Vogol's Art

sketchyafterdark:

Sorry, this post might get a bit long, and bare with the image use.

Well, it seems that Tumblr did a went and gone done a silly, and when I say silly, I say Full Scorched Earth Policy. After seeing some reports of NSFW being straight up hidden, account search being borked, and some others. Decided to take those claims to task, and… well.. shit’s fucked.

What has been done, and confirmed so far.

1. No longer able to search by person (though at the time of posting, Google search results still bring up blogs, but haven’t fully tested, and direct URL links are still good, also not fully tested)
2. Pretty much everything is gone, and what’s left is pretty sparse (had several tabs open before change ranging from tentacles, to futanari, and some others for research and idea purposes. Upon Refresh, was either no results, or a post or two (also depended on tags, and basic searchs under popular and recent). Other tests resulted in suggestible-at-best.
3. From what I can find in settings, Safe Mode has not been turned on (though this might be a case to case issue).

Who does this effect?

Pretty much anyone that deals with anything remotely adult themed. From artists, cosplayers, sex workers, etc. You make something that may, or might skirt the NSFW line? Well too bad.

Now, as to Why

Well, it seems to be a part of a few things.

1. Tumbr’s rampant issue with bots (mainly porn ones, but there are others as well (confirmed by many of it’s users).

2. The removal of the App from the app store (though still available on some platforms) as a result of being flagged for having child porn, backed by a image database that tracks such exchanges. (link of one of many reports)

3. Recent email that was sent out about dealing with suspected Bot Activity used to influence elections from 2016, and possible current and future meddling. This resulted in the banning of random users due to Tumblr using a bot itself to search for said bots. Also confirmed by some users, as well as getting one myself.

There may be more that will come to light in the following.

What does this mean going forward?

Well, To many, this will probably mean having to fall back on other platforms, or search for alternatives (as evidence in the recent panic the past 24 to 48 hours). Unless already following the user, or somehow having direct links, there’s really no other way to view anyone’s content.

In short.