: Re: Managing genre and rating for a story So this website we are building allows users to post stories. Now we have a bunch of tags/genres. I call them tags/genres because they are a predefined

@Odierno164

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I don't think the current state of artificial intelligence is up to the task, so I do not believe you will be able to accomplish this programmatically.

Even though writers and critics throughout history have been fascinated with placing stories into categories, there still is no universally agreed upon taxonomy.

Consider the stories collected by the Brothers Grimm. Originally folktales, considered by some to be stories for children, but if you read them, frequently they're horrific. Quite a few, if written today, would not pass most parental advisory group's notions about stories appropriate for children.

For example, take a look at The Dove Foundation, a "family friendly" review group concerned mostly with film. Contrast their rating system to something you may be more familiar with, the MPAA. Right way or wrong way isn't the issue here; the issue is who decides?

Personally, I find all forms of censorship abhorrent. I feel if the person is old enough to read and understand the material, they're old enough to read and understand the material. Any attempt to "shelter" the individual is ultimately futile. But that's just me. Parents with children might not feel the same way and it's a fact writers need to deal with if they're going to publish traditionally.

My suggestion would be to enlist your users. Write standards and crowd source your ratings possibly with up and down votes on individual stories taxonomy/ratings.

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