a lower dumbness

[kurt_jester]

"a lower dumbness" anagrams to "burdensome laws", which is what the tension felt by posters and fans is really about.

i've seen some ranting comments in different threads regarding dissatisfaction with moderation "techniques". i don't really have a bitch about it personally, as all i ever show is armpits and arse cheeks . but my friends who share their lives and bodies in this forum have a greater vesting in this matter. thus i am motivated to explore it.

i did a little digging about what this controversy is about. i assumed that it was about age verification, and the matter could be bypassed by making literotica a pay site, even for a modest yearly fee. i love the forum so much that i would pay $3 us per month to use it. but i don't think that age verification is the issue here.

the us government in its boundless desire to babysit every sentient mind and body within its reach, exists to enact ridiculous laws that place unreasonable requirements on people and organizations. one such asinine restriction on the personal liberties of it's citizens is 18 u.s.c. section 2257, which requires the people who produce or publish/distribute sexually-explicit content to keep onerous records of the ages and identities of all people photographically depicted in said sexually-explicit content. so hotchick47 posts a picture of her hoochie on an am pic board (any board, not just this one), and she now has to provide records that she was not a minor when it was taken, and that she consents to blah-blah-blah. she posts a picture of her bf's first 3 fingers filling her hoochie, and now both she and her bf have to provide records. then every person along the way is involved in that record keeping paper trail - from the people who hire and creatively produce the sexually-explicit content the people who publish it and distribute it - they all need to participate in this paper trail in some sort. the records basically need to be kept forever, or for five years after the closing of a business involved in this content.

who ever thought that porn could be so clerical?

literotica is "exempt" from 2257 because they do not distribute sexually-explicit material. but when it's members post pictures of their hoohcies and their bf's first 3 fingers filling their hoochies, literotica then becomes a publisher of sexually-explicit photographic content. this is a huge issue for them, as they don't have any record of hotchick47's age (nor do they have records of anyone taking pics of themselves with zac efron and david cook posters in their room wearing high school class rings and showing their own hoochie while laying on juvenile bedding).

brian smith shared an exchange with kaio about 'rolling his own' am pics forum elsewhere. this is a brilliant idea if it were feasible, but what he does not yet know is that if he is doing this from the united states (even on a server in europe) he would still be bound by 18 u.s.c. section 2257, with the endless liabilities of the record keeping bullshit. my guess is that he would be best suited to move to europe and then engage in such a business (according to the omniscient internet, denmark, norway, the netherland, and sweden seem to be the most lassez-faire. i've never done it, so i don't really know). i suspect he isn't that mad about literotica's am pics "enforcement" but more power to you if you are, brian

you can see more here in the internet-said-it-so-it-must-be-correct wikipedia article. i am neither a lawyer nor do i play one on tv, so i invite anyone with a qualified legal background to chime in on this issue. please clarify or correct me (do be a good sport and cite your sources).

all that said, the enforcement here has been excruciatingly and insultingly inconsistent. qui tacet consentit. latin for 'silence implies consent.' you can't be the oldest sibling placed in charge of the house and sit with your hand in the cookie jar until mum walks in, and then pull it out and say 'don't you know you weren't allowed to have cookies before dinner? i'm so sorry little brother that i have to take your cookie away.'

there's no shortage of threads here that have explicit content, but one doesn't have to look very hard to find them. don't allow it one day and then smite it the next. if moderation were executed with any reasonable consistency, it would be far less intimidating or insulting when it actually needs done.

 

[_Lorelei_]

I don't know if I agree with or trust your intentions here on Lit Kurt Jester, but I have to say today I'm glad you started this thread, as this is really the worst side of Lit I've seen today since I joined nearly a year ago. It's the hypocrisy that gets to me.

Right now I feel like this: 'probably, because it pisses me off. i don't know what else i would do, but i'm pissed about it.'

Tomorrow I'll probably feel like this: 'no, but i would really appreciate more consistent moderation.'

What can I say... I'm a bit of a bouncy ball. So it might not really bother anyone that much in the long run .. a bit like the daft sign thing ... but for anyone who's had to spend their afternoon going through pics dating back to last August that no one's ever criticised before, well I expect they might be feeling the same wrath I am right now.

