NSFW is an odd, versatile internet acronym that’s found its way into internet articles and social media posts. But what does NSFW mean, where’d it come from, and how do you use it? Don’t worry—this article is SFW.
Not Safe for Work
The acronym NSFW stands for “not safe for work.” When used correctly, NSFW is a warning that indicates a link to a webpage, video, photo, or audio clip contains inappropriate content. Although the word is usually associated with pornography, it’s often used as a warning label for violent, foul, offensive, or even politically charged content.
Despite its literal meaning (not safe for work), the NSFW acronym is used to save you from any kind of public embarrassment (or, you know, from traumatizing your kids). You may see it in the title of a YouTube video, in the header of an email, or before an outgoing link on a website or news article.
In some cases, NSFW is used to indicate that a webpage may make you uncomfortable—that’s how broad of a word we’re dealing with. In these situations, NSFW is sometimes accompanied by a “trigger word” or “TW” label. A video that contains detailed images of war, for example, may be labeled “NSFW TW: War,” or something to that effect.
NSFW Etymology
Avoiding inappropriate content used to be a relatively easy task. Movies carried an R rating, dirty magazines were marked as such, and The Maury Show opened with a warning that you should kick any children out of the room ASAP.
But in the age of the internet, anyone can create content. And as you’d expect, people rarely feel the need to mark their photos, videos, and webpages as inappropriate. (To be fair, people usually post their “inappropriate” content in communities where said content is actually considered appropriate.)
From this angle, NSFW looks like a modern incarnation of “This show contains scenes that may offend some viewers.” And while that may be how it’s used now, the word actually came about as a response to a very specific problem.
As reported by VICE, the word NSFW extends from the culture of the Snopes.com’s forum. Back in 1998, a woman came on the forum to complain that users should label inappropriate posts as “NFBSK” — “not for British school kids.” Maybe she should’ve bought a copy of the Net Nanny software.
Anyway, this complaint turned into a Snopes in-joke, which was so gosh dang funny that Snopes decided to create a NFBSK forum. (Don’t bother looking for it; it’s basically a yearlong South Park episode.)
