Antorug Challenge

[antorug]

Jehan - PBase.com Support Team -
18/01/2010 02:05 - responded to my e-mail:......

Oggetto: [PBase.com #111521] I can not upload some of my Album -

"Two Galleries are blocked if we find images that are not work safe
or if the subject matter of the gallery is not "work safe".

http://www.pbase.com/antorug/italian_advertising_
http://www.pbase.com/antorug/italian_beach

These Galleries raises a "red flag" due to the focus of some of images. If you do not want to
remove the images you can create a password protected sub-gallery, as other members have
done. Once you make these changes, please let me know and I will ask our administrator to
unblock them."

I do not really know what images I have to cancel.

All PBase members may participate to CHALLENGE,
please identify the photos that I have to delete the two albums.
The winner gets one of my paintings, who chooses in the Albums, in my root-gallery (transport costs to be borne).

I apologize for my English. Thanks to those who want to participate .....Antorug

[1designguy]

I've looked and I sure can't figure out the ones they are referring to as offensive. Do they have something out for you?

[barbara_heide]

This is incredible...
I just can't beleive it...

I have written to them to find out, wy my images hardly ever show in the populars... Are my pics offensive???? I doubted...
the reply I've got was: are you sure that these picture are checked for public view...
This stupid reply made me very angry...
How could pictures, which are not publicly viewable get votes????
I replyed, that we were all very stupid , but not that stupid and that I still wanted a reply to my question... I never got it...

But yours is another problem... this is censorship! on which base?
How do they dare?


I'm schocked

Pbase administration....

I have soon to pay for my account, I really start to get fed up with these respectless people...

cheers
Barbara

[clickaway]

What does "work safe" have to do with it?

If PBasers look at PBase on the office computer, that is the indivdual's responsibility!

The vast majority of viewers would not find your images offensive at all, but some people are weirdly pure and don't believe breasts exist....

ray

[astridtaen]

I took a look at the images in your galleries and I can understand why the PBase administrators felt they were not "work safe." The reason I say this is that PBase is USA based and here in the US there are a lot of work rules regarding harassment in the work place. Harassment can be almost anything that would make another person feel uncomfortable. Thus, if I was viewing your images in my cubicle and a co-worker stopped by they may feel uncomfortable even glancing at some of those images and I could be in big trouble.

They take harassment very seriously here. We have to take classes to understand the various forms of harassment, how to avoid doing it, how to report it, and what the consequence can be. Thus, your images are not "work safe" in the US -- even if they are acceptable billboards in other parts of the world.

It is a whole other discussion as to whether the PBase administrators should be imposing the US standards on everyone or if there is a better way to handle these galleries like flagging them in some manner so that we would know in advance not to look at your galleries at work if you are in the US or any other place that has similar workplace rules.

I hope this explanation helps your understanding of the situation.

Astrid

[1designguy]

No matter what over-the-top, puritanical, politically correct regulations arise based on the myth of "one's right to not be offended" in our twisted and overly litigious 21st century US society, the images in Antonio's gallery are not even close to the level of explicit imagery employed by the modern media in advertising in public venues at this time. I do not subscribe to this being an issue based on fear of US harassment laws/rules.

Just my two cents.

[antorug]

Astridtaen wrote:

They take harassment very seriously here. We have to take classes to understand the various forms of harassment, how to avoid doing it, how to report it, and what the consequence can be. Thus, your images are not "work safe" in the US -- even if they are acceptable billboards in other parts of the world.

I can not quite believe that the Italian billboards create many problems. These advertising images have been all over the walls of the Italian cities, or on television or in newspapers, some of these pictures have been seen also by our holy Pope, during his pastoral visits. The Vatican does not have condemned me to Hell for my photos. The team Pbase sent me three red flags, for having disturbed the quiet work of the American Pbasers at the office computer. I promise, to expiate the guilt and go to Haven, to take pictures only of birds and bees, and flowers and trees........OK

Excuse my English

[astridtaen]

I am not passing judgement on the photos or the billboards, or even our culture in the US, I was only trying to give you some background as to where the PBase Administrators were coming from for the purpose of understanding. Nothing more.

[lynnh]

While I disagree with censorship of any sort (in the art world), I will have to defend Pbase a little.

I am the IT admin at my company. Our internet filters are designed to block websites based on content. Up till now, Pbase has got around the Filtering software but disallowing nudes from the Most Popular galleries.

I have been fearing that someday Pbase will be blocked at work and I will no longer have the luxury of viewing or posting images on my lunch hour. If Pbase is reported for showing nudity, it will be blocked from hundreds or maybe thousands of viewers who use a company owned computer or look at the images from the library, school etc.

This could impact your sales if some of your customers buy photos based on what they see on Pbase. If the customer works in a office that uses content filtering, browsing Pbase to buy will not be an option.

Hope this helps you understand a little. I don't agree with it, but it is policy where I work and in many, many, many other offices too.

LynnH

[astridtaen]

Lynn,

Very well put.

Thanks,
Astrid

[jolka]

Yes, it makes sens now, thank Lynn for the simple explanation.

[antorug]

Lynn Wrote

If Pbase is reported for showing nudity, it will be blocked from hundreds or maybe thousands of viewers who use a company owned computer or look at the images from the library, school etc.

OK Lynn but....
If you browse the first 10 pages of Popular Galleries - 7days, encounters many Albums that have explicit reference to the nudity of beautiful girls ..... Why these galleries are not blocked .....?????

[1designguy]

I think that while Lynn's points are valid, they are more pointed at concerns for explicit nudity. This particular thread is a question based on Antonio's gallery in particular that covers the topic in general.

If I study all of the images in Antonio's gallery that is being sensored, I don't find a single image (unless one has been added in the past couple of days) that is nude. The maniquin is not real. The candids are all public and clothed. The ads are explicit but no different from what we see in our own public media.

The issue does seem to point to something more along the lines of "offensive" material. This was my main point earlier in this thread. I am sick and tired of this illusion that we have some right to not be offended.

I don't want Pbase to determine what is offensive if Antonio's gallery falls into their discription of such. There has to be a better way of filtering (it has been promised for a while) that covers both explicit and even suggestive material that will take care of the concerns listed in this discussion.

What is the "fair" solution? Antonio is right. There are more that a few nude galleries in Pop Galleries. That is a quickly linked search for any visitor.

[tygrys50]

my gallerys of nudity are close also.