Thursday, December 16, 2004

Manga madness

You wouldn't think it but images like this are considered porn in some internet chat rooms and some do-gooders think they are unsuitable for their members. Recently the chat program I sometimes use decided to issue me with a warning for keeping content like the picture above in my own personal photo album archive on their database. The idea being you send picures like this with text etc to friends that use the online chat. They are called 'loggies' and basically you upload images to an album before you can send them on to friends etc.

I received a warning email from a moderator called a 'Navigator' that basically told me an image like the above was inappropriate. Oddly enough the image had been widely distributed and in my album for almost a year. I logged onto the chat forum the other night and was told I wouldn't be allowed back on until the image(s) were deleted. This I had to do and I understand the fact the chat forum has younger members but ironically there seems to be no age restriction or close monitoring of minors. The moderators seem more concerned with rummaging through your personal album and logbook and handing out warnings. Strange that their presence is little felt on the actual chat program itself where people and minors are often left to verbal abuse and taunts while the moderators back slap each other in the confines of private chat rooms dedicated to them.

I did manage to get back on the chat program after speaking to two of the hierachy, ironically it was the underling moderator who was most helpful and the senior one most aloof. I guess it's left me wondering what type of people crave and abuse power and what petty way they wield it.

The whole episode made me feel a bit 'dirty' like I was some rain coated peddler of porn, when all I was doing was sharing japanese art images with like minded people, I know even this art style has it's porn variant called 'Hentai' and I can understand them clamping down on that but images like the one above?! I don't think so. It seems odd to come across all moral in todays society when our youth are exposed to horror films and even graphic images on the news, open any British tabloid and there's scantily clad topless woman in front of you. There was no complaint against my picture so I guess I was the victim of some power hungry do-gooder that gets a kick out of banning people from forums. Oh well, rant over.

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