Since its founding in 2007, Tumblr has always been a place for wide open, creative self-expression at the heart of community and culture. To borrow from our founder David Karp, weāre proud to have...
The long and short of it is that āadult contentā is now banned on Tumblr. Not illegal content, not hateful content, not manipulative content, not contentious content. Adult content.
Iāve never reblogged any kind of pornography to any of my blogs. Iāve always kept my dashboard SFW, except for perhaps graphic depictions of real life circumstances. To me, by banning adult content, Tumblr is making a clear statement that Tumblr is not for adults. Itās for children.
Iāve operated this blog for almost a decade. Iāve run it since I was a child (this may come as a surprise to some of you, but Iām not in my forties or something). But this blog isnāt for children. It probably wonāt be affected by this ruling. It might be affected by future rulings that broaden what is considered āadultā content, as they always do. It doesnāt matter, because I donāt see what Tumblr is becoming as a place where I am welcome or even want to be.
Adults can be better than what Tumblr has been for the last decade. Adults can be positive. Look at Mastodon (which, by the way, I highly recommend you go to instead of Twitter if you are going to be leaving Tumblr), which is probably the most positive social media I know, and has accomplished it while instituting a system that allows porn to be shared right alongside all other types of content without making anyone see it who doesnāt want to. Mastodon is social media for responsible, reasonable adults. Tumblr clearly is not.
I donāt want to be a part of it anymore. So, finally, I am joining the scores of those who came before me and, finally, retiring this blog. My reasons for doing so are as personal as they are principled. I donāt expect many people will care or even notice; after all, this blogās prime was like 7 years ago. Iāve considered it for a long time. This is the straw that broke the camelās back.
So I disappear back into the ether from which I came. Goodnight, and remember: He who fights monsters should take care that he himself does not become a monster; and when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.
But thus I counsel you, my friends: Mistrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful. They are people of a low sort and stock; the hangmen and the bloodhound look out of their faces. Mistrust all who talk much of their justice! Verily, their souls lack more than honey. And when they call themselves the good and the just, do not forget that they would be pharisees, if only they hadāpower.
