27 votes

Discord will start designating entire servers as NSFW, and prevent all under-18 users from accessing them, as well as all users on iOS

23 comments

  1. [4]
    Akir
    Link
    Wow, they're even requiring photographic evidence to prove that you're over 18, including proof of identity. That's not invasive at all.

    Wow, they're even requiring photographic evidence to prove that you're over 18, including proof of identity. That's not invasive at all.

    27 votes
    1. [3]
      petrichor
      Link Parent
      Perhaps invasive, but a good move in my opinion. Discord has had serious problems with pedophiles in the past.

      Perhaps invasive, but a good move in my opinion. Discord has had serious problems with pedophiles in the past.

      17 votes
      1. raze2012
        Link Parent
        From my understanding, this isn't retroactive, so people currently in NSFW servers won't be kicked out unless they actually put in a 13-17 age for themselves. It's not even certain if newly...

        From my understanding, this isn't retroactive, so people currently in NSFW servers won't be kicked out unless they actually put in a 13-17 age for themselves. It's not even certain if newly created 18+ accounts are liable (only edge cases where you are "identified" as being under 18). This may effectively do nothing for those already invested.

        But in the worst case, this may be yet another clause that simply causes servers to go out of their way to not be NSFW. Easier to remove a channel than shut your entire server down to potential users. I'm unsure how this move will help the problem one way or the other at first blush.

        7 votes
      2. JXM
        Link Parent
        Do you have any more information about the pedophile issues? I haven't heard about that at all. Discord seems like a weird place for that to happen, so I'm curious.

        Do you have any more information about the pedophile issues? I haven't heard about that at all. Discord seems like a weird place for that to happen, so I'm curious.

        4 votes
  2. [15]
    babypuncher
    Link
    Whoever is buying them must not want to be associated with porn and also doesn't want to get blamed for what will undoubtedly be a very unpopular policy change. So Discord is getting it out of the...

    Whoever is buying them must not want to be associated with porn and also doesn't want to get blamed for what will undoubtedly be a very unpopular policy change. So Discord is getting it out of the way now before making any formal acquisition announcement.

    21 votes
    1. [14]
      DanBC
      Link Parent
      They're also, I think, having trouble with Apple.

      They're also, I think, having trouble with Apple.

      8 votes
      1. [13]
        babypuncher
        Link Parent
        All they had to do to make peace with Apple was hide NSFW content until the user opts in on the website or desktop app.

        All they had to do to make peace with Apple was hide NSFW content until the user opts in on the website or desktop app.

        10 votes
        1. [12]
          JXM
          Link Parent
          Even if that is the requirement, it is incredibly stupid. I can do that from a website on my phone using the browser that Apple makes. Regardless, I think it's absurd that Apple should be the...

          Even if that is the requirement, it is incredibly stupid. I can do that from a website on my phone using the browser that Apple makes.

          Regardless, I think it's absurd that Apple should be the morality police for the App Store. I can use my iOS device to access all the porn I want, so it's not like Apple can claim some moral high ground here.

          7 votes
          1. [4]
            stu2b50
            Link Parent
            I dunno, I think the app store policies are pretty reasonable and useful. It's just good QoL to have NSFW content not be displayed by default; there's a reason Reddit, for example, mosaics...

            I dunno, I think the app store policies are pretty reasonable and useful. It's just good QoL to have NSFW content not be displayed by default; there's a reason Reddit, for example, mosaics thumbnails until you opt in. You can't click on a seemingly innocuous app and have NSFW content blasted on your screen. Some people are cool with that, some people aren't, and sometimes the social context you're in makes it unacceptable, so an opt-in requirement is fine IMO.

            6 votes
            1. [3]
              JXM
              Link Parent
              Right, but it seems like Apple's position is no NSFW content at all.

              It's just good QoL to have NSFW content not be displayed by default;

              Right, but it seems like Apple's position is no NSFW content at all.

              3 votes
              1. Diff
                Link Parent
                Apple's policy just says no NSFW accessible directly and strictly only through in-app interactions. Discord's policy goes way past that.

                Apple's policy just says no NSFW accessible directly and strictly only through in-app interactions. Discord's policy goes way past that.

                3 votes
              2. Jack_the_Derpo
                Link Parent
                Pretty much this, since Reddit's tickbox (which is used as a lock for Narwhal and Apollo) smells of "loophole" more than "permitted exception."

                Pretty much this, since Reddit's tickbox (which is used as a lock for Narwhal and Apollo) smells of "loophole" more than "permitted exception."

                1 vote
          2. [7]
            Deimos
            Link Parent
            It definitely doesn't seem fully consistent, but as @babypuncher is saying, it's still been the way that Apple seems to have been approaching this subject for other sites/services. Reddit had...

            It definitely doesn't seem fully consistent, but as @babypuncher is saying, it's still been the way that Apple seems to have been approaching this subject for other sites/services.

            Reddit had almost exactly the same issue come up with their app. It was a long time ago now and I don't have an iOS device to be able to verify, but I'm fairly sure that all Reddit iOS apps ended up having to remove the "show NSFW/18+ content" toggle entirely. I think some were even removed from the App Store temporarily until they did that. You can log into your account on the website (or even in a different platform's app) and turn NSFW content on and then it will show up in the iOS one too, but they wouldn't allow it to be enabled through the iOS apps themselves.

