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Artistic freedom is good!
Jan. 16th, 2010 01:31 pm I had recently created an elfwood account, figuring, 'hey, this is a fantasy website, I can post my stories here!'. Then I was told about dreamwidth and I immediately opened an account here too. I figured I might as well cross-post my stuff to get more exposure, but I just deleted my elfwood account after reading their "forbidden content" rules. Basically, it said that the site must maintain a PG-13 rating, so no swearing, no sexual content that might make people squik, extreme violence, etc., they won't even allowed these things in CENSORED FORM if the thing being censored is obvious!! Looking at my own stories - most of which will be rated R or NC-17 - this is a HUGE problem. My main character is an assassin and former mercenary, so lots of violent murder happens, there are several sexual scenes - both rape and consensual - within not only this but other stories bouncing around my head.
Let's be honest here, kids see this stuff on T.V. all the time, it doesn't freak them out. And most teenagers in the U.S. end up having sex before 16 years old these days... I'm not advocating for these things in any way, shape, or form, but they are facts of our modern world. One of the things I have always found wonderful about SciFi/Fantasy fiction is that it makes people think about things; it gives the author an outlet to explore otherwise "forbidden" subjects in a safe, non-harmful way. It is, quite frankly, one of the things that makes genre fiction so amazing, IMHO. So, I can't agree with elfwood's policies. I do, however respect what they are trying to do, give people a creative outlet that is "safe" for all of it's members. A noble goal indeed, I just personally feel that given the content of my works that elfwood is not a service I will ever really use, so I deleted the account altogether. Apparently, if I want my works posted on any "mainstream" fiction sites, I'm stuck with AFF... which has the stigma of being AFF.
I think, unless anyone can point me in the direction of some other website(s) to post on, I'll stick with dreamwidth...
Let's be honest here, kids see this stuff on T.V. all the time, it doesn't freak them out. And most teenagers in the U.S. end up having sex before 16 years old these days... I'm not advocating for these things in any way, shape, or form, but they are facts of our modern world. One of the things I have always found wonderful about SciFi/Fantasy fiction is that it makes people think about things; it gives the author an outlet to explore otherwise "forbidden" subjects in a safe, non-harmful way. It is, quite frankly, one of the things that makes genre fiction so amazing, IMHO. So, I can't agree with elfwood's policies. I do, however respect what they are trying to do, give people a creative outlet that is "safe" for all of it's members. A noble goal indeed, I just personally feel that given the content of my works that elfwood is not a service I will ever really use, so I deleted the account altogether. Apparently, if I want my works posted on any "mainstream" fiction sites, I'm stuck with AFF... which has the stigma of being AFF.
I think, unless anyone can point me in the direction of some other website(s) to post on, I'll stick with dreamwidth...
