Policy regarding reading and people under the age of 18

[brainofck]

I am trying not to be too angry about this new adult content flagging feature.

I checked out sexually explicit material from my local library in BFE North Carolina when I was 11. I didn't like it that much and I didn't read it.

When I was 12, my father handed me a book with a lurid, Conan type cover and a porny blurb on the back and said, "This looks interesting." I read it because he suggested it. I was mortified.

But my point is, libraries in my experience let people read what they want. They let parents guide their own children.

And to the extent that the interent is a library - as in, when people are reading words on the screen - I think we should let people read what they want to read. Even 10, 11, 12 year olds. Who, by the way, should not be surfing the net without parental supervision. I have a 9 year old. He doesn't know the password to our computer, and he doesn't do ANYTHING on it without me at his elbow. So I know it can be done and it's a lot easier to control the content a kid sees on a computer than it is to control the content he sees while watching the freakin' football game, with the Cialis ads and the disgusting beer commercials.

My policy regarding readers and explict content is posted on my profile page and index page. It is as follows:

Content Warnings and Age Restrictions
Regarding the explicit sexual content of many of these stories, personally, I don't believe in censoring the written word. If you can read and understand and be interested, then I don't mind if you read here.

However, I am also a parent. I know how parents are. If you think your parents would tell you not to read this material, please respect your parents' rules and wishes. There's nothing in this journal good enough to make your parents mad about. Hopefully it'll all still be here when you turn eighteen when your parents stop paying your bills. :p



So. Now, with the flagging feature, apparently I can no longer have this policy. Because anybody who doesn't share my view can tattle on me to the abuse team, who will then make their own decision about how I should post my content.

Here's the deal. I think if I get one single post restricted based on abuse team review, I'm leaving. I'll post a forwarding address.

Comments

[ms-3m.livejournal.com]

: (

Arghhhhh. I just finally got around to friending you. Would you consider going f-locked first...give it a try, before you totally leave the building?

[brainofck.livejournal.com]

The whole point of starting this journal was to avoid being friends locked. I started posting when I had only my RL journal, where I preferred not to post things that might be objectionable to my mother or young children. But what's the fun of having the fiction behind a screen where people can't see it.

If I go over to another journal system, I'll put links in Brain. How about that? All my LJ posts can be links to GreatestJournal or InsaneJournal? :D

Of course, the liklihood that anybody would bother to flag this journal seems small. All the people who come over here do so with purpose. I have deliberately given this journal no interests, so it isn't easily searchable.

Linking to and fro

[ms-3m.livejournal.com]

I can live and work with that.

:D

[lt-kitty.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, SA may have seen this flagging thing as the only way to let users keep posting "adult content," yet keep membership open to those under 18. It sucks and its wrong, but we live in a legal climate in which SA can be, and has been, subject to harassment and threat of lawsuit for content that can be found in any decent public library.

*sighs*

On another note, I have a lot of respect for you as a parent, that you monitor your kids' activities instead of trying to dictate other adults (or what other parents may or may not let their kids see) If more parents of young kids were like you, this kind of shit wouldn't seem to be a smart business decision.

[brainofck.livejournal.com]

The whole thing is stupid because any kid who wants to see the content can just log out. So. Give the advertisers some conscience salve of intermediate warning screens for logged out users, but don't actually protect minors. Our should I say "protect." Since I don't think it's any kind of protection to stop an inquisitive mind.

I actually find it a little insulting as a parent, too. That *I* can't suggest to my, oh, 15-year-old a really great story, and then just have my 15-year-old read in peace. Sure, I could let my minor child go in impersonating me, showing that I approved the child's activities. But why not just BUTT THE HELL OUT of my child rearing process.

Sorry.

[lady-adrian.livejournal.com]

I agree with you. I personally like the idea of being able to keep people out on some things, but the majority of my friends are all older than me anyway.

Hell, I've been writing in the LOTR fandom since I was 14 (SG-1 since I was 17). My mother started a roleplay here on LJ, and I was one of the characters. While she wouldn't read my things, nor I hers, it's been perfectly acceptable in my family, so I agree with you totally on the parents should police their own children. *shrug*

[brainofck.livejournal.com]

Ah. But you can't actually keep them out. Becuase all they have to do is log out, and then they will just see a warning screen.

Not that I'm advocating that they make my journal inaccessible to outside viewers. They probably knew they couldn't get something that stupid past the paying members.

[lady-adrian.livejournal.com]

The warning screen won't deter many people, though. I suppose it'd serve some purpose. What though, I'm not sure.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if they thought they COULD get it past us.