GCU Forum - Risque material on GCU

Kathy_131728

Gold Member
artist

Posts: 610

Re: Risque material on GCU
Reply #15 - Dec 19^th, 2007, 5:23pm

I started this thread, so I guess it is time for me to comment on all the comments it has received. I am really saddened to see that so many people have said what others have interpreted as hurtful comments on here. However, I too interpreted some comments on here as hurtful. Like the comments about parenting--I do not think this is the place to discuss issues like parenting. I have also been saddened to see that a number of people have mentioned what is next gays and lesbians? Why would anyone suggest this? I am not prejudiced in any way against any group, and find these comments very hurtful. It is not about prejudice, it is about being able to CHOOSE whether or not I see this type of content. When you first log on to GCU you see a little girl, you would never expect to see sexual content on the next page. We have PG, R and x rated movies so people know what to expect. There was no way for me to know to expect such content.

I am sorry that so much controversy was caused by my post. I think we should all just agree to disagree; and try to be respectful to one another. Obviously, GCU management supports this content, so our discussion really is immaterial because they are free to do as they choose. It would have been nice to have had a filter before this content was posted.

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Kathy Henis Greeting Cards ©:
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Mindy

GCU Administrator
Community Manager

Posts: 6566
Gender: female

Re: Risque material on GCU
Reply #16 - Dec 20^th, 2007, 3:05pm

Hello all,
Many sides to this issue. First, our apologies for any offense on the abruptness of these images appearing on high traffic pages. It certainly was not our intent to shock or offend anyone. I'll admit the cart got a bit before the horse.

There are two issues here and parenting philosophy is not one of them:
Should GCUniverse carry this kind of content?
and
How should this Adult Content be managed?

Should GCUniverse carry this kind of content?
The answer is yes. GCU will offer adult content cards however our intent is to continue to approve cards that we deem in good taste. It is very subjective. As with most adult content there is a range, ours will be between "PG", "PG-13" and "R" rated nature of life.

There is demand for this art that we believe has a niche on GCU. "Sexy" this and "Sexy" that continues to top our searches and we've been turning away half of that traffic. They are not finding what they're looking for. We believe we can capture much of those sales. In an effort to do so, we specifically put a request out to a handful of artists to create cards for this purpose.

Shoppers are looking for and appreciate all sorts of cards - flowers, angels, babies' toes, welsh corgis, Christmas hot dogs and SO much more and yes, sexy half naked bodies.

How should this Adult Content be managed?
With Adult Content getting the green light this becomes quite important. For the time being, we have done the following. As we move forward and learn more we will consider additional solutions.

In the card review process, when appropriate, GCU will mark cards as "Adult Content" (nudity, profanity, sexual , etc.). These Adult Content cards will:
a) not display in Card Widgets
b) not display on Newest, Most Popular, Most Favorited, Best Sellers, Bulk Sellers page views
c) only be allowed in "Sexy" or "Adult" categories
d) not be profiled so will not be suggested in email reminders
e) show up in search if the content is what the shopper is looking for

I assure you that although any form of nudity may not be your cup of tea, we are committed to managing the content appropriately and accepting images that are artful and tasteful. At any time, with any image, if you think we've stepped over the line please let us know. This is a learning process for all of us but we believe there is room here for all types of cards - religious - gay and lesbian - different languages, etc.

Mindy

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Linda_132742 Gold Member artist Posts: 1796	Re: Risque material on GCU Reply #17 - Dec 20^th, 2007, 5:04pm Nicely done and well stated, Mindy, thank you.
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_131847

GCU Newbies
artist

Posts: 50

Re: Risque material on GCU
Reply #18 - Dec 20^th, 2007, 6:09pm

Quote from Kathy_131728 on Dec 19^th, 2007, 7:31am:

I am concerned about this type of material being on GCU.
I know there is always the argument that we don't want to sensor art, but GCU is a business above anything else. I do not think having art this risky is good for business .

Thank You Mindy, for a second I though this was going to turn into a witch's hunt.

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Ines Miller Fine Artist - Greeting Card Store:
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Kathy_131728

Gold Member
artist

Posts: 610

Re: Risque material on GCU
Reply #19 - Dec 20^th, 2007, 7:22pm

You quoted me and then suggested I was on a witch's hunt.
The definition of a witch's hunt is an attack on people who do not believe what you do.
If you were reading my posts, you would have seen I suggested we all agree to disagree. I am feeling very unwelcome on GCU. Please please please stop attacking me. I have not done anything to you.

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Kathy Henis Greeting Cards ©:
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/KathyHenis

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DENISE_132110 Gold Member artist Posts: 769	Re: Risque material on GCU Reply #20 - Dec 20^th, 2007, 8:10pm mindy,thank you for coming up with a solution.
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_131847

GCU Newbies
artist

Posts: 50

Re: Risque material on GCU
Reply #21 - Dec 20^th, 2007, 8:13pm

Dear Kathy,

( I usually don't dedicate this much time to forums due to lack of time...but I must write this to You)

My apologies....

I'm not attacking you; must be my own translation from Spanish to English. Looking at your art I can judge you are a sensible person with an eye for nature and whimsical things; You do a beautiful work!!! Don't ever forget that.

