Howdy, everyone. Sorry I haven't been on in a dedicated sense...there was a bit of an emergency over here a couple days, and we're still trying to clean up all the mess. Bleh.
Anyway, a couple issues I wanna address.
We've been having lots of reports of rulebreaking flash lately, but a significant number of them have ended up being legitimate. And while it is important to investigate all potential problems, it's cluttering up the thread and making it difficult to examine them all.
So, we need a solution that will make the EGB tidier and have less false alarms, but without sacrificing speed and efficiency in the flagging process.
1. If you see a flash that you are virtually certain is stolen, and you have proof (such as URL of original location), report it here with all evidence as usual. Check the e-mail identifier before jumping to any conclusions, and if the submitter has a website, make sure it's not the same as your suspected source. While flash thieves can simply put up the website to make themselves look innocent, very few are actually smart enough to do so.
2. If you see a flash that you merely suspect is stolen, and it's under judgment, post here and ask for others to look into it. Remember that we're not in a hurry; we can report a stolen flash to Wade at any time, even if it passes judgment. I would rather have a stolen flash pass than wrongly whistle an innocent submitter's work. Do not rush to condemn.
3. We need to make it more clear as to what an 'unsuitable' flash is.
a. The n-word is always unsuitable, regardless of context. Whether you agree with it or not, it's NG policy.
b. Real porn (non-hentai) is always unsuitable. Again, your agreement with this policy (which is not NG's fault) is not a requisite to whistling.
c. Real violence (ie, video of decapitations) is always unsuitable. While I haven't personally seen this anytime recently, it has been a problem in the past.
d. Hentai is only unsuitable if it's a ripped video/gif, slideshow or gallery, as such flashes require only minimal effort to make (and are, in a sense, stolen).
e. Lolicon is ambiguous. I've asked Wade about loli before, in regards to a passed flash with it, and he said it was permissible. I recommend following the same guidelines for standard hentai on it. The de facto loli/guro bans on userpages do not mean that those are summarily banned in the Portal, as flashes can be rated (whilst userpages cannot).
f. Flashes mocking other users/artists are ambiguous, but are rarely whistle-worthy. Technically any personal attacks on authors is against the rules, but Newgrounds has very rarely enforced this (Piconjo, for example). I would only consider whistling in the event of death threats. Note that publishing of someone's personal information without their permission is an always-whistleable offense.
If I'm missing anything, feel free to ask. If you are not absolutely sure about a flash's suitableness, UJ or not, please post about it in the Priliminary Investigations thread of the EGB forums (sign-in is required). Senior members will be glad to clarify if a flash breaks any rules. Note that older non-stolen flashes rarely get deleted (longer they've been around, the less likely), as the rules have changed since then, but you can still ask about them as a learning reference.
While some flashes are indeed whistle-worthy and should be deleted, remember that Newgrounds was built on controversy and edgy material, and that the tolerance for controversial work is high. The threshold for unsuitable has nothing to do with your personal opinions of a flash---it's determined by the Newgrounds guidelines. Keep that in mind when reporting potentially unsuitable flash; if you're not near-sure, ask in the thread so we can keep the thread clear of clutter.
Slash's call
was absorbed
by the darkness.
