NationStates Jolt Archive

is albinoblacksheep ok to link to? Some guy wanted to be cheered up so I just posted the link to the main page. Jordaxia said he thought was banned, so I'm checking so you won't get pissed and deat me.

As that site hosts some adult material, linking to that site from NationStates is specifically forbidden.

If there's a non-obscene item on it that you want to link to, then rehost the item on an acceptable site and link to it at the acceptable site.

--The Modified Democratic States of Cogitation

There is? :confused:

Ok, i'll edit that link out.

Still don't get it, but whatever...

Just to be safe, what about illwillpress.com, wearerobots.com, weebl.jolt.co.uk, and, just to be absolutely sure, homestarrunner.com?

Also, though we can't link to it, can we post something like, "Go to illwillpress.com"? Cuz, technically it's not a link. Just trying to be aware of the rules here.

If the site you want to link to also contains forbidden content within its own domain (or hosts ads for forbidden sites), then don't link to it. There is not and never will be a comprehensive list of sites you can or can't link to. If you're not sure, don't link it. It's not that difficult, it just requires a little proactive thought.

Standard Disclaimer: I am not a Moderator. I'm not that much of a masochist.

I think it would be a good idea to have a list of specific sites you can't link to, such as blacksheep. Some things are obvious, but there are sites that aren't as obvious, so it would probably save the mods a lot of trouble if there was a list in one of the "rules" stickies of iffy links.

If the site you want to link to also contains forbidden content within its own domain (or hosts ads for forbidden sites), then don't link to it. There is not and never will be a comprehensive list of sites you can or can't link to. If you're not sure, don't link it. It's not that difficult, it just requires a little proactive thought.

Standard Disclaimer: I am not a Moderator. I'm not that much of a masochist.
I didn't think albinoblacksheep had any forbidden content. Dude, that stuff is so mild that my dad, a southern baptist preacher, wouldn't complain all that much. That may not seem like much, but you don't know how much of a hard-ass my dad can be. I've been up and down the site and I can't find anything that anyone would object to. Language, possibly, but last time I checked, no one cared about language, and I've seen plenty of cussing to back it up. There's no porn, at least nothing worse than anything you can find in the "babes" thread. And I haven't seen any graphic images, unless you think "Star Wars Kid" is too graphic or something.

I'm just trying to understand the rules here, don't get on my ass about it. I honestly have no clue why albinoblacksheep would be banned, and I'm sure I'm not the only person. All I'm asking for is a little clarification. I'm trying to follow the rules, ok? Don't get on my case.

If you are trying so hard to follow the rules, then do what Cog and others have told you:

Take the link and rehost it on your own server. That way, there's no trouble. Unless of course what you host is against the rules.

There has already been a thread on all this here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=399139), where Tsar and other mods clarified.

As for the suggestion that if you are in doubt, don't post it - I think that pretty much covers it. Learn to moderate yourself and use some common sense and you won't have to come asking for every tiny move you make on the forums. It really isn't that hard for most.

rehost it on your own server
I don't know how.

And that still doesn't answer why it's banned. You can say "forbidden material" all you want, but that doesn't tell me WHAT is forbidden material!

Honestly, I haven't found anything on blacksheep that breaks any of the laws on forbidden stuff.

I didn't think albinoblacksheep had any forbidden content. <snip> There's no porn, at least nothing worse than anything you can find in the "babes" thread. And I haven't seen any graphic images, unless you think "Star Wars Kid" is too graphic or something.
[Emphasis mine.]

I'll have to check when I get home, but I believe that this is incorrect.

As for "forbidden material", we're referring to anything that violates any of the clauses of the NationStates Terms and Conditions (though we have the "obscene" clause specifically in mind, here).

--The Modified Democratic States of Cogitation

[Emphasis mine.]

I'll have to check when I get home, but I believe that this is incorrect.

As for "forbidden material", we're referring to anything that violates any of the clauses of the NationStates Terms and Conditions (though we have the "obscene" clause specifically in mind, here).

