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This is basically a platform for movie censorship. Who gets to decide which parts of what movies are, violent, sexual, etc. I know I don't have to use it but

This is basically a platform for movie censorship. Who gets to decide which parts of what movies are, violent, sexual, etc. I know I don't have to use it but regardless I hope this does not catch on. If you don't like the content in movies you don't have to watch them.

DanBC 11y ago
> If you don't like the content in movies you don't have to watch them. Your comment is incoherent. This website is a tool for people to use for themselves to decide if they want to see a movie or not. How do they know if they don't like the content in a movie? this site will tell them.
- jcoffland 11y ago
  Incoherent? Please explain?
  - DanBC 11y ago
    What is being censored, and how is it being censored?
    - jcoffland 11y ago
      If you choose to use this filter you are choosing to watch censored movies. If we have a censored version of Huckleberry Fin and a non-censored version, you could say I have a choice of which to read but it is still censorship and we still live in a world where books are censored.
bertjk 11y ago
But isn't this kind of the point? This gives you a programmatic way to specify to your media player just what content you don't want to watch. If this stuff gets popular, then the publishers should feel less pressure to censor themselves.
- marco1 11y ago
  Exactly, thank you! And, in consequence, reducing the level of censorship that is forced upon you without your consent.
- jcoffland 11y ago
  Will they? Who wants their artistry chopped up by an automatic filter? This is a lot like the movie rating system. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jordanzakarin/movie-ratings-mpaa-are-insane http://www.buzzfeed.com/jordanzakarin/movie-ratings-mpaa-are... Many people disagree but I don't like giving groups like the MPAA the unfettered ability to label what's good and bad.
  - DanBC 11y ago
    You can see the MPAA is a system imposed by other people, and this is a self-imposed system? And that this self-imposed system affects no one else?
- Nadya 11y ago
  >But isn't this kind of the point? This gives you a programmatic way to specify to your media player just what content you don't want to watch Only if the filters are accurate. Which is impossible since severity will differ from person to person. Eventually someone will have to make the calls on what gets cut and if so, at what severity. At which point individuals are trusting someone else to "censor properly". For this to work with a large community - severity needs a strict definition. An example as to why: Nemo's mother's implied death in Finding Nemo { Category: Death, Severity: High } Inappropriate/misogynistic humor in Finding Nemo (every single scene with Doroth in particular) { Category: Langage, Severity: High } Shark chase scene in Finding Nemo { Category: Violence, Severity: High } I'm sure I could find some more problematic scenes in Finding Nemo. There are enough scenes to remove to turn it from PG to G, and honestly "lower than G" if that were even such a thing. And since the severity is "high" it would be censored uniformly across all thresholds, making the different thresholds meaningless.
  - jcoffland 11y ago
marco1 11y ago
The entire point of this project is, as shown in the title of this HN submission, that it provides you with the freedom to filter. No censorship forced upon you.
- jcoffland 11y ago
  You can label anything a freedom.
  - marco1 11y ago
    If you choose what to filter, or even to filter nothing at all, this is freedom in that regard.
    - jcoffland 11y ago
      I don't get to choose what is considered violent or sexual. That part is forced upon me.
      - mintplant 11y ago
        But it's not. You can write your own filter files or choose to use filter files written by those you trust.
      - marco1 11y ago
        No, in the second step, you compile your personal selection of filters from all filters that are available. This may not be clear enough in the description. Sorry!
    - EdHominem 11y ago
      You took away his freedom to be unaware of choice.
gdw2 11y ago
Currently everybody can decide to watch a movie or not (or censor if you're deciding for someone else). This just give greater control to watch _parts_ of a movie to view or not.
13years 11y ago
Not censorship when it is not forced upon you. If I choose to skip a chapter in a book I'm reading because I'm not interested in that chapter you wouldn't call that censorship. BTW, this has already caught on as the service http://clearplay.com/ http://clearplay.com/ seems to be doing well.
jasonkester 11y ago
If you don't like the content in movies you don't have to watch them. And now we have a tool to do just that. But even better we can choose not to watch just the bits we don't want to. That means I'll be able to set the toddlers off watching Star Wars without having to spring into action at minute seventeen to fast forward past the smouldering corpses of Luke's aunt and uncle. Apologies for the damage this caused you.
jcoffland 11y ago
To clarify my position here, I take offense at an organization, such as the MPAA, deciding what society should consider violent, sexual, etc. This is a form of censorship. If you don't think so you should read up on the continuing debate around our movie rating systems. Many people blindly follow the guidance of the censor to the detriment of a freethinking society. Regarding "freedom" as used in the context of this project. Yes, in some scenarios I may have the freedom not to use this filter but it could easily be abused. I can see this system being used to censor films in schools or at public events where the viewers don't have a choice. Furthermore, the artists creating movies are not provided the freedom to opt out of this labeling system. It is applied potentially against their will.

