Welcome to Gaia! ::

siskataya's avatar

Questionable Visionary

9,550 Points
  • Pie Feeder 50
  • Bunny Spotter 50
  • Happy Birthday! 100
Hello everyone!

I just wanted to let you know about some pretty big changes that will be coming to the Mini-Shops forums. These rule changes will primarily affect personal signs/pictures that are allowed on Gaia, but will extend to all images posted or transmitted on Gaia.

These rule changes are being made for safety reasons. Gaia is not a place for engaging in sexually explicit content or posting sexually explicit images of oneself. Unfortunately, we have seen numerous reported instances of members' pictures which cross the line from being sexy into being sexually explicit. We do not feel that having members taking explicit pictures of themselves is a safe practice for the Gaia community as a whole. For this reason, we are implementing the following policy changes:
Quote:

Rules and Policies for Personalized Images and Signs on Gaia:

a) Requesting, offering, or posting sexually explicit or sexually inappropriate images of yourself or others is not allowed on Gaia.
b) Writing sexually provocative messages on your body is not allowed on Gaia. This can include the content of the message, location of message on the body, or both.
c) Gaia staff and moderators will remove images we feel to be inappropriate for Gaia Online. The final decision as to an image's appropriateness will be at the sole discretion of Gaia staff and moderators.

If you feel that an image has been unfairly removed, you may send an email to membertalk at gaiaonline dot com (reformat address before sending). In your email, you should include the following information:
a) A screenshot of or link to the image that was removed.
b) A brief statement as to why you feel the image was removed in error.
c) Copies of any messages you received regarding the removal of the image.


Not to worry - these rules in no way imply that you cannot share things that are sexy, flirty, or fun - even pics of yourself! But there is a difference between sexy and chic and sexually explicit! It's the difference between, for example, a sexy Victoria's Secret runway show or, well, stripping at a strip club! It is the difference between watching the swimsuit competition in a beauty pageant on television and looking at an image of a person who has been caught engaging in some form of sexual activity. One of the scenarios detailed is sexy but appropriate, while other is explicit and inappropriate. It is the explicit scenarios we would like to avoid, which pose safety risks for the community, and which we hope these new image rules will prevent from occurring.

And hey, we know that the great majority of you understand the difference in scenarios described above. In fact, the majority of you fabulous Gaians won't even have your images directly impacted by these changes to the image rules on Gaia. The only way you'll feel the changes is that you will now have more leverage to report content you, the community, believes to be inappropriate and which may pose a safety risk for Gaia.

Along with the changes to acceptable image content, we will be creating a new sub-forum just for sign shops, requests, and contests. This will help keep all your fabulous sign works in one place, making it easier for both sign creators and solicitors to locate the perfect sign for their needs! This forum will be going live tomorrow with the new changes for sign shops.

Thanks for understanding - we hope these new rules are positive for the entire Gaia community! I am going to leave this thread open so please feel free to post your thoughts, ideas, or feedback. Just keep your comments on topic and respectful, which I am sure you all will biggrin

Take care 3nodding
Sisky


===============================

UPDATE (June 28th, 2011)

Hello everyone! Just wanted to update this post. We've been continuing to work on this signs sub-forum and to make some final changes to the rules of acceptable content. For the safety of the community and our members, and after much discussion, we have decided to revise the new rules and clarify the "no underwear pics" policy for the community. Please read and familiarize yourselves with the new rules that will be in place for all sign shops, personal images, etc. you post on Gaia.

These revised rules will be going into effect on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 so please make sure to have all content that might violate these rules out of your shops, image stores, or any other areas by then or you will be asked to remove the content and/or warned appropriately. We realize these rules may be a change from how things were done before, but as Gaia grows and evolves, so too must our rules grow and evolve to ensure that all Gaians have a safe and fun place to hang out, connect, and express themselves. Please note these rules apply to all images on Gaia, not just those offered in sign shops, art stores, etc.

Take care,
Sisky


Quote:

Rules and Policies for Personalized Images and Signs on Gaia:

a) Requesting, offering, or posting sexually explicit or sexually inappropriate images of yourself or others is not allowed on Gaia.

b) Posting images of yourself wearing only your underwear (the Gaia definition of underwear includes bras) or images in which you are deliberately exposing your underwear, are not allowed on Gaia.

c) Writing sexually provocative messages on your body is not allowed on Gaia. This can include the content of the message, location of message on the body, or both.

d) Gaia staff and moderators will remove images we feel to be inappropriate for Gaia Online. The final decision as to an image's appropriateness will be at the sole discretion of Gaia staff and moderators.

