Sex Topics?

[Ebby]

I was wondering, why can't we have sex topics? Now I know that sounds like a dumb question considering that the answer is in it's own topic, but I still don't see why not.

I hope I don't come off as a total pervert, but I feel we can have them. Aren't most of the people on this forum mature enough to handle such things? People make all sorts of topics involving their personal lives, so what's wrong with sex topics?

And even if it's a matter of members of this board being too young, why can't we create a private sub forum for these things?

[LATER BUDDY]

Oh lawly, it's because every sex topic we've had in the past seems to get way out of control. I'll admit, I really do wish they'd come back just so I can read through them for a good laugh every now and then, XD.

The thing is, if we did have a sex topic come back right now, it'd be great for probably a few pages, and then get out of control. We've done it in the past, and the same thing always tends to happen.

Most importantly though, this is just a Sonic site with some extra junk to talk about on the side. We know we are a mature Sonic forum, but still, anyone can join, and this debate became a death match between all the mods and admin last time it was up.

All in all, it's probably just best to go to a different website to talk about such things.

-Blur

EDIT: Oh, and we couldn't create a specialized subforum to keep younger people out, since anyone can put anything for their age and people would never know the difference. Hell if I never had a personal picture and never posted in the photo topic, would you be able to know I was 19 despite if I put my age as 27? *assuming I don't have my face up anywhere on the web*. Lol, plus, we aren't going to go through the thousands of members for a background check either.

[Aquaslash]

>Sex topics

>on a Sonic the Hedgehog board

I'll let you draw your own conclusions from this one. =P

Surely there are dozens of other venues far more suited for such a thing?

[KittyNakajima]

>Sex topics

>on a Sonic the Hedgehog board

I'll let you draw your own conclusions from this one. =P

Surely there are dozens of other venues far more suited for such a thing?

While there probably are better, specialized venues where this subject can be brought up, I think what Eboni was getting at was that some people might be more comfortable discussing/asking for advice on the matter of sex because we have common interests as well as the maturity factor. I think a good bit of us regular posters are at or past the age of consent, so it probably wouldn't hurt, though I do agree with the mods about what it could degenerate into. The last time they tried it nearly every topic wasted away into a cesspool of silly sex jokes rather than having any serious discussion take place. That and that dreadful topic of pedophilia where some folks were actually sympathizing no- scratch that EMPATHIZING with the concept. o_o

I really feel for both sides of why we should and why we shouldn't, but I think it all boils down to some folks getting carried away with it in the long run. It's why we can't have nice things. :C

[Cake]

EDIT: Oh, and we couldn't create a specialized subforum to keep younger people out, since anyone can put anything for their age and people would never know the difference. Hell if I never had a personal picture and never posted in the photo topic, would you be able to know I was 19 despite if I put my age as 27? *assuming I don't have my face up anywhere on the web*. Lol, plus, we aren't going to go through the thousands of members for a background check either.

I'm indifferent on allowing sex topics to be honest, but it's kind of hard to agree on this part of your argument; anyone who joins an online forum or visits a site is agreeing to the terms and conditions of said site. That is to say, it is not the webmaster's job to launch an investigation into each and everyone of it's members. SSMB used to have an age limit on who could post in general, and people lied about it. When the age limit was lifted, several members, key members of the community at the time, openly admitted to lying about their ages. I won't degenerate the topic at hand to a discussion about internet anonymity or honesty; that was just covered with the Blizzard Real ID fiasco; I hope you know where I'm coming from on this one.

To play devil's advocate though, I can see the concerns about sex topics; the very nature of it's presence can drastically change opinions and personalities, and they can lead to drama faster than a feline word filter (and that's fast!). TSS and the SSMB are also affiliated with SEGA to a certain degree at this point, as well as being a prime representative of the "respectable aspects" of the Sonic community. Someone browsing around looking for a nice, friendly place to chat about Sonic might be a bit turned off if one of the most recent topics on the front page was "Fisting: A Ripping Good Time". And, there are places on the internet more suitable for such a discussion.

On the other end of the spectrum, this is a mature forum, and content that some may deem offensive gets posted here all the time, wether it's swearing, or bible bashing, or fanfiction; how could sex be any worse? On top of that, we're a fairly close knit community, we probably won't really offend anyone here, and people will know to avoid it if it's not their thing. And finally, while this is a Sonic forum, and things like sex may be better suited to be discussed elsewhere, the closeness of this community and the friendships forged here carry with them a bit of trust; users may be more comfortable discussing their issues here with people they know aren't trolling them.

