Wednesday, March 25, 2009

R Books, PG-13 Website Does Not Compute

I was reading my NYTimes Today's Headlines and this caught my eye:

YouTube Blocked in China

...and this brought to mind the many complaints I see on message boards and websites. "Why does the author write R-rated books but we (fans) cannot post using R-rated content?" "Why is the author censoring what we say?"

First, the site belongs to the author and he/she can set whatever rules he/she wants.

Second, the site is a marketing tool for the author. It's to promote his/her books.

I experience censorship everyday when I connect to the internet through my company's VPN (Virtual Private Network) or the client's network. Companies do not want their network used for non-work related sites. You are on company time and should be doing company work. Of course, that is not true. I'm glad my favorite authors' sites are not banned. I need an occasional break. For some fans, the work place may be the only connection they have to the author on the worldwide web.

Parents put software on computers to censor the internet sites that kids can accidentally or intentionally go to. Parents who like to read the authors book can feel safe that the site is kiddie safe.

Yes, there are countries that ban internet sites. Wikipedia has a pretty good article about it -- Internet Censorship.

In order to market themselves and make it accessible to the biggest audience, authors make their website PG-13 or even PG level.

And to tell the truth, I really don't want to read the @#!!&@ language some are using these days.

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