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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 w

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 5y 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 5y ago
  Both good points. I don't like the implications of the first but that probably means it's true
- stuffbyspencer 5y 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 5y ago
In this case the culprit is Apple.
pm90 5y 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.
bcyn 5y ago
in a word, liability
- m-p-3 5y ago
  For user-generated content, on a third-party instant-messaging app? This morality crusade against nudity has lasted long enough. Let adults be adults.
bcyn 5y ago
in a word, liability.
Clewza313 5y ago
This is Apple's walled garden, not the web. Parents, and hence Apple, are OK with kids installing Discord so they can chat about Roblox, but they don't want them to stumble into that underbelly of furry scheisse porn etc.
- DavidSJ 5y ago
  What do you call a walled garden which you can't escape from because it keeps expanding to wherever you go?
  - officialjunk 5y ago
    a black hole
  - Gaelan 5y ago
    Not defending Apple at all here, but it's not too difficult to escape in this case: use Discord on a computer or an Android phone. The walls of the garden are around your iPhone, and the way to escape is to use something else.
    - PurpleFoxy 5y ago
      So the options are pick a phone loaded with spyware or pick a phone that doesn’t let you look at adult content. Not a very comforting choice.
    - wayneftw 5y ago
      Yeah but that doesn't work when 90% of the kids are on iPhones and iPads.
- thiht 5y ago
  Why do they allow Reddit with it's countless porn subreddits? Why do they allow Safari since it can be used to browse porn content (as well as Discord btw)? It's completely hypocritical, and you and others must stop defending their stupid authoritarian and honestly abusive decisions.
incompatible 5y ago
It's hardly a "crack down" in Apple's case. They've been at it for at least 10 years. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=621165 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=621165
jariel 5y ago
"the cherished underbelly of the web" So your answer is in your question. Most people don't really want to deal with the 'cherished underbelly'. Also, there's 'adult' and then there's stuff that goes way beyond that, that even freedom types would not want to be randomly confronted with, even if they reasoned for it's right to exist. iOS is a Shopping Mall "No Porn Stores Here Please". If this were a question of governmental or bans in the web, that would be a different kind of question entirely.
- sellyme 5y ago
  > iOS is a Shopping Mall "No Porn Stores Here Please". Most shopping malls I go to don't block me from entering any malls that they don't own. It astounds me how many people are willing to give Apple a free pass on this inexcusable behaviour. Microsoft got the crap sued out of them just for pre-installing IE on a bunch of computers, imagine if they also tried to make it impossible to install any competing browsers, and tried to claim that it was illegal to wipe the OS and install Linux instead!
  - jariel 5y ago
    Yes, if Apple allowed people to download apps that would change the narrative completely. I'm not defending Apple's behaviour, I'm explaining it. If we assume as a starting position that they want a 'closed universe' then their content policy is sensible, even if the 'closed universe' policy is not.
- wink 5y ago
  You're overlooking the fact that tons of people around the globe (in different jurisdictions) just label their content 18+ by default just in order to not be liable for anything that could be construed as "not for minors". And I really mean anything completely tame by most of civilized countries standards, let's say swearing or pixel blood. Of course this isn't a great solution but if you don't create your content to cater to the mass market by default, but just to put it out there, it's suddenly not your problem anymore if anyone under 18 clicks through the "I am over 18" banner. Yes, it's stupid but my point is - just because it's labeled NSFW this doesn't really mean there is anything that sensible adults would deem NSFW.
marakv2 5y ago
Oh it's fine as long as people aren't making money off of it. As soon as people want advertising suddenly we are all supposeto be PG-13 puritans.

bongoman37 5y 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 5y ago
Both good points. I don't like the implications of the first but that probably means it's true
stuffbyspencer 5y 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 5y ago

In this case the culprit is Apple.

pm90 5y 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.

bcyn 5y ago

in a word, liability

m-p-3 5y ago
For user-generated content, on a third-party instant-messaging app? This morality crusade against nudity has lasted long enough. Let adults be adults.

bcyn 5y ago

in a word, liability.

Clewza313 5y ago

This is Apple's walled garden, not the web. Parents, and hence Apple, are OK with kids installing Discord so they can chat about Roblox, but they don't want them to stumble into that underbelly of furry scheisse porn etc.

DavidSJ 5y ago
What do you call a walled garden which you can't escape from because it keeps expanding to wherever you go?
- officialjunk 5y ago
  a black hole
- Gaelan 5y ago
  Not defending Apple at all here, but it's not too difficult to escape in this case: use Discord on a computer or an Android phone. The walls of the garden are around your iPhone, and the way to escape is to use something else.
  - PurpleFoxy 5y ago
    So the options are pick a phone loaded with spyware or pick a phone that doesn’t let you look at adult content. Not a very comforting choice.
  - wayneftw 5y ago
    Yeah but that doesn't work when 90% of the kids are on iPhones and iPads.
thiht 5y ago
Why do they allow Reddit with it's countless porn subreddits? Why do they allow Safari since it can be used to browse porn content (as well as Discord btw)? It's completely hypocritical, and you and others must stop defending their stupid authoritarian and honestly abusive decisions.

incompatible 5y ago

It's hardly a "crack down" in Apple's case. They've been at it for at least 10 years. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=621165 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=621165

jariel 5y ago

"the cherished underbelly of the web" So your answer is in your question. Most people don't really want to deal with the 'cherished underbelly'. Also, there's 'adult' and then there's stuff that goes way beyond that, that even freedom types would not want to be randomly confronted with, even if they reasoned for it's right to exist. iOS is a Shopping Mall "No Porn Stores Here Please". If this were a question of governmental or bans in the web, that would be a different kind of question entirely.

sellyme 5y ago
> iOS is a Shopping Mall "No Porn Stores Here Please". Most shopping malls I go to don't block me from entering any malls that they don't own. It astounds me how many people are willing to give Apple a free pass on this inexcusable behaviour. Microsoft got the crap sued out of them just for pre-installing IE on a bunch of computers, imagine if they also tried to make it impossible to install any competing browsers, and tried to claim that it was illegal to wipe the OS and install Linux instead!
- jariel 5y ago
  Yes, if Apple allowed people to download apps that would change the narrative completely. I'm not defending Apple's behaviour, I'm explaining it. If we assume as a starting position that they want a 'closed universe' then their content policy is sensible, even if the 'closed universe' policy is not.
wink 5y ago
You're overlooking the fact that tons of people around the globe (in different jurisdictions) just label their content 18+ by default just in order to not be liable for anything that could be construed as "not for minors". And I really mean anything completely tame by most of civilized countries standards, let's say swearing or pixel blood. Of course this isn't a great solution but if you don't create your content to cater to the mass market by default, but just to put it out there, it's suddenly not your problem anymore if anyone under 18 clicks through the "I am over 18" banner. Yes, it's stupid but my point is - just because it's labeled NSFW this doesn't really mean there is anything that sensible adults would deem NSFW.

marakv2 5y ago

Oh it's fine as long as people aren't making money off of it. As soon as people want advertising suddenly we are all supposeto be PG-13 puritans.