April 19, 2006

Comments (1532)

  • i’m the first one!!!

  • SUPPORT

  • Wow.. I’m the 1st =)

    Well, I think the idea is really cool!!
    But.. does “Too Much Personal Info” matter?!!

    x Lorna

  • Thanks this should be very helpful!

  • Looks good to me

  • For Babeloma:

    It’s not about you posting your own personal info, I think it’s more about if someone else posts to much info about you or anyone else without permission of that person.

  • great job!

  • OUTSTANDING.  Great job, guys!

  • To much personal info? ohh you mean like address and stuff? Not sure what you mean.

  • with too much personal info, a stalker or pedophile could track you down…that’d be bad
    Kelly
    p.s. i think its a WONDERFUL idea

  • I think its a pretty good idea

  • Will only work if they are actually enforced. I reported a few sites serval times for some of these “violates”, but it fell on deaf’s ear, so I just gave up…

  • What if someone flags your site for no good reason other than they’re mad at you and want to mess with you by having your site shut down?

  • This’s a good way to improve xanga,
    but would this lead to misuse of this function?
    Somebody may report someone that they dislike while that person may probably innocent?
    would John consider this possibility also?

  • WOW!!! It’s about time!!! Great idea!!! Hope it launches soon.  Thanks, John.

  • All I can say is..It’s about time! Thanks!

  • that’s awesome.. it’ll make it that much easier to report someone if need be

  • yayyy thank you!

  • nice..

    i’m not sure about the first three points in the safety category though, esp the “too much personal info” one….

  • looks like a great idea to me

  • Sweet!  I love it!

  • I think you guys are the first blogging site to do this.

  • I think it’s great. I assume that there would be actual human review of the sites before they are shut down….the possibility of this being used to shut down sites that do not deserve to be shut down…such as somebody ‘flagging’ things that are not there, just for harassment, is a great possibility. I also think guidelines for what each flag represent need to be made…

    But if it helps get some of this under control, I’m all for it!!

  • Yes, I think this is interesting, although I don’t really like “informant” systems too much (reminds me of the Inquisition I think! *laugh).

    I am concerned about abuse, someone going around sprinkling peoples’ sites with unfair tags. I hope there’ll be some protection from that for those many of us to whom these tags could never apply.

  • Is this just the trend going on with Blog-like sites? Myspace has just put in a police officer patrolling their site and new rules of conduct. Now our site is putting in stuff and even deleting pages that are from people who are under 13. I don’t have a problem with most of this, but it just seems so sudden and abrupt. We were just minding out business, and then all this myspace/friendster additions are popping up in xanga. Still not sure how I feel about it all, it’s like all the blogspace websites are merging together in terms of style.

  • Looks good to me. This does need to continue to be monitored though. I’ve ran across several sites with inappropriate content and pictures.

  • awesome

  • I think it’s great.

  • sigh, this is kinda off topic but everytime I email an issue, it gets ignored. New features are nice and all, but I feel that customer support is slipping. Don’t forget about the existing foundations of xanga…

  • I happen to think it’s a great idea!

    Some people have brought up a good point about people falsely flagging for the wrong reasons, which is credible.

    I think if you do go through with this, you may want to start some kind of moderator group within Xanga’s community. They could easily go through sites that have been flagged. Maybe set up some kind of guidelines to be a moderator, like an age requirement, maybe a simple quiz on rules to make sure they fully understand each rule correctly.

    (I did something like this on another site where the moderator could take a small test and had to go through a certain amount of sites that popped up to approve them before they were posted on the web.)

    Something to think about anyways…..

  • flags flags everywhere a flag.

    breaking up the scenery breaking my mind.

    do this. don’t do that.

    can’t you see the flag?

  • Glad there will be such a system.
    This is what makes Xanga way better than Myspace.

  • That’s good.

  • Looks good to me!!

  • I agree with all the flags, thanks so much for letting me have a xanga for such a long time.

  • Wowza!

  • I think that this is a good idea, because there is far to much garbage on Xanga right now. While I think that you have been remiss in keeping things like porn and hatred off of Xanga for a long time, this is certainly a step in the right direction.

    My question for you though, is how would you evaluate if something falls into any of the categoies? I can foresee these things being majorly abused by those who bear grudges against other Xangans.

    Another thing, while a small issue, is I think that it would be better to have a either a seperate xanga for each topic (i.e. xanga.com/adult_content, xanga.com/Scam …etc.) with links to them off of the Flags Xanga….

    OR… Have the top entry on the Flags Xanga have a list of these flags on it. Have it so when people click on the particulare flag, they are taken directly to the entry that deals with that issue. (Instead of having to look around through all 12 to see what it is you want).

    Those are my suggestions. I really like the idea of bringing in the whole Xanga community as “policemen” to help and keep Xanga clean.

    However, before I go, I would like to just say two other things: one, I think that you should put word blocks in Xanga, that would prohibit swear words from being posted. Two, this goes with the first one, if you cannot monitor all the xanga blogs, then at least monitor the ones in Featured Content. Look in  Featured Content any time of day, any day of the week, and you will be bombarded with a vertible barrage of curses and other obscenities as well as plenty of porn. Perhaps you guys could start cracking down on that….

    There’s my two cents.

    ~Dan

  • What about harassment? There is someone who has off and on for three years logged incendiary and insulting comments about me and my friends without provocation. It’s harder to block out, i know, because he can (and does) register new names, but i’d still like to see some kind of institutional protection for this.

  • I think in light of recent situations on sites like MySpace, it’s a good idea. There are people out there who’s only intent is to browse blogs and see who they can harm. And, with parents not paying attention to what their kids are putting out on the internet, it makes it so much easier for them to find their prey. Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in.

    Like some of the other commentors said, it will only work IF you guys are willing to enforce it. I’ve been in two situations where another user has clearly violated TOS and my requests to have it looked at were completely ignored. I know of others who can say the same.
    I think it’ll take a lot of work, and a lot of weeding through petty complaints, but overall it could work out…

  • very cool

  • Hey, just for fun – when this is implemented, will you allow us to browse posts by flag?

  • The only one I think is too vague is “too much personal info”.  What is “too much” to one person may not be the same for another.  What kind of guidelines do you have for this flag?

  • The only thing that should be reported are Hate Sites and Porn.

  • Flagging is a good idea, but isn’t xanga encroaching on freedom of speech/press?  When and where are these flags being used?

    It would be one thing for xanga to have a list, i.e. the blog rings, to have the flags so those who find certain material to be trivial or offensive, will know not to check it via links. However it would be another thing to actually place one of these flags on the xangan’s site and making it seem inappropriate or even rebellious in nature to have these ‘types’ of sites. 

    What is going on with these blog sites and the police patrol all of a sudden? 

    Perhaps, AOL be a good example to follow, in regards to their terms of service (TOS) structure. 

    Having said all of that, what about people who won’t and don’t read the ‘guidelines’ and will continue to be ignorant and do as they please.  Don’t they have a right to do that, especially if they agree to the xanga policy/terms when they sign up for a username and password. 

    In all seriousness, some people are just stupid, and without common sense.

  • I love the idea. Internet safty is becoming a huge concern latley. Almost every school district around here has sent out letters/had presetations on internet safety. I have had safety issues with MySpace and had to close my site. So far no problems here, but the flags are a great idea!!

  • Censorship…

  • It’s a good idea, but there’s great potential for intentional malicious reporting by people who take a personal dislike to the blogger and/or the blog.  I’d suggest a human review committee to monitor the reports and make the final decision, rather than leave it automated or arbitrary. Evaluate on a case-by-case basis, please!

  • Good idea.  Except I don’t necessarily agree with having a tag for too much personal info.  I’m not sure if too much info means giving your address and phone number or kinky details from the night before.  Clarify?

    Great idea, especially for all the racial hatred sites out there. I’ve been harassed by a couple of those. I just hope these tags won’t be abused if someone has a grudge and wants to lash out.  Definitely a great idea though!

  • I completely agree with moniet, the possibility of people falsely flagging other people’s sites is going the be the biggest hurdle for you all unfortunately.  You will have to be much more specific with what is acceptable and not acceptable.  (I know that is more work for you all, but you may be up against a very big group of people who may want to “fight” these policies)  I am ALL for monitoring, truly, it’s a great idea and it will definitely put more of a cap on some of the very disturbing sites we have all seen.  I think having a committee of volunteers set up (like moderators) to review the flags would be an awesome asset to you.  But the idea makes sense (safety is VERY important), but unfortunately these policies single out very specific groups and may drive away other members who are advocates of freedom of speech.  I think there is a positive way to do things and a negative way to do things.  Just keep that in mind.  :)  

  • As long as common sense is used in determining what is and is not offensive, I’m all for it. Our society, and its social “institutions” such as blogging, do need to self-govern for the protection of the young. There are too many dirtbags out there for parents to keep up with everyone their children come into contact with. If you can pull it off in a rational and positive manner, you have my support!

  • I don’t like it, I don’t like the idea of somebody being able to “flag” what I write.

    A better idea: ask “objectional” sites to add disclaimers.  Don’t flag them because they aren’t the same as everybody else.

  • so…  Let me get this straight….  You are asking people (who routinely act like high school students regardless of their ages) to police Xanga for you? 

    Good luck with that!

  • Who is to judge what too much personal info is? What system is set up to ensure the flags aren’t abused?

  • Sounds good to me.

  • Or you could create a part of Xanga specifically for those who want to judge others and tell them what they can post or talk about.  What they can like or dislike.  You need to be far more specific on these categories, they’re way too vague. 

    Why not let  people rate their sites when creating them and you can put them into either an X-rated or PG area of Xanga.  I think that’s a great idea.

    You should definitely censor kiddie porn or threats to harm someone. 

    But come on, adult content could mean anything.  Swearing alone could get you flagged.

    Too much personal info?  First of all you’d have to KNOW that the info posted is true.

    Hatred site?  I can think of a lot of things I hate. I hate censorship for example.  If I complain about this new flagging sytem will I be flagged? 

    This is censorship plain and simple.  And for some to suggest you report people who might not think like you do to the FBI is ridiculous!

    Think hard about this as you could lose a lot of  bloggers.

  • i have mixed feelings about this. it kinda violates freedom of speech doesn’t it?

  • I think this is a good idea- just don’t overdo it.

  • I dont like it, it’ll get abused (ie you can get like 10 friends to keep flagging someone’s site)

  • You guys are just scared of getting bad publicity (ie MySpace) and losing advertiser’s money. Grow some balls please.

  • I agree that flagging sites that are dangerous or have lewd-content all over it is fair, since many people have access to Xanga and not just those who are members.  However, I am having issues the with “advocates self-harm” category.  Understandably, anything that PROMOTES others to cut themselves or engage in other kinds of self-destructive behavior is (somewhat) dangerous, but shouldn’t it be up to the reader to determine that?  I am sure whoever takes on a challenge like this has already made their mind up long before they read a Xanga post about it.

    Another issue–what about the writers who do self-harm?  Wouldn’t this isolate them more if their thoughts and their emotions were flagged?  They don’t advocate others to follow their example; rather they are just giving words to what is going on inside their heads.  If they cannot express themselves in their own journals and open themselves up to others who may have the same problem, then what is the point of Xanga?

    Just something to think about.

  • what about xanga ad removers? i have them on my site, but i dont mind removing them.

    I wrote my opinion about that topic on one of my entries:

    Next to Xanga (the 27th most popular site in the world, tuh), methinks Livejournal is the best site providing weblogs for little vainglorious insignificants such as myself. Unlike Xanga whose impetus relies on eprops, LiveJournal is content-driven and community-driven. But most importantly, LiveJournal doesn’t have execrable “Leader Ads” that takes an accurate 738 X 127 pixels off your blog. I tried to move there yesterday because all my friends are there (not to mention, most pinoy bloggers are on LJ), and studied LJ layouting for the whole afternoon. After being done and over with it, I wrote my first entry, Why the hell would I leave Xanga? I’m a professional xanga layout freak. My xanga genius all for nothing??!XP and then went back to my HOME, here. I’m an open-minded crack-headed person (no pun) who likes to try and learn new things, but as a cancerian–and as the cliche goes–home is where my heart is. (I have a heart?o_0) The abominable banner ads were just the downside of it. Hrrr. Who in the blogworld wants to have ads on their sites?o_0 (That is, unless you’re getting paid for it. And unless you are meticulous and anal retentive like me. (But I am anal retentive and anal expulsive.XP))

    Xanga should rather remove them blasted ads that shoos away obsessive-compulsive layout buffs like me and exalte (who moved to MySpace btw), and give a portion of their advertising profit to those who are willing to put xanga ads on their sites (especially those who garner the most traffic–those popular xanganites on the Featured Content whose entries are not worth featuring anyway; I’d rather browse porn (kidding.XP) or read a free e-book online.XP). Sure, Xanga has been great, it’s a part of our routine, it has engraved memories on our souls, it runs through our blood, and becomes genetically transmitted to our offsprings. And to pay our debt of gratitude we have to give them a tiny advertising space on top of our blog. But who reads them? Who takes time clicking those ads and actually buys something? Xangans make up 95% of our visitors, that is, unless you’re averaging more than 1000 page views a day. We have them ads plastered all our privates (genitalia? Nay, the subs, feedback, claf, profile, photos, et cetera.); we xangans are bombarded with ads wherever we loiter around xanga (skip premium users anyway, blast you!XP *envious*). Why not get rid of the ads on our public blog since they’re all on our private pages and since about 95% of our visitors are xangans anyway?? Instead, why not put ads on those who are willing to profit from them?? It’s one of those enigmas of the world. WHY?!?!??

  • Very much in favor of it!

  • love this! wish it would’ve come out earlier. pls explain more on how it works

  • Yeah, what’s the deal? It’s like xanga copies everything myspace does. I liked xanga because it wasn’t set up a gossip house for 14 year old girls, which sadly it is becoming. And why do xanga nazi’s suddenly care about censorship? Someone’s mama file a lawsuit?

  • looks great! it’ll sure be a safer space in the future ;)

  • Alright, the “underage” concept I completely understand. Some things should have an age limit, and in my opinion, this is one of them. Maybe the concept of “Advocating Self Harm” is a little extreme. I don’t know that you fully realize that while a lot of people have maybe not had to deal with such things, there are a certain amount of said individuals that have. To tell someone that they can’t write here what they feel they need to to be able to live another day is kind of condescending. Wasn’t the purpose of giving someone a place to make their opinions and struggles known, and maybe get more help for them, not to make people feel inadequate? I know a lot of people that are going through something that don’t feel comfortable talking to someone they know about it. Maybe to some of these users the prospect of someone coming across a “secret” blogsite and having information they can use, not necesarily to hide or encourage such behavior, but to end it would make them a little more comfortable.

    I agree with the prospect of flagging anything listed in the Fraud category. I know that if my personal site were hijacked or other such things, I would want someone to be able to notify me.

    Under the heading “Offensive Content”: Why not try using a disclaimer upon entering the whole of the site that the information contained within personal blogs may or may not be offensive to readers? This would make more sense to me than that say that you can or cannot write about something that intrigues you.

    Breaking down the “Safety” heading more thoroughly, I’ve already commented on the “Advocating Self Harm” and “Proof of Underage User” headings. In my opinion, if you are honestly stating on a public blogsite, that you have or are planning to commit a crime, threatening someone for one reason or another, or simply have too much personal information on the site itself, you probably are asking for whatever trouble you’re going to get into.

    Something else Xanga as a company could try doing is removing blogrings that promote the “self destructive” behavior, and the sex thing. A person is who a person is, and while some of these blogrings were created to help people connect to one another, some of them were created just because they could be. If it were me, I’d leave the blogrings that deal with sexuality issues, like homosexuality and abuse, but cut the ones that are purely sex stories and images. A lot of people need help sometimes dealing with the views and opinions of another person, especially if they are degrading.

    Again, all of this is my opinion, and while I’m only one person out of many, I hope that someone at least seconds this.

  • oooh ok n/m. ignore my previous comment. i didn’t read the description of the flags until now.. heh.. my bad ;P

  • and mine disappears .. thank you so much

  • Couldn’t certain amouts of free speech be infinged upon when it comes to some of these? Not to bring up legal matters or anything along those lines…but shouldn’t people be allowed to express their views? It’s not like people are being forced to view the sites…it is all voluntary….

  • I’m afraid of the misuse of the flags for personal vendettas…of course, that may be a little paranoid, but there are people out there that really make some others mad.  Makes me glad that I only have a couple readers.

  • wow i can see a lot of false reporting going on with this
    i mean, where can you draw the lines?

  • i dont know if this is good or not and i hope it doesnt lead to crazyness. i think blogging should be free and uncensored, thats whats so great about it. but if suddenly people decide they take offense in some thing or other, and then a site is shut down, well, sounds like censoring to me. today it might be flagging a “hatred site”, tomorrow you can be flagged for cursing?

  • i think that this is most definatly needed. esp. w/ all these kindappings and murders due to 1) lack of common sence 2) putting personal info out there and 3) crazy mutha fuckas out there. this is needed. just look @ the case of that 1 girl from oklahoma who got killed due to a guy she met online. not only that, but numerous cases as well. shit needs to be regulated. if ny1 else has a probelm w/ it, then they need to go somewhere else or start thier own . nuff said!

  • have you thought about self-rating? asking people to rate their blogs using some rating system might be a more efficient way of protecting people from objectionable content.

    i have questions about the flagging system — is the purpose of that system to police people’s contents, or is it just a way for others to categorize people’s blogs so that they can find / avoid certain blogs? i prefer the latter.

    perhaps a combination of self-rating and flagging can be used to make Xanga safer for all users. flagging definitely can be used to find violations of user agreement, or blatant criminals — but there’s a lot of room for abuse by malicious users who might use the flagging system to flood supposed complaints against their targets… and then the obvious question of censorship.

    i know that the user agreement is out there, and many people just gloss over it. Xanga has been looking the other way on this, too, until now, right? this seems like a reminder that a contract is out there, and that all users must abide by it in order to continue using the services of Xanga (or else). but still, i’d like to think of Xanga as a place where all forms of expression are allowed (with exceptions to those that actually harm others or lead others to harm). would this be a good time to lay down explicitly what actions by users are legal and illegal, what is allowed and not allowed?

  • Some of these definitions for the flags are open enough to have loose interpretation that could lend itself to abuse, especially on subjective issues like what’s considered adult content.  I mean, my screenname alone could be considered too much by someone who wanted to see me get in trouble.

  • I think it’s a fantastic idea. Way to go, guys.

  • This sounds great. And by the way VersaceDnG, the phrase is “fell on deaf ears”, watch your phraseology.

    There should be a way of protesting flags, for people who flag inappropriately.

  • I’ve been lucky enough to not to encounter any of these problems seriously, so I don’t have anything personal.  However, it sounds like a pretty good idea.

  • good. i think xanga needs that.

  • Yes please make these flags!

  • you’re part of a young and powerful new phenomonon and I’d encourage you not to succomb to too much regulation. by all means, please get rid of any underage users or child porn or whatever, but it scares me that you put ‘breaking the law’ on that list. since when is writing about anything illegal? are you going to start deleting accounts that mention victimless crimes? protecting children from predators is important – but please remember that blogging is the new vangaurd of free-speech.

  • Persons that are flagged will be able to explain themselves before getting shut down, right? As needed as these flags are, the potential for abuse is pretty intense.

  • Some of the flags I agree with, some I think that Xanga can do because they can, and others are a violation of people joining the site.  Honestly, prohibiting people under 13 for viewing/posting is fine.  However, the personal identity measures are a little bit too much.  It’s good that Xanga is looking at all 3 types of account abuse; meaning there’s a start to correcting this madness.

    The whole idea about flagging is what is the site advocating.  Is it promoting self-harm, sexual content, and endangerment of themselves and others, or is it mentioning an issue.  The way how we censor needs to be careful, and when flagged, looked at very carefully before making a decision.  I also honestly think people will abuse a flagging system.  So why not have the content screened by people who are impartial, and fair to the rules of Conduct set forth by Xanga.

    In addition, I also believe that your definitions for each type of violation is very vague.  The violation that you use has a definition that can be construed very harsh, or very leniant.  There’s too much gray area.  In technical writing, it’s very occluded.  I know this is a lot of lawyer speak, but as people we need something that’s for the people; more understandable, more concrete, and then people can voice their pleasure/displeasure about how the violations are about.  In this case, I hope that these flags go under large amounts of scrutiny before they are implemented, if done.

  • Set up punishments for abuse of the flags, though.

  • i like it

  • ok great

  • Jesus is pleased.

  • good idea!

  • Hopefully, the profile pics will alos be watched under Adult Content because I notice some revealing profile pics from time to time.  In fact, one was on the xanga featured page a couple days ago.

  • I personally think this is ridiculous.  What if someone wants to go tagging people just for the fun of it?

  • would self harm include eating disorders?  i would definitely crackdown on that if i were you guys

  • There should be a President (nay! a Dictator!), Vice President and Xanga military, whom enforce these rules via any means necessary. We don’t need flags to cut down on “inappropriate content.” We need more guns!

    Actually, I do agree (to some extent) that the illicit sex should be cut off (just because Xanga is geared towards such a young crowd).

    To your Fraud stuff: Amen!

    However, I find the Hatred flag along with some of the safety flags are somewhat controversial (and you will have problems with them, I guarantee it.)

    Safety should be left up to the child’s guardian, though I do see how you guys take a lot of “blame” for it.

    cout<<

  • The flags look like a great idea.  For the too much personal information, you might want to clairfy that up a little bit, because what one thinks is appropriate for them might be too much information for another.  Other than that…great thinking! I hope it launches soon too.

  • I reviewed, I likes.

  • sounds good to me!

  • We’re self moderating, finally!

  • that’s excellent!  good idea and i like how you have them in different categories.

  • here’s my question. The xanga terms of conduct state that content that is “unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable”.

    Of all these things, only “unlawful” is clearly described. Who determines what’s vulgar, and what’s obscene?

    I understand the felt need to control harmful blog posts, but I think we need to be careful with this proposed “censorship by democracy” idea.

  • I agree with most of these, but I think the definitions of “too much info” and “underage nudity” need to be clarified (and judged based on common sense).

  • Number 100!

  • I do like this tho..

  • What about a “Stolen Content” flag? I know many bloggers who post a pic or a story, and suddenly it ends up on someone elses blog as their own.

    ~Eric~

  • THANK YOU!

  • Love it, just so long as its used correctly.

  • I LOVE this idea!!! Seriously! Nice work! I knew I stuck with Xanga for all these years for a reason! :)

  • Wow, thank you. there’s a really racist xanga site, I sent an email awhile ago but I didn’t even know if it went to the right place or not. Maybe I’ll report it again.

  • thank you
    thank you
    THANK YOU

  • Good flags, I think they’ll be very useful

  • Great idea ;)

  • hate it………hate it………..hate it.

