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Hi all,

I'm probably in the wrong group for this but I have a question which I've asked about but got no reply. In a book I'm reviewing, there was an, in my opinion pretty offensive profanity which let down the book for me. I've put this in my review but now I'm wondering if I should take it out and leave it in the profanity report.
Any thoughts?

Jane

Depending on the context, if it hurt the quality of the book, I don't see why it couldn't be both a part of your review, and kept on the profanity report. I've seen similar instances regarding sexual content of a book, where it can hurt the books review.

I am struggling a bit with the profanity report, to be honest...what exactly counts? A word like sh*t, for example, is that profanity in a book?

Asa Nylund wrote: ↑17 Sep 2024, 14:00 I am struggling a bit with the profanity report, to be honest...what exactly counts? A word like sh*t, for example, is that profanity in a book?

Here is a link to the official profanity guide.
viewtopic.php?f=132&t=226478

Thank you! That was very clear.

Asa Nylund wrote: ↑17 Sep 2024, 23:50 Thank you! That was very clear.

I always follow the profanity guide to the "T", and it has helped a lot in terms of distinguishing between borderline and nonborderline terms. The sexual content rating guidelines are decent as well, as that can also be difficult to determine during reviews.

It is certainly good to have guidelines Sometimes you get so caught up reading that you don't think about any single word until it's time to write the review.

Adrian Bouknight wrote: ↑22 Sep 2024, 20:09 I always follow the profanity guide to the "T", and it has helped a lot in terms of distinguishing between borderline and nonborderline terms. The sexual content rating guidelines are decent as well, as that can also be difficult to determine during reviews.

Hi @Adrian Bouknight. That's a useful tip on how to get the profanity bit in order. Thanks.
Just wondering ... Is there an "official" guide for sexual content rating too, like the Official Profanity guide? Or were you referring to the sentences that detail how you determine sexual content ratings that pop up at the time of the review?

Blueberry Dragon wrote: ↑03 Oct 2024, 06:01

Adrian Bouknight wrote: ↑22 Sep 2024, 20:09 I always follow the profanity guide to the "T", and it has helped a lot in terms of distinguishing between borderline and nonborderline terms. The sexual content rating guidelines are decent as well, as that can also be difficult to determine during reviews.

Hi @Adrian Bouknight. That's a useful tip on how to get the profanity bit in order. Thanks.
Just wondering ... Is there an "official" guide for sexual content rating too, like the Official Profanity guide? Or were you referring to the sentences that detail how you determine sexual content ratings that pop up at the time of the review?

Hi, Blueberry Dragon. I was referring to the sexual content ratings at the time of the review. But there are, I think 1 sentence or 2 sentence descriptions of each of those ratings. I also read that a reviewer typically will not be considered violating the sexual content guidelines if they are within 1 level of your subjective and honest review, from the level identified for the book. So I believe there is a little bit of flexibility in that.

One thing I'll also do is, if my book is on Kindle, once I am finished reading through and taking notes, I'll double back and use the search feature to double-check every listed word of the profanity guidelines, in case I had overlooked any. And while reading through, I always take notes of these things the moment I see them, so that when I go to write my review, I have all my notes available and ready to go. But that's just my experience! If you have tips, feel free to share! Sometimes it is easy to read the guidelines, but it takes time to learn how to properly follow them.

Thanks for those useful tips @Adrian Bouknight. Yes, it does take a while to figure out how to properly follow the guidelines; it's admirable that you have a systematic process for it. Awesome!