Textad for porn site October 14, 2002 4:12 PM   Subscribe

Not that I want to question Matt... and not that I want to seem like the cranky old fundamentalist complaining (and it be far from the truth), but there is a TextAd for a porn site, and I am just wondering about the appropriateness of that.
posted by benjh to Etiquette/Policy at 4:12 PM (47 comments total)





Different link I was looking at. It was labeled You've Got HomoMail.
posted by benjh at 4:19 PM on October 14, 2002


I talked to the person doing it before I took the ad, to make sure the description was as plain as day. It's like the other two racy ads that run here, but just for email postcards, though it is gay material.

I think the ad is clear, and the site doesn't have sex acts or huge shots of genitalia (one of the few bits of criteria I used to determine if stuff is too racy, I turn down most anything that has anything more than photos of people nude).
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:27 PM on October 14, 2002


"the site doesn't have sex acts or huge shots of genitalia"

How about shots of huge genitalia? Surely there's some of that.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:39 PM on October 14, 2002


Fact: MeFi and MetaTalk are free for all users except for user number 1, who has to foot the bill.
Fact: The ad site is really not X-rated ( I'd be troubled by some creepy "Barely Legal" shit, but the Suicidegirls site is more similar to Nerve, not G-rated but it's hardly hardcore pornography)
Fact: Matt has the right not to go bankrupt because of MeFi


Opinion: Even if Matt had acted in movies like "Mathowie does Jenna", I'd consider this site brilliant anyway. (and I'd probably appreciate him even more, but it's just me -- I'm European after all)

posted by matteo at 5:56 PM on October 14, 2002


"Mathowie does Jenna"

And I'd like to see Matt and Cicciolina doing the nasty on an Italian billboard along a busy Autopista near Milan, but only because I'm an art snob.
posted by MrBaliHai at 6:32 PM on October 14, 2002


Or Ciccolina and Jenna doing it on one of those websites that advertise here....
posted by briank at 7:15 PM on October 14, 2002


appropriateness

what on earth does that mean? i think you need to say how porn is/could be appropriate or not appropriate, rather than throw that word in the air and then run off hiding behind disclaimers. it's like the word is acting as some kind of excuse for a moral agenda that says porn is bad, so why not come out and say it? for all your disclaimers, even asking the question seems odd. (maybe there's some weird cultural thing here - i thought the english were uptight about sex, but maybe americans are more so? (i'm even more confused - though it may be down to my ignorant acceptance of gay steroptypes - if you're also this benjamin hoppe)).
posted by andrew cooke at 7:16 PM on October 14, 2002


this is an interesting question, though, because there are under-18 kids here (Orange Goblin? and some others)....could matt get into trouble for a link to porn?
posted by amberglow at 7:30 PM on October 14, 2002


No. Yahoo runs Playboy ads all the time.
posted by Optamystic at 7:53 PM on October 14, 2002


okey dokey....well then, let's get some real (sleazy and dirty!) porn ads up! none of this literate, timid stuff... ; >

are porn cos. still the only ones making big bucks online? or is it the gambling places now?
posted by amberglow at 7:59 PM on October 14, 2002


I plan to combine the two genres into a brand new internet experience: Fantasy Pornstar Leagues.

Each player will draft an ass-ortment of their favorite porn stars, and will be awarded points based on the naughtiness of scenes done in a year. Facials, anals, and clown porn scenes would count double.

A gold mine I tell you. Gold.
posted by Stan Chin at 8:14 PM on October 14, 2002


"...an ass-ortment..."

I have got to see the eye doctor soon. I would have sworn that said ass ornament, which would be a different thing entirely.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:18 PM on October 14, 2002


Stan, that is a gold mine! I call dibs on the Gay division!
(The Ball Boys?) I'm picturing a football pool-type thing with the squares each depicting a different act...
posted by amberglow at 8:23 PM on October 14, 2002


ass-ortment

That reminds me of how I need to go buy some more ass-ointment.
posted by Hildago at 8:39 PM on October 14, 2002


Don't tell anyone, but I really like Suicide Girls. (the free part, that is...)
posted by ParisParamus at 8:54 PM on October 14, 2002


Don't get too parental on us, benjh.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 9:09 PM on October 14, 2002


it's a slippery slope, I tells ya - soon you will have to protest that you only visit MetaFilter "for the articles". You mark my words.
posted by dg at 10:40 PM on October 14, 2002


I understand full well it is a slippery slope, which is why I've only accepted three out of probably a dozen that have been placed, and of the ones I have approved, I consulted with several people on each one.

