Blogger & WordPress.com deleting sex blogs (PSA)

If you are on Blogger, you already know that Google (who owns Blogger) is deleting blogs with adult affiliate links or ads – they sent out an email to users about it.

In the last few days, friends on Twitter have been reporting that WordPress.com is also deleting sex blogs. Not for affiliate links or ads, but for violating their Terms of Service which prohibits ‘pornographic content’ (as it has since 2009). There is no definition of what ‘pornographic content’ is, so all sex blogs are under threat. WordPress.com users are not getting any warning at all. No email, no notification, nothing. One day the blog is there. The next day it’s gone.

So if you are using either of those platforms for sex blogging, please take a backup or export of your content right NOW and start looking at self hosting options.

If you want to read more about it, other bloggers have written about it in more detail:

For the record, I’m already self hosted, so not only am I not not going anywhere, I can be as pornographic as I want.

Edited to add: As Naga di Kandang linked to below (thank you!), WordPress.com has these guidelines for adult content: http://en.support.wordpress.com/mature-content/. Some users whose blogs have been removed do think that they have complied with those conditions, so apparently there is some grey there in interpretation (that is, don’t think your content is safe. They are removing first without warning, and putting the onus on you to try and do something about it after the fact).

If the blog is removed from public view, access to the dashboard is still available, so an export of content after suspension is still possible. There is apparently a link that appears in the Dashboard for users to appeal the decision, however be aware of this in their TOS:

“If a blog has been suspended for violating our terms, its domain/URL and content will not be returned.”

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46 comments

  1. Thank you for sharing that information… Not that I have a blog or anything, but it’s good to see you being all public servicey and stuff!

    Also, I’m happy to hear that you’re not going anywhere AND can still be as pornographic as you want. I hate change… A lot!!!

  2. Hi Ferns:

    Thank you for posting this. I am going to link to your post and let folks know what is going on. I received the email from Google and removed all (most) of my links to for profit adult sites. That said I don’t trust this trend and fear that Her Majesty’s Plaything may one day simply disappear. Taking a backup is a very good idea!

    Best

    hmp

    1. You’re welcome, and I don’t trust it either!

      I moved from Blogger years ago when they seemed to be randomly removing or ‘unpublishing’ sex blogs without warning, and you had to petition them to get it back. If I recall you were a victim of that?

      Ugh.

      Next thing you now, they’re going to try and get all the porn off the internet!

      Ferns

      1. Yes indeed I was! In fact I recently commented that Google seems to “shoot first and ask questions never” when it comes to casually deleting blogs from Blogger. Ugh indeed!

        As for removing porn from the Internet I wish them luck with that. I doubt they will ever succeed. After all providing porn is the Internet’s primary purpose for existing…isn’t it? :)

        1. After all providing porn is the Internet’s primary purpose for existing…isn’t it?

          Porn and gaming/gambling are the historic drivers of development!

  3. I mentioned this on Twitter yesterday, but it would have been while you were sleeping.

    WP users should be aware that there is a distinct “Mature Content Policy” at http://en.support.wordpress.com/mature-content/ that seems to permit forms of sex blogging (with standard limits). I reported my own blogs as having mature content when I set them up and got thanks in return.

    Also, as I think you discussed on Twitter, this does not apply to content not hosted on the .com, even in the 2009 TOS. If you’re using your own server and DNS with the wordpress software, you’re fine.

    That is not to say a backup is ever a bad idea, and some blogs are certainly under the gun, but I don’t think everyone with a WP sex blog needs to be in full tizzy.

    1. “D’oh. And as you noted in this post. MOAR COFFEE.”

      *laugh* Yes.

      “If you’re using your own server and DNS with the wordpress software, you’re fine.”

      I figure most people with blogs will know the difference between ‘WordPress.com’ (blogs hosted on wordpress.com itself) and ‘wordpress.org’ (using the WordPress platform, but self hosted). This applies only to the former.

      If you aren’t sure which you have, essentially if your WordPress blog is free, it applies to you!

      Ferns

      1. I figure most people with blogs will know the difference between ‘WordPress.com’ (blogs hosted on wordpress.com itself) and ‘wordpress.org’ (using the WordPress platform, but self hosted). This applies only to the former.

