Change How Reported Books Are Handled?

[bulmabriefs144]

It's like this, hiding (muting) books is simply bad policy. IRL, suppose you gave a book manuscript to a publisher, and he pays you money and you have every reason to believe you should see your book on the shelves. Actually he hates your book, and wants it never to see the light of day (the actually has happened IRL, with the movie Sound of Freedom being a prime example, getting held by Disney for tears before someone else bought the contract). When you ask why you aren't seeing it in libraries and bookstores, the publisger gives some line about how it's flying off the shelves. But later, you don't get any royalties and you suspect otherwise. Writing a book and not knowing it cannot be seen by the public is the worst feeling ever. Not only does it feel like you've betrayed yourself as an authoe because something about what you wrote was rejected (normal feeling for authors), but you have an undermined trust in those who you published with (not normal, you are paid for your work, you don't expect to have your book suppressed; likewise, if you goto a decent author website, you don't expect the same shadowban treatment as in reddit or Twitter). Reported Books should have more transparency about being reported. Which technically is a feature add, I guess, rather than a feature change. Basically, if you get muted, you can either have single chapted muted or the entire book (the latter removing it from search, but in this case warning the author so they have the option of not working on ir anymore or making appropriate changes). The chapter or book has a big red banner that says "THIS (CHAPTER/STORY) HAS BEEN REPORTED AS BEING OBJECTIONABLE, AND WILL NOT BE VISIBLE TO READERS. PLEASE CONTACT THE MODS AT (email address) TO DISCUSS CHANGES." These changes might be as simple as putting a disclaimer, or softening the text, or something the mods suggest. Being notified when you reread the text is somehow more obvious than finding out that the text has been muted only much later. I think I wrote five or so more chapters after my book became hidden, and I was so frustrated that I outright removed my book. Basically, I'd like be notified if my book is in Muted status. It's too late for me, but maybe others.

 

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It's like this, hiding (muting) books is simply bad policy.

In real life, suppose you gave a book manuscript to a publisher, and they pay you money with the expectation that your book will appear on the shelves. However, behind the scenes, the publisher despises your book and wants to ensure it never sees the light of day. This has actually happened in real life, with the movie "Sound of Freedom" being a prime example – held by Disney for years before someone else bought the contract.

When you inquire why your book isn't appearing in libraries and bookstores, the publisher provides some excuse about how it's flying off the shelves. Yet, down the line, you receive no royalties, and suspicions arise.

Writing a book and realizing that it's hidden from public view is an incredibly disheartening feeling. Not only does it feel like a personal betrayal as an author because some aspect of your work was rejected (which is a common sentiment among authors), but your trust in those you collaborated with is also undermined. This is not typical – after all, you're compensated for your work and don't anticipate your book being suppressed.

Similarly, on reputable author websites, you don't expect to encounter the same shadowban treatment that often occurs on platforms like Reddit or Twitter.

Books that have been reported should come with more transparency regarding their reported status. This could technically be considered a feature addition rather than a change. Essentially, if your content is muted, you should have the option to mute a single chapter or the entire book. If the entire book is muted, it would be removed from search results, but the author would receive a warning. This would allow them to decide whether to cease working on the book or make appropriate revisions.

A conspicuous red banner would appear on the muted chapter or book, stating, "THIS CHAPTER/STORY HAS BEEN REPORTED AS OBJECTIONABLE AND IS NOT VISIBLE TO READERS. PLEASE CONTACT THE MODERATORS AT (email address) TO DISCUSS CHANGES." These changes might involve adding a disclaimer, toning down the content, or implementing suggestions from the moderators.

Being notified when reviewing the text is somehow more immediate than discovering the mute status much later on. Personally, I continued writing around five more chapters after my book became hidden, and my frustration led me to ultimately remove the book entirely.

In essence, I would appreciate receiving notifications if my book enters a muted status. While it's too late for me, it might be beneficial for others.

 

[Succubiome]

While I think this could be formatted better, and is quite a bit ranty than it really needs to be for a policy proposal, I do agree with the core point.

