Originally Posted by
KihyiFelhede
You do not have free reign to run around insulting people, spamming the chat, or violating sexual boundaries because you don't believe they deserve respect. If you're at a grocery store or a park, really any public space, and you start doing dirty talk loud enough for people to hear you, it is reasonable to be asked to leave. If you're yelling, or cussing at someone standing in your way, you will be asked to stop. These are the same social contract standards you agreed to when registering to play.
Further, story content and player interactions are not comparable. For instance a reveal during StB involves sexual assault and physical abuse, which a character narrates. It is not the same as seeing someone recounting their real life experiences with such things in a place where anyone can see them. It is therefore reasonable to report someone e.g. in Limsa or a DF party who brings such a thing up in chat. ESRB may not rate online interactions but the game gaining a reputation as the place where people are constantly trauma dumping in the chat is unpleasant for players and alienating to outsiders. You see where this could also apply to sexual content?
Also, to correct some misconceptions, the current ESRB rating is T (Teen) and specifically lists sexual themes and partial nudity on the Steam page. PEGI rates it 16+. "PG-13" is the US Motion Picture Associating rating system and is mainly used for consideration of movie theaters. For comparison's sake, Minecraft is 10+, Deltarune and Marvel's Snap and Spiderman are rated T, Persona 3/4/5 are rated M17+, and for movies Five Nights at Freddy's, Nolan's Batman, and Lord of the Rings are all rated PG-13. These guidelines are fluid and meant mainly for corporate distribution and advertising laws (which is why they differ in various countries), though parents do tend to mistakenly rely on them.