Censored!!

[LargoKitt]

After reading a post here about 'no nudity' I went to my artworks and found them all censored. Nothing but the grey mountain logo on every image. Same when I went to others' posts. True for even my pix with no nudity. Not my browser.

So if all images are now blocked why not put up a big sign and say, "Literotica no longer publishes art." And what's with the 'no nudity' thing anyway? The stories here are raunchier than the sad 'high school nude smut' that is often posted. It would be great if Lit really strove toward fine, hot erotic art.

What gives, Manu and Laurel? Can you give us a serious, polite heads-up about what we should do? Should I tell you to trash my entire art section? I suppose I should. It's effectively nothing.

 

[annabellebrito]

After reading a post here about 'no nudity' I went to my artworks and found them all censored. Nothing but the grey mountain logo on every image. Same when I went to others' posts. True for even my pix with no nudity. Not my browser.

So if all images are now blocked why not put up a big sign and say, "Literotica no longer publishes art." And what's with the 'no nudity' thing anyway? The stories here are raunchier than the sad 'high school nude smut' that is often posted. It would be great if Lit really strove toward fine, hot erotic art.

What gives, Manu and Laurel? Can you give us a serious, polite heads-up about what we should do? Should I tell you to trash my entire art section? I suppose I should. It's effectively nothing.

Yeah I hear your frustration. This really hurts this site. I loved it and had plans on doing and was already done on some art for some great erotica authors on here. Nothing bombastic, just mature adults consummating their relationship . I'm also crushed.

 

[Danielecioccolate]

After reading a post here about 'no nudity' I went to my artworks and found them all censored. Nothing but the grey mountain logo on every image. Same when I went to others' posts. True for even my pix with no nudity. Not my browser.

So if all images are now blocked why not put up a big sign and say, "Literotica no longer publishes art." And what's with the 'no nudity' thing anyway? The stories here are raunchier than the sad 'high school nude smut' that is often posted. It would be great if Lit really strove toward fine, hot erotic art.

What gives, Manu and Laurel? Can you give us a serious, polite heads-up about what we should do? Should I tell you to trash my entire art section? I suppose I should. It's effectively nothing.

You are completely right. Literotica should cancel the "illustrated" section. No more sense in publishing or going to read there. I liked the section so much to see what the author and an artist can produce together.

 

[annabellebrito]

You are completely right. Literotica should cancel the "illustrated" section. No more sense in publishing or going to read there. I liked the section so much to see what the author and an artist can produce together.

Right?! Now I'm left with where am I going to publish the story I was working on with art?

 

[29wordsforsnow]

Well, the Artworks section is already down, all my works are now 'archived'.

 

[LargoKitt]

I don't understand why Laurel and Manu have been so 'high handed' about this. No apologies. Nuttin'. How hard is it to post a thing saying, "We sincerely regret closing out visual arts section but the hassles of making sure the art is authenic have overwhelmed us. We have had a good run with it and thanks to all the artists who have provided a broad look at human sexuality in art."

 

[annabellebrito]

I don't understand why Laurel and Manu have been so 'high handed' about this. No apologies. Nuttin'. How hard is it to post a thing saying, "We sincerely regret closing out visual arts section but the hassles of making sure the art is authenic have overwhelmed us. We have had a good run with it and thanks to all the artists who have provided a broad look at human sexuality in art."

I see your point and I fully agree, but to be fair
are they also going to crack down and censor AI generated writing? It's all over Facebook now and spreading over social media.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I don't understand why Laurel and Manu have been so 'high handed' about this. No apologies. Nuttin'. How hard is it to post a thing saying, "We sincerely regret closing out visual arts section but the hassles of making sure the art is authentic have overwhelmed us. We have had a good run with it and thanks to all the artists who have provided a broad look at human sexuality in art."

The site sent me a long message to my email address, yesterday, explaining the reasons behind the new policy. It was pretty much as I had thought - new laws causing compliance issues for the site.

I've suggested they repeat it here, in the Artists Corner, as a way of explanation. Hopefully they will do that quickly. Having read the explanation, I can see why the site has done what they've done, and I would have done something similar, under the circumstances.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I see your point and I fully agree, but to be fair
are they also going to crack down and censor AI generated writing? It's all over Facebook now and spreading over social media.

The site rejects any story submission suspected to be AI assisted or generated, and has done so for about two years now.

 

[annabellebrito]

The site rejects any story submission suspected to be AI assisted or generated, and has done so for about two years now.