  • i dont really care.  i dont have any of that so not a big deal to me.  as long as i can cuss, we’re good to go :)

  • i really hate emo kids….and i talk shit about them all the time.

  • I have a question about this.  Is it possible for a parent to give approval for an underage account, for instance if it is in the parents’ name?  I know of homeschoolers that do this as part of writing projects, or to teach computer skills.  Most of these kids are just talking about what books they read & about the projects they do, etc, and the parents are actually supervising the accounts.  I’d really love an answer for this, if possible.

  • sounds good to me as long as there are actual guidelines for what constitutes violation of these rules.

  • What would occur once a post was flagged? For example, what if someone maliciously flagged sites that were clean?

  • Reading some of the other comments makes me feel the need to point out that a flag is only a flag. Someone will still have to come view the site and decide if it really is promoting self harm or a scam or whatever. The Xanga admins are not idiots, and I’m sure whoever they have reviewing flagged sites won’t be either. I’m positive they will be able to tell a discussion or a sarcastic statement, from advocay of an act, or harassment. I also expect that in cases where it’s not clear right off they’ll contact the bloggers involved and give them a chance to explain themselves before taking action. Not to mention there will no doubt be a way to review decisions to shut down sites too.

  • there should be a way around adult content.. like that you must be logged in to view the user’s page.. that way you can ensure someone old enough is viewing the page. also.. breaking the law? as in drug users or people racing and such? what are we the cops? let them be. but the fraud and the hatred site ideas are great.

  • thanx

  • I like it.

  • I note that few of these categories are well-defined [for instance, what's "obscene" adult content to me and what's obscene to my granny are two very different things] and I hope the guidelines will be clarified on all these issues *before* this is implemented. “Using common sense” is not a clarification.

  • cool great job!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks!!!!!!!!!

  • YAy! good!

  • If you guys are going to do this I want proof that you are actually going to look over what people flag before you warn them or ban them. I’m not having my account deleted just because some a$$ hole thinks it’s funny to flag me.

  • thank goodness for these new flags.  i’m sick of seeing underage girls in provocative positions wearing bikinis with “my humps” playing in the background.

    i completely support!

  • excellent idea!

  • Santa says gj people.

  • When exactly did I enter the twilight zone?  How exactly can you let flagging be done by Xangans in a fair an open minded way?  Good lord, this is getting ridiculous.

    When did Xangans who simply opened a site and maybe pay for premium (as I do thank you very much) become the mother and father of all who are here?  If sites and blogs are ACTUALLY violating Xanga terms of agreement, then it is Xanga who should be solely responsible for policing this.  Do you not see what you are creating here?  But you do this and say this as though it is a “improvement” to this web community.  Don’t you realize that what you are doing is giving some (I said some so everyone back off) people an absolute goal now?  They will spend their time, no longer blogging for themselves, or finding new friends or simply speaking out loud in a white window… they will now spend their time SEARCHING for anyone they can flag.  And does it help anything?  No, because if the gods of Xanga are too busy now to police this community based on the rules established, why will they suddenly have more time to go “check out” all the flags. 

    This stuff is too vague, to open ended, and will simply create hostility, paranoia and give some a sense of control over other “free” people.

    It bothers me deeply that this community I came to and found such a wonderful place to be me in… has resorted to such political and judgemental ways.  If you dont like what you see, dont visit the sites any more.  How funny (ironic funny) I find it when I see so many comments of people saying “Yea, I hate those sites” or “yes, those pics and blogs offend me”.  Why then are you there?  What led you to the site?  Featured content has been promoting these silly almost naked almost pornographic bloggers for the entire time I have been here.  Because they get comments.  If you dont like something, then stay away from it.

    When did any person not of power in the Xanga land who created the rules (user agreements) become licensed to “check up” on anyone here?

    Truly I worry for the state of this place.  It saddens and angers me that you (Xanga) think this is appropriate.

    Silver Alexis

  • sounds good to me.

  • Yes

  • great job

  • I am AGAINST this-it is outright censorship!  Who will draw the lines, and who’s to say there won’t be personal vendettas and vigilantism?  This is like a witches hunt folks!  Freedom of speech! (I do not condone child porn/abuse, however).  We already have our news censored, so we don’t hear the real stories–that’s happening here, too?

  • I posted about this, along with a poll.

  • I think it’s a good idea- but without enforcement, it will accomplish very little.  Blessings abound

  • that would be cool

  • this is great, except for the “underaged nudity” are you saying that it’s ok to be nude as long as you are over a certain age??? I don’t think so!!! ALL nudity should be banned. the idea is great and all the flags sound cool. thanks so much for trying to keep xanga safe

  • Are you going to make sure that people can’t falsely accuse others? Will you throroughly check sites that are flagged for this content? This could possibly be misused.

  • I’m in full support of this idea.  Its a good Idea to be pro-active in fighting these problems.  Nothing I hate more than brousing blogs only to be subjected to subject matter that is offensive or hateful.  Just so long as you are careful not to overlook the freedom of expression that make blogs so good. 

  • think they could be good until people abuse them on people they dont like.

  • How are ags going to work — will people be able to breeze through xanga and flag Xangans just for the fun of it? I know that I personally wouldn’t do that or post anything resulting in my being flagged, but I’m curious as to the abuse that could come about as a result of flags.

    Thanks~
    Rachel

  • I think it’s a good idea, it just might be hard to enforce..

  • I understand the need for xanga to insulate themselves from possible legal action, but this seems extreme and harsh, not to mention reminiscent of President Bush asking us to spy on our neighbor’s to prevent terrorism.

    As a hosting service I know it is within your rights to implement something of this nature, but I would hope you would not forget the importance of free speech.

  • wait, I have a question… so would the flags cause the sites to be immediately shut down, or would the person just get a warning? and also, would the people know WHO flagged them, etc…? it’s a good idea, though. Just not so sure about the proana flag.

  • This is an excellent idea – I have been browsing xangas before and abruptly come on content that I wish I had never seen.  I thought these people signed a user agreement…

    I second VersaceDnG, however.  This will only work if the flags are actually monitored, checked up on, and acted upon.  Unless you are prepared to do that, people will eventually give up flagging.

    I also agree with those people who have pointed out that there needs to be a human checking the sites and actually ensuring that they have the content in them.  Perhaps a sort of “warning system” should be put in place, where someone checks up on a flag and if it is actually merited, gives the xanga owner an e-mail warning and if the content is not removed quickly, deletes the site.

    And to LifeStar7 – we need this.  I didn’t get a xanga to be accidentally exposed to porn against my will and I also didn’t join to get spammed or preyed upon.  MySpace needs it perhaps more than xanga, but we can still implement something.  Xanga’s not a right – you agree when you join to abide by the terms of us.  If you violate those terms, you shouldn’t have one.

  • I understand why we may need the above flags, but please note that if these “flags” and regulations increases to a further extend, you will eventually defeat the purpose of having a blogging community. 

  • Amazing…… =P…xD…  that would be nice…. this is why xanga is kool… but thanx to u…. i dunt even know u….

  • good idea

  • This is an extreamly well thought out plan. Good job John (I don’t know if thats your name or not but you get what I mean)

  • how exactally are you supposed to flag people?

  • i support all of them…way to go.

  • i think this is a great idea guys!

  • Sounds good to me… Hope you guys crack down on this. Myspace did, they cut back like 20000 people. Hope you do too.

  • Good Idea =)

  • This is crazy.

  • Nice list. I especially like the one regarding “too much personal info.” It makes it a lot easier to report somebody. Should there maybe be one about extensive profanity? Maybe not. Just an idea…

  • I agree w/ soonaquitter.

  • We don’t need anymore crap. I should know cause…………

    Why r we listing things on some 1 elses site?

  • The seven Flags cover everything that should be restricted. They are going to be very useful. However, I am very interested in how you will diploy them and how you plan to enforce them.

  • i think thats awesome                                                 g2g chaps500

  • sounds good to me

  • A completely stupid idea. First it’s shutting adults off of Xanga and now this…You’ll have people getting flagged just for the hell of it or they are just not liked. Don’t bother with it. So who’s going to be the Big Brother watching this chronic bullcrap?

    Zeig Hail…for the Children.

  • cool im supportive for whatever you do.

  • that erotic guy needs to be kicked off.

  • Sounds like a great idea to me.

  • I think its an excellent idea, promote self regulation…eprops!

  • good

  • I shall not be a tard-0 and repeat how hard it will be for you to judge what’s acceptable and what isn’t, because h00-dawgie, it sure is, heh heh…leave T3H p]20n!!!
    I will not gripe about my freedom of speech on this site. I realize I sign into a private site when I come here…”I can read!”
    I realize the pressure the site must be feeling to conform to the man…I just wanna know how.
    I’m looking forward to seeing how you’re going to implement it. Are you going to link to each page and truley set a flag? Or are you going to set up a message system/filters for the abuse reporting? At what point are you going to have to implement human review and who’s to do teh review-agez0r?

  • yes! this is good…

  • I’m in complete support of this….especially considering 12 year olds as of right now have complete access to pornography through certain member’s xanga sites. No warnings of offensive content or nudity. Please do this to help make xanga a safer place to blog.

  • TMPI is a bit overkill… Is this some kind of law suit prevention tactic?

  • Wait a sec, only Xanga staff will be able to flag, right? @_@
    Because I can see a stampede of people that would flag someone just for the hell of it, you know?
    That is not good.

  • make somptin to check these flags that are placed on the sites to make sure that the flag is put there for a good reason. like assign some people to check over the flagged sites (id do it for free as im sure many others would as well)

  • Some of these are a little over the top… more like the TMI ones…

  • I like everything else but I don’t think everyone should be able to flag

  • i think it’s a great idea….some sites are getting pretty bad and slutty

  • Sounds good.

  • No no no no. Great now every self righteous blowhole skinbag can evoke their own form of puritanical whitewash censorship on whoever they deem beneath the veil in their eyes. Seriously everything I have read I agree with, that the uniqie space here at Xanga is becoming a homgenous white bread world of Myblogspacxanga.
    Stop, think, act independently, be bold and do not cave to the McCarthism that is running the blogsphere into the ridiculousness that the FCC has done to the airways.

    Great now I am irate…

  • Great thinking, It’s a great thing to have when you can’t just report and you’d have to e-mail, etc. This will get them going John!

  • just curious… is the purpose of flagging simply to alert fellow users about the site, or will it remove the user’s account once you’ve picked up the flag and checked it out? if it’s just an alert, then you’re just letting people know who are struggling with these things or into these things where to go to find it. At least make them search for it, if that’s the case. If it’s to inevitably remove them (which I’m all for), how will you prevent them from simply creating a new account and coming back?

  • seems like a really good idea to me.. and its about time it happened

  • This is something that’s going to have to have quite a few dedicated to investigating ‘flags’.

    I think it’s probably good for the most part, provided it doesn’t become overzealous.

  • sugarspun has an excellent point.

  • i think it looks really cool and neat =]]

    you guys are making xanga better everyday! thnx!

  • Great idea! Especially the “too much personal info”…..way too many teens ahve their names etc. etc on there..way too dangerous!!   Alot are underage too…so like the “proof of underage user”….

  • What if somebody flags someone who doesn’t really deserve it? I really hope that there will be protection for my site. I don’t post pornographic images, I don’t spam other people’s xangas, and I don’t force my opinions on anybody. What if somebody just doesn’t like me or just wants to raise some trouble for me? I’m worried that religious fanatics will flag Xangas of people of other religions that they deem “inappropriate.” It’s not their right.

    While I think that in some cases, this could be a very good idea, in others, it’s too based on opinion. You need to properly define some of these topics, as well. What specifically is “adult content”?

  • This is a kickass start to managing the problems. You folks rock for not ignoring these things.

  • It is kinda hard to use censorship in a public forum
    and there has been so many instances of just mean kids here
    on xanga…doing prank things…which there will always be
    I think this is basically opening up a can of worms….I pay to be here
    and I don’t want some prankster flagging my blog just because they have nothing
    better to do…hmm can of worms I say!!!!

  • I can dig the fraud flags, the threat of harm flag, and the underage porn flag.

    As for adult content, maybe I’m the only one to actually say it, but I like the porn sites.  Is porn a direct violation of Xanga’s terms?  I’m with those that say let the site’s creators label their site as X-Rated to keep them separate from the PG stuff so that people who are clicking around don’t happen upon something like that.  And if they’re not labeled appropriately, flag them for review so they can be labeled right; not shut down completely.

    Hatred:  I don’t like them much either, but I can always just ignore them

    Ana/Mia/cutting:  that’s a toughie.  I ignore those too, though it does trouble me that people are encouraging others.  I don’t know how one would police that or even if one should.

  • that sux its gey

  • I’m pretty sure that most of these will be abused and twisted to suit mischief.
    this is xanga. you can’t expect people to be so responsible.

  • This looks like a great idea. :)

  • Awesome!

  • Yea…this is great news!

  • And how do you flag someone?

  • Censorship, that’s what it is, isn’t it? For the best and for the safety of our users? I always thought of Xanga as a place where you can share your thoughts with everyone. Some of those flags limit that freedom. For example, one of the flags that bothers me is “Advocates Self-Harm.” I’m not saying that people should be rewarded eProps, comments, and attention for self-destructive behavior. But to shut down their Xanga sites for advocating self-harm… I know cutters and people with eating disorders glorify pain, but that’s how they want to live their lives. We can’t really put a stop to that.

    Some of the flags need to be looked over once again. Flagging will be a lot of work for you guys. Good luck.

  • Not a huge fan.  Too subjective and too much room for abuse (ie flagging a site just because you don’t like the person - not for content). 

  • OH OH YOU SHOULD PUT A FLAG ON THE SITES THAT SAY “vote for the hottest girl” There’s usually about three of them on premium FC. I find them quite annoying. And most those girls are under 18… but not naked. BUt they are really annoying.

  • Good idea.  I support.

  • Good idea guys!  Lets get it rolling!

  • sounds great, but where would the flags go?

  • Awesome.

  • kool i like them.

  • thats a good idea. will someone be monitoring this so we aren’t in trouble for no reason?

  • if people start flagging me, i will find out who.  and my site will turn into a hateful, face-melting verbal holocaust practically overnight.  I am proud of my xanga site, I consider it a representation of myself, and more than nudity or self-violence or child-exploitation, the thought that someone might get it in their heads that they can tell me what to think offends me.  We are all different, we all have different standards, and our differences are reflected in our sites.  That’s what makes xanga special to me:  its a microcosm of real life.  If I wanted to be nothing more than a face and a catalouge of socially-acceptable thoughts, i’d spend more time on myspace.  That little “report innapropriate conduct” button of theirs always glared at me anyway.  Seriously, if you dont like whats on a site, dont go there.  There are people in real life that I dont like, but I dont go around “deleting” them (as allieviating as that sounds) because i know i dont have the right.  I just ignore them.  and just for the record, i totally agree with EroticusVenemous.  and iceflame24 needs to go probe his/her sensitive areas with a metal rod.     

  • PLEASE!!! ESTABLISH THIS IMMIDIATLY!!!!!!!

  • Uhhh…… lets see. I’m thirty somethin somethin and now I’ll have to watch what I say on my OWN PERSONAL BLOG???????

    Censorship. Call it what you want, but that’s all it is.

  • hello, this is but crack  you are not real. 

  • NOOOO bad idea. BOOOOOO

  • I am interested to know the response to the malicious use issue.  Also in the light of having to protect some “questionable” posts I see this site as becoming more like MySpace… and that frightens me.

  • Why is Xanga becoming so binding?

  • Meaning, I don’t like this idea AT ALL.

  • I think it’s a good idea..!

  • A lot of this will drive a bunch of users away.  There’s way too much gray area, and a lot of the flags would totally prevent a lot of bloggers from having “outlets”.  For a lot of people, posting on Xanga is pretty much the only way to escape.  Doing something like this isn’t a good idea.  If this does occur, expect to see a lot of quitters.

  • In short, I agree with “Erika_Steele”!

  • So, would there be a “flag counter” on each site?  So that when it was flagged someone could see how many flags a site has…kinda like the e-bay feedback deal???

    I guess eProps are kinda like that…but…not really….hmm…

  • I think most are ok, but the too much personal info and the threat of physical harm may be too much.  I’m always saying “I wanna gonna kick their ass” when referring to my siblings, but it’s not literal (no, seriously).  And what if I use a funny voice when impersonating my mom…is that malicious?

    Just some feedback.

     

  • Great idea – I think it’s showing professional responsibility to provide these flags.

  • Seems like a good idea on the surface and I applaud the thought going into it….  just not sure that regulation is the way to go – are we buying into a fear culture that chips away at our freedoms?

    How about an “Offends me – but you look if you like!” flag

  • once you institute this, it seems to imply that you’re more responsible and can be held accountable for content, no?

  • I think it’s okay … not sure about the “too much info” stuff …

    If it helps keep xanga safer then I’m for it!!

  • WHOOT thanks so much!! A great way of improvement!

  • actually i don’t think underage users are that big of a deal…kids are gonna find much nastier and inappropriate content than on xanga.

    but i agree, its about time.

    just be careful cause half the stuff people post on here is a joke anyways.

  • Good idea. [= ftw, yo.

  • “too much personal info” ? seems strange .

  • its a good idea

  • Looks great. I think its awesome you’re making an effort to make xanga safer, however I think you should make sure that people aren’t going around tagging random people for no reason. hopefully you have a way to make sure of that.

  • this looks great

  • excellent ides, I like it

  • Actually I do have one problem with this.

    ‘threat of physical harm’.

    How the hell are you gonna prevent that from happening if its being posted on a blog, and you have to take into account that people joke with their friends and siblings that way.

  • It sounds awesome to me

    I hope theres going to be some kind of monitoring system for them too so people don’t get stuck with unfair tags

    thanks for all the hard work!

  • thanks so much

  • oh, good.  a few less “pro-ana” sites.  thanks!

  • I understand that there are various legal considerations being considered. Some people have compared the blog systems as being similar to newspapers. Note that newspapers have a lot more censorship than xanga has at this time.

    The one area that concerns me most is “hatred site” because in the current culture, people consider many statements as being “hate” statements, whether they are intended that way or not.

  • why is xanga so binding now? cant you just host the accounts and let people do whatever they want? its not like you’re running a country..

  • I’m ok with this…

  • I like it.  Thanks! 

  • very useful!

  • I think it will cause me to reevaluate using Xanga as an outlet. I don’t believe some of the Xangans that I’ve read have any business judging the xanga sites of others. They can’t even spell correctly and you’re going to let them judge my content? I think not.

  • sounds great

  • Looks pretty good.. I just hope a warning is given., with most of the new flags? My question is will it apply to old post that have already been post.. or post from here on out?

  • i think it’s stupid. but that’s me. i’d probably be under too much personal information.

  • I don’t like the “advocates self harm.” I like cutting.

  • I came back to mention this…

    I just read the rules of member conduct… from your link.  No where does this disclaimer or rule list say anything about adult content.  The very first “rule” speaks on vulgarity and such.  So, the point?  You NOW are deciding to change the rules of conduct without actually changing them?

    Do you not see what you are doing here?  Bowing to the ones that whine the most.  How long has Xanga been available?  And yet NOW you suddenly decide to “conform and censor”?

    Just sick I am, simply, unbelievably sick at this complete farce of political bending.  It makes me sad to be a member of this community.  So where do we buy tickets for the Inquisition?  The Witch Hunts?  Hmmmm?

  • I’m not very excited about this…but I’d like to see how it goes

  • yeh i am way cooler than you

  • works for me

  • support ..keep doin ur thing ..xanga..!!!!

  • Don’t like it. Don’t like it at all. If I post a nude goddess bead I made, will I be flagged for “adult content?”
    What if I state my opinion that I HATE the stance of the state homeschooling group in favor of bigotry?

    I am quite capable of clicking away from a site I have no interest in seeing – even if I (oh horrors!) happen to catch a glimpse of a breast or a penis, I really don’t need Xanga, or the users of Xanga to play the part of my mommy and daddy.

    And when my children are using the internet, although I know this is out-of-fashion these days, I am actually quite capable and willing to parent them myself.

  • There needs to be one for “Annoying Bullshit”!

  • im in

  • well, as long as it doesn’t turn into Complainers and Whiners all over the place, I suppose it’s good. I think there’s a fair chance of misuse.
    Too much personal info I think would be the kids that put down full name, school, grade and city….that kind of thing.

  • Great idea!!  Some of the flags need more clarification (some need a LOT more) however.  Thanks for looking out for the community!!

  • I believe there is a valid concern of the flags being used to maliciously target blogs that readers don’t agree with. If there was something in place to stop that-some way of stopping that-then I’d be all for it. No need to see the innocent and the guilty hit with the same punishment. A court of appeals is needed I think.

  • wow sounds great!!!!!

  • I honestly think this would be helpful seeing how I and many of my friends have experienced some of the above mentioned problems. I know individuals who quit Xanga all together because they felt unsafe. However, there maybe instances where individuals might abuse this flagging system. Each person – due to being culture bound - may have a different perception of what is deemed offensive, unsafe, or fraudulent. (i.e. if someone were to show artitistic photos of possible nude FTM (female-to-male) or MTF (male-to-female) transgender images to show support of gender differences, someone else might see this as deviant and report it as inappropriate). Others may just look away and don’t care to report things that are deemed inapporpriate. Some people may not be able to determine exactly what is appropriate or not. Members will argue that this system undermines their freedom to express themselves. (i.e. there are times when people convey their negative feelings on their weblog to help them cope. Should they be flagged?)

  • Smells like sensorship to me…  But to tell you the truth I don’t really care.  I would feel safe and empowered through the new flagging system.

  • no way. this is an online community. i am not forcing anyone to read my site, and i refuse to judge anyone else’s. if you dont like the content, read something else. but dont corrupt my 1st amendment freedom.

  • Reading some of these proposed “flags” makes me feel like I’m back in grade school. 

  • It’s a great idea… personally though, I wouldn’t really know if someone hijacked someone’s Xanga. What I would encourage you is to explain clearly why you are doing this. There are people who probably don’t want to be informants. And then there are others who believe that a healthy online community needs some type of self policing (I hate that word). Along with that, please make sure people know what happens when someone’s Xanga is flagged. What if it was done maliciously or by mistake? I think how you implement this will be critical. Good luck.

  • Xangans shouldn’t be trusted to grade sites.

    Xanga should do this, it’s there job…

  • I totally agree with this idea. All tenants should have the right to complain about their neighbor’s behavior and a guaranteed forum in which to do so. There are many, many sites that are arrogantly flagrant in their violation of Xanga’s terms of service. The free sites especially should be shut down and the paid sites should be censured. Freedom of speech is too precious to abuse.

  • One more thing… who decides what adult content is? Are writings about gay issues, love life, sex life, porn all considered adult content?

