Meet CleanReader, a little app that sanitizes the language in books, removing all potentially objectionable language from profanity to racial slurs. Should context be insufficient, the reader can hover over the word to see inoffensive adjectives. It is, in short, an emblem of consent culture. But not all writers are thrilled about the prospect of having an app edit their manuscripts without their consent.
After surprising users by completely banning adult content on a blogging platform previously committed to freedom of expression, Google has done another volte-face and rolled back their draconian policy. A Google employee even acknowledged that users post “sexually explicit content to express their identities.”
We reached out to people in both the tech and adult industries to see what the options look like for the creators of adult content who will be displaced by Blogger’s ban on sexy and we have some good news. You’re not totally shit out of luck. It’s time to pack it up, and we’ve got some options lined up for you.
Today, Google announced infinite gender options for users on the social network Google Plus, a move that tops Facebook’s February announcement of 56 additional options on its gender menu. After selecting the Custom option for gender, users will be prompted to enter their preferred gender into a freeform field. A user can write anything they like there, including emojis.
A group of hacker activists are developing a suite of tools to strike back at the culture of silence and isolation that surrounds harassment, coercion and assault. There are currently seven such tools, each of which focuses primarily on dating sites and social networks (which, face it, most of us use as dating sites) — depending on the website or app that they are designed for, the tools have different capabilities.
Just days after Google announced it would no longer police the names chosen by users on its social network, Facebook decided to take up the battle cry, stressing a name policy it’s had on the books but rarely enforced until now. “Facebook is a community where people use their real identities. We require everyone to provide their real names, so you always know who you’re connecting with. This helps keep our community safe,” says the popular social network on their recently-edited name policy page.
Over the past three days, 3,996 people have donated to the GoFundMe campaign of Darren Wilson, the officer who fatally shot Michael Brown. Among his supporters is the KKK, which is raising money for what they term the officer’s “reward/fund.” GoFundMe works with WePay, a money transfer company finicky about its image. WePay has cancelled the campaigns of a number of sex workers across crowdfunding platforms for the flimsiest reasons. But from the looks of this, they’re okay with murderous racism.
Like other hookup services, Mixxxer uses your device’s geolocation to find other users who are nearby and also looking for a good time. Basically, it’s like Tinder, but rated NC-17. Oh, who are we kidding — Mixxxer’s “anything goes” attitude pretty much guarantees you’ll be seeing a range of everything from G to XXX. Just the way you like it and just the way you deserve. You’re welcome.
It is not that surprising that Alix Tichelman didn’t call the police when her client overdosed, choosing instead to try to erase herself from the scene before fleeing. Whether she knew about medical amnesty in California ultimately doesn’t matter as this protection is very limited and there is no amnesty for sex workers. This is clearly a person who committed criminal negligence out of a combination of ignorance and well-placed fear.
Today the e-mail marketing service provider MailChimp pulled the plug on Sexcusé Moi, a high-end online boutique that offers sensual products ranging for adults. In an e-mail to the boutique’s founder, MailChimp said, “Nothing personal against your content or industry; there are just some very strict spam filters and ISP rules that we have to comply with to maintain the best possible sending environment.”
