[bksvol-discuss] Comment from the staff about Adult Content Filtering
- From: "Claire O'Brien" <ClaireO@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 09:47:52 -0800
Hi everyone, I'm posting this for Lisa Friendly.
This summary was also written by Jake and reviewed by Claire and myself. I
think you will find it very helpful in light of recent questions on the list.
Lisa and the staff
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Reminder About Adult Content Filtering
There has been some recent discussion about Bookshare.org's adult content
filtering policies/procedures. This is a recap of the policy and the procedures
of marking books as containing adult content that will hopefully answer
outstanding questions.
Bookshare.org's adult content policy was created in hopes that young readers
would not stumble across content that a good deal of people would consider of
an adult nature. At the end of this message is the section from the Volunteer
Manual about Bookshare.org's policy for what qualifies as adult.
Submission/Validation/Administrative Review:
* At the time of submission, we ask the submitter of the book to indicate
if he or she believes the book to contain adult content. Submitters are free to
comment on their choice in the comments section. The submitter's comments are
made available to validators during validation and to an administrator during
book review/approval.
* At time of validation, the automated tools process the book looking at
a list of words that are commonly found in adult material. If a certain
percentage of the words are found in the book, the tools suggest the book
should be marked as adult. The validator is then asked to review the
information. If the validator disagrees with the tool, they may override the
tool's choice by checking the appropriate box and providing an explanation in
the comments section for the administrator to review.
* The administrator evaluates all pending titles marked Adult (or
comments in the event the Adult tool was overridden). A final decision will be
made by the administrator, consistent with Bookshare.org policy.
What It Means for a Book to be Marked Adult:
* The book will not be listed or searchable while not logged in.
* For members who are adults, there is an optional filter that can be
changed under the My Account section. If the adult content filter is enabled,
books marked as containing adult content will not be listed or searchable even
when logged in.
* For members who are not adults, under age 18, the adult content filter
is always enabled.
* A parent or guardian of a Bookshare.org member under the age of
18 can request that the member be given access to an adult content book in the
collection.
* If a parent or guardian wishes, they may also request that the
member under 18 be given access to all adult content books in the Bookshare.org
collection, in which case the Bookshare system will classify the member as an
adult.
From the Volunteer Manual:
3.4 Guidelines for Marking Books "Adult"
Please use your best judgment for determining adult content. While we
understand and respect that different people have different standards for what
is acceptable subject matter, a general guideline to consider is this: in a
large well-stocked bookstore, would somebody under the age of 18 be able to get
this book off the shelf, pay for it, and walk away. Books of an obvious
explicit sexual nature or that incite hate should be considered adult content.
If unsure, mark the book as Adult Content, and explain in one or two sentences
what about the content of the book warrants this selection in the comments
field.
Note that Bookshare reserves the right to make the final decision as to whether
or not a book is considered adult content.
Claire O'Brien
Collection Development Manager, Bookshare
Benetech
480 S. California Ave., Suite 201
Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609 USA
claireo@xxxxxxxxxxxx
www.bookshare.org
The Benetech Initiative - Technology Serving Humanity
A Nonprofit Organization
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