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Stuff like the adpocalypse and reddit cleaning house tells me that a lot of bigger sites are going to start heavily controlling their content in order to make money. Hell i don't even think its limited to big name sites; i think this need to control content to appease advertisers is going to affect small sites too, like Knowyourmeme, what do you guys think?

If it's anything to get people to stop spamming softcore porn for a few upvotes, that's fine by me. My question is how far will the policing go. I'm sure with a relatively smaller site compared to Reddit or YouTube, like KnowYourMeme, I'm sure the policing will be a little more lenient, right? Not saying all of the softcore pr0nz needs to be banned, but there should be a little more control on how many lewd images get posted onto the site in subculture galleries like Pokemon.

So to counter this, should we turn to advertisers instead and somehow state that you disapprove their support on 'neutered' websites?

I wonder though how sites in early 2000s got by? By the lack of popularity or having your own server?

Yeah cause twitter and google's stocks are doing so well /s
There's always tumblr… Oh wait they got bought out.

"Your userbase don't have to be your fans, you have to be child friendly for adverstisers, users are dead… Oh wait why is our website tanking in popularity and profitability?! It must be because of adblock and not constantly alienating the people who use our website" Sarcasm aside a while back it was found out that HALF of twitter's users are clickfarm bots. The reason why nobody is buying them is nobody is stupid enough to buy a website where half of the clicks are fake.

Current death cycle of social media:
Piss off users → users leave → use clickfarms → investors aren't as stupid as you think → blame loss in revenue on adblock.

@TripleA9000

This is all speculative, but most advertisers that pay decent money want to be represented in a fashion that fits their ideals. i.e. YouTube and the way the demonetize content that doesn't suit them.

Yeah, if meme sites and popular message boards heavily moderate their content to appease ad revenue, I can see where the problem may lay to true fans or dedicated fanbases.

Personally I'd like to see sites stay true to their original purpose (like this one), but in all reality, might not work out cause MONEY=Sustaining. But if websites are altering their content in pure greed or sacrificing the main purpose of the site, that's where I believe the wrong doing is unforgivable.

Only time will tell I suppose…

It already happens on KYM. For example my comment on this:
https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1337766-original-vs-un-tumblrized
picture was deleted.

@Garumbo

Seriously though, maybe it was deleted for another reason. Comments are verrrry minor in terms of ad revenue. I'm sure a mod had a reason to delete it.

Ah, and top comments being disabled when moderators disagree with presumable top comment even when article is not political.

Now that one is new to me. I've had run ins with mods on this site and like 90% of the time it was either my ignorance towards the rules in effect, or just me having to go back and rethink why the issue happened as far as my part. Not to sound like an ass kisser, but reality sets in once you have a fuller understanding of what happened. No offense, but I also get kinda flustered when things get removed or deleted with out proper explanation. You have a good point.

IMHO, I think that moderators should provide a reason why they do things that might offend users. Not saying every time but at least have the decency to explain. (Especially when asked).

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ugandan-knuckles
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/black-panther
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/elle-darby-white-moose-cafe-exposure-controversy
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/original-vs-un-tumblrized

Top comments – disabled. Staff has clear leftist political position, that's why top comments disabled on non-political entries.

^Interesting…

In order to not derail this forum topic, I suggest you make a thread.

Why so? I think it's perfectly on topic. To be clear you shouldn't be afraid. Nothing would be changed. Porn will prevail, trump articles will bring joy at least weekly and advertisers will look at KYM favourably because there are no troublesome "YouTube sceptics" and other homophobic womanhating bigoted racist nazis.

1. *Skeptics

2. Not afraid

3. Porn always prevails

4. Go work on a trump submission

5. Drink water

I think sites are going to be in for a bad time if they head down this road. They'll piss off their users and won't actually get anything out of it. Advertisers are just still way too skittish and "old fashioned" about the internet. Unilever's a good example. They make a big deal about how they want safe ads on the internet, then you remember the kinds of TV shows their commercials run on and you realize they don't really care about that. They're just worried about new media and want to fall back to the safety of TV and radio they've known for fifty years.

C_Mill24 said:

…to stop spamming softcore porn…

Threadly reminder that actual softcore porn is banned per site rules and should be reported to mods, as are images that show nipples or genitalia, and that a character in a revealing bathing suit =/= softcore porn.

Garumbo said:

…even when article is not political…

It's more that controversial entries don't get top comments. Black Panther and Ugandan Knuckles both have twitter racism controversies in their articles, while the blogger cafe thing has controversy right in its name, while the Tumblr one is both a /pol/ troll and involves Tumblr--which almost always will be controversial.

The mods disable top comments on any entry that is or gets political, mostly to discourage circlejerking. I don't think there's a Liberal Conspiracy among the mods, and if there is some subconscious bias I really haven't seen it. Generally this site is pretty balanced politically.

@alex-_-

Technically comments count as content so it is somewhat on topic.

But i agree, i don't think advertisers really care about comments as much as they care about things like images, videos, and entries.

@MrLake

More or less, people don't get kicked off the site for having certain political standpoints, they get kicked out for being obnoxious assholes. We've had plenty of left leaning users who have been suspended/banned for just that.

I don't drink water. I consume your hilarious riff-raff posts. Calling whole city including animals and then we die of laughter. Writing from the grave, still can't stop laughing.

Nothing's going to change about KYM's content moderation policy unless there is a dramatic change in management. The admins have expressed their indifference to the amount of porn on the site. And even if they wanted it gone, the mod team is too disjointed and apathetic to exact any meaningful changes.

Also, it's no secret that the mods (at least the ones who still use the site) are all either apolitical or left-leaning to different degrees. I don't think it's translated into a leftist conspiracy, though you can make a thread about it if you think otherwise.

