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After reviewing some of the terms of service laid out by our hosting provider (Vultr), some changes have been made to our TOS. The reason for this is because our previous TOS did not specify certain conditions that have to be met within our hosting provider's TOS. If Phuks breaks their agreement, they could take the site down, so there is really nothing we can do other than update our TOS.

Changes

Gambling is prohibited.

Basically, any form of betting where money is being exchanged is a no-go. Do it off site. Gambling would be ok, but if Vultr says it isn't, then it isn't.

Using Phuks as a place to discuss, plan or engage in any action that would compromise security, tamper with system resources or accounts on computers at Phuks, or any other site, is strictly prohibited.

Don't use Phuks as a place to hack stuff or discuss hacking stuff. Use our IRC to do that instead.

All images, videos or depictions of any kind that show sexually explicit or suggestive content involving children (whether virtual or real) is strictly prohibited. Additionally, content or communications seeking to solicit, lure or entice minors into sexual activity or lewd behavior is also strictly prohibited.

Loli porn is now banned. That was not specified before. Also, don't use Phuks to Phuk kids, we somehow forgot to mention that.

Optional email addresses provided to Phuks upon account creation will be used for account registration, and will not be shared with any other party.

We have to mention this, under the terms of our hosting provider, but it should have been in the TOS anyway.

Posting content of any kind that incites discrimination, hate or violence towards one person or a group of people because of their belonging to a race, religion or nation is strictly prohibited.

Yep. Vultr has a ban on hate speech. So we need one too, otherwise Phuks can be taken down. As a result, content that clearly has no purpose other than to breed hatred towards one or more persons due to their race, religion or nation will need to be removed. /s/Niggers comes under this umbrella, and must therefore be banned, under the terms of our hosting provider.

After reviewing some of the terms of service laid out by our hosting provider (Vultr), some changes have been made to our TOS. The reason for this is because our previous TOS did not specify certain conditions that have to be met within our hosting provider's TOS. If Phuks breaks their agreement, they could take the site down, so there is really nothing we can do other than update our TOS. ###Changes > Gambling is prohibited. Basically, any form of betting where money is being exchanged is a no-go. Do it off site. Gambling would be ok, but if Vultr says it isn't, then it isn't. > Using Phuks as a place to discuss, plan or engage in any action that would compromise security, tamper with system resources or accounts on computers at Phuks, or any other site, is strictly prohibited. Don't use Phuks as a place to hack stuff or discuss hacking stuff. [Use our IRC to do that instead.](https://kiwiirc.com/client/irc.goat.chat#throat) > All images, videos or depictions of any kind that show sexually explicit or suggestive content involving children (whether virtual or real) is strictly prohibited. Additionally, content or communications seeking to solicit, lure or entice minors into sexual activity or lewd behavior is also strictly prohibited. Loli porn is now banned. That was not specified before. Also, don't use Phuks to Phuk kids, we somehow forgot to mention that. > Optional email addresses provided to Phuks upon account creation will be used for account registration, and will not be shared with any other party. We have to mention this, under the terms of our hosting provider, but it should have been in the TOS anyway. > Posting content of any kind that incites discrimination, hate or violence towards one person or a group of people because of their belonging to a race, religion or nation is strictly prohibited. Yep. Vultr has a ban on hate speech. So we need one too, otherwise Phuks can be taken down. As a result, content that clearly has no purpose other than to breed hatred towards one or more persons due to their race, religion or nation will need to be removed. /s/Niggers comes under this umbrella, and must therefore be banned, under the terms of our hosting provider.

58 comments

[–] Boukert 14 points (+14|-0)

I am not really happy about this. Inciting hate is one thing, freedom of speech another.

Sharing an openminded opinion where someone would "Deny the holocaust" or be of the opinion to "gas the kikes" Might be discriminating but not inciting to discrimination.

Does satire count into this at some point?

For example @jobes calling me a Swamp German might be discriminating, but not inciting to discrimination. Or rather just a joke.

[–] Violentlight 10 points (+10|-0)

Ya, anytime you get rules like that its no good. You never know what will be enforced. Its such a wildcard. Really disappointing.

Just one more place you have to worry about what you say I guess.

[–] Polsaker [OP] 8 points (+8|-0)

Sadly we'll have to keep this until we find a hosting alternative

[–] Ventus 6 points (+6|-0)

This doesn't sit well with me either, but for now this is in effect due to our need for a server.

We are currently very busy debating and checking out alternative servers and opportunities. Can't make any promises on a swift move though. Like i said we are in alpha and we need to figure out and fix a whole lot of stuff, this is one of them.

Just to be sure: I'm not for inciting hate, I'm just for free speech.

[–] LockeProposal 7 points (+7|-0)

don't use Phuks to Phuk kids

Well, shit.

In all seriousness, all of that sounds good to me.

For all those who rant about their free speech rights: freedom of speech is a concept that protects you from governments, not the consequences of your actions in regards to the public and/or private entities. This site is a private entity, with its own rules that are clearly laid out, and you are free to move elsewhere.

