Itch.io is shadowbanning or deleting NSFW and LGBTQ content

[Jd Smith1]

1. For many venues, like books or ttrpgs or video games, and many publishers - yes they are.

OK. That settles the matter, then.

2. Have you ever adressed the fact that these bans are skewed towards disproportionatelly targetting LGBTQ+ content, not only nsfw one? Have you ever adressed how this is "foot in the door" tactic that is well known by bigots, and whose next after getting "porn" banned step is to declare everything featuring queer people as inherently pornographic?

No. There's no need to to.

And that, I believe sums up the entirety of this situation, 23 pages in. My work here is done.

 

[Jadeite]

True.

Porn, however, is not critical infrastructure. Nor is this action going to affect the supply of porn.

Maybe I wasn't clear enough, but the critical infrastructure wasn't referring to porn, it was in reference of financial transactions.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

No. There's no need to to.

Yes there is. Until you adress it, it is impossible to treat your posts as anything but an attempt to shut down the conversation while ignoring true magnitude of the problem. In fact, it looks like you are trying to make people not pay attention to this side of the problem.

 

[Morrus]

No. There's no need to to.

And that, I believe sums up the entirety of this situation, 23 pages in. My work here is done.

The admission is appreciated; it makes our job much easier.

You won’t be posting in this thread again. Given your 16(!) warnings, your admitted deliberate threadcrapping in this thread in an attempt to silence the actual discussion, and your identical obnoxious behaviour in the Diamond thread, we moderators are currently discussing whether you’re worth the effort of keeping around.

 

[Umbran]

No. There's no need to to.

Mod note:
Except, of course, for the small matter of that being the actual topic of the thread.

Thank you for publicly admitting to having no intention of engaging in the topic in good faith. It clarifies to us that your participation in this discussion has been anti-inclusive threadcrapping.

And that, I believe sums up the entirety of this situation, 23 pages in. My work here is done.

Good. Your further input on this topic will no longer be required, and I'll just threadban you.

Your behavior in this thread has led to a discussion among the moderators about your colored history on this site, and whether your participation is actually a net positive.

 

[AnotherGuy]

Itch has apparently updated their creator FAQ with the following guidelines to things that are verboten:
View attachment 412447
Some might think "good, I don't want any of that nasty business being sold." I'd like to point out that A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of books that have gotten some critical and commercial acclaim, checks at least six of those items (non-consent, underage, incest, rape, sex trafficking, extreme harm). So I'm guessing the next step is Mastercard cutting Amazon off?

I'm not well versed in this IT stuff but just a query is Itch like a gaming platform or online store? If yes, then your post is making the case that a series of books is comparable to games which may include revenge porn and beastiality?

If the answer is yes it should be comparable and that we should be able to include games with such topics, then I'm wondering why the half-races got such pushback in D&D as this list touches on topics far worse...
I mean there were calls on Enworld to sanitise the Kender for Gilean's sake.

 

[RealAlHazred]

I'm not well versed in this IT stuff but just a query is Itch like a gaming platform or online store?

Itch.io is a platform for distributing creative content. It has both books (like RPG supplements, but also fiction) and games (video games, puzzle games, etc.)

 

[Staffan]

I'm not well versed in this IT stuff but just a query is Itch like a gaming platform or online store? If yes, then your post is making the case that a series of books is comparable to games which may include revenge porn and beastiality?

If the answer is yes it should be comparable and that we should be able to include games with such topics, then I'm wondering why the half-races got such pushback in D&D as this list touches on topics far worse...
I mean there were calls on Enworld to sanitise the Kender for Gilean's sake.

Itch is an online store that sells all sorts of stuff, both fiction, game books, and game software. And yes, I am making the case that a game featuring violent and evil acts shouldn't be treated any differently than a novel featuring said acts.

And there's a big difference to various discussions we've had about D&D content. In those, we've been talking about what is good for the game – should there be half-races? Should races have different stats? Should the term "race" even be used, and if not what should we use? Should D&D books deal with issues like slavery, and should it be something in which PCs can partake? Is it OK to treat expanding "civilization" into the lands of "savages" as a good thing, or is that just glorifying colonialism? And those are all reasonable discussions to have. The difference is that I don't think anyone in good faith has argued that Wizards or anyone else should be forced to do things a certain way. We've expressed our preferences for how to do things, but the only force we can apply is that of our own purchases, or lack thereof. In extreme cases, book stores (including online stores like DTRPG) have denied carrying certain material, but no-one has been saying that such material should be forbidden entirely. That's the difference here – payment processors have told Itch.io and Steam (and other platforms) that unless their TOS forbids such material they can't use their payment services. And I, for one, think that is wrong. Payment processing is vital infrastructure where a small number of companies have an effective oligopoly, and should not be interfering with what people are using them to pay for (at least as long as it's legal).

 

[AnotherGuy]

Itch is an online store that sells all sorts of stuff, both fiction, game books, and game software. And yes, I am making the case that a game featuring violent and evil acts shouldn't be treated any differently than a novel featuring said acts.

Understood - thanks.

And there's a big difference to various discussions we've had about D&D content.

I do not believe there is a difference TBH, but that is neither here nor there.

In those, we've been talking about what is good for the game – should there be half-races? Should races have different stats? Should the term "race" even be used, and if not what should we use? Should D&D books deal with issues like slavery, and should it be something in which PCs can partake? Is it OK to treat expanding "civilization" into the lands of "savages" as a good thing, or is that just glorifying colonialism? And those are all reasonable discussions to have. The difference is that I don't think anyone in good faith has argued that Wizards or anyone else should be forced to do things a certain way. We've expressed our preferences for how to do things, but the only force we can apply is that of our own purchases, or lack thereof.

Sure.

In extreme cases, book stores (including online stores like DTRPG) have denied carrying certain material, but no-one has been saying that such material should be forbidden entirely.

Books stores online or in the RW have the right to determine what they sell.
It becomes a little less black-and-white, IMO, when you have international stores like (Amazon) censor content because of their global monopoly.

That's the difference here – payment processors have told Itch.io and Steam (and other platforms) that unless their TOS forbids such material they can't use their payment services. And I, for one, think that is wrong. Payment processing is vital infrastructure where a small number of companies have an effective oligopoly, and should not be interfering with what people are using them to pay for (at least as long as it's legal).

This I agree with.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

Statement from organizers of two Disability Pride bundles. I did try to access those bundles but one of them seems to be entierly removed by itch.io by now, at least I get error from clicking the link to it.