  • This is what a lot of us have been wanting … MySpace, Xanga and a few other on line journals have been in the News almost every night because of Pedofiles and child pornography … so, yes .. thank you for doing this …

  • Support. However….

    http://www.wingsofjustice.com/06/03/woj06012.html

    For those of you who don’t want to clock over, and don’t have Window Media player…here is the text.

    Episode Dialogue

    Alan Shore’s closing argument

    Alan Shore: When the weapons of mass destruction thing turned out to be not true, I expected the American people to rise up. Ha! They didn’t.

    Then, when the Abu Ghraib torture thing surfaced and it was revealed that our government participated in rendition, a practice where we kidnap people and turn them over to regimes who specialize in torture, I was sure then the American people would be heard from. We stood mute.

    Then came the news that we jailed thousands of so-called terrorists suspects, locked them up without the right to a trial or even the right to confront their accusers. Certainly, we would never stand for that. We did.

    And now, it’s been discovered the executive branch has been conducting massive, illegal, domestic surveillance on its own citizens. You and me. And I at least consoled myself that finally, finally the American people will have had enough. Evidentially, we haven’t.

    In fact, if the people of this country have spoken, the message is we’re okay with it all. Torture, warrantless search and seizure, illegal wiretappings, prison without a fair trial – or any trial, war on false pretenses. We, as a citizenry, are apparently not offended.

    There are no demonstrations on college campuses. In fact, there’s no clear indication that young people seem to notice.

    Well, Melissa Hughes noticed. Now, you might think, instead of withholding her taxes, she could have protested the old fashioned way. Made a placard and demonstrated at a Presidential or Vice-Presidential appearance, but we’ve lost the right to that as well. The Secret Service can now declare free speech zones to contain, control and, in effect, criminalize protest.

    Stop for a second and try to fathom that.

    At a presidential rally, parade or appearance, if you have on a supportive t-shirt, you can be there. If you are wearing or carrying something in protest, you can be removed.

    This, in the United States of America. This in the United States of America. Is Melissa Hughes the only one embarrassed?

    *Alan sits down abruptly in the witness chair next to the judge*

    Judge Robert Sanders: Mr. Shore. That’s a chair for witnesses only.

    Really long speeches make me so tired sometimes.

    Judge Sanders: Please get out of the chair.

    Alan: Actually, I’m sick and tired.

    Judge Sanders: Get out of the chair!

    Alan: And what I’m most sick and tired of is how every time somebody disagrees with how the government is running things, he or she is labeled unAmerican.

    U.S. Attorney Jonathan Shapiro: Evidentally, it’s speech time.

    Alan: And speech in this country is free, you hack! Free for me, free for you. Free for Melissa Hughes to stand up to her government and say “Stick it”!

    U.S. Attorney Jonathan Shapiro: Objection!

    Alan: I object to government abusing its power to squash the constitutional freedoms of its citizenry. And, God forbid, anybody challenge it. They’re smeared as being a heretic. Melissa Hughes is an American. Melissa Hughes is an American. Melissa Hughes is an American!

    Judge Sanders: Mr. Shore. Unless you have anything new and fresh to say, please sit down. You’ve breached the decorum of my courtroom with all this hooting.

    Alan: Last night, I went to bed with a book. Not as much fun as a 29 year old, but the book contained a speech by Adlai Stevenson. The year was 1952. He said, “The tragedy of our day is the climate of fear in which we live and fear breeds repression. Too often, sinister threats to the Bill of Rights, to freedom of the mind are concealed under the patriotic cloak of anti-Communism.”

    Today, it’s the cloak of anti-terrorism. Stevenson also remarked, “It’s far easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.”

    I know we are all afraid, but the Bill of Rights – we have to live up to that. We simply must. That’s all Melissa Hughes was trying to say. She was speaking for you. I would ask you now to go back to that room and speak for her.

    –
    True friendship is like sound health;
    the value of it is seldom known until it is lost.
    — Charles Caleb Colton

  • How are you going to make sure that people aren’t just wasting your time with malicious tags?

    But, I DO think it’s a great idea to have these “flags” as there have been several times I’ve seen hatred sites/ malicious sites/ etc.

  • too much personal info sounds a little sketchy. i don’t necessarily agree with that one, but the rest sound good. and personal harm? what would you do to prevent that?

  • Good idea, but I’d also like to see positive flags.

    +1 funny!
    +1 zing!
    +1 1337

    Maybe even use that kind of positive points system to replace eprops…

  • err…for those that are deemed to be in violation of one or more of these flags…they may not even know it…especially if they have so many posts over a span of yrs…would they get a warning or notification of the violation and what post is in violation?…to give them a chance to take it down…

  •  I think the same as most…  It’s a great idea, but I hope that there will be a checking system so as not to shut down sites that don’t deserve to be shut down.

  • This will not work, because if you think you need flags to police poeple, then you should be aware of people using these just to be jerks and hurt others.  i think alot of people are afraid of this idea…censorship should not be trusted in the hands of people you dont know…why are you giving that power to hundreds of unknown users who do not run your site?  I personally see that as a disaster waiting to happen. Thank you

  • It sounds awesome!

  • This does not bode well for the Kenny.

  • YES! I’m sooooo sick of seeing sites that have nudity and other things that obviously break the rules on here. I’ve been looking for a report tool like this.

  • wow, don’t go too far to the person’s stuff then, anyway thanks!!

  • woah woah awoah

  • woah woah awoah

  • I wouldn’t want that huge thing on every post… keep it concealed… make it one link, “Report this comment/page”

    from there, have all the other options

  • Sounds good!

  • Xanga isn’t binding. I am all for the rights of Americans. Oh and GASP, I am a Christian. BUT, when the exercizing of YOUR rights infringes on the rights of OTHERS, then you have overstepped your rights and THAT is the problem. Do people have the right to view porn if they are legal age? yes. Do I have the right to click on xanga names and not be plagued by porn?? ABSOLUTELY! Do people have the right to list their own personal information on their site? Yes. (It’s stupid, but yes.) But don’t I have the right for my personal information to NOT be listed on their site?? YES!
    These flags, although I am skeptical about their actual affects and impact, are geared to help protect the individual rights that people have so that other people can’t overstep their boundaries and infringe on the rights of others. In theory, these flags will be pretty decent in doing that. however, my fear is that these flags will get overused, thus certain sites will get overlooked, thus the more dangerous sites could be overlooked. Xanga has rules right now that I know are not being obeyed and nothing is done about it. What should make me believe anything will change?

  • nice one. You guys are thinking

  • Isn’t this outright censorship? We’ll all end up being labeled? I don’t THINK so!

  • sounds great. this is a community, and as the guys and glas in charge, you should be taking measures to keep it safe. i’m glad to see that you are.

  • I agree with the idea of a flagging system but I’m not so sure about “Too much personal info”. I think thats one choice that people need to make themselves i.e. how much is too much? And with the “Hatred” flag, I support it as long as the flagging system recognizes and respects the difference between freedom of speech and opinion as opposed to genuine hate-mongering for the heck of it.

  • sure, they seem good to me.
    anyways,
    pras.

  • not to supportive of the safety part, there are many things that users do that “look like” breaking the law that are not really… Advocates self harm? there are hoards of kids that are copying music videos… too much personal info? i for one have put my adress up on xanga, and i feel comfortable doing so, i have my xanga set to where only the people i want to can see it… moreover the first two issues i do support and should be delt with, but the whole “safety” flag idea i think is a little bit intrusive and a bit presumptious.

  • If you impose all of these flags, don’t you think there could potentially be a huge backlash and many people will begin to report everyone just to keep you busy? 

    Won’t you need tens of paid employees checking these flags and shutting down blogs? 

    And wouldn’t that raise the price of premium memberships or even end free memberships?

    Would you even still have free memberships?

    You could consider an all premium Xanga…

    Just some concerns.

  • i love those flags.  it’d make xanga a safer and happier community indeed.

  • I think you should add “Contains Pictures of Nicole Richey or the Olson Twins.” Although some might argue that this fits under “Advocates Self Harm,” I think this deserves a category of its own. This will probably offend a lot of the anorexic and bulimic girls, but I think everyone’s better off not seeing these skeletal bodies.

  • What a brilliant idea, flagging sites, it reminds me of “Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer”

  • good stuff!

    im worried about the girls with eating disorders!

  • OFF TOPIC:

    The new editor box won’t let me delete any text unless I go into “EDIT HTML”… the text just stubbornly stays there LOL. And the “Text editor not working” link just takes me back to the text editor…?!?!?

  • This is a horrendous idea.  Freedom of speech is in the Constitution for a reason.  Xanga’s not broken, so please do not fix it.

  • If you find a site htat you do not agree with leave morals and values are not universal. It is only us as individuals who respond to stimuli and if we do respond then it is up to the individual to understand why the reaction occured then move on.

  • the only “flag” that I think the xanga supervisors (or whatever you guys are called) will need to be particularly careful with is the threat of harm to others. Make sure sites that are closed down for “treats” are not just expressing themselves

  • I think this is an Awesome thing! This will help us all be safe and happy using Xanga for our true xangian friends can be assured there is something we can do to block malisious behavior we all have seen from time to time.

    Great work!

    Sincerely,

    Shawna aka Lady Pantheress

  • Definitely a good step in the right direction.  However, would the user be notified of the specific reason their site was shut down?

  • Great Idea

  • Yes, this is definitely a much needed and useful idea. Thank you for always trying to make our lives better, Xanga!

  • You have killed freedom of expression.

  • In your misguided and well-meaning
    attempt to clean up your beloved
    bloghub, you have done naught but
    effectively stifled expression.
    While I believe that many of these
    are indeed excellent ideas in theory,
    I thoroughly disagree with their
    practical application, for mark me -
    People WILL misuse this system.

  • Great idea as long as it’s not taken too far..I mean like someone above said..what if someone just get’s mad at ya ..or offended by your opinion or whatever..

    But WTG on trying to keep our kids sake!

  • Just wanted to say thank you, and this is the Smart and moral thing to do. Not that you have time, but I posted about this topic today. Even if people don’t care about these sites, the bad press you would get for not doing it would force xanga to shut down. Let’s have xanga be the safe site, I know parents who have let thier kids switch over from MY Space ( due to My Space’s bad publicity ) your doing the right thing from a business stand point and a Moral stand point. Don’t let the censoship paranoids make you stop.

  • great idea

  • this is all good an all ..

    but can’t ppl abuse dis as well ? @_@;;

    >> g e n i e

  • Oh, so my page is going to get flagged just for my name eh? Oh no, horror beyond horrors! Naked adults over 18 having intercourse!! Quick! The parents are too stupid to watch their kids, let Big Brother think for them…Flag everyone and shut down all xanga pages that are owned by people over the age of 18! Send flowers to their bitches and ho’s

    Did the Puritans comeback again? Oh dear, there’s a wiccan blogring out there! Get the firewood!

    You’ll be the first to be flagged when this comes! Grow some balls

  • Thanks for doing this. It helps to know that xanga is striving to be a responsible web log community. I really appreciate what you are doing.Thanks.

    ANNE62

  • I am for it. I am worried about the number of sites on here about Anorexia. It is harmful and deadly – if something is not done and someone dies from it it would be terrible.

    Something needs to be done!

  • Great Ideal!!!

  • Not to be a bummer on this lovefest, but I’ve got a few concerns here.

    First, what’s to stop someone getting all pissy with another Xangan and flagging their blog just to get them in trouble? 

    Second, do you have the staff now to deal with the legitimate flags?  In the past, when we’ve contacted you with problems such as those you now have “flags” for, more than half the time we didn’t even get an email back.  So will the flags actually result in action from the powers that be, or just be a new pretty “thang” that means nothing?

    Lastly, WHY does Xanga have to become a My Space clone?  All the latest stuff you’ve come up with seems to just copycat that rage over there.  If I wanted to be part of something like that, I’d be over there. 

  • I know that people are worried about censorship and free speech.  I oppose censorship and support free speech.  There’s no “flag” for profanity, though.  It seems that most, if not all, of the flags refer to things that are already illegal or against Xanga’s rules.  The big grey areas that I think need work are “adult content” and “too much personal information.”  If these are too vague and too strict, there will be backlash.  Getting pictures of naked eight year olds, people who attempt suicide, and people who vehemently and violently attack a specific group OFF the sites that Xanga OWNS seems like a reasonable idea, though.  It’s Xanga’s prerogative, but make sure you don’t alienate too many people and keep the flagging fair.

  • Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this!

  • Totally awesome, wonderful idea, very needed. Keep up the good work.

  • what’s this all about?

  • its great

  • its a good idea

  • Sounds good.

    I guess this is to keep away creepy MySpacers

  • yeah, i definitely support this.

  • I Like it at least your trying to protect us Thank you for careing cant wait to see how it works.

  • it really is smart because they’re is a wide range of people on here i mean age groups. Keep out children away for child pedifiles and sex offenders!

  • Very good step!!

  • good stuff

  • I think the flags for sites that actually break U.S. law are pointless, because they have bigger beef with the U.S. (which I’m assuming is where Xanga’s central server is located) government. For a flagging system, they probably ought just to have ones that violate the “rules of member conduct,” i.e. the legal agreement between Xanga and the user. I think Xanga ought to be doubly careful of people who are actually breaking the law on their sites, since if they post anything illegal, Xanga could conceivably share responsibility as the “host.” (although that’s probably why they’re setting up this system in the first place)

  • Good idea.

  • People will abuse the system and report users just because they dont like them…. I want to know how its going to work… if a user “flags” a site then what steps are xanga goign to take.. will they actually verify the offense or just “drop” the user with out an explanation.. will there be warnings or what? Seriously… I am a security consultant and even in teh work places they have to tread very lightly on these matters because people are litigation happy these days.

  • THANK GOODNESS!  This is long overdue.  I have been one of those targeted because I am against those that are violating the TOS…I’m talking about child porn & extremely adult content.  When I complained to Xanga I was just ignored. 

  • lovin it. there are some people on xanga who should stick to doing their own thing on their own page but instead like to spread stress and hate to other users – not fair.

  • Yes, finally!  It is about time that Xanga moves towards being safe, and less like XXXanga!

  • thats cool and all but people will find was to curve these flags and do bad things to people and there is nothing that can be done thats just how things are now adays (but instead of the flag things why dont you just have a place you can go (in xanga) that allows you to log in to your site (not realy your site) even if the password is changed and you can re chnge it/block users/ect)now i know that i realy have no place to tell you what to do or anything like that its just im giving so advice because xanga has done so much for me and i just want to return the favor

  • =)

  • I think this is a great idea and will improve Xanga as a whole. I do have to say that I HATE MySpace, its hard to use. I’ve noticed some of the changes sort of going that direction and I just want to beg to leave it simple for us stupid people…. Prettier is fine, harder is bad… THIS idea for flagging is great though.

  • Since you allow minors here and this is a child-friendly place to blog (as opposed to others which are designed for 16+ or 18+ users, they yes, i think you have an obligation to keep kiddie porn off here.

    I heard something about self-ratings systems? Where users could rate their own site voluntarily and keep the x-rated content off featured and block minors? I love that. My own site is not pornographic, but it’s for adults only and it would be divine to keep unsigned and underage people off of it.

  • its a good idea

  • I’m also wondering how this will be enforced.  I’ve reported several of the above, and unless I send an e-mail directly to a Xanga god, nothing happens.  They’re always nice when I do it that way, but I’m not sure how this would be enforced, with millions of Xangas and only a handful of Xanga employees.  Surely you can’t read and investigate every flagged account for validity.

    I know of a few older ladies on Xanga who tried a while ago to put together a ‘watchdog’ team for explicit sites here on xanga to report, but even with that, I’m not sure how much came from their efforts, and for every deleted account, another three seem to be opened… at least that has been my experience with people I block… you block Joe162 and tomorrow Joe621 and Joe261 and Joe216 show up in his place…

    We need a Xanga immigration bill…  ((wink!))  I’m teasing, but it does seem like a difficult thing to deal with.

  • good job!

  • I pretty much support all of those, specially ‘too much personal information’ haha :]

    awesome, this idea is.
    <33

  • well….if getting rid of spam means no more of those stupid chain letters I’m all for it…..

  • seems like a dumb waste of resources. your lawyers think that up?

  • Oh, yes, please keep xanga safe!  Let’s keep inappropriate content off xanga…Thank you, Paula

  • Good. Do justice but don’t get over board, that’s all.

    Do the best thing.

  • I think it’s great to have a system to report really serious abuses, and sometimes they do get really flagrant.  Obvious violations of child pornography and things like that are easy to spot, but there are a lot of gray areas that could fall into the trap, too. 

    For instance, what exactly is considered “adult content”?  If it’s flat-out pornography and naked sex videos, sure, that’s easy to spot.  BUT… I’m an adult, I tend to speak in adult terms, and I have a Xanga site.  Does that put my site at risk if someone stumbles in there and gets offended by what I say or how I choose to say it?  Is “risque” considered “adult”?  Is swearing suddenly banned because one person or another may be offended by it and hit the “flag” button?

    There is also the very real possibility that people will just randomly turn others in to get their sites shut down.  Trolls are trolls. 

    You guys are a lot braver than I am to even take this on, and I commend you for taking the steps necessary to make it a safe(r) community.  But I hope in the midst of it all, each “flag” will be individually considered, and the owner of the site will have the opportunity to defend (or amend) their content before being completely shut down.

    Thanks for listening. 

    Trish

  • WONDERFUL!!!!!!!! Thank you sooo much. I agree with all of them, but….I’m SURE that there will probably be alot of people going around and tagging random people’s sites, just like random people I don’t know have cussed on my site or something.

    I’d like it if the Xanga team could actually look at the site that has been flagged and see if the content deserved a flag, and if they were joking…etc etc. But, I understand that there is thousands of xanga users out there, and you can’t nessessarily do that, and you probably get a million emails a day, and you can’t reply to all of them, or reply to comments. I understand.

    Thank you for making Xanga a safer place to be!!

    P.S. As a layout maker, I also know that random people could tag people like me who make layouts, just because I make Christian layouts or something of the likes.

    ALSO!!!!!! I see on layout sites all the time “USERNAME” jocked all of my layouts! Leave tons and tons of mean and nasty comments! Etc Etc. What if people start saying “USERNAME jocked me! Go tag them!”

    Then what? What if the username didn’t even really jock that person? I love this idea of tags, but I do think that you should be careful, have good proof, etc.

  • I have something else to day.

    I understand the “Too much personal info” one, though some other people haven’t. I think that is one of the best tags. I might feel bad tagging someone on that, but people need to not post so much information about themselves.

  • very good idea
    keep up the good work xanga!

  • Sounds good to me. I already have had my daughter and one of her friends delete an offensive comment from their sites. I wasn’t sure what else to do about it but I was concerned about their safety. If you can enforce this, maybe it will help.

  • Ah, gotta love censorship in the good ol’ US of A (yes, that was sarcastic.)

    And I would have to agree with what many other users have posted already – many of the Xanga users, at least the ones that I know, are young and immature and may be inclined to report a site for a violation that it doesn’t make. All of you better have a LOT of time on your hands if you’re going to go through every single flag and check whether or not it actually applies to the reported site. I mean, I love my Xanga and if my ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend reports me for such-and-such thing just to get my site shut down, I’ll be a bit peeved.

    So, yeah.. it’ll work if you guys want to deal with the dramatic lives of your users and you don’t care about freedom of speech on the internet.

  • Perhaps there could be some sort of weighting system, so that flags from ”friends” (two-way subscribed) would count most, flags from “acquaintances” (one-way subscribed) would count less, and flags from “strangers” would count least…

  • Also, perhaps each post could be separately flagged, and then if the site accumulates too many flags of a certain type, actions could be taken. 

    That way, if a particular post gets lots of bad flags, the author can simply remove it, having “learned a lesson” about Xanga etiquette.

  • And maybe flags from Premium members could count more, since they might “care more about the Xanga community” than free members…

  • Flags are a great idea.. but why not just give us the ability to make folders?

  •  C:)L!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Way to go!  I applaud your efforts!

  • Adult content needs to be defined and I will add that I have a blinkie for my site that says This site is NC-17. No, I do not post nudies or anything like that but sex is discussed one day a week (or it used to be) and it’s done tastefully.

  • I’m a bit confused. Are you asking your members to “report” or “flag” people and then you plan to follow-up to verify? Is this simply a “methodology” for xanga to track complaints? Does a ”flag” appear on a person’s page? How will adult content be determined? If a person discusses their sex life in their blog, is that adult content? If someone is being impersonated, or their account was hijacked, wouldn’t they report this to you and ask for your help to resolve it anyway? Why on earth would you ‘flag’ a page with underage nudity rather than just shut it down immediately? What constitutes breaking the law? Which laws? New York law? American Law? I have come across numerous pages on xanga that I have found offensive… I simply move on. Maybe the real answer here is Premium for adults and something else for the kids. There’s a reason, I’m not a MySpace person… Xanga fills a niche that MySpace does not. I don’t care for the new profile system and I’m not interested in making a bunch of new “friends”. If someone is violating your rules of member conduct, the site should be shut down if they are not a premium user and if they are a premium user, you should contact them and tell them that their site could be shut down. Aside from Fraud and Underage Nudity, I believe that a lot of those topics are somewhat subjective.

  • Personally, I think nothing under the ‘Offensive Content’ topic should be included. The others are fine, but a blog is often the only way a person has to express themselves, and lets face it, blogs very rarely result in anything in real life because of something said there somebody else finds offensive. Protect freedom of speech Xanga, and let people do what they want on their own blog, just block the ‘offensive’ content from featured lists, thats all.

  • i don’t believe in censorship. i think it’s really lame when a site that is for blogging thoughts, feelings, etc starts letting others control what they say. isn’t the whole voyeuristic aspect of xanga a little like privacy hacking? besides that fact that the definitions for a few of these are dependant on the reader. adult content? malicious impersonation? what exactly do these mean?

  • its over my head

  • Will xanga’s that get flagged by another user automatically be shut down?  Or will xanga staff review the xanga before taking action?  It could get out of hand.

  • I think this is great! Xangians really need to start protecting kids, and even themselves on a whole. Good job.

  • Sounds good to me.

    It sounds pretty helpful, especially the adult content flag. It’s a good warning system, as long as it doesn’t get out of control.

  • gr8 idea!!

  • I really appreciate this. This is great.

    I already have one for malicious fraud

  • I think that Xanga is being honarable in keeping the site safe however, I’m very “nervous” that you are going to be able to only post one day, “this is a happy day”.  Opps, sorry, you are not allowed to say happy.  Revised entry would then be “this is a day”.   Sorry, if that simple statement seems so simple, but I’m really concerned.  I post all kinds of stuff on my site and most of it is my online journal.  What I post, I feel comfortable with doing.  I have my name attached to it.  I’m just concerned that someone is going to come along and not agree with me and flag me and poof, I’m deleted.  That would be sad…. and I think Xanga needs to be very careful here.  If it gets to the point I can’t post what I normally do, I’ll save my yearly money and cancel my account.  I recognize the need to keep things safe but I also recognize that in the US, we are encroaching on freedoms every day.

