Editing Not safe for work

{{Short description|Internet slang term}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=April 2023}}
{{About|the Internet slang|the 2014 film|Not Safe for Work (film){{!}}''Not Safe for Work'' (film)|the 2015 television series|Not Safe for Work (TV series){{!}}''Not Safe for Work'' (TV series)}}
{{Redirect|NSFW||NSFW (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Safe for work|work safety|Occupational safety and health}}
'''Not safe for work''', also called '''not suitable for work''' ('''NSFW'''), is [[Internet slang]] or [[shorthand]] used to mark links to content, videos, or [[website]] pages the viewer may not wish to be seen viewing in a public, formal, or controlled environment.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Paasonen |first1=Susanna |last2=Jarrett |first2=Kylie |last3=Light |first3=Ben |title=NSFW: Sex, Humor, and Risk in Social Media |date=2019 |publisher=[[The MIT Press]] |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780262355230}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Jessica |date=2017-08-09 |title=A Brief History of 'NSFW' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/nsfw-brief-history/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref> The marked content may contain [[graphic violence]], [[pornography]], [[profanity]], [[nudity]], [[Pejorative|slur]]s, or other potentially disturbing subject matter. Environments that may be problematic include [[workplace]]s, [[school]]s, and [[Family-friendly|family settings]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.lifewire.com/what-does-nsfw-mean-2483431|title=The Meaning of NSFW and How to Use It|work=Lifewire|access-date=2018-10-21|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021234703/https://www.lifewire.com/what-does-nsfw-mean-2483431|archive-date=2018-10-21|url-status=unfit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/nsfw-meaning/|title=NSFW Meaning. What does NSFW mean?|date=2017-12-29|work=MyEnglishTeacher.eu Blog|access-date=2018-10-21|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021232320/https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/nsfw-meaning/|archive-date=2018-10-21|url-status=usurped}}</ref> NSFW has particular relevance for people trying to make personal use of the [[Internet]] at workplaces or schools that have policies prohibiting access to sexual and graphic subject matter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/08/looking-at-nsfw-content-job-work/|title=How Not To Get Caught Looking at NSFW Content on the Job|website=Complex|language=en|access-date=2018-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021232633/https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/08/looking-at-nsfw-content-job-work/|archive-date=2018-10-21|url-status=live}}</ref> Conversely, '''safe for work''' ('''SFW''') is used for links that do not contain such material,<ref>[https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/sfw.htm What is SFW (Safe for Work)] from Computer Hope</ref> especially where the title might otherwise lead people to think that the content is NSFW.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-19|title=Check out this Reddit thread dedicated to the hottest sex stories|url=https://happymag.tv/sex-stories/|access-date=2021-01-19|website=Happy Mag|language=en-US}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Not safe for life|NSFL}}The similar expression '''not safe for life''' ('''NSFL''') is also used,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://mindanaotimes.com.ph/how-to-watch-nsfw-nsfl-content-safely-and-discreetly/|title=How to watch NSFW/NSFL content safely and discreetly|work=[[Mindanao Times]]|date=February 14, 2024|access-date=November 16, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Pullen|first1=John Patrick|last2=Citizen|first2=Jessica|date=June 17, 2016|orig-date=May 3, 2012|url=https://time.com/4373616/text-abbreviations-acronyms/|title=116 Teen Text Terms Decoded for Confused Parents|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=November 16, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Martinez|first=Fidel|date=June 1, 2021|url=https://www.dailydot.com/irl/what-is-reddit-50-50-wtf-funny/|title=The shock and aww of Reddit's 50/50|work=[[The Daily Dot]]|access-date=November 16, 2024}}</ref> referring to content which is so nauseating or disturbing that it might be [[Psychological trauma|emotionally scarring]] to view. Links marked NSFL may contain [[Sexual fetishism|fetish pornography]], [[Graphic violence#Gore|gore]], or [[murder]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reddithelp.com/en/categories/reddit-101/reddit-basics/what-do-all-these-acronyms-mean|title=Reddit Basics|website=reddit.zendesk.com|access-date=17 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210125102/https://www.reddithelp.com/en/categories/reddit-101/reddit-basics/what-do-all-these-acronyms-mean|archive-date=10 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Some websites, such as [[Reddit]], give users the option to designate their content as NSFW, in order to warn others of its explicit nature before they access it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reddiquette |url=https://reddit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439-Reddiquette |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=Reddit Help |language=en-US}}</ref>

== History ==
It has been speculated that the term evolved from an earlier form originating on [[Internet forum|message boards]], '''not for British school kids''' ('''NFBSK'''), which appears online as early as the year 2000.<ref name=":0" /> "NSFW" itself has been used in online communities since the early 2000s, with a definition being posted to [[Urban Dictionary]] in 2003.<ref name=":0" /> In 2009, it was suggested that [[HTML5|a future version of HTML]] could include "NSFW" as a standardized tag for adult material on websites that could be automatically hidden depending on user settings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zeldman |first=L. Jeffrey |date=2009-06-08 |title=NSFW tag in HTML 5 |url=https://zeldman.com/2009/06/08/not-safe-for-work-tag-in-html-5/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Jeffrey Zeldman Presents |language=en-US}}</ref>

By 2011, the term was common enough to be added to [[Lexico|Oxford Dictionaries Online]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-06-03 |title='NSFW,' 'ZOMG,' and 'Twittersphere' added to dictionary |url=https://www.today.com/money/nsfw-zomg-twittersphere-added-dictionary-122978 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}}</ref> with [[Merriam-Webster]] adding the abbreviation to its dictionary in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinmetz |first=Katy |date=2015-05-26 |title=Merriam-Webster Defines 'Jeggings,' 'NSFW' and 'Meme' |url=https://time.com/3896800/merriam-webster-update-nsfw-dark-money-wtf/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=TIME |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-05-26 |title="Emoji," "Photobomb," "WTF" and More Hip Internet Phrases Officially Added to Merriam-Webster Dictionary |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/660052/emoji-photobomb-wtf-and-more-hip-internet-phrases-officially-added-to-merriam-webster-dictionary |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=E! Online}}</ref> The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] added the term in 2016, citing earliest evidence of usage from 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oxford English Dictionary |title=NSFW (adj.) |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1059511319 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Internet|Erotica and pornography}}
*[[Internet filter]] – Software used to restrict access to unsuitable content
*{{Annotated link|Internet pornography}}
*{{Annotated link|Shock site}}
*{{Annotated link|Trash stream}}
*{{Annotated link|Rule 34}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|NSFW|SFW|NSFL|position=left}}

{{Internet slang}}
{{Pornography}}

[[Category:Internet censorship]]
[[Category:Internet slang]]
[[Category:Internet terminology]]
[[Category:Internet trolling]]
[[Category:Media content ratings systems]]
[[Category:Pornography]]
{{Internet-stub}}