Reader Bleeped Out Expletives [split from Forum Policy Update thread]

[JPCW]

I've just been listening to; Detailed Minutiæ of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865 [Carlton McCarthy] with considerable interest and much appreciation right until chapter 7 when what I assume were expletives and profanity are, "bleeped out."

If you can't read out what was actually written by the author then you shouldn't read it out at all; I found it patronizing, impertinent and offensive and to be honest it completely spoiled my hitherto positive and enjoyable experience of the book completely.

Whoever was responsible for this ought to be ashamed of themselves not least because this is not merely an interesting book it's a testament and valid historical document and worth hearing for those reasons as well as for entertainment.

[ej400]

I've just been listening to; Detailed Minutiæ of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865 [Carlton McCarthy] with considerable interest and much appreciation right until chapter 7 when what I assume were expletives and profanity are, "bleeped out."

If you can't read out what was actually written by the author then you shouldn't read it out at all; I found it patronizing, impertinent and offensive and to be honest it completely spoiled my hitherto positive and enjoyable experience of the book completely.

Whoever was responsible for this ought to be ashamed of themselves not least because this is not merely an interesting book it's a testament and valid historical document and worth hearing for those reasons as well as for entertainment.

I understand where your coming from, and I apologize that this happened. We try to read exactly what was written, and if the reader isn't comfortable reading it, then they don't have to read it. We try to only read things we're comfortable with here. Any offensive or expletive content has to be read because it was what the author wanted, and it isn't our work.

[m8b1]

Can you please give a time stamp/stamps and which chapters where these bleeps are. I checked the text for an obvious swear word, and checked it against the audio, and there was no bleeping. Then again my knowledge of expletives is not terribly deep.

Readers must read the text as written. In many older books swear words, etc., are often actually written by the author in a "bleeped out" fashion so to say.

[m8b1]

All right, I found it in the text and the audio. Chapter 7 at around 24:54.

This is exactly how the text was written by the author:

Then the cavalryman became indignant and shouted, "Halt, d—n you; halt!" And still he would not. "Halt," said the cavalryman, "halt, you d—n s— of a ——-; halt!"

The reader did put some rather loud bleeps in, which is not a way we would have people handle this dashed text nowadays, but was certainly an insteresting way to do so. This recording was from 2008 and the reader hasn't posted on here for 4 years.

[KevinS]

Imagine that people would have once been offended by "Halt, you durn son of a gun."

[Peter Why]

"Lewis Carroll" complained abouit the word "damn" being used in Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore. Times change.

Peter