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So Tumblr died because it was dependent on porn traffic? If that is the case, they were already “dead” (or at least not worth hundreds of millions), and Apple’s

So Tumblr died because it was dependent on porn traffic? If that is the case, they were already “dead” (or at least not worth hundreds of millions), and Apple’s rules had nothing to do with it.

alexb_ 4y ago
In order for tumblr to get into the good graces of Apple (which again, they absolutely should not have to do at all), they had to ban an absolutely absurd amount of content. Especially bad when a large part of your userbase is LGBT, and anything relating to that gets flagged as "adult" by automated systems.
- threeseed 4y ago
  > and anything relating to that gets flagged as "adult" by automated systems Maybe Tumblr should have taken a page out of Apple's book and had reviewers.
  - marvin 4y ago
    Tumblr should have just dropped the share of their users that accessed their platform through the iOS app. But meh. They chose the other option.
hyperbovine 4y ago
Wait why? Porn sites are hugely profitable. Pornhub rakes in more monthly traffic than Google and FB combined.
- mi_lk 4y ago
  > Pornhub rakes in more monthly traffic than Google and FB combined. traffic measured in visitors or bytes downloaded? any source?
  - lucideer 4y ago
    Even in bytes that's a notable metric. What's your point?
    - Macha 4y ago
      In bytes it's even less believable. More traffic than Google, which owns YouTube? What are they doing, serving all the video in 8K? Even as someone who really doesn't have a problem with porn, I'm not going to spend 3 hours watching it, while I definitely have spent 3 hours watching youtube on many many occasions. There's also only one of the two that's going to be serving as background noise during working hours... Or that someone is going to put on to entertain their kids.
      - lucideer 4y ago
        Fair point - didn't really think of it like that before. I suspect it's bullshit.
  - hyperbovine 4y ago
    > The company employs around sixteen hundred people, and the online platforms it owns, which include Pornhub, RedTube, YouPorn, and Brazzers, received approximately 4.5 billion visits each month in 2020, according to a company spokesperson—almost double Google and Facebook combined. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-fight-to-hold-pornhub-accountable https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-fight-to-h...
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - zuminator 4y ago
      That is a source, but I very much question those numbers. Google alone gets 89 billion visits a month. https://www.oberlo.com/blog/google-search-statistics https://www.oberlo.com/blog/google-search-statistics
- mgiannopoulos 4y ago
  My use of “dead” was since (obviously) Tumblr’s business model did not include serving porn. It did include appearing to be one of the most popular websites globally.
- Workaccount2 4y ago
  It's only as profitable as what advertisers will pay. Porn is at the absolute bottom for ad value.
lucideer 4y ago
Even if you have some moral objection to porn that's still a massive oversimplification: 1) The definition of porn is fluid - adhering to an external third party's guidelines (Apple's) will always mean adopting an overly strict definition to ensure confidence in compliance 2) Moderation is a hard problem - false positives will always happen, and given point (1) above will happen a LOT in the case of Tumblr
- mgiannopoulos 4y ago
  Not sure where I said I have problems with porn. It’s just that it was something outside of tumblr’s business model or any of their income sources
  - lucideer 4y ago
    Just to be clear, I didn't say you had problems with it: hence the "even if" preface. However, calling tumblr "dead" as a result of it does seem to imply such a problem. Their business model was ads, that doesn't inherently exempt porn in any way.
    - mgiannopoulos 4y ago
      I doubt any ads served next to erotic/porn/whateveryoucallit perform well. And if that’s 50% of your traffic, that is not working well for you or make you a company worth hundreds of millions.
      - lucideer 4y ago
        You seem extremely intent on ignoring my above points about the definition of porn not being a binary. There are plenty of porn-adjacent things that advertise well / perform well alongside. In fact, a lot of it will cater to narrowly targeted commercial niches that are valuable in themselves purely for the ability to identify them.

So Tumblr died because it was dependent on porn traffic? If that is the case, they were already “dead” (or at least not worth hundreds of millions), and Apple’s rules had nothing to do with it.

alexb_ 4y ago

In order for tumblr to get into the good graces of Apple (which again, they absolutely should not have to do at all), they had to ban an absolutely absurd amount of content. Especially bad when a large part of your userbase is LGBT, and anything relating to that gets flagged as "adult" by automated systems.

threeseed 4y ago
> and anything relating to that gets flagged as "adult" by automated systems Maybe Tumblr should have taken a page out of Apple's book and had reviewers.
- marvin 4y ago
  Tumblr should have just dropped the share of their users that accessed their platform through the iOS app. But meh. They chose the other option.

hyperbovine 4y ago

Wait why? Porn sites are hugely profitable. Pornhub rakes in more monthly traffic than Google and FB combined.

mi_lk 4y ago
> Pornhub rakes in more monthly traffic than Google and FB combined. traffic measured in visitors or bytes downloaded? any source?
- lucideer 4y ago
  Even in bytes that's a notable metric. What's your point?
  - Macha 4y ago
    In bytes it's even less believable. More traffic than Google, which owns YouTube? What are they doing, serving all the video in 8K? Even as someone who really doesn't have a problem with porn, I'm not going to spend 3 hours watching it, while I definitely have spent 3 hours watching youtube on many many occasions. There's also only one of the two that's going to be serving as background noise during working hours... Or that someone is going to put on to entertain their kids.
    - lucideer 4y ago
      Fair point - didn't really think of it like that before. I suspect it's bullshit.
- hyperbovine 4y ago
  > The company employs around sixteen hundred people, and the online platforms it owns, which include Pornhub, RedTube, YouPorn, and Brazzers, received approximately 4.5 billion visits each month in 2020, according to a company spokesperson—almost double Google and Facebook combined. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-fight-to-hold-pornhub-accountable https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-fight-to-h...
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - zuminator 4y ago
    That is a source, but I very much question those numbers. Google alone gets 89 billion visits a month. https://www.oberlo.com/blog/google-search-statistics https://www.oberlo.com/blog/google-search-statistics
mgiannopoulos 4y ago
My use of “dead” was since (obviously) Tumblr’s business model did not include serving porn. It did include appearing to be one of the most popular websites globally.
Workaccount2 4y ago
It's only as profitable as what advertisers will pay. Porn is at the absolute bottom for ad value.

lucideer 4y ago

Even if you have some moral objection to porn that's still a massive oversimplification: 1) The definition of porn is fluid - adhering to an external third party's guidelines (Apple's) will always mean adopting an overly strict definition to ensure confidence in compliance 2) Moderation is a hard problem - false positives will always happen, and given point (1) above will happen a LOT in the case of Tumblr

mgiannopoulos 4y ago
Not sure where I said I have problems with porn. It’s just that it was something outside of tumblr’s business model or any of their income sources
- lucideer 4y ago
  Just to be clear, I didn't say you had problems with it: hence the "even if" preface. However, calling tumblr "dead" as a result of it does seem to imply such a problem. Their business model was ads, that doesn't inherently exempt porn in any way.
  - mgiannopoulos 4y ago
    I doubt any ads served next to erotic/porn/whateveryoucallit perform well. And if that’s 50% of your traffic, that is not working well for you or make you a company worth hundreds of millions.
    - lucideer 4y ago
      You seem extremely intent on ignoring my above points about the definition of porn not being a binary. There are plenty of porn-adjacent things that advertise well / perform well alongside. In fact, a lot of it will cater to narrowly targeted commercial niches that are valuable in themselves purely for the ability to identify them.