[bksvol-discuss] Re: Adult Content
- From: "Ixchel, Jackie" <starsandhearts2@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:32:08 -0500
Hi Sandy,
I agree with what you said. If a parent wants to control what their
kid reads they should get the book for them. Also, there are some
books labeled "explicit" or "violent" but they're about the real life
and you'd miss a great deal of things that go on if you just read the
unmarked books.
Jackie
On 11/10/12, Sandi Ryan <sjryan2@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I have read BARD books since I was ten, and have never once picked a book
> simply because it did or did not have the symbols indicating "Explicit
> descriptions of sex, strong language, or violence." I suspect some people
> use those designations as a positive reason for choosing certain books, but
> I have always believed that if I chose only those books without such
> designations, I'd miss out on an awful lot of real life.
>
> Your choice is your own, but I see no reason for Bookshare (or the BARD, for
> that matter) to judge the contents of books. It might be helpful for kids
> and teens, but in those cases, if the parents are concerned, they should
> pick what books their kids can read.
>
> Sandi
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ali Al-hajamy
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2012 12:02 PM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Adult Content
>
>
> In addition, there is no way that we can relabel all 170000 books
> currently in the collection to reflect what kind of language they contain or
> if there is violence and sex. I suppose, if you really, really cared, you
> could create a program that counts every instance of swear words, and would
> insert some kind of label such as "strong language" into the book's
> metadata, say the short or long description, based on the number of times it
> found "obscene" words in the text, but why do that? If our experience is to
> mirror that of the able-eyed user at a bookstore or library, adding such
> labels would be counterproductive to that goal, since the sighted don't have
> giant stickers on their books that say that a book has swearing and sex. And
> such a program would only work for strong language, since different writers
> use different words to describe violent and sexual situations. Your best bet
> if you're sensative and want your books to be free of that kind of thing is
> to read reviews and excerpts rather than make everyone else do the work for
> you.
>
> On 10-Nov-12 12:51, Roger Loran Bailey wrote:
> I will say this again. There is no way possible to know that you will
> not like a book until you read it. You might get an idea by reading reviews
> and listening to people discuss books, but you will not actually know until
> you try it. You should also not expect other people to filter your books for
> you. Their opinions of what you will or will not like may not be the same as
> your own opinions. For that reason I would suggest that books just be
> submitted in the same manner as any other book no matter what kind of
> language they might contain. If a proofreader turns out to not like it then
> that proofreader can just release it.
>
> On 11/9/2012 8:03 PM, Cindy Rosenthal wrote:
>
> Hmmm. But what about our sensitive members who don't like to read
> books with profanity or explicit sex; should we, raher than label them AC,
> put some kind of warning somewhere? Does what we put in the Comments
> section get attached to the book fle? I'munder the impression that those
> comments are only for the book share administrators, e.g. like errors in
> punctuation and spelling are as they are in the print book.
>
> I think I have in the past put such "warnings" in the synopsis or
> somewhere but told it didn't belong there.
> Cindy
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 9, 2012 at 2:53 PM, Madeleine Linares
> <Madeleinel@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
>
>
> I thought it was about time for a refresher course in what we mean
> by Adult Content (also known as “AC”). There has been some confusion
> (off-list) and I’ve noticed it incorrectly marked in the Approval Queue.
>
>
>
> Here is a note from our Collection Development Manager on our
> definition:
>
>
>
> “Our policy, developed in conjunction with our OSEP funders, is that
> there are certain kinds of content -- explicit depictions of sexual acts
> with no redeeming social value, as well as extreme and gratuitous violence
> -- will require a minor to get an adult guardian's permission to access. As
> a "content-neutral" collection, we will never exclude a title for any
> potentially controversial or distasteful content, but we will tag some
> content for adult (or minors with a guardian's permission) use only. The
> idea is that parents can control the access their kids have to content
> deemed potentially inappropriate -- but they don't have the right to control
> or limit access to anybody else's kids.
>
>
>
> The "walking into a bookstore or library" test continues to be a
> good one. Could a non-print-disabled kid walk into a good bookstore or
> public library and get a copy of this book without an adult being involved?
> If the answer is yes, a print-disabled kid should be able to do the same on
> Bookshare. We are not interested in placing additional barriers to access
> for our members that their peers do not experience. This means we do have
> stuff available to members under 18 that has sex, and swearing, and
> violence, and substance abuse in it, and that is okay and in keeping with
> the generally recognized standards of "freedom to read" policy in this
> country.
>
>
>
> We don't have a perfect implementation of this policy yet -- I see
> evidence that we were a little more strait-laced in the early days (and fix
> it when I come across it), and our automated filtering from publisher feeds
> still needs some fine-tuning. When I'm trying to navigate something
> particular "gray area-y" like the steamier of the romances coming in, I ask
> myself about the intent -- is the action (even if hot and heavy) designed to
> move the characters towards relationship, or is the plot driven only by the
> need to get body parts intermingling again? It's the latter that's clearly
> AC, while the former continues to be ambiguous. Author intent is, alas,
> pretty gray-area-y and subjective itself, but I think it can help separate
> the sheep from the goats.”
>
>
>
> Adult content is confusing and clearly not black and white. Many
> romances (such as a lot of the Harlequin ones), though certainly racy,
> should not be labeled as AC. A 16-year-old could walk into a book store and
> buy ones of those books just as easily as a 38-year old, although his or her
> parents might not approve and might consider the content inappropriate.
> Anyway, just thought it couldn’t hurt to remind everyone!
>
>
>
> Feel free to contact me with questions, as always.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
>
>
> Madeleine Linares
>
> Volunteer Coordinator
>
> Bookshare, a Benetech Initiative
>
> 650-644-3459
>
> madeleinel@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
> Join us in celebrating our 10th Anniversary!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
--
Currently Reading: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan and Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
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