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FAQ

The Project

What is the scope of the project?
The project will last until early/mid 2006 on current projections. At the end of that time I hope to have produced a series of recommendations related to the creation of such a system and the interfaces the would be used with it. A series of examples will also be created during this time to allow for demonstrations of the various aplpications - whether the back end that would allow a full implementation of the system will be set up made made usable to the public is not yet known and will depend on time, technology and interest.

Who are you?
My name is Faith Lawrence. I am currently doing a doctorate at the University of Southampton of which this project embodies my main line of research. Prior to this I gained a First Class Honours in Ancient History from the University of Reading and a Masters in Archaeological Science (Computing) from Southampton.

Freedom and Human Rights

Are you trying to set up a system that will censor, control or police peoples creativity?
No. The system is intended to allow individuals to easily employ filters if they so wish. These filters are intended to work both ways with readers having the option to use them to find or block specific types of material and writers/archivists having a way to have some control over the distribution of their content. Personal filtering has long been seen as the preferred alternative to censorship because (in the words of the US Supreme Court):
[Filters] impose selective restrictions on speech at the receiving end, not universal restrictions at the source. Under a filtering regime, adults without children may gain access to speech they have a right to see without having to identify themselves or provide their credit card information. Even adults with children may obtain access to the same speech on the same terms simply by turning off the filter on their home computers. Above all, promoting the use of filters does not condemn as criminal any category of speech, and so the potential chilling effect is eliminated, or at least much diminished. (United States Supreme Court [PDF], 2004)
We recognise that while we have no intention attempt to censor, control or police by creating a way of making the information available and easier to find by readers that in turn makes the information more easily available to those with less pure intentions. This is an important consideration which we are not neglecting. One of the reasons for allowing writers to employ filtering of their readers is to provide a mechanism so that writers have some control about who their information is returned to. Beyond that the scheme is intended to be totally voluntary so that individuals can decide whether the mechanisms that get built into the final product are enough to protect their privacy and therefore any potential disadvantages that might be inherent with joining the system are outweighed by the potential advantages.

Why are you focusing so much on age?
Age is being used as the default point of consideration purely because that is what is currently used in most legal systems. In most cases blocking minors is not done for the protection of the minor in question but for the protection of the publisher/writer.

Amateur and Fan Fiction

Why fan and amateur writing?
For a number of reasons. The community despite its dynamic and chaotic nature has a well organised structure of social groups (what some computer scientists would term 'Communities of Practice'). So far the majority of semantic web applications has occured within the realm of learning and academia. The types of communty structure that exists within the amateur and fan writing communities very closely mirrors that of academia and therefore allows us to draw on the work that has already been done while openning up new ground and concidering the unique problems and issues that affect social/hobbiest groups rather than institutionalised ones.

Are you a fan?
Yes.

Money

Are you trying to make money or otherwise commercialise amateur and fan fiction?
No. The finacial aspects of such a project will be concidered along with all the other issues that such a system brings with it but that is standard practice. There is no intention to try and exploit readers or writers in any way.

Are you sponsored by anyone?
The project receives no sponsorship or other form of backing from any company or project. I recieve a studentship to allow me to do my doctorate but this is not from any specific company or project either and is not linked in any way to the research that I am undertaking.