Nonexistent rating certificate: USA:18+

@Michelle​ Can't these new certificate options only be added by staff? This must have been added by staff for some reason. Maybe someone made an incorrect request to add some invalid options and they did it?

Hi @mbmb​ -

Yes, I suspect that this is the case and the certificate was initially added in error, and we will investigate this as well.

After looking for it more, I have a guess. I feel this could be Amazon's own maturity ratings system.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G2C2CPZWGZWHZ42J

https://www.primevideo.com/help/?nodeId=GFGQU3WYEG6FSJFJ

An example title: https://www.amazon.com/Swarm-Season-1/dp/B0B8NLVH1L

@Bethanny​ If the reason is Amazon, that should probably be clarified somewhere in guides (https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/titles/certificates/GU757M8ZJ9ZPXB39#usa), and also it still needs a fix. There is no "12" in Amazon's ratings but IMDb options have it, why is there a "12" option? I couldn't find any reference for it. Additionally, Amazon's "7+" and "All" ratings are not included in IMDb's options, if it's decided to keep Amazon's ratings, then they should be consistent and include all of them.

@mbmb​ That is all a work in progress indeed, we will have to wait. As for now this specific rating reported will not be removed.

Thanks!

Well, this is disappointing. Nevertheless, thanks for reporting back, Bethanny.

@Bethanny​ OK but please forward it so they become aware of it.

@Bethanny​ It's not clear to me what the evidence for this rating's existence is, though.

I sense that this has more to do with a new undocumented IMDb policy (based upon something that IMDb's parent company is doing) than anything related to the reality of the content advisory systems primarily used in any given nation, gromit82. What do you think?

Some series like "The Boys" (Amazon Prime) has "18+" disclaimer before each episode. It's probably just a disclaimer though, and the "official" rating is TV-MA.

This is just another one of those "rules for thee but not for me" situations, albeit rare.

@jeorj_euler​ I don't know what the explanation is. If "18+" is used because it is an Amazon.com-issued rating, then I wouldn't object if it were used with an attribute such as (Amazon.com rating).

I would still have a problem, however, when "18+" is used as the certificate for a title in the Family genre such as Woody Woodpecker and the Universal Gang (1988) (TV), as it currently is.

O, in the particular case of the IMDb title page for Woody Woodpecker and the Universal Gang, the "18+" rating has to be an error, gromit82.

Hi, eboy​. I mean you no offense, but I'm curious. Didn't you notice that the IMDb company is actually endorsing this shit for the time being? If you would be so kind, please have a thorough look at the messages within this thread.