        I think you might be optimistic, but:

        If you aren’t sure which you have, essentially if your WordPress blog is free, it applies to you!

        You give a nice heuristic!

  4. The pendulum swings.

    Back in the days of T1’s and self-hosting we had the freedom to post what we wanted when we wanted. We also had the burden of paying extraordinarily high costs for bandwidth, maintained our own servers, wrote our own code, handled our own security, etc.

    In today’s world of cloud computing we’ve become the bitches of institutional providers who say “trust us”, seduce us with an integrated platforms, then proceed to censor and control our content, all at a fractional cost.

    Neither Google nor WordPress are benevolent dictators. Then again, neither is AOL, MSN, Yahoo, or the rest. In a democracy, the price of freedom in paid in blood. On the Internet, we get what we pay for.

    Do you think my opinions make my thighs look big?

    1. Thanks for your thoughts, and I agree with a lot of it.

      Everything has a price, including the ‘free’ stuff, even if we don’t always quite know what that price is.

      Ferns

  5. Well crap. I moved from blogger to wordpress. Frankly, I’m not paying to blog. perhaps I will be able to find another free host or something. Thanks for the warning at least!

    1. There are quite a few smaller free blog platforms around (Blogger and WP are the biggest), but I haven’t closely read their TOS to see what their rules are.

      It’s worth having a look around (I started to do that, but realised I really WOULD have to read the TOS of all of them before I could suggest any). My one notable: Keep an eye on Ghost which isn’t up and running yet, but soon it seems.

      Ferns

    2. PS Your blog might never be impacted by this, so as long as you are backing up and don’t mind some down time if you get hit, it’s probably enough to have an alternative ready to go.

      Ferns

    1. Thank you again for taking time to post this information Ferns. Also @Gabriel you can just transfer your wordpress.com blog over to self hosting that is what I am in the process of doing. I thought I would lose it to until Ferns pointed out you can do that.

      Respectfully,
      mysticlez

  6. So – at what point is some entrepreneurial type going to create an alternative blogging environment for the sex bloggers of the world? :) Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, you can’t censor and expect people and our needs to just…disappear…

    And what’s the cause of all this? G-rating the internet or something? Geez, I wish them luck! Not.

    1. Lethalastronaut, sadly, the biggest problem in that is any form of monetization. Visa and Mastercard, not to mention PayPal, have been progressively censoring for years what content, transactions, and businesses they’ll let use their networks.

      It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that’s the core behind Google’s attack on Blogger sex blogs, since that (ostensibly) focused on advertising.

      Ferns, please step in this is getting too afield.

    2. It has to be an economic decision based on the impact adult content is having on their bottom line.

      Naga’s exactly right about major credit card companies and paypal refusing to deal with porn-related businesses. In the same way, major advertisers also have a powerful voice in dictating what businesses allow or don’t allow.

      I’d hazard a guess that once Google cracked down on Blogger content, WordPress.com no longer had to allow it in order to compete with them (they were both essentially turning a blind eye to it before). Presumably being more restrictive with adult content has a better financial outcome for both of them than allowing it.

      Ferns

  7. I’m happy I have my own domain and web host, although that’s not the world’s most user friendly option out there either.

    I have to wonder if wordpress is trying to protect themselves from legal liability or just moralizing.

    1. I’m happy I do also (and that I had plenty of time to sort it all out without the fear that my existing blog would disappear).

      I’d say finance first, legal second, moral probably not at all.

      Ferns

  8. I get warnings about re-pinning semi-nude (swimsuit) pictures on pinterest – re-pinning a picture from another person?
    I wonder if Tumblr will be censored next?

    1. *laugh* That re-pinning warning made me laugh.

      “But but… they did it first!!”
      “I don’t care, son.”

      “I wonder if Tumblr will be censored next?”

      I know a lot of people think so with the Yahoo buyout, but Yahoo’s CEO has so far made conciliatory noises that it will be left as-is. I suspect she will change her mind very quickly if she finds that she can’t monetise it with the current porn-heavy content.

      Ferns

  9. Since I’m pretty sporadic in posting, have no pics and no ads… I’ll probably ride out the storm and see where it ends up (already have a back up of all the content.

    But I am curious (and a little lazy to research), but for those that self host… do you host through a server company, or operate your own?

