I was banned from SOLA tonight and what that means for the platform!

I was banned from Sola tonight. If you haven’t heard of Sola […formerly Plag] until this post, it’s a social media app/platform with blockchain/cryptocurrency elements. In the last few weeks, Steemians have discovered it, myself being one of them, thanks to @lighteye. As a small community, the adoption of a Steemit consortium in such short time is definitely noticeable. Within a few hours poking around the Sola app, I found @iamredbar, @papa-pepper, @vermillionfox, @artedellavita, @artistchristian and others.

My initial thoughts were positive. It’s definitely it’s own thing, which I like. It was like Tumblr, Instagram and Tinder […yes, Tinder] collaborated to create a crypto-backed application. I’m sure there’s a lot of “….it’s not like Steemit”, going on, but believe me, if it was a Steemit clone, the backlash would be 10x’s worse. I went in to it with an open mind. I began sharing some of my photography, getting to know the community.

Tonight, I received this notice. I sort of just looked at the screen for a while processing it. Trying to think about what photo I could have posted that would have warranted such a harsh response. It ended up being a shot of Sar Elle I took at @mada’s place all the way back in 2014. Apparently, Sola “…received a number of complaints about my image”, and a request to “…be more polite”.

Now, you’re probably expecting me to passionately disparage Sola in retaliation for such an injustice. I’m not, actually. Plag […formerly] has been around for a long time. Their site timeline says 2014, in fact. Still, the rebranding and introduction to major app stores is new […November, it seems]. Since I joined, I’ve been saying “…it’s still trying to figure out what it wants to be.”. 

There’s a growing confluence of ideals, and those different philosophies on what a social media of this kind, should be. I stumbled across a post by our own @papa-pepper […before I was banned, which I’ll get back to], that rather eloquently set the stage for contrasting expectations; new Steemians and old school Plag/Sola users […maybe preemptively moderating the incoming, inevitable clashes of said expectations].

Doing some digging and talking with friends far more knowledgeable and intelligent than myself, it appears the cryptocurrency, SOL, is the only part of Sola that is actually blockchain based. It's token is created and distributed through OPEN.ledger. It does not appear to be a heavy blockchain based platform like Steemit. With that, the question of “…a decentralized social network”, arises, which is misleading.

Now, I want to emphasize that this isn’t sour grapes because I was kicked off, temporarily […about to explain that part]. I’m still in to this project and will probably be buying SOL, in addition to earning it, now that it’s appearing on the OPEN.ledger […I missed the ICO by 12 hours]. I’m an optimist and opportunist. It has potential. I think this snafu tonight is more a casualty of Sola going through exactly what I said earlier. “It’s trying to figure out what it wants to be.”

*Actual examples of memes circulating, and God help me, earning rewards on Sola

Most […and I’m saying half or more] of Sola is sad, soul crushing, mind melting cat memes and inspirational posters. It’s fucking bad. If anything deserves to offend the Sola community, it’s this shit. The other half is at least somewhat thought provoking, or at the very least beautiful. A small percentage is people letting you in to their lives, seeing their gardens, art or travels. Maybe I’m partial because of Steemit, but that’s the sliver that keeps me logging in.

The photo of Sar Elle that got be 86’ed was an implied nude. It was part of a series that was photographed for Suicide Girls and Zivity. It was sexy, no doubt, but straight up offensive? Really? I have a six year old son who has a habit of glancing over my shoulder while I’m on my phone. I don’t like censorship, but I wouldn’t want him to see a random gang bang GIF. I’m sympathetic that not people have varying tolerances for what is and isn’t sexy. As Supreme Court Judge Potter Steward famously said when qualifying absence pornography, “I’ll know it when I see it.”.

You might think an implied nude is racey, but if there aren’t any reproductive organs visible […there weren’t, and I also don’t support that, to be clear], you’re going to have a hard time convincing me it was offense or obscene. Especially to the level of a penalty box ban. I want to again, bring up their calling card of “…a decentralized social network”. This exact same photo of Sar has been live on both her Instagram account and my own since 2014, and Instagram is about as centralized as it gets!

I’m not giving up on Sola unless it happens again. To my knowledge, there isn’t even a category or option for NSFW, artistic, self expressionistic or otherwise. When people ask “…why doesn’t Steemit have an app?”, brilliant friends of mine have said “…because it’s not ready for an app yet.”. These are people that LOVE Steemit, but are smart enough to know tackling social conundrums like “….what is and isn’t NSFW. What is and isn’t art. What is and isn’t hate speech.” need to be approached and resolved from a truly decentralized point of view, before it’s in the hands of millions. This experience for me has shed blinding light on the merits of our community's slow, steady growth.

My being banned for this photo is the least worrisome for Sola. It’s the implications that creators who’ve build professional careers and reputations of the highest level, will undoubtedly be discouraged from the network. I think of the @vermillionfox’s, @eveuncovered’s @artwatch’s and even @gric’s, that’ll give Sola a pass because there’s an [outstanding...let's be fair] butt in the frame. The experience of being banned hasn’t left me bitter, but it’s given me an even deeper appreciation for the Steemit I hold so dear.

One last thing on Sola. There is a growing majority of Steemians migrating to create accounts. @artistchristian was nice enough to explain to me […because I’m an old guy, getting less and less cool by the day]. The “100“ emojs after your name represents that you’re a 100% original content creator. I’ve been using the hashtag “original content” as well. 

I post daily. Thanks for reading. For more photography, art, illustration and stories on life, follow me here @kommienezuspadt!