block inappropriate 43things avatars

We added a feature to the site to let users tell us about images on the site that aren’t meeting community norms. Hows that? We wish people were both cooler about nudity and not harshing people’s realm – but it is a big internet – and we are venturing into choppier waters. We haven’t blocked anything yet – but its just a matter of time. If you see something questionable – click on it to get a closer look (ironic, I know) and use the link to let us know about it.

The Butt presence isn’t exactly something us Robots are psyched about. But Erik and the rest of us agreed we don’t want to get into the business of spelling out what is and isn’t OK as far as images like this go. I am glad to see folks talking about this and asking Scott to rethink what he’s doing. As Erik points out on the comments on the earlier post, good manners and good judgment would acheive wonders beyond what good software can do.

At this point, Scott knows people have complained and he’ss (apparently) choosing not to change his avatar. So we are evolving the response of the system to take account of the situation. It seems reasonable that people shouldn’t have to see Scott’s bottom if they don’t want to. If we had something worse than a bottom we’d move faster (but I hope we don’t see an arms race on objectionable content).

What do people think ought to happen to avatars or photos they find inappropriat? Block objectionable ones? That is how Flickr does it I think. Let people opt to see “objectionable” avatars (but leave them off by default)?

This is probably just the start of a long path of dealing with “good” and “bad” content/users/goals/entries. We are having broader conversations to decide how best to let the community celebrate useful contributions.

The principle of ad blocking with CSS works well here. I personally use Safari which makes it much easier to install—it lets you pick the CSS file in the Advanced preference pane.

The code you need in your file is:

Replace the 000 with the user’s ID number (get it from the image’s URL). Repeat where necessary.

BUTTS TOO!

nude avatars are just plain out-of-place, unless the topic is nudity… tho’ I’ll give my vote back if Robot Co-op renames the site 43 Buttcheeks….