If you feel that an image has been unfairly removed, you may send an email to membertalk at gaiaonline dot com to have the content removal reviewed. In your email, you should include the following information:
a) A screenshot of or link to the image that was removed.
b) A brief statement as to why you feel the image was removed in error.
c) Copies of any messages you received regarding the removal of the image.
Prosaiche's avatar

7,750 Points
  • First step to fame 200
  • Somebody Likes You 100
  • Invisibility 100
Thank you so much for this! I have been stalking and waiting on this, and I'm planning to get my own Sign Shop ready and set with these new rules.

I wanted to link THIS, which the the GD's explanation of sexually explicit. Some users with shops don't know this at all! This should help so people can be a bit more informed on what is explicit!


Thanks again!


EDIT- There had been a question as to male signs with nipples in them. Since the female nipples are sexually explicit, how will this work for males? Since we're suppose to be keeping this gender equal and all, will males chest signs showing nipples be as explicit as females when the new subforum is added?
Thanks Abbacus for clarifying!
Sakura Parfait 's avatar

Shy Fairy

15,000 Points
  • Timid 100
  • Bunny Hoarder 150
  • Forum Regular 100
Prosaiche
Thank you so much for this! I have been stalking and waiting on this, and I'm planning to get my own Sign Shop ready and set with these new rules.

I wanted to link THIS, which the the GD's explanation of sexually explicit. Some users with shops don't know this at all! This should help so people can be a bit more informed on what is explicit!


Thanks again!


EDIT- There had been a question as to male signs with nipples in them. Since the female nipples are sexually explicit, how will this work for males? Since we're suppose to be keeping this gender equal and all, will males chest signs showing nipples be as explicit as females when the new subforum is added?


I don't think male chests are sexually explicit. I mean, we see men and young boys shirtless all the time. Double standards suck (in terms of why men are allowed to go shirtless, but women can't) like that, but sadly that's how our society is. >>
Pugnacious Banana's avatar

Unholy Sex Symbol

18,000 Points
  • Way Too Many Pies 300
  • Abomination 100
  • 50 Wins 150
it's great to see this finally happening. heart thanks~
Kanashii Sakura Uta
I don't think male chests are sexually explicit. I mean, we see men and young boys shirtless all the time. Double standards suck (in terms of why men are allowed to go shirtless, but women can't) like that, but sadly that's how our society is. >>
In the same vein men are expected to hold doors open for women, and men are cool with hitting each other, but not women. In social things where there's obvious inequality (say, the race laws) things get fixed quick, but gender things are more complex because it's flawed on both ends. Gaia's based in the US so you can expect their views to revolve around US laws, but they do try to take other cultures (say, the UK) into account when designing things.

I'm assuming if it's obviously a male chest it's fine, but if it's misleading to the point that it looks like a breast (I know an intersex person or two and from looking at the chest you wouldn't guess it's got a p***s) it's likely to get removed because the intent is to be explicit.

Mods don't all judge intent the same, but as stated you'll be able to bring up a second set of eyes if you think a situation wasn't handled correctly.



I approve this change, most definitely. It's sad to see women selling themselves. :
DJ_Gwapo's avatar

7,100 Points
  • Invisibility 100
  • Tooth Fairy 100
  • Mark Twain 100
*Bump* biggrin
Pudding Disaster's avatar

9,000 Points
  • Peoplewatcher 100
  • Person of Interest 200
  • Forum Dabbler 200
User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show. [X] Dancing happy pudding dance now.

Thank you!
I LIKE MONEY AND PONIES AND PEE
PinkFireNinja's avatar

2,850 Points
  • Hygienic 200
  • Person of Interest 200
  • Bunny Spotter 50
ewww pee buy i like the other things
Sabin le Rose's avatar

Shameless Enabler

THIS IS AMAZING NEWS!

Good for you Gaia.
Morgan Carmine's avatar

6,300 Points
  • First step to fame 200
  • Conversationalist 100
  • Forum Dabbler 200
sounds good! c:
asdkjasdksaldksjadklasdkjasdksaldksjadkl
asdkjasdksaldksjadkl
lilKRawM
asdkjasdksaldksjadkl

Quick Reply

Submit
Manage Your Items
Other Stuff
Get Items
Get Gaia Cash
Where Everyone Hangs Out
Other Community Areas
Virtual Spaces
Fun Stuff