scenes is the recommended approach if you want to avoid moderation flags and ensure your content remains within OpenAI’s guidelines for young adult writing.

Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon:

Summary:
You can include mild suggestiveness or romance, but explicit sexual content or anything meant to arouse is likely to be filtered. Always avoid any sexual content involving minors. When in doubt, use the Moderation API to check your content before submission.

In summary:
Yes, sticking with “fade-to-black” for intimate scenes is the recommended approach if you want to avoid moderation flags and ensure your content remains within OpenAI’s guidelines for young adult writing.