PLAYGIRL'S PROHIBITION : THE RULES ARE THE SAME FOR EVERYBODY ? REALLY ?....

[kerso]

I use to make 1/6 scale Playgirl vintage magazines (from 1975/1978. The years are important because of the way men were photographed : After these years, it become more provocative). In order not to shock the sensibility of certain adults/ young users, every photos were censored : the thumbnail AND the others photos. Etsy deactivated all of the 1/6 scale Playgirl magazines. The reason given by a shop manager was that Playgirl and Playboy are both prohibited on Etsy because they are both considered like pornography. Etsy prohibits pornography.                                                                               I've tried to explain that it was not pornography : This shop manager explained that Etsy's rules were the same for everybody.                                     Last week, I saw 1/6 scale Playgirl magazines on Etsy. I've made a report : nothing. I've made a second report : nothing. I've made a third report : nothing. I've made a fourth report today. This is not the first time I make a report : Etsy is quite fast to react. Not this time. Why ?                                  I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE RULES ARE NOT THE SAME FOR EVERYBODY.

[anythinggoeshere]

Those users have not been caught yet and you have.  Keep reporting if you wish and maybe they will be.

[kerso]

I do not complain "because I've been caught". It's so childish... But would you accept to see your items prohibited in your shop and authorized in another shop ? It is not the story of an unfortunate seller who's crying : I'm a seller who ask to be treated the same way than the other sellers. A listing is prohibited in my shop : OK... but it's also prohibited everywhere else on Etsy. It's just normal.

[howtobooksandmore]

I do not complain "because I've been caught". It's so childish...   But you are.  You were caught.  The others will have their turn to be caught.  There are so many illegal items, Etsy can't catch them all at once and new ones are put up faster than Etsy can take them down.  You can help make their time come that much faster by reporting them to Playgirl but that would be "childish" and probably backfire on you.

[anythinggoeshere]

@kerso Are you worried about copyright infringement or counterfeit product claims too?

[kerso]

That's why I only work on vintage 70' magazines. It was miniatures for dolls... Playgirl has never complain about these mini magazines.

[howtobooksandmore]

@kerso Playgirl has never complained about these magazines because they haven't run across your shop yet and reported it and Etsy hasn't caught you in their get rid of pornography campaign or no one has complained yet.  But 1970s magazines are still under copyright and reproducing them in any form is not legal.  Sorry.

[StonesAndLeatherUS]

This is nothing. Etsy has been removing them for years.

[EnergyPeace]

YOu know, one can wonder. 

I get that people say they aren't allowed but I have seen awful things on Etsy, that I consider porn. How can they say they don't allow porn when they have rules for "adult" items and how the first photo should be covered? 

But Etsy doesn't use common sense, it is more hit and miss here.

[howtobooksandmore]

Etsy has very detailed rules about what they consider pornography.  Bare breasts are considered okay.  Nudity is considered okay.  Depicting sex acts isn't.  In between that, I have no idea because I have too many other things to do to try and figure it out.  What you consider porn is totally irrelevant to Etsy.

[kerso]

Thank you ! I know that items for adults are a sensitive subject. I understand that. I've seen harness for women, and many stuff like that... The thumbnails are not really censored in most of the time. It's curious to see that Etsy consider that women can wear harness but are not allowed to read Playgirl magazines.... Hem. It's just a point of view...

[EclecticanaFrance]

Totally agree. 
How the Hell can they prohibit the sale of tame 1950s / 1960s magazines and yet still allow the sale of realistic erect male member dildos complete with videos of them ‘squirting’ an ejaculate-like substance, bottom beads (ETSY thinks p*nis, a*al and s*men are ‘bad words’) and prosthetic fisting appliances. If anything is pornographic -these items, manufactured solely as aids for sexual intercourse - are. 
And while we’re on the subject, why do ETSY slap prohibitions on female nipples and yet allow images of bare chested men? Smacks of sexual discrimination to me.
No wonder so many people are drifting back to eBay where the only thing they have to worry about is if their items are vaguely anti-semitic. 

[EclecticanaFrance]

Whilst answering another response I discovered the ETSY Zogbots don’t like the words P*NIS, AN*L or S*MEN, but don’t have a problem with the word DILDO. 

So they have a problem with actual science-based descriptors, but not with words that describe artificial p*nises…

Completely arbitrary.

[Marmalady]

" Last week, I saw 1/6 scale Playgirl magazines on Etsy. I've made a report : nothing. I've made a second report : nothing. I've made a third report : nothing. I've made a fourth report today. This is not the first time I make a report : Etsy is quite fast to react. Not this time. Why ?    "

If you have seen action on reports in less than a week, you have been very very lucky.
It can often be months before a reported item is taken down.
They have a huge backlog of reports to work through, and I can't imagine many will get to the top of the pile in a week.

