Censoring the Net: Too Much Free Hardcore!
By Kath Blackwell
Webmaster resources, industry magazines, Web tip writers
- hey, they've all tried to warn the industry, but nobody is listening.
For years there have been countless articles written about the overuse
of free content, the easy access to hardcore content on non-member
sites and tours. And of course there's the never-ending debate over
whether or not we should lay all of the blame for our current obscenity/censorship
issues on the feet of the TGP world...
 FYI,
you can read this debate in full on practically any industry board
when it cycles through in rotation about every six months - just like
clockwork.
The American public is very concerned right now about decency, obscenity
and minors being exposed to adult content. Perhaps it's because it's
an election year? Maybe Janet Jackson's Super Bowl blitz has something
to do with it? Maybe the adult 'Net has run too free for too long
and it's actually time for some government regulation? Well, there's
no need to go crazy looking for answers - it's probably a combination
of everything all together that has put Americans in this adult content
fearing and hating frenzy.
So What Do We Do?
Adult webmasters are at a crossroads, and it's time to make some decisions.
Some compare our current situation to a sort of strategic standoff.
Everyone is standing there, free hardcore content hanging out there
on their index pages, thousands of free sites, galleries and XXX tours
are available for all the world to see, but nobody wants to be the
first to take it all away, censor it or even reduce it. Why? The answer
is simple - competition.
Some webmasters argue that even if a majority of all websites pull
their hardcore free content, countless others would refuse to join
in and would, in turn, get the bulk of the traffic because of it.
Others argue that it's gone too far... we can't take it back now - it's
just "out there" and we need to deal with it. Everyone appears to
agree there's a problem, but nobody seems to want to commit to finding
a solution.
Censored Tour Options
Many affiliate programs are now offering censored tour options to
their webmasters. Censored and extremely softcore banners, full-page
ads, consoles and other advertising tools are being offered as well.
Some who have used these new options claim that their sign-up ratios
haven't been affected at all, while others claim that the new softer
tours have effectively added that "tease" affect and have increased
their conversions because of it.
Because there isn't any strict government regulation on hardcore versus
softcore, the use of such tours is currently a personal decision.
Some webmasters feel that by using softer banners on "exposed" or
easy access pages, helps to decrease the chances that minors are viewing
these images. And, in turn, decrease the chances that their network
of sites would be considered "obscene" should the government decide
to step in and put regulation in action.
Censored tours - and their effectiveness - are still constantly being
debated within the community. Their use was very popular for a time,
but is not being promoted as heavily by webmasters and sponsor programs
as it was a few months back. Still, having this option is a good idea
for programs that want to meet the needs of all of their webmasters
- those who want to walk the line, and those who want to cross it.
Media and Morality
Whether we realize it or not, the media plays a huge part in our censorship
struggles. Not just in their reporting of our plight, or the special
news series that they air about members of our community, but in every
aspect that media exists. Media encompasses television, radio, film,
newspapers, magazines and the Internet as a whole. Some analysts claim
that television and film are gateways to the moral temperature of
a country, and that community standards can be effectively tested
through these mediums.
If that's the case then just take a look around you - sex sells, and
it's everywhere - from TV commercials to magazine ads, billboards,
radio jingles and mainstream film. Sexual images, language and innuendo
surround us like we've never seen before, and yet now is the time
that government intervention in the adult industry seems to be hovering
and more certain than ever.
In a recent quote to the Associated Press , comedian George Carlin
had this to say about the current moral censorship issues being debated:
"They're very inconsistent... On that Super Bowl broadcast of Janet
Jackson's there was also a commercial about a 4-hour erection. A lot
of people were saying about Janet Jackson, 'How do I explain to my
kids? We're a little family, we watched it together.' Well, what did
you say about the other thing? These are convenient targets."
The adult online industry is another convenient target. Unfortunately,
through the overuse of hardcore content on free websites, many webmasters
have essentially drawn the target on our foreheads so to speak, causing
the government to turn its eye of censorship toward our doorstep.
PART TWO: Teach
Your "Children" Well...
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