People don't seem to grasp this concept around the internet these days.

[–] SilverBanana 5 points (+5|-0)

Just because they are not required to adhere to freedom of speech according to primary law does not mean they should not.

For me, it is a moral imperative. So I absolutely understand the fact that phuks can censor whatever they desire - it is a private site. But I am expressing the dissatisfaction with the fact.

I am considering discontinuing my presence here as the TOS do not align with my moral principles.

[–] LockeProposal 3 points (+3|-0) Edited

No, I get it. But I think there's a line between saying 'this doesn't align with my principles, and so I may leave' (which is a stance I respect) and 'waaaaaaaa I can't shitpost, I am being oppressed.'

I don't see a lot of the latter on this site, and I'm glad for it.

As to my principles, they remain unoffended, but probably not for the reasons people will jump to. I'm just here to post history and lurk for dank memes.

I hope you stay, though. Always thought you were delightful.

[–] Boukert 2 points (+2|-0)

Would really hate to see you go mate. Just know we are not really happy with this either but for now this is a temporary measure untill we get a better server.

https://phuks.co/s/Whatever/5276

I can assure you we are not looking to strictly enforce this, as by no means do we want to impose our view or will on people. (It's why we left reddit in the first place) but we have to have this on paper for now due to legal shit and crappy server.

[–] SilverBanana 2 points (+2|-0)

So the host we want is around $100 for a month, right? And we currently pay $20. So we need around $500 to cover the six month cost?

I suspect that only way to monetize the site this early on is ad trackers, correct?

[–] pembo210 1 points (+1|-0)

I'd be sad to see you go, I enjoy your post variety.

We made a choice early on to not use tracking or embedded ads(like Google/adsense) or sell our users' contact information to marketing and email spam companies. We had to choose a cheaper host because of cash flow. We're in the process of setting up the corp for a shop and donations to put towards a badass host for later down the road when we have some more features built and we're ready to handle more people with less restrictions.

[–] Polsaker [OP] 3 points (+3|-0)

Being this limited by our host is a bit troubling though :)

[–] LockeProposal 2 points (+2|-0)

You're not wrong. I'd be interested, however, in knowing exactly how they would plan to enforce this. Would they be 'checking up on you' from time to time? Would there be warnings, etc.?

[–] Polsaker [OP] 1 points (+1|-0)

I guess they can't check 24/7 on all their clients, so I guess they have that for formality, and would only react when reported

[–] registereduser 1 points (+1|-0)

This site is a private entity, with its own rules that are clearly laid out, and you are free to move elsewhere.

And they will, as they have been doing in droves over the last couple of years.

That is why sites like phuks are popping up all over the place, as an alternative to sites like reddit where censorship is routine.

People are tired of that shit and people are waking up to it in large numbers.

New sites that try to do the same old shit will fail. Just look at voat. Probably the largest 'alternative' to reddit, now flailing and sinking because they aren't committed to their motto "have your say" and people are finally catching on.

New sites that try the same old shit won't even get off the ground.

[–] Violentlight 6 points (+6|-0)

Well that sucks

[–] PMYA 5 points (+5|-0)

I wrote the changes into the TOS. They are lifted in some parts word-for-word from Vultr's TOS.

The TOS is there mainly for legal stuff. How this is enforced is another question entirely. At the moment, Phuks is not classed as a service provider [which it is]. The reason for this is someone would have to give their full info to be listed on Vultr's site, publicly, and also somewhere on Phuks.

The distinction between a non service provider and a service provider is essentially this:

A mass amount of CP is posted to the site. We are not classed as a service provider, but rather as a personal site, so Vultr assumes that this is the purpose of the site and shuts that shit down.

A mass amount of CP is posted to the site. We are a service provider, and we inform Vultr of what has happened, remove the content immediately, and report it to the authorities if we need to. The site is not responsible.

So there are two options. Either we find a different - probably more expensive - provider. Or, someone bites the bullet and gives their info to be displayed publicly. There may be a loophole in doing this - we can list Phuks LLC as our "agent", instead of giving a real name, for example. We would still need to give an email address, an actual address and a phone number though.

Going strictly by the book under Vultr's TOS is the best thing to do right now before something can be figured out.

[–] THC 3 points (+3|-0)

Have you considered using a service like this http://www.whois.com/whois/voat.co

I linked it with Voat in order to show how they hide their ppo. But I do not know the costs, only that they act as the registered user.

[–] PMYA 1 points (+1|-0)

We have that, look up Phuks.

Registering with the provider is different, it requires giving actual legit info that is publicly available. Phuks currently costs about $20 a month. I think @Polsaker said that it would cost $80 to get a provider who is willing to ignore site content.

There may be a loophole in giving info, we don't know yet.

[–] SilverBanana 5 points (+5|-0)

My enthusiasm for the site plummeted drastically. With these rules, how are we better than Reddit?

We need to find different provider ASAP.

