because donuts make us sad. wow, 1000 members!
** As of January 1, 2009, Ning will no longer support adult social networks **
The End of the Red Light District
Posted by Gina Bianchini on December 1, 2008 – 9:18 pm
As individuals and as a service, we stand for the freedom to create your own social networks for anything. We believe that people should be able to set their own social norms and Ning, as a broad-based service, is designed to respect many different perspectives and enable them to co-exist seamlessly and effortlessly.
We architected Ning so many diverse types of social networks could create their own social space and this is still one of the proudest achievements we have of the service today. It’s from this foundation that we’ve seen Ning grow to hundreds of thousands of social networks and millions of users around the world.
Therefore, the decision we’re announcing today to discontinue our Red Light District is a tough one. However, from a practical perspective, this difficult decision is the right one.
As of January 1, 2009, we’ll no longer support adult social networks on the Ning Platform.
We’re not discontinuing the Red Light District because we no longer believe in the freedom to create your own social network for anything as long as it’s legal. We do. Practically though, supporting adult networks no longer makes sense. Here is what we’ve seen in practice to date with respect to adult social networks on Ning:
* Adult social networks don’t pull their own weight. Specifically, they require other social networks to work harder because they don’t generate enough advertising or premium service revenue to cover their costs. Plus, our ad partners aren’t big fans of the adult networks and therefore require us to identify adult networks or risk our healthy advertising revenue. We don’t want to be in the policing business and, unchecked, that’s where this is heading.
* By having legal adult social networks on Ning, we’ve seen a rise in volume of illegal adult social networks. We are always going to do the right thing as it pertains to social networks that are illegal or violate our Terms of Service. That’s non-negotiable. However, the time involved in reporting and assisting the authorities on illegal adult social networks is simply too time and cost intensive for the benefits derived by having adult social networks on Ning.
* Adult social networks on Ning receive a disproportionate number of DMCA take down notices creating additional work for our team. We respect intellectual property rights and comply with the DMCA. Compared to our other social networks on the Ning Platform, the additional work created by adult networks alleged to have violated the copyrights of others is enough for us to discontinue adult networks in favor of investing time and energy in growing the Ning Platform from here.
Our focus is on creating incredibly simple, beautiful software and rapidly adding new features for the benefit of all. We can’t do that as efficiently as we need to and still support adult networks on Ning. It’s that simple. We’ve discussed and debated various ways to keep adult networks on Ning operating, including requiring them to be private networks or partnering up with someone who can make them self-sustaining. While there are strong cases to be made for either one of these solutions, they don’t enable us to focus our team on the most efficient execution of the Ning Platform possible.
This is important in all circumstances, but in this recession we have to be relentless in providing the most compelling service in the most efficient way possible. Therefore, from a practical perspective, the only practical answer we see is a clear elimination of adult networks from the Ning Platform altogether.
As part of this transition, we are exploring ways for adult networks that will no longer be available on Ning to export their content in addition to their members, which is readily available today from the Manage Members page. As we make progress on the specifics, we’ll communicate them in the Ning Help Center.
Again, this was not an easy decision and we did not make it on philosophical grounds. We made it on a purely practical one. For those of you who created and worked hard on your adult network, we appreciate your work and dedication and wish there were a different answer.
We’re happy to answer any questions you have in the Ning Help Center.
http://blog.ning.com/2008/12/the-end-of-the-red-light-district.html
Posted by Gina Bianchini on December 1, 2008 – 9:18 pm
As individuals and as a service, we stand for the freedom to create your own social networks for anything. We believe that people should be able to set their own social norms and Ning, as a broad-based service, is designed to respect many different perspectives and enable them to co-exist seamlessly and effortlessly.
We architected Ning so many diverse types of social networks could create their own social space and this is still one of the proudest achievements we have of the service today. It’s from this foundation that we’ve seen Ning grow to hundreds of thousands of social networks and millions of users around the world.
Therefore, the decision we’re announcing today to discontinue our Red Light District is a tough one. However, from a practical perspective, this difficult decision is the right one.
As of January 1, 2009, we’ll no longer support adult social networks on the Ning Platform.
We’re not discontinuing the Red Light District because we no longer believe in the freedom to create your own social network for anything as long as it’s legal. We do. Practically though, supporting adult networks no longer makes sense. Here is what we’ve seen in practice to date with respect to adult social networks on Ning:
* Adult social networks don’t pull their own weight. Specifically, they require other social networks to work harder because they don’t generate enough advertising or premium service revenue to cover their costs. Plus, our ad partners aren’t big fans of the adult networks and therefore require us to identify adult networks or risk our healthy advertising revenue. We don’t want to be in the policing business and, unchecked, that’s where this is heading.
* By having legal adult social networks on Ning, we’ve seen a rise in volume of illegal adult social networks. We are always going to do the right thing as it pertains to social networks that are illegal or violate our Terms of Service. That’s non-negotiable. However, the time involved in reporting and assisting the authorities on illegal adult social networks is simply too time and cost intensive for the benefits derived by having adult social networks on Ning.
* Adult social networks on Ning receive a disproportionate number of DMCA take down notices creating additional work for our team. We respect intellectual property rights and comply with the DMCA. Compared to our other social networks on the Ning Platform, the additional work created by adult networks alleged to have violated the copyrights of others is enough for us to discontinue adult networks in favor of investing time and energy in growing the Ning Platform from here.
Our focus is on creating incredibly simple, beautiful software and rapidly adding new features for the benefit of all. We can’t do that as efficiently as we need to and still support adult networks on Ning. It’s that simple. We’ve discussed and debated various ways to keep adult networks on Ning operating, including requiring them to be private networks or partnering up with someone who can make them self-sustaining. While there are strong cases to be made for either one of these solutions, they don’t enable us to focus our team on the most efficient execution of the Ning Platform possible.
