BUT Shamus, this is a PRIVATELY owned site and the owner sure as hell has the right to make those distinctions.

I'm sorry, Scion, but blaming this problem on one member of the site is pretty damn ignorant. Claf isn't the only one who has posted "offensive" material on this site, and he surely wasn't the first. Just because a few of his recent images offended YOU personally doesn't mean he is to blame for the problem of offensive images as a whole. Give me a break...

When I first came to this site, what honestly offended me the most was some of the topics and vulgarity present in the chat area -- the talk about retarded people, the "fags," and the obese; and some of the images that are posted in there -- some of it was pretty bad... IMO, much worse than anything posted in a contest; and I'm really not easily offended. These days, I tend to avoid the chat area; it seems much less regulated than the competition area. (which is understandable. The mods certainly can't regulate *everything* that goes on)

I think seamus nailed it. My son Zak is a member here--he's ten. His attention span is that of a gnat, so he pops in every week or so to see what people are doing, and has only posted one image. I feel like I can see both sides of this very clearly, and both sides are totally valid. As a parent, I want to protect him. As an artist, I want no censorship ever. I actually had a conversation with my (starting to get older now) Mom the other day about this. She got a phone call from one of my teachers when I was in 6th grade (12 years old), because the teacher caught me reading Breakfast of Champions, and thought my parents should know. My Mom is so funny, she said, "I told that teacher, 'my daughter reads more than any 12-year-old I know. As long as she reads so much, I'm not going to censor what she reads.'"

For me, it goes right back to Tofu's "let's talk" thread. My son Zak was six when 9/11 happened. Saying he lost a lot would be the understatement of the century. He lost a classmate, a big part of his neighborhood, a big part of his innocence, I mean it was crazy for him. In a real way he lost me for a while, since I had lost my job and so many friends and my mind, for God's sake. We actually had to move out of the country for more than a year, as a desperate attempt to get Zak in a position to just be a little kid again.

The only reason I bring it up is this: I feel like I am the example, you know what I mean? Philosophy is easier to talk when you can apply a real-world example. So me having my particular 9/11-experience, and a 10-year-old kid who visits this site...I guess I would be the type of person who could get in this forum and say "Hey! How dare you point a plane at that building! You're being disrespectful to what happened to me! Plus my kid might see it--and so now I'm even more defensive!"

It's still a slippery slope. I say post the image...art is sometimes disturbing. Seamus was right--you can't legislate morality, especially on a global level. I wouldn't want to be a mod--who the hell am I to say what stays and goes?

Whoooo--we could be here for hours. It's funny how the stuff that can never be absolutely answered or figured out is the most fun to try and pick apart.

Once again, You are speaking for Claf. Did I not say several days ago that
his "Labia" pick was over the line and would shortly inspire others to
follow, and push the line further?
Your position that it is ok to purposely offend others with political, religious,
and sexual content, but not retards, fags, and obese people is
pretty selfish, if not hypocritical.
*edit*Did i not also say that when someone followed his example
that I would personally blame him?

Excuse me... Please tell me where I said that was "my position." Thanks...

This is NOT intended to DISS anyone in this thread - but this topic is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO gagg-o-la.

Post what you post.

If it is stupid and offensive then 1) it will get pulled 2) people that see it before it is pulled will choose be offended or not, AND they will judge you accordingly.

This is SUCH AN OLD TOPIC (and i know you newbies and semi-newbies wanna talk about it and rant and rend your clothing over it) but it is SOoooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOsimple:

JMH is the boss - it's HIS site.

He has MODS that do his bidding, and they are mostly cool people who can think for themselves AND they support JMH.

That is what you are up against. REALITY.

So if you get your jollies doing sick shit (and there will ALWAYS be a flexible line for what is and isn't Sick Shit) then go ahead and show the world that your creativety lies in that area. Some will worship you and some will get to know you are an asshole. And in the end if JMH or a crew member DO NOT LIKE IT it then GOES AWAY.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

That leaves you with no position other than you want Claf to have freedom of speech and me not to.
Your still a hypocrite either way, especially since Claf IS the provocateur,
Which means this is none of your business.

The 13 year olds around here are getting drunk and taking drugs and shagging!
I think cencoring Photoshopcontest could change all that!

BOLLOCKS! BAN CENCORSHIP! (You can see tits in the daily newspapers here!)

JMH is the boss - it's HIS site.

He has MODS that do his bidding, and they are mostly cool people who can think for themselves AND they support JMH.

Thank you Reinman.

This topic repeatedly comes up. I have had at least 4 images removed from contests myself. I kicked and screamed a lil' bit and it was fun! In the end, I modified them to fit the rules here.

I always snicker a bit at the people who scream about "censorship" or "freedom of speech" on this site. It's not your site to do what you want. It's jmh's. You want to play here, follow his rules. You break the rules too many times, you get kicked off the playground.

It's pretty easy to understand.

Create your own site and post all the penises boobies, butt crack, goatse, porn and violence you want if you don't like jmh's rules.

My kids computers are blocked from chat and forum on this site for this very reason. They can only view the contests. (If anyone wondered.)

I think the real questioin IS the age limit. Is this site truely a family oriented site.. If it is there needs to be a hard line drawn

between what should and shouldn't be censored. And Claf, certainly isn't the only one to " blame" for jumping the line, if he

has. I tend to think of this as more of an adult oriented site, just by the majority age group useing this site. For two reasons;

One being that most kids don't have the attention span it takes to learn photoshop, and the second is that most artists don't

want censorship. An answer to the problem would be to ad- a check box to the submit form, (is your work under PG-13) if it is

then it's viewable by all, if not audience members with an account that is >= thirteen get filtered out. Good luck sorting this out

And your just trying to start S **T.. You've stated your opinion, move on, less you've got something new to add.

Ha. I didn't say that either. You sure are good at putting words in my mouth, or whatever the case is on the 'net. Where did I say I don't want you to have "freedom of speech." Just because I disagree with you? *lol* Please...



It's plenty of my business. I'm a member on this site just like you. I view the same content on here that you do. Just another ignorant statement...

I think it was either Paul Simon or the Beastie Boys who once said, "One man's ceiling is another man's floor."

Reinman, this debate will never go away. And, although it does get a bit boring after a while, I think it's a good thing. We're done for if we stop asking the fundamental questions--you know, the ones that can't be answered.

And it sure as hell beats chin-wagging over Brad and Angelina, right? Viva philosophy!

Someone tell me how to spell the sound of a raspberry, cause that's what I want to end this with...

I'm just gonna keep posting nekkid boobie porn