Steemit.com Development Update [Special Edition] - NSFW Issue
Steemit was intended to be a place where users can post their content free of censorship. This includes a lot of "NSFW" content. The recent influx of "NSFW" content has been upsetting many members of the community though.
- NSFW content makes Steemit unfit for minors to browse the site.
- Many users do not want to be on a site where they see that type of content.
- Some users may want to view NSFW content sometimes, but not in all circumstances - like while at work or out in public.
- Users who post the content are getting bombarded by flags and complaints from people who don't like that type of content being shown on the main trending page.
- Users who want to post this type of content have started to feel that the Steemit community is trying to censor them.
- Some NSFW posters have even started to think that they are not welcome here.
The Steemit dev team has been discussing the issue in GitHub and working towards a solution. Normally I would have waited until my next full "GitHub Issue Report" to include this, but I thought it would be good to create a "Special Edition" to report on this one issue.
The solution that is being proposed in GitHub Issue 827 is to allow each user to control what they see. Users will have three options to control NSFW content:
- always hide
- warn before showing (default)
- always show
There is no guarantee that this will actually be implemented and put up on to the site, but it is the current proposal that is being discussed.
If you are interested, you can view all of the open issues here:
https://github.com/steemit/steemit.com/issues
Remember to vote for witnesses:
https://steemit.com/~witnesses
If you aren't sure who to vote for, check out this Witness Voting Guide!
Maybe the best solution is to start a nsfwit.com on the blockchain (just a joke :)
I'm sure it will be very successful
Someone already made one actually :)
https://steemit.com/steemit/@someguy123/understeem-steemit-without-censorship-nsfw-filter-removed-via-tor
Yes I ageee with this! I hope them implement it ASAP!
Perhaps at signup new users need to click a button to attest they are 18 and older in which case they get the 3 options for NSFW content.
I do like @everittdmickey's suggestion of doing that for all tags, but that would require set tags/categories, which would be great when/if we have personal Steemit landing pages in order to have more control of our feeds. Currently, I would have to unfollow the people who use specific tags...which is a problem because they don't write exclusively in said tags - which means I would be missing out on their other posts.
Maybe I'm rambling. I don't know. It's been a long day at the homestead.
I don't disagree that a more robust filtering system would be a good enhancement. It is mainly a matter of prioritization / time.
I am making up numbers here, but if there is solution A that is going to take 2 months, and solution B that is going to take 10 months, it is better to at least get solution A up while we wait for the more robust solution B.
I agree. All of the improvements in the short time I've been here have been positive ones - a lead to the next step. No complaints here. Then again, I don't have a problem with sports or NSFW content so it's a moot issue for me. That doesn't mean I like or condone it but I'll defend anyone's right to be here as long as they're posting original content or citing properly; not doing anything illegal, and not harming anyone.
We're still in beta. Put the diesel on the dyno and rev it up! :D
:) 👍
If it's clearly marked NSFW and tagged as such I see no issues.
You know what you're clicking on.. It's no surprise when it's marked NSFW there may be some tits, ass or cock in the post somewhere. :P
:)
I'll re-post my views from another post in reply to a comment from @sneak
In my opinion Steemit should be a censorship free community where users can post whatever they want. I am not even 100% against 'illegal' content being posted, although I am on the fence about certain types. Who am I to decide though.
Being able to freely post and view content censorship free does not necessarily mean that everyone has to view it though. Being able to chose for yourself whether or not to view something (without having a say in what others can/should do) still falls within the bounds of a censorship free community (IMO).
If we put NSFW content out there without the ability for users who don't want to see it to block it, we are going to alienate a large portion of our potential user base. I would agree that the people that are saying "NSFW content shouldn't be allowed here" are probably better elsewhere, but people who are just upset at not being able to hide it from their kids or co-workers are not necessarily people we want to push away.
There are a lot of ways to make the system more robust and elaborate (like degrees of NSFW content) but I don't think that is really necessary. Just having one "nsfw" tag that allows users to have some control over what does/doesn't get shown by default, seems like a viable solution. There are some gray areas, and a big rabbit-hole to go down as far as "what is really NSFW" - but I do think that a lot of it is fairly black and white. Given the right tools - I think the community can handle it.
Original comment here:
https://steemit.com/life/@alexanova/recap-of-my-weekend-nsfw-due-to-subject-matter#@timcliff/re-sneak-re-timcliff-re-stellabelle-re-alexanova-recap-of-my-weekend-nsfw-due-to-subject-matter-20161215t030148213z
Just do it as fast as possible and put it hidden as default so that visitors who are getting a first impression don't think this website is mostly about porn and gambling.
It is a complicated change, and there is still some discussion about what the 'correct' solution is. It is an important issue, but it is probably going to take some time to get right.
If I were new, my first think would be "where is the freedom and the so praised anarchy?"
Second thought: am I want to be here to be polcorrect or else prepare voting war which I cannot win as a new user who is not rich?
Third: Is this just a place that rewards you to be a bigger liar than an avg. Facebook user?
...
However, I see more far than the now, and I just want to be in it, yeah, through struggle and craziness, hard times, changes, to the Moon!
why not provide those options to ALL tags? Not just NSFW?
that way each steemer could customize steemit to show them what they WANT to see and mask the rest.
I think there are two separate problems - one is being able to "filter" content that you don't want to see, and the other is being able to selectively view and customize what you get presented. I think they are working on other solutions for the second problem. We'll see soon when they post their roadmap :)
as far as I'm concerned the solution to problem two solves problem one also.
hurry please, I'm getting DAMNED tired of pizzagate, re-steemed, and re-steemed pizzagate.
The solution to problem 2 that you are looking for is a fairly complex development effort though with a lot of "moving parts" to consider. Implementing something like that is going to take a lot of time.
the english have a colorful term.
"a bit of a dog's breakfast".
Perfectly apt to describe Steemit at the moment.
solution #2 would solve that.
I think the default behavior should be to always hide.
Then in the settings the other option can be selected. This is something that should be stored on the device vs the account. I.e. People might want a different setting at work on their phone vs the pc in their Home office or man cave....
I think the plan is for it to be 'hidden' in the sense that it will not display unless the user acknowledges a warning first. This seems like a reasonable solution.
Regarding the different settings per system- that is the plan. The setting will be stored locally in the browser, and it will support multiple accounts per computer.
Very timely. I was just having a discussion on this topic.
They**