New Rule: DNI (Do Not Interact) Lists are Banned

[No one]

Alright thanks for answering that!

[morax]

i am just not quite sure why this was so important to deal with instead of other issues that are currently a greater harm to the site.

[×Seven of Nine×]

i am just not quite sure why this was so important to deal with instead of other issues that are currently a greater harm to the site.

Because a child's privacy outweighs site matters and if children are putting their whole existence onto carrds like that, it calls for a response.
Other people's privacy matters just as equally too.

[002]

I'm totally late here, but after reading all of the posts here, I have a few things running through my head that I would like to share.

Chickensmoothie has VERY DIFFERENT goals for their site and community compared to other forums and video games and whatnot, their priority is safety and the protection of the userbase and community considering it contains users of such diverse backgrounds and interests. This rule only makes sense.

This website isn't responsible for your mental health, YOU are responsible for taking care of yourself. As someone that explores more gaming and forum communities outside of Chickensmoothie, I can attest that you need to look out for yourself and be an advocate for yourself, there are insane and harmful people out there and I deal with them on a daily basis despite me not being "chronically online". I explore various areas of the internet. We need to be realistic and understand that the internet, in general, is not a replacement for therapy or professional help, you can not expect this website to totally cater to your preferences, and you can not expect it to change for your utmost comfort. Comfort is defined differently by everyone.

With that being said, if you are uncomfortable moving forward because of this rule, you should find more efficient ways to protect yourself from internet trolls even if you haven't encountered them yet on CS, because a DNI is not effective nor efficient, it's just a trend that is meant to make you feel safer despite it being less of a shield and more of a fad. The staff are right and I understand where they are coming from, these lists are a false sense of security and I say that with utmost confidence.

I'm an advocate for mental health and I struggle with it myself, I wasn't able to seek professional help until I was no longer dependant on my parents and became a legal adult in my state. One thing I've learned is that you can NOT depend on someone and/or something else to protect you. With that being said, if you depended on DNI lists to protect you from triggering content and people that make you uncomfortable, I hope you can move forward from this positively and find something else that will actually protect you. Shield your hearts, because a video game and forum won't do it for you.

This message is totally up for discussion if you need clarification on my perspective here, or if you have something to say, I'm always up for a civil discussion.

[everlore]

im a little confused about what a DNI list would look like on here? ive only seen DNIs for minors on tumblr, or DNIs for racists or homophobes on instagram posts.

[mecha sonic]

thought about it.
i doubt cs will revoke this rule anyway.
i don't feel it's worth saying something when nothing will happen.

[Lanayru]

I stand by saying I don't care for DNI lists but I do have a concern - I've seen several users with a variation of "DNI if you have flashing gifs on your profile" due to photosensitivity, which I feel is ABSOLUTELY reasonable. Would these users still be allowed to request this? I can imagine seeking out users with flashy gifs in profile to block them would MORESO put them in harm's way due to exposure to the material. I do not personally struggle w any photosensitivity issues so anyone who does is extremely welcome to chime in or correct me.

[002]

I stand by saying I don't care for DNI lists but I do have a concern - I've seen several users with a variation of "DNI if you have flashing gifs on your profile" due to photosensitivity, which I feel is ABSOLUTELY reasonable. Would these users still be allowed to request this? I can imagine seeking out users with flashy gifs in profile would MORESO put them in harm's way due to exposure to the material. I do not personally struggle w any photosensitivity issues so anyone who does is extremely welcome to chime in or correct me.

Oh man, I totally have to agree with you, however, there are many absolutely reasonable and valid DNI subjects. The best course of action for this person would be to disable avatars/signatures and images if their case is severe, or get an extension that disables GIFs from auto-playing (these exist).

[Aaron✦]

I stand by saying I don't care for DNI lists but I do have a concern - I've seen several users with a variation of "DNI if you have flashing gifs on your profile" due to photosensitivity, which I feel is ABSOLUTELY reasonable. Would these users still be allowed to request this? I can imagine seeking out users with flashy gifs in profile to block them would MORESO put them in harm's way due to exposure to the material. I do not personally struggle w any photosensitivity issues so anyone who does is extremely welcome to chime in or correct me.

Images that effect photosensitive users are against the CS rules and aren't allowed to be posted, so the correct course of action would be to report a user with images like that so that we can remove them. I would encourage non-photosensitive users to report these if they see them as well so that we can help keep photosensitive users safe. There is therefore no reason to have a DNI for this since it is just rule-breaking anyway.

[[dys]functional]

"-DNI lists often contain inappropriate content that we do not want to expose our young userbase to, as well as political statements or anti-statements that break our established site rules. We often need to ask users to modify or remove currently posted/linked DNI lists due to these rules."

I'm actually really glad to see this new rule set in place! I know I'm not online/active nearly as much as I used to be, but I've seen a lot of this (especially inappropriate and/or disturbing content) recently and it's become worrisome. Since this site's target audience are minors, I feel that it is an appropriate course of action to ban lists such as these to minimize the exposure of harmful content.

I'm aware there is a divide regarding the issue here; I've been reading through the thread to try to see multiple sides feelings. However, my agreement still stands that overall; (with the best interest of young & vulnerable users in mind) it is a necessary safety measure.