Gawd Damn It What the Hell Happened?
Yeah, I'm hearing a lot of that right now.
I've read the journals, the forum posts, the odd news article, and every other rant for or against the recent upgrade to the deviantART Mature Content system.
I'm going to start out by putting it in a nutshell up here at the top of this journal for those who plan on mainly ranting at me and then I'll explain and oppose several of the popular arguments I've seen from those affected.
The blunt, no apologies explanation is this;
The Mature Content system that you were used to was essentially unfinished and the only thing which happened recently is that IT finally had a chance to finish it.
I could also explain it by using the words "buggy" or "broken" for those who don't get what I mean when I say
unfinished but those don't really represent the actual situation as well.
If you are here to rant please skip the rest and unburden yourself in the comment area because you really aren't going to pay much attention to what I've written below anyway.
My Opinon
Okay so I've read everything I could find on the matter and I'll attempt to address a bunch of the questions and concerns here but first let me start off with my personal opinion on the subject.
I never liked the way the "old" system worked. In my personal opinion the sole purpose of a Mature Content filtering system is to keep the tagged content away from underage users.
The system we had did not do this at all and before someone states it, No, I don't consider the gray MC thumbnail to have counted very much at all because it offered everyone the option to view anyway.
Someone will undoubtedly ask why the system worked the way it did and why we kept it the way it was for so long.
I can't tell you why the system stopped short of being fully functional. At the time it was designed I did not hold the position as head of the CEA department so there was no reason to seek my input and I had no basis to give it.
Once I did accept the position I can honestly say that I frequently brought up the subject repeatedly for reasons which I'll outline below.
Unfortunately IT was presented with a lot of higher priority issues; site speed, functionality, bug fixes, hardware upgrades, coding for film, and since the "old" system sort of did what it was supposed to do it had to wait it's turn for attention, which thankfully it received just a few days ago which pleases me to no end.
Along with the shift in how the filter works I also asked for, outlined and received a host of related tools to address all the various imaginary loopholes people might try to exploit.
Addressing Your Arguments
Now let me get into addressing your arguments and statements.
Did Somebody Complain?
Several types of people complained about the system as it functioned before.
The group which complained who had the biggest impact on my personal push to get this upgrade finished might surprise you.
The group that carried the most weight and whose complaints bothered me the most came from deviantART users; specifically the photographers who submit nude or fetish photography.
I would repeatedly receive help desk tickets from photographers who were absolutely shocked to find comments and favorites from children as young as thirteen or fourteen on their nude works or their fetish submissions.
As far as they were concerned the system was badly broken and some of them became uncomfortable enough with the idea to cease submitting high quality artistic nude or fetish photography because they knew the system did not function the way they assumed it would function.
Some of them removed their galleries entirely.
Some of them left to find sites which they considered more secure.
Yes we received a few complaints from parents, but mostly since they were parents they simply complained and pulled their child off of the site entirely.
Yes we received complaints from various child protection type groups, some were really organized and legitimate and some were hardly more than crackpots with an axe to grind.
But both of these groups combined carried less weight than the input coming from our own community of photographers.
But I'm Mature Enough to Look
Sorry kids but this isn't an argument.
Whether you like it or not the only objective way to judge maturity is and always will be based upon your physical age.
Yes there are nine year olds who are "mature for their age" and there are thirty year olds who have the emotional maturity of a child of seven but when you boil it all down the only thing that counts is how old you are.
Like it or not that's the way it is.
But I Can See the Same Stuff At [Website] Or By Using A Search Engine
I'm very happy for you but that isn't relevant at all.
A search engine isn't designed to care how old you are. It's an 'Apples-to-Oranges' comparison.
As for sites with a 'click through' 18+ warning screen, like pornographic websites, they don't ask for your date of birth and they only care about how old you are because the law says they have to so this is a token effort on their part. I will point out that when you are presented with a
Are You 18+ and you click "No" the site throws you out or denies you entry so again this excuse is completely invalid.
But I can See Nudity In the Movies
Have you actually read the movie ratings?
Rated R requires you to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Rated NC-17 does not allow anyone in under the age of seventeen.
Rated X is restricted to 18 and over.
Yes I'm aware that movie theaters commonly ignore the parental requirement or the age limitation set for
R and
NC-17 films. If some place playing
rated X films is letting you underage people sneak in the door with your fake mustaches then congratulations for getting away with it.
These are issues which concerns the theater, or the place where you bought the video or rented the DVD.
Pardon us if we attempt to be more responsible than the theater or rental place which you frequent.
Besides that, a good portion of the nude photography here is far more explicit than what you see in your average blockbuster film.
Personally I've seen a lot of films and I can't remember the last
rated R film that showed closeup of the actresses vagina or an actor's penis. Typically you see only a "tame" breast or butt shot "at best".
Much like the last argument this is pretty much an Apples-to-Oranges comparison again.
It Isn't Illegal For Minors to View Nudity
Well with this one it all depends on what you are trying to look at.
A minor seeing a breast or a butt or a simulated sex scene in the latest blockbuster movie isn't going to cause very many waves.
Have that same minor go in to the corner store and try to buy one of the more tame "Adult" magazines and suddenly it's a huge issue and people are getting sued.
Bear in mind that we have at this point in time a single level of filtering. This single level of filtering must be calibrated for the most explicit type of nude and fetish photography which we allow, which some individuals might compare to the type of nudes which you'd find in one of the more tame "Adult" magazines.
Future Changes
Now that we have a Mature Content filtering system which actually has some teeth in it you can expect that I,
moonbeam13 and
lolly will be discussing adding multiple levels of screening to the system.
We will also be discussing whether or not certain themes even require the Mature Content tag at all, such as life studies and such.
Don't ask us when to expect it or for any other specifics yet because we've only just started discussing future upgrades to the system but rest assured that we do understand that there are some materials currently "locked away" which don't necessarily need to be and we will be discussing ways to deal with this new issue.
The first step was to lock out the underage group and get the system functioning properly, and don't delude yourselves, regardless of what we do in the future there will always be content which will be locked away from underage users.
