Just another day in the AH...except on Steam

[TheRedChamber]

I'm going to post this here with little comment except to say 'keep reading' and that I've probably been on Lit too much as I kept nodding 'well obviously' all the way through.

https://www.ign.com/articles/unsett...team-leaving-studio-with-high-risk-of-closure

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Well, at least none of us are going to lose our jobs if a story doesn't get published on Lit

 

[caleb35]

I don't see what is in this article that merits its sharing in Authors' Hangout.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I don't see what is in this article that merits its sharing in Authors' Hangout.

"A place for writers and readers to socialize"

 

[caleb35]

"A place for writers and readers to socialize"

You didn't answer my question. EDIT: more specifically, you also didn't quote the full mission statement of the hangout. It is: "A place for writers and readers to socialize and discuss the craft of writing." [emphasis mine] Now, if there is something in the linked article pertaining to the craft of writing (and specifically writing erotica), great, but I didn't see it in the article. Further, the article is posted without comment or further context; in fact, it's pointedly posted without comment or context. So, again, why was this posted in Authors' Hangout?

 

[Kelliezgirl]

You didn't answer my question. EDIT: more specifically, you also didn't quote the full mission statement of the hangout. It is: "A place for writers and readers to socialize and discuss the craft of writing." [emphasis mine] Now, if there is something in the linked article pertaining to the craft of writing (and specifically writing erotica), great, but I didn't see it in the article. Further, the article is posted without comment or further context; in fact, it's pointedly posted without comment or context. So, again, why was this posted in Authors' Hangout?

Well, it's an AUTHORS hang out, so I assumed that everyone understood that AND separated those two things.

There are threads here about all kinds of things that have nothing to do with writing.

One about sharing funny memes, one about cavemen with allergies, what music are you listening to right now, and several others.

Are we going to start policing those threads too?

 

[caleb35]

Well, it's an AUTHORS hang out, so I assumed that everyone understood that AND separated those two things.

There are threads here about all kinds of things that have nothing to do with writing.

One about sharing funny memes, one about cavemen with allergies, what music are you listening to right now, and several others.

Are we going to start policing those threads too?

It's not "policing" to ask for relevance and context. In the other examples you cite, I presume that they have something related to writing. Further, this specific post that we're discussing is about something that may or may not be newsworthy for Steam, a game distribution service. If it was another erotica site, sure, relevant, no problem posting it to Authors' Hangout. But it's Steam, so I wonder if it instead should have been posted to one of the other boards.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

It's not "policing" to ask for relevance and context. In the other examples you cite, I presume that they have something related to writing. Further, this specific post that we're discussing is about something that may or may not be newsworthy for Steam, a game distribution service. If it was another erotica site, sure, relevant, no problem posting it to Authors' Hangout. But it's Steam, so I wonder if it instead should have been posted to one of the other boards.

There is no requirement that any thread here have anything at all to do with writing.

You presumed wrongly with regards to those other threads.

It doesn't seem that you read the article either.

A gaming platform (Lit is a writing platform important similarity) rejected content (something Lit also does) without giving any reasons (something Lit also does) leaving content creators (something Lit also has) in the lurch and not understanding how they can fix the problem (something people on Lit also complain about.)

So, it's an example of how some of the issues and challenges we have here on Lit are not unique to Lit, and other content creators face problems similar to ours.

Hope that helps.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

You didn't answer my question. EDIT: more specifically, you also didn't quote the full mission statement of the hangout. It is: "A place for writers and readers to socialize and discuss the craft of writing." [emphasis mine] Now, if there is something in the linked article pertaining to the craft of writing (and specifically writing erotica), great, but I didn't see it in the article. Further, the article is posted without comment or further context; in fact, it's pointedly posted without comment or context. So, again, why was this posted in Authors' Hangout?

Censorship.

So what triggered the ban? Riva still doesn't know. While minds may jump to Steam's recent banning of a number of adult games to comply with sudden crackdowns from payment processors, Riva says this ban took place long before that was even a conversation, and all the content in the game is fully legal. He does have a theory, though.

There has been a lot of that going around since the summer of this year. Outside of videogames, several NSFW artists have been deplatformed from Patreon, Japanese media is also actively being censored both from the inside and the outside, especially regarding sexual content (including but not limited to sexualized characters in manga and anime), and things like the Online Safety Act in the UK are limiting access to several parts of the Internet, demanding a form of identification before accessing, thus deanonimizing users. There has been already leaks involving this, with Discord having a major one not too long ago. Even Rule34 stopped serving the UK at some point because of this.

