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View Poll Results: Should e-book content be rated like movies? | |||
No - It's too close to censorship | 44 | 26.99% | |
No - I don't like the idea at all | 44 | 26.99% | |
No - I don't think it is practical, or it would be biased | 53 | 32.52% | |
Yes - I personally like the idea | 16 | 9.82% | |
Other - explain in the thread comments | 6 | 3.68% | |
Voters: 163. You may not vote on this poll |
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12-28-2008, 06:17 PM | #46 |
Gadget Slave
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I voted "Other" because I don't really care if ebooks are rated. I don't think it is akin to censorship because a rating is just meant to give a consumer a clue about the nature of the content. Is is squeaky clean? Is it violent? Is it sexy? Sometimes these things are nice to know.
If ratings were required (by who I don't know) then they would have to self labelled by the publisher or author. Who could possibly read everything and give it a rating? I don't think there's much to worry about here. Not going to happen. |
12-28-2008, 06:24 PM | #47 | |
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If you are not rated, you cannot be shown in major movie houses in the US. Likewise, in many stores, if your studio has a history of not marking the albums with content notices, stores will not sell your work. To bring it fully, the answer is simple. If you're required to be rated to be in major book stores, and you are not rated, your work simply won't appear in major book stores. Like Walmart and what not, if your rating is too high, you might also not appear in book stores. Every year, there are millions of movies made. Only a select few get put into the distribution process. There's an entire indie circuit that will never ever be shown in your standard theatre because of the proclivities of the MPRA. Likewise, that is what could happen with books without too much work, and that is what concerns me. |
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12-28-2008, 06:25 PM | #48 | |
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12-28-2008, 06:28 PM | #49 |
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I believe neither books nor movies or music should be rated - if it's to be a one-letter rating.
Nearly all of the books, games and movies I've seen have a short review printed on the back of the box, or if you buy on a webpage, on the page. This review should explain what is contained in the movie, so that the buyer could make an informed decision if it would offend him/her or not. Ratings like "mature" are thinking for the buyer, assumming we all have the same standards and opinions, and if I could, I'd prohibit such ratings. |
12-28-2008, 06:47 PM | #50 |
scribbler
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I'd love to see a more individualistic e-reader, who doesn't care for ratings, reads indie authors, makes their own one-of-a-kind cover for their reader (http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/1177AD.html), and wants more controls on DRM than some arbitrary rating system.
Libby Cone Author, War on the Margins: A Novel http://tinyurl.com/5bcta4 http://tinyurl.com/6y973d |
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12-28-2008, 09:35 PM | #51 |
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I don't view a rating system as censorship, but I don't really see the need for them. And what criteria would be used anyway?
When I was a teenager, my parents read a book that they thought was really risque (I think the title was "Summer of 42"). They hid the book and acted peculiar whenever we entered the room while they were reading it. Their behavior piqued my curiosity and so I hunted for the book, found it and read it on the sly. I was disappointed when i got to the one or two steamy scenes that i figured my parents were so worked up over. I guess it all boils down to how one perceives the written word. If my parents had not been so silly about the book, I probably would not have been so interested in reading it. Adding rating systems to books, movies, games, seems to only provoke more interest in "mature audience" rated items. Why let some impersonal agency attempt to regulate such things?....Let the parents figure out and regulate what they deem appropriate or inappropriate for their own children. |
12-28-2008, 09:51 PM | #52 | |
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12-28-2008, 11:17 PM | #53 | |
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All that said... not all parents are equal, either... nor are their surroundings, educational institutions, etc. So no one curriculum is going to work for everyone. I believe in the theory of guided upbringing, but in practice, every child and every situation will vary, and there should be enough leeway in the system to accommodate this. In reality, there's rarely that much leeway, so you get mass solutions that don't fit every child. That doesn't mean all guidance should be thrown out... just that more effort should be taken to make up for the areas in which mass education doesn't fit an individual. How much should the state control that guidance? As much as it needs to, to maintain and support the society... that's the realistic answer, though it's obviously not always the popular answer. |
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12-28-2008, 11:27 PM | #54 | |
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Descriptors transcend ratings by removing the barrier at the sellers' end, and placing the barrier at your end. |
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12-29-2008, 03:46 AM | #55 | |
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That gives the freedom of choice - and that is one part of what freedom is about. |
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12-29-2008, 10:21 AM | #56 |
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All ratings systems are censorship. If you don't like what your kid is watching, you have two options: Censor it yourself or talk to them about what they are watching/reading/listening to. Definitely don't expect anyone else to do the job for you!
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12-29-2008, 12:15 PM | #57 |
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Ratings systems are NOT censorship. Forcing creators to remove parts of their creation IS censorship. Not allowing people to see material because of a rating IS censorship. Let's not condemn a book because it has the potential to be thrown at someone's head.
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12-29-2008, 12:30 PM | #58 |
frumious Bandersnatch
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There can be a certain amount of self-censorship if authors try to shape their creations not to please themselves or the readers, but to get a certain rating or label. It's like students not studying to gain knowledge and understand a subject, but to pass the exams.
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12-29-2008, 12:42 PM | #59 | |
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It's when that decision is forced upon you/taken away from you that it is objectionable. |
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12-29-2008, 01:43 PM | #60 |
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I agree with this completely. I may not want to read certain about subject matter or books with blue language, but I want the choice to pick up that book or not. If a rating system could possibly be used to limit the choices I have or my child will have as he gets older than I want nothing to do with it.
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