--The Modified Democratic States of Cogitation
And as I said, I have crawled all over that site and not found any porn, or anything else that violates the Terms and Conditions. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place or something, but I doubt it. Maybe they've changed and they don't host any of that stuff anymore.

In any case, I can't find anything worse there than anything that people post here and get away with.

I'll be honest, I haven't read through the whole of this thread (thus, these are general comments, not specific to the case), but I'm going to clarify the rules here a bit.

If a site has a large amount of unacceptable content (usually obscene, but we can rule on other categories as well) OR said obscene content is a significant focus of the site, then links to that site/domain are not permitted.

For example, if you look through Geocities you can find lots of obscene pages, we don't have problems with links to Geocities (or any appropriate pages on Geocities) because so little of it is obscene and that is not a focus of the site. I would include in this category an art site which contains large amounts of art, and scattered therein one or two nudes. The nudes aren't a significant part of the site, nor a significant focus.

On the other hand, you have several humor sites which have large amounts of innapropriate material and/or focus and said material. Links to any portion of these sites is not permitted.

Where a site lands is up to the discretion of the moderation team.

Well, seems you have yourself a choice, then. Either link against what the moderators have already told you in no uncertain terms, learn how to host things yourself or from someone else who's site isn't banned, or figure alternative ways of sharing banned/questionable links with people, such as tg's or chat programs or the like.

It doesn't really matter what you happen to think of the site or it's content when you come down to it. It's what the mods have decided, since they are the ones setting down the rules for the forum. You can abide by them, or take your chances and live with whatever comes of it. As for that last, people sometimes 'get away with' things for the simple fact that the mods can't be everywhere all the time.

Honestly, I haven't found anything on blacksheep that breaks any of the laws on forbidden stuff.

I hate to burst your bubble, but it doesn't matter what you find or what you conclude. If the moderators deem something inappropriate, they don't have to justify their actions. That's the ruling. End of story.

I understand that the mods make the rules, OK!? Get off my ass about it!

I'm NOT going to link to it, I'm just TRYING to understand why so in the future I will know what I can and cannot link to!

I didn't see anything wrong with blacksheep. Obviously I don't make the rules. I'm not trying to argue that blacksheep is ok, I'm trying to figure out what on blacksheep is inappropriate. Send me a link in a TG or something, because I have no idea what the hell is wrong with that site. I could use an example. Yes, I realize that kind of defeats the purpose, but just TG it to me and don't post it.

I'm TRYING to follow the rules, here, ok? You're treating me like I'm some criminal for bringing this up but I'm TRYING to be good. It's a hell of a lot easier to follow rules if you know how to not break them.


I'm not trying to undermine their authority, I'm not trying to make a big deal, I'm not trying to overturn their decision, I'm not trying to make them justify their action. I just want to know why so I can NOT do it in the future.

I understand that the mods make the rules, OK!? Get off my ass about it!

I'm NOT going to link to it, I'm just TRYING to understand why so in the future I will know what I can and cannot link to!

I didn't see anything wrong with blacksheep. Obviously I don't make the rules. I'm not trying to argue that blacksheep is ok, I'm trying to figure out what on blacksheep is inappropriate. Send me a link in a TG or something, because I have no idea what the hell is wrong with that site. I could use an example. Yes, I realize that kind of defeats the purpose, but just TG it to me and don't post it.

I'm TRYING to follow the rules, here, ok? You're treating me like I'm some criminal for bringing this up but I'm TRYING to be good. It's a hell of a lot easier to follow rules if you know how to not break them.


I'm not trying to undermine their authority, I'm not trying to make a big deal, I'm not trying to overturn their decision, I'm not trying to make them justify their action. I just want to know why so I can NOT do it in the future.The reason that folk are so skeptical is because this is not rocket science. Obviously you disagree with the Mods about the one site, which is fine. One of the Mods has said they'll explain it in full later. As for general rules, they've been explained and you keep asking for specifics that simply aren't there. So it's been suggested that if you can't understand them, you should probably follow the safest path and simply not do it. If you object to this then I'm very sorry, but people are literally trying to answer your question.

