[bksvol-discuss] Re: adult ratings Re: Re: Uh oh -- re weird, Adult rating

  • From: "Lisa Leonardi" <lml5280@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 15:35:36 -0600

Yes, what we were saying is that if there was no adult rating, kids would
then be able to access these books and that could be a problem for a lot of
parents.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brian Miller" <brian-r-miller@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, January 17, 2005 1:49 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: adult ratings Re: Re: Uh oh -- re weird, Adult
rating


> Doesn't the Bookshare site block the downloading of "adult content" books
by
> those under 18 years of age?
> If so, this gives no choice to parents, for unless they are members as
well,
> these books can't be downloaded.
> Brian Miller
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Cindy" <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, January 17, 2005 10:02 AM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: adult ratings Re: Re: Uh oh -- re weird,
Adult
> rating
>
>
> > While I'm up for reading anything -- well, almost
> > anything -- I know there are people on this list who
> > do not like to read books that include profanity or
> > that have explicit sex scenes. Plus there are parents
> > who prefer to choose the kinds of books their children
> > read   and, depending on the kids' ages, don't want
> > them to read books with explicitly described sex or
> > graphically described violence. For that reason I
> > think the Adult rating is valuable. People who want to
> > be able to read everything, and those who feel that
> > there children are mature enough to read anything they
> > want, don't have to sign up in such a way that they
> > don't see the Adult-rated books.
> >
> > One alternative, of course, is to have what the book
> > contains in the long synopsis, so people can make a
> > decision whether or not they want to download a
> > particular book. However, this doesn't solve the
> > problem of children downloadin a book their parents
> > might not want them to read. With a real book, unless
> > a child is clever at hiding it, parents can look
> > through it and if they don't want their children
> > reading it they can confiscate it, but can that happen
> > with downloaded files, or do they remain on a
> > computer, perhaps in an innocent-sounding folder that
> > parents wouldn't think of looking at? Raising children
> > is hard enough as it is, and if parents want the added
> > measure of control that not being able to download an
> > Adult-rated book gives, then I think they should be
> > able to have it.
> >
> > And adults who won't want to read sucb books should be
> > able to choose books they want to read without have to
> > click on a title first, start to download and then
> > find out that they can't.
> >
> > Cindy
> > --- 
> >
> > Pratik Patel <pratikp1@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > > Shayla,
> > >
> > > I agree.  That is the reason why I would rather not
> > > choose adult/non adult
> > > rating on a book.  I leave the check box unchecked
> > > and let someone else
> > > decide, though, as you correctly sa, this concept of
> > > adult rating is
> > > somewhat of an arbitrary and a subjective process.
> > > I believe bookshare
> > > follows the system for marketting reasons more than
> > > anything else.  If
> > > parents are so much concerned to subject
> > > teenagers/others to restrictions,
> > > they should read and examine material prior to
> > > letting them read it.  But,
> > > I'm sure there others on this list who find the
> > > ratings helpful and find it
> > > necessary.  In my opinion, no library should be in
> > > the business of telling
> > > people what they should read or what they should
> > > not.  And, while Bookshare
> > > may not have started that way or the organization
> > > itself not see itself as
> > > such, I perceive it to be a library.  Its main
> > > function should be to
> > > disseminate knowledge, no matter in what form it
> > > comes, regardless of
> > > marketting reasons.  People/clients will come to
> > > find a good product and
> > > good quality.  As Jim pointed out in his e-mail
> > > about  Text Page Breaks,
> > > users consistently reported that quality was
> > > significant.  Once Bookshare
> > > assures that it is absolutely devoted to quality and
> > > consistency, it will
> > > find itself swarming with users.
> > >
> > > Sorry bout the rant, folks.  I feel particularly
> > > philosophical this morning
> > > because we are plagued with several inches of snow.
> > >
> > > Prat
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Pratik Patel
> > > Interim Director
> > > Office of Special Services
> > > Queens College