Like I said, I'm neutral on the matter myself, but it seems counter-productive to encourage "Personal Discussion" while avoiding what is probably a topic that's as "Personal" as it gets.

[Badnik Mechanic]

>Sex topics

>on a Sonic the Hedgehog board

I'll let you draw your own conclusions from this one. =P

So with that attitude do you want the entire personal discussion forum deleted now or later?

[Dreadknux]

Long story short, people started saying how good paedophilia was. I don't want to go to jail. So you're not going to talk about how awesome it is to engage in various fetishes. Not on mah land, anyway.

Basically.

[HunterTSF]

Oh lawly, it's because every sex topic we've had in the past seems to get way out of control.

The same exact thing tends to happen to every single new topic pertaining to things of a religious, political, or ethical nature as well - and those types of topics are quite common in Chit-chat and its subforums. They're all controversial topics yeah, and people may not like what somebody else has to say regarding them - but that's hardly justifies banning discussion altogether on a certain topic just because they "tend to get out of hand". By that logic, all things of a controversial nature should be banned. I really haven't the slightest clue why something as lighthearted as sex topics out off all things were banned, especially considering how nasty things became in that one topic regarding Texas' policies on homosexual marriages became a few months back. That topic in particular got far more out of hand than any sex topic ever did - but was discussion of that ever outright stopped? No. We debated like gentlemen, a mod stepped in and moderated the debate if things got too heated, and we regained our composure and went on conversing. Like a good forum should.

In all seriousness, I haven't the slightest clue on why sex topics were banned - they aren't nearly as inciting as religious topics tend to become, for example. Not to mention that sex is a very close personal issue to some, and disallowing discussion of things pertaining to it in a topic centred solely around personal discussions just seems outright bizarre to me. Not allowing discussion because it involves people's naughty bits (oh my!) strikes me as being more of an immature act on the site's behalf more than anything. Far more controversial topics are allowed and are open for discussion, after all.

Long story short, people started saying how good paedophilia was. I don't want to go to jail. So you're not going to talk about how awesome it is to engage in various fetishes. Not on mah land, anyway.

Basically.

>People discuss paedophilia.

>Completely ban sexual discussion altogether.

...that's a bit of a stretch, is it not? Not all topics about sex are about paedophila, of all things. Banning sexual discussion altogether because of the possibility someone may bring up something incredibly specific such as paedophilia would be like banning topics about homosexuality because of the possibility someone might bring up sodomy, or religion because someone might bring up suicide bombing. Not to mention I don't see how you could be possibly be thrown in jail for anything a user (somebody that is not you) says on this board. If some guy came here and posted his plans for a school massacre and followed through with it the following day, you still wouldn't be held liable for anything that user did. Hell if that were the case, moot would have been in jail a long time ago. To say completely banning the discussion of sex altogether in fear of going to jail because a user said something as mundane as "I like lolicon manga" is overreacting would be a huge understatement. And come to think of it, I don't recall anybody outright advocate real-life paedophilia in that topic either - the discussion in that topic was quite mature and was mainly about the morality of the fetish.

Also, users whoo are still weary about the concept of sex topics are not forced to read them.

Edited July 24, 2010 by HunterTSF

[Meow]

I'm glad they are gone honestly, sex topics on a sonic forum I think take things a little too much over a line of what I think would be acceptable on a site such as this. They were incredibly awkward to read, though some of them did give a good laugh I guess...still awkward though. Thats just my views though.

[-Mark-]

Last I checked, the rule was only that overly fetishy/ kinky/ borderline or flat-out illegal sexual stuff wasn't allowed. Doesn't that mean 'normal' sex topics are still technically allowed anyway?

[Saint Nathan]

>People discuss paedophilia.

>Completely ban sexual discussion altogether.

> People discuss pedophilia

> People say pedophilia is good

> Massive "what the fuck"

> Common sense thrown in

> Last word "pedo = bad"

> Topic locked

> Possibly long discussion of the purpose behind topics concerning sexual activity

> Sex topics stopped

> No more people voicing an opinion that, truthfully, shows them in a negative light

> Mods no longer have to worry about them being shown in a negative light for these things

> ????