  • the idea, if you ask me, is fuckin gay, but thats my opinion!!!!!!!!!!!!

    LOSERS

  • i just see restrictions getting tighter and tighter. consider this speaking up in opposition, so that when they get so tight as to be constricting my throat there will be someone left to speak up for me, too.

  • Not good . . .

  • I like this. I think the “friends” options are for real friends. You don’t know someone, don’t add them. If someone with rude or malicious content on their xanga harrases you, then flag them. I hope this works well on here, cause thats one reason I NEVER liked myspace. There were really now rules. There were rules, but they were not really enforced. I hope you enforce them here.

  • good idea.

  • Thank you, thank you. I don’t care much for the “too much personal info” flag, because that’s subjective. Maybe it should be only too much personal info on the blog of someone under 18. But I support most any effort to get rid of some of the blogs I have seen – particularly the ones with nudity that are so accessable to children.

  • I need help. I am trying to edit my profile and I can’t get into it. Every time I go to edit it, it takes me to the sign in page and when I sign in, it just keeps showing the sign in page. I don’t know why. What do I need to do to make it not do that?

  • sweet idea

  • go for it

  • Wonderful!! Great job.

  • What constitutes too much personal info? My site is a personal journal !!!!

  • what about harassment, or cyber stalking….i guess thats difficult to determine. but i’ve had problems with this….

    i suppose there is nothing that can stop them from making new screen names is there?

  • 1 Thing 1st.
       
         How are you? I’m blessed By Jesus Here’s the 1st question. Are u saved? If so praise Jesus! If not here’s how to get saved. “FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.” Romans 10:13 Why do we need to be saved. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the Lake of Fire.” Revelation 20:15. If you would like to get saved. You can say the prayer below or one similar but you have to mean it.

    “Dear God:
             I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sins on the cross. Please forgive me of my sins and save me from the Lake of Fire.  I’m willing to turn form sin. I now invite Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal Savior. Thanks for saving me. Help me to walk with you daily. I love you Jesus. In Jesus name this I pray and ask.”
    2nd things now. I am a young adult. I love kids. I say they should be able to post as long as the parents have the ok. It should be rules against what other people post like adults. They shouldn’t post: bad words, nude pictures, drugs, or ect.Just clean stuff.

  • It’s okay…. I guess….

  • Too much personal info??  What about freedom of speech?  I don’t want to get flagged because I tell my Xanga friends about some fabulous sex I had the other day.

  • its a good idea!!!

  • ok, but now that i am thinking about it…i like to write things on how i feel…and i dont want people to take it too far and think i am going to do something, when they maybe are misunderstanding me….its really easy to misunderstand people online….its kind of nice to come onto my site sometimes and just vent out what i am thinking, it helps!!! thats why i love xanga…but now these restrictions may make it hard for some people because now they would have to think about what they are writing before they write it and then they arent being who they really are…..but i can see the reason for it…so i dont know what i really think about it….

  • While this might be a legal move to help xanga protect itself like most other major blog/personal spaces, I think it’s a move that is necessary. I was thinking though. There should be revisions made to the Terms of Use. That’s understandable. It’s keeping with the online challenges that are popping up like rampant wild mushrooms. On the other side though. Are we forcing those making these ‘violations’ to go underground/find other sites/find other avenues to communicate? I think Xangans in general should be responsible enough to raise their own flags to the powers that be, and amongst each other. Self policing, in effect.

    This is an area that could be a smart move for all our benefits, but could also result in some seriously damaging flase reporting. Are we to assume that there might be a “who’s been flagged” section on the title page, or is this something that will be more discretely handled. The range of personal intepretation is too broad to lock down (it’s what makes blogging the success that it has become), but the harm being done by some Xangan will unfortunately drive us all into some state of ‘controlled blogging’.

  • I smell Censorship.

  • Where does free speech come into play? You guys are really cutting it close to the line of censorship. Be careful with this. Please.

  • wuz up g2g

  • Great Idea!

  • define “too much personal info”

  • i think the flag thing is just going to make the site lag more than it really needs to. people should be mature enough to take responsiblity and discretion to what is appropriate.

  • i;m glad about this. I think there are WAY to many people going around and stealing people’s pics and claiming that they are people they aren’t, or worse, saying that they have children (with stolen pics) and they don’t!

  • as long as its not abused…i don’t want people flagging me for personal reasons…other than that it could be a good idea

  • I like this. but what if someone just decides to make someones life hell and flag iinnocent people’s xanga’s.

  • ill support it, i think blogrings for the self-destructive stuff should be ban also. just a thought.

  • I think this looks great, as long as each shut-down site was reviewed individually before being shut down.

  • This is a grat idea because there are a lot of stupid lil teenagers that post too much information that need to be stopped.

  • *great

  • sounds good

  • has my support! but neeeeeeeeeeddss to help me! on an account i don’t want anymore and don’t know password!!! = = = = =

  • What’s the expression? A chilling effect on the freedom of speech? Yep, I think that’s what it is. Let’s have posse’s of vigilantes tromping out there flagging those things they don’t like. Perfect. Afterall, why would anyone want a vibrant and interesting weblogging site? Plus, it will make it so much easier for the owners of xanga – just count the flags and *boom*.

  • “too much personal info” -could you further define this?  as in, why would it matter how much info I wanted to divulge about myself?
    “threats of physical harm” -so, if i said, “Jane” is pissing me off, I’m gonna kick her ass,” I get the boot?
    or if I were to say, “hey, me and so and so smoked pot the other day,” I’d get the boot b/c marijuana is illegal? 
    Most of the flags sound ok, but some of them sound like violations of rights, or “parental” type censorship or something.  It would suck to have to sit there and review your posts before you made them in order to make sure you’re not offending anyone in any way, shape, form, fashion, etc. just so your site that you’ve kept for years as a journal wouldn’t get shut down suddenly and you’d lose all your work.  Honestly, I’m sure that if you reviewed 10 sites for these flags, 8-9 of them would be shut down, and it would have to be a matter of opinion in regards to the remaining 1-2.  Speaking of matter of opinion, what are you going to do about those type of issues?
    All I’m saying is that you’d have to have an actual human review of the sites in question (there could be thousands flagged daily) and make a decision, and that would take a good chunk out of your day.  Is it really that big of an issue?

  • good yall need that cause of all those girls that show off on here need to go bye bye

                                                    <3 *~cHeLsEa~* <3

  • I’m confused….

  • Yeah… I don’t like the first three in safety too much…

  • i am not sure i 100% agree. this is an online JOURNAL for our personal use RIGHT !?! as crappy as is might sound who are we to tell somone you cant write aboutthis or that ??? its a persons life ? i can understand certain guidlines BUT there has to be a limit to what you can not let someone write about

    i feel you will loose alot of ppl to this change , i am premuim and am here everyday to post what i feel is my online journal and weather ppl commment is another story and i would leave if i got flagged which i am

  • Sweet

  • NO!

    obviously xanga DOESN’T support the first amendment…

    :(

  • in support of these changes.

  • how about “abuses flag system”

  • People who are saying this is a violation of free speech really need to read the First Ammendment. There is no excuse for ignorance.

  • Excellent Idea!  I’m so sick of people impersonating people and getting away with it.  also, there was a site that used to do nothing but “slay” people.  i’d be glad if you decide to put these into affect

  • and to all those who think this is against the first amendment, the first amendment doesn’t protect slander and threats.  so that’s that.

  • plus, when you agree to terms of use for xanga, you are agreeing for the staff of xanga to use their discretion at deleting your xanga for abuse of those terms.  so if the flagging system helps this happen to those who break the rules, all the better.  rules were not meant to be broken.

  • Viva Revolution!

    ~BXU

  • Would only support if the sites flagged are actually shut down. Protected sites shouldn’t be affected by this obviously, since persons with protected sites choose the people who read… so if they want to post personal information, they should be able to.

  • i fully support this. it’s completely appropriate to regulate the safety and decency of public material. i just hope that the people involved in ’self harm’ will be approached with compassion and care.

  • I like the fraud and offensive content ones but some of the safety ones are a little wierd.

  • Is this just the trend going on with Blog-like sites? Myspace has just put in a police officer patrolling their site and new rules of conduct. Now our site is putting in stuff and even deleting pages that are from people who are under 13. I don’t have a problem with most of this, but it just seems so sudden and abrupt. We were just minding out business, and then all this myspace/friendster additions are popping up in xanga. Still not sure how I feel about it all, it’s like all the blogspace websites are merging together in terms of style.

    I completely agree. Some of these new features are cool, but I like xanga and myspace being two separate sites. I prefer Xanga immensely, and I know other people do too. If all these blogging sites become the same thing, then what’s the point of having more than one? Just competition; capitalism. The new “friend” thing is utterly pointless. You already subscribe to your friends and talk to them. Why do we have to make it some official statement, complete with a contract signed with witnesses present? That’s obviously an exaggeration (like “I’m going to kill you”) but seriously, xanga, you’re upsetting me recently.

    Let’s not censor. Let’s not turn into myspace. Please give me back the xanga I used to know and love.

  • Will people be flagging specific posts, or whole sites?

    Do you realize that many of those who left approving comments here don’t understand what you mean or how the flags will work, such as the one who thinks only Xanga staff will be able to flag anyone, and the many who think the TMI applies to their own info on their sites and not, as you specified, info posted without the consent of the person identified?

    I know you need to cover yourselves legally. I wonder if you have the intelligent discernment to heed the few rational voices raised here among all the thoughtless ditto-heads.

    I also wonder, as Sean asked, if we will be able to browse sites by flag.

    If you MUST implement this plan, add another class of flag, for those who abuse the flagging system. You have a small but noisy group of moralistic self-appointed vigilante censors
    here. Please don’t let them stifle all the creativity and wildness out of Xanga.

  • The NFC has made their decision, please see info on my post, and/or go to NFC.

  • !! I just thought of something else!

    What about song lyrics?? My friends and I post song lyrics in our xangas all the time. What if they violate these restrictions?

    “I wish you would take my radio to bathe with you/Plugged in and ready to fall”
    -Alkaline Trio

    “I killed your baby today…I raped your mother today”
    -Misfits

    “Murder the government, murder the government, murder the government and then, do it again yeah”
    -NOFX

    And what about xangas that have music on them, with threatening lyrics, or lyrics that mention or condone illegal activity? I know many rap fans wouldn’t be too pleased if that weren’t allowed.

    How far is this censorship going to go? If I can no longer say FUCK CENSORSHIP IN ITS MOTHERFUCKING ASS, I’m outta here.

  • I’m assuming, of course, that we will have a way of knowing who has flagged us and why.

  • I support all of them! Finally!
    I just wish you guys didnt add all those useless stuff like on myspace and friendster >_<

  • FUCK YOUR CENSORSHIP, BASTARDS! GONNA DELETE THAT? DRUNK ON YOUR OWN SENSE OF POWER, BASTARDS?

  • Looks good.

    -Jared

  • Good idea! Xanga will be even better with that.

  • i completely support ….. it sounds cool ……….. i just hope that it works ….. bye ……… &hearts;

  • ohh sorry ii mentt ♥

  • FINALLY someone is doing something about the proliferation of obnoxious sites (hatred sites, sites supporting ana/suicidal lifestyles, obscene pictures in public places, etc) that have bothered me since day one…Normally, I am a big fan of free speech in literature and art and media; but I really mind when there are a million clones of the same, offensive content all to be found at once in the same place (such as have dominated the featured list at times in the past) — esp when there are kids as young as 13 in this community (i think, for example, running into (inartistically arranged, may i add) photographs of a woman’s vagina linked from xanga frontpage, would’ve scarred me when i was 13…i was shocked enough at age 20). And what about my friend who was stalked through xanga by a person who kept creating multiple sites to spread untrue, and hurtful, information about her? Flags would’ve put a stop to that. Thank you, Xanga!

  • its a good idea but its there site thay should be able to do whatever they want and the age thing my friend got hacked onto and the hacker put a fake age and she got shutdowna and now she cant make a new one

  • i like!!

    but yea like everyone else im concerned..

    what if someone hates you and flags you for no reason? would john concider this..

    but other then that greatt jobb

    oh and what exacly do you mean by “to much person info.”

    -amanda!!

  • This is a go HUSTON!  I’m in for it!

  • You don’t have enough flags to cover all the objectionable content. I object to militant Christianity (you can put that one in the category with hate and intolerance). Sites designed with loud colors, low-contrast and hard-to-read type, illiterate and misspelled content hurt my head. They need a category all their own. If you are going to single out anorexia and self-injury, it is only fair to include other disorders. Xanga is rife with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. You really need an NPD flag, too.

  • I like the idea but as a previous blogger mentioned what about abuse.  there are alot of people out there that would use this system just to harrass others.

  • its about time that this stuff has started to happen, people get away with so much stuff… good job

  • COOL BEANS.

  • XANGA ROCKS, I LOVE XANGA– IT’S MUCH BETTER THAN MYSPACE!

  • nice i like!

  • I’m personally not so sure about this. It sounds like a good idea, but it also sounds like you encroaching on some of the freedoms that we Xangans enjoy.

    I can understand why you wouldn’t want really little kids on here but you shouldn’t shut down someone’s site just because they are under 13.

    The Adult Content flag is a bit silly. I mean if your just going to shut down someone’s site because they have nude pictures on they’re site, you’ll lose about a quarter of the people on here. I can understand porn and the like but you shouldn’t shut someone down because of nudity.

    Maybe if the flags were more specific they would work out better.

  • aww what up wit cha??

  • I think it is a great idea. And i am glad u guys r tring to make it safer.

  • Hey John? I think the flags are a good idea, but like many people are saying, they’re vaguely worded. You guys need to be MUCH clearer with the words, alot of people will find loopholes and use that as a defense. Other than that Kudos for the idea.

  • I think this is bullshit.

    I also think a lot of people would leave xanga if these censorous “flags” were placed upon sites.

    We blog to get away from the constant censorship, monitoring, and rules.  Not to have more people looking over our shoulders making sure that we’re following the guidelines.

    I say if you have an actual issue with a blog, deal with it.  But don’t go about labeling blogs as you please.

  • some of the flags are stupid! To much personal information?

  • Looks good in theory.

  • Along the same lines as Emjay41, how would this apply to fiction writers? I’ve read many sites that can address mature topics without promoting them or being obsene. I would also suggest that only the xanga staff be able to flag sites so there is no chance of anyone taking out personal issues on others by flagging their sites. If people stuck to the terms of use there wouldn’t be such problems. But some people don’t. People will read what they want and react to it how they want. The same would happen with flags. I, for one, can say that a site promoting self harm is going to make me hurt myself intentionally or anything like that. Perhaps that would affect xangans under thirteen, so I support the underaged user flag. But enforcement of that could be a problem because you can put any age you want on your site and no one would be the wiser. I understand the intent of these flags, but it seems to edge on censorship. I’ve always said, if you don’t like it, don’t read it. Also, too much personal info seems to be hypocritical with all the new aspects of the upgraded profiles.

  • fraud and content have my yes, but I think the safety one needs much revision. MUCH

  • OMG I’m offended! I want to report myself! I put a picture of a cat smoking pot on my page.!! FLAG ME and my pale white ass.

  • support…excellent!

  • But i like lookin at naked girls

  • well lifestar it is actually a law that people under 13 cant have some features online. But i agree with those comments about ‘too much personal info’ if its like address phone and such. i think maybe. but thats also their responsibility and their fault if something happens. The breaking of the law sometimes might work but its hard to tell, because laws are different in different places. Harm to self- whatever, their body their issues. Suicide– maybe, but do you think shutting down the possible only outlet for someone going through emotional turmoil is such a great idea?

  • for sure protect us….this is wondeful…great job…there is lots of kids on this blog site…I for one want them protected.

  • No.

    You start censoring adult content, then you start censoring cussing, dark satire, adult humor, erotica, etc. etc.

    Don’t take away freedom of speech.

  • I like most of the ideas. I don’t think one of them should be on there.
    I don’t think ”Advocating Self Harm” should be on that list. There are individuals out there who do this and need to know that they are not alone; that there are other people who have the same thoughts and feelings. I believe it’s just support and self expression. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. As long as it’s just writing. I think pictures of that should be considered “Adult content.”
    I don’t know, that’s just me.

  • I worry a little about the “Incitement to Break The Law” thing. Will people be censured for posting about the great time they had drinking if they’re under 21? That might be construed as incitement. Will they get off easier if they’re not very cool and people are less likely to follow their example? Will they be turned over to the authorities if they talk about file-sharing (by the way, I’m 24 and have iTunes)? Maybe I’m misunderstanding the thing.

  • YES!

  • i think it’s good…for like things like the porn and the hatred sites and w/e. but does too much personal information really matter?

  • wow, soundz great!

  • fine with me we need a way to keep the web sites safer

  • The Fraud stuff all seems good to me, but the only other thing that I agree with from the other two columns is Underage Nudity. The rest of it seems like pointless censorship to me. These are people’s journals, and I don’t think they should be censored for saying “I got drunk last night” or talking about how they are going to cut themselves. I don’t agree with these things, but I don’t think they should be censored. But whatever, this is just my two cents.

  • cool it is an preetty good idea to me!!!!!

  • cool

  • cool

  • i think it is great idea

  • this idea sucks!!!!!

  • I think it’d be funny to be flagged with too much personal information…

    I want to make some gag flags. Like… “Doesn’t use punctuation” “Can’t spell” “Post emo lyrics way too often”

    Haha. I love it.

  • i think its a good idea especially the hatred sites. those should be eliminated, and quickly.

  • Looking back on these other comments you shouldn’t use the ones in the last column.. you should read the 1st Amendment.

  • go for it

  • Will the accounts that are flagged be deleted, or given a warning first?

  • So I can report anyone for essentially anything?  If I don’t care for their *whatever* I can just report them and then they’ll be flagged?  And who EXACTLY is going to be reviewing ALL of these reported and/or flagged sites?  Isn’t it going to be expensive to pay someone just to read blogs and look for specific content?

  • These are kinda broad people will exploit them. i.e. someone will get mad at their ex and if they write one word bad about them and all the sudden you’ll have a hate site.

  • but it’s a good idea overall

  • how come only underage nudity? i think any should not be aloud, personally. and by hate sites do you mean like racist sites and stuff like that? like i once saw this sight that bashed gay people, would that be a hatred site? whatever, good job though.

  • these are good… if i think of anything else i’ll let you know

  • what about a flag if someone is harrassing you in your own site, leaving you comments which just insult you. is there going to be something for the owner of the site to report it?? i guess “flagged it”?? just a thought.

  • word.

  • I support! I say that should not always involve a speedy permnanent ban, but to warn. Offensive content ones should immediate ban though.

  • I saw that sugarspun posted something similar to my question.  What if someone is upset with you.. or just doesn’t like you, and tries to say that you “stole” their identity, or created a false site.  How are you guys going to verify who the REAL TLS is? 

  • u r acting like my teachers they said we couldn’t have internet b/c of this site and now u decide to flag i hope they dont find our pass word cause they would ttly kill our sites!!

  • i agree with all of these!!! go for it!!!

    -caitlin

  • im #520! yay! i make layouts! sorta!

  • I agree, this is censorship-plain and simple. It is encroaching on our freedoms. Are negative comments being deleted?

  • im just worried that if someone flags you when your innocint. will the person have a chance to prove that the falg is just a prank or lie?

  • I happen to think that this is a splendid idea.

    It will better ensure that people are following the rules that THEY agreed to follow when they signed up for Xanga.

  • although I’m not sure how the ‘hatred site’ will be defined…

  • I don’t like the looks of this.

  • Sounds like a good idea. We need more safety. Let me know when you officially put it in.

  • so r u guys gonna like make all the fake people leave cause let me tell u there is a lot of fake peeps around!

    thanks, comment back

    -cinthya

  • I think that is a great idea!!!

  • I think this is a great idea. I personally have a Xanga to keep in touch with (and keep an eye on) my teenagers at church and school. Thanks for putting more safety measures in for them!

  • Delilah_Thoughts has a good point.  How WILL you deal with “flag abusers?”

    Why don’t we just starting flagging everybody we see on xanga.

    Then what?

  • If it helps keep people from being abducted and ending up on the news, I am all for it!

    Thanks for all your hard work!

  • I’m not in favor of deleting people’s sites just because they put up information about other people that includes their full names. “Too much personal info” as it stands is too restrictive.

    The flag that would mean the most to me is “Hatred Site” because having haters in pride blogrings because the ring leader has left xanga really takes away from the community sense of it.

  • i don’t like it. its my journal and i should be able to voice my opinions and other things openly…we have these to keep our parents from reading them so if i made an offensive comment then i lose my site? i’m sorry but tha’ts a bunch of crap. LOOK AT THE AMMENDMENTS MAN FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS ONE OF THE TOP FIVE!

  • This is a really good idea. I think those are great categories.

  • support!

  • Yes, this is a great idea. It’s really needed on xanga.

  • I’m just wondering how the whole thing is going to work… the whole concept sounds pretty good to me though.

  • good plan, lets see if people listen or not………..

  • A good idea, I think.  The “too much personal info” idea I think is actually the best of them… think about it, cyber stalking is finally being brought to light as a huge problem, and those who prey on people through the internet are exploiting all that information that they can get at just through a blog or myspace-type site.  I work at a university Women’s Center and I hear about this all the time, and as much as one should never blame the victim for what might have happened to them, it is always safer to err on the side of caution and not provide a veritable road map to where you are and who you are in a blog or myspace site, I mean use some common sense.  I can’t see any problems I have with any of the regulations, except the reservation people have that others can just use it to screw with people they want to annoy, or something… I hope there is a way or combating that, because I still say better safe than sorry.

  • i support them all i do not like wasting my time with any of them that makes it hard for people who have Christain people able to be on here with out getting into trouble

  • iv seen to many children fall into some bad stuff because of these sites. sure there is a such thing as freedom of speech, thats why we still have things like xanga to go to in the first place, but even freedom of speech can be abused in a way where innocent children are harmed. im soon going to be a mother and there is no way i would want my child to become a victim of online abuse. a parent can never watch thier children 24 hours a day, it is nice to hear when others are also working on keeping all children safe. if we team together we will all have a better chance.

  • yeah, some of these hate sites are really sucking out the fun of xanga.

  • Do flagged blogs get their site deleted immediately, or are they given warning?

    As far as the self-harm bit goes, know where to draw the line.  An eating disorder or a problem with cutting is only one part of a person.  A few of my subscribers/subscribees have EDs or cut, and while they blog about these things on occasion, it doesn’t make up the entirety of their blog.  We’d lose some wonderful Xangans if this flagging feature got out of hand.

