THE FLICK UNIVERSE HAS YOU BLOCKED!! NO ONE CAN SEE YOUR STUFF!!! Revolt Over Flickr Image Restrictions in developed countires-its not just China-GERMANY AND S. KOREANS OUTRAGED!!!!

THE FLICK UNIVERSE HAS YOU BLOCKED!! NO ONE CAN SEE YOUR STUFF!!! Revolt Over Flickr Image Restrictions in developed countires-its not just China-GERMANY AND S. KOREANS OUTRAGED!!!!, originally uploaded by gailorenstein.

THE FLICK UNIVERSE HAS YOU BLOCKED!! NO ONE CAN SEE YOUR STUFF!!! Revolt Over Flickr Image Restrictions in developed countires-its not just China-GERMANY AND S. KOREANS OUTRAGED!!!!

pHOTO-gAIL oRENSTEIN
It was supposed to be simple. Riding on the success of its U.S.-based photo-sharing site Flickr, Yahoo rolled out country-specific versions of its site in order to bring its popular photo-sharing community to users in their native languages.

But when the sites went live in Germany, Korea and Singapore, something was wrong. Users in these countries saw a different version of Flickr--one where the content filters were locked on "Safe," preventing access to content flagged "Moderate" or "Restricted."

There was no warning on the company blog. No message to the users. And now what seemed like a straightforward move towards expansion has snowballed into one of the largest user revolts the site has ever seen.

Most of the ire has stemmed from German users. With photos displaying everything from artistic nudes to historic Nazi memorabilia getting the axe, its users have been the most vocal about Flickr's recent move. But what started as puzzlement quickly turned to confusion and anger.

The site has fairly clear guidelines as to how content is filtered. So why weren't its users (many of whom are consenting adults) allowed to control the filters? For the first day this question remained unanswered from the site's management.

"I just have carefully read [the Flickr ToS], line by line," remarked a Flickr user in an online forum, "and I found no hint about what may cause this to happen. I can only assume that there is someone running mad. And I demand a clear and lucid explanation by Flickr staff."

Meanwhile, the revolt went into full swing as German users began uploading literally thousands of anti-Flickr pictures over the course of the first 24 hours. As pictures continued to pop up under the tag "thinkflickrthink," uneasiness started to set in amongst the users. How long was Flickr going to go without addressing this?

News came on Wednesday by way of a statement from Flickr's cofounder Stewart Butterfield: "We really apologize for the delay in responding to these threads. ... We have absolutely no intention of censoring the content on the community's behalf. It is always been our intention that Flickr members participate to whatever extent they want and are as free as possible create their own experience.."

Although this statement showed that the issue was finally on Flickr's radar, German users still felt that the site's actions lacked a motive. It wasn't until Thursday that Community Manager, Heather Champ went on the record to state Flickr's case: "The central problem is that Germany has much more stringent age verification laws than its neighboring countries," she said. She went on to describe the risks of breaking these laws as "much harsher penalties, including jail time, for those with direct responsibility."

Even if Flickr's moves stem from legal concerns, its cardinal sin has less to do with legality and more with communication. Limiting the expression of your users is something that could be feasibly tolerated--given that a temporary timetable and viable reason are cited. But when the user base is left in the dark, and it happens to be a large, well-connected community equipped with the ability to broadcast its message quickly, the stakes are raised. When Digg faced a similar scenario in May, it was Kevin Rose's address to the users that helped quell the HD DVD rebellion. In the case of Flickr, this same type of transparency will need to be employed to prevent its community from scattering.

Flickr officials have not responded to Wired News' requests for comment, other than to point out the statements they have already made on the public forums.

Photo: vanson
sOURCE; blog.wired.com/business/2007/06/german_users_in.html

Uploaded by gailorenstein on 17 Jun 07, 2.45AM PDT.
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As the 6,000 years old Chinese Saying:

Evils Would Not Win Over Righteous!!

Rock Will Not Win Over Water!!

&

The Western Saying

Without Adam & Without Eve

There are No Men & Women Today!!


Love....Peace...

Love....Peace....

Love...Peace....

Water is 75% in Our Body!!

Water is 75% on Earth!!

When Gail & those individual flickr site have been deleted, suspended or blocked.. That is just few individual.

However, with the recent events & the eCommunity era Informations flow like water, then one shall see the effect of it.

The Kuwait War is not won by military actions, it is won by the Informations war & High Tech Star War!!