    1. I’m not 100% sure I understand your question, but the most common way to do it is to buy a domain and hosting package from somewhere like hostgator.com.

      I’m not even sure how you would go about ‘operating your own’!

      Ferns

      1. Ferns,

        I don’t know if this is what WickedMaggie meant, but it’s quite possible to run a webserver from home.

        You need a fixed IP address (versus dynamic, the standard for residential service). There is (free) server software to actually deliver the webpages (or e-mail, or ftp, or whatever). Then you register the domain name to point to the computer in your house, and have complete control over the content and server.

        The main drawbacks are the higher cost for the fixed IP, the costs for bandwidth (still need a service line), and worrying about uptime on your server.

      2. Ok… you operate through a hosting company. Thanks

        Operating your is simply buying the server, getting a static IP from your ISP provider and installing/managing the software for the blog.

        The bonus for doing it yourself is it’s far more cost effective (basically free)… but can be a bit more time consuming due to maintenance.

        Hosted my own once, but we were operating a pic hosting site for family, a website for a baseball and football team we played on, plus a football blog… which made it more worth the time. But the blogging software engine was an absolute pain to keep up and running!

        But thanks! hosting companies have gotten much cheaper these days.

        1. Anon, I don’t know anything about Australia’s system, but static IPs are typically much more expensive on an ongoing basis than dynamic IPs in the U.S.

          Otherwise, I think it’s a great thing to look into. You’ll almost inevitably have more downtime, with home electric wiring (the best UPSs eventually run out of juice), but for personal sites that’s not the end of the world.

  10. The thing about free blog hosts is… you don’t own your blog. You can’t really (well, you CAN, but you don’t really have a right to) complain if they treat you like shit, because YOU’RE NOT THE CUSTOMER.

    Google’s business is selling ads, and they’re all about serving those who buy ads. Not us.

    If you want control over what you post, do what DD did, do what I do, do what almost every interesting sex blogger does: pay for your own hosting.

    The transition costs aren’t zero. The money isn’t zero. But it’s worth it, if your blog matters to you.

    1. It sounds as if you think people don’t understand how these free services work.

      Mostly they do.

      The reason for this post is that many WordPress.com users aren’t even aware that this is happening. At least Blogger sent out an email before removing blogs.

      I’m trying not to knee-jerk over the statement that ‘almost every interesting sex blogger’ is self hosted, or the assumption that everyone is in a financial position to pay for hosting.

      Suffice it to say that LOTS of great bloggers are on free services, and I know some of them will not be willing or able to pay the ongoing costs of self hosting even if it really matters to them. Personally, I hope they will, but priorities are priorities.

      Ferns

  11. How easy was it to move from blogger over to your own site? I currently use blogger and would like to have my own “safe” place, but the thought of moving hundreds of posts is not appealing.

    Regards, Sav

    1. It’s relatively easy to get your content moved (if you go with Hostgator, they will transfer the content for you for free).

      What takes a little longer is the tweaking of things that didn’t come over so well (formatting, links, sidebars, menus etc), and how messy that is depends on what your blog looks like now and how finicky you are.

      Ferns

  12. This doesn’t surprise me. We’ve taken to backing up our blog after every post, just in case. In fairness to WordPress, which I still think very highly of, their limitations as regards mature content are fairly straight forward. Before we started the blog, I contacted WordPress and told them what we would be writing, asked if they were okay with it, and asked, right off, that the blog be marked mature. I was completely up front with them. They said: “Just write.” That doesn’t mean they won’t change their minds but…

    The one thing we’ve been very careful to avoid is this:

    “…explicit images or video of sexual acts or close-up images of genitalia…”

    I notice that a lot of erotic WordPress bloggers don’t heed this prohibition. I’m not going to name names, but all it takes is one complaint and they’ll be gone. Erotic content is a grey area. If any future blogger has doubts as to whether their material will offend the powers that be, they should probably self-host. That’s it, my 2 cents are spent.

    1. Some bloggers believe that they have not violated the policy, but they have still had their blogs deleted, so the issue is not just violation of the rules but *interpretation* of the rules (plus zero warning if they decide you are in breach, so no chance to fix whatever it is they are objecting to).

      You are wise to do a backup after every post. Just in case.

      Thanks for your 2c!

      Ferns

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