AI generated erotica written fiction? Where is the fun in that? Why would anyone ask a cold soul less computer that has never kissed, loved or fucked to write a fictional story dealing with sex?

 

[artgasim]

Well, the Artworks section is already down, all my works are now 'archived'.

I am very sorry to hear this, I have really enjoyed your artwork. Do you have another website where you are hosting your art now that Lit removed the option? I would enjoy updates of new artwork if you decide to share.

I noticed the upgrade to the front page today and the Erotic Art Category has vanished from story options. I looked at my profile and my artwork has all been completely erased as if they never existed. It's a shame, but I've been expecting it.

 

[artgasim]

The site sent me a long message to my email address, yesterday, explaining the reasons behind the new policy. It was pretty much as I had thought - new laws causing compliance issues for the site.

I've suggested they repeat it here, in the Artists Corner, as a way of explanation. Hopefully they will do that quickly. Having read the explanation, I can see why the site has done what they've done, and I would have done something similar, under the circumstances.

I appreciate the information, thank you. I hadn't been notified of anything, just reading here occasionally to get an idea along the way. It's sad the Erotic Art Category is gone, but understandable they had to go in that direction.

I think the Front Page looks really good, excellent upgrade with a connection to the forums and creative resources now. So many people have no idea the forum even exists, so it seems more user friendly with site info more accessible now.

 

[LargoKitt]

The site rejects any story submission suspected to be AI assisted or generated, and has done so for about two years now.

How about A.I. generated audio? As a former voiceover person and director I find 'robot voices' offensive and a theft of work that could be done by humans. I bridle at phone robots who 'say' "We care about your shopping experience". What part of your circuitry do you 'care' with? Now, I could make an audio of my dream girl moaning and cooing, and her big green lover coming out of his skin. "No actual humans harmed..."

 

[AwkwardMD]

How about A.I. generated audio? As a former voiceover person and director I find 'robot voices' offensive and a theft of work that could be done by humans. I bridle at phone robots who 'say' "We care about your shopping experience". What part of your circuitry do you 'care' with? Now, I could make an audio of my dream girl moaning and cooing, and her big green lover coming out of his skin. "No actual humans harmed..."

Yes, these have been getting rejected too

 

[29wordsforsnow]

I am very sorry to hear this, I have really enjoyed your artwork. Do you have another website where you are hosting your art now that Lit removed the option? I would enjoy updates of new artwork if you decide to share.

I noticed the upgrade to the front page today and the Erotic Art Category has vanished from story options. I looked at my profile and my artwork has all been completely erased as if they never existed. It's a shame, but I've been expecting it.

I hope that I can recycle some of the tamer stuff into illustrated stories, as long as those will still get published. I would have loved to include more Illustrated Poetry, but that category seems to have gone completely dead, long before the policy update.

What's bothering me a lot more is the generalism given in the 'your work has been archived' message, it says there won't be any Visual Content Depicting Nudity, Sexual Activity & Adult Situations...An Adult Situation? This sounds very vague to me. Is two 20-year-olds walking down the street, hand in hand, not an adult situation?

 

[ElectricBlue]

I hope that I can recycle some of the tamer stuff into illustrated stories, as long as those will still get published. I would have loved to include more Illustrated Poetry, but that category seems to have gone completely dead, long before the policy update.

What's bothering me a lot more is the generalism given in the 'your work has been archived' message, it says there won't be any Visual Content Depicting Nudity, Sexual Activity & Adult Situations...An Adult Situation? This sounds very vague to me. Is two 20-year-olds walking down the street, hand in hand, not an adult situation?

The policy material that has been released is pretty clear - no nudity, nakedness, explicit graphic content, erotica, porn. You're parsing way too fine, asking a question like that. Unless your two are naked, holding hands isn't an "adult" situation in this context. It's not even an Awkward Display of Public Affection.

As written elsewhere, I received a message by email two days ago that goes into detail as to why the site is doing what it's doing. As it's a private communication, I'm treating it as "in confidence" and won't repeat it, but I have suggested to the site that they post it as the reason behind the shift in policy. It makes complete sense to me, and if you've been keeping up to date with "proof of age" legislation for internet sites, especially those promoting visual content, it won't take too long to figure it out.

 

[29wordsforsnow]

Unfortunately, that is the problem. I don't find a clear definition what specifically is allowed or not, if a female bare chest is nudity, is a bare male chest nudity too?