DanBC 11y ago

> If you don't like the content in movies you don't have to watch them. Your comment is incoherent. This website is a tool for people to use for themselves to decide if they want to see a movie or not. How do they know if they don't like the content in a movie? this site will tell them.

jcoffland 11y ago
Incoherent? Please explain?
- DanBC 11y ago
  What is being censored, and how is it being censored?
  - jcoffland 11y ago
    If you choose to use this filter you are choosing to watch censored movies. If we have a censored version of Huckleberry Fin and a non-censored version, you could say I have a choice of which to read but it is still censorship and we still live in a world where books are censored.

bertjk 11y ago

But isn't this kind of the point? This gives you a programmatic way to specify to your media player just what content you don't want to watch. If this stuff gets popular, then the publishers should feel less pressure to censor themselves.

marco1 11y ago
Exactly, thank you! And, in consequence, reducing the level of censorship that is forced upon you without your consent.
jcoffland 11y ago
Will they? Who wants their artistry chopped up by an automatic filter? This is a lot like the movie rating system. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jordanzakarin/movie-ratings-mpaa-are-insane http://www.buzzfeed.com/jordanzakarin/movie-ratings-mpaa-are... Many people disagree but I don't like giving groups like the MPAA the unfettered ability to label what's good and bad.
- DanBC 11y ago
  You can see the MPAA is a system imposed by other people, and this is a self-imposed system? And that this self-imposed system affects no one else?
Nadya 11y ago
>But isn't this kind of the point? This gives you a programmatic way to specify to your media player just what content you don't want to watch Only if the filters are accurate. Which is impossible since severity will differ from person to person. Eventually someone will have to make the calls on what gets cut and if so, at what severity. At which point individuals are trusting someone else to "censor properly". For this to work with a large community - severity needs a strict definition. An example as to why: Nemo's mother's implied death in Finding Nemo { Category: Death, Severity: High } Inappropriate/misogynistic humor in Finding Nemo (every single scene with Doroth in particular) { Category: Langage, Severity: High } Shark chase scene in Finding Nemo { Category: Violence, Severity: High } I'm sure I could find some more problematic scenes in Finding Nemo. There are enough scenes to remove to turn it from PG to G, and honestly "lower than G" if that were even such a thing. And since the severity is "high" it would be censored uniformly across all thresholds, making the different thresholds meaningless.
- jcoffland 11y ago

marco1 11y ago

The entire point of this project is, as shown in the title of this HN submission, that it provides you with the freedom to filter. No censorship forced upon you.

jcoffland 11y ago
You can label anything a freedom.
- marco1 11y ago
  If you choose what to filter, or even to filter nothing at all, this is freedom in that regard.
  - jcoffland 11y ago
    I don't get to choose what is considered violent or sexual. That part is forced upon me.
    - mintplant 11y ago
      But it's not. You can write your own filter files or choose to use filter files written by those you trust.
    - marco1 11y ago
      No, in the second step, you compile your personal selection of filters from all filters that are available. This may not be clear enough in the description. Sorry!
  - EdHominem 11y ago
    You took away his freedom to be unaware of choice.

gdw2 11y ago

Currently everybody can decide to watch a movie or not (or censor if you're deciding for someone else). This just give greater control to watch _parts_ of a movie to view or not.

13years 11y ago

Not censorship when it is not forced upon you. If I choose to skip a chapter in a book I'm reading because I'm not interested in that chapter you wouldn't call that censorship. BTW, this has already caught on as the service http://clearplay.com/ http://clearplay.com/ seems to be doing well.

jasonkester 11y ago

If you don't like the content in movies you don't have to watch them. And now we have a tool to do just that. But even better we can choose not to watch just the bits we don't want to. That means I'll be able to set the toddlers off watching Star Wars without having to spring into action at minute seventeen to fast forward past the smouldering corpses of Luke's aunt and uncle. Apologies for the damage this caused you.

jcoffland 11y ago

To clarify my position here, I take offense at an organization, such as the MPAA, deciding what society should consider violent, sexual, etc. This is a form of censorship. If you don't think so you should read up on the continuing debate around our movie rating systems. Many people blindly follow the guidance of the censor to the detriment of a freethinking society. Regarding "freedom" as used in the context of this project. Yes, in some scenarios I may have the freedom not to use this filter but it could easily be abused. I can see this system being used to censor films in schools or at public events where the viewers don't have a choice. Furthermore, the artists creating movies are not provided the freedom to opt out of this labeling system. It is applied potentially against their will.