Christopher,
software at Bookshare's servers sscans for keywords and phrases
typical in adult material. repeated use of these phrases or clusters
of them produce a high score for the automated software. Books above
a certain score get slapped with the adult label. the software has
some biases. it was found in random checks that books on female
sexuality were labeled adult but books on male sexuality that covered
the same topics were not. This included books specifically intended
for teenage girls produced by a conservative publisher. Iconic books
from the feminist movement were also labeled adult. this included the
book "Our bodies, Ourselves, whose authors believe appropriate for
sexually active adolescents.
we also should recognize what would be freely available in a public
library in a socially tolerant, liberal city such as San Fransisco,
Los Angeles, Chicago or New York may not be available to anyone or
highly restricted at a library in the Midwest or south outside of
population centers. What book would be freely available may depend on
where one lives. I do not envy Bookshare staff who try to balance
these regional views and differing political philosophies.
Kelly
On 7/23/15, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
As a matter of fact, one of my reviews took nine months to be approved.To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to
I mentioned something about that on the other Bookshare list and a
Bookshare staff member left a comment that it had to do with Carrie
quitting and their not quite getting straight which jobs were to be
taken over by whom. Even more disturbing was this. There is a book with
the title When Wizards Rule. When I downloaded it I was expecting just a
light fantasy to pass some time. Well, it was light alright. It was not
only one of those books containing explicit descriptions of sex, but the
explicit descriptions of sex was on every page and took up the most of
every page. If the sex was removed there was not really a plot left.
Now, even though I am all for letting people choose what to read for
themselves I have a problem understanding why anyone would want to
choose this kind of book if they knew what it consisted of. There are
only so many body parts to rub against so many body parts and there are
only so many ways to describe it. After you hear the same description
over and over it really gets boring. So I wrote a review for this book.
I started out saying pretty much what I just said here, but then went on
to discuss it and referred to some of those explicit descriptions. When
my review was approved I think about the first sentence or so was
posted. I think I was censored.
On 7/23/2015 7:22 PM, (Redacted sender ichigokaosu@xxxxxxx for DMARC)
wrote:
In our defense there might be a reason why most users don't use then
feature.
Like you, I wondered why it wasn't used so I tried leaving one myself. All
the reviews go through an approval process. By the time mine was approved,
it was weeks, maybe even months. Either way, by that point I had nearly
forgotten about it. Considering how otherwise fast the responses are for
book requests and quality reports and such, I assumed approving the
reviews wasn't looked at that much. Maybe it goes back to they're not
being many reviewss in the first place
I could be wrong though. Still may be somethin should be done to encourage
more reviews. g
On Jul 23, 2015, at 3:39 PM, Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender
"rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx" for DMARC) <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Let me add this. If you have a strong opinion about the content of a
book, its appropriateness, its appropriateness or inappropriateness for
certain groups of people or other opinions, remember that these opinions
are just that, opinions, and Bookshare provides a place for you to
express your opinions. On the metadata page for each and every book in
the collection near the bottom of the page is a link to click that takes
you to a page where you may write a review. For whatever reason it seems
that most users ignore this. But it is there. It is there and anyone who
looks at the metadata page can read the opinions expressed in the reviews
that are posted there. So post your reviews and express yourselves!
On 7/23/2015 2:36 PM, Madeleine Linares wrote:
Hi everyone,
Thank you all for your comments about adult content.
Here's how we handle it at Bookshare: if anyone can walk into their
local library and find the book on the shelves, don't mark it adult
content. DO make a note in the synopsis about the content! That's the
perfect place to inform the reader of what he or she can expect. If you
come across something that you think is adult content but aren't sure,
email me (volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)!
I know this won't please every single person but it's our current policy
and we request you to respect it. If you have any other questions,
comments, or concerns about adult content, please contact me off-list.
Thanks,
Madeleine Linares
Volunteer Coordinator
Bookshare, a Benetech Initiative
650-644-3459
volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran
Bailey
Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2015 11:27 AM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question about a book
Anne, I didn't say a thing about not having a warning label. As a matter
of fact, I said to put it in the synopsis. I certainly agree that the
more information one has to base one's decisions about reading choices
the better. I also have nothing against a book that was written for
adults with an adult audience in mind being labeled as adult. Bookshare
does not have an adult category, but if one is added then that would be
welcome. However, it effectively already exists in that there is a
children's category and that, not withstanding miscategorized books, it
can be assumed that if a book is not listed under the children's
category then it must be for adults. The problem is with the adult check
box that one finds when submitting a book. If it is checked then anyone
under the age of eighteen cannot download it and does not even see it on
the site if they are browsing or searching for something. That is flat
out censorship. As for some people under a certain age not understa
du
in
g certain subject matter, So what? What do you do when you find
yourself reading something that you do not understand? I suspect that
you quit reading it. That's what I do. There have been some exceptions
though.
When I was in college I found that I did not understand organic
chemistry. It would have been nice if I had been able to just skip the
classes in that subject and stop reading the material that was required
reading for those classes, but if I wanted to complete my degree in
biology I did not have the option of skipping it. Somehow I even managed
to pass my organic chemistry classes, but I still don't think I
understand the subject very well. Did it do me any harm to read organic
chemistry textbooks? Not a bit. At most it may have wasted some of my
time and caused me some frustration, but I still weathered it quite
well. Other than a scenario like that, though, when someone finds him or
herself reading material that he or she does not understand the usual
outcome is that he or she stops reading it and finds something else to
read that is understandable. So what's the problem? The big problem that
I see is that some people who have had their sexuality warped and have
grown
p
wTo unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to
ith unwarranted repressions try to dictatorially insist that everyone
else have their sexuality warped in the same way. They insist on it to
the degree of censorship and repression. I am all for anyone having
whatever sexual attitudes they might want or feel comfortable with, but
I sure do have a problem with them when they insist on imposing those
attitudes on others. If parents want to be involved in guiding their
children in reading choices then that is okay too, but guidance is one
thing and having other people impose a ban on certain reading material
unless the parent makes an active effort to counteract such a ban is
another thing.
On 7/23/2015 7:07 AM, Ann Parsons wrote:To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to
Hi all,
Now Roger, I agree that nothing should be censored but I think that
there is some material that needs to have a warning label on it. As
has been said before, if you can find it on a book shelf in an open
aisle in a store, it's probably not Adult Content. However, some books
which have explicit descriptions of aberrant sex, violence, and are
considered to be soft porn, should be labeled as Adult Content. Some
LGBT lit might be labeled Adult content, not because I have anything
against the LGBT community, but because kids under say sixteen,
depending on the kid, probably have no understanding of or interest in
such things. I do understand that the restriction can be lifted for a
given child if a teacher or parent agrees. this, I feel is a good
thing because it implies that the child will be reading the book under
supervision. This is necessary for some material, I think. I'm not
saying kids shouldn't read such stuff, but that they should do so with
the knowledge of an adult who can explain, discuss, and answer
questions about a given book.
I don't thing there are too many books in the Bookshare collection
which would be considered Adult Content. This is, of course a
subjective categorization. If 'twere me, I'd be very careful as to
what I labeled as Adult Content. If in doubt, check with us. Some of
us have been reading a good, long time, and are familiar with many
authors.
As Tom Lehr said, "To be smut it must be ut-terly without redeeming
social importance ..."
Ann P.
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