> PROFIT!!!

[Flyboy Fox]

I was one of the few people who didn't agree with the over-the-top reaction to the paedophilia topic. I didn't feel that at any time anyone said anything akin to 'paedophilia = good'. Rather, I thought it was a fascinating intellectually challenging debate about such ethically ambiguous subjects as* whether paedophilia is a harmless fetish if not acted on (like many hardcore fetishes that are only ever played out in fiction/fantasy), whether loli/shota is the same thing as paedophilia, whether a person who has those feelings but knows it's wrong and would never act on them should be forced to have treatment... I felt the conversation in that topic was surprisingly mature. And given that there are quite a few people on this board who I'm sure draw/write furry pr0nz about Sonic characters (who are technically underage), I did feel the topic had some relevance and merit.

HOWEVER, having said that, this IS Dreadknux's board and I can understand why he might have a strong reaction over such a volatile and controversial subject. It's true that when such topics as "Masturbation" and "Favourite Sex Positions" are the first things you see in the Personal Discussion area of a Sonic forum, the impact might be somewhat negative. You wouldn't want your child registering in such a place, of course. The fact also remains that we are a well-known and popular board, frequented not only by fans across the world but also SEGA. Maintaining a clean image, even if we don't need to be squeaky clean, is important.

Personally I would be all for an opt-in 'Mature Discussion' forum for users registered as 16+ (as said above, it would not be our duty to make sure people weren't lying). But I know this won't happen, and so I respect Dreadknux's decision even if I don't agree with it.

At the end of the day, it's far from the most terrible or important issue to strike the forums. We can live without sex topics or topics of extreme controversy (or both, where the two cross over, as in the primary paedophilia argument). There are plenty of other places on the web to discuss X-rated things, so it's not worth getting our dominatrix style studded latex panties in a twist over

[*I am not expressing my opinion on any of these topics, and would appreciate if no one attempts to debate them here, as such discussion IS banned. Examples are used here just to explain a point.]

[TheGerkuman]

I'm perfectly happy with such things being banned. I spent a lot of my time trying to bump up other general chat topics to keep the masturbation topic off the front page. XD

[eXtaticus]

Long story short, people started saying how good paedophilia was. I don't want to go to jail. So you're not going to talk about how awesome it is to engage in various fetishes. Not on mah land, anyway.

And we don't want to tempt the furries; this is a Sonic forum after all...

But, long story short:

Hi guys, it's me again =D. It's time for another hard line approach again, unfortunately. Due to the demographic of our users and the nature of our community here at SSMB it is important to change our attitude with regards to what sort of topics are acceptable on the forum. From this point on I am banning the creation of topics that discuss the issue of sex in graphic detail. No fetish topics, topics about paedophilia or rape etc. It really is not called for to discuss these issues in our little Sonic forum, there are a plethora of sites out there to discuss such matters and, frankly, I don't believe young teenagers and minors should be exposed to these issues at all until they mature, never mind in an unstable and often unsupervised environment such as the internet.

We can't protect you from the internet at large but we can protect our users from such material on here, and that is what we are now trying to achieve. Such matters as personal sexual fetishes are a private matter and should remain so or be discussed among close friends and adults.

^ Picked out the best bits for you, eboni (LOL obscure porn reference)...

Edited July 24, 2010 by Extaticus

[Agent York]

If I can throw in my two cents about this sex in many cultures can be a taboo issue. Some cultures it's viewed as a completely natural and clean thing while in others a dirty and gritty act. However like it or not sex is programmed into every animal (which includes people) and since it's something everyone can relate to on one level or another, everyone can partake in discussion about it. However like religion, it can be a very controversial topic, ESPECIALLY when you start getting into details of what certain people are into or find kinky or personal information that just quite frankly doesn't need to be shared in such a public place, especially with some younger people visiting the site.

On the flipside discussion of sex itself I think is completely fine from a subjective point of view and eventually it will come up since sex is part of everyone's life, hopefully for the better part. Just with all different types of people on a forum that while having a pretty mature userbase overall does also include younger users and probably even younger viewers are guests and all that who come here for Sonic news and other stuff, the thing the internet allows which is a problem area is that you can look up anything and come up with results. It's up to each person what they expose themselves too, but unfortunately most kids and younger teens are a bit too curious or horny to make the decision to not view the stuff when it's easily accessible. Everyone makes a choice but what bothers me is I don't think that's a decision a 10-14 year old should be making when just first experiencing hormones and curious on such matters since that is a decision to expose yourself to this I don't think someone at such a young age should make for themselves. However everyone has choice and of course I'm not everyone's parent.