This is important in all circumstances, but in this recession we have to be relentless in providing the most compelling service in the most efficient way possible. Therefore, from a practical perspective, the only practical answer we see is a clear elimination of adult networks from the Ning Platform altogether.
As part of this transition, we are exploring ways for adult networks that will no longer be available on Ning to export their content in addition to their members, which is readily available today from the Manage Members page. As we make progress on the specifics, we’ll communicate them in the Ning Help Center.
Again, this was not an easy decision and we did not make it on philosophical grounds. We made it on a purely practical one. For those of you who created and worked hard on your adult network, we appreciate your work and dedication and wish there were a different answer.
We’re happy to answer any questions you have in the Ning Help Center.
http://blog.ning.com/2008/12/the-end-of-the-red-light-district.html
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by wildapache on -
i've sent them a note asking that very question, but i think Ms.D should do the same
as the Ning people are not as forthcoming with us lowly admins as they are with
network creators.
i just wanted to let you guys know what was going on.
(and as soon as i get a response from Ning, i'll let you know)
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Permalink Reply by Papared on -
I posted a response on the blog, as well, I don't know how likely it is that I'll get an answer.
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Permalink Reply by MeShell on -
It means that its a good thing the new team is working so fast to fix tribe.net... I hope you guys get your money back.. that would suck.
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Permalink Reply by QuixoticRepose on -
Amen to MeShell and to Warren...And I will say that I thank all the Admins for all their hard work getting this site up and running. Though I do understand the decision, this was supposed to be a safe haven for tribe members and from the troubles we were all having there.
I am no perv, but I am no prude either. I am an expressive and open woman who embraces anyone who is respectful of me, my innate loyalties and my own private interests. I do not serve to judge or intrude on anyone, but I cannot sit by without saying this much: It was my understanding that Tribe, the original, was started to encourage those who believe in the Burning Man concept of inclusiveness, understanding and peace...The firm belief that we can indeed come to the center and encourage our diversity...That we have enough in common in our desires for the prosperity of mankind as to find within us the brotherhood necessary to achieve amazing things. That broad term means to leave preconceived notions at the door, or not to cross the threshold at all. The appeal for me, as a virgin to that wonderful festival, was that I had found a place I could feel at home, armor down, with all that I am. Here, and my apologies to anyone I may offend by saying this, I've been made to feel dirty and that is just not a warm welcoming feeling. So, I will use this site to visit with those I don't have contact with on tribe, but it will be the vanilla version of me.
Much love, peace and good will to all......See ya on the playground.
~T~
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Permalink Reply by wildapache on
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QR,
either i'm misunderstanding what you are trying to say here, or you are
misunderstanding the OP,
which has nothing to do with what any admin on Tribe Refugees
wants or doesn't want to implement or control.
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Permalink Reply by QuixoticRepose on
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No WA...I do understand and I'm speaking in the transitional sense in this particular case as I've been a member of various Ning networks focused on photography, writing, etc...the arts in general, for years. I believe I began as a member of a network here sometime in maybe 2005ish? The point is, there have been problems in this arena all along in one way, shape or form. As long as the network is totally vanilla, there are pretty much no kinks that I've experienced, but cross that fine line and bam, the problems begin...and while I know that there is no "perfect" social network building standard, some are much better than others.
I am not referring to any opinion of anyone HERE on Refugees, nor am I implying that this is a decision of those same folk. On the contrary, I applaud the efforts because it is a huge challenge to overcome all the organizing and monitoring and trouble-shooting that it necessitates.
I apologize if there was a misunderstanding here. I have just grown tired of the struggle and a bit leery of the promises made.
Forgive me if I sound cynical. My opinion has been tainted by past experiences. The comments were not, I repeat, NOT directed to those who gave birth to this network.
There are a couple of other blossoming supposedly network friendly sites that I am checking out...a few actually, but two that come to mind are Crowdvine and PeopleAggregator.
So, with tail tucked, I bid adieu.
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Permalink Reply by wildapache on
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no need for an apology, i just didn't understand what you were saying.
and i still kinda don't but that's okay.
for the record i think what Ning is doing is bullshit.
shame on them.
and shame on Google AdSense as well.
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Permalink Reply by Loki Freign on -
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Permalink Reply by Patrick Brown on
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Permalink Reply by cowboyangel on -
I would have thought that adult sites were bigger income generators than the non-adult sites.Ning brought up copyright infringement? I wonder how much "other" adult ning sites have contributed to this move. I don't ever buy stuff that's advertised here or anywhere on social networks. Compelling content will bring traffic and that's why I've always advocated for it. I thought this place was on its way in that regard, but now it looks like it will be taken down. Tribe, Burning Man tribe, is an idiot's paradise. (I included myself in that category sometime, so don't think I'm being elitist here) yet, I've called for and tried to model a different kind of creativity myself. Others exhibit it there, but mostly it's a doodoo palace. There are other things to do besides social networks...like making art. I'm going there. I hope triberefugees can be saved. There are some great posters, poets and photographers here.
Another thing. I wonder, just wonder, how much religious beliefs have entered into this ning decision. The religious right is on the warpath to take over broadcasting outlets of all kinds, to push their evangelistic agenda. Networks like this are not immune to this influence. Let's hope that ain't so here.
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Permalink Reply by wildapache on
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Google AdSense is what influenced the Ning decision.
Tribe had to bring back the "mature flag" because of it
http://blog.tribe.net/thread/2615e04f-0e9d-4772-9ba6-7fa0c8611467
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