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Artists_Beware: Don't Use The Word "Murder"...
12 years ago
... but "Rape" is okay.
Apparently, in a community where people post links to all kinds of pornographic artwork with only "NSFW" warnings, it's NOT okay to say the word "murder".
I commented on a heated discussion about copyright infringement. Someone had said that, since artists sell "fan art" at conventions, that essentially means that the companies who hold the copyright on the characters are "okay" with the artists selling art of the copyrighted characters. I was like LOLNOPE WRONG. I don't remember my exact words, since my comment was deleted by a moderator without a warning or explanation until after the fact (but by god, don't YOU dare delete or screen your OWN comments on that community, BTW) but here's part of what I said, paraphrased:
"If someone murders a person, and the victim's family says 'it's okay, we don't consider that murder,' it's STILL legally murder. The murderer is not absolved of his crime just because the family is okay with it."
What I was trying to give an extreme analogy of is that EVEN IF a company is "okay" with artists profiting off of the company's copyrighted characters/intellectual property, THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT LEGAL. It is STILL copyright infringement. It is STILL illegal.
But apparently you cannot talk about a fake, vague "murder" in a community where people can post gore and porn of every type and rating.
My comment was deleted outright, and I then received a warning from a moderator stating that my "analogy" was "too graphic and not appropriate for our community."
Uh... I wasn't aware there was a rule against that. Also, I didn't DESCRIBE a murder or mention a real, actual murder... I used the WORD murder, which is, you know, a normal word in the English language. One that people throw around pretty casually ("I'm gonna murder that guy if he keeps tapping his foot on the floor!")
So, I immediately combed over the Artists_Beware community rules and did not see ANYTHING about keeping comments/posts "unoffensive" or "morally clean". I didn't see anything about "keeping your language rated G or PG" or "don't be mean/offensive". All I saw were the usual "don't troll, don't name-call, don't start flame wars", and my comment was none of those things.
I did not see a list of "issues" or "words" that you are never allowed to mention or talk about on Artists_Beware.
A simple LiveJournal search has also turned up several PAGES of other posts in which people mention "murder". I'd like to know why those posts weren't deleted. And if we're removing references to murder, we'd better remove references to rape, torture, theft, drug use, child abuse, and papercuts, because those things are also pretty graphic and not appropriate for the community, right?
Here are screenshots of the current Artists_Beware community rules, just in case there happens to be ninja edits at some point in the immediate future, though that would certainly be a very morally unclean and not-appropriate thing to do, right?...
http://www.splintyr.com/artists_bew...../ab_rules1.jpg
http://www.splintyr.com/artists_bew...../ab_rules2.jpg
Now, you may be wondering why I have my panties in such a twist over this, and why I'm so OMG OFFENDED. That's because the internet is somewhere where people should be able to voice their thoughts and opinions without fear of people stomping all over them, AS LONG AS people follow the rules of wherever they are posting. Since I was following Artists_Beware's community rules, I feel as though I am the one who was violated and stomped on here, all for using a word that every 6-year-old in America probably knows.
I also do not like that there are apparently unspoken, un-posted "rules" and "regulations" that the moderators will follow at THEIR whim, but will not reveal to the userbase of the community.
All in all, I'm pretty saddened by this heavy-handed approach to what you can and can't say on A_B, especially since I turned up pages and pages of people talking about murder (and rape, and torture) in comments on the community with a simple LJ search. Apparently, talking about rape is totally cool, and you don't even need to put an NSFW warning in front of your comment. But you better not say the M-word, or the authority will muzzle you.
I'd like to keep using the community to express my thoughts and opinions, but I probably won't, knowing that my thoughts and opinions could be screened by an indiscriminate body of moderators who follow their own un-posted "moral code" that is not revealed to the community's userbase, nor is it enforced with any sort of regularity.
I have two more A_B posts to make about unsatisfactory commission experiences I've had, but then I'm probably done with the community entirely beyond using it exactly for what it's there for.