  • Some of these are definitly better than others.  But I do think it’s sad that a site that started out so…casual…could now have vigilante parents/students/teachers/etc. out there just looking for sites to flag, especially ones with content they strongly disagree with.  The web is for everyone, and we all appriciate this service xanga provides, so I think it’s unfair to regulate the content so harshly that users could potentially shut down the sites of other users.

  • supportted

  • Great idea!

  • I do think it’s a good idea, I am wary of those who may be immature and decide to flag people’s sites just to be malicious or because they have nothing better to do, so as long as the accusations are checked out, then I do support it.

  • Fun for the malicious middle-aged army of SAHMs and their never-got-promoted male counterparts.  Not to mention all the kiddies who aren’t best friends this week,  Its a great idea but in application will be more abused than help stop abuse if you allow it to be done anonymously.  Poison-pen mania gone mad it will be.  Still if everyone thinks they’ve at least done their bit and can feel either morally superior or smug at anonymous character-destruction, they will at least feel happy and shouldn’t affect your bottom-line.

  • I’ve heard people speak of an actual rating system, like “Rated R”, “PG-13″, “G”, & etc. on entries/ as an established norm for the specific xanga. There’s still the whole deal on age though; people can change their age. (It’ll be a miracle if someone found a way to get people to be 100% honest about their age 100% of the time.) I still like the idea though.
    (I don’t like accidentally stumbling onto a xanga covered with “adult content.” A warning before entering the site would prevent that from happening.)

    Maybe xanga could set up a kind of judgement system on the flag xanga or somewhere for all to see? Just as we can choose whether or not a person can comment on a blog entry, maybe there could be a “This blog is rated ___” & then have like a bubble choice thing b/t G & NC-17 (or whatever kind of system xanga wants to develope) & then a little text box for why… similar to the whole system of how some blog sites have sections specifically for mood on every post. (& then there could be a help link next to it leading to the judgement system xanga.)

  • Yeah i think it’s a good idea except I don’t get the “Too much personal info” thing.

  • good job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! keep the goodness and God in the xanga~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!

  • I like It.

  • go for it.

  • CENSORSHIP!

  • again, i have to complain about the really annoying pop-up ads…this one came up when i clicked on a blogring. it was for that movie, “stick it” or something like that. it’s extremely intrusive, blocks the whole page, and forces you to click somewhere before it goes away – often forcing you to click on the ad, taking you to the movie’s site. please, please, make them go away! i’ve got no issue with banner ads, but…ah!

  • great!!!!!

  • Sounds like a great idea….Xanga Police are probably needed on some of these…they are horrific!

  • I believe such  rules already existed on xanga . We already could inform you of abuses or about agressive comments ( besides we could  block them ).

    Sometimes the best is the ennemy of good

     Michel ( France )

  • Overall I think the purposes and goals of the flags are great. I know some may be against them because they feel their “freedom of speech” is being censored, but I do not believe the Founding Fathers meant for freedom of speech to be offensive, obscene, or otherwise negative. I believe it is encouraging that you want to promote security and protect readers from people who want to use blogs as a way to propagandize readers in the name of “freedom of speech” or promote atypical and/or unjust ideas just because they can or because they are so anti- all things good/positive. GO XANGA STAFF!

  • flags are an excellent idea. blogger has ‘em, and Xanga is smart to have ‘em too.

  • i think it’s a great idea.

  • very good proposed idea… it keeps the site safe for everyone… keep up the good work guys…

  • I think it is a great idea, especially after all the cross fire that xanga and myspace have been facing.

  • I think it’s great!  Thanks for taking the High Road and accepting responsibility for policing/monitoring this space; I applaud your efforts!

  • The first thing that came to my mind, right when I saw the proposed flagging system, was ABUSE. Sounds like many others have voiced this concern. I absolutely insist that only those logged in with a Xanga account are allowed to flag an entry (and then only once).

  • Sounds fabulous…Too much info is not good. I’ve already experiencing people use my profile and pics to deceive people to soliciting for money. That’s sucks….

  • I think this would be fantastic provided the reports are followed through. I’ve also tried reporting Xangas that promote racism, but they’re still standing. There are also webrings dedicated to racism and whatnot, so maybe having flags for webrings would be a good idea as well.

  • AGAINST, with modification.

    i think if you really want people to distinguish safe sites from potentially unsafe ones….flagging doesn’t sound too bad. the really evil thing is censorship. as far as i can understand, your proposal is that users can  flag a site when they think it fits one of those 12 categories, so xanga team checks and shuts it down. i think this bascially means censorship by xanga team. if one flag will cause xanga team to check our sites. xanga team are not lawyers or judges, they can be subjective. and even if you have like a police officer or something to help you, laws still differ with geographical location. the grey area is huge.

    what happens to freedom of speech???

    some ppl say things casually when they don’t mean to be violent, racist, sexist, or threatening. they could be kidding, they could be not so polite once in a while. but people, because of different levels of sensitivity, perceive differently. what i’m saying is, we’d be agreeing on extreme cases as offensive sites, but the others sites, they’re okay to some ppl not okay to others. i’d only agree with flagging if it means no intervention and censorship from xanga team, which means, only fellow xanga users decide what’s okay and whats not.

    imo, the flag can be a number, or a percentage (like the rating on ebay), say if i open a porn site here and i get 100 adult content flags, then my site will be frozen. I have to clean the adult content to re-launch. yes it has to be a large number, to indicate that the site was voted to shut down, and then the number’s increasing, there’s a buffer time so the site owner gets the warning signal to remove things before it’s too late.

    no intervention from xanga team plz. let xanga users (large group) decide what is safe.

  • I don’t know if I like the idea of reporting or being reported for stuff……….
    I think the premise of protecting users is good.
    well… just be careful not to constrict folks TOO much.
    they will go elsewhere.

  • This is a terrible idea. Everyone HAS the right to write about what they want. If they are feeling depressed and need to whine about it on their Xanga site, they can. If they had amazing sex the night before, they can write about that too. This is just as dumb an idea as trying to ban The Howard Stern Show. Just because these types of writings exist does not mean that YOU HAVE to read them. As much as you want it to be, Xanga is not a community as much as it is a place for people to express themselves through words. You start flagging what people write and they will begin to leave in droves.

    This isnt funny or cute or trendy. It’s wrong.

    If your “Rules of member conduct” ment anything, there wouldn’t exist such wonderful Groups as “I love SEX!!!!” and “I HATE FAGS”

    Try upholding your old rules before you go off and make new ones.

  • BrIlLi@nT!!!

    Thanks a lot!

    ~Na*

  • Definitely agree! There are far too many inappropriate xanga sites!

  • i approve. :D

  • hey how do i put music on this xanga site i was wondering cause i checked it and dont get it… well cya all

  • Sounds cool!

  • IF you make this flagging too cool, easy, and techno through some sort of automated tagging, then you’re going to have an overwhelming deluge of false positives.  Believe me.  If it’s like “click, click, you’re a ‘Scam’” then this will be a total joke. 

    IF on the other hand you are merely providing these as categories that someone can reference through the current unglitzy, unglorious, and somewhat tedious abuse-report system to report a concern, then they will probably not be abused.

    Prepare yourself: if you make this too easy, ajaxy, and integrated into the blogging experience, you’re going to need a 13th Flag: Fake-Flagging.

  • Looks like you’re going to have worse publicity and sponsor problems if this goes through….YOU NAZI! You want to create bigger problems if you do this? You’ll have people going on witch hunts instead of freely expressing their thoughts and ideas. GO AHEAD I DARE YOU! You want to police Xanga like the gestapo?..Then you better watch each and everyone of them.  

  • kool

  • It looks really good – thanks for caring! I am think that “too much personal info” should be clarified….it is all probably in your Terms of Use; my bad, but, well, what exactly would be considered TOO much?

    Keep up the good work – and thanks for connecting everybody, this community rocks!

  • although I stay within a particular frame of other bloggers, I think there is probably a need for this type of “honor” system otherwise Xanga could become another Bolt community and that a bit much for me.

  • im for it

  • What about a safety against pro eating disorders??

  • Thank you.  I appreciate the heads up on the sites.  Unfortunately I have been to sites and have been extremely surprised at what they were about.

  • I’m new to all this and I’m confused.  Are you just Xanga members who’ve decided to institute a monitoring system and report back to Xanga or do you do this with their approval or authorization?  Have you checked carefully to see if you are tromping all over peoples rights to freedom of speech? 

  • when does it start?

  • I am all for the flagging issue.

  • I think there are too many gray areas in your thought process. While I feel hatred, racial and fraud sites are an easy one to figure out. Everything else is gray. While I would not put my personal information on a site and I wouldn’t post nude photos of myself, I don’t think it’s right to flag others for doing so. The same thing with self-harm. I would hope that I would never do something like that, and I don’t neccessarily want to read about it either, but it’s freedom of speech. I learn so much from these girls and boys. I’ve learned the signs/symptoms of why they feel this way and use it as a tool to watch for my child and other children. Sharing mental health issues with others has been a great tool for myself and others. It’s ALL information. Plus, if you do not want to read about it, there is that big X that will prevent that.

    Maybe you should consider separating “adult content” from “regular” blogs. Yahoo profiles do it. The friends that I’ve made from blogging here for so long have literally saved my life due to some of the information you want to flag. Had I not read it, I might not be here.

    I think it all comes down to choice and I think we should be the ones making that decision. If you’re worried about underage people finding this information, I think it’s nice of you to want to prevent that, but ultimately it’s the parents responsibility.

    I commend you on your efforts,

    BB

  • I think it is a wonderful idea..for many reasons…..as long as those who have problems in their lives and past and can still discuss them freely..good luck..it is obvious where some of them are ..* take care….Lee

  • good for you!! Keep it up!

  • I think this is a great idea! I hope someone will be looking into the flagged sites to make sure the people reported are actualy guilty.

  • Hm…I wonder if using the correct, medical terminology to describe, say, the creation of a human baby would be considered Adult Content, although the same terminology is used in high schools across the country (and around the world).  What if a woman is sharing her account with her gynocologist?  I know many who use Xanga as a way to let people know what they can do with the right information.  Is that information going to be considered inappropriate?  Or does it all have to be hidden from the casual observer?

    The real world is full of words and pictures.  If you walk around long enough, you’ll experience them all.  While I definitely see the need to protect our children, I am curious about how the determinations of Adult Content will be made…

    GFW

  • I’m not a big fan of control, but do what you got to do.

  • I think it’s a great idea. It has always worried me about how much info some people put on their sites. Well done.

  • <TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height=”100%” cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=”100%” border=0 UNSELECTABLE=”on”>
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    <TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width=”100%” background=”" height=250 UNSELECTABLE=”off”>sounds good to me! good idea, this should help keep xanga safe.
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  • I think this is a good policy, so long as it’s not too easy for pranksters to flag sites they “just don’t get” or for whatever reason.

  • thats awesome.

    I’m glad you guys are finally making xanga safer.

  • Great idea!

  • Hey, I like the concept.

    There is one abuse issue that I am not sure if you can help with or not. It’s happened to me and to several others I know, that people will create multiple annonymous xangas in order to leave mean comments on blogs, thus you can block a user, but only the current one. There is no way to prevent them from coming back under a new name. Would there be a way to block certain IP addresses? In the cases that I am referring to, the individual creating multiple blogs did so from the same 2-3 IP addresses.

  • the flagging idea is a good one, but would it be a flag and block user system or flag and the page would be filtered system?  issues about someone’s page closing down for no apparent reason may cause “distress?”  oh yeah, kind of off topic question, but if every site has an age limit and they are starting to ban all those that are underaged, where will all the people under those ages go?…..

  • I think it’s a fantastic idea.

    As for the rest of you who object:

    1) Do you REALLY want people to encourage cutting and eating disorders as viable ways to cope? It’s an insult to anyone like myself who has struggled with either one.
    2) Many xangans, particularly of the teenage crowd, are extremely vulnerable, and will search for ways to cope, because many people are not taught proper ways to cope. Also, they’ll do it if it’s “cool” (which, to me, being emo, cutting, and eating disordered is not cool, emo is stupid and the other two are hell that I wouldn’t wish upon the worst of my enemies.)
    2) You can talk about things (freedom of speech), but there is such a thing called LIABILITY. For instance, I can talk about my struggle with my eating disorder, without encouraging the development of one, because although I talk about my life on my xanga, I care about others enough that I do not want them to relapse.
    3) what would you do if it was your own child being pursued by a perpetrator? How about them apples?
    4) It’s not big brother, Xanga just cares about our wellbeing, doesn’t want to get sued for these things, and they just want to help keep the internet as safe as they can.

    So…

    GO XANGA!!!!!

  • Sorry, I just noticed that I can’t count, as my counting goes 1, 2, 2, 3, 4… LMAO

  • I think the whole thing is a great idea personally, my only concern would be like a few others above. What if someone who doesn’t like you decides that they’ll flag your site for no reason other than to be spiteful? It would definetely be a good idea to have someone actually review the sites before they are shut down just because one person decides to flag something.

    On a kind of opposite note there, it would be good if something was actually done when there was a valid flag. I noticed some comments above stating that many times if there is a violation reported, sometimes nothing is done…I have noticed this on a couple places. That is also another reason why it would be good to have someone review abuse claims.

  • i dont think to much personal information matters after all it is the persons site and they are talking about themselves. plus if someone else is reading it and starts to get disgusted of what they read then they can stop reading. if they keep reading it it is not the person who wrote its fault that others keep reading what they write. people can choose to ignore it!

  • That is a fabulous idea. I’ve had problems with people in the past who posted offensive things on my Xanga, and I’m glad to know that the powers that be are finally doing something about this issue.

  • This is a stupid idea, I think.Xanga is a journal, a weblog, no different than a journal a prepubescent girl would keep under her bed, a place for secrets and now we’re getting flagged on our secrets? That’s fucking retarded. I thought there was something like freedom of speech that let us say what we wanted, am I wrong in assuming that xanga followed that?

    I guess only idiots would really follow a ridiculous system but then again, I’m no idiot so I don’t fully understand. It’s all a trend. One weblog community starts patrolling their sites and now all others have to follow. Well then you guys will be AMAZED with my other site! It will blow you away……

  • yes!!!

  • good idea

  • great!

  • hmm..but some people get over-obsessed and they go around reporting everyone, or people they know that they don’t like. there should be some proof-system thing to make sure they’re actually flagging for valid reasons.

  • I agree with monet about checking the site before you shut them down, but all the flags look good.

    Great Job!

  • I think this is an excellent idea. I have heard that many public computers are blocking myspace because of content problems, some are even using blog for harrassment and blackmail, so what you do in this area will give your site more respectability and I feel that we are all here to share with one another and not bring further hatred and evil into the world….

  • I think flagging is a good idea – to an extent.  Something has to be done about the abuses of the system that are not being taken care of under the current method (which seems to be just ignore it completely).  However, as others have mentioned, I am concerned about abuse of the flagging system resulting in sites being shut down unfairly.  Craig’s List has a flagging system that is totally user-run, and listings can be deleted just for being flagged too many times.  I am a supporter of the Branch Davidians.  A system such as this, if not carefully monitored by Xanga, could be used by people who believe the media & gov’t lies to shut my site down every time I express the other side of the story.  That would not be fair.  That would be censorship.  That would force me to find another blogging site that does not allow this type of unfair harrassment.  Do you see the problem?  I hope that these concerns will be addressed by the Xanga staff before flagging is released.  Thank you.

  • okay…

  • These sound like great ideas, but how do you intend to enforce them?

  • i believe this is a good step…the consequences for these actions should be laid out more clearly.  will the user simply be flagged or will they be eliminated?  if they are eliminated what actions can be taken to keep them from just making a new site the next day?

    perhaps all users should recieve a notice of the consequences beyond flagging if any when the system is established.

  • also, one must remain conscious about the separation of art and ‘adult content’ whereas nudity in photography or some other art form might not be intended as an ‘adult-aimed’ would this be flagged anyway?

  • If you are going to do this you must be very specific one what is deemed good and what is deemed bad. :P

  • SUPPORT

  • I like the self-harm one, because I’m seen some really horrible xangas that encourage girls to be anorexic, and other stuff like that.

  • I think we had enough of our freedoms taken away, that’s enough out of you! Take your Nazi Flags and shove them up your ass.

  • John, I’ve given this some more thought. To cover xanga legally, why not simply include in the Terms and Conditions:

    Xanga reserves the right to shut down any site for any reason at any time.

    Perhaps this would help:

    The views expressed by Xanga members are not necessarily the views of Xanga… (insert legal crap here)

    I think the flagging “nark?” system is probably going to create more work for you and will surely be abused. People already have the option of contacting Xanga regarding abuse. Is this not enough?

    If this is mainly about protecting children, separate them and make their pages private. Of course, this isn’t going to prevent them from talking about their drug use and sex lives… not to mention simply lying about their age, or older people lying about their age to gain access to them.

    That said, I do think requiring Premium accounts to gain full access to all pages would cut down on abuse.

    Good luck.

  • I think that is a great idea!! The only problem is, if one person thinks that it is one of those categories, would it automatically be shut down? or would several people have to “flag” it

  • i also think that when you flag someone you have to type a valid reason or reference something on the site… that would make things easier for ya’ll

  • <———- THE FLAGGING SYSTEM FOR WHAT IT REALLY IS

  • my dad will like this…

  • I am all for it

    well as long as there is some kind of monitoring …..because I can see now that someone will flag someone else just because they don’t like them.

  • i agree with all of it, including the too much personal information.  there are a ton of freaks out there and we need to make sure we aren’t telling too much of ourselves or our friends.  what kind of action is going to be taken on this though?  a warning and then shut the site down?

  • add oil when u get the value~

  • I can understand why you’d want to set this up. And I think that you’re right in doing it for some flags (eg “underage nudity”, “advocates self harm”.) But I don’t know. I think you’re opening up Pandora’s box. Some people are going to be flagging people they hate. Sure, you won’t do anything to those sites once you realise they’ve done nothing wrong; but it’s going to be a colossal waste of your time trying to figure out who’s doing it out of hatred or who actually cares.

  • i think that you are all fucking stupid. i can’t believe you are letting this crazy man censor you. offensive content, personal expression, c’mon. the fact that you’re not sticking up for yourselves is evidence enough that you don’t appreciate what little free speech you have now. if people don’t want to read about porn, cussing, depression–DON’T read it!!!! censoring what we say should be on the bottom of the list for xanga. how do you expect to get bloggers when you have your clutches on they’re freedom of expression?

    –a

  • To my way of thinking, this system is fraught with potential problems.  I’d like to hear what the effect of “flagging” would be.  In the case of the “too much personal information” flag, this would serve as proverbial blood in the water for identity thieves.  It seems that an informal system of “flagging” fraudulent sites has already evolved among the web communities that I am a part of.  This is also the case for some of the other “flag” categories, including those involving more subjective qualities like “adult” and “vulgar” content; many users make these things explicit in their profiles.  Seems to me that the big issue is underage users.  I am not sure how to properly deal with that issue, but I don’t think that the freedoms of adults to discuss what they wish should be curtailed b/c underage users lie about their ages.  It is clear that this proposal is a politically-motivated response to the demands of the anti- “pro-ana” movement.  As an adult currently struggling with recovery from an eating disorder, I would hate to lose the community I have cultivated here around eating disorder recovery support.  Relapse is, unfortunately, an almost ubiquitous aspect of recovery from eating disorders, and I fear that the posts of those in the midst of a relapse could be “flagged” and thus isolated from an important and positive resource.

  • As a paying member of xanga, I’m disgusted.  You’re telling us that we can have freedom to speak our minds…so long as we hide it away where no one can see it.  HOW IS THAT FREEDOM????

    My husband is in iraq right now fighting for our rights to speak our minds whether it be spoken or typed and I SHALL HAVE MY RIGHTS!!!

    T

  • The US legal system is so screwed up that I am almost ready to believe that xanga would be sued if some parent once heard one of their kids mention the word xanga once, and then later did something that caused harm to someone else…

    If people don’t like the way Xanga works, they are always free to move to one of the other sites… maybe blogger, or myspace, or livejournal

  • how about simply “impersonation”?

  • uuuuummmmm…. im ok with this. so long as remember that whole “freedom of speach” thing.  things should be really out of control before they get flagged.

  • “If you value your Freedom of  Expression, If you value all the hard work you have done on your Xanga Pages, If you hate Online Censorship and the rapidly increasing loss of your blogging freedoms then it’s time for YOU to do something about it. Read Non_Featured_Content. Support the efforts of BXU! Send a comment to John and Flags showing your disgust of the loss of your blogging freedoms and the criminalizing of your Freedom of Expression and that you will tolerate it no longer. Send a comment to xanga and as often as possible. Tell them “That’s enough!”

    We are not going to be able to do this by ourselves that’s for sure and there are power in numbers. It either stops now or it never will.

    !BXU!

    SEND A COMMENT TO John and Flags and tell them your disgust of the FLAGGING and CENSORSHIP and as often as possible!

    ~VIVA REVOLUTION!!

    BXU

  • you know what, im changing my mind. i dont really want to be censored by any of you. 

    my answer is officially no. fuck censorship.

  • From some of the comments I’ve read so far, many don’t understand the flag’s purpose. That means it will be abused and absolutely useless! It could also be used indescriminately and be a form of harrassment all in itself.

    I’d be very careful about this.

  • I’m generally against censorship, but I think this is a pretty good system.

  • Although there are a lot of potential problems. I mean, I can’t say I wouldn’t flag one of my friends just to do it. The monitoring behind this is going to have to be so complex and time consuming. Actually pulling this off is totally different from setting it up.

    I think MALICIOUS impersonation is better than what it is now: I once had a xanga shut down for claiming to be someone else, when it was in no way malicious or even resembling harmful. It was all in good fun.

  • Hey, this sounds like a good idea. Okay thats a lie. You’re going to wind up shutting down support networks for people who genuinely need them. You want to target child pornography, fine. But whose going to decide what’s “good” and “bad” content?

    “The Bill of Rights guarantees you many things. However, it does not guarantee you the right to not be offended.” ~Prof. Henry

  • NO FLAGS!!!

  • I’m very curious as to how xanga will make these flags, and what each flag will do.  Will they simply make some sort of symbol next to the ‘afflicted’ sites, or what?  If xanga is to do that, it seems almost hazardous, making the site tempting to curious people, who wonder why it’s flagged.

    With advocating self harm though, that is going to present some problems.  The man hours it would take to find the people who actually advocating or practicing, versus those who are suffering from it and trying to break out of it would be so vast that the task would be almost impossible.

    I really hope xanga can come up with quality, if not sound, system.  Good luck!

