it to identify, which led it to mistakenly flag content (Matsakis 2018). This led to users speculating and experimenting with various visual-aesthetic and discursive-logistic workarounds for circumventing tumblr’s image recognition algorithm. A networked and loosely shared pool of algorithmic imaginaries and hacks emerged, where, in order to hide from the algorithmic gaze, bloggers would take sexy selfies in flesh-colored silk stockings or bodysuits, cover nipples with stickers or digital special effects (Figure 1.5), and superimpose text or QR codes onto the images.
At the same time, viewers were asked to refrain from liking, reblogging, or replying to posts, in the hope of remaining hidden from the algorithm. After the initial period, when flagged posts were equipped with a reporting button to address the mistakes, all flagged posts and blogs were forcibly made private, essentially rendering them invisible and inaccessible to everyone but the author. NSFW content hashtagged with culturally specific NSFW Chinese or Japanese words or in Chinese or Japanese characters (“#変態” or “hentai” and “#露點” or “ludian,” connoting exposed private parts) remained on the site for a couple of months longer, but was eventually removed as well. Needless to say, tumblr’s algorithms were no longer experienced as unobtrusive after that.
Figure 1.5: Artist’s impression of how some tumblr users are using emoji to cover nipples and circumvent flagging, while still being able to share nudes. Art provided by River Juno.
Conclusion
This chapter mapped how tumblr has been built, the features and functions that enable bloggers to create, post, reblog, and interact with each other, as well as how tumblr is governed and how bloggers are managed by the platform. In our research, our participants have continued to stress that tumblr is a unique platform, distinct from others that enact more punitive or restrictive moderation (even following tumblr’s porn ban) or those that demand particular identifications or self-presentation based on real names and individual profiles. In the following chapter, we pick up this line of inquiry to map how tumblr bloggers’ perceptions and uses of the platform birthed a variety of cultures, a recognizable vernacular, a shared sensibility, and a very specific form of sociality.
Notes
1 Although the informal protocol of retweeting also dates back to March 2007, Twitter officially incorporated it as a feature in 2009. 2 tumblr changed the formatting of reblog threads to flat in 2015, this was done to increase legibility, but generated user pushback as it dismantled a by-then iconic genre of a nested reblog threads, which features in memes about tumblr (see Figure 1.3). 3 Just as we were finalizing this book, (former) US President Donald Trump – reacting to Twitter appending a fact-checking notice to his tweets – signed an Executive Order requiring the US Federal Communication Commission to revise CDA 230 so that “editing content” would lead to the platform forfeiting the safe harbor protection. 4 Why this is still mentioned is unclear, given that all explicit content is hidden from everyone. 5 This example returns the general PSA for the US, UK, and European contexts. The same message is returned when searching similar terms are located in other countries such as Australia. 6 However, it has also been argued that NSFW content is easier to train deep learning models on than extremism or disinformation (Dickson 2018), which is why it is more heavily regulated. 7 While the acronym NSFW is broadly interpreted as coming from “Not Safe For Work,” tumblr has consistently used “Not Suitable For Work” in their Community Guidelines (both the 2012 and 2015 updates use that wording). 8 While the goal of FOSTA/SESTA is admirable, the vague language drove many internet platforms to pre-emptive overreach best described as deplatforming of sex (Molldrem 2018). 9 This may very well be true, but for context, we have spent more than ten years on tumblr, including regularly browsing sexual blogs, and have never seen child pornography.10 We briefly discuss this in Chapter 5, but on May 4, 2020 a post was made on the staff blog which indicated that tumblr was adopting a stronger stance against Nazi hate speech (staff 2020b). Since the “Nazis vs nipples” juxtaposition was a common rhetorical and memetic move in responses to the NSFW ban, it is possible that the feedback to the ban informed this change.11 Bots are automated scripts designed to perform a task with little oversight from humans (Shorey and Howard, 2016), in discussions around social media, we usually talk about socialbots, which are automated scripts controlling social media accounts to post and send connection requests (Boshmaf et al. 2011). Pornbots are socialbots that operate with pornographic content to grab attention.
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