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New Clause in the Code of Conduct - 'Sexually suggestive pictures'

Discussion in 'Empty Closets Help and Feedback' started by Martin, Jul 5, 2012.

  1. Martin

    Board Member Admin Team Full Member

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    Dear members,

    We would like to inform you all that the Code of Conduct has now added the following clause:
    As you will know, EC previously registered as a non-profit organisation, and one of our aims as we continue to grow is to make EC as inclusive to everybody as possible, including those who may be parents, friends and relatives of LGBT or questioning people. We noticed that it wasn't uncommon for the Gallery to publicly contain sexually suggestive images of members who were either shirtless or partially clothed in a way that did not conflict with our existing rules on picture uploads, and the staff felt that the aims of the organisation could become undermined if it was to allow members (including those who are underage) to upload partially-clothed pictures of themselves for anybody to see. After all, if a parent was to come here hoping to recommend this site to their son or daughter then they would likely have serious concerns if they came across images of young members who are only partially-clothed and posing in suggestive positions, which is why we've taken the decision to restrict such images to private viewing.

    Furthermore, these changes have also been implemented to give you additional safeguards over who can access your pictures. As you should be aware, the Gallery currently allows you to place pictures into a public or private album, and many members have previously opted for putting all their pictures in a public album for anybody to see, including pictures that would be deemed 'sexually suggestive'. This new clause offers a new safeguard for members who upload such pictures, as the only people who will be able to access these types of pictures are EC's staff members, and members who are on their 'friends' list.

    We understand that this may come as a surprise for those of you who regularly upload pictures to EC's gallery, but we have taken this decision as it highlighted an area of vulnerability for our security and also risked undermining our credibility as a non-profit organisation that is focused on improving the social welfare of members. Although we do everything feasibly possible to keep EC as safe as it can be, anybody with undesirable intentions can still register and immediately access any public album that members have uploaded to the site, and it is worryingly common for people to have their pictures downloaded and used elsewhere without their permission after they have uploaded it to a site, or for family members and/or friends to unexpectedly come across such images. As a result, we feel it would be more beneficial for everybody to limit such pictures to private albums to ensure that you have complete control over who is accessing it. After all, as EC strives to be a safe-haven then you shouldn't need to worry about strangers ogling at your pictures and even downloading them for whatever reason. As staff members we will do everything we can to avoid such situations occuring, but we also need your help in achieving that by you using this clause as a way of safeguarding your more personal content.

    It would be appreciated if anybody who has a sexually suggestive picture in a public album could move it to a private album. At this point we will be allowing members to make the changes themselves, but in the upcoming days we will be acting to ensure that all pictures comply with this clause. However, we also need to stress that this does not include any shirtless pictures that were not taken for sexually suggestive purposes. For example, if your parents took a picture of you sunbathing on holiday and you happen to be shirtless then this would be deemed acceptable for public viewing.

    If you have any questions regarding this new clause then please let us know. :slight_smile:

    Thank you.

    From EC Staff.
     
  2. Owen

    In Loving Memory Full Member

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    In case anyone isn't sure how to go about editing their photos to comply with this new rule, here you go:

    Making a new private album:
    1. Go to your profile and click "Show All Albums" under Albums.
    2. Click "Add Album".
    3. Fill out the title and description as you like. Below the box where you type in your description, there should be a couple of options under "Album Type". Choose "Private - Only visible to contacts and moderators".
    4. Click submit, and your new private album is ready for all of your racy pictures. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

    Making one of your current albums private:
    1. Go to your profile and click "Show All Albums" under Albums.
    2. Click the title or cover photo of the album you want to make private.
    3. On the right side of the screen is the "Edit Album" button. Click it.
    4. Under the description box, you should see three choices under the title "Album Type". Choose "Private - Only visible to contacts and moderators".
    5. Hit submit, and you're done!

    Moving a suggestive photo to a private album:
    1. Make sure you have a private album to move them to in the first place (see instructions above if you don't).
    2. Go to your profile and click "Show All Albums" under Albums.
    3. Click the title or cover photo of the album that contains the photo(s) you want to move.
    4a. If you want to move one photo:
    -Click that photo, then below the photo, click "Edit Picture".
    -Below the caption field, you'll see a drop-down box labeled "Move to album". Click it and select your private album. Choose your private album.
    -Click "Save" and you're done!
    4b. If you want to move a bunch of photos:
    -While you're looking at the album, on the right side of the screen, click "Edit Pictures".
    -Below the caption field of each photo, you'll see a drop-down box labeled "Move to album". For each photo you want to move, click the the "Move to album" box next to each photo and select your private album.
    -Click "Save Changes" on the bottom, and you're done!