  • I’ve had time to think about this and these are my thoughts:

    Many of your categories are simply too vague.  The term “Adult Content” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone! 

    For example: Is nudity, itself, offensive?  What about Michelangelo’s David?  The figure is obviously nude… Is it indecent or art?  What about a modern nude?  What about a drawing or painting? What about a photo of a nude figure?  Where do we draw the line?   I could ask 10 people and get different views from all of them.

    What about language used?  Are all swear words not to be used?  Which words are considered “adult content”?  Is it the words, themselves, that people would find offensive?  What if I posted an entire entry of nothing but the F-word?  Would that get me flagged?  What about a post talking about farting?  What about a post describing a bowel movement?  With pictures? Couldn’t any or all of those things be considered offensive to some people? 

    As far a hatred sites go – I’m sorry, but I feel (as repulsive as they are) they fall under freedom of expression.  What gives us the right to tell another person that their opinions cannot be expressed here?  If the majority of people using Xanga do not agree with my opinions, does that mean I lose the right to express them?

    I agree that illegal sites must be shut down.  I have no problem with flagging sites under those categories, but we need to think really hard about what we are doing here! 

    Who are we actually trying to protect?  The children who might see something their parents would rather not have them see?  It is common knowledge that anyone can search the web and find porn and sites that use “offensive” language?  Isn’t it a parent’s job to monitor what their child is viewing on the net?  I certainly think it is!!  We can’t expect the entire world to protect all of the children on the internet from viewing content their parents would find objectionable! 

    If one of my children came across a hate site, for example, I would hope that what I have taught them over the years would supersede anything that they would read there.  It is my job, as a parent, to make sure that they are given the tools that they need so that they know right from wrong.  I don’t expect the entire rest of the world to raise my children – that is my job!

    I think that Xanga is trying to protect itself from lawsuits and I really don’t think that this will work as it is intended.  I think this flagging business will turn into a witch hunt.  I think people will decide that they don’t like a person and mark him or her.  All they need are a few other people with multiple accounts and they will try to get them kicked off of Xanga.

    The sad part is that we will lose the ability to feel like we can freely express ourselves here.  That’s just sad.

  • Reminds me of me as a little kid. I had no clue of what I should do if something like that were to happen…

  • i’m excited for this as well. It seems like hatred sites and pro self harm sites are everywhere lately

  • I pay to have this service.  I could understand censoring it if it were free but I am also an ADULT.  If I want to pay for a service so I may communicate with others and have a running log of my day to day activities, then I should be able to put whatever I want into it!  Maybe placing something in the subscription that labels you as “over 18″ could help with the problem.

    It is my choice to place my personal information on my xanga.  I am not able to have a paper-form diary at home.  I need a place to vent and release.  That was my intention for using AND PAYING FOR the xanga service.

    If I get flagged and my profile is removed, do I get my money back?  Where else am I supposed to go to have this type of service?  Let me make this abundantly clear:  I ENJOY THIS SERVICE, I AM A PAYING ADULT SUBSCRIBER, AND I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP MY SUBSCRIPTION.

    Target the kiddie porn sites, terrorist communications, and other sites of that calibur.  No argument. 

  • This whole system would not be required if the xanga gods had just responded in a timely and effective fashion when people who had GENUINE concerns requested action on a few sites. So now, we can’t privatize blogs or do any other changes as a batch but all of this time is being spent on censorship? Too many people will abuse this feature in order to harass other bloggers. You’re going to lose alot of people here. What you’ll have left are likely the greatest “offenders.”

  • Well this is nice and all but by doing this it makes xanga no longer unique to all other sites. For xanga has seemed to be pretty much the most free going blog site on here. I suppose it will still be a OK blogging area but it wont be the same, it wont be the xanga that makes Xanga great.

  • I have enjoyed Xanga for many years, made alot of friends here and even met my wife here!. I hope this flag system you come up with removes any stalker/pedophiles that this blog area encounters. Please remember what  ”Freedom of Speech” means. What one my find offensive may not be to another. I have to admit I have had alot of fun with my site and it may be found offensive to some but never hurtful to anyone. I tell everyone to leave if they don’t like what they see.  Please remember this when making your flagging system. I have been a member of Xanga since 6/12/02 and would love to stay one for many years to come.

    Thank you.

    LukeNyc 

  • having kids of ma own on this site  yea i agreee 100% i think its a great idea and  more blog sites should try to do more to protec the kids  i mean if they allow kids  on here that are  from  jr. high on up then yea …

  • …reading… yeah, that’s another thing too. WHO gets to decide what is “adult” or “vulgar?” bah.. this is a train wreck. It’s a shame that we adults are having to deal with this nonsense which for at least the past 5 years was unneccessary. Why not just raise the age of bloggers wanting to be members of xanga to 21? That would eliminate the need for any of this.

  • “Too Much Personal Info” will attract the perv, rapists, ect.

  • I also believ tho in my own opinion why dont there be blog sites just for us adults and allow those ones to be of choice  with no flags but at the same time have blog sites just for the  kids ranging from jr. high through high school age and make those  sites with the flags. Safety is a concern  now adays with kids on theese sites,  yes some of us parents can  and do  watch what our kids do on the comp at home  but , when they are away some where elese ya can’t always  be with them watching. So having flagged sites for the kids would be a good  idea  but, also having blog sites for us adults to be able to speak freely and express our selves freely  seperate from the kids wouldn’t be a bad idea to.

  • all I have to say is “Free Speech”

  • excellent.

  • What’s so wrong with whoring yourself out on xanga? People want to post pictures or whatever of themselves in compromising positions, or write about the things they do to themselves, well that’s there thing. Let god judge. No need to censor people. It’s fucking retarded and I find that this will become useless and morons will abuse the flagging thing. Can’t we just leave things alone. In all my years of xanga (all 2 of them) I’ve never heard anyone complain…of course if they were complaining, I didn’t fucking care cuz I wasn’t listening!

    NO FLAGGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LETS KEEP THINGS IN A STATE OF FREEDOM!

  • If  person were to say something on their site, just once, then would that be enough to get them removed?  Or must there be a trend?  I guess an example would be if someone offended somebody with what they said, just once, and that person reported them as being hateful.

  • When they come out, let me know. I support them already.

    God Bless,

    Michelle

  • Promoting these things is not illegal and does not violate any laws wheather one approves or disapproves ethically.  The majority of these sites are created as support groups; how would one distinguish between an eating disorder support site and the other.  Who decides this? It is VERY controvertial and anarexia in itself is not self harm…if you read the medical literature in some ways it can be very beneficial health wise.  Many would also argue that being fat —> obese is much more self harmful ( detrimental to one’s health) than anorexia.  If you flag these anorexia sites shouldn’t you flag sites that promote eating and fat people??????  I might find that gross and harmful.  It’s a very delicate balance. 

    And by the way people will be fat or anorexic regardless of the sites hosted here, you are merely violating free speech and walking a very shaky line. 

    I will have to agree w/ my girl Jenn ^^ Everything she said is everything I would say. What your doing is wrong. You shouldn’t take our xangas for something we can’t help.

    X3 (You don’t even get a <3 b/c your wrong)

  • um w/e i just want it to stop comming up on my xanga

  • Good idea if managed properly!

  • I’m the best looking :)

  • I changed my mind. Jesus is very angry about this concept and he told me that he’s got a lightening bolt with a picture of your ass on it.

  • Think you should SEE what you’re creating MySpaceBoy…NOT that i give a fuck

    Also think you should leave me a comment since the BXU think i’m the one to lead the fight in their misdirected cause

  • Its a great idea!!

  • I don’t know, but I’m already very careful with what I write, because some of my entries have gotten me into some verbal “online” wars (and I think those are lame, btw). It is sad that people can’t write what they want.

    The flags aren’t a good idea, because you’re basically finding a way to tell people that they shouldn’t be writing about something they feel so strongly about. (Although they could just get a new blog somewhere else…) But at the same time…there needs to be something done to those who draw the line, in terms of attacking another race,ethnic group, or even…ahh, you get the point! Therefore, I’m torn.

    What you SHOULD add…is a “site meter” feature, so people can have an idea as to who reads their pages, instead of people paying to get one from another site, although I don’t pay for mine…I just want to be able to see who exactly reads my journal (and leaves mean comments, if that’s the case…)…by SCREENNAME, not by location.

  • I don’t think the safety ones are necessary, but I like the others.

    I’d like another one though: “Takes themself too seriously.”

  • I think that would be wonderful.

  • FINALLY! Good job, Xanga.

    But I must agree with the previous comments. I’m starting to feel like Xanga is getting more additions that are definitely similar to MySpace/Friendster.

    And I also think these flags need alot of revising.

    And as everyone seems to have already pointed out, “Freedom of Speech”. Don’t make the flags so uptight. Then, no one will ever use their Xangas.

  • W T F………..Hatered site? whats the point of that? nevermind don’t answer that. It’s a site to post your opinons not put you in a position of being labled. If your going to put a hatered lable you mite as well put a stoner, goth, punk, and prep lable!

    *pace*

  • umm. kool i dont wanna get raped thx

  • This is a good idea….but will Xanga really act on these flags?

  • Some of this is a good thing but I think that quite a bit of it is either way to broad in scope or to vague to be able to enforce properly. And in all honesty I’m not certain it’s a good idea for a flagging system like this – it’s too easy to abuse it unless you have designated unbaised people randomly hitting sites.

  • Rad to the Core

  • Fucking retarded.

  • good idea

  • hey that sounds cool!!!

  • what ever

  • This is a repulsing idea.

    If people dont like what they see on someones blog, they need to stay off of it. Simple as that.

    I am disgusted by this idea.

  • “Too much personal info” and “proof of underaged user” are really unneeded – such things should be discretionary. I understand there is a desire to limit the liability of Xanga itself, but this is going too far and in fact creates more of a responsibility for the Xanga staff – if a site can be flagged, that makes it their duty to check on it, whereas if those flags do not exist, neither does that responsibility. Disclaimers should be sufficient.

    With regard to malicious impersonation, is it the intent of Xanga to avert the possibility of Kristofer Straub-like hoaxes strictly for the sake of comedy?

  • I don’t think flagging should be implemented, for one simple reason: Xanga shouldn’t be held accountable for underaged nudity, hatred sites, etc., because that’s the parent’s job to teach their kids things like that, and be involved in their lives enough to know if their kid is posting naked pictures of themselves.

    If a parent doesn’t like it, and the kid does it anyway, that’s the parent’s fault and no one else’s.

    Not Xangas, not the internet, not violent video games, no one’s fault but the parent’s for raising such a crappy kid with no responsibility.

    Flagging is also arbitrary, and could easily be abused.

  • well that is way to much personal information for me so that right there is dangerous!!

  • I like them, it sounds really cool! I hope that it works, People hopefully will not abuse the flags, but I am sure that you have thought of that! well Good Luck

  • This is a great idea!!!

  • Wow!Hey Thanks For Caring!http://www.rspanky.zoomshare.com

  • good idea, support it

  • Ugh. The only one I support is proof of underage users. Everything else is a bunch of bullcrap.
    Why don’t you allow users to designate their sites as Adult, i.e. containing content that is some way unsuitable for those under 18?
    I don’t like nazis and hate mongers in general, but as long as they’re not saying, “Let’s go out and kill _______ on May 19th,” let them speak their minds.
    Posting your personal info, as long as you’re above 18, is your own decision. I’m 21 and don’t like living under a cloud created by 15yr olds with no common sense. If you get hunted down and killed for being an idiot, good for you. You’re doing us a favor by removing your stupid gene from the gene pool.
    Maybe I should get my own domain. No wait…Then I’ll have to deal directly with Bush. I’ll settle for duct tape over my mouth.

  • Oh. My. God.

    Screw Xanga. Paranoia’s at its finest here.

  • a good idea, though like has been said, there would need to be some sort of controls so that people can’t abuse the system for harrassment purposes, and the sites that get tagged should be reviewed by an actual person before they are shut down. Otherwise though, a very good idea.

  • I love this idea…do it, do it. do it!

  • oh fuck no…the children..the innocent innocent children. Do your job and be their parent. You had them, don’t expect the rest of the world to want, accept, take care, or be kind to them. It’s not my job or anyone else’s job to take care of your children….

    If parent’s would watch their children and actually get involved with their lives, they wouldn’t get in trouble or into dangerous situations. Give me a break or don’t have kids.

  • 100% against…..I’m leaning more towards Myspace.

  • i don’t like this idea at all! i can post what i like thanks..i might have to go to a different site and pay for premium bc this is BS..your loss xanga.

  • definitely NOT a fan.

  • UMMM D0ES iT REALLY MATTER WHAT i CARE?

  • Sounds pretty sweet to me.

  • im koo wit dis

  • I think its okay..i guess..but..It does matter too much to me.. I think insead of ‘too much personal info’ it should be for wen other people put to much info about u

  • Nice job.

  • Oh gosh, that just sounds superfab! While you’re at it, why don’t you buy us all some duct tape to put over our mouths? And let’s just take away some of those other freedoms we don’t need. Lock up my family for their religion. Kill all the eleven year olds who steal a piece of candy. Because, my gosh, we have to set a good example. We must all understand our place in the world. Underneath authority’s thumb, obeying whatever you command.

  • The fun police are at it again…

  • They way I see it, your just enforcing the rules you set to begin with in the Rules of Conduct.  I’m not quite sure what the issue is….it’s already posted, just not enforced. Good Job!

  • i think its a good idea

  • absolutely wonderful.

    it will somewhat eliminate that strange media idea that blogs are evil and letting teens run rampant.

  • i think it would  cool

  • cool

  • *shrugs* I’m all for it…

  • yay i am number 666! looool

  • I would take out the too much personal info part because that would be flagged to much, would be abused in order to create problems, and really just isn’t necisary. Plus i really don’t think that this is that important, and is just a waste of time because I now realize that if someone really has something that needs to be adressed that can be done with a message being sent to someone whos job it is, so istead of this there should be a system set up of people to be contacted when there is this kind of problem. That way people will be less likely to abuse it because it would take to much time to be worth it, but it would also keep all of the users happy because they can go about their business and would not be affected by the flag until it has been investigated and see to be a true problem.

  • you can’t be to sure of the outcome of flags. People will call hate sites, everywhere. I don’t like the idea. I find xanga to be safe to the people that use it. I think that the rules that are now, are good enough, what problems have you had? Keep it that way. But, you’re the one that runs the site.

  • SOUNDS GOOD 2 ME! ^_^

  • yes, agree, I don’t like getting on xanga and seeing penises

  • a good idea overall *MINUS* the first three on Safety. gonna lose a lot of members if they feels they can’t put their personal feelings up for fear of being “flagged”. anyone ever read George Orwells 1984? heh….

  • I like it.

  • fantastic!

  • Way to go on this….Good idea…..Nowadays it’s good to know there is stuff to make things much safer….for everyone….Again keep up the good work.

  • OK!!!!

  • fraud: yes.
    offensive content: yes.
    ‘safety’: um NO.

  • great idea!!!
    I hope it makes xanga safer!!

  • I agree highly on the Fraud and the Offensive content flags, as for the safety flags, please don’t bother with them.

  • sounds reasonable

  • It seems like it’s against free speech to me.

    Against. I don’t give a flying shit about idiots who post too much personal info.

  • woohoo xanga team!

  • Ew, John, I hate you.

    I hate more than I hate censorship.

    Shame on you!

  • sure i guess its a good idea

  • good idea

  • WHAT HAPPENED TO FREE SPEECH? IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT DON’T READ IT. THAT’S ALL I GOTTA SAY.

  • i’m all for this. though i also agree with others in that there should be some sort of verification system attached to this before action is taken.

  • Yes!!! I am so glad! I feel much safer!!!

  • i think its a good idea

  • I Think This Is Really A Good Idea

  • you guys ROCK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    LUV U!!!!!

  • I like your site.

  • This is ridiculous. We come here as a means of support, why would you limit that? Yes, certain blogs advocate hatred or masochism, however to quote Voltaire, “I may not agree with a word you say, but I would die for the right for you to say it”. I thought Xanga espoused the idea that thinking was a quality needed in society, this seems like the antithesis of such ideology.

  • YO I GOT MY SITES TAKEN AWAY I HAD 2 AND DONT EVEN NO WHY GOT MY SUPPORT

  • It’s nice that you are trying to protect the users but don’t we agree to protect ourselves?  This should not be a site that has to baby-sit.  Maybe with the faddish MySpace.com it is necessary but I think it is redundant to even offer these warnings; also it is a hassle to the users to be bombarded by this information.  If you can’t be responsible enough to follow the rules then you don’t belong on the server.  I think it should be left as is; this is a blogging site, a place to speak your mind.   It is not a place to find dates, stalk people, or be put to use to try and tarnish anyone’s reputation.  It may be necessary to remind everyone that the agreement you say yes to can be a binding document is applied correctly and if they feel inclined to abuse it that they go to a site that is less than reputable like say MySpace.com.

  • I am sure that there will be some sort of investigation into flags and claims of violations so that people cannot just get random innocent people into trouble. 

    This is a great thing they are doing… I have seen blogs from very young people who post very personal info (such as thier cell phone number or home number) and post inapropriate pictures of themselves.  It is so important for parents to keep track of what thier children do on the internet, but unfortunatly many parents have *no* idea thier children have blogs or who they talk to on the internet. Irresponsible use of  public blogs by minors are amazingly easy resources for child predators.  My own little sister, who did not post any inapropriate pic of herself, or very much personal info…was being harrased by someone who kept pressuring her to give him her phone humber and to meet him.  All she had mentioned was visiting our other sister in so-and-so town and he lived nearby. Our parents dont monitor her blog to save her “privacy”, but luckily she has 2 very protective older sisters who do.  Allot of children arnt as lucky.  So kudos to Xanga for stepping up and protecting those who don’t know any better.

  • I think the idea is a good one. i think that it will help keep xanga safe. God bless you.

  • I don’t  like the whole “safety” thing. That just seems like a restriction on my freedom of speech. As for the “breaking the law” and “proof of underaged user” stuff, who made Xanga the police? And self harm? Well, I’ve never seen that as a problem anyone should be concerned with. If someone wants to feel pain or die, let them, because that’s what they want. One last thing: If someone wants to give out their personal information, let them. They chose to be dumb.

    The “fraud” and “offensive content” are okay, though.

    Enjoy.

  • I support this 10000000000000000 % (however much that is(10 zillion) ha)so ya i give my support

  • I think this is too little too late. Where the Hell were these flags back when the idjit was hijacking my name and harassing my readers? You are still on probation in my opinion. You’ll find out how well you did when my renewal is up. Not that you guys give a flying turd, since you never respond to people who complain about others who violate terms of service. But hey, you guys do what you think you must to make yourselves feel better.

  • I think this is  a good thing you never know anymore these days who is messing around on the internet I think its a good job myself. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

  • I think this is a really good idea… I can’t tell you how many 14 year old girl sites give their full name and pretty much directions to their house… it’s frightening.  If they were my kids, their ass would get beat so hard…

  • I’m LAst Retards

  • I guess that this is ok

  • You should just make it so that we can choose whether we have sites with adult content or not.  Be more specific on adult content… Meaning sexual talk?  Or just pictures?  Is drinking “adult content”?  How about drug references?  Because there are many sexual innuendos as well as drug and alcohol drinking references in movies that are rated PG-13 and isn’t that what you’re trying to go for?  Since the minimum age is 13?  I just would like to know, because I don’t want to have my site shut down without knowing why or having a warning.

  • I do think that underaged use and nudity should be looked out for. As far as some of the other flags, I feel that these are peoples personal journals and if someone does not want to see some of the content then they should just move onto another blog. I am in a few blog rings but the only sites I read are the ones that I am subscribed to. I joined this site because this is where my friends had been posting. I use this as a way to catch up with these individuals. I do not actually go out into Xanga and look around for people to talk to or report for that matter. I do appreciate you trying to protect the users.

  • That is a good idea, there are some pedophiles on xanga and they should be shut down. Stopping people from harassing others is also a good thing. But I don’t agree with shutting down other people’s xangas if they are under thirteen.

  • i dig.

  • I think it is a good way… to run things

  • I think most of them are good but then everything online seems to be getting more idk trying to be safe these days.

  • I think this is a very important step in enabling those of us that are older (and hopefully old enough to “know better”) to be able to help police those that are younger (and far unaware of how scary the internet truly CAN be) and hopefully be able to prevent some of the things that are coming out on the news…

  • nice

  • yall stink

  • don’t act gay be happy

  • These blogs are so amazing because they grant us the ability to express ourselves in a way that we feel safe and secure. No matter what your agenda is, or if you even have one. But remember, for those of you who are or will be in the future seeking employment..more and more companies are hiring people to conduct searches on perspective employees. And they don’t have to respect our freedom of speech–they can use what you write against you. And they don’t have to admit to it–they can just choose not to hire you-without telling you why. The more personal information you provide….the more likely your blog will show up on a search.
    Express yourself! Blog your heart out! But use caution with your info.

  • THANK YOU.

    its about time you guys did this..

    <3

  • i just see so much potential for misuse, with people maliciously trying to get someones xanga flagged. and if you investigate complaints properly before you post the flag you’ll have to hire a team of private detectives and the price will go thru the roof

    i think xanga is already under enough of a threat from myspace without introducing new features that turn ppl away. i’ve had my share of dickheads comment on me but its not a drama i just block them. i think maybe you should make ppl more aware of what to do if they come across sites that breach the terms of use and if they have then you ditch the site. other than that i just see flagging as causing lots of headaches for you guys and annoyance for us

  • I am amazed at how many people are rejecting this because they are so completely ignorant of two important facts:

    1. The majority of these flags are enforcing rules that are already in the user agreement. Go on: READ IT. It may do some of you some good.
    2. Freedom of speech. This argument really makes me laugh. People, you do not have freedom of speech on Xanga nor did you ever. Xanga is a privately owned company with certain rules that you as a member have to abide by as per the user agreement. It explicitly states that you are not to post hateful material, post vulgar material, etc. Remember when you clicked that “I agree” button? Yeah, that means that you agree to the rules that the Xanga coporation laid out. Don’t like it? Buy your own domain and make your own website.

    I will say, though, that yes, many of these definitions need to be more specific. For example, what is vulgar material? A swear word? A written sex scene? Actual pornography? This also should be cleared up in the user terms.

    And I have to mention the underage user thing because I feel that this actually is problematic. My 23 year old boyfriend mistakenly left the birth year at 2000, and his Xanga was shut down because he is supposedly a six year old. However, one glance at his Xanga, and it would have been evident that he is in fact not a six year old as he was discussing his economic thesis for his undergraduate degree. An automated system for certain things is a horrible idea. Most kids now will say that they’re older because there are more and more age restrictions on websites like this so I really don’t see how that would be that effective.