Apparently, in a community where people post links to all kinds of pornographic artwork with only "NSFW" warnings, it's NOT okay to say the word "murder".
I commented on a heated discussion about copyright infringement. Someone had said that, since artists sell "fan art" at conventions, that essentially means that the companies who hold the copyright on the characters are "okay" with the artists selling art of the copyrighted characters. I was like LOLNOPE WRONG. I don't remember my exact words, since my comment was deleted by a moderator without a warning or explanation until after the fact (but by god, don't YOU dare delete or screen your OWN comments on that community, BTW) but here's part of what I said, paraphrased:
"If someone murders a person, and the victim's family says 'it's okay, we don't consider that murder,' it's STILL legally murder. The murderer is not absolved of his crime just because the family is okay with it."
What I was trying to give an extreme analogy of is that EVEN IF a company is "okay" with artists profiting off of the company's copyrighted characters/intellectual property, THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT LEGAL. It is STILL copyright infringement. It is STILL illegal.
But apparently you cannot talk about a fake, vague "murder" in a community where people can post gore and porn of every type and rating.
My comment was deleted outright, and I then received a warning from a moderator stating that my "analogy" was "too graphic and not appropriate for our community."
Uh... I wasn't aware there was a rule against that. Also, I didn't DESCRIBE a murder or mention a real, actual murder... I used the WORD murder, which is, you know, a normal word in the English language. One that people throw around pretty casually ("I'm gonna murder that guy if he keeps tapping his foot on the floor!")
So, I immediately combed over the Artists_Beware community rules and did not see ANYTHING about keeping comments/posts "unoffensive" or "morally clean". I didn't see anything about "keeping your language rated G or PG" or "don't be mean/offensive". All I saw were the usual "don't troll, don't name-call, don't start flame wars", and my comment was none of those things.
I did not see a list of "issues" or "words" that you are never allowed to mention or talk about on Artists_Beware.
A simple LiveJournal search has also turned up several PAGES of other posts in which people mention "murder". I'd like to know why those posts weren't deleted. And if we're removing references to murder, we'd better remove references to rape, torture, theft, drug use, child abuse, and papercuts, because those things are also pretty graphic and not appropriate for the community, right?
Here are screenshots of the current Artists_Beware community rules, just in case there happens to be ninja edits at some point in the immediate future, though that would certainly be a very morally unclean and not-appropriate thing to do, right?...
http://www.splintyr.com/artists_bew...../ab_rules1.jpg
http://www.splintyr.com/artists_bew...../ab_rules2.jpg
Now, you may be wondering why I have my panties in such a twist over this, and why I'm so OMG OFFENDED. That's because the internet is somewhere where people should be able to voice their thoughts and opinions without fear of people stomping all over them, AS LONG AS people follow the rules of wherever they are posting. Since I was following Artists_Beware's community rules, I feel as though I am the one who was violated and stomped on here, all for using a word that every 6-year-old in America probably knows.
I also do not like that there are apparently unspoken, un-posted "rules" and "regulations" that the moderators will follow at THEIR whim, but will not reveal to the userbase of the community.
All in all, I'm pretty saddened by this heavy-handed approach to what you can and can't say on A_B, especially since I turned up pages and pages of people talking about murder (and rape, and torture) in comments on the community with a simple LJ search. Apparently, talking about rape is totally cool, and you don't even need to put an NSFW warning in front of your comment. But you better not say the M-word, or the authority will muzzle you.
I'd like to keep using the community to express my thoughts and opinions, but I probably won't, knowing that my thoughts and opinions could be screened by an indiscriminate body of moderators who follow their own un-posted "moral code" that is not revealed to the community's userbase, nor is it enforced with any sort of regularity.
I have two more A_B posts to make about unsatisfactory commission experiences I've had, but then I'm probably done with the community entirely beyond using it exactly for what it's there for.
I feel you there, and sympathize with you.