PSA: and we thought FanLib was bad...
Heads up, fandom.
Today Livejournal permanently suspended pornish_pixies, a Harry Potter adult fanfiction community, because it had "incest" listed in the community's interests. Apparently someone reported the comm -- the speculative consensus seems to be on the group at this link: hxxp://www.warriorsforinnocence.org/search/label/LiveJournal (cut and paste, replace xx with tt)
Livejournal also suspended several other adult-oriented fan communities, but I think PP was the biggest one in terms of membership. Some communities have deleted themselves as a preemptive measure.
[ETA: a couple of individual RPG journals were suspended as well; lists being compiled here and here.]
[ETA2: Lest we lose sight of the actual issues, I don't think the solution is as simple as removing morally objectionable or illegal interests from your userinfo. As the first link notes, someone reported PP to LJ Abuse. That to me implies that LJ may not be a safe space to post this kind of content (and I'm going to now private-lock and/or delete anything I think needs it). I think it is definitely worth inquiring of LJ Abuse whether FICTIONAL content, WITHOUT the objectionable interests listed in the userinfo, is still okay (since, for instance, virtual child porn is legal in the US). Hopefully these distinctions will soon be clarified. Journals, on the other hand, may express or imply interest in illegal activity or express or imply a desire to meet and/or interact with others with similar interests, but only if the journal clearly (1) is in opposition to or condemnation of the illegal activity, (2) does not encourage the illegal activity and (3) is not used in furtherance of any illegal activity.
-- From LJ's TOS letter to PP
I dunno, y'all. I think there's room for interpretation either way. It's NOT clear to me from this language that simply having disclaimers on an objectionable story or journal will actually lift it out of the TOS's reach.]
[ETA3: And, before anyone starts bleating about freedom of speech on LJ, please read cofax7 on why that DOES NOT APPLY.]
[ETA4: Okay! In correspondence with that Warriors for Innocence Group, LJ apparently did specify that they did not find fiction or fantasy actionable. So is it really just a matter of suspending LJs with objectionable interests, without even looking at the context? I mean, they suspended lolita07, which was a reading group for Lolita!]
Resulting shitstorm likely to be HUGE. *eyes SPN and other fandoms*
Today Livejournal permanently suspended pornish_pixies, a Harry Potter adult fanfiction community, because it had "incest" listed in the community's interests. Apparently someone reported the comm -- the speculative consensus seems to be on the group at this link: hxxp://www.warriorsforinnocence.org/search/label/LiveJournal (cut and paste, replace xx with tt)
Livejournal also suspended several other adult-oriented fan communities, but I think PP was the biggest one in terms of membership. Some communities have deleted themselves as a preemptive measure.
[ETA: a couple of individual RPG journals were suspended as well; lists being compiled here and here.]
[ETA2: Lest we lose sight of the actual issues, I don't think the solution is as simple as removing morally objectionable or illegal interests from your userinfo. As the first link notes, someone reported PP to LJ Abuse. That to me implies that LJ may not be a safe space to post this kind of content (and I'm going to now private-lock and/or delete anything I think needs it). I think it is definitely worth inquiring of LJ Abuse whether FICTIONAL content, WITHOUT the objectionable interests listed in the userinfo, is still okay (since, for instance, virtual child porn is legal in the US). Hopefully these distinctions will soon be clarified. Journals, on the other hand, may express or imply interest in illegal activity or express or imply a desire to meet and/or interact with others with similar interests, but only if the journal clearly (1) is in opposition to or condemnation of the illegal activity, (2) does not encourage the illegal activity and (3) is not used in furtherance of any illegal activity.
-- From LJ's TOS letter to PP
I dunno, y'all. I think there's room for interpretation either way. It's NOT clear to me from this language that simply having disclaimers on an objectionable story or journal will actually lift it out of the TOS's reach.]
[ETA3: And, before anyone starts bleating about freedom of speech on LJ, please read cofax7 on why that DOES NOT APPLY.]
[ETA4: Okay! In correspondence with that Warriors for Innocence Group, LJ apparently did specify that they did not find fiction or fantasy actionable. So is it really just a matter of suspending LJs with objectionable interests, without even looking at the context? I mean, they suspended lolita07, which was a reading group for Lolita!]
Resulting shitstorm likely to be HUGE. *eyes SPN and other fandoms*