Us being erotica writers, and Literotica being a platform for erotica, could be and will be a target for this if we're not vigilant. I don't know about you, but if Lit starts asking for my ID, they will have to take it out of my dead body, which will be very difficult to do from a computer. This isn't just a matter of authors or developers alone. This is a matter of everyone, artists or not, no matter the medium.

 

[caleb35]

THANK YOU for answering my question I read the article and per that article the game developer stated that the denial by Steam predated the recent deplatforming brouhaha, and that the game is still available via other platforms. Lastly, Steam can publish or not publish what they want, and there's still plenty of smut that they do publish. So I don't know how much I'm going to worry about this specific instance.

Now, in terms of online censorship in general -- yeah, we're in trouble and it might get worse. I'm aware of some of the issues that you raised but others were new to me (unfortunately, not surprising or shocking). I appreciate the call for vigilance but I'm not certain what we ourselves can do about any of this (in fact, it's a common topic in other threads about how little power authors have on this website). All I can think of at this time is to hope for the best (well, that, and get a VPN solution ready and on hand).

I do appreciate you taking your time to respond thoughtfully, though. Thanks.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Honestly, I thought the humour would land better if discovered rather than explained, but fwiw the context is

Developer claims to be mystified that their game was banned by Steam for apparently no reason. Halfway through you suddenly get this paragraph...

"The daughter wants to ride one of the horses (in the game the “horses” are humans wearing a horse mask) and gets to pick which one. What followed was an interactive dialogue sequence where the player is leading, by a lead as if they were a horse, a naked adult woman with a young girl on her shoulders. The scene is not sexual in any way, but it is possible that the juxtaposition is what triggered the flag"

Remind anyone of anywhere...

 

[caleb35]

Remind anyone of anywhere...

... no, it doesn't

 

[TheRedChamber]

... no, it doesn't

Okay, if the humour didnt land with you it didnt land. No point in me beating a dead naked woman wearing a horse mask.

 

[caleb35]

Okay, if the humour didnt land with you it didnt land. No point in me beating a dead naked woman wearing a horse mask.

A very specific image Yeah, didn't land for me, but that's all right. It was still an interesting article and read. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Off_base]

It's not "policing" to ask for relevance and context. In the other examples you cite, I presume that they have something related to writing. Further, this specific post that we're discussing is about something that may or may not be newsworthy for Steam, a game distribution service. If it was another erotica site, sure, relevant, no problem posting it to Authors' Hangout. But it's Steam, so I wonder if it instead should have been posted to one of the other boards.

It's absolutely policing to demand context and relevance from someone on their own fucking thread, based upon your judgment of whether their topic should be allowed.

I'm sick of these micro-lectures from the little clique of snarky tightasses who think they run AH, and try to bully whomever they choose, while claiming they're being helpful and just keep getting attacked by trolls.

No, you're getting attacked for being assholes.

AH should feel like a bar, where everyone is welcome, and we can chat with each other about whatever people talk about.

I'd suggest you start a "writing talk only" thread, so you can share your smug attitude with your smug friends, and keep everyone else out.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Honestly, I thought the humour would land better if discovered rather than explained, but fwiw the cotext is

I'm a writer, not a detective. My characters are. I'm too impatient and too dumb to be a detective. Ask my D&D group if you don't believe me. Don't worry, they aren't either.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I don't believe one should have to read an obscure link to understand the nature of a thread here.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

apologies for straying off topic here but…

No point in me beating a dead naked woman wearing a horse mask.

I was just struck by a very vivid scene from a crime noir. A dead, naked woman wearing a horse mask, clearly beaten to death. The detective, played by Leslie Nielsen, standing over her, reflecting on the irony.

**I’m sure there’s something relevant there to this thread, and what it means to be an AHer these days.

 

[onehitwanda]

**I’m sure there’s something relevant there to this thread, and what it means to be an AHer these days.

It was the neigh-bour

 

[Bamagan]

It was the neigh-bour

He or she doesn't sound very stable.

 

[TheRedChamber]

He or she doesn't sound very stable.

Phew, the controverisial part of this thread has past and they're now on their marks for the bad pun section...

And we're off to the races...

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Maybe this thread can corral something yet.

https://forum.literotica.com/thread...d-maybe-last-ever-ah-monthly-punnies.1639632/

 

[cw5523729]

This thread is serious. Stop acting like horse's asses y'all

 

[cw5523729]

one about cavemen with allergies,

Are we going to start policing those threads too?

Please don't, I have a lot of fun in that thread

 

[Bamagan]

This thread is serious. Stop acting like horse's asses y'all

Don't you dare come in here and nag us!