Implemented Division of SFW and NSFW

[Wuff-Wuff]

Once again a suggestion which I'm wondering what your opinions would be on it.

I've noticed that the RP categories (both NSFW and SFW) are unavailable for non-members, a feature I truly appreciate. There has been the emergence of a NSFW thread in the category "Shenanigans" which has been duly tagged as such. However, I'm unsure if it's open visibility could cause us any troubles, as most websites with NSFW content ask if you are of age first before letting you enter (this might be due to legal reasons).

My suggestion would be a dedicated category for NSFW stuff, like the RPs for instance. One that can only be viewed by members. I don't quite remember if I had to fill in my date of birth whilst registering, nor do I know if this implementation would be difficult to do for staff, but if possible, we could also make those categories invisible for those not of age. This would keep us out of trouble in if there are any legalities and also would in general give us a cleaner outward image.

What are your thoughts? And Staff, would this be a big hastle? Another idea I had would be giving the NSFW threads a box one would have to tick when creating it, stating "yes this is NSFW" or "no this is SFW", thus allowing a filter to be set on them (hidden/not hidden), without the need of separate categories.

 

[FitzOblong]

having the NSFW threads invisible to puplic is certainly a much safer step than having it open. Personally I haven't yet checked what is private and not since the data loss...

 

[Wuff-Wuff]

I did a quick logged out check earlier this morning, then read your comment and got uncertain about what I saw so I did another one:


These are all the top categories a guest can view

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And here we can see the NSFW thread (also please don't get me wrong Kimber, there's no other way to share such stuff at the moment and labeling it as NSFW is a great call)

 

[Blödhgarm]

This use to be how the site was back in the day. You could only access the NSFW threads if you were 18+. This was back when you could join the site up if you were 14. But then we'd get a lot if members that would lie about their age to get access to the NSFW areas.

Eventually, they did away with that and made it so everyone had full access to the site (for some sort if legal issues or something.) If you were under 18, you could access the NSFW areas but could be banned if you posted in them. This didn't sit well with veteran members and a lot of people left the site.

Then they eventually just made the entire site 18+. If you were found out to be underage, you account would be temporarily blocked and you could appeal the ban once you were 18 (unless you broke a lot if rules or something.) And it's been that way ever since.

 

[Wuff-Wuff]

Thanks for giving the situation some history Blod. Would you mind elaborating on what it was that didn't sit well with the veteran members? Was it the lifting of the access restrictions or the banning of members thought to be minors?

Also you say the site is 18+ nowerdays, is there maybe a warning prompt that you receive when you access the site, one that I've long since agreed to and now don't receive anymore due to it being saved to my browers history? Just wondering. I guess that would most likely fix any issues (though I am not an expert of international law.) One paragraph from the US (47 USC § 223 (e)(5)(A)) reads.

has taken, in good faith, reasonable, effective, and appropriate actions under the circumstances to restrict or prevent access by minors to a communication specified in such subsections, which may involve any appropriate measures to restrict minors from such communications, including any method which is feasible under available technology;

Though what has to be said is that we're a UK domain and I'm not sure if they're different. I'll have a check.

PS: Also I might be also reading too far into this ^^; it just felt like something that might need addressing. I'm glad for your feedback :3

 

[Blödhgarm]

I think that a lot of the veteran members who used the threads to RP/ERP weren't comfortable knowing that underage members could be reading along with their ERPs, regardless of them not being able to post. I know I wasn't a fan of it. It was one of the reasons I moved to Discord more for RPing myself.

As for any warming prompt when joining the site, I don't know. I've been with the site for years now so I do not recall. Though it does not matter if there was a warning or not. We still get minors that lie about their age in order to be on the site. I know I had like 3 or 4 minors last year that tried to sext me or send me nudes. They were all immediately banned from the site once they were found out. I know when you join, you are given the site rules to read over but I know people don't because they immediately start breaking them once they join.

Which reminds me. I need to make a new thread here after I eat breakfast.

 

[Wuff-Wuff]

Ah man, you're right, my suggestions would only be a PR stunt and wouldn't uproot the problem at it's core...

Also the way it's been handled is totally within the rules:

Pornographic Material – Anything that you wouldn’t want to show your boss must be tagged NSFW and also tagged NSFW in the thread title. Note: there will be absolutely no porn of actual people on this site period. This includes pictures of yourself, it brings too many legal problems for the site. Artwork of any kind, however, is just fine so long as it is tagged. If you are ever unsure if what you’re posting is or is not allowed ask a moderator.

Sorry for making a deal out of this and thanks for clearing things up Blod! I should've done my due dilligence.

 

[MooseHorns237]

As a newer member I can say that yes, the site did very explicitly ask me my age and displayed the rules quite clearly, if I remember right.

 

[Calmcacil]

Dividing content between SFW and NSFW would lead to the same amount of bloated community lists we've seen in the past so i dont think thats a good idea.

I have however applied a filter to hide NSFW prefixed threads from the user list for guests so that should reduce visibility for non-members.

 

[Wuff-Wuff]

Thank you Calm! And also to everyone who took the time to clear things up for me. I've only known the separate category approach and hope I didn't offend you guys by not considering that you've most definately made your experiences with this topic! I didn't think things through.