tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post8875651144200628745..comments2024-02-22T07:47:22.661-05:00Comments on The Bathroom Monologues: Moralists For Erotica; PayPal Vs. SmashwordsJohn Wiswellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-69027545451055995702012-03-04T17:11:04.759-05:002012-03-04T17:11:04.759-05:00PayPal has put themselves in a very awkward (and p...PayPal has put themselves in a very awkward (and powerful) position because they're a virtual monopoly. There are only a few competitors offering exactly what they do, and none of them are very widely adopted.<br /><br />This isn't the same as a bookseller refusing to sell your book because it doesn't fit in the range of what they sell, or a publisher refusing you because you wrote a horror novel and they sell romances. This is more like your bank saying they won't honour any cheques you write out to your landlady, because she's an ex-customer of theirs and they don't like her. To the best of my knowledge, banks aren't allowed to ban or interfere with financial transactions unless they're either a) illegal or b) the funds are insufficient to complete them.<br /><br />And maybe that's the problem. PayPal acts in the place of a bank much of the time -- they're an added layer between on-line merchants and our bank accounts. But because they're not *actually* a bank, they don't have the same regulations that banks do.<br /><br />To me, that's the (even) bigger issue.Katherine Hajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08270232675026751342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-68255846122853301282012-03-04T14:21:44.246-05:002012-03-04T14:21:44.246-05:001984, here we come...1984, here we come...Peter Newmanhttp://www.runpetewrite.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-38810763961642028102012-03-04T05:33:31.796-05:002012-03-04T05:33:31.796-05:00The problem is that you're right, PayPal has t...The problem is that you're right, PayPal has the right to do this if they choose. It doesn't make it right or fair, and that to me constitutes corporate bullying in much the same way certain corporations back bigoted ideas or politicians. Erotica is a large umbrella under which SO many writers stand under, some more than others. And the problem here is that while bestiality and incest and rape are terms that conjure up suffering or perverse actions in the most extreme cases, fiction's motives are not always so clear cut or easy to determine and define. Not to mention, this basically means that anyone who has a title with this content is affected. The erotica writers are targeted, but what about those in a gray area? I disagree with Paypal vehemently, but I understand if they feel that their morals or beliefs need to dictate they proceed this way against erotica that is obvious in its content and intention, but everything I have read about these negotiations between Smashwords and Paypal leaves a lot undefined. The sites affected all say something similar. <br /><br />Bookstrand.com said this: "We were informed by PayPal, without notice, and by our credit card processing company, that we are required to remove all titles at BookStrand.com with content containing incest, pseudo incest, rape, and bestiality, effective immediately."<br /><br />It's equivocal in its intention. Smashwords had something similar to say. There is no mention that it is only erotica on the line (I sincerely hope I've missed some notification or press release somewhere, though). It says only that these sites are required to remove titles with content containing...etc. So does that mean that memoirs that deal with rape might also be targeted under this gray area? What about paranormal authors with books where werewolves and other creatures have sex with human characters? These are the things that worry me. <br /><br />And what's even more upsetting is the thought that it's not even PayPal that is behind this. That it is the credit card companies. If we have to fight our way through financial institutions and banks for our freedoms, well, we've seen the kind of treatment they get in politics. It's damn scary to watch our rights and freedoms being sliced off, sliver by sliver.Kemari Howellhttp://easilymused.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-54381326572411880932012-03-04T02:26:07.248-05:002012-03-04T02:26:07.248-05:00I have no desire to read such books, that is my ch...I have no desire to read such books, that is my choice, and that's the whole point isn't it, freedom of choice. Once someone starts telling you what you should read, soon they will be telling you what you can say, what religion you should believe in maybe even what food you should eat, where do they draw the line eh.Helen A. Howellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12748128819820230841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-50026226371804146022012-03-04T00:28:23.591-05:002012-03-04T00:28:23.591-05:00I believe the fear is that next lies the expansion...I believe the fear is that next lies the expansion of such censorship. God willing, what's next is actually clearing up those books wrongly censored, or softening the policy in general. There are rumblings that Smashwords is pushing back and PayPal may lighten up a little.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-4510926083125939802012-03-03T23:40:03.233-05:002012-03-03T23:40:03.233-05:00An another person in agreement here. I don't ...An another person in agreement here. I don't read it, but that is my choice not one foisted upon me.Elephant's Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06650565833097914052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-61519375410943279982012-03-03T18:28:28.490-05:002012-03-03T18:28:28.490-05:00Amazon had issues with this a while back too, when...Amazon had issues with this a while back too, when people who write incest fantasies found their books being removed (I have to wonder what they did with books about Oedipus). Personally I can't understand the desire to write such stuff but the fact remains that it should be up to the reader what they do or don't read, and if they don't want to read such material then they should simply choose not to. I mean, I can't stand Glee but I don't demand that it be banned to stop me from having to watch it - I just don't switch it on. The same applies to books. We can't have a culture predicated on freedom of speech, but then decide to censor what people can say. I don't agree with these topics but if they're banned from sale...what's next?Icy Sedgwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11501193571425442406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-12452763086945988192012-03-03T18:19:05.112-05:002012-03-03T18:19:05.112-05:00If you check the first link, Coker lays out a lot ...If you check the first link, Coker lays out a lot of their plans. They claim they have employees actually reading all of the Smashwords submissions and, theoretically, that's where content ratings come from. It seems unfathomable, but I've never actually read a piece that rigorously went through Smashwords's inner workings.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337042377966398742.post-15176737732406528042012-03-03T16:35:08.849-05:002012-03-03T16:35:08.849-05:00I'd like to know what precise method is to be ...I'd like to know what precise method is to be used to find the 'banned' books. Surely individuals aren't actually reading the books? If some computer program is searching for key words and phrases, that sounds like a procedure with a lot of room for error - serious works of literature being rejected because of an important sex scene. And I'm really surprised that rape is one of the banned themes. I don't like this at all. I wonder what we can do about it?Mark Kerstetterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13307987573435067415noreply@blogger.com