"Not Safe for Work" designation (and opinions)

[angelize]

@ Jon: What you deem safe for work others may not.

[jon404]

That's true. But then, is it proper for a graphics forum moderator to warn forum viewers about a site that is quite legal... and not pornographic, by any definition, in any civilized country? Your judgement -- the notice you added to Sketch's post -- would be appreciated by some in Riyadh, or Kandahar, or Peshawar... or in our own state of Kansas. But, bottom line, who cares?

If a link goes to a site that is legal, that should be sufficient for you as the moderator. Your responsibility is to this forum, not to unknown managers in unseen workplaces who might have a hissy fit should one of their workers look at an underwear ad.

What do you think? Maybe best to stick to giving excellent graphics tips, and stopping members from insulting each other, or posting messages that advocate breaking the law?

[steve.ledger]

[Barbara B]

Jon,

We are an international community of men and women of all ages, whose views on what is naughty and what is nice widely varies.

Your responsibility is to this forum,not to unknown managers in unseen workplaces who might have a hissy fit should one of their workers look at an underwear ad.

I totally agree that our responsibility is to our members and not to HR departments, that is why we mark material that may not be safe for work and that could get someone reprimanded or worse, fired. And unless you are in the undergarment business, ladies clad only in underwear have an extremely high chance of falling into the not safe for work category in most businesses. And we have members who, even when at home, also appreciate a warning about material they'd rather skip. By marking the content NSFW our members can decide for themselves if they want to click through.

Angelize does give excellent graphics tips. And she also works very hard to make sure TG functions smoothly and is a welcoming place for all members. You really don't need to tell her how to do her job, especially using the patronizing tone you used, nor do you need to suggest that anyone who disagrees with you comes from an uncivilized place.

If you think that any moderator here is in need of some kind of correction or instruction on how to do their job, then you write me about it. And if you have an issue with any of my decisions, then use the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page and make your complaint to Xara.


Barbara

[handrawn]

We are an international community of men and women of all ages, whose views on what is naughty and what is nice widely varies

we are that

not safe for work:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22674928

[slightly off topic, but still about scantily dressed personages]

[jon404]

@Barb -- I wasn't patronizing. I've read Frances' tips for several years now, and she is always willing to help others with their graphics and web-design questions.

No, I wasn't patronizing. But I WAS laughing at this latest exposition of the nanny state. First her, now you. Self-appointed guardians of what's best for forum members! Do you honestly think that anyone on this site would be stupid enough to watch something called 'lovelingerie.biz' in front of their boss... unless thay were both shopping together?

But here, I'm not addressing Frances. This is to you. Actually, I don't know who you are, or what you do. Don't believe I've ever seen a single post about Xara graphics from you. Guess that means that you're on the web design side.

So here's my question: why are you using WordPress instead of Xara Web Designer to make the XaraXone site? Like, since you're getting paid by Xara (or Magix, whatever) -- why don't you use the very products you're supposed to support?

Jon

[Barbara B]

Jon, your previous post and this post are the very definition of patronizing. You say that anyone who disagrees with you about the acceptability of the content in question is from an uncivilized country and that anyone who would benefit from getting a heads up warning from a NSFW flag is stupid. You say you laugh at the nanny state, yet you address your remarks directly at Frances and at me and instruct us on what we should stick to and how to do our assignments here on TG as if you are our supervisor. Neither Frances nor I are self-appointed guardians of this forum. Unlike you, we (and the other moderators) were appointed by or with the approval of the owners of this forum to oversee the operation of TalkGraphics.

It is the policy of Xara, and by extension TalkGraphics, to warn users of content that may contain nudity or other material that may not be safe for work or may be otherwise offensive and to prominently flag those threads/content, so members may decide for themselves if they wish to view it.

Content that is harassing, racist, sexist, promotes violence, hate speech, spam, malware, is illegal or otherwise effects the operation and well being of the forum or strains the civility of the forum is not tolerated here.

Moderators and administrators may, at their discretion, remove such posts or threads completely, or edit the posts or threads with notation as to why it was edited. All content on this forum is subject to review by moderators and administrators and always has been. Users are encouraged to report posts they find questionable for review by the moderator team. This is a standard, common sense policy and it is not a new one.

As to my credentials, I have set up, maintained, and run bulletin boards, forums, and user groups for more than twenty years. I have authored and co-authored books, published by major publishing houses, on topics such as the Internet, graphics and office software. I develop websites. I have done private, by invitation, (not public) beta testing for every major graphic software publisher and for two operating systems. I have been a consultant to Fortune 500 companies. But more to the point of your question, Xara appointed me to be the Administrator of TalkGraphics and to develop the WP infrastructure and theme for XaraXone.

Corporate and corporate sponsored websites often require database driven, content management systems. Xara.com and all Magix sites use content management systems and therefore so does XaraXone.com. For example:
· Xara.com uses a .php based content management system.
· Magix.com uses the content management system, TYPO3.
· Magix Magazine at http://magazine.magix.com/, Magix Music Maker http://www.music-maker.com/ and Magix’s Samplitude Pro X site at http://www.samplitude.com/ and XaraXone.com all use WordPress.
· Magix Online World at http://www.magix-online.com/ uses MAGIX-CMS

If you find the moderation of this and similar posts here disagreeable, or find the choice of software used for the corporate websites to be questionable, then I suggest you take it up with Xara by using this Contact Us link or perhaps find another forum that suits your sensibilities better.

[ckh]

I've been visiting this forum for years. I like and use Xara products but in no definition of the word and artist. I think the biggest reason why I come here is to see the art.

I've never had a problem with pictures or links posted here and have found that artists have a different opinion on what is acceptable and what isn't as compared to the general population. Here are some links to pics I've found posted on the forum here and not off site links.

http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...235#post469235
http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...939#post413939
http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...6943#post56943
http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...7845#post47845

where no moderation was done, not that I think any was needed. I've also seen a lot of drawings here where women were rather voluptuous. Pictures are indeed artistic also. I wouldn't think a site selling lingerie would draw too much criticism here especially since the site was being showcased as being created with Xara Products and even includes a warning. Wouldn't the lingerie itself be considered artistic?

So, I'm just kinda wondering where the consistency is here. After all, we are all grownups and visit this site voluntarily knowing that some of the art or work here may show the human body in artistic ways. I'm old enough where if I click on the link and after a quick glance decide it's not for me, I'd just close the tab and not view the site any more, I would imagine the same for someone in a work environment would be able to see in a glance whether the site was appropriate or not and just close the tab so it's not displayed any more. After all, there was a warning before hand by the original poster so nothing should have been a surprise. I would imagine if it wasn't appropriate for the workplace and after seeing the warning a person went there anyway, they will probably be visiting other sites that may not be appropriate for the workplace also.

[pauland]

We're all just people. The moderators give up their time and deserve some respect and leeway.

The not-safe-for-work thing is a bit quaint, but not worth making a fuss over.

The moderators (in general) have a fairly light touch (which is as it should be).

Lets not turn this trivial issue into a "let's bash the moderators" session.

[jon404]

Oh, you're right. I just wish they'd use Web Designer for the XaraXone. I'm a Web Designer user, and am surprised that Magix, Xara, or whoever didn't keep using it, instead of WordPress. Sort of like if you owned a Cadillac, and found out one day that all the GM executives drove Fords.