A Day on the Internet: Early Morning Edition

[heidi8]

Well, midafternoon for those of you in the UK and "Saturday" for those very far to the east.

In case you missed it yesterday, lj_biz announced that the code/process for deeming an LJ or individual posts on an LJ as "explicit adult content" or "adult concepts" - the former will block those under 18 from seeing it, and the latter will block those under

Comments

[kimmyblair]

Are you inexplicable tempted to flag the entries in lj_biz inappropriate? I totally am...

[kimmparker]

......I am also tempted to flag posts by that thief above......"she stole my name!"

On a slightly less obnoxious, its Frisay and I no longer have a brain note, my concern would be comms that you belong to setting themselves up as "adult" and somehow that showing on your profile page. I don't belong to any that I *think* would but I work for an insanely conservative schhool district and am dumb enough to use my real name. As a result I am careful what I do online, but if something I dint do can affect my profile and a parent sees it I could be screwed. Using myself as an example but there have to be people really in that situation.......

[nightfalltwen]

Unfortunately, from what I've read, all LJ-admin type communities and stuff are un-flaggable.

[kimmyblair]

that is so not fair...

[penknife]

One difference between these flags and abuse complaints is that generally, complaints to Abuse have been public - if you have a problem with something, anyone can see it, at least initially, when it's posted to Abuse.

If I recall correctly from my time in Support, this is only true for complaints to Abuse if they're initially posted to the public Support board, which isn't actually the process people are encouraged to use. Actual Abuse reports using the "Report Abuse" link are private from the beginning, and Abuse reports that turn up on the Support board get moved to the private Abuse category as soon as possible. I'd guess flags won't be publicly visible, although I don't know for sure -- if someone has an entry they don't mind having reported, we could test this.

[zhonnika]

Stuff flagged goes to an area you need abuse privs to see, it's never public!

[heidi8]

Does that mean that if you get flagged by grudgey-people and nothing ever comes of it, you never know about it? That's both good and bad because it means you can flag Real Stuff without worrying about someone grudge-flagging you in return, but also you never would know if someone is all Up In Arms about something they think you did, which turns out to not be against LJ's rules at all.

I will say this - I like that people who flag have to be able to actually *see* the post, which means that only someone on your flist/filter can flag something flocked or filtered.

[zhonnika]

Yeah, it's the same way when someone reports you for spamming. You never hear about it, unless it's a real violation. Nobody will know you flagged stuff, unless it's some moron going "OMG THIS HO, GO FLAG THIS (link)". Which, we know people do. As they are morons :)

Since this is all so new, I really don't know how it's going to work in the long run. Each thing flagged gets looked over by someone, it doesn't fly off into the ether.

I think what's *not* worrying me about grudge reporting is the fact that I'm quite sure it's -- at least most of the time -- going to be used on stuff that isn't a violation, and we'll just dismiss those reports. (people do this all the time, trying to get people suspended by reporting their entries as spam). I mean, just because someone reports something 500 times... if it's not a violation, it's not a violation.

I just wish poeple would *stop* reporting staff and various journals... really, you're not funny. Really.

[annearchy]

I agree that the flags have a lot of potential for abuse:(

As for the adult content stuff, I wonder if RPGs will start using these. Hmmm. And yay for Google Group chat.

[marie_j_granger]

I think so too, Anne, especially with the Buy Out/switch-over. Not that I'm thrilled with the way 6A handled things, but the devil we don't know yet makes me even more nervous.

That was one of my first thoughts as well. If we're forced to, how long before RPG journals are just disallowed by LJ? I know I'm being alarmist/cynical, but...

[misscake]

Not that I am agreeing with LJ here at all - nor does this eliminate the potential for abuse - but the newest lamb for slaughter staff person, marta does say here that "[e]ach account is limited to 5 reports within twenty-four hours (and only accounts over a month old are able to do so)."

[heidi8]

That is really, really good to hear. It means that they're at least trying to control the potential damage sock-puppets can do.

[hedwig_snowy]

Did you see the Simpsons episode where Ned Flanders is upset with something the local TV Guy said and got on the internet to mass email all his 'homeys'? Think of F_W (or just regular fandom wanking) and I tend to agree with you that if LJ wants to have the policy, they will need a boatload of people to review complaints. Seems easier just to keep to the current TOS with the 'babyproofing' and leave it at that. One man's obscenity/diatribes are another man's art! :)