(no subject)

[prog]

Escape Pod is now airing, with subsequent shows, the nominees for the 2006 short-story Hugo. I think this is great. He's done two stories so far, and as always you can listen to them as you like for nuttin.

So far Steve's aired Tk'tk'tk by David D. Levine, which I liked, and Seventy-Five Years by Michael A. Burstein, which I couldn't get five minutes into because I found that it quickly becomes annoying, and then simply incorrect.

Steve's gotten into the habit of putting a spoken MPAA-style rating bumper at the start of every podcast. I was hoping he'd stop this when he spun off a separate "Escape Pod Classic" podcast that contains only the stories that he's run on the main show that don't contain swearing, sex or anything else to upset parents. I find it grating, and annoying even when I skip past it, because (a) I don't want to be "warned" of any content of the story I'm about to encounter (where I come from, we call those spoilers) and (b) I have philosophical problems with the entire idea anyway. I mean: would Steve put MPAA stickers before every story in a short-story collection, warning of squishy content that each contains? If not, then would you instead restrict minors' access to the fiction section of bookstores and libraries?

I cynically assume that, as a non-parent, I have a reduced voice in this matter. But I am a listener and I should tell him anyway.

Comments

[doctor-atomic.livejournal.com]

I read Tk'tk'tk in Asimov's or Analog and liked it. This is just why I subscribed to those magazines; it's nice to actually read the stories that are nominated for Hugos before the Hugos so I can cheer for some.

[sfeley.livejournal.com]

Hi Prog,

Consider me told. >8-> (Your post popped up on a Technorati search.)

I'm trying to find the right balance on such things, and opinions like yours help me out with that. I'm not sure I'll cut them out entirely -- we have a wide range of listener tastes, and we do occasionally run content that even some mature adults find offensive, such as "The Burning Bush." (http://www.escapepod.org/2005/09/22/ep020-the-burning-bush/) I rate the stories on the blog, but most subscribers don't check there first, so some sort of spoken warning seems appropriate from time to time.

That said, it may be true that I go overboard on it. "Tk'tk'tk" didn't really need a warning, for instance -- the 'unspeakable language' thing was meant as a joke.

Thanks again, and I hope you'll let me know any time what you like and don't like.

[prog.livejournal.com]

Mm, that sweet taste of shoe leather. You'd think I'd learn to remember that, when blogging about people who are Internet content producers, one should write as if they were in earshot... because, um, they are. And this is after Andy Doan pulled the same whammy on me in this very same space, after I mumbled about his podcast a few months ago. You crazy tag-following SF show people! Oh well.

Well, I certainly stand by my statements, even though I regret any acid tinge I let flavor them here. I'm glad to hear you're still experimenting with the format and responding to feedback, and I know that you'll find the right solution eventually. I am also glad you are proactive enough to seek out your lazier fans' grumbling asides rather than waiting for them to come to you.