Pinterest Censorship, Part 2

I almost forgot to mention that when I tried to Pin this photo I was told I could not because, again, Pinterest does not allow nudity. From what I could tell, they had blocked the entire site, which appeared to be a Spanish gossip magazine site and on which I saw nothing but celebrity   photos. Ummmmmmmm...???

Why I will no longer be part of Pinterest... They seem to be going censorship crazy

UPDATE, August 13,3013: Well, given this news: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/30/pinterest-nudity_n_3361917.html and the fact that LoveIt seems to have been basically abandoned by whoever runs it, I am giving Pinterest a second chance. I will still leave my boards at LoveIt but am in the process of copying them over to Pinterest a bit at a time. Let's hope Pinterest is serious about being more open to art!

UPDATE, March 11, 2013: Still give them credit for sending an e-mail, but since then have read about lots of other non-TOS breaking pins being removed. So am still highly unimpressed. I get it. They have 2 main audiences: artsy types and extremely conservative types. They need to figure out a way to deal with both (perhaps, as I suggested in my e-mail, they could institute Safe Search and Moderated Pins? They didn't acknowledge that in their reply, instead asking me if I could help them think of a way to protect 13-year-olds from seeing art photography that might contain a hint if nudity. Ummmmmm, maybe read my e-mail again?). Still, that won't help the moms and midwifery boards, who appear to be having breastfeeding and birthing pins being removed now, in the name of both nudity and porn. Please, Pinterest, ART IS NOT PORN AND NEITHER IS BREASTFEEDING.

UPDATE, March 6, 2013: Well, it came a day too late, but I did just get an e-mail from a person at Pinterest offering to unblock the pins they removed. It seems they found this blog post after they read an e-mail I sent them yesterday afternoon. So, since I removed everything it's a bit late for me, but at least they read and listened to my concerns. And it was a nice e-mail, and they apologized for being confusing. So credit to them for that.

EDIT TO ADD: I have now read multiple accounts of this happening to other users as well, via blogs, Tumblr, even the Pinterest Facebook page... At least I know it's not just me, but what exactly is going on over there?!

So, in the past week Pinterest has removed 3 pins from my Pinterest boards, for breaking their nudity rules. Only problem? They say they define nudity as visible breasts, buttocks, or genitalia, and none of my photos that were removed showed any of those things. Well, I take that back; the third pin they removed was a *painting* and there were nude breasts; but supposedly they allow nudity in painting so...????? The first pin was a burlesque dancer, who was wearing pasties and panties (I assume by breasts they mean bare breasts, ie nipples) and the second was a profile of a ballerina--no breasts, buttocks, or genitalia were visible at all. They also removed one, again for "nudity," from my husband's boards; she is wearing a crop top and shorts...!!! Here is the e-mail I received:

Hi Elizabeth Judd Taylor, We removed a pin from your account because it contained nudity. It was originally pinned from the following address: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GDQ03E1lu2F2JeX3r3P199Fe9mGzXMWPLLH_3cJWUhxMvtFvMpfX8YnE-V1OZKQRMYHG2mMSHZzT9PplXiemUGfXsdrwToiBQdh1MXV8sPY5sbenzJ7BGM9K34S2UlcxOZfTKONbwA4/s1600/tumblr_ltnsw2i7PT1qarsb0o1_500.jpg. We don't allow nudity—photos that show breasts, buttocks or genitalia—on Pinterest. This applies to pins on both public and secret boards. Please remove any other pins you've added that contain nudity. If you don't follow our policies, your account could be suspended. On behalf of the Pinterest community, we thank you for understanding. The Pinterest Team

 All the pins in question can be seen here (the burlesque one I can maybe see, but she does have pasties and panties, and there are a lot of similar burlesque photos all over the place there). So--not sure what is going on over there, but they don't seem able to even follow their own rules, and they seem to just be removing anything they find at all offensive or...well, I don't know what. I'm going to go ahead and just deactivate my account as I have NO IDEA what they will take offense to next, or why. There is a huge amount of actual porn there, so if they are worried about offending people they might want to get rid of that instead of worrying about paintings, artful nudes and cheesecake shots!

 

Recently I have been busy not making necklaces for people, but instead dolly sized necklaces for Blythe dolls! These necklaces are going to Berlin for BlytheCon Europe, for their tombola (raffle). I enjoy making these little necklaces--they are quick and it;s fun to plan designs in miniature. Here's so info on BCEU... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blythecon-Europe/211776168874890 Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/blytheconeurope/

Hello Again!

Wow, I realized I haven't blogged in ages! I have been busy reorganizing my studio (still a work in progress--I always get sidetracked by all the lovely craft supplies and beads), and I have also been doing a lot of sewing recently. But I have so many lovely beads waiting to be used, and I can't wait to get back to them! And I will be better about my blog as well!

Autumn 2011 Key Colors--Candy Pink!

It doesn't have to be all Christmas stuff yet--we're still enjoying Autumn! This year, jewel tones are hot--and a good excuse to add some (more!) color into your wardrobe. Candy pink is a fun color no matter what your age--and my shop has a lot more pink to choose from than just the above examples. Remember if you buy a Buddha necklace you're also doing a good deed, as $6 will go to the Red Cross to help tsunami relief efforts in Japan (come 2011 the $6 will go to general disaster relief). My shop has necklaces--and bracelets--at very affordable prices--necklaces starting at just $10! And no matter what the price, the same care and love has been put into each piece. Come have a look around and enjoy!

Eeeeeeep! Is it that time of year already?

Well, not quite, maybe, but for international shopping, yes. Christmas items are coming to my shop all this week! Please note that international orders take 4-10 days to arrive, and that once Friday, December 9th, rolls around Royal Mail will not promise delivery by Christmas. I will still ship after that, but I cannot guarantee delivery either, obviously! So, please shop early--don't worry, there are lots of non-Christmasey things to look at, too! And as always, I'm happy to take commissions and I will shorten or lengthen existing items at no extra charge. :)

Autumn 2011 Key Colors: Sapphire Blue

Jewelry is a great way to add color to your wardrobe--less expensive than a bunch of new clothes, but just as exciting. Sapphire blue is a key color for Fall 2011 and it's also a gorgeous shade to wear. Pair it with yellow for a little extra pop--and add a Russian Doll necklace to enjoy another 2 trends, Geek Chic and Quirky Accessories! Or enjoy some color blocking with a sea-inspired heart necklace. These, and other blue necklaces, can be found at my ArtFire shop! :)