            5 votes
            1. [6]
              JXM
              Link Parent
              I get that. My point is that it's dumb. It doesn't get Apple the ability to say, "look how clean our App Store is! You can't even view porn on an iPhone!" It just adds an extra, unnecessary step...

              I get that. My point is that it's dumb. It doesn't get Apple the ability to say, "look how clean our App Store is! You can't even view porn on an iPhone!" It just adds an extra, unnecessary step which makes the experience worse for the user. Apple constantly claims they are protecting users but they're just making the experience worse for users.

              Besides, there are tons of third party reddit apps that have explicit toggles for enabling NSFW content.

              7 votes
              1. [4]
                Deimos
                Link Parent
                Not on iOS there aren't, that's what I'm saying. Here's an article from 2016 about how all of them were removed from the app store until they took out those toggles:...

                Besides, there are tons of third party reddit apps that have explicit toggles for enabling NSFW content.

                Not on iOS there aren't, that's what I'm saying. Here's an article from 2016 about how all of them were removed from the app store until they took out those toggles: https://www.vice.com/en/article/78k8yb/reddit-ios-apps-disappear-nsfw-content

                2 votes
                1. [3]
                  JXM
                  Link Parent
                  My primary Reddit client, Slide has a toggle for NSFW and it has been updated recently since the latest release notes mention M1 compatibility. Maybe they are still in the process of going after...

                  My primary Reddit client, Slide has a toggle for NSFW and it has been updated recently since the latest release notes mention M1 compatibility.

                  Maybe they are still in the process of going after these types of apps and just haven't gotten to the particular one I use? Or maybe it just isn't big enough to warrant their attention?

                  1 vote
                  1. [2]
                    Deimos
                    Link Parent
                    I don't know, here's the Slide developer talking about having to remove (or at least hide?) the toggle 2 years ago, because it was causing the app to be rejected:...

                    I don't know, here's the Slide developer talking about having to remove (or at least hide?) the toggle 2 years ago, because it was causing the app to be rejected: https://www.reddit.com/r/slide_ios/comments/ad2yzi/meta_v21_status_update/edhpd3o/

                    1 vote
                    1. JXM
                      Link Parent
                      I stand corrected. It’s been a while since I looked and I just went in to the app and it does have a NSFW section in settings but it seems that it only has options to enables/disables the blurring...

                      I stand corrected. It’s been a while since I looked and I just went in to the app and it does have a NSFW section in settings but it seems that it only has options to enables/disables the blurring of NSFW thumbnails, not directly enabling or disabling the NSFW content entirely.

                      1 vote
              2. raze2012
                Link Parent
                fwiw, I'm sure Apple would be more stringent on "official" apps compared to third-party ones, mostly on the principle that some of the bigger 3rd party apps likely got through before Apple...

                fwiw, I'm sure Apple would be more stringent on "official" apps compared to third-party ones, mostly on the principle that some of the bigger 3rd party apps likely got through before Apple realized reddit could potentially show 18+ content. They wouldn't do deep research on every single social media app and determine how much 18+ content they have before it's "too much" (since any user generated content community can potentially have 18+ content on it. Even sites like Youtube that typically bans NSFW content).

                2 votes
  3. stu2b50
    Link
    I'm not surprised, Discord was going to have a reckoning sooner or later regarding kids mingling with adults on their servers, whether that be pre-emptive policy like this, or a lawsuit later.

    I'm not surprised, Discord was going to have a reckoning sooner or later regarding kids mingling with adults on their servers, whether that be pre-emptive policy like this, or a lawsuit later.

    19 votes
  4. Diff
    Link
    There's a few communities I'm in with fantastic people who primarily or only access our (ostensibly NSFW) shared servers from their phones. Even if they just use the web browser to bypass this...

    There's a few communities I'm in with fantastic people who primarily or only access our (ostensibly NSFW) shared servers from their phones. Even if they just use the web browser to bypass this ridiculous block, that still adds friction so it still means I'll be seeing less of them. Phones are meant for communicating with people, why are they trying to moralize and get in the way of that?

    As far as I can tell, Discord didn't (or barely) fell afoul of Apple's rules regarding NSFW, which only said that if there is such content it has to be initially accessible only from the website or some other platform. Once initiated elsewhere it's fine to access via iOS, so all Discord would have to do is not allow joining new NSFW servers from the iOS app, there's no need to hide servers that users are active in for one mobile platform.

    17 votes
  5. RNG
    Link
    Jesus Christ. Just go full Tumblr and ban NSFW servers then.
    • A photo ID that contains your date of birth, clearly readable
    • A piece of paper that shows your full Discord Tag (including your username and the last 4 digits following your username - ex: Wumpus#1234)

    Jesus Christ. Just go full Tumblr and ban NSFW servers then.

    17 votes
  6. MetArtScroll
    Link
    Of course, everyone believes. /s

    The information you provide will only be used to verify your age and will not be used for any other purpose.

    Of course, everyone believes. /s

    2 votes