Posted:
I think it is less a question about what writers can write i.e. freedom of speech. You can have and exercise freedom of speech in say, your novel, your personal blog. But say if you have a FB or Twitter account as I do, you can't write what you want there if it is deemed offensive or explicit in anyway by the Moderators or the webmaster of the site in question.
For example any mention of comparing President Obama to Hitler is banned and rightly so. And FB and Twitter and such social networking sites will remove such writing. The reason they do this is that, they as information sharing sites have rules and regulations that must be followed. If anyone doesn't follow those rules, their account with these social networking sites is just deleted. And they are blacklisted from rejoining these sites.
I think if it is a public information site or a forum like this one i.e. IF, then there are rules. It really doesn't matter what the rules are, they have to be followed and must be enforced. I write on this forum but I follow the rules. If I want to write explicit material, it would never be on a forum where the material can be accessed by a child or a preteen or even a teenager. It is not enough to simply say that your writing is 18+. That only induces kids to read it. That's like a big banner that says "Read me!"
Writers who believe that parents need to control what their kids see on a forum, should know that parents would not expect their kids to be going to a public forum where they will be exposed to graphic material which is harmful to a young mind, which may be eager to read this stuff. Kids will happily read explicit material, but may not realize how to evaluate what they are reading both emotionally and psychologically. With the power of writing comes responsibility.
As a writer on this forum, I make sure my writing is free of this explicit material. Fact is, if you are on a public forum and you have an online ID and password then there are rules that must be adhered to. One cannot possibly expect to write material that is not welcome or acceptable by the Moderators. Simply adding a disclaimer of 18+ is not enough, when the rules clearly state that explicit material is not accepted by the Moderators and simply has no place in IF, which is open to all to read. Rules, even if you don't like the rules will end up protecting someone somewhere and that individual might be your younger sister, brother or child.
Would you have your child read your explicit material?
Also I might add, and I can't emphasize this enough that as a writer it is your responsibility to follow the rules even if you disagree with them. If you don't like the rules, don't violate them. Remember you get to write here for free. Get a personal blog or go to a website where posting this explicit material will not break the rules.
I do wish to strongly applaud the Moderators on the Fan Fiction side of the forum. They are doing something that is deemed unpopular and sometimes in life you have do the right thing, even if the majority disagrees with it. As a writer on this forum, I consider it my privilege to be permitted to write on IF. And I want to publicly thank them for their vision, courage and integrity in enforcing the rules and regulations that have been set up to protect the younger minds who wish to read creative stories without laying their eyes on material that has no place on IF.
Every site has rules against profanity and explicit material, and it should surprise no one that this forum has such rules as well. In the end it is less about your creativity and more about principles that have been regularly explained by the Moderators. This issue is not new and should not be greeted with surprise or any kind of objection, simply because of the frequency of how many times it has been stressed that explicit material is disallowed by the Moderators who are only doing their jobs of protecting younger viewers.
This a forum, if authors wish to still write their stories, that in all honesty really don't belong on IF they should exercise their freedom of speech elsewhere where no children will be harmed and they will have full freedom to write whatever they want or consider to be creative writing. A personal blog is one such place. But a public forum like IF is not.
The safety of children comes first. Do you have a young one in your family? Wouldn't you protect them? Every freedom and right comes with a responsibility and it is incumbent upon you as to how you use that right or freedom. In the end you must ask yourself are you responsible in your writing when it come to following rules that are meant to protect children?
KF
For example any mention of comparing President Obama to Hitler is banned and rightly so. And FB and Twitter and such social networking sites will remove such writing. The reason they do this is that, they as information sharing sites have rules and regulations that must be followed. If anyone doesn't follow those rules, their account with these social networking sites is just deleted. And they are blacklisted from rejoining these sites.
I think if it is a public information site or a forum like this one i.e. IF, then there are rules. It really doesn't matter what the rules are, they have to be followed and must be enforced. I write on this forum but I follow the rules. If I want to write explicit material, it would never be on a forum where the material can be accessed by a child or a preteen or even a teenager. It is not enough to simply say that your writing is 18+. That only induces kids to read it. That's like a big banner that says "Read me!"
Writers who believe that parents need to control what their kids see on a forum, should know that parents would not expect their kids to be going to a public forum where they will be exposed to graphic material which is harmful to a young mind, which may be eager to read this stuff. Kids will happily read explicit material, but may not realize how to evaluate what they are reading both emotionally and psychologically. With the power of writing comes responsibility.
As a writer on this forum, I make sure my writing is free of this explicit material. Fact is, if you are on a public forum and you have an online ID and password then there are rules that must be adhered to. One cannot possibly expect to write material that is not welcome or acceptable by the Moderators. Simply adding a disclaimer of 18+ is not enough, when the rules clearly state that explicit material is not accepted by the Moderators and simply has no place in IF, which is open to all to read. Rules, even if you don't like the rules will end up protecting someone somewhere and that individual might be your younger sister, brother or child.
Would you have your child read your explicit material?
Also I might add, and I can't emphasize this enough that as a writer it is your responsibility to follow the rules even if you disagree with them. If you don't like the rules, don't violate them. Remember you get to write here for free. Get a personal blog or go to a website where posting this explicit material will not break the rules.
I do wish to strongly applaud the Moderators on the Fan Fiction side of the forum. They are doing something that is deemed unpopular and sometimes in life you have do the right thing, even if the majority disagrees with it. As a writer on this forum, I consider it my privilege to be permitted to write on IF. And I want to publicly thank them for their vision, courage and integrity in enforcing the rules and regulations that have been set up to protect the younger minds who wish to read creative stories without laying their eyes on material that has no place on IF.
Every site has rules against profanity and explicit material, and it should surprise no one that this forum has such rules as well. In the end it is less about your creativity and more about principles that have been regularly explained by the Moderators. This issue is not new and should not be greeted with surprise or any kind of objection, simply because of the frequency of how many times it has been stressed that explicit material is disallowed by the Moderators who are only doing their jobs of protecting younger viewers.
This a forum, if authors wish to still write their stories, that in all honesty really don't belong on IF they should exercise their freedom of speech elsewhere where no children will be harmed and they will have full freedom to write whatever they want or consider to be creative writing. A personal blog is one such place. But a public forum like IF is not.
The safety of children comes first. Do you have a young one in your family? Wouldn't you protect them? Every freedom and right comes with a responsibility and it is incumbent upon you as to how you use that right or freedom. In the end you must ask yourself are you responsible in your writing when it come to following rules that are meant to protect children?
KF