This is from the standard message we all got for the artworks taken down:

Archiving of Visual Content Depicting Nudity, Sexual Activity & Adult Situations

Due to several factors - including recent changes and expansions in global and U.S. regulations around visual content (evolving standards on verifying the age and consent of people depicted in images/videos, new rules around deepfakes, revenge imagery laws, and increased scrutiny of realistic or AI-generated character imagery) - we've made the difficult decision to remove images and artwork that depict nudity, sexual activity, or adult situations from public view.

But if so, why is this illustration still online in one of my Illustrated works? Isn't it "nude active adults"?

To comply with every global regulation, one would probably have to put a censor bar all over every human being in their illustration. There are countries on this planet where holding hands in public can get you arrested, so...

It would be nice to know which body parts need to be covered to what extent, instead of finding out by resubmitting progressively edited images. I really want to comply with those new rules, but it's this uncertainty of what is okay, what is not, that will kill creativity.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Something to think about:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Literotica_Artists/

 

[artgasim]

I hope that I can recycle some of the tamer stuff into illustrated stories, as long as those will still get published. I would have loved to include more Illustrated Poetry, but that category seems to have gone completely dead, long before the policy update.

What's bothering me a lot more is the generalism given in the 'your work has been archived' message, it says there won't be any Visual Content Depicting Nudity, Sexual Activity & Adult Situations...An Adult Situation? This sounds very vague to me. Is two 20-year-olds walking down the street, hand in hand, not an adult situation?

I agree, the inconsistency and lack of clarity is confusing. Some of my artwork could be considered intimate or sensual, but not all of it was graphic. Like my profile picture, I had a few like that where it was pencil sketch of a female from the back. Suggestive, but not engaged in any sex acts or showing genitals. I'm assuming those were just part of that clean sweep when the entire category was removed. I've never received any communication telling me that my artwork has been archived though, it was just gone.

I found an online gallery you might be interested in called Found Myself. Something mentioned in a forum thread to host artwork. It could be a spot used to host and share the link. Maybe add it as social link on the profile. I use it for my SFW gallery. I'll include the link if you want to check it out.

It's a pretty organized site with options to include details about the piece, mediums, use of different albums, and options to sell prints.

They do allow NSFW content which is blurred at first glance. I went with a fairly tame sketch to test it out.

Artgasim Found Myself


I hope that might help or you find a place for your great work.

 

[Shaglus_Ziegler]

I see your point and I fully agree, but to be fair
are they also going to crack down and censor AI generated writing? It's all over Facebook now and spreading over social media.

My feeling is that all should be human made. I can’t feel the computer shit!! Cheers

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

Late to the party but I discovered the missing art yesterday when I looked at my works listing. My one sketch, hand drawn and shaded, of a mildly erotic scene with a young woman in a chainmail "armor" bikini from one of my stories was gone. That's disappointing but after reading the policy and reasoning the EB mentioned, I understand it due to the number of works sitewide.

It's understandable but very disappointing nonetheless.

Edit: I forgot to add that I feel bad for those who lost a lot of effort and the good exposure that was available here. Hopefully you'll be able to post your work elsewhere.

 

[annabellebrito]

Late to the party but I discovered the missing art yesterday when I looked at my works listing. My one sketch, hand drawn and shaded, of a mildly erotic scene with a young woman in a chainmail "armor" bikini from one of my stories was gone. That's disappointing but after reading the policy and reasoning the EB mentioned, I understand it due to the number of works sitewide.

It's understandable but very disappointing nonetheless.

Edit: I forgot to add that I feel bad for those who lost a lot of effort and the good exposure that was available here. Hopefully you'll be able to post your work elsewhere.

Yeah. Me too. Disappointing. Did a lot of work for writers here. No one paid me, it was all volunteer work which I enjoyed only for it to be erased.

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

Yeah. Me too. Disappointing. Did a lot of work for writers here. No one paid me, it was all volunteer work which I enjoyed only for it to be erased.

I'm sorry your work's gone but hopefully you'll be able to repost it elsewhere. I checked out the suggested Reddit board a few minutes ago and saw there are now a number of posts of art apparently by Lit folks. I'm not going to bother starting a Reddit account for one sketch but it might be an option for you.

 

[Britva415]

Why would anyone ask a cold soul less computer that has never kissed, loved or fucked to write a fictional story dealing with sex?

Reading some of these stories, it seems some of our authors haven't either

 

[annabellebrito]

I'm sorry your work's gone but hopefully you'll be able to repost it elsewhere. I checked out the suggested Reddit board a few minutes ago and saw there are now a number of posts of art apparently by Lit folks. I'm not going to bother starting a Reddit account for one sketch but it might be an option for you.

Im posting there now too, but the comments have been slow.