You should see the most colorful emails I get from people being denied their porn ads. I apparently can be quite the facist censor.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:49 PM on October 14, 2002


this is an interesting question, though, because there are under-18 kids here (Orange Goblin? and some others)....could matt get into trouble for a link to porn?

There are a couple of ways to deal with this:

1) Require members to indicate their date of birth at signup and serve adult-content ads only to logged-in members who are old enough to view them.

2) Put ICRA content ratings in the headers of the site, which gives you the perfect response to any outraged parent who might be angry about what junior visited here.

3) Limit membership to people 18 and older. Metafilter, like all sites with membership, is probably required by COPPA to refuse to sign up people 13 and younger.

In any case, my recommendation would be for Metafilter to address it in some way. I put ICRA ratings on Cruel.Com simply because I wanted to be able to say, if a situation ever arose, that people had fair warning about the content.
posted by rcade at 10:54 PM on October 14, 2002


I rarely ever say this (both because I occasionally disagree, and in an effort not to be sycophantic), but I think Matt is doing the exact right thing with regards to adult textads. I haven't seen one that wasn't tasteful yet. Nothing is forced on me; if I don't like it, I don't click it.
posted by Hildago at 11:22 PM on October 14, 2002


You should see the most colorful emails I get from people being denied their porn ads.

Really? Why? Don't the realize we're too busy masturbating in MetaTalk to waste our time looking at a bunch of pictures?
posted by willnot at 11:31 PM on October 14, 2002


you're right! we should see em! :D
posted by jcterminal at 11:40 PM on October 14, 2002


I think its appropriate that this question has been raised on Meta, tho' its highly likely that matt gave the matter long consideration first (besides, it provides balance to the suicide girls...)

Imho, mostly the site works as humourous, and tho' there are examples of - ahem - excitement, its all healthy stuff.

Any kid intelligent enough to find Mefi worth visiting, reading & exploring, would likely be able to make sense of the site as advertised. Whether visitors are straight or gay, one would have to make a definite conscious decision to click on the button marked 'You've got Homomail'... 'Homomails' sponsor site looks to be quality erotica, and though the teasers for that are much more full-on, in the UK at least, a credit card and 18 years of age would be needed to get that stuff.

....Shows matts commitment to equal opportunities, too.

Thanks, benjh, for starting the discussion - and drawing my attention to it (",). And thanks to matt, for his impartial handling, as it were.
posted by dash_slot- at 1:17 AM on October 15, 2002


Matt should ride around in a wheelchair like Larry Flint and gamble at all of the nicest casinsos (only at the high stakes black jack tables). We could through a stinky little MeFi-colored rug over his legs, and he could grab the waitresses in unflattering places. Why, he'll leave a trail of busted up hotel rooms and fatherless children in his wake. Think of it. Matt's porn empire!
posted by internook at 2:47 AM on October 15, 2002


You mark my words. [Insert forgotten smiley here]

Don't worry mathowie, you are a long way from crossing the line in my very humble opinion.
posted by dg at 3:58 AM on October 15, 2002


>You should see the most colorful emails I get from people being denied their porn ads. I apparently can be quite the facist censor.

There's got to be a tagline in there somewhere.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:35 AM on October 15, 2002


You should see the most colorful emails I get from people being denied their porn ads. I apparently can be quite the facist censor.

So that means we won't be seeing any ads for sites that include facials? (When I ran the preceding text through spell check, it kicked out "facist" and suggested the appropriate spelling.)
posted by anapestic at 5:57 AM on October 15, 2002


I am that Benjamin Hoppe. And if you'll notice, that site contains no nudity. And believe me, I have nothing against porn. But MetaFilter is frequented by minors, and so my only question what to the tune of the advertising reflecting this.