[–] PMYA 3 points (+3|-0)

It is not ideal, but at least we have transparency about the content that we can't currently allow. We won't be removing things indiscriminately like Reddit, and mods that are removing content from defaults without a real reason will be removed.

I'm not a fan of restricting content on the site either. This may actually have an unintended effect on the site though. In the next few weeks/months, we will be bringing traffic form Reddit. When Voat did this, they attracted an initial mix of users due to the high amount of publicity, but after that they only attracted users from the subs that had been banned on Reddit [coontown, FPH, jailbait subs etc.]. Whether or not you like that content, there is no debate at all when it comes to what happened to the actual good quality content on Voat. There was a massive drop off when all of those users went to the site.

So we might actually just end up attracting better content contributors due to our current hosting restrictions.

[–] Polsaker [OP] 2 points (+2|-0)

We have set a deadline for ourselves, to set up income sources so we can move on June or July

[–] Hitler 4 points (+4|-0)

I can't talk about hacking? What if encrypt all my messages?

[–] PMYA 3 points (+3|-0)

You can talk about hacking. You just can't talk about a specific instance of hacking that you are about to perform, or get other people to perform.

[–] THC 3 points (+3|-0)

If you encrypt your messages, there's not much anyone could do without a key. And since nothing could be read, it would fall under no umbrella.

[–] Hitler 2 points (+2|-0)

Good, I guess we can share the key on IRC and post whatever we want here.

[–] pembo210 4 points (+4|-0)

Unfortunately we need to use a cheap service provider for now. Maybe if we can figure out an income stream and improve a few more systems, we can move to a less restrictive host.

[–] Crushric 3 points (+3|-0)

Yep. Vultr has a ban on hate speech. So we need one too, otherwise Phuks can be taken down. As a result, content that clearly has no purpose other than to breed hatred towards one or more persons due to their race, religion or nation will need to be removed. /s/Niggers comes under this umbrella, and must therefore be banned, under the terms of our hosting provider.

But now where am I going to go to rant about the Jews or the obese? What about fat Jews? D:

Rucka Rucka Ali, I need your opinion here! http://ruckasworld.com/everything-is-racist/

;p

[–] ashekchum 2 points (+2|-0) Edited

Well that is an interesting change, leave for a couple days and this happens.

Would for example hate against fictional species/races be considered hate speech like for example "I hate the ferengi and their big deal listening ears."

Would non-race motivated hate speech such as "I hate all people" or "I hate the admins" be fine or what about sjw style hate speech, ie is it hate speech to target white people, cis, straight people, non-otherkin, non-fats, ect. "I identify as a strong independent nekohumanoid, anyone who sees themselves as human shouldn't reproduce to let their hate die out."

Could you give examples of what would and wouldn't be hate speech. Perhaps a sate based hate could substitute, you should also ask the hostel on what exactly is hate speach and examples.

[–] Polsaker [OP] 1 points (+1|-0)

That rule is too much of a wildcard for our liking :(

So we'll only act on extreme cases, just continue posting as you would normally

[–] ashekchum 1 points (+1|-0)

Hey also this looks like a bug here your replies to the s/niggers balancing show up under my post.

Could I call someone for example a faggot, to normalize the term. I like clear rules that really I can look for loopholes in. Why in the modern powers game I tried to use a bio weapon as only nukes where banned.

Could I say disagreement would be hate speech, as you would hate my opinion to disagree with it. The rule change itself could be considered hate speech as it actively goes against the idea of free speech. Something it could be seen as disagreing with?

Really I just want clear rules.

[–] Polsaker [OP] 1 points (+1|-0)

So do I, but this is also unclear in our provider's TOS. We'll still won't delete content unless it's blatantly obvious or the provider complains

[–] registereduser 2 points (+2|-0)

@Polsaker

content that clearly has no purpose other than to breed hatred towards one or more persons due to their race, religion or nation

First of all, you left a metric shit ton of little special snowflake cry baby groups out. What if I want to hate on faggots, like Milo for instance?

Purpose of /s/niggers

  • Post under represented news.

  • Post under represented facts.

  • Discuss culture/s that are detrimental to society.

  • Discuss activities that are detrimental to society.

Breeding hatred is not the sole purpose of /s/niggers as you have mis-characterized it.

Nor is it's purpose to incite anything.

I'm sorry if factual news reports compel you to do violence, but that is not my purpose or my responsibility.

Also have a look at this hosting service.

https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/

[–] PMYA 1 points (+1|-0)

First of all, you left a metric shit ton of little special snowflake cry baby groups out. What if I want to hate on faggots, like Milo for instance?

The wording was not written by us. That definition of hate speech comes from the hosting provider.

If there is a sub on Phuks that is going to cause problems with the hosting provider's ban on hate speech, it is /s/Niggers. The name of the sub is literally a racial slur. The Niggers subs on other sites probably come under the definition of hate speech, as defined by Vultr.

The sole purpose of /s/Niggers might not be to breed hatred, but we are better off not having to try and explain that to Vultr when they pull hosting.

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