Point is I do understand the reason they are not allowed given the demographic that could access it. However I will say I am more comfortable in terms of online forum groups with the SSMB and people since I know most of the users in one way or another and know others feel the same which makes it easier or less awkward to ask or talk such things. If a group really wanted to, kind of like the unofficial SSMB Chatroom thing people have got there could be an unofficial mature place of discussion away from the site, though also afraid what kind of attention that would attract since by mature I would like it more as mature discussion, not "Lets post pornography lolz!" place.

[Ebby]

These are good reasons but I honestly think we're mature enough to handle such a subject. To the complaint of age restrictions, if a child is changing their age to get into a sexual discussion, I'm sure that they know what they're getting into. When I was 14, I was really into hentai. At the Sonic forum I was a previous member of they had a private topic for such things. If you were 18 you could get into it automatic, if you were younger you had to give reasons why you were interested. Things worked out perfectly. Never one issue of immaturity or age.

Also, on the actual topic of sex, children younger and younger have sex. It's something so utterly blatant in our mainstream culture that people shouldn't make a big deal of it. If people really have such an issue with exposing their children to sex they really shouldn't let them watch TV or listen to the radio. But they do, and thus children know. They know a lot.

I just thought the topics were interesting, but generally I pretty open to things of such nature. And there is tons of places to discuss these things. But by that logic is it also safe to say that we don't need a topic for music, artwork, or other video games? This is a SONIC board, why should we have other topics that aren't related to Sonic? =P

[TheGerkuman]

Why isn't 'The admins say so' a good enough reason for anything anymore... XD

[Flyboy Fox]

Indeed.

Even though as I laid out in my big-ass post above that I am very much in favour of allowing even the most controversial of topics, the fact remains that Dreadknux is the founder and owner of this board, and it is entirely within his right to control content the way he sees fit. If he doesn't want that stuff here, then that is completely up to him and attempting to debate it will only lead to going in circles.

No one's rights are being violated and it doesn't affect the main purpose of the board, so if you've said your piece, I'd advise letting it drop now. There are far more important issues in the world to focus on than this one.

[Indigo Rush]

There's nothing more cool than making a post in a forum you like, but if someone tries to make a topic in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, that's no good. It's your forum, no one has the right to talk about child porn if you don't want them to!

[Vertekins]

There's a time and a place for topics discussing the subject of fetishism and sexual matters.

I personally do not believe that this is the place for it, such subjects being in personal discussion only or otherwise.

I'm not a prude or anything. I just don't believe that such subject matter should be present on a forum that seems to aim in being appropriate for those over the age of 13 and also mainly revolves around a gaming series that is for anyone but nevertheless is still aimed at kids.

Edited July 24, 2010 by Verte

[Flyboy Fox]

That is why I believe an opt-in 16+ 'Mature Discussion' forum (for all topics of an adult or highly controversial nature) would be an ideal solution. No one would even see it (or the topics inside) unless they specifically opted in to do so.

However, it's already been clearly stated that this is not going to happen, so I should take my own advice and shut up. Dread and his admins do, of course, have the final say on these matters and we should all respect that. *Respects, yo*

[188Eternal]

Aren't private messages and profile comments good enough for you?!? 0_o

I mean, the subject is just way too personal, and it is easily possible for a bunch of kids to get away with liying about their true age, like many others have already pointed out.

I vote for the Admins to just lock this.

[T-Bird]

Why is there still discussion here? The topic is not open for debate - this is a Sonic the Hedgehog forum and not a place to explore sexuality because it is not fair on our younger members and the system has been abused in the past.

End of.

T

[Roarey Raccoon]

Sex topics provide the sort of content that we'd rather not have here on the SSMB. There are plenty of places to discuss such issues on the internet and we're not okay with exposing younger members here to that sort of subject matter. It is a generally better policy for the atmosphere of the forums and the suitability of its contents to keep sex topics off the forums. This will not change, considering the nature of sexual discussions on here at the time they were allowed. For as long as this fandom is at such a stage of immaturity as to get into heated arguments over character eye colour and voice actors, sex will be off the forums XP.

locked