I heard this is a yearly thing though anyway ... maybe other people are just more used to it. Were still learning how things work here.

 

[ShyGuy68]

About the moderation

First of all, the point of this post is not to point fingers at any of the moderators/my co-moderators.

I honestly feel that the moderation of the am pic forum have been to bad for a long time, and yes I I've been there myself, not having time to go through the posts, or not wanting to take on the posters, and have to hear the same complaints over and over again "but others do it, so why can't I", or "why am I being singled out" and so on.

But it's an impossible task to go through every thread and every single pic, so yes it will seem like random moderation. But we are also here on a volunteer basis, and do it on our free time, because we like the community, and want it to continue. And I do honestly think this is a good community, there are a couple of things that's not so nice, but it's way better than on other parts of the forum.

I too would be happy if things changed, so people could post almost any kind of pics they want, but since the site owners keep the servers in the US, they have to follow the laws, and we just have to live with it.

 

[ShaiGirl]

My two cents...

Thanks for starting this thread, Jester. It's nice to know that one can hold meaningful discussions in an erotic/adult board (okay, porn board for some).

As what I've stated similarly in another thread, I agree that people come to Lit for different reasons. Some visit for the stories (that's what I did initially), then become more aware and venture into the boards. Then some go to the boards for different reasons, whether looking for someone to cam/cum with, phone/cyber sex, hookups or just plain chatting, or to talk about stories (AH and SFF), or to ask questions in the How To section. Still others go to Ampics, either to post pics or look at pics. Some just come here for the wanking, whilst others go for the friendships/connections, freedom of expression, etc.

As I don't post explicit photos of myself, moderation is not a problem for me. However, I can see why it can be a problem for some. I haven't been an "active" member of Lit for long, so I don't know if this is a yearly/quarterly thing or not. Different people like different types of pics - some like explicit cock/pussy pics, others don't. It's just a matter of taste, and as I've said earlier, hooray for individuality! But I can get it if people get frustrated because their pics were taken down by the moderators for being overly explicit. It takes guts to expose yourself to that degree on a public board.

However, I don't think we should bash the moderators for doing their jobs. They're not here full time, and don't get paid for their work. They're doing it freely and willingly (or do they? lol) But I agree with Shyguy38 that they can't moderate all threads and look at all pics, so the best that they can do is check out a post/thread when someone reports it, or when they are in "police mode" and on the lookout for pics. As what Shyguy had said, this site is run in the US and they have to follow US laws for them to be able to continue operation.

What I didn't know is that if you're from the US and decide to post on a board run in Europe or elsewhere, you still have to abide by the law that Jester mentioned. Food for thought.

 

[kurt_jester]

What I didn't know is that if you're from the US and decide to post on a board run in Europe or elsewhere, you still have to abide by the law that Jester mentioned. Food for thought.

thanks for ringing in. what i was saying was if a person ran the business from the us on european servers, that person might still be subject to 2257. but i'm not a lawyer, and i'd love for someone who knows more about it to tell me i'm wrong. maybe if you ran a european business from the us?

About the moderation

First of all, the point of this post is not to point fingers at any of the moderators/my co-moderators.

I honestly feel that the moderation of the am pic forum have been to bad for a long time, and yes I I've been there myself, not having time to go through the posts, or not wanting to take on the posters, and have to hear the same complaints over and over again "but others do it, so why can't I", or "why am I being singled out" and so on.

But it's an impossible task to go through every thread and every single pic, so yes it will seem like random moderation. But we are also here on a volunteer basis, and do it on our free time, because we like the community, and want it to continue. And I do honestly think this is a good community, there are a couple of things that's not so nice, but it's way better than on other parts of the forum.

I too would be happy if things changed, so people could post almost any kind of pics they want, but since the site owners keep the servers in the US, they have to follow the laws, and we just have to live with it.

did you see anything in my post that was incorrect or in need of enlightenment? speaking of taking on the posters, i know i can be... difficult . so i'm not looking for for a chance to prove something by asking.