8 ms·

Discord will block NSFW servers on iOS

61 points by phreack 6y ago

Hamuko 6y ago
It's amazing how Twitter is able to fly under the radar despite the amount of porn on it.
- antpls 6y ago
  When the topic "Commission" is trending, it's always full of furry porny stuff, I have no idea why
  - Hamuko 6y ago
    Furries apparently do a lot of art commissions. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/08/the-secret-furry-patrons-keeping-indie-artists-afloat.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/08/the-secret-furry-pat...
frizkie 6y ago
This sort of thing makes me wonder what could happen to Reddit clients with access to NSFW subreddits.
- remram 6y ago
  Twitter also has a lot of NSFW content. I understand Snapchat also does. And of course there are web browser apps...
- genocidicbunny 6y ago
  Even better, I heard there's this app that you can get on iOS that lets you go to thousands of NSFW websites, including the ones on Reddit. Safari I think it was called?
- wyqydsyq 6y ago
  Reddit is still accessible on mobile via browsers though, so even if Apple imposes rules on the native app it's easily worked around. AFAIK the discord webapp only works on desktop, so for iOS users wanting to access NSFW discords on their mobile device they are shit out of luck
  - neartheplain 6y ago
    > Reddit is still accessible on mobile via browsers though Barely. They’ve aggressively pushed the app on mobile users for years, and they keep moving more and more of the mobile site behind a login screen. For example, you must now make an account to view more than the last few comments on a post on the mobile site.
    - taurath 6y ago
      When Reddit shuts down old.reddit is the day I will stop using Reddit. The information density on the apps and in the new style is horrendous.
threevox 6y ago
Can anyone explain why all these sites seem to be cracking down on adult content? I don't get it. Adult content is the cherished underbelly of the web. If you want to find it, it shouldn't be up to a corporation to decide whether or not you can
- bongoman37 6y ago
  Probably the real reason would be to have mechanisms to block any content deemed unsuitable/politically unpalatable or whatever and NSFW is vague enough that you can block and let the issue blow over and then make it look like a genuine mistake was made. Also, hard for most people to bat for NSFW content because it makes you look like a pervert.
  - threevox 6y ago
    Both good points. I don't like the implications of the first but that probably means it's true
  - stuffbyspencer 6y ago
    I always felt like the hardest position to uphold is "Anti-Kink-Shaming", A) it's embarrassing, B) there's some... questionable kinks out there, C) the amount of adhoms you'll get in response is absurd NSFW is the catch all phrase paving the way for censorship
- Hammershaft 6y ago
  In this case the culprit is Apple.
- pm90 6y ago
  Corporations fundamentally exist to make a profit. A startup that cares only about growth at all costs doesn’t care too much about moderation. If it’s a tiny startup whose product isn’t very popular, they are free from any regulation. Once the product gets popular, the startup morphs into a “regular” corporation and is now under all kinds of scrutiny to improve its image. So any product that you use and like which gets really popular will suffer the same transformation as it becomes more mature and more adult.
dlgeek 6y ago
Previous Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26792031 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26792031
betwixthewires 6y ago
Is anyone else tired of the internet being taken over by fucking puritans of one stripe or another?
- stuffbyspencer 6y ago
  Say what you will about the crypto & blockchain scene, but I can't fucking wait for us to move over to it more & start adopting more tamper-resistant decentralization standards... One can hope
  - teraku 6y ago
    Why is everyone trying to find technical solutions for societal problems?
    - betwixthewires 6y ago
      Because there are some technical solutions to some societal problems. Are there technical solutions to the ones we are discussing? Possibly, possibly not, you don't know until you look.
    - worldsayshi 6y ago
      Because technology is something they feel they can have an impact on.
    - manojlds 6y ago
      I mean are we just going to ask people to mask up and social distance and not work on a vaccine?
      - arcticbull 6y ago
        Those are both useful solutions that work together to solve the problem. This is a poor example.
    - programmarchy 6y ago
      Technology is the first mover in human affairs.
reificator 6y ago
Every small community I'm on on Discord (meaning the majority of the servers I regularly interact with) sets every channel to `NSFW`, and some mark the server itself. They do this because everyone involved is known to be 18+ (Usually higher than that) and they want to be able to have the same discussions they'd have in person. These communities are not about porn, are not about anything "distasteful", but the flag is set there so that if a topic comes up we can discuss it without risking a ban. In other words these communities are meant to be a Third Place[0], or an extension of a physical Third Place, particularly recently thanks to COVID. The content here is literally no different than the content that could show up in a long-running group chat in the Messages app on iOS. I expect a ban for that to be coming in short order as well. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place
- paxys 6y ago
  Does Discord ban communities for saying NSFW things on a channel not marked NSFW?
  - Krisando 6y ago
    Discord has been known to take action.
aero-glide2 6y ago
How do Apple users feel about being restricted like this? If Google does something similar, discord could just host the apk on the official website. And I can effortlessly install it. Like I do with NewPipe.
- jlelse 6y ago
  They like being restricted like this, I guess. Watch the debate about external app stores, many don't want them. But most iOS users chose this walled garden. I'm happy to use Android and not being restricted to what I can install on my device :D
- taurath 6y ago
  I frankly wish they just had same parental controls instead of blocking whole apps. All they have to do is install a switch saying you can/can’t see 18+ content. You could have the have apps hook into that setting. It’d be really nice actually to say not be able to interact with under 18s in public channels — the liability risk (both legally/socially) of interacting with minors in any semi-adult context often is too high. I’d rather have a wall. They are “protecting the brand” in their eyes but frankly nobody thinks of an app on the App Store as “Apple”. At the same time I understand their want to not be known as a place you can find porn, but they ship a /web browser/ so it’s not like they’re preventing anything.
  - packetlost 6y ago
    Idk why there isn't an iOS API for parental controls that can block NSFW content. Apps can see "is NSFW allowed, yes/no" and make decisions based on that. Blanket bans are almost always dumb.
- PurpleFoxy 6y ago
  I understand the desire to offer a child friendly device but it’s pretty insane how they go even further and prevent adults from viewing this content. But I don’t believe discord has done the best they can here. Telegram has a similar restriction but you can log on to the web version and flip a toggle and the app becomes unblocked as well. Apple seems to be fine with secret settings on external websites.
throwawaysea 6y ago
Serious question: when does it come to web browser restrictions? I am fully expecting that’s the best target, and that it’ll happen simultaneously on browsers across all platforms.
- boneitis 6y ago
  You know, upon seeing your comment, the kneejerk joke I came up with internally was: How long until websites have to apply to get onto Google/Apple's whitelist-from-scratch for Chrome/Safari to allow browsing to them? I just realized I'd be less than surprised if something not unlike this to come to be. On a separate note, so much for all the third-party clients that Discord has rained down on. I otherwise would have figured a lot of the void could be immediately backfilled via the Discord API.
brailsafe 6y ago
I really expected to read the article, or the post by Discord themselves, and find out that the headline here was overly sensational, but nope. I don't use Discord much, or on iOS, but this feels a bit puritanical, and hope Android does not follow. That said, I can download apps however I want on Android, so it's not that big of a deal. For iOS users, Apple decides for them that this is what they want. At least on my mac I still more or less have control over it as a platform.

