Good lord, the world truly has turned upside down. I warn you now, this is a rant. I ask you now, please read it even though it’s a rant. It’s really important.
Via Liz Ditz (I Speak of Dreams), an email being sent to public librarians:
“We are curious as to the policy the [name] Public Library has concerning the access of online social networks. Specifically, we are concerned with the use of a Yahoo photo sharing website called Flickr. It seems that there is an entire subculture within that particular network which poses a grave danger to children. We have recorded thousands of hardcore and even child porn images being displayed to millions of kids for over a year now on Flickr, the whole time pleading with Yahoo to end the filthy flow. Recently, we have turned our attention to the disturbing number of public libraries that utilize this “service” and thus, expose children to this sick venue. Here is a page related to your area’s financed public library that resides on that site. That is no place for kids. We wouldn’t even put pictures of them there. Thank you. ”
[my emphasis added]
Folks, the culture of ignorance and fear is alive and well, thriving in the form of idiotic laws like DOPA. So….deconstructing the rhetoric in this incredibly insane piece of drivel a little bit might be in order.
- “Subculture posing a grave danger to children”.
From Flickr’s Community Guidelines:You will see all sorts of things on Flickr, some of which may offend you. If you are offended by a photo you can either click away from the photo or you can flag it as “offensive” by clicking on the “May offend” link next to every photo. If you think there’s immediate cause for concern, you can report content and/or someone’s behavior to Flickr Staff.
- “thousands of hardcore and even child porn images being displayed to millions of kids…”
I spent the last two hours searching Flickr, trying hard to come up with those hardcore and child porn images. I wouldn’t be surprised if my member profile was forever altered by the search terms I used. I won’t list them here, but I definitely tried every possible angle.
I found five nude images of men. Not boys. Not teens. And none of those images were in a public photostream. They were posted as comments to groups where the photos themselves were private. Now I could’ve flagged them as offensive but they didn’t offend me. I did email the group admin and request that they not keep those images in the discussion area because I was unwilling to offer this group of whackos any kind of ammunition with which to load their guns and shoot.
I also found two nude images of women. Clearly not younger women. Not pornographic in any way. Not offensive unless you get offended by nude images of older women.
I found no hardcore images available without actually joining a group and proving my age. I found no child pornography of ANY kind. Nothing even close.
If anyone can point me to this incredibly available stream of hardcore and child porn images, please do. Two hours of searching, clicking and checking yielded a whole lot of nothing for me. And I’m savvy.
- “That is no place for kids”
So, I beg to differ. In fact, I beg to differ so much that I bought my daughter a Pro account on Flickr, where she happily organizes groups and comments on photos and has come so far with her own photography skills that I’m knocked out every time I see her newest sets.
You know what I like the best? Why I think Flickr is ABSOLUTELY a great place for kids? Because it teaches them about being part of a community where they are respected for what they do instead of what they look like. It teaches them that they can interact with adults and people of all walks of life and ages without fear of being rejected because they’re kids. It teaches them how to be a responsible member of a community. It teaches them how to learn from the skills of others. It teaches them to derive joy in creating beautiful things.
What exactly is wrong with that?
I have a contact on Flickr, Gail Orenstein, who is a gifted photojournalist. Many of the photos she posts are of strippers in various contexts. You can read her profile to understand why. They do not offend me. They do not cause me to shout out for Flickr to be banned from all public places. When you read her explanation of the photos themselves you understand them much better. They’re really cool photos.
She also blogs at GO Photos Weblog. Click on this photo and this one.
Which one offends you more deeply? Pink panties or bloody Lebanese children?
Technorati Tags: Flickr, DOPA, ALA, community, culture of fear
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