If you’re on tumblr even a fraction of how much I usually am, you’ll likely have noticed what a mess it is right now.
For those who don’t know, the tumblr app was taken off app stores due to the finding of child abusive images. This removal kickstarted an NSFW – ‘Not Safe For Work’ – blanket ban due to come into effect today, and it has already resulted in a multitude of problems.
The main problem I have is that blanket banning NSFW is very much a half-arsed way of tackling the sensitivity of NSFW, and avoids sorting the actual problems.
It’s obvious that tumblr needs better systems in place, that much goes without dispute. At best, we’d want a new system that allows for NSFW content, but is much more reliable in weeding out child abusive content and ‘pornbots’ – mass-run NSFW blogs that follow and attempt to interact with users. This would ensure that the only NSFW content is found on actual blogs and is meant to be there. As it stands, we have a worst case scenario, and I’m not convinced it will solve the problem. There are already reports that the bot blogs are finding new ways to get around tumblr’s ban, such as by adding links to popular posts so that they look like they’re just reblogging or ‘replying’ to posts – something I’ve seen them do before.
The second problem I have with the blanket ban is how it is directly affecting content creators and communities that are based around NSFW themes. Many creators have had to move sites, and have lost a great deal of their fanbase because of it. Not all of their fanbase will want to move from tumblr, or are able to. Entire communities have had to move or have been divided and have lost their safe space. How is that in any way a good thing?
The third problem I have is how unprofessional, disrespectful, and dissmissive tumblr has been towards its users. When the app was first removed from the stores, no one knew why. Many users assumed it was because of the pornbots. The tumblr staff were purging blogs with external links, many of which were SFW – ‘Safe For Work’, so it was a decent assumption. No one knew the real reason until they issued a statement about it. What’s worse, is that this ban has apparently been in the works for a while, but no news of it reached users until the announcement.
Yet another problem is that everyone on tumblr knows full well just how unreliable tumblr’s bots and filters can be. Once, ‘safe mode’ was switched on for every tumblr account, and frequently blocked perfectly SFW content. Users had to manually turn it off again. During the run up to the NSFW ban, the same thing has been occurring, with all sorts of SFW images, gifs, clips and blogs being flagged as inappropriate by tumblr’s bot. There is the option to appeal against it, but the fact that it is happening again in the first place demonstrates why users have little faith in tumblr’s systems.
So what happens now?
The full extent of the damage done won’t be known until at least the eighteenth.
A large number of tumblr users are logging off and boycottng in protest today. No posts, no queued posts, no likes, no visits, nothing. Tumblr will be the electronic equivalent of a ghost town. We don’t even know if it will make the staff realise that the majority of users are unhappy with the ban.
When we do get back on, no one’s entirely sure what to expect.
How is the new ban really going to affect writers? How many blogs will have been lost? How many users have logged off to not come back? How much quieter is the site going to be now? How many times will we have to appeal to save our posts? No one really knows. But it won’t be the same tumblr we used to know. Not by a long shot.
little thoughts from a little thinker... 