    All in all I am for this because I think that Xanga needs to do a better job of enforcing these rules, especially since so many people don’t even know them. But, it definitely needs to be very specific, and there needs to be a way to make sure this system doesn’t get abused.

  • Please do your job.  The ones who support you by paying premium shouldn’t be policed or babysat by children who are mostly on free sites.  Where are the rights of the adults here? There is a massive opening for misuse. Honestly…please research this better.

  • Paying for something does make you exempt from the rules.

  • That should be “Paying for something does not make you exempt from the rules.” Go me.

  • seems good

  • Anything that gets those faux-porn star chicks off my blogging network is fine by me. :)

  • The first time for me to give 2 eprops to john because this feature is really useful. support.

  • Too much personal info?

    Isn’t that what blogs are for?

    I don’t think that should be grounds for flagging — If you don’t like it, don’t read it.

  • Hmm, I see what that means. Nevermind — I’ll buy that, I guess.

    Offensive content? I don’t think Xanga has the authority to determine what I find or don’t find offensive.

    I say let the individual Xanga-owner indicate with a checked box that a certain post is for mature audiences only, and if a user is signed in on an account that belongs to someone under 18, those posts just won’t appear to that user.

    I’m sticking firmly by “if you don’t like it, don’t read it” on this one.

  • No shit and Vixen put a sock in it. If you don’t like it then don’t read it. Go play lawyer Nazi somewhere else.

  • You’re better off making an adult section of Xanga, yahoo does it, yafro does it and many websites do that. Have you listened to this advice before? No, you completely ignored it and look where it’s gotten you. You got a bunch of pissed off premium subscribers on your hands now and if I were you…I wouldn’t ignore them. The Flagging will be a disaster.

    NO CENSORSHIP!

  • sounds great!

  • I could care less what’s safe and whats not… honestly, i find ALOT of offensive things funny..

    But as to everyone else, they dont think like i do & its good to see the people that want to repost things like that have somewhere to report it to, with a more specific field to report to!

    -Ph0z3-

  • nice. non patriotic flags

  • Cool! this is going to be very useful! I’ve seen alot of fake xanga’s lately of people who pretend to be these famous HK stars and one of the “posed-as” stars happened to be a rumour flooded person, I guess this feature can help that certain HK Celeb too LoL.

    I think this is a great idea! Keep the good features comming in ^_^

  • Go for it, let’s just see if people wil use it.  I would if I needed too.

    DxF

  • Balance and reasoning in all things, and in all matters. I say yes, but with reserve. We shall just have to wait and see how it works.

  • yeah its ok but im worried about personal info u no !!

  • I think it is a bad idea, but it is also good because i am getting sick of everyone talking crap and getting away with it.

  • i think its a good idea. lol. i mean i wouldnt post too much personal info would i??lol

    Drew

  • Good idea

  • sounds good looks good

  • This has been a long time in coming.  Glad you guys are taking the steps to take care of your Xangans.

  • Underage user?  Xanga is full of under 18 year olds.  So not sure what the thresh hold for deciding what underage is.  I do wish Xanga had something to the effect of what yahoo does that prior to getting onto the sight..if an adult user would like it posted that it is an adult content site.

    Other than that..one has to consider what is fact and fiction and the possibility of infringing on freedom of expression.

    The sight does need to be set up to protect minors.  That is one thing I strongly advocate.  We don’t need another myspace snafu

  • cool

  • The whole thing about adult content, at least make the protected lists able so that can hold every1 that we want 2 see them.

    I dunno about these flags… i don’t think that sum of them will work out so good…

  • i support the spam and scam bits, but other than that i think it should be more hands-off.

  • So, there’s this Active X thing going around. Is that a new Xanga thing or something? Because everybody’s getting it. It’s really annoying.

  • Oh, and also, I’m glad you have all the different flags up. If people want “adult” sections, then go to a porn shop, we have enough stuff floating around the internet as it is. That’s my take on it.

  • I think it’s a good idea. :)

  • you cant always keep it safe by doin this because a regular person can meet someone and its not necesserely obvious.

  • Splendid Idea.

    -AlexKing

  • ErOticUsVeNomouS: I’m sorry, but I don’t see how I’m being a Nazi lawyer because I actually understand the Bill of Rights and what businesses like Xanga can and cannot do. I don’t read Xangas or anything that I find offensive, and for the most part, I don’t care what people what to talk about. I’m actually incredibly openminded. But if you people are going to whine about freedom of speech and censorship, you should at least understand what that means first.

  • hey this all sounds good to me i meen i think its GREAT ur tryin t amke it safer cuz i no a lot of ppl who shut down thier sites cuz of sum of those things…!

  • i agree w/ these flags, but before u start accusing could u check out that persons site

    thnx

  • As an aside: I know it doesn’t help you much now, but: if, of course, you’d responded properly to people mailing you and alerting you to scams, spams, personal safety issues and the like BEFORE all the current moral scare about blogs, instead of ignoring them completely, you wouldn’t be in the mess you are now.

  • Great idea.

  • i very strongly disagree! i understand that you want to keep everything under control – but isn’t there another way??? i came to xanga as a place where i could be myself, say anything and everything i wanted to. the internet is all about freedom. it’s the last place where we can really be ourselves and not have to worry about rules and regulations. I don’t want to have to give that right up! maybe you can flag certain blogrings or make an adults-only section? but flagging each “bad” site is a little overboard. besides if 1 person deems a site “offensive” and 100 others LOVE that site, and it gets flagged, how is that at all fair?

    just something i think you should consider…

  • Have to say that i dont really agree with any of these….there is free speech and a freedom of expression. I understand the latest controversy with myspace etc and all the media attn. that has fallen on the unsafeness of these sites. However, it think it should be up to individual users and their parents as to what is appropriate or unappropriate. I dont understand what xanga feels the need to moderate and essentially control their members content posts…also they will be difficult to enforce, and banned users can simply create a new site using a different name/email. I do have to agree that the safeguard proposed in the fraud and offensive content categories are probably necessary and will be supported wholeheartedly. However the safety flags seem a little to envasive and a little to controlling. For example full name, i have a full name listed on my site–but it isnt my real full name–would that be flaggged? there are too many discrepinces there is no way to create a system with almost 0 flexability.

  • I have to respond a bit to Vixen21′s comments.

    First, most of “us” people who disagree should have our reasons READ…not skimmed with a retort already forming in the commenters mind.  Knowledge is a wonderful thing, and reading is necessary.

    Yes the rules of conduct, user agreements, TOS should be adhered to.  I don’t believe a single person here has disputed that necessity.  But… who should enforce them?  The rules themselves are rather vague at times, although it is always hard to list every offense possible.  The problem is… XANGA personnel (notice I said the people who ARE Xanga) are the ones responsible for policing these issues.  Any of us, including premium users have an obligation to follow the rules.  Paying a fee does not exclude us from that.  It is what we agreed to.  And we also agreed that Xanga could change/update their rules at any time and it is our repsonsibility to be aware of the changes. 

    However, creating a system where Users police Users is not what I signed up for.  It isn’t what is advertised.  If Xanga is too overloaded (which I believe the reference to so many emails complaining of “bad” sites being ignored proves this point) the answer is not to “pass the buck” and have the diverse range of people (children 13 and older, and adults) suddenly be the Enforcers of this community.  I don’t adhere to the free speech complaints.  It has no real place on a weblog community where there are rules.  Freedom of speech in this country and this world had been tattered beyond recognition for years.  That isn’t my complaint.  Censorship is the word I have used, and it does apply to a degree.  But Xanga in some strange way has informed us of what is expected.  If we cross those lines fine.  Do something.  But do not, for political correctness, fear of lawsuits, and the complete inability to handle this business (and it is a business – a huge one) of the Xanga Gods try to make this an “improvement”, a community get together for the betterment of Xangans and mankind in general.  This is not how it should be.

    I stand firm in my disagreement with this possible “new system” for the reasons stated many times here.  It will not make it better or safer.  It will simply make more work for an obviously understaffed business if they actually implement what they have said.

  • yea that’ll be great good job!!

  • thank you very much~!

  • I like it!

  • no bitches now I’m the first one!?!?!? haha suckers. bow down to me

  • i think that its cool but i think that if there just a little bit underage (like a month or something) they should get to keep there xanga 

  • Craigslist tried something similar and it doesn’t work. If somebody doesn’t like what you post, they flag it and it’s deleted. There’s no checking, no evaluation–anybody complains, it’s gone. That makes a tyrant of any disgruntled nut and destroys the free exchange of ideas.

  • I think this totally is completely unnecessary. I remember when Xanga wasn’t like other sites and now its being changed so much that people who came here to blog and have freedom of speech is getting be-friended…and soon enough flag fucked…. You guys need to think about how people will totally abuse this feature.

    I guess I’m right there with the BXU on this one…

  • Think about it Vixen. We’ll all have a bunch of goofy 13 y/o’s on our hands flagging people for the hell of it. Or self-righeous religious fanatics going flag happy against the next xanga page that has a boobie shot or has found to have more sexual inuendo then they can handle. It’ll certainly raise up vigilante groups that’ll go flag anyone they disagree with or that they just plain don’t like. Does Xanga want to give that kind of power into the hands of irresponsible people? I hope not. But they seem desperate to do anything based on the financial, government, media and polictical correctness pressure hitting them. DO you think everyone in Xanga is going to use flagging responsibly once they can do it? I think you already know the answer to that honey.

    Frankly, I’m all for an adult section in Xanga based on paid premium users over the age of 18. They can be identifed as such based on their Creditcard or paypal account. Not to say that you’d get minors sneaking in but there’d be a lot less of it.

  • sure

  • The only problems I ever have are people hacking my site, impersonating me (creating a page pretending to be me), or harrassing me (leaving me nasty comments), and creating hate pages about me.

  • I like! Good idea!

    Safer than MySpace! Haa

    ~B!

  • From what I understand about flagging, they don’t automatically get deleted just because someone put a flag there. There’s a similiar system on deviantART in which a report gets sent to the higher-ups, and then they assess the content and decide whether or not the site is acceptable. They’re not really giving anyone power; you can already report Xangas – It’s just not as easy to do. And they could always implement an abuse of flagging rule to help prevent said abuse.

    I do agree with you and others, though, who would like to see an 18+ system added with Xanga.

  • That’s a good idea. I don’t know any underaged users, though, on Xanga. I know plenty on Myspace, but this is Xanga.

  • this is a great idea but the one about personal info is kind of pointless. if those people want to have all that info out in the open and risk identity theft then they should be allowed to have it shown. it would be their fault if its taken

  • i think that it all sounds good to me.

  • Those look great. Internet safety is really important to me, so I personally appreciate this effort. Great job.

  • “a report gets sent to the higher-ups, and then they assess the content and decide whether or not the site is acceptable” [from Vixen21's comment]

    Okay, that’s their right, it’s their server space. Although if they’re going to be much tougher on content, they’ve got to be a lot clearer about what actually is and isn’t acceptable.
    The issue though is that they’re going to get absolutely SWAMPED with flags, and unless they’ve put some very serious money and human resources behind this, they aren’t going to have time to make an objective judgement on each issue.
    The result? Only the most flagged things are going to get looked at; therefore what seems like democracy will turn into anarchy, as people try to rally support behind their “cause” against a certain site or type of site. You can imagine whole separate factions constantly at war with each other over a divisive issue [eg abortion]. If there is a real dark underbelly of Xanga, it will remain in the shadows, unflagged, hidden by the battles going on above it, and the “higher-ups” will wash their hands of responsibility for it because it’s not shown up on their radar.
    That’s not the kind of site I want to be on, and I’m already looking at other options.

  • Could you be a bit more specific about how you intend to implement these flags? What happens to sites that get flagged? Is it a human that makes the decision, or is it an automatically generated response after so many flags.
    Do I really need to point out the obvious fact that this system, if implemented, is going to be massively abused? I can just see the advent of “flag fights” between Xangans who try to get each others’ sites shut down.

  • I support this almost 100%.

    To hell with the naysayers.

  • Some of the definitions need some re-thinking.

  • lol. i just got an anime music video.

  • Love it!

  • Xanga isn’t myspace!!

  • Crap so close!

  • Well I agree on that Vixen. An adult section of xanga would not be all that bad. Although isn’t that what protected’s for? lol well I guess premium users could go on it only to…not a bad idea…. Are there any “flag fighting ” issues going on at deviant art?

  • EV, I’d've thought it’d be a lot more difficult to get hot under the collar about art than about, say, politics or religion.

  • Yeah, good idea.

  • Thank god for this.  My last site got hacked.

  • It seems to me that anyone who read and agrees to what is written in the Xanga rules would comply but I have read that some folks are so offended and call it censorship….If I want porn, there is plenty of it out there in cyberspace…I don’t want it here at Xanga.  Perhaps you should have an application process and ask folks why they want a Xanga account….online writing groups do this…have people write something in reference to their purpose…

    I think the flagging is a good idea…perhaps start with the porn…..

  • are these flags anonymous? they shouldn’t be. if one finds the material unsuitable for xanga, then one should have no problem adding their username to the flag. this would also eliminate the malicious overflagging by “haters”.

  • Good idea

  • yea dude those are all good…i really dont care to be honest but whatev!

    lat

    erljjfakl

  • it looks good, anything to make xanga safer is good.

  • meh… sounds cool….
    ~N!cK~

  • OUTSTANDING JOB!!!!

    *round of applause*

  • Flags are great idea! 

  • cool

  • support

  • NO IT WILL BE TO MUSH MESS

  • I’m lost on what exactly a “Flag” is.

    So if there’s a xanga that features one of these things, do I report it, then it gets “flagged”?

    Then what happens?

    Help out the slower ones here!

  • Not really. A few people consider it to be taking away their rights and so forth, but for the most part, it works well.

  • Good idea…you should check pictures….i just saw some disgusting nude pictures of girls on accident. so ya great idea!

  • good idea =D

  • Great system, but I agree with “CuriousGeorgina” on the point of somehow having proof the person deserves the flag so people can’t abuse the system.  Other then that, 2 props for ya!!!

  • THANK ABOUT TELLING DO IT FOR ME

  • SUPPORT!!!

    ~Crystal

  • ok clones! maybe you’re into having people doing the thinking for you in this day and age but I am not. What’s wrong with just avoiding the disagreeable sites than to have other people who could care less about you decide what’s good for you?

     ok, your funeral.

    I’ll just have to find a way to fend against the flag fighting that will come from this. None of you have any balls, why do I bother?

    Fine with me cattle, have it your way, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I expected better.

  • I’m just wondering if some users will become really obsessed with flagging other people’s sites at any small sign, just because they feel like being malicious.

  • i think its a very cool idea. keep it up

  • good idea

  • I see where you are going it would be like amazon and ebay peer eval but I think it would be just better to have an adult area, Judi

  • OK SO Im ALL FOR the hated and porn sites, but i know my friends and there are an INCREDIBLE ammount of people out there that will flag your site for no apperent reason, or because they are mad at you. And theres obivoiusly going to be some losers that are under 13, but wat if you tpye your birthday and make a typo and put the wrong year? (like instead of 1992 you accidentally put 1993 or somthing) And I don’t think that everyones gonna be happy with this, I realize all you’re trying to do is make xanga safer, but freedom of speech?? uhhh is that  still here? you should only make the flags these:

    Malicious Impersonation

    Hijacked Account

    Scam

    Spam

    Adult Content

    Underage Nudity

    Breaking the Law

    and thats it? too much personal info is thry’re own desicion to put up on their site, and the Self Harm one, what are you gonna do to stop him/her? Absolutly nothing, all you will do is force them to create a new xanga.

    thoses are my views, please take them into consideration

    thanks

  • Okay, since everyone seems to be talking about it, I’ll give my two cents on this flag thing. I’m all for watching out for “the community”. I’m all for watching out for yourself and others. But, I’m not for censorship, and I’m not for what I’ve seen already as abuse of this system. All you need is for one ignorant, arrogant person get a bug up their ass and report someone as “inappropriate” just because they’re “mad at them” or just don’t like them. That’s not right. I think maybe a resolution to this is that not everyone has access to this flag system. Perhaps just administrators, who’s possibly sole or included duty is to browse sites, or monitor to a degree, for the extreme of the infractions – malicious, harmful, threatening words/actions, sexual predators, etc. Someone who is PAID by Xanga, someone “qualified”, not just someone “off the street” so to say. If everyone has the ability to “flag” sites, there is sure to be abuse.
    Do I see this as censorship? To a degree, yes. I don’t want to be afraid to post my true thoughts and feelings, but folks, part of this is why we have protected posting. Part of me says if you don’t like my site, don’t read it. I don’t make you read it. If I see something I don’t like on Xanga, or on T.V. or in the movies, I avoid them. Attention is what half the people who post inappropriately are looking for. Let’s not give it to them then.
    I appreciate a good sexy picture, poem, story, whatever. Offense, as well as beauty, is in they eye of the beholder. What offends one person, or twelve, may not offend the rest. Who’s to say what’s inappropriate and what’s not? Not me, for sure.
    I can be a sensitive person. Especially when it comes to what others think of me. But I’ve come to realise that people on Xanga, except for a chosen few, do not KNOW me. And maybe more never will. But I certainly don’t want someone who DOESN’T know me telling me what to write on my blog, or what I can’t write.
    It’s a fine line, and you know what they say about good intentions.

  • Good idea, I am really happy about all the new rules to keep people safe; but does all this apply even if the site is compleatly protected?  How will that be regulated?

  • hey.

  • i like it

  • yeah, um… i take back what i said. this kinda sucks some major cock.not kinda, it really does. this fucking screwed!

  • that seems a good idea. How would it be checked and “enforced”?

  • i think it’s OK, but i wonder how people will react to my site …

  • thanks for making xanga safe. I support you guys!

  • Ha ha ha I like this although I’m worried that people will misuse this. Are you going to investigate each claim? There just isn’t the man power.

  • “Too much personal info” (i think) should not be on here…after all this is an online journal, sure its online but nevertheless a journal and a journal is where you write your thoughts…

  • I don’t want my entries deleted to just any emotional cry baby who can’t handle something.

    You should only grant flagging powers to:
    - users that have been with xanga for at least 2 years AND
    - if they are at least 18 years of age.

    Experience and maturity works well together.

  • I should also mention that there should be some kind of rebuttal system too.

  • hey pretty cool idea lol we dont want nothin bout ppl washing grandmas booty now do we lolll

  • sounds good.

  • yah… just make sure you don’t limit our rights thou… i mean come’on it’s a blog. There may be some ‘disagreements’ causeing false “flags” out of people getting mad at other people and other everyday things. And some people say stuff like “I’m going to kill you” and not mean it litterly… they’re going to be flagged? Idk it sounds like a good idea but what are you going to do about the people who didn’t mean it and got unjustly flagged? It’s like censorship. Now you all go watch V for Vendetta I COMMAND YOU

  • I fornicate with underage cartoon animals!!

  • <TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height=”100%” cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=”100%” border=0 UNSELECTABLE=”on”>
    <TBODY>
    <TR height=”100%” width=”100%” UNSELECTABLE=”on”>
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    that is a fuckin stupid idea!!!!

  • COOL

  • This will be very helpful

  • i believe in some situations it might be useful. some people though wouldn’t take it seriously and misuse the flags. but if used properly, it would make a great addition to the xanga community.

  • i agree with the pineapple_kitkat….. it could be useful but some people would use it wrong

  • its about time

  • so there really is no reason to shut them down i guess, i just felt that this would be a good forum to say that i despise those fourteen year old girls sites that talk about their food charts with nothing on it and are promoting anarexia and stuff. i despise them.

    like, one girl posted that she was punishing herself for eating too many ice cubes for dinner. i despise her most of all.

  • I think it sounds good to me actually i think its a pretty p-i-m-p idea if u ask me…

  • I think some of them are good ideas but some are not as good. So does this is like stuff we write in our entries and stuff?

  • If we report someone do we get to be anonymous? In other words, will the owner of the reported site find out who we are?

  • AWESOME idea.

  • I think it is great because of all the things they have been saying about Myspace and many other sites. I like the idea that something is being done!! -Kc0:)93

  • I think this will help out everyone and ensure that this will be the best blogging website on the web.

  • sweet that rulez.

  • ok………

  • I agree these should be helpful

  • go for it

  • i’m fine with it…as long as there is a monitoring system, i mean what if someone misreads what we put on our sites, or it’s an inside joke…don’t just delete my account when i’m being sarcastic.

  • Thank you,  We need this. 

  • HEY U KNOW THERE ARE SCHOOL SHOOTING SUPPORTERS BLOGRINGS!!!

  • Does thi mean SEXYstarCSB who is an adult male using the site to prey on young girls will be sent away? I hope so because that is why I am here to begin with.

  • i think it would be nice for a flag to be made for people who just bully people on xanga….i have had two cases of that happen to me…and i guess that falls under the title of fraud…so that makes me happy

  • looks like a good idea to me!

  • DUH!! Like I  want to have you bloody Fucking cunts do the fucking thinking for me? Smarten up you bunch of fucking assholes. I wanna flag your sorry asses! BOOOOOO!!

  • look, as long as you dont interfere with what people do and if you put something up saying that xanga is not responsible for any actions taken as a result of anything put on a xanga site, then i dont see why you have to do ANYTHING like this.

  • plus, youre promoting tattletales.

  • ummmmm…. some your ideas are great, and i know your trying to look out for people, but i do not support it, epessially the advocates self-harm one, trust me, no matter what you do, people will do what they want, no matter if you tell them they can’t. I have been ana before and i have tons of friends who are also ana, pro-ana sites arn’t hurting anyone, its a disease, and they/we just wanna share our problems with pple with the same disease.

  • FLAG ME YA DIRTY CUNTS!! *FAART!!

  • It sounds good but if someone hates someone else then its going to be easy for them to get that person kicked off here.so who ever owns this site needs to create something like a abuse report or something people can fill out well im out lol peace

  • Oh double plus good on how you want to think for us, you dirty  HO! We’re contacting your sponsors to show them how pissed we are! BLOW ME CUNT!!! WHOOOHOOO!!

    THE POPE OF PORN!!

  • i think these are really helpful…especially “advocates self harm” and “hatred site”

  • When did they erase freedom of speech from the constitution?

    I understand protecting those underage, but those of us who ARE of age (and far older) shouldn’t be punished. People (of age) should be allowed to put on their site what they choose, as long as it’s not harmful to others (i.e. nudity or threats of physical harm).

    This is just one more way this country is going down the drain… *waits for hate mail*

  • FINALLY….THAT TOOK YOU GUYS FOREVER, AND YOU THINK OF IT ONLY NOW??!!!

  • Jesus Christ.
    Is this really necessary???

  • THAT’S A FANTASTIC IDEA!

    I have seen so many users, particularly young girls, who post their phone numbers, home addresses, etc., and I find that discomforting. I can’t wait for the flags to be launched. They would be anonymous, though, right?