This was not a gay issue, but a nudity issue. In the link in question, if you click the big image, you're presented with some tastefully done nude images. (Which would be cool). If you click the link above it, you're presented with some images that might not be construed as tastefully done.

Fact is, I don't fit most gay stereotypes. But I am very supportive of all free speech. What annoys me is that everyone jumped on "he's bashing the gays" instead of "nudity, oh, linked from a site frequented by minors." As if the assumption that nudity and sex are simply the only parts of gay culture, far be it from the truth.
posted by benjh at 6:39 AM on October 15, 2002


I seriously doubt MeFi's corrupting influence on horny minors (there's other places to go if you're looking for porn, no?). There's no popup ads here, so if you dislike porn, don't click on that particular ad. (btw, I repeat: this site costs Matt good money)

And also, do you mean that all MetaFilter content has to be G-rated? What is this, the Disney Channel?

posted by matteo at 6:47 AM on October 15, 2002


so uh, matt = porn nazi ??? [waiting for 'anti-nazi' nazi's to pounce from out of the grey]
posted by blackholebrain at 6:48 AM on October 15, 2002


What annoys me is that everyone jumped on "he's bashing the gays" instead of "nudity, oh, linked from a site frequented by minors." As if the assumption that nudity and sex are simply the only parts of gay culture, far be it from the truth.

benjh, I didn't get that from this thread at all ... but perhaps your mileage varies ...
posted by walrus at 6:49 AM on October 15, 2002


this is an interesting question, though, because there are under-18 kids here (Orange Goblin? and some others)....could matt get into trouble for a link to porn?

Free Porn!
posted by Orange Goblin at 8:40 AM on October 15, 2002


Hi Orange--i realized you knew how to find porn and am jealous that the internet (and free porn) didn't exist when i was in high school--you were a convenient example...

That said, I think Matt should take more porn ads-whether filthy or not--he's losing $$ by not taking them--maybe with a 18+ symbol or something...they're only text ads so the imagery couldn't be a problem...maybe one of rcade's suggestions would allow matt to make more revenue and protect him from any unpleasantness?
posted by amberglow at 9:10 AM on October 15, 2002


Hehe...google was actually just the first link that came to my head...wasn't meant to be anything to do with porn..as for the ads, in the end, as always, its up to matt...
posted by Orange Goblin at 9:14 AM on October 15, 2002


Metafilter: Facist censors, facials, and shots of huge genitalia
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:45 AM on October 15, 2002


Gay erotica aside, I find it odd that I just saw a TextAd for...TextAds.
posted by Danelope at 4:04 PM on October 15, 2002


"Mathowie does Jenna"

This caught my attention. But then I relaxed when I remembered that nobody calls me Jenna anymore.
posted by jennak at 4:08 PM on October 15, 2002


Yes, Jenna is a nice name. Now we know why she changed her name to Jenn, don't we ;-)
posted by dg at 6:47 PM on October 15, 2002


Now we know why she changed her name to Jenn, don't we ;-)

Alas, the truth is out!

Thanks for allowing non-MeFi members & spambots to see my email address, iconomy. ;)
posted by jennak at 7:26 AM on October 16, 2002


Oops. Sorry, Jenn. I forgot about that. Administrator please hope me?
posted by iconomy at 10:16 AM on October 16, 2002


Glavin? The user info pages aren't protected by membership privileges or anything, I don't think.
posted by Skot at 10:50 AM on October 16, 2002


My theory is that Matt mispelled "fascist" to avoid invoking Godwin's law.
posted by condour75 at 11:12 AM on October 16, 2002


The user info pages aren't protected by membership privileges or anything, I don't think.

Skot, email address, location, zipcode, gender, AIM screen name and ICQ number are hidden from non-members.

posted by timeistight at 11:24 AM on October 16, 2002


Skot, email address, location, zipcode, gender, AIM screen name and ICQ number are hidden from non-members.

Weird. I tried logging out and then accessing the user page, and it worked fine. A Google search also seems to pull up the relevant info. But then again, I'm pretty stupid, so I'm probably missing something.
posted by Skot at 12:27 PM on October 16, 2002


Thanks for hoping me, administrator.
posted by iconomy at 1:30 PM on October 16, 2002


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