> > > Director
> > > CUNY Assistive Technology Services
> > > The City University of New York
> > >      ppatel@xxxxxx
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> > > Behalf Of Shayla Parker
> > > Sent: Monday, January 17, 2005 3:14 AM
> > > To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > Subject: [bksvol-discuss] adult ratings Re: Re: Uh
> > > oh -- re weird, Adult
> > > rating
> > >
> > > This is neither here nor there, but I've always been
> > > more than a little
> > > amused by the Bookshare adult rating system.
> > > Automated checker or not, it's
> > > always seemed quite arbitrary to me, particularly as
> > > it more often than not
> > > depends on the discression of an individual
> > > validator. I highly suspect
> > > that what I consider to be adult content and what
> > > some other validators
> > > think is adult content are very different things.
> > >
> > > Though, personally, I find the entire concept to be
> > > vaguely pointless.
> > > There's an underlying assumption in this sort of
> > > system about people's
> > > inability to deal with complex topics that is in the
> > > end more than a little
> > > paternalistic. If people don't want to read a
> > > particular sort of book
> > > that's one thing, and for that I suppose the system
> > > is useful. But telling
> > > young people what they should and shouldn't read is
> > > an inherently flawed
> > > idea, as is the whole concept of 'look away! look
> > > away! bad things in the
> > > book will leap off the page and infect you!'
> > >
> > > I imagine it's partly a legal issue for Bookshare,
> > > though, which is a shame
> > > really because more than one excellent book I
> > > remember fondly from my
> > > teenage years is out of reach of Bookshare's younger
> > > members. I have no
> > > suggestions on how to make the rating process more
> > > intuitive, or even more
> > > uniform as it clearly is not now. So in the end I am
> > > entirely unhelpful
> > > except to muddy the waters a little bit.
> > > skp
> > >
> > > At 10:05 PM 1/16/2005, you wrote:
> > > >Sue,
> > > >
> > > >Yes, but the way the bookshare site works is that
> > > adult rated books should
> > > >not show up without logging in.  Not only can I see
> > > them when I'm not
> > > logged
> > > >in, but the adult rating is totally missing.
> > > >----- Original Message -----
> > > >From: "siss52" <siss52@xxxxxxx>
> > > >To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > >Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 10:49 PM
> > > >Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Uh oh -- re weird,
> > > Adult rating
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > HHi Cindy,
> > > > >
> > > > > Even if folks can see the titles and authors
> > > without logging in, they
> > > >can't
> > > > > download them if they are copyrighted..  So I
> > > don't see any big deal.
> > > > > <<lol>
> > > > >
> > > > > Sue S.
> > > > >
> > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > From: "Cindy" <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
> > > > > To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > > > Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 10:28 PM
> > > > > Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Uh oh -- re weird,
> > > Adult rating
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > -But I did at least on Love Slave, which was rhe
> > > first
> > > > > I did. I don't think Rosamund needed it. I can'
> > > t
> > > > > remember if I did on Until You, but that
> > > probably
> > > > > didn't need it either. After that I stopped
> > > scanning.
> > > > > Unless it's no longer necessary to log in to see
> > > Adult
> > > > > rated books, that is no longer marked Adult.
> > > > >
> > > > > Cindy
> > > > >
> > > > > > You know, I never marked Adult on the bErtrice
> > > Small
> > > > > > books.
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > __________________________________
> > > > > Do you Yahoo!?
> > > > > The all-new My Yahoo! - Get yours free!
> > > > > http://my.yahoo.com
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > > Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
> > > Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the
> > > brave.
> > > I know. But I do not approve.
> > > And I am not resigned.
> > >
> > > -- 'Dirge Without Music', Edna St. Vincent Millay
> > >
> > > Ring the bells that still can ring,
> > > forget your perfect offering,
> > > there is a crack in everything,
> > > that's how the light gets in.
> > > --Leonard Cohen
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > __________________________________
> > Do you Yahoo!?
> > Meet the all-new My Yahoo! - Try it today!
> > http://my.yahoo.com
> >
> >
>
>
>

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