  • Gr8TubaWoman: No hate mail, but you misunderstand the Bill of Rights. All it says is Congress cannot make laws to prevent you from practicing your freedom of speech; there is nothing about businesses deciding what is acceptable. What Xanga is doing is totally legal.

  • i like the flags. they have been long overdue.

  • I agree, especially those racist and pro ana/mia sites. ^_^

  • great idea!!! i hope it all works well….

  • This is a bad idea. Let Freedom Ring!

  • im jewish YES!!!!!!!

  • all this would be GREAT!
    just if you are going to shut down a site, let that person know in advance so they can fix it/ make a new site in time/just find out.

    thanks!

    <33 Amanda

  • I agree with the whole flagging idea, but what about melicoius flagging if someone jsut doesn’t like you and are trying to get you in trouble? or what about matters that are of a more law enforcement realted issues like child pornography and the like. And the whole threatening of physical violence…..What about venting…i use mine all the time to write what I say, but would never act upon it. The idea is sound, just needs alot of refining and rethinking.

                        Forever Knight

  • While I understand why these sorts of things are useful, I fear for what’s going to happen once they go into affect. I suppose I’m just worried that people are going to have their sites shut down for things that don’t require/equate to nearly that much consequence… or for a misjudgement/mistake/entries that weren’t serious to begin with.

    I believe my friend’s xanga was shut down recently, and all it was was a place for napkin art. Literally, people drawing on napkins. There was a quote of the day, and a person of the day, and the site promoted happiness and love.

    I’m glad for some of the specifications you have made, though… for instance, adult content being allowed in protected posting where there are no minors included on the protected list, and how the personal information portion mentions that it’s the information of others posted without their permission. People seem to be missing that point a bit often.

    I respect almost all of this, I just worry about overuse of the flagging system.

  • “Flags are only a warning sign, not censorship.”

    I saw that comment on a random site just a little while ago. It reminded me a lot of what people were saying when Hitler wanted to “flag” the jews. Don’t believe the jews didn’t see Hitler coming. Because they did. They just didn’t do shit about it. They let some crackerfool slowly invade them and take away their rights. First thing Hitler did was what? Anybody know? Any of you vuvlaheads know?

    The first thing Hitler did was to LABEL the jews. Once they were clearly labeled and distinctively marked, he could then easily round them up and toss them in ovens. WTF?? Now ask yourself, why did the jews let themselves be labeled?

    Flags = Labeling.

    Why did the jews allow Hitler to pass a law which prevented jewish people from owning firearms? Why did the jews allow Hitler to burn their books?

    People really have no clue huh doc? They have no recollection of history. Just a bunch of strungout computer monkeys typing away about their day at the local mall, not realizing that they are either part of the solution, or part of the problem.

    BXU! -member for life. (Viva Revolution!)

  • I feel that as others have said – This system will be abused.  As people will turn themselves into Xangacops and go around trying to find someone to flag.  Yes It does have good parts to it.  But as was said before I think Xanga’s support has gone to the ground of late – I personally have emailed you asking a question and got no reply – And you ask many times and get no reply at all – You USED to actually reply

    There are many bad things about Xanga – But there is about everything on the internet.  But a more common sense approach would be better rather than the ‘let’s flag em’ method – People should just be able to email you their worries about a certain site instead of flagging people which is sooooooo open to abuse.

    Good idea but needs serious looking into and would also need ‘Flagsters’ To review all the flagged sites and check that people are not just flagging people for malicious reasons.  Which is bound to happen.

  • Btw – I emailed you asking why it wouldn’t let my son (16yrs old) have an acct – You didnt answer Could you answer?

  • No to flagging!

  • great!

  • I support all of these. I especially can’t stand all the sites that support self-harm and then these younger kids are going on and finding them, and some tell you how to hurt yourself. Either that or they will stumble across pornographic sites.

    Thanks Xanga. :)

  • Myself & others have reported hate sites and other “obscene” sites to xanga before, and we got no response whatsoever. What’s changed now?

    Who has the final say? Who decides what is promoting self-harm and what is simply talking about it? Fellow self-harmers who actually understand the issue or outsiders who might have a tendency to knee-jerk reactions out of fear and disgust? Who decides what is offensive adult content? This isn’t just a place for kids, many of us are over 18, why should we be penalized? Perhaps there should be a way to keep youngsters off those sites without shutting them down altogether.

    Will someone check that a site should be closed, and will the person being shut down get a warning so they can either put the offending content on private or have time to save it on their computer, and let friends know where they went? Or can a bunch of busy-bodies just randomly flag anyone they don’t like?

  • kewl-io!!!!!!!!

  • Moreover, I think the xanga users can also separate their entries into different catalogs by the user themselves.

  • a flagging system is nice though I know every blogger has the right to put anything on his/her blog. but when things get messed up, this flagging system is the best answer.. ;)

  • I hate seeing minors on here doing inappropriate things, I would hate to see adult’s freedoms infringed upon.  Not sure if flagging should be done.  Is there another way??

  • WOW…..aha NO.THIS IS WACK!!

                                  

  • Very good idea!

  • You will have too many flags going if you arn’t carefull. It’s a great idea, but if you have just ten people a day flagging everybody they don’t like then you will have a nightmare sorting through the valid complaints. I figure you already know this, but just in case it hadn’t occured to you… you might want to make any person flagging a site put in at least 25 words in the description box and do that “Type the letters as they apear” thing.

  • sound pretty nifty!!!

  • I suppose flagging is just as harmless as labeling the jews was back in WW2.

    CUT THE CRAP PEOPLE!!

  • There should be a catagory at Xanga for risque expression that only adults can enter or something to thjat effect. Think about the majority who pay for premium…

  • THe flags ROCK!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO WITH THIS!!!!!!

  • I think that taking away freedom of speach is somthing that you really have no right to limit.  I understand that it is your site and you can do as you please, however I fear that you are taking the very thing that draws people to the site away.. If someone does not want to read what I write they should simply not come to my page.  If they find offensive the things I write they should stop reading what I write and go to someone elses page.  I understand the idea behind what you are doing.  What I fear is that I may write something about my pagens ways and some right wing christian group may report me and I may get flagged.  I find that disturbing. I agree that nonone has the right to hurt others but as long as they stick to there own page what harm is there.  I hope that you VERY CAREFUL , and strongly consider what you are doing before you end up like the boy scouts. 

  • Some of these are a good idea however, much of this has to do with free speech. For those that are afraid of being censored all they’d have to do is go private or protected and how would you censor them then? People come here to write about what’s going on with themselves and sometimes to get outside help on things.
    Flags like stalkers for example would be a good idea, but I’ve reported several sites for doing that to me and you’ve done nothing about it. It’s alright that you want to do this but then you’d have to have people watching everywhere.
    People come here to express themselves, if you’re doing flags on self harm, then would that extend to stories people write as well?
    Who decides what should be flagged and what shouldn’t ? is it a panel who reviews what should and shouldn’t be shut down or is it the minute someone disagrees with what’s said then it’s automatically shut down?
    I think a few of these are necessary but I think some of these are taking it too far

  • looks good

  • i do not like this at all. what ever happend with freedom of speech? i dont think that all the flags are bad, but some are not nessicary. such as the selfharm on exc. if you use this, so many of your xanga users will be gone. if thats what you want, go for it, but i dont think so..

    ex’es and oh’es

    Cheri

  • I’ts the worst idea I heard…

  • seems gd…

  • i’m all for the spam flag. i hate it when people spam my xanga.

  • the ideals are good but the ones under
    <TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=600 align=left bgColor=#ffffff border=0>
    <TBODY>
    <TR>
    <TD width=170>
    <TD width=200>
    <TD width=200>offensice content. ppl sould be about to do that!!!

    -KODY

  • The Flags R STUPID!!!..if u have them then in the end u r going to be the only one on xanga b cuz everybody will be getting flagged

  • the ideals are good but the ones under offensice content. ppl sould be about to do that!!

    -KODY

  • SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • I see the good side of it.

  • hey

  • it’s really a BRILLIANT idea,,^____^
    SUPPORTS,,

  • Looks great !!

  • I think it’s a great idea!

  • i think it’s a great idea!

  • I do NOT think this is a good idea. Why do I see someone getting mad at someone else and getting all of their friends flagging said individual?

  • WHAT TOOK YOU GUYS SO LONG?

  • i happen to not agree with this. i mean on here we wrote about what’s going on in our lives, so that way our friends who don’t live close to us will have an idea. people are gonna stop using xanga once you put these flag thingys in effect. people will use myspace more… i think though that if you gonna do any thing, i think you should make it to where people have to accept you as a friend, kinda like myspace. well that’s my oppinion on this whole thing.

    >Jessika<

  • Take out advocatin self harm

  • interesting flag system…..

    E

  • what are we, in church? this is just censorship.

  • They’re really, really good!

    We should keep xanga safe….

  • i think that CuriousGeorgina is right what if they do abuse it like the kid is mad at u from school and he think o i can tag them as payback or something but with us whom have good site we rnt going to get them well i kinda supot it but think about thoose who arnt hurting anything or anyone who has a layout that someone finds that they dont like and they tag them i dont like that

  • You can’t post adult content, and you can’t have underage users.

    What’s left? 

  • yeah sure thats cool!!. . . . i guess

    taylor

  • Great idea!

  • And regarding proof of underaged user, that’s impossible to enforce… any kid can grab mom or dad’s credit card and pretend to be old enough.

    If you start flagging people, you are going to lose a LOT of money… I know many people with premium accounts who are already thinking of going elsewhere, me myself included.  I even paid for a lifetime account on my other blog, and I would just leave.

  • I think it is great.  I had a problem a few months ago with someone spamming my guestbook (a porn site possibly???) 

  • go you dude

  • great idea guys. there are soo many site out there, especially the ana/mia ones that need to be stopped…

  • wonderful!!!!

    n~

  • Wow… this looks great to me! Especially for teens that may be at risk for sexual misconduct or having somone impersonate another teenager to find and assault them. It’d be nice for Xanga to always be a safe place. However I do suggest that anyone be allowed to have a site but with restritctions…. I do, however, know of some girls on myspace that just give an older age so they won’t have the restrictions so I don’t know if you could find a way to protect the young that way.

    Maybe you could get a group of Xangans together that are committed to watch for the safety of teenagers. For instance, I am a youth worker at my church and I continually watch all of the teens form my church and make sure they are being safe and are not being solicited by wrong types of people. I would surely participate in a program like that!

    Good luck on your new endeavors!

  • I think it’s a wonderful idea.

  • i am 23 years old and i am a strong advocate of freedom of speech.  it is my right under the first amendment of the constitution of this country to speak my mind.  these overly restrictive new provisions that you want to impliment basically amount to a blanket content based restriction of free speech.

    i suffer from anoriexia, bulimia, bi-polar disorder, severe anxiety disorder self-harming tendencies, suicide attempts and ocd.  xanga is the only place where i feel safe to deal with my disorders with no fear of persecution.  i can’t help the fact that i have eating disorders, and i should be allowed to deal with them in my own way.  my blog or various blog rings, should not be shut down simply because some people may have a problem with it. that is an atrosity!  that is basically the equivalent of shutting down all christian, bhuddist, or muslim sites because memebers of other religions or atheists disagree with their lifestyles or beliefs.  if you do impliment these restrictive changes as you say you plan to do, i’m sure many groups will file law suits against your company.  and in the past 3 decades, claims of free speech have been upheld and supported by the Supreme Court of the United States.

    let me make one thing very clear- I DO NOT SUPPORT PRO-EATING DISORDER SITES.  anorexia is a disease, not a choice, not a diet, not a trend, not a lifestyle.  it is a daily struggle for me and xanga helps me deal with that.  but those who do support pro-eating disorder philosophies should be able to advocate their beliefs even if some people don’t like it. no one is forcing people to read pro-ed sites, it is their personal choice. 

    so to sum up….i strictly oppose your blatent disregard for the Constitution, namely the Bill of Rights, in your new flagging plan.  Under the provisions of the first amendment, I should feel free to talk about my eating disorders, manic depression, self-harming tendencies, suicide attempts and other mental issues- OF COURSE THIS IS PERSONAL INFORMATION!  who are you to restrict my right to discuss these things?  i have been a memeber of xanga for 369 days, but this restrictive, oppressive, overly-tyrannical proposal that your company prepares to impliment, is making me seriously contemplate boycotting xanga.  so in other words……THIS SUCKS!

  • I HATE IT

  • I dont agree with this at all.
    you’re taking away free speech.
    whats the point of having a xanga
    if you cant write whatever you’d like in it.

    And for the flagging…people that dont agree with you
    could easily flag your site. Thats horrible.

    I know with my lifestyle
    a bunch of religious people
    would aim to shut it down.

    I dont want that.
    Im not asking them to read my stuff.
    Im not even in the same blogring as them
    so for them to find my site in disgust
    AND now have the ability to flag it
    is unreasonable.

    thank you.

    -kittynn

  • I dont agree with this at all.
    you’re taking away free speech.
    whats the point of having a xanga
    if you cant write whatever you’d like in it.

    And for the flagging…people that dont agree with you
    could easily flag your site. Thats horrible.

    I know with my lifestyle
    a bunch of religious people
    would aim to shut it down.

    I dont want that.
    Im not asking them to read my stuff.
    Im not even in the same blogring as them
    so for them to find my site in disgust
    AND now have the ability to flag it
    is unreasonable.

    thank you.

    -kittynn

  • GREAT!

  • I don’t agree with this. It’s a terrible idea.

    Some people need to express themselves in different ways. Writing is a tool that we use to channel our feelings so we don’t do something stupid. On xanga, people can find others that are going through the exact same things that they are. Sometimes, it’s their only support.

    Or we could just go out and kill ourselves publically. Or rape people. Or have sex in school. Or publicaly bully people.

    It’s censorship, and isn’t the US a place where we have freedom of speech?

    Yes, we also have a right to be happy, but flagging isn’t going to fix it. We know that things like sex, bullying, suicide, eating disorders, abusive relationships, under age nudity and everything else up there exists. If you don’t want to see it, don’t look at it.

    Your children are going to find out about the world in one way or another. It just depends on how they find out.

    If they can’t find it on xanga, they’ll find it on myspace, or yahoo, or from their friends.

    Doing your little part won’t change a damn thing…

  • great ideas!!!

    ~jess

  • Much support for this idea!

  • I think theres too many haters for this to work…people are gonna be reporting other people just to be mean or because they have some kind of personal problem with them….but if you think it’s gonna help try it.

  • Why do people keep asking for “Too Much Personal Info” to be better defined? Didn’t you read the link???

  • cool……………………..

  • Awesome, Great idea!

  • genuis idea- i like it very much.

  • I think it will be helpful!

  • Evidence for my previous comment…..

    Free Speech:


    Freedom of speech is protected in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and is guaranteed to all Americans. Since 1920, the ACLU has worked to preserve our freedom of speech. Learn more and take action to protect the right to free speech.
    Gitlow v. New York (1925)

    Benjamin Gitlow had been a prominent member of the Socialist party during the 1920s. He was arrested and convicted for violating the New York Criminal Anarchy Law of 1902, which made it a crime to attempt to foster the violent overthrow of government. Gitlow’s publication and circulation of sixteen thousand copies of the Left-Wing Manifesto violated this Criminal Anarchy Act. The pamphlet went on to advocate the creation of a socialist system through the use of massive strikes and “class action…in any form.” Gitlow was tried and convicted. He appealed the decision, arguing that his First Amendment right to freedoms of speech and press was violated. Although the New York courts held that the Communists must be held accountable for the results of their propaganda, the Supreme Court , in a 7-2 vote , ruled in favor of Gitlow. It stated in its decision that “for present purposes, we may assume that freedom of speech and of press…are among the fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the State.”

    1943 West Virginia v. Barnette

    The Court held that a state could not force a Jehovah’s Witness child to salute the American flag (even during wartime). In his majority opinion, Justice Jackson wrote, “The very purpose of the Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One’s rights to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.”

    1962 Engel v. Vitale

    The Court struck down New York’s “nondenominational” school prayer, declaring that it “is no part of the business of government to compose official prayers.”

    1965 Griswold v. Connecticut

    In striking down a Connecticut law forbidding the use of contraceptives the Court found that a right of “marital privacy” is protected by “several fundamental constitutional guarantees.”

    *Tinker v Des Moines     (1969)

    Several students and parents in Des Moines organized a protest of the Vietnam war. Students were to wear black arm bands to school in protest. When the school found out they warned all the students and parents that anyone wearing the armbands would be would be suspended. The Tinker children wore their armbands to school (they were the only ones of the group to do so) and were suspended. Mr and Mrs. Tinker filed suit claiming that the school violated the children’s right to freedom of speech and expression. The school claimed that the armbands were disruptive.

    The court ruled against the school district saying that “students do not shed their constitutional rights at the school house gates. In doing so the court protected what has come to be known as “symbolic speech.”

    1971 Cohen v. California

    The Court reversed the conviction of a man who “disturbed the peace” by wearing a jacket containing the words, “Fuck the Draft”, while walking along a courthouse corridor, rejecting the notion that speech can be prohibited on the grounds that it is “offensive”.

    Texas v. Johnson     (1989)

    Outside the Republican National Convention in Dallas, a protest of Ronald Reagan’s policies had been organized, during which a United States flag was burned. Johnson, the man responsible for the flag burning, was arrested under Texas law, which made the desecration of the United States or Texas flags crimes. Johnson was convicted and sentenced to one year in jail and a two thousand dollar fine. Texas reasoned that the police were preventing the breach of peace that would be erupt due to the flagburning, and preserving the integrity of the flag as a symbol of national unity.

    Johnson’s conviction was overturned by theSupreme Court of Texas, which ruled that this mode of self-expression was protected under the First Amendment to theConstitution. The Supreme Court upheld this ruling, stating the flag burning was “expressive conduct” because it was an attemptto “convey a particularized message.”

    1997 Reno v. ACLU

    The Court struck down provisions of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 that infringed the freedom of speech provisions of the First Amendment.

    2000 Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe

    The Court struck down student led prayer at public school events. Sweeping aside the specious argument that students have a First Amendment right to use a school public address system to lead prayers before football games, a 6-3 majority held that not everyone favors Christian prayer, and school officials have no business favoring it either.

    2003 Lawrence v. Texas

    Overruling its own 1986 decision in Bowers v. Hardwick, the court struck down a Texas same-sex sodomy law. The 6-3 decision, recognizing the right of gay people to have intimate sexual relationships, was based in part on a Constitutional right to privacy.
    Freedom of Speech in Jeopardy as Students are Penalized for Publishing Controversial Cartoons
    NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today called upon the University of Illinois to reinstate the editor in chief and opinions page editor of the student newspaper, the Daily Illini, who were suspended after reprinting a series of controversial cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad.

    “While we certainly understand the sensitivities surrounding the publication of explosive and controversial content,” said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. “It has been the long-standing belief of the ACLU that the best response to speech we find odious and noxious is more speech – not less.”

    In a letter sent today to the Chancellor of the University, the ACLU expressed concern and disagreement with the decision to suspend the two students from their positions and noted that upholding the premise of free speech, many universities, including the University of North Carolina, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, have published the cartoons without any retribution against students or the publications involved.

    The ACLU has a long and demonstrated commitment to protecting free speech, as well as the rights of Muslims, Arabs and Asians in the post-9/11 context. The organization urges the University of Illinois to further a dialogue with students and faculty, and reach out to Muslim and Arab students to address issues of concern to those students.

    “We understand that the publication of the anti-Muslim cartoons presents vexing issues for a democracy, but we also believe that that is the price of an open society,” added Romero. “Democracy means a great many things to a great many people. But it must never be a quiet business.”

    The ACLU’s letter to the Chancellor of the University of Illinois is available online at: http://www.aclu.org/freespeech/censorship/24196lgl20060217.html

    EFF and it’s defense of personal freedom of speech/expression:


    Freedom of Speech in Jeopardy as Students are Penalized for Publishing Controversial Cartoons
    NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today called upon the University of Illinois to reinstate the editor in chief and opinions page editor of the student newspaper, the Daily Illini, who were suspended after reprinting a series of controversial cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad.

    “While we certainly understand the sensitivities surrounding the publication of explosive and controversial content,” said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. “It has been the long-standing belief of the ACLU that the best response to speech we find odious and noxious is more speech – not less.”

    In a letter sent today to the Chancellor of the University, the ACLU expressed concern and disagreement with the decision to suspend the two students from their positions and noted that upholding the premise of free speech, many universities, including the University of North Carolina, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, have published the cartoons without any retribution against students or the publications involved.

    The ACLU has a long and demonstrated commitment to protecting free speech, as well as the rights of Muslims, Arabs and Asians in the post-9/11 context. The organization urges the University of Illinois to further a dialogue with students and faculty, and reach out to Muslim and Arab students to address issues of concern to those students.

    “We understand that the publication of the anti-Muslim cartoons presents vexing issues for a democracy, but we also believe that that is the price of an open society,” added Romero. “Democracy means a great many things to a great many people. But it must never be a quiet business.”

    The ACLU’s letter to the Chancellor of the University of Illinois is available online at: http://www.aclu.org/freespeech/censorship/24196lgl20060217.html

    Help Us Protect Free Speech Online!

    Display the Blue Ribbon to support the essential human right of free speech, a fundamental building block of free society, affirmed by the U.S. Bill of Rights in 1791 and by the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

    Here at EFF, we continue to fight for the right to free speech. Our latest campaign revolves around the legal rights of bloggers and citizen journalists.

    EFF is a donor-funded nonprofit group of passionate people—lawyers, technologists, volunteers, and visionaries — who depend on your support to continue successfully defending your digital rights. Litigation is particularly expensive; because two-thirds of our budget comes from individual donors, every contribution is critical to helping EFF fight —and win—more cases.

    You Have the Right to Blog Anonymously.

    EFF has fought for your right to speak anonymously on the Internet, establishing legal protections in several states and federal jurisdictions, and developing technologies to help you protect you identity. With your support, EFF can continue to defend this right, conducting impact litigation to establish strict standards to unmask an anonymous critic in more jurisdictions.

    You Have the Right to Keep Sources Confidential.

    In Apple v. Does, EFF is fighting to establish the reporter’s privilege for online journalists before the California courts. With your support, EFF can defend news bloggers from subpoenas seeking the identity of confidential sources in more jurisdictions.

    You Have the Right to Make Fair Use of Intellectual Property

    . In OPG v. Diebold, Diebold, Inc., a manufacturer of electronic voting machines, had sent out copyright cease-and-desist letters to ISPs after internal documents indicating flaws in their systems were published on the Internet. EFF established the publication was a fair use. With your support, EFF can help fight to protect bloggers from frivolous or abusive threats and lawsuits.

    You have the Right to Allow Reader’s Comments Without Fear

    . In Barrett v