I just want to know why so I can NOT do it in the future.

Just don't do it. It's that simple. You don't need to know a reason as to why not to do something. Nobody tells you not to kill another human being, you just don't do it.

Just a tip: Attacking people in Moderation for opposing your viewpoint isn't going to do you any good, especially when some of them - me - is/was your friend.

Just don't do it. It's that simple. You don't need to know a reason as to why not to do something. Nobody tells you not to kill another human being, you just don't do it.

Just a tip: Attacking people in Moderation for opposing your viewpoint isn't going to do you any good, especially when some of them - me - is/was your friend.
The problem is I don't know what "it" is.

I'm sorry if I'm attacking you, I'm really not trying to. I'm just very frustrated that people are getting on my case when I'm trying to follow the rules. If this were a post about how much I dislike the mods, I would understand, but it's very upsetting that I'm getting such a negative reaction when I'm trying to make the mods happy.

Think of it this way... if you would not be perfectly comfortable showing it to a 4 year old kid... then it probibly isn't a good idea

Anything slightly off color is safer to stay away from than interpert in my oppinion... this includes violence, excessive skin, etc... perhaps think of US Daytime television? That might give you a good place to start

But personally... I've always thought myself overly conservitive when it comes to this, and it might be better to wait for a longer rule set from the mods (you dont have to bump every 15 mins) but I would prolly go with this

The problem is I don't know what "it" is ... I'm trying to follow the rules. ... I'm trying to make the mods happy.
As I see it, we're aiming for material that is safe for viewing in the average US middle school. While many 12-15 year-olds may feel comfortable watching snuff films and soft porn on HBO when Mom and Dad are out, I think it's safe to say that they would not feel equally comfortable showing that same material on a school monitor during class. If you're looking for a standard of reference, there it is. A classroom full of 7th grade students in History class, with teacher watching.

We're not going to scour the net and say "anything from *these* sites is ok, and everything from *those* sites is verboten". It's possible that we as players and net-surfers find some of the objectionable material personally quite amusing or entertaining, but that's not the standard, or the point. Max wants this forum to be teacher-friendly, so that students can use it as part of a political lesson, and that's our standard.

I just watched a short flick on albinoblacksheep where a guy was talking and then was inexplicably shot in the forehead. He sat there dead for another minute, and the film ended. Tasteful? Not especially. Out of line on Showtime or TNT? Probably not. Inappropriate on NS? Absolutely.

Does that clarify it a bit?

Thing is, there are a lot of things I wouldn't be comfortable showing a middleschool classroom that are ALLOWED on NS.

Thing is, there are a lot of things I wouldn't be comfortable showing a middleschool classroom that are ALLOWED on NS.
Then you have a standard that you can work with. Question answered.

We don't want to censor all the thousands of posts that people make based on "political correctness" criteria. This is NOT a Zero Tolerance site. Max makes a point of allowing opinions that are critical of the status quo as well as opinions that many people consider abhorent. However, he and [violet] have worked out boundaries, and they have given us the power to interpret those boundaries as we see fit. If we vary too much from what they think is right, they'll nudge us back in the right direction, or even remove us if we won't be nudged. That's implicit in our 'contract'.

I'm not saying that this standard is set in stone, or that it works for all moderators, admins, or even Max. We do the best with what we have, and we don't make the rules so specific that that don't allow legitimate opinions to be expressed. Live with that. It's all you're going to get.

Seriously, cussing isn't a problem here, adult topics are a problem here, there's a lot of flaming that people get away with...What's left but gore and porn? There's no porn that I know of and the only thing remotely gory is the one mentioned about the guy getting shot...and you can't see anything anyways.

I'm very very confused here!

It's all you're going to get.
Your question has been answered, and your confusion is feigned. Enough already.