[DTB-Talk] Bard sensoring certain material?

[Christopher Gilland]

OK, I just made a discovery today which does not at all make me the 
slightest bit happy.

I'm not one for swearing, however, neither am I one for sensorship.

I was listening to a book which I'd downloaded from Bard, come to think 
of it, this was the 2nd title I've noticed this. I'm only quoting here 
from a book, so please do not ban me for a simple quotation, and not 
that of my own remark, but one line in the book said, "by the look on 
her face, you would have thought she didn't give a shit." What you 
actually heard however in the downloaded Bard recording was, she didn't 
give a... bee'eep. The only way I know they said the word s h i t is 
because it's a commurcial audio book, and, it just so happens that I 
downloaded the original mainstream recording from Audible, as I was very 
curious if they actually bleeped the word in the mainstream recording. 
I've found most audio books Bard or not, if there is a swear word, 
regardless cultural beliefs etc, the narrator *has* to say it. If you're 
a pro narrator, from what I understand, you have to put emotions and 
things like that aside in order for the recording to past quality 
control screening. Anyway, on the actual Audible version, same narrator, 
same recording, etc, it was not bleeped out. I could make out the word 
clear as night and day.

This led me to check the other book to see if the book did the same 
thing. I downloaded the Bard book again to my shelf, went to the chapter 
in question, and listened through Bard. The line was, and no, even 
quoting, I'm not gonna repeat this word as it's way more offensive to 
many than the sh word, but basically, the line was, it was f**king crazy.

The narrator on the Bard version said, effing crazy. When I listened to 
the version on Audible, and even checked the actual print text through a 
scanned copy on Bookshare, the actual F word was there. Again, I ab, 
suh, lootly! do not condone that type language, however, that said, come 
on! It's a book for Pete sake!

Why're Bard narrators all of a sudden unlike before being coached 
evidently to not just read what is on the page? Both these books were 
fairly newer titles. Bard didn't seem to used to do this.

What changed?

Chris.