[kerso]

I do make a lot of reports : last time, it took 24/48h... it was last year. For a problem of copyright. It seems to take more time now. Thank you for the information.

[Marmalady]

Ahh yes
Etsy have to act on copyright reports (if correctly submitted via DMCA ), so their response will be quicker

But for reports about items that are not allowed on Etsy, it can take weeks, months or inifinty to see any action.

[kerso]

for HOWTOBOOKSANDMORE : No, no : Nudity is not completely allowed... It's more complicated. Not the genital parts. Not the anus. It is written on Etsy policy. That's the problem with Playgirl : If a man is naked, with frontal nudity : You see the genitals parts. Therefore, in this case, nudity is not allowed because it is considered like pornography. I am wrong ? But, I do not complain about the policy of Etsy concerning nudity. I just do not understand why Etsy does not deactivate prohibited items.

[nineteen27]

 I just do not understand why Etsy does not deactivate prohibited items.

they do.

they deactivated yours.

[LastCentury]

I had a vintage edition of Somerset Maugham's novel Of Human Bondage in my other shop. One day I noticed it was shadowbanned and did not show up in searches for the author, within my shop or general search. Neither did any other seller's listing of the same book other editions / publications... Anyhow, after much to & fro with support, I finally got a real response, that they would remove the shadowban on my book IF I removed the nudity on image 5 or 6... there was an illustration of a nude woman posing for an art class (3/4 rear view no bits on view). In the meantime, all the other sellers' editions were back in normal search... (they owe me). I couldn't be bothered to fight it any longer and removed the image even though I knew it was an artistic nude, and permissible by etsy standards! 

Sorry for the ramble, but long story short: Etsy is a hypocrite with their standards. Publish one thing and act differently with little relevance.

[kerso]

I'm very surprised to see your message. I've read to policy of Etsy many times : drawings like the one that you describe are allowed. I try to understand the policy of Etsy but it seems that sometimes, items are shadowbanned or deactivated without a real reason. I'm not able to say if I was a poor victim or if it was a my mistake. Because on Etsy policy, you can find the way that mature items have to be sold. I respected everything and more. But I didn't know that Playgirl and Playboy are prohibited on Etsy. I thought it was just nudity. There is a description of what porn is according Etsy on "the Rules of the House" : Vintage Playgirl are really soft... comparing with all the photos of harness that I've seen on Etsy. I'm sorry but It's difficult to understand that someone like Robert Redford or Jane Fonda  were on the cover of Playgirl which is the only feminist, gay friendly magazine of the 70', and now Etsy says that this magazine is pornographic.

[LaRenaissanceGirl]

Reporting is of course an option. But if you find that you’re spending large chunks of your day reporting listings… I don’t know, it just seems like such a huge waste of time to me. There are so many other things I would rather do with my time than volunteer police Etsy. But to each his own...

[kerso]

Thank you, I do not spend all my time like this. I was surprised to see this 1/6 scale Playgirl magazine because it's the only item relating to Playgirl on Etsy. Everything else has disappeared. I know what I'm talking about... I hope that nobody will receive a mail like this : Etsy telling you are selling pornography. It is very insulting. I consider that there is a gap between nudity and pornography. But I've seen that the Michelangelo's David was considered as a porn statue by some people... Should I be proud to share a common point with Michelangelo ?... with my 1/6 scale vintage Playgirl magazines... it sounds quite (very) ridiculous.

[FallenAngelBrass]

This is an age old woe here on Etsy.  It comes up in the forum from time to time and has always been a periodic topic of concern.  Etsy's "Mature Listings" policy is not evenly enforced and it's not even completely clear.  Etsy does what Etsy does.   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

Etsy deactivated my cute little black pinecone charms and then took 4 months to pronounce them "not counterfeit."  I know that it's unnerving when the Bots pounce on your shop and take out beloved listings without a care in the world.  There's no human to talk to, there's just that cold hearted email (if you're even lucky enough to get that.)  The audacity! (Counterfeit pinecones? REALLY?)

Etsy does what Etsy does. 

[kerso]

I understand : "counterfeit pinecones"... yep. During the exchange with Etsy, I often ask myself if I was "talking" with a human. It's really weird. I posted  a few time ago a question on this forum : "is it allowed to sell Playgirl or Playboy on Etsy". I had two opposite answers. Therefore I also think that Etsy policy concerning "mature content" is not clear... and not just for me.

[JDTotesnDolls]

The magaazines are rated as pornographic.  Etsy is not going to take the time to say your items are fine while others are not.  They prefer across the board so they do not have to police.

IF there are other sellers selling similar items.  They will get caught eventually  Cannot go by what others do.  Etsy caught yours and it doesn't matter that it was a miniature.  It is not allowed so Etsy removed it.