I don't see why people keep complaining that a site meant to document something that's 90% porn is 90% porn.

"I don’t see why people keep complaining that a site meant to document something that’s 90% porn is 90% porn."

My only complaint is that other 10% isn't porn.

Lets turn all those Trump memes into Trump porn! Old man balls for you, old man balls for you, OLD MAN BALLS FOR EVERYONE!!

^not sure where you figured that % but, ok. Maybe a trip to the search engine will do justice.

It starts with 1 idea and everything else is a snowball effect.

Was that Tv Tropes that became neutered in order to appease advertisers?

Can you give some insight into what you commented? Mod guidelines on comment deletion are to only do it with hard rule breaking content (such as porn) or spambots and I see no warning or suspension in your history about it. No context makes a claim like this as solid as water at 100°C.

Gonna run by your other posts as well since you appear paranoid.

Ah, and top comments being disabled when moderators disagree with presumable top comment even when article is not political.

Political is one reason to disable top comments, the other being certain controversial entries. Entries don't need to involve politics to be controversial; we don't care about left or right.

Anyways, I'll run by your examples:

- Ugandan Knuckles suffered from racism accusations. Perhaps overkill, might undo it.
- Black Panter shouldn't even require explaining.
- Elle Darby has the word "controversy" in the title… I guess?
- Origin vs Un-Tumblrized uhhhhhhhh ye I got nothing here. I'll undo the last two for now.

Looking at your examples, and the editor lists, I think this is more a case of one mod playing it rather save than sorry than organised effort towards bashing a side. I asked the mod in question and he admitted it was a bit of a slippery slope on his side. If you got more examples you can PM them to me and I'll review them. Should be able to avoid this stuff in the future.

Staff has clear leftist political position,.

Lmao. The staff documents what is hot stuff on the web or stirs discussion. We don't care what political side causes the controversy or generates the memes, just that they do.

Why so? I think it’s perfectly on topic. To be clear you shouldn’t be afraid. Nothing would be changed. Porn will prevail, trump articles will bring joy at least weekly and advertisers will look at KYM favourably because there are no troublesome “YouTube sceptics” and other homophobic womanhating bigoted racist nazis.

You appear paranoid that we run a political agenda to the point that you believe it's hard ingrained into the site. That is a topic you're free to bring up in Report Issues. Believing nothing will change is your own weakness.

@Garumbo

RandomMan is right about how Staff/Researchers/Mods really aren't on some type of political agenda.

KYM, from my experience and understanding, really is living up to their original objective of documenting internet culture/trends/memes.

I'm sure the ones that submit entries aren't exactly a fan of what might be popular at the time, but in the fact that it is popular and it will be taken note of. It might seem like there is some "hidden agenda", but there is none. I'm sure some staff absolutely hate some memes personally. A lot of memes are straight garbage, but if it has a spread and worthy sources, it will show up here.

I suggest always feeling comfortable with your own personal stance/ideals/beliefs. That's what I do. Hope I helped people get a better understanding about this. Thanks

Ok, I'll bite. It was some statement about Tumblr not too different from others. Not that I miss it, I just remember I commented there a while back. As for the agenda I actually accept answer of Particle Mare. I mean look at amount of right wing bashing on front page where every slip gets noted. Meanwhile I haven't heard that you said anything when Jordan Peterson was called racist. You said nothing about black people showing black power sign in theaters. This site already knee deep in politics documenting news just as much as memes.

Ah yes, and swedish political who fought for equality and open borders is beheaded in Congo. You can write about this too since you are so objective.

And can't wait to see an official youtube tweet controversy:
https://twitter.com/youtube/status/963900837570469888

That shouldn't have been deleted, so I don't know what went wrong. Are you leaving out some details or was it perhaps a reply to someone and is the comment you replied to gone? Replies get auto-deleted when the original comment is removed.

If things don't really hit the news, odds are it might fly under our radar. I Googled a bit of the black power sign in theaters and it popped up no articles, just more of the "Black Panter is so powerful" stuff. The Congo beheading appeared to have already happened a year ago, and while it has articles it seems to have generated little discussion on social media.

I'm willing to argue that intentionally documenting non-viral events like those you listed would be more evident of a political agenda than what we are doing now. But perhaps that only matters when it's about a side you don't agree with.

9:20 for black power sign. I mean this was delievered by biggest youtuber, so I can TOTALLY see this having it's own entry.

And I think there were times when this site had no need for big media coverage to create entry.

A general meme review video which covers a lot of stuff and gives no hint in the title, yeah that can slip under our radar; not every vid released by a big Youtuber is a source for memes. However if you have more examples, feel free to start a Meme Research thread and we can see what we can run with, entry or just a header.

Old days long passed. This is the direction the staff chose to go. Few mods were cool with it but at the end of the day it's beyond our power to change it and best we can do is respect the decision. We're not forced to document them, most mods rather spend time on memes and do exactly that.

ur mom gay ;)

Had to go and re-read your statement.

I agree with you. [+1 intensifies]

As I have been scrolling through image galleries I do in fact see the amount of softc0re pr0n labeled with NSFW.

Not sure if it has to do with users striving for upvotes, not reading the rules, or just their love of edgyness.

Going back on topic, the content moderation is fine with me as far as KYM goes, and all they are trying to do IMO is keep things SFW. It's not bad… but makes me believe it's a good policy to have.

What TripleA9000's point is we will be seeing changes in the bigger sites in order to do a cash grab from advertisers. KYM I'm hoping will do what they can to be reputable.

This whole thing about "advertiser-friendly" content is about strong-arming companies into compliance with promoting certain content.