Should nudes be allowed in Portrait threads?

[Jody_S]

Perhaps I'm missing something, but aren't there quite a few nudes already on this forum, outside of the 'Nudes' thread? Alt process, tiny formats, and I'm sure a few elsewhere. Unless you're going to 1) make a rule that all nudes must be posted in one thread clearly labeled NSFW, and 2) go through all the old threads and move/delete/rename all threads containing nudes, I don't see how this is going to be workable.

I personally have no objection to a nude popping up now and then, and more importantly my wife hasn't had any objections when it happens and she's in the room. As others have pointed out, nudes are a very important part of the LF tradition, both historically and with current practitioners.

[Corran]

Placing restrictions on lawful content is censorship.

- Leigh

No, suppressing content is censorship. Having a designated place for content is common sense.

Might I remind everyone shouting "censorship" that this forum already disallows certain topics?

Jody, you bring up a good point when browsing older threads, but a policy going forward will still be a good thing.

[Doug Howk]

I have yet to see one person on this forum who says they are offended by seeing nudes. So who are we protecting? Maybe we need a new poll : do you find nudes offensive?

As far as governmental/institutional banning of a site, I doubt whether they will allow LFPF to be available just because we've segregated nudes into some ghetto area of the site.

And what criteria would be used and who would decide on that criteria? Would a mother nursing a child be offensive? How about the one that featured a somewhat older boy still nursing? After-all, each society has norms that may differ from our criteria. And not all within those societies would agree with the norms imposed by the society at large. Its part of the freedoms we'd like all societies to enjoy - the use of the language of photography to express your creative ideas.

[cowanw]

Stieglitz refused to hang photographs in the Arts and crafts gallery of exhibitions and demanded a presence in the Fine Arts gallery for a reason. Labeling is censorship.

[Corran]

Others here are much more eloquent than me, so I'll leave it to them. I'll just say that I think both of you are so disconnected from reality as to be delusional.

[eddie]

Places which have WiFi and one might browse LFPF that are not "work":

Restaurants
Libraries
Schools (elementary through collegiate)
Airports
Hotel business computer terminals
Your phone at any time of the day in any place with wifi

Please don't start the "you shouldn't be browsing the internet at work" business. It's not 1995 anymore, the internet is now available everywhere, not just your home and your office.

"they" must be after you. i have used this forum in all the places you list above. i have NEVER been denied access.....well i lied, i was denied access in Burma in 2005 to 2009....but basically the entire internet was banned and most all e mail carriers. i had to go through a state operated e mail system to get mail in and out. AND i had to sign a paper about following the per-described rules on what to send and receive....or risk arrest and deportation.

[cowanw]

Others here are much more eloquent than me, so I'll leave it to them. I'll just say that I think both of you are so disconnected from reality as to be delusional.

I am sure there is a word for this debate tactic; not straw man, but something?
Anyway I am expecting Godwin's law to kick in soon.

[Leigh]

Anyway I am expecting Godwin's law to kick in soon.

Nude photos of Hitler???

They would likely be banned as political.

- Leigh

[Corran]

Bill,

I'm sorry but labeling is not censorship. That is an absolutely ridiculous statement. We already have labeling in the Image Sharing Forum, all we are asking is to use the appropriate thread. Is that really difficult? Would not people start to complain if some users posted outdoor portraits in the landscape thread?

Do you cry "censorship!" when photographs aren't allowed in the painting section of a museum? That's a label!

[Leigh]

I'm sorry but labeling is not censorship.

Saying that an image cannot be posted in the appropriate thread because the subject is naked certainly is censorship.

You seem to think that whether or not the subject is clothed is the most important criterion for selecting the appropriate posting thread. That's nonsense.

- Leigh