Skip to main content

Clarification About What Gallery Images Require Warnings

Posted by Kim on November 28, 2022, 3:30pm

I've heard some concerns that we've abruptly added a huge number of new warning flags to images previously deemed "SFW." I want to clarify:

The Great Explaining didn't add new flags on old images, or new requirements to add flags that didn't exist before.

The rules are the same, the images that have warnings on them are the same. These are the things that we require warning on:
  • Sexy bits or female nipples visible
  • Sexual activity/extremely provocative content
  • Gore or blood
  • F-bombs or flipping the bird, slurs

The point is only to add an explanation to potential viewers as to why the uploader put a warning on their image. Many of the flag descriptors are completely optional for those who prefer to be over cautious. The standards have not changed.

In doing the great explaining project, the mods are working from a list of images that already had mature tags on them from way back when. There isn't a button on that page to add a new warning. There's just a textbox that adds an explanation to an existing warning.

I think one thing that has contributed to some users thinking there was a sudden jump in the number of images flagged with warnings is that previously, if you had all three of the "I am comfortable with seeing ____ without a warning" privacy/comfort settings checked, you'd never see any gallery images as having a warning at all, even if they were flagged as potentially having warnable content in them. All gallery warnings were skipped for those of you who said you wanted no warnings for profiles.

Since which images are censored/warned for you is now broken out into more granular settings, unrelated to the profile warning settings, you may be seeing for the first time how many images - perhaps even your own images! - were uploaded with the warning checkbox checked. It is a LOT of images. We're hearing from people who forgot that they marked an image as mature years ago and think we did it, or who maybe clicked it accidentally at some point, and think the mods added a new warning. If we add a warning to an image that did not have one previously, you automatically get a PM notice. If you didn't get a notice in your inbox, then that image was already flagged as needing a warning previously, and the only change is there being a description now.
If you see something that has the warning "sexy pose" or "scarring" but is still sfw, that doesn't mean the mod team forced a warning flag on that image. It means the person who uploaded it had marked it as requiring a warning, and we did our best to guess what it was they were trying to warn potential viewers about. Sometimes "a scar" or "wearing a bikini" was our only guess as to what the person's reasoning could be. We've also had to type in stuff like "A cat" and "A guitar" and "A face" which are also obviously not things that we require warnings to show to people but for some reason the uploader wanted to warn people anyway. Or, maybe they accidentally clicked the "mature" checkbox while uploading and never noticed (until, perhaps, now) because they were one of the people that had all of the profile warnings turned off, and that previously also turned off the gallery warnings. The mature box stays checked between image uploads if you don't navigate away from the page, so it can be an easy mistake to make!

In those cases of "A cat" or "sort of sexy ninja outfit," we left the warning in place since that was presumably the uploader's choice to do that, even though the image did not require a warning per our rules. All we did was add a description.

If we guessed wrong about why you felt an image needed a warning, you can always update it. The idea is just to give people some clue as to what they're getting into. If you have an image you just realized you accidentally marked mature but doesn't need a warning per the rules, by all means, remove the warning entirely. You are free to do this if it is your preference! :)

I've also updated the section about "self harm" in our guide, changing the wording "aftermath of self-harm" to "graphic aftermath of recent self-harm" to try and clarify that simply having a scar isn't a problem.

Post tags: Feature Explanations

Comments

Sanne

November 30, 2022
3:54am

VarianOfOldCorona wrote:
Is it alright to use the "Other" warnings for Spoilers, as long as I address that they are spoilers? I use them for my Varian and Cassandra characters, but I don't know if it's actually allowed to work that way.

The goal of the warnings is to allow for informed consent when revealing the image. I think marking an image for specific content and warning the viewer that it may spoiler potential content they don't want to be exposed to yet is an appropriate use for gallery uploaded images!

PK-Lucas

November 29, 2022
11:44pm

Is it alright to use the "Other" warnings for Spoilers, as long as I address that they are spoilers? I use them for my Varian and Cassandra characters, but I don't know if it's actually allowed to work that way.

Moki

November 29, 2022
3:43pm

@Kim
Yeah, it's a bummer stance for sure. I figured as much, but thought if anyone could give a straight answer on that it'd be you xD Thanks for the response!

GU7TMUNCH3RZ

November 29, 2022
12:16pm

I've found this useful for a great deal of pictures on chris and devil-may-care! TY!

Dawnia

November 28, 2022
9:12pm

Kim wrote:
I want to clarify, the "other" button is the same on all levels. Going to a second level to click it isn't different than just clicking it on the first level! :)
Ah, I wondered after I did a few and experimented. :)

Kim

November 28, 2022
7:28pm

@Astrobeans - You are absolutely not the reason for the flipping the bird thing! XD It's a very popular pose.

Jaws

November 28, 2022
6:56pm

This is useful so I don't feel the necessary to add in my warnings; still going to do it anyways. I hope I wasn't the main clause of the flipping the bird; if so, I am sorry.

Kim

November 28, 2022
5:25pm

@Moki - That is a great question and your guess is basically right. Laws/TOSes with payment processors, advertisers, etc., at least within the USA, tend to only target female nipples as being provocative by their very existence. This is maddening and ridiculous and unfair.

I have toyed with extending the policy to also cover male nipples just to make it "even" since there' no way to make it actually "just." This only gets more complicated and silly when you realize that gender is a construct and these divisions are not as clear-cut as people think.

In the end I haven't because I think requiring a warning for either is unfair, and adding extra unfairness for masculine presenting folk doesn't really solve the main issue of I'd rather do as little hiding of nipples as I strictly can get away with because it shouldn't be a problem. I really do apologize on that front, I'd remove that requirement in a heartbeat if I felt I could safely get away with it.

Moki

November 28, 2022
5:16pm

Why is it limited to female nipples, out of curiosity? I've never understood why some nudity policies target female nips and not just blanket all nips in general - wondering if there's a particular sla/tos/aup with third parties that has to be adhered to or something :o

Luscinioide

November 28, 2022
4:40pm

mods dealing with these complaints like[/collapse

NlJUl8l.png

Taro_Nuke1

November 28, 2022
3:48pm

To be honest, that makes a whole lot of sense. How come i haven't thought about that?

Kim

November 28, 2022
3:46pm

I want to clarify, the "other" button is the same on all levels. Going to a second level to click it isn't different than just clicking it on the first level! :)

Dawnia

November 28, 2022
3:42pm

Thanks for this, and the new warning tag system. I have been working through my characters' photos and detailing their warnings with the new first level warning and usually using the 'other' option on the 2nd level to detail what the photo is.

I will admit that with the old system; after a photo I didn't consider to be 'mature' was flagged, I automatically started ticking the 'Mature' box on all my uploaded photos just because I didn't want to make 'judgement calls' as to what the 'judgement call' of the moderators was going to be. It was just easier to and erred on the side of caution as a sort of 'set and forget' option.