Post by Amy (In America - Busy atm) on Dec 18, 2011 21:23:09 GMT
Okay, I'm back - or should be. It might take me a day or two to unpack and catch up on sleep, but after that I will be an actual admin, rather than a lurkery one.
Anyway, I'm home and uninstalling TS2 off of my PC at the moment. I used to create all my stories on it until I pushed the game to the point of becoming unplayable. Still, I'll put it all back on in a bit. And my way of making Sims and houses has changed vastly over the years, so I guess its a good thing
I was thinking about a conversation I've had with a few people; about how most other countries in the world are well educated on the US through the media - but the same can't be said for the US and the rest of the world. I realised that over the years, exchange stories which were probably supposed to be shocking weren't actually to me, because we have different laws and lifestyles here in the UK. I figured this would be a good place to share and discuss the differences (I've posted it here to keep it relevant to TS2 exchange stories, but it is also relevant to anyone's general outlook on others).
Teenage Relationships In Sim Stories
Religion
Regional Spelling
If anyone has any of there own, wherever they're from, lets here them. Or comment on the above ones. I don't think there's much point in shying away from our cultural differences, the only way we're going to accept, show an interest or get over them is by sharing, explaining and discussing. ;D
(P.s I hope that didn't sound like I hate America - I don't. The prospect of living there for four months next year is SO exciting!)
Anyway, I'm home and uninstalling TS2 off of my PC at the moment. I used to create all my stories on it until I pushed the game to the point of becoming unplayable. Still, I'll put it all back on in a bit. And my way of making Sims and houses has changed vastly over the years, so I guess its a good thing
I was thinking about a conversation I've had with a few people; about how most other countries in the world are well educated on the US through the media - but the same can't be said for the US and the rest of the world. I realised that over the years, exchange stories which were probably supposed to be shocking weren't actually to me, because we have different laws and lifestyles here in the UK. I figured this would be a good place to share and discuss the differences (I've posted it here to keep it relevant to TS2 exchange stories, but it is also relevant to anyone's general outlook on others).
Teenage Relationships In Sim Stories
*approaches adult subject* So, there's always a lot of stories about 14/15 year olds in rather advanced relationships. I think the age of consent in the US is 18. However, the age of consent varies across Europe (and the rest of the world)...
Spain - 13
Albania - 14
Austria - 14
Bosnia - 14
Bulgaria - 14
Croatia - 14
Estonia - 14
Germany - 14
Hungary - 14
Italy - 14
Liechtenstein - 14
Macedonia - 14
Montenegro - 14
Portugal - 14
San Marino - 14
Serbia - 14
Czech Republic - 15
Denmark - 15
France - 15
Greece - 15
Iceland - 15
Monaco - 15
Poland - 15
Romania - 15
Slovakia - 15
Slovenia - 15
Sweden - 15
Andorra - 16
Armenia - 16
Azerbeijan - 16
Belarus - 16
Belgium - 16
Finland - 16
Georgia - 16
Lativia - 16
Lithuania - 16
Luxembourg - 16
Moldova - 16
Netherlands - 16
Norway - 16
Russia - 16
Switzerland - 16
Ukraine - 16
United Kingdom (England, Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland) - 16
Cyprus - 17
Ireland - 17
Malta - 18
Turkey 18
Okay, so you either found that interesting or repulsive. The point I was trying to make though, was that people on the exchange aren't necessarily outright aiming for a controversial subject. It may in fact just be how it is where they're from. You could argue that it's the US site and so people had better stick to US laws, but imagine the US site was one of those which had no upload facility. Would you change your principals and culture to fit with the site if it were German? Or Serbian? Most probably not. So before starting a war against with the writer or flagging things, pull your mind out of the gutter, find out a bit about the writer, the story, and the facts behind it.
Spain - 13
Albania - 14
Austria - 14
Bosnia - 14
Bulgaria - 14
Croatia - 14
Estonia - 14
Germany - 14
Hungary - 14
Italy - 14
Liechtenstein - 14
Macedonia - 14
Montenegro - 14
Portugal - 14
San Marino - 14
Serbia - 14
Czech Republic - 15
Denmark - 15
France - 15
Greece - 15
Iceland - 15
Monaco - 15
Poland - 15
Romania - 15
Slovakia - 15
Slovenia - 15
Sweden - 15
Andorra - 16
Armenia - 16
Azerbeijan - 16
Belarus - 16
Belgium - 16
Finland - 16
Georgia - 16
Lativia - 16
Lithuania - 16
Luxembourg - 16
Moldova - 16
Netherlands - 16
Norway - 16
Russia - 16
Switzerland - 16
Ukraine - 16
United Kingdom (England, Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland) - 16
Cyprus - 17
Ireland - 17
Malta - 18
Turkey 18
Okay, so you either found that interesting or repulsive. The point I was trying to make though, was that people on the exchange aren't necessarily outright aiming for a controversial subject. It may in fact just be how it is where they're from. You could argue that it's the US site and so people had better stick to US laws, but imagine the US site was one of those which had no upload facility. Would you change your principals and culture to fit with the site if it were German? Or Serbian? Most probably not. So before starting a war against with the writer or flagging things, pull your mind out of the gutter, find out a bit about the writer, the story, and the facts behind it.
Religion
Religion is not actually permitted in Sim Stories to my knowledge. But generally you can pick up on where it has influenced people. However there are very different views and religions spread throughout the world. For instance, in England, if you can find one person in two-hundred that goes to church every Sunday (or for anything other than weddings, funerals or christenings), you have hit the jackpot. Since the Industrial Revolution, religion has become less important across a great many countries. So remember, if you're going to hint at, or even outright write a story about religion, that the way you approach it and feel about it, doesn't reflect the way in which it is perceived or used across the rest of the world.
Regional Spelling
There is nothing more frustrating in life, than constantly being told you are mispelling things. There are people on youtube who take glee in going "You spelled it wrong, it's FAVORITE not FAVOURITE!" - it is either depending where you're from. Grammar is dependant on region to, but not quite so heavily.
What you've got to remember, is the the rest of the world sees US made films and TV shows. But beyond that, books published in the US are not translated for places like the UK, only countries with completely different languages. However, the same doesn't stand for books published in the UK. For instance, Harry Potter - translated for America. In fact, the first book (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) was renamed Sorcerer's Stone for its American publication. There's sort of a double standards at work a lot of the time, as a lot of the world has been very exposed to American spellings and laws, but it just isn't true the other way around. It's no one's fault, yet there's no harm in being aware of it.
What you've got to remember, is the the rest of the world sees US made films and TV shows. But beyond that, books published in the US are not translated for places like the UK, only countries with completely different languages. However, the same doesn't stand for books published in the UK. For instance, Harry Potter - translated for America. In fact, the first book (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) was renamed Sorcerer's Stone for its American publication. There's sort of a double standards at work a lot of the time, as a lot of the world has been very exposed to American spellings and laws, but it just isn't true the other way around. It's no one's fault, yet there's no harm in being aware of it.
If anyone has any of there own, wherever they're from, lets here them. Or comment on the above ones. I don't think there's much point in shying away from our cultural differences, the only way we're going to accept, show an interest or get over them is by sharing, explaining and discussing. ;D
(P.s I hope that didn't sound like I hate America - I don't. The prospect of living there for four months next year is SO exciting!)