Content warnings and content levels

On a book

An author writes a book's content warnings in their own words ("drowning" says more than "violence"), and Booklabria reads those words against a shared list of topics, so "self-harm references" and "Self-harm or suicide" are recognized as the same thing. The author also sets a content level: None (nothing readers need a heads-up for), Mild (occasional heavier themes), Moderate (sustained mature themes) or Explicit (on-page mature content). Both are shown on the book page, under the description, before you shelve it. The content level never filters a book out of anything; an Explicit one decides who can open the book (below).

An author can also say how heavy each warning is: Graphic, Moderate or Minor. On the book page, under Content notes, graded warnings sit in groups, Graphic first, with the grade written as a word and the number of warnings in each group; a warning the author did not grade comes last under Not graded, and a book where none is graded shows the plain list. A warning is never graded for the author.

A book with none recorded says No content warnings recorded yet. and why: the author has not added any, or a catalogue record carries none. That does not mean the book has none. A book with a content level but no warnings listed says No specific warnings recorded yet. inside Content notes. If you asked to avoid topics, the line also says the book cannot be checked against them.

Explicit books

Books with on-page mature content are welcome on Booklabria when they are marked: the author sets the content level to Explicit and names the book's warnings. A book that should be marked and is not can be reported (below).

An Explicit book's synopsis, samples, reviews, quotes and early copies open only for a reader who is signed in and has said, once, I am 18 or older. The cover, the title, the pen name, the content level, the warnings and the rating stay visible to everyone. You say it once, for every Explicit book, and it is in your data export.

Coming: Explicit covers will stay off Booklabria's front pages.

What you avoid

Under Settings › Profile › Content you'd rather avoid, tick the topics you would rather not meet. Then:

• books carrying one of them are kept out of the books Discover recommends for your taste;
• everywhere else, nothing is filtered: search, the Charts, an author's page, your feed, a Circle's reading list and free early copies show every book, so you can always find one on purpose;
• on a book's page, its content notes mark any match under Content you asked to avoid, so you know before you shelve it.

A warning's grade does not change the match: a topic you avoid is marked whether the author graded it Graphic or Minor, or did not grade it.

Under Anything else you can add topics in your own words. They are kept and shown back to you, but a book is only matched against the topics on the list above: words of your own filter nothing.

Spoilers

Spoilers are a separate flag: a review or a Circle post with the plot in it is shown behind a click. See Writing reviews and Posting in a Reading Circle.

A warning that is missing or wrong

Use Report on the book (Explicit content for material that is unmarked); a moderator looks at the book and its tags. Authors: the guidelines ask for warnings where a book needs them (Community guidelines).