Thread by @shirgoldbird, If you want some comedy, check out Ponybooru's rules https://ponybooru.org/pages/rules ICYMI, Ponybooru is [...]

If you want some comedy, check out Ponybooru's rules https://ponybooru.org/pages/rules

ICYMI, Ponybooru is the new, Nazi-friendly—sorry, "censorship free" hosting site for MLP art. They link the rules right at the top of the site, so you'd assume they were important... (thread)

First, these rules (and everything else about the site) are mostly a ripoff of Derpibooru but with more Nazis—sorry, less censorship. Derpi rules, for ref: https://derpibooru.org/pages/rules

But rule #0 is different (and is also actually like 6 rules for some reason)!

(PB L, DB R)

"we understand that many people may find various content objectionable. For this reason, the default filter removes content that...people may find objectionable" ah, here we get to the very explicit allowances Ponybooru is making for Nazis.

Here's their default filter:

So hiding art tagged with "Nazi" or "Aryanne" is BAKED IN to the default filters, which is a clear admission that they expect that art to be uploaded and are happy to host it.

And doing so is their prerogative! Not gonna shit on them for it right now (even though I disagree)...

I point it out so we can be clear that Ponybooru is a platform that explicitly permits and supports Nazi art. They're trying to camouflage that stance under a "no censorship" banner. Let's be direct about what that means.

(I wonder when someone will tell them about hate speech)

"Canceling, calls to cancel, receipts, doxxing, attacking, calls to attack, brigrading, etc. ARE NOT ALLOWED" what a wide variety of things. I wonder if they would care about a call to attack, say, a group of people. Maybe some kind of ethnic or religious group? Just a thought.

I could also get into how meaningless rules like "Don't be a dick" are, and how poorly their fans will react the first time one of "their own" is banned for "dickery", but we can let Ponybooru find that one out themselves. Moving on to rule #1...

Derpi's rule #1 is PB's rule #2 (though they changed it slightly, which I'll get to later). Instead, PB has this delightful CYA bit about "mod actions and transparency".

"However moderators and admins are to be held accountable for such actions." I very much look forward to their detailed accountability and transparency process and- oh, you mean it's "tell people why they were banned unless you don't want to"?

It is both hilarious and sad that they throw around "accountable" and "transparent" like the mere act of saying those words wills them into being. Making "accountable, transparent" processes is HARD. If anyone can do it...it's probably not the PB crew.

Okay, so Derpi's rule 1 is PB's rule 2. Oh! But there are, ah, a couple of small changes...

Here's a fun change: Ponybooru allows uploading of Patreon-only content. The "fuck artists" train has no brakes.

They seem to think this is okay because they'll only allow uploading of paid content after it's existed for 3 months to 1 year.

"We understand there are creators that make a living off of what they create" something tells me maybe you don't understand this as well as you think you do

Ah, another station on the "fuck artists" train! Obviously, if an artist removes all ways to acquire their art, that makes stealing and uploading it okay. Ponybooru's understanding of the artist mind knows no bounds.

qq for the Ponybooru mods: is "have you considered drawing art with Nazi symbols is a shitty thing to do?" considered an attack or criticism?

Rule 2 ends with the Do-Not-Post policies.

There is no way to entirely disallow your art from being posted on Ponybooru.

So much for "Respect artists and their artwork".

you would think a DNP policy titled "Artist Upload Only & Permission Upload Only" would mean, well, that

but ACTUALLY, Ponybooru only restricts posting of images for 3 months after publication. After that, anyone can upload your art!

The tagging rules are...mostly..the same. Though hilariously, PB's filler text mentions the "0 images that have been posted to this website" instead of Derpi's "over one million". Also, they have a HUGE anti-furry boner and spend a couple extra rules whining about it.

Unrelated content rule is also mostly the same, though without the warning that images totally unrelated to MLP might be removed. Guess that'll make it easier to justify keeping the non-pony Nazi imagery up.

This rule is just a repeat of rule 0. Sigh. I sure hope the team running this shitshow has a good understanding of what content they can legally host...and that no user ever tries to toe those lines.

Oh my, this one is fun. No restrictions on uploading artwork of underage characters having sex. They...DO know that's illegal, right? http://www.artistrights.info/new-page-3

I also love the "we'll report you to local authorities" bit. That is both stupid and impractical for many reasons, but it's especially funny because they're trying to toe the line of "all content EXCEPT THE STUFF THAT MIGHT GET US IN TROUBLE" and doing a very bad job of it.

The "No abuse" rule has a lot of ranting about interrupting conversations, and an explicit allowance for impersonating other people if it's an "obvious parody". I wonder what makes an account "obvious" or "parody", or how, perhaps, an explicit allowance of this might be abused?

The next 3 rules are exactly the same. Cool, I guess they have at least a few shreds of public decency left (or were too lazy to think of something worse than Derpi's).

So after the "Commissions" rule, Derpi ends with a little catchall ("rule n") about how things are ultimately up to staff discretion. Ponybooru, however, decided they needed another 3.

Wasn't this place supposed to be a less restrictive Derpi???? tHeY'Re TaKiNg My FrEEeDoMZz!!1!

Oh good, here's some more expounding on "Don't be a dick". Look at that section on not using slurs or posting abusive content!

If one of the kind folks running PB would like to explain to me how that reconciles with their allowance of Nazi art, I'm all ears.

The final 2 rules are bonus CYA for the inevitable flood of takedown requests they're going to get from angry artists.

Since they don't have a real DNP policy, the only way to get your work taken down is to MAIL them a DMCA-style claim. With lots of personal info.

Anyway, this is a lot of words to say:

Ponybooru's rules sit at the intersection between "clueless" and "dangerous". The people running this site appear to have no idea what's involved in building and running a healthy community, which is ultimately what any site like this is.

Whether or not "censorship" is moral or just is not actually the issue at hand here.

Your site is not more than the people who use it, and if you want it to survive and thrive, you need to be very intentional about the type of community you curate.

Banning, say, Nazi imagery is not so much a "political stance" as an explicit decision to curate your community towards a specific type of person. All leaders have not just the right but the obligation to make decisions in the best interests of their community's long term health.

Based on everything I've seen, Ponybooru's admins have entirely failed to grasp this point.

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