Self-applied 'R' ratingsA model for tagging potentially offensive content

News Web sites could improve the level of discourse in their comments sections by adopting a model for self-censored user-submitted content.

I propose that the average user would be willing to flag his own comments as "R-rated" if it would give him more leniency in what would be permitted to be published.

There are, of course, certain comments that should not be tolerated even in R-rated posts -- hate speech or threats of violence, for instance -- but mere profanity or off-color jokes could be treated with less scrutiny than they are in a comments system that does not allow for such distinctions.

Such a system could have R-rated posts hidden by default, but allow users to select whether they wish to change that default and have R-rated comments displayed. This system should prove acceptable to those who find such content objectionable, since they need not be exposed to it unless they make a conscious choice to, and it should also prove acceptable to those who write R-rated content, because it results in less censorship.