Let's give a big "Yahoo!" for censorship!

January 2, 2001 10:13 PM

Let's give a big "Yahoo!" for censorship! Yahoo caves in and bans all "hate materials" from being sold through its auction service anywhere, not just in France. What is "hate material," of course, will be defined by Yahoo itself, in ways they haven't yet bothered to deliniate. (I'm going to go out on a limb and venture that "No Fat Chicks" bumper stickers will still be allowed, along with anything else that denigrates groups that don't have politically-effective special interest groups behind them.) In addition, they'll now charge for listings. Are these smart ideas for a site whose auctions have a pretty anemic response rate in the first place?
posted by aaron (15 comments total)

And yes, I know a private company can't really be a censor. But a company with tentacles that reach as far as Yahoo's do ought to be more laissez-faire about such things.
posted by aaron at 10:14 PM on January 2, 2001

Personally, if I were Yahoo, I would have simply blocked all French users from accessing the site. I agree that this "solution" is cowardly.
posted by kindall at 11:10 PM on January 2, 2001

By the way, they claim the court order had nothing to do with their decision to institute the ban, but at the same time they don't seem to be planning to attempt to appeal the decision. You make the call.
posted by aaron at 11:38 PM on January 2, 2001

I suppose this auction of Hitler's pubic hair would be banned, then.

It's a horrific page, and I don't mean to send this thread spiraling into oblivion, but I just had to share. You know how that goes.
posted by sudama at 12:14 AM on January 3, 2001

I wonder which testicle it was attached to. Oh, wait...
posted by aaron at 12:27 AM on January 3, 2001

does anyone know anyone who prefers to auction things off at yahoo as opposed to ebay? i haven't met one yet myself, but perhaps my experience is anomalous (or not).
posted by lia at 12:55 AM on January 3, 2001

oh, and by the way, the best part of the hitler's pubic hair auction that sudama posted is that the seller is only willing to ship within the united states.i mean, really, how difficult or expensive could it possibly be to ship pubes?p.s. sudama, i don't know how you found that, and i don't want to know, but let me just say that i am quite impressed. lol
posted by lia at 12:59 AM on January 3, 2001

You're absolutely right Lia, he could just send it by hairmail. ...sorry.
posted by MarkC at 4:05 AM on January 3, 2001

I have no problem with a company deciding it won't assist in the sale of objectionable materials. Free world. Live with it.
posted by fleener at 6:10 AM on January 3, 2001

does anyone know anyone who prefers to auction things off at yahoo as opposed to ebay?

yeah, my co-worker (ex-co-worker now that i'm unemployed) used to prefer yahoo for the simple fact that it was free. obviously, that may change now.
posted by bliss322 at 6:45 AM on January 3, 2001

A friend of mine auctions on Yahoo (and Amazon and eBay). She sells 90% of her stuff on eBay. If Yahoo weren't free she probably wouldn't even use it—the buyers are all at eBay.
posted by kindall at 8:23 AM on January 3, 2001

I have no problem with a company deciding it won't assist in the sale of objectionable materials.

Define "objectionable," please.
posted by rushmc at 9:39 AM on January 3, 2001

Define "objectionable," please.

Anything that makes me uncomfortable, of course. Which would mean that my dining-table chairs would not be allowed on Yahoo.
posted by daveadams at 10:08 AM on January 3, 2001

The company that decides not to sell objectionable materials gets to define "objectionable."
posted by kindall at 3:28 PM on January 3, 2001

I must say why i don't like the idea of censorship and conjures up ideas of government control. However, society will always censor some things and censorship is a fact of life. I have greater concerns on the propaganda we get fed by certain sections in society then with censorship. Also, where would we be if censorship did not exist? Could i sell dead bodies or babies? What about child pornography? I have seen some sick stuff on the internet and would have no problem with somethings being censored.

I also don't feel particularly disappointed that 'hate things' have been censored. Although, I would like to see Yahoo's definition of 'objectionable' before I say I could support them.

Ebay does not let you auction everything. They have a list of prohibited and questionable items. (If you look at Nazi items you will see that e-bay requires you to state that you will not ship outside the US and this is why Adolf's pubes aren't available). Also, I can't see any *good* reason why things from Cuba should be prohibited. This is 'censorship' i disagree with.
posted by jay at 8:35 PM on January 3, 2001