Another Tumblr Apocalypse

Portions of this entry have been updated with current information

Tumblr was once popular amongst nerds and creative types because even plebes like myself could get the word out. We could share, show other folks amusing things, muse about inspiration, make up stories... shitpost...

Tumblr has up and decided to do the one thing that has killed other social blogging sites in the past - ban NSFW stuff. I'm not talking porn, here. I'm talking about art. Adult art. Sometimes, it's tasteful nudes. Sometimes, it's two anthropomorphic figures fucking.

Banning the art that the artists tag to keep the kiddies safe is going to do absolutely nothing about the porn bots that started this problem. Let's look at the timeline of unfortunate events:

1. Tumblr becomes a popular enough site that non-nerds notice it is there
2. The site becomes home to numerous "special interest" groups that favour a crossed stick emblem or the letter K written thrice. Amongst many others like them
3. The actual content creators complain about this
4. Tumblr staff do nothing
5. Porn sites follow the "special interest" crew, and start bombarding people with unwanted smut [which is quite different to the tagged and wanted-by-some smut]
6. Once again, the actual content creators complain about this
7. Once again, Tumblr staff do nothing
8. Child porn follows the regular porn, because the "special interest" crew are fucking sick in multiple directions
9. The actual content creators complain. AGAIN
10. Tumblr staff does nothing. AGAIN
11. Apple, being the sort of company that likes appealing to the mainstream, removes the Tumblr app because it is rife with bigotry, porn, and child porn
12. Tumblr staff panic, and introduce a censorbot that flags anything with too much "flesh tone"
13. LGBTIAQ-related tags are purged from the record, as well as some actual NSFW tags
14. Numerous beige-tinted artworks, photographs, and suchlike are flagged
15. The bigots and the porn bots remain unchallenged

All of this is, as you might expect, a source of great mockery from the larger public. It's such a lame, half-arsed effort that even the mainstream news has picked up on the joke. Like all things Tumblr, the memes are flying hot. People are posting alternate places to get a fix of the actual, likeable content.

Even Porn Hub has joined in, welcoming all the NSFW artists with open arms and the potentiality of a blank cheque.

None of this is helpful to me, a writer who does stuff with words and includes the occasional F-bomb in there. About the only open arenas for me are Pillowfort [shakily back on its feet after an extended absence], Peakd [which might not appreciate a sudden influx of fanfiction], and here on this blog.

I get the feeling y'all might object to a sudden influx of fanfiction here, too.

I can, and most likely will, post the fanfiction up on my AO3 account. I have the prompts screenshotted in case my Tumblr blog vanishes in one of the purges that are continuing. I will continue. Somewhere. Somehow. Some... way...

All the purge means for me is that it's going to be a little bit harder and a little bit longer to build an audience. An inconvenience at most. To others, Tumblr was the one way they could have a career without ex-abusers finding them. For some, Tumblr was a lifeline.

I worry about those folks. Please be okay, out there.