61 points by phreack 6y ago

Hamuko 6y ago

It's amazing how Twitter is able to fly under the radar despite the amount of porn on it.

antpls 6y ago
When the topic "Commission" is trending, it's always full of furry porny stuff, I have no idea why
- Hamuko 6y ago
  Furries apparently do a lot of art commissions. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/08/the-secret-furry-patrons-keeping-indie-artists-afloat.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/08/the-secret-furry-pat...

frizkie 6y ago

This sort of thing makes me wonder what could happen to Reddit clients with access to NSFW subreddits.

remram 6y ago
Twitter also has a lot of NSFW content. I understand Snapchat also does. And of course there are web browser apps...
genocidicbunny 6y ago
Even better, I heard there's this app that you can get on iOS that lets you go to thousands of NSFW websites, including the ones on Reddit. Safari I think it was called?
wyqydsyq 6y ago
Reddit is still accessible on mobile via browsers though, so even if Apple imposes rules on the native app it's easily worked around. AFAIK the discord webapp only works on desktop, so for iOS users wanting to access NSFW discords on their mobile device they are shit out of luck
- neartheplain 6y ago
  > Reddit is still accessible on mobile via browsers though Barely. They’ve aggressively pushed the app on mobile users for years, and they keep moving more and more of the mobile site behind a login screen. For example, you must now make an account to view more than the last few comments on a post on the mobile site.
  - taurath 6y ago
    When Reddit shuts down old.reddit is the day I will stop using Reddit. The information density on the apps and in the new style is horrendous.

threevox 6y ago

Can anyone explain why all these sites seem to be cracking down on adult content? I don't get it. Adult content is the cherished underbelly of the web. If you want to find it, it shouldn't be up to a corporation to decide whether or not you can

bongoman37 6y ago
Probably the real reason would be to have mechanisms to block any content deemed unsuitable/politically unpalatable or whatever and NSFW is vague enough that you can block and let the issue blow over and then make it look like a genuine mistake was made. Also, hard for most people to bat for NSFW content because it makes you look like a pervert.
- threevox 6y ago
  Both good points. I don't like the implications of the first but that probably means it's true
- stuffbyspencer 6y ago
  I always felt like the hardest position to uphold is "Anti-Kink-Shaming", A) it's embarrassing, B) there's some... questionable kinks out there, C) the amount of adhoms you'll get in response is absurd NSFW is the catch all phrase paving the way for censorship
Hammershaft 6y ago
In this case the culprit is Apple.
pm90 6y ago
Corporations fundamentally exist to make a profit. A startup that cares only about growth at all costs doesn’t care too much about moderation. If it’s a tiny startup whose product isn’t very popular, they are free from any regulation. Once the product gets popular, the startup morphs into a “regular” corporation and is now under all kinds of scrutiny to improve its image. So any product that you use and like which gets really popular will suffer the same transformation as it becomes more mature and more adult.

