Please understand that I'm trying to start a genuine discussion, not an argument. This is an important issue, especially so early in this board's history. The deterioration and closure of a thread that was at one time set as the home page on my browser clearly indicates that there is not any useful degree of unanimity of what is safe for work. For the record, I agree with the flounders' call on this one. However, it seems clear that not everyone does.
Here's where I'm coming from: I've got nothing against frat houses. I lived in one, once upon a time. Now I'm grown up. That means I have a job. As it turns out, my job can have a large effect on other people. I also have a great deal of authority at my job, so nobody is going to complain to me, ever, about any website I choose to visit. Despite this, I choose to exercise a degree of maturity about what appears on my monitor. In my line of work, an offensive image can have real consequences for some people. I am, in all seriousness, talking about potentially even life-or-death outcomes for a few of those people.
If a thread says it's NSFW, I simply don't view it at work. I've got no beef with such threads. I'm not a flounder, so I don't get a say, but I don't care one whit what shows up in any such thread and I'll read it at home when my 13 year-old isn't looking over my shoulder. Of course, the existence of those threads means that DMF is on our content filter at home which in turn means that my kid can't read DMF. That's sort of a shame, but I can accept that this board isn't really for anyone too young to ride.
If a thread title doesn't say NSFW, I would like to assume that at least the images in that thread are appropriate enough that I don't have to leap to turn off the monitor if a colleague comes in. Or my mom. Or a 17 year-old sexual abuse victim. I would prefer that I not have to explain or justify or apologize for reading the DMF at work. It's one of the things that keeps me sane (well, as sane as I ever get) between patients on a tough day.
Obviously, things that are inappropriate in one workplace may not be in another. One of the jobs of any mature adult is to be able to make reasonably sensible inferences about other people's needs and preferences and not just their own. That means wondering if a picture you're about to post would cause problems for other people in other situations than your own.
For example, if it would lead to embarassment if your senator (for whom we'll assume you'd vote and don't want to see hounded out of office) were caught viewing it, don't post it. If your doctor would freak out a recently-raped patient if she found him viewing it in the office, don't post it. If your mom would get huffy if you emailed it to her, don't post it. If your mom is "cool," but you'd have a hard time explaining it to your grandmother, don't post it. I could go on and on, but would love it if I didn't have to. My fear is that the people who can understand this already know it and those who don't understand it now simply lack the insight or empathy (the ability to understand how other people do or might feel) to figure it out.
That's my take on NSFW as it pertains to DMF. I'll shut up for now.
[clap]
Well said. Empathy seems to be a bit of a gift rather than a common human trait.
I think it would be an outrageously egocentric and socially detached person who doesn't understand exactly what you're saying. However, many people who do understand perfectly well are more interested in their... we'll call it "freedom of expression" which will be unjustly curtailed and subject them to enormous hardship and privation if they can't display whatever content they just HAD to post.
Most people feel empathy. The issue is that being the loudest, most vulgar pea in the pod is how some people define their role in the world.
I generally try to be smart about what I click when I'm at work.
I avoid the picture threads for the most part at work because I'm more careful. I save those for when I'm at home.
That said, I love the picture threads as they are, and have no problem with them. If they need to be toned down for other peoples workplaces, then thats fine. It's not going to effect the way I view them, though....I'm going to continue to do the things the way I do because I work for a state agency, and IMO, I'd rather be safe then sorry.
Plus, I try to work at work...atleast a little
we never called our fraternity a frat, you don't call your country a Brian W.
that's all i got from this. everything else seemed obvious.
Quote from: ato memphis on June 13, 2008, 02:11:34 PM
you don't call your country a Brian W.
[coffee] Haha! Excellent! I give this a 50/50 chance of starting a flame war and hijacking the thread. Followup and discussion should probably be to http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?board=53.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?board=53.0)
Oh, and well said, mstevens. +1
Great post!
if you would think twice about sending the picture to your mom, then its prolly not safe for work [thumbsup]
Quote from: ato memphis on June 13, 2008, 02:11:34 PM
we never called our fraternity a frat, you don't call your country a Brian W.
that's all i got from this. everything else seemed obvious.
Actually it'd be a "coun".
And you call your Ducati a Duc-I see no issue.
And +11tybillion to Mstevens.
We have a zero tolerance policy at work in regards to nudity. If anyone had seen a certain lovely picture of a certain derriere, I'd be fired.
I can't tell you how annoying that is. I should be able to look at the dmf during lunch. Really.
Nice post!
I've got very tolerant eyes. Very little offends. But - if i need to find out what kind of oil everyone is arguing about on a break at work where i'm allowed reasonable internet access, i won't go near NSFW because hey, that's what it means.
if something isn't labeled NSFW and contains skin i get REALLY bugged, mentally-itchy-and-guilty-without-cause because - if my boss walks behind me, he's not going to see the total image, or understand the context, or notice if it's a joke pic or something. he'd only get a glimpse, and people make quick judgements. i even pulled something i was thinking of showing - wasn't porn, wasn't even artistic nearly-nude! but it was a shirtless male back and shoulders in nicely modeled lighting, the guy looking back and grinning as he showed off a tatoo just below his neckbone. it was cool and pretty and - too pretty for work. anything that shows some body showing off their body, male or female, can give someone passing by the impression that an image is "loaded" or lets them think "if they're looking at that, what else?"
motorcycles should be porn enough for this board anyways. too easy to click to another site if that's what your after. [cheeky]
I've had to emergency click a couple times at work cause of a couple shots on here. Not sure if it'd violate our policies but I'm not taking the risk. Satan texted me and said I could look at them for the cost of my soul and I'm fine with that but I still wanna keep my job.
Quote from: someguy on June 14, 2008, 09:02:26 PM
Actually it'd be a "coun".
And you call your Ducati a Duc-I see no issue.
[clap] Thank you I'm glad I wasnt the only one who thought that analogy was stupid