Techdirt. Stories filed under "cartoons"

Techdirt. Stories filed under "cartoons" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "cartoons"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:34:00 PDT Joke's On You, Facebook - That's A Testicle Tree Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120913/10023820372/jokes-you-facebook-thats-testicle-tree.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120913/10023820372/jokes-you-facebook-thats-testicle-tree.shtml banning photos of women breast feeding their babies, under a strict "no female boobs" rule. Rather than learn from that mess, and realize that not all images of breasts are created equal, Facebook seems to have become even more ridiculous over time. Witness the hilarity of the situation that The New Yorker's cartoonists were put in -- when Facebook blocked one of their cartoons by Mick Stevens:

As a joke (though some people took it seriously), they had Stevens "redraw" the cartoon with clothing. I won't post it here and ruin the joke (or, non-joke, which makes it a joke) but go check it out. In trying to figure out why the original got blocked, they were eventually directed to some "rules" concerning images, noting that on the forbidden (fruit) list where:

Naked 'private parts' including female nipple bulges and naked butt cracks; male nipples are ok.

Yeah. So, as the folks at The New Yorker pointed out, it appears that this (zoomed in) part of their image (according to Facebook, NSFW, but according to pretty much everyone else, probably fine) is "the problem":

Meanwhile, this other part meets Facebook's okay-o-meter:

The good folks at The New Yorker argue that they really don't think the first pair of dots above legitimately fit the criteria for being banned, but they've chosen not to fight it:

Now, we could have fought the ruling on technical grounds, because, let’s face it, these female nips, by any stretch of the imagination, no matter how prurient, are just not bulging...

But rather than fight the battle of the bulge, let’s point out, that while female nipple bulging, or F.N.B. for short, is a potentially serious problem, with as yet no known cure, it also has no known victims. That is, unless you count freedom of expression, common sense, and humor.

Now, this is all just a bit of a humorous reaction* to silly overblocking by Facebook, but it does actually raise some legitimate concerns, considering how central Facebook has become in our lives. For many people it is a key platform for expression, and as such, it takes on greater meaning and importance. Yes, as a private company, they have every right to set the rules that they want to set, no matter how arbitrary or asinine. But, you begin to worry about so many people relying on Facebook as the most important way in which they communicate, when they can run afoul of such obviously ridiculous "rules."

* Random aside: a few months back I got to see three New Yorker cartoonists host a discussion/speed drawing contest, in which they talked about what life was like as a New Yorker cartoonist, and it may have been one of the funniest things I've ever seen -- by far beating most, if not all, of the stand up comedy acts I've seen over the years. If you ever have a chance to see these guys speak, do not miss it.

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]]> nipple-bulge http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20120913/10023820372 Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:19:00 PDT FCC Asked To Block New Cartoon Series... For The Children Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100914/23273011019.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100914/23273011019.shtml Benny6Toes alerts us to the news that a children's advocacy group is demanding that the FCC block a new cartoon show that uses a character from shoe company Skechers' advertisements as a part of the series, claiming that it would be the equivalent of a 30-minute commercial, which is against the requirements of the Children's Television Act. The group claims: "the show could pave the way for Ronald McDonald, Tony the Tiger and other iconic cartoon pitchmen to become stars of their own series."

Indeed, but as Benny notes: "After all, what are cartoons for Transformers, G.I. Joe (does that show my age?), Pokemon, or dozens of other kids shows for if not to sell related merchandise?" Saturday morning cartoons have been filled with half-hour long "advertisements" for merchandise for years. More to the point, Benny points out that isn't this really something for parents to decide, rather than the FCC:

But here's a better question: even if it is a 30 minute advertisement, should the FCC (or any government agency) be able to stop a show for that reason? Soap operas, though not targeted at children, were sponsored in whole by specific companies when they originally debuted on radio. That's why they're called, "soap operas."

Shouldn't the parents be able to say, "no," to their children?

Yes, people get annoyed at how commercial children's programming has become, but is that really the FCC's job to deal with it?

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]]> gi-joe? http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100914/23273011019 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 03:26:40 PDT Newspaper Gets Around Photography Ban At Football Event With Cartoon Illustrations Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100809/16233110561.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100809/16233110561.shtml limit how journalists and photographers can report on their games, and have even covered cheeky attempts to get around such restrictions by having reporters cover events from home while watching on TV. Now, a whole bunch of you have been sending in variations on a story in the UK, where the Southampton football team apparently has decided to ban photojournalists from taking images of matches, instead telling newspapers they need to buy photos from the team's "official" photographer.

Thankfully, some of the newspapers covering the latest match felt that was ridiculous, and chose to respond in some rather creative ways. The Plymouth Herald, who was covering the visiting team, decided to employ someone to draw cartoons of key moments in the match, rather than using the official photographs:

Perhaps even more amusing? Some reports point out that The Sun covered the game by carefully making sure to never mention Southampton or any of its players. Well played.

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