dlgeek 6y ago

Previous Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26792031 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26792031

betwixthewires 6y ago

Is anyone else tired of the internet being taken over by fucking puritans of one stripe or another?

stuffbyspencer 6y ago
Say what you will about the crypto & blockchain scene, but I can't fucking wait for us to move over to it more & start adopting more tamper-resistant decentralization standards... One can hope
- teraku 6y ago
  Why is everyone trying to find technical solutions for societal problems?
  - betwixthewires 6y ago
    Because there are some technical solutions to some societal problems. Are there technical solutions to the ones we are discussing? Possibly, possibly not, you don't know until you look.
  - worldsayshi 6y ago
    Because technology is something they feel they can have an impact on.
  - manojlds 6y ago
    I mean are we just going to ask people to mask up and social distance and not work on a vaccine?
    - arcticbull 6y ago
      Those are both useful solutions that work together to solve the problem. This is a poor example.
  - programmarchy 6y ago
    Technology is the first mover in human affairs.

reificator 6y ago

Every small community I'm on on Discord (meaning the majority of the servers I regularly interact with) sets every channel to `NSFW`, and some mark the server itself. They do this because everyone involved is known to be 18+ (Usually higher than that) and they want to be able to have the same discussions they'd have in person. These communities are not about porn, are not about anything "distasteful", but the flag is set there so that if a topic comes up we can discuss it without risking a ban. In other words these communities are meant to be a Third Place[0], or an extension of a physical Third Place, particularly recently thanks to COVID. The content here is literally no different than the content that could show up in a long-running group chat in the Messages app on iOS. I expect a ban for that to be coming in short order as well. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place

paxys 6y ago
Does Discord ban communities for saying NSFW things on a channel not marked NSFW?
- Krisando 6y ago
  Discord has been known to take action.

aero-glide2 6y ago

How do Apple users feel about being restricted like this? If Google does something similar, discord could just host the apk on the official website. And I can effortlessly install it. Like I do with NewPipe.

jlelse 6y ago
They like being restricted like this, I guess. Watch the debate about external app stores, many don't want them. But most iOS users chose this walled garden. I'm happy to use Android and not being restricted to what I can install on my device :D
taurath 6y ago
I frankly wish they just had same parental controls instead of blocking whole apps. All they have to do is install a switch saying you can/can’t see 18+ content. You could have the have apps hook into that setting. It’d be really nice actually to say not be able to interact with under 18s in public channels — the liability risk (both legally/socially) of interacting with minors in any semi-adult context often is too high. I’d rather have a wall. They are “protecting the brand” in their eyes but frankly nobody thinks of an app on the App Store as “Apple”. At the same time I understand their want to not be known as a place you can find porn, but they ship a /web browser/ so it’s not like they’re preventing anything.
- packetlost 6y ago
  Idk why there isn't an iOS API for parental controls that can block NSFW content. Apps can see "is NSFW allowed, yes/no" and make decisions based on that. Blanket bans are almost always dumb.
PurpleFoxy 6y ago
I understand the desire to offer a child friendly device but it’s pretty insane how they go even further and prevent adults from viewing this content. But I don’t believe discord has done the best they can here. Telegram has a similar restriction but you can log on to the web version and flip a toggle and the app becomes unblocked as well. Apple seems to be fine with secret settings on external websites.

throwawaysea 6y ago

Serious question: when does it come to web browser restrictions? I am fully expecting that’s the best target, and that it’ll happen simultaneously on browsers across all platforms.

boneitis 6y ago
You know, upon seeing your comment, the kneejerk joke I came up with internally was: How long until websites have to apply to get onto Google/Apple's whitelist-from-scratch for Chrome/Safari to allow browsing to them? I just realized I'd be less than surprised if something not unlike this to come to be. On a separate note, so much for all the third-party clients that Discord has rained down on. I otherwise would have figured a lot of the void could be immediately backfilled via the Discord API.

brailsafe 6y ago

I really expected to read the article, or the post by Discord themselves, and find out that the headline here was overly sensational, but nope. I don't use Discord much, or on iOS, but this feels a bit puritanical, and hope Android does not follow. That said, I can download apps however I want on Android, so it's not that big of a deal. For iOS users, Apple decides for them that this is what they want. At least on my mac I still more or less have control over it as a platform.