Content Policy
Recently we have had questions and comments about our clean content policy that I would like to address. Please note that this policy is only enforced in the general Review Fuse community. Private groups are allowed to form and enforce their own content polices. Review Fuse does prohibit pornographic and illegal material in public and private groups.
When we started working on Review Fuse we had to make a decision of what material we wanted to allow to appear on our website. Some choices were cut and dry, such as the following statement from our terms and conditions that prohibits anything that is “unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, pornographic, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, or harms minors in any way; that harasses, degrades, intimidates or is hateful toward an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability.”
Other decisions, such as what is considered inappropriate language, were much more difficult to decide on. The overall deciding factor was that we wanted people age 13 and up to be comfortable using our site. In accordance, each member is given the right to filter out profanity when they are reading the story. This will replace profane words with replacement strings such as “*****”. While we do not wish to censor the work of our members, we do however, have to make sure we censor what appears on Review Fuse so our members will feel comfortable using the site.
Also, with that in mind, we adopted a clean content policy that we compare to PG-13 rating for movies. This is an overall guiding principle in that we do not provide a list of aspects that may or may not appear in the submitted work. The decision of whether or not a community flagged work is appropriate is left to the sole discretion of Review Fuse and it’s employees.
Do you have any questions about our clean content policy? What are your thoughts on letting the member choose to review/read an edited version of your work?
steve
Stumble it!
Tags: clean content, policy
December 17th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I have a short story that I am sure does not conform to your Clean Content Policy as it is stated. The piece is about how fear and anxiety turn to anger and/or depression in various settings. When the fear does turn to anger in the piece, it is vented (in thought only) not at particular group but but using derogatory name-calling based on the intelligence level of a particular group. Or to make it easier to understand, I refer to people in a line up at a coffee shop as retards. Of course I realize how offensive this is and in no way would I use this sort of language myself. I think I make it clear that these thoughts are reactionary but I guess that’s an issue up for review.
My question is; Should I submit this piece and see what happens or is there a way for me to submit it to a site administrative content reviewer first?
Thanks for your consideration,
Steve Milito
December 18th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
The clean content policy is primarily designed to prohibit the submission of pornographic, sexually explicit, or profane material. This policy has other purposes but these are the most common issues we encounter. If your piece does not violate these any of these three issues then it is probably ok to submit.
February 15th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
My short story is decidedly adult in theme, not because it is pornographic, but because it contains swearing, sexual contact between adults (a necessary part of the story arc), a home invasion, and violence. It also discusses honestly the character’s ignorance about gay people and situations from the perspective of an 18-year-old in the mid 1970s, very honestly. The whole point of it is to be honest and direct about these things, because it is mostly autobiographical, and therefore boring if it is anything less. So please define “sexually explicit.” Or, can you at least give me an email address where I can submit the story for prior review? I’m excited about the prospect of using the unique opportunity presented here, but I do not wish to cause anyone offense or discomfort.
February 16th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
@Bob We accept material with a PG-13 rating of less. Since you know your material best it is up to you to rating it. If you think it would make an ‘R’ rated movie then this is probably not the appropriate site for this work.
February 21st, 2009 at 10:59 pm
[...] This was a very close contest. Reading the entries, we laughed, we cried, we bit our fingernails in suspense, and we wondered how some people completely missed the reminder on the upload page to adhere to the clean content policy. [...]
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:54 am
[...] Subject Matter: You choose. The poem should adhere to our content policy. [...]
March 4th, 2009 at 8:58 am
[...] Subject Matter: You choose. The short story should adhere to our content policy. [...]
March 12th, 2009 at 7:18 am
Why not dedicate a section where people can submit their “R” rated material? I feel it would not be justified to tell people that they have to curb their language or not write about what they like to because it doesn’t follow an agreed theme. Why not have a section where members can only access if they are over a certain age and allow them to post whatever makes a great story great.
March 16th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
[...] Subject Matter: You choose. The poem should adhere to our content policy. [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
[...] Subject Matter: Must incorporate a bull fighter. The flash fiction should adhere to our content policy. [...]
April 13th, 2009 at 12:51 am
I have been deeply saddened at the free use of vulgarity on so many writing sites. There was a time in literature and poetry when ‘language’ meant the creative use of it. I hope Review Fuse will maintain their present clean content position.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
[...] Subject Matter: You choose. The short story should adhere to our content policy. [...]
May 6th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
[...] Subject Matter: A Bull Fighter. The poem should adhere to our content policy. [...]
June 10th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
[...] Subject Matter: You choose. The flash fiction should adhere to our content policy. [...]
June 11th, 2009 at 6:52 am
[...] Subject Matter: Open, you choose. The poem should adhere to our content policy. [...]
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I’m planning on entering some work into one of the contests. Would horror be considered against the site. As per you’re content restrictions.
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:05 am
@Jake
Horror, like any genre, can be family friendly or adult oriented. If you feel your work meets the guidelines we have outlined then submit please submit it. If you have specific questions you can email us snippets of your story to help us determine if it is appropriate for our site.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
[...] Subject Matter: You choose. Please adhere to our content policy. [...]
August 31st, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Personally, I applaud you for your stand on clean material. I have read too many pieces that contain sex and profanity which adds nothing to the story. Good for you! I will be submitting my entry shortly.
September 10th, 2009 at 7:42 am
[...] Matter: You choose. Please refer to our content policy if you have [...]
September 24th, 2009 at 6:25 am
I sincerely appreciate your clean content policy. I was considering an entry for the contest and was it contains a few ‘damns’ or dammits in it. I understand you don’t censor the stories but was wondering if these type of ‘minor’ profanity are against your policy. It isn’t really explained all that well in your content policy.
Thank you and I respect what you’re doing.
Reggie
September 25th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Our content policy allows for G, PG, and PG-13 materials. We rely primarily on the community to tell us when inappropriate material has been posted.
October 13th, 2009 at 7:43 am
[...] Subject Matter: A holiday theme. Any holiday will do. The flash fiction should adhere to our content policy. [...]
November 30th, 2009 at 8:51 am
[...] Subject Matter: Open, you choose. The poem should adhere to our content policy. [...]