Have a wonderful Holidays and keep creating your designs so you can share with the rest of us.

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Ines Miller Fine Artist - Greeting Card Store:
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/inesmiller

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Kathy_131728 Gold Member artist Posts: 610	Re: Risque material on GCU Reply #22 - Dec 20^th, 2007, 8:20pm Thank you so much for your message. I looked at your shop also and you too have very lovely designs. It is hard sometimes in writing to communicate what we really mean, so I understand totally. Good luck to you with your shop.
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Corrie_131338 Gold Member Posts: 1611	Re: Risque material on GCU Reply #23 - Dec 21^st, 2007, 1:23am Mindy - Can we get an 'Adult' subcategory under Collections? Thanks! Corrie http://www.corrieweb.nl
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Olivia_132226

Junior Member
artist

Posts: 61

Re: Risque material on GCU
Reply #24 - Dec 21^st, 2007, 11:32am

I have no idea whether this is a potential issue or not so I thought I'd ask here to see if any of you might know the answer....
My site www.oliviaandco.com is an approved family friendly site, I display their banner. Here is their site (if interested) http://www.familyfriendlysites.com/
My question - is there going to be a conflict between my site and GCU (the affiliation between the two) even if the adult oriented cards are not in the widget (which I also have on my site)?

Just curious if anyone has any insight here.

Thanks for your help.

Olivia

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http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/oliviaandco

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Mindy

GCU Administrator
Community Manager

Posts: 6566
Gender: female

Re: Risque material on GCU
Reply #25 - Dec 21^st, 2007, 6:49pm

Quote from Corrie_131338 on Dec 21^st, 2007, 1:23am:

Mindy -

Can we get an 'Adult' subcategory under Collections? Thanks!

Corrie
http://www.corrieweb.nl

Done. Collections >> Adult
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/shopping/cb.asp?cid=1089

We'll see how this goes since alphabetically it's the first category listed. We may have to make adjustments as we learn more.

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Ernestine_131365

Gold Member
artist

Posts: 853

Re: Risque material on GCU
Reply #26 - Dec 21^st, 2007, 9:45pm

I've been reading this thread closely, and it is a conundrum. I had a question about this issue several months ago regarding possibly offensive language on the front of a card. I am glad that Mindy did finally "get into the fray." I think Corrie's suggestion and Mindy's response of an "adult only" category is good.

But I suppose it does matter how the cards are profiled, too, doesn't it? Example: a search for "birthday, sports" when one is looking for a soccer card for their 10 year old, will come up with one of these "potentially offense to some" adult content cards. And as these cards become "more popular" as I'm sure they will (because as was said, this is what the public is looking for) they will feature more prominently in searches (closer the the beginning). Though I personally am not offended by the cards (bad art troubles me more), having one of my images appear on the same page may give some searchers pause. Maybe not.

GCU is a public site and that is it's key to success. . . everyone welcome, and no one is forcing us to be here, huh? But I do think that if there are internet users that do block all adult content from their internet searches, they may not be able to take full advantage of what GCU and it's partners have to offer with all the thousands of other cards available.

With all the work Mindy and all are doing on improving the site and listening to our suggestions, I'm sure 2008 will address these issues.

Who was it said "You can please some of the people all the time, and all the people some of the time; but you can't please all the people all of the time."

--Ernestine

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Mindy

GCU Administrator
Community Manager

Posts: 6566
Gender: female

Re: Risque material on GCU
Reply #27 - Dec 27^th, 2007, 1:52pm

Quote from Ernestine_131365 on Dec 21^st, 2007, 9:45pm:

I've been reading this thread closely, and it is a conundrum. I had a question about this issue several months ago regarding possibly offensive language on the front of a card. I am glad that Mindy did finally "get into the fray." I think Corrie's suggestion and Mindy's response of an "adult only" category is good.

But I suppose it does matter how the cards are profiled, too, doesn't it? Example: a search for "birthday, sports" when one is looking for a soccer card for their 10 year old, will come up with one of these "potentially offense to some" adult content cards. And as these cards become "more popular" as I'm sure they will (because as was said, this is what the public is looking for) they will feature more prominently in searches (closer the the beginning). Though I personally am not offended by the cards (bad art troubles me more), having one of my images appear on the same page may give some searchers pause. Maybe not.

GCU is a public site and that is it's key to success. . . everyone welcome, and no one is forcing us to be here, huh? But I do think that if there are internet users that do block all adult content from their internet searches, they may not be able to take full advantage of what GCU and it's partners have to offer with all the thousands of other cards available.

With all the work Mindy and all are doing on improving the site and listening to our suggestions, I'm sure 2008 will address these issues.

Who was it said "You can please some of the people all the time, and all the people some of the time; but you can't please all the people all of the time."

--Ernestine

Hi Ernestine,
You're correct. As these cards become more popular there is the possibility of them creeping up on the page over time. However that will only happen when searches are somewhat general (ie: birthday). Chances are they would not be result candidates for a search like "birthday sports" as we're watching the keywords carefully.

Granted it is something to keep in mind as we move forward. What we want to avoid if possible is requiring the shopper to login before viewing cards. This would shut the door on many of our non-registered shoppers, especially those coming from search.

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