 

[Mystic_Grasshopper]

It's like this, hiding (muting) books is simply bad policy. IRL, suppose you gave a book manuscript to a publisher, and he pays you money and you have every reason to believe you should see your book on the shelves. Actually he hates your book, and wants it never to see the light of day (the actually has happened IRL, with the movie Sound of Freedom being a prime example, getting held by Disney for tears before someone else bought the contract). When you ask why you aren't seeing it in libraries and bookstores, the publisger gives some line about how it's flying off the shelves. But later, you don't get any royalties and you suspect otherwise. Writing a book and not knowing it cannot be seen by the public is the worst feeling ever. Not only does it feel like you've betrayed yourself as an authoe because something about what you wrote was rejected (normal feeling for authors), but you have an undermined trust in those who you published with (not normal, you are paid for your work, you don't expect to have your book suppressed; likewise, if you goto a decent author website, you don't expect the same shadowban treatment as in reddit or Twitter). Reported Books should have more transparency about being reported. Which technically is a feature add, I guess, rather than a feature change. Basically, if you get muted, you can either have single chapted muted or the entire book (the latter removing it from search, but in this case warning the author so they have the option of not working on ir anymore or making appropriate changes). The chapter or book has a big red banner that says "THIS (CHAPTER/STORY) HAS BEEN REPORTED AS BEING OBJECTIONABLE, AND WILL NOT BE VISIBLE TO READERS. PLEASE CONTACT THE MODS AT (email address) TO DISCUSS CHANGES." These changes might be as simple as putting a disclaimer, or softening the text, or something the mods suggest. Being notified when you reread the text is somehow more obvious than finding out that the text has been muted only much later. I think I wrote five or so more chapters after my book became hidden, and I was so frustrated that I outright removed my book. Basically, I'd like be notified if my book is in Muted status. It's too late for me, but maybe others.

Will you be taking this down? Just curious given that the situation was a knee jerk reaction on your part.

 

[Piisfun]

It's like this, hiding (muting) books is simply bad policy. IRL, suppose you gave a book manuscript to a publisher, and he pays you money and you have every reason to believe you should see your book on the shelves. Actually he hates your book, and wants it never to see the light of day (the actually has happened IRL, with the movie Sound of Freedom being a prime example, getting held by Disney for tears before someone else bought the contract). When you ask why you aren't seeing it in libraries and bookstores, the publisger gives some line about how it's flying off the shelves. But later, you don't get any royalties and you suspect otherwise. Writing a book and not knowing it cannot be seen by the public is the worst feeling ever. Not only does it feel like you've betrayed yourself as an authoe because something about what you wrote was rejected (normal feeling for authors), but you have an undermined trust in those who you published with (not normal, you are paid for your work, you don't expect to have your book suppressed; likewise, if you goto a decent author website, you don't expect the same shadowban treatment as in reddit or Twitter). Reported Books should have more transparency about being reported. Which technically is a feature add, I guess, rather than a feature change. Basically, if you get muted, you can either have single chapted muted or the entire book (the latter removing it from search, but in this case warning the author so they have the option of not working on ir anymore or making appropriate changes). The chapter or book has a big red banner that says "THIS (CHAPTER/STORY) HAS BEEN REPORTED AS BEING OBJECTIONABLE, AND WILL NOT BE VISIBLE TO READERS. PLEASE CONTACT THE MODS AT (email address) TO DISCUSS CHANGES." These changes might be as simple as putting a disclaimer, or softening the text, or something the mods suggest. Being notified when you reread the text is somehow more obvious than finding out that the text has been muted only much later. I think I wrote five or so more chapters after my book became hidden, and I was so frustrated that I outright removed my book. Basically, I'd like be notified if my book is in Muted status. It's too late for me, but maybe others.

A problem: A fairly significant portion of series that get reported aren't due to objectionable material.

They are reported either for being "translations" or "not in English."
Which are both Terms-of-Service violations.

 

[Succubiome]

A problem: A fairly significant portion of series that get reported aren't due to objectionable material.

They are reported either for being "translations" or "not in English."
Which are both Terms-of-Service violations.

So is objectionable material, really-- just, the line there is fuzzier.

But if your work was misreported as being a translation, that'd be good to know too, even if that's less likely.

And even "hey, we don't allow stuff not in English here" would be potentially useful to people who missed that rule.

I don't see any case in which letting people know what happened violation-wise is a bad thing?

 

[Piisfun]

So is objectionable material, really-- just, the line there is fuzzier.

But if your work was misreported as being a translation, that'd be good to know too, even if that's less likely.

And even "hey, we don't allow stuff not in English here" would be potentially useful to people who missed that rule.

I don't see any case in which letting people know what happened violation-wise is a bad thing?

It's about the how, not whether or not it is a bad idea.

Honestly, the best way would probably be to use the site's private message function (which almost everyone forgets about).

 

[Succubiome]

It's about the how, not whether or not it is a bad idea.

Honestly, the best way would probably be to use the site's private message function (which almost everyone forgets about).

Private message would work fine-- but the issue is that people aren't alerted at all right now?

You have to notice your book isn't searchable before you can go ask about it.