Oh, the Profanity!
Now that that the dust has settled and Inktera has pulled its support from the Clean Reader app, I thought I’d offer a few thoughts about it. If you hadn’t heard, the Clean Reader app, which I believe is still available, replaces profanity and naughty words in ebooks with gentler words. The Inktera (Page Foundry) bookstore supported the app by allowing it to use its technology and leverage its catalogue of books.
I object to this app for a number of reasons. Chuck Wendig did a post on it that pretty much jibes with what I feel about the app. You can read it here, and I highly recommend that you do.
My thoughts
Some commentators poo-pooed the outcry from authors, saying, “Poor them, not wanting their precious words changed.” They entirely missed the point. I don’t think my words are so precious that they shouldn’t be touched. I don’t want words changed in my stories because I chose those words for a reason. Not every word. I don’t agonize over most words. But here’s an example of a when I might choose a specific word for a specific reason:
The character Sam (Deiform Fellowship) has never used the word fuck. That’s a deliberate decision on my part because it’s in line with who Sam is. Let’s say something happens that infuriates her. In the interest of showing, rather than telling, I might have Sam say, “Fuck!” That would be enough for readers familiar with her to get that she’s upset. But if that sentence was run through the Clean Reader app and the result was Sam saying “Darn!” or “Oh, gosh, golly gee!” the information I intended to convey to the reader would be lost.
Word choice matters. Stories aren’t random words strung together.
The Clean Reader substitutions can alter a story enough that it’s no longer the story the author wrote. I don’t want my name attached to words I didn’t write or approve (signing off on a translation, for example). Some bloggers posted examples of substitutions the app had made that resulted in nonsensical sentences, or dirtier sentences than the original versions. Would it be fair for a reader who’s run a book through the Clean Reader app to review that book? I don’t think so.
With millions of books to choose from, I don’t see why anybody would need something like the Clean Reader app. To me, it smacks of entitlement and/or laziness. Entitlement, because a person can choose any book, but instead wants to neuter that book because that’s the one they want to read. Laziness, because with a little due diligence, it’s easy to avoid books with naughty/swear words in them.
As a reader, I want to read what the author wrote. I don’t see the point of reading a story an algorithm has changed. There’s also the usual point that getting one’s knickers in a knot over a swear word or body part, but not minding that a story is violent (would a reader who uses the Clean Reader app be okay with a murder mystery?) or disturbing in other ways, seems wrong.
Anyway, that’s my 0.02. If you don’t want to read books with naughty words or profanity in them, then don’t buy books with naughty words or profanity in them. You have millions of books to choose from.
Happy Easter!
Oh, the Profanity! is a post from: Sarah Ettritch
