Okay, so I’ve been going over the new policy that’s going to be implemented in the December 17th update and I’m going to try to elaborate on what exactly it entails to the best of my abilities! (Note that I am on mobile so if there’s any typos, please let me know!) I’ll try my best to make it concise and to the point while being as informative as possible!
“Starting Dec 17, adult content will not be allowed on Tumblr, regardless of how old you are.“
Now this is the line that has everyone panicking, understandably so for Artists and Writers. This, I’m assuming, is an attempt to rid Tumblr of its increasingly invasive porn bot issue. However like any technical adjustment, its bound to likely have issues since they’re going widespread and there’s no real way to test how it’s going to evolve and operate on a large number of servers with thousands of people beyond those bots.
What this could mean: Your content could be flagged accidentally in the mass cleanup.
Tumblr uses both human and machine to categorize content so it’s never going to be a perfect science for any website, really. However, during implementing a program of this level to clear a site wide scale, there’s bound to be casualties and for that they’ve got a solution. Its pretty simple, actually.
“We will send out email notices to members of the Tumblr community whose content has been flagged as adult. If your post has been flagged as adult, it will be reverted to a private setting viewable only by you. If you want to learn more about how to see those posts, see this help article.“
What this means: If you have flagged content they’re gonna email you about it and let you know. You can review the post yourself and if its not flag material then you can repeal it. (See below on how to do that!)
“If you feel that we have categorized your post incorrectly, you can appeal this decision using the button on the post in question. Please note that this process is only possible to complete on the web or the Tumblr Android app version 12.2 or later to review your flagged content. If you are on iOS, please use the web to appeal for now.“
“Flagged content will have a review banner on it. You’ll need to use either the web or the Tumblr Android app version 12.2 or later to review your flagged posts. If you are on iOS, please use the web to appeal for now.”
Selecting “Review” sends a request for your content to be reviewed for a classification appeal. It should only be used if you believe your post was incorrectly flagged. You can read more about what’s considered adult content here. These reviews are always conducted by real people—no robots here.
Choosing “Dismiss” will bring you back to the list of your flagged content.
“Only the original poster of content will be notified if it gets flagged as adult and given the ability to appeal.
Reblogs of flagged content are not appealable, but they will show up in your flagged content list.
If content has already been reviewed by one of our trained experts, then it is not appealable, and will say so in the banner on the post.“
What this means: The OP gets told their shit’s been flagged and they have the right to appeal it unless its already been reviewed by one of their presumably human staff already and thereby rejected for the appeal, you’ll be told about that in the banner so you don’t have to waste your time. Rebagels aren’t able to be repealed because the OP does the repealing. Don’t worry, your rebagelled content isn’t going to get you shut down, mate. Its just letting you know its been flagged and that’s why its not going to show up on your feed anymore.
“In addition to having any flagged content removed, blogs that have been either self-flagged or flagged by us as “explicit” per our old policy and before December 17, 2018, will still be overlaid with a content filter when viewing these blogs directly. While some of the content on these blogs may now be in violation of our policies and will be actioned accordingly, the blog owners may choose to post content that is within our policies in the future, so we’d like to provide that option. Users under 18 will still not be allowed to click through to see the content of these blogs.”
Basically if your bagel is flagged either by your own marking or theirs you can still post content so long as its not IRL dangy bits and lady nipples. Your blog will still exist but with a filter over it to protect younger users. Artists will still be allowed to post NSFW content, only adults will be able to view it. Tumblr won’t be removing NSFW bagels, just filtering it. Or at least that’s my understanding of it. They still want users to be able to provide content to the site and are choosing to implement the clean up as best they can by giving “out” options to those who are an explicit bagel. Your headers and avatar will be reverted to the default setting tho so be sure to correct that later on! You can see if your bagel’s been marked in your visibility settings.
If your bagel was incorrectly flagged as explicit or you have since removed the adult content you can file an appeal. Again, they still want their users to create content. (Its not like Tumblr is a site where the staff makes everything after all, they rely on content creators to make it appealing to other users.) You can go here to file an appeal and then follow the steps they’ve provided:
In “What’s going on?” select “Blog incorrectly marked as explicit.“
In the box, provide a quick explanation of why you think your blog should be unflagged so we know what to look for.
In “Relevant blog,” select the blog we should be looking at.
Confirm your email address is the one you used to register your account. This will also be the email address that we’ll use if we need to contact you.
Now onto the most important part of this post: What content is going to be flagged.
Now they’ve given a summary of what’s going to be flagged.
“Adult content primarily includes photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content—including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations—that depicts sex acts.“
What this entails: REAL LIFE dangly bits and lady nipples as well as PHOTO-REALISTIC art of either one. Basically if you’re a damn fine artist that can create a dick so immaculate that it appears like a photo, your content is going to be flagged.
Here’s what they said themselves on the matter in the new community guidelines:
“Don’t upload images, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples —this includes content that is so photorealistic that it could be mistaken for featuring real-life humans (nice try, though). Certain types of artistic, educational, newsworthy, or political content featuring nudity are fine. Don’t upload any content, including images, videos, GIFs, or illustrations, that depicts sex acts.”
So basically– You guys are going to be just fine, I promise! Artists, Writers, you can still create your content no problem. Written NSFW is not going to be an issue in any light so don’t fret there and art isn’t going to be flagged unless its hyper-realism. (I’m sorry my lovely artists who can detail down to the last pore, you’ll have to suffer and simplify your art style a little.) Works of fictional sex, examples of body positivity/protest/newsworthy/educational depicted in art or literature is going to be just fine.
So long as your content is not of REAL LIFE bodies or otherwise extremely hyper realistic art wise, you’re alright! If your content has been flagged but shouldn’t have been, appeal it please! New programs implemented on this scale can be a pain in the ass but it’ll learn eventually, starlings! Just have patience!