    Now hop to it, everyone! :slight_smile:
     
  3. Austin

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    Question... shirtless pictures are now against the rules for males? Even though I could legally walk around outside without a shirt on? I just don't like "shirtless" being included under the umbrella of "sexually suggestive," if it is. I don't understand if you mean just sexually suggestive shirtless pictures or all shirtless pictures.

    Also, does the copyright extend to signatures and avatars because I'm sure many of us have found images on google we are using. :slight_smile:
     
  4. Katelynn

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    Out of curiosity, how does swimwear fall into this new clause? Just wondering, as since I am transitioning & really wnating to show how much hard work & effort & exercise is going into my body to finally make it become normal, I may want to, at some point, have pics highlighting areas of my body that have obviously become more feminine. I dont want to be practically naked or anything, but I have considered a bikini pic when I feel Im ready for that step. If its not allowed, no worries, theyre is plenty else to wear Im sure that will be prefectly fine & serve the same purpose!
     
  5. Chip

    Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

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    It's a gray area that the staff will be developing guidelines for over time. For now, to quote from a famous decision of the Supreme Court, penned by Justice Potter Stewart:
    (That from a famous decision attempting to define hardcore pornography and separate it from protected speech.)

    In general, if the staff determines the pic to be sexually suggestive, even if it would be a pic acceptable on Facebook, for example, it will be allowed only in a private gallery. If, on the other hand, it's a pic of someone standing with their swim team, it would likely be allowed in a public gallery. And it should go without saying that the existing rules prohibiting nudity, bulges, etc. remain in effect.

    So our rules will be more restrictive than, as Austin suggested, what one can do in their own front yard. If you wouldn't wear it to a PFLAG meeting or a GSA meeting where parents, grandparents, and other people from the community would be at... then it's probably a pic that belongs in your private gallery.
     
  6. Austin

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    Then do my shirtless pictures need to be moved or not? I do not find them sexually suggestive. If I was touching myself or something, maybe (and I haven't gone through all my OLD pics so maybe I am LOL), but just so I'm not joking myself, there's no reason to show everyone. The only exception I would think of is it I want to show my workout progress which some of my pictures were.

    Anywho from my understanding, shirtless pictures that are not in a social situation that adults would be at (pride? lols) are not allowed in public photos? What about headshots because I take quite a few of those without shirts? idks.

    I'm rambling on but I still don't understand if "Place any sexually suggestive pictures of yourself (ie, shirtless, partially unclothed)" means ALL SHIRTLESS PICTURES ARE CONSIDERED SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE or SHIRTLESS PICTURES THAT ARE SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE. Maybe I'm just dumb for not understanding this.
     
  7. Owen

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    That's a good way of looking at it.

    The crux of the question of what is suggestive and what isn't is in this line: "...taken with the sole intent to expose that which would otherwise typically be covered by clothing, such as a chest and/or torso." Even if you're photographing yourself to show off your workout progress, you're still showing off something that would typically otherwise be covered by clothing (your body muscles). Conversely, a shirtless headshot wouldn't be considered suggestive because its main purpose is showing off your face, which isn't "typically covered by clothing". A shot of you at the beach on vacation also probably wouldn't be suggestive because its purpose is probably to show yourself having fun. But mirror shots, by and large, are probably suggestive if you aren't wearing a shirt, because you're taking it to show off a part of your body that would usually be covered by a shirt.

    When in doubt, a shirtless pic taken indoors should be placed in a private album.

    By the same reasoning, a bikini shot taken just to show off your body would be considered suggestive, but it wouldn't be considered suggestive if it's you at the beach swimming in your bikini.

    You have to understand that we're being pretty loose with our definition of "suggestive" here because it's easier to use that word as a catch-all term for the kind of pictures that must be placed in a private album than to use the line "taken with the sole intent to expose that which would otherwise typically be covered by clothing" every time we want to talk about this rule. It's a tricky choice because you might not consider a shirtless mirror shot suggestive, but a parent looking at our site might, so we have to go with the more conservative standard.

    And yes, it's okay for a guy to walk around shirtless outside, but no one thinks you're trying to show off your body if you just walk around without a shirt on a hot day. But if you're taking a shirtless picture in the mirror, what else could your intentions be?
     
  8. Martin

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    Regarding avatars, signatures and profile pics: there aren't any policies currently in place for shirtless pictures in these areas. There's certainly an argument to be made for looking into that for consistency purposes (probably more for profile pictures than the other two), but any potential rules for that in the future would be placed into the COFC elsewhere as the above is only covering the gallery feature.
     
  9. Austin

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    I suppose that is true. For now I'm just going to be nitpicky: Tank tops? Show arms that would otherwise be covered. Some tank tops I've seen at the gym you can obviously see guy's nipples and such lol. Picture of someone in a speedo at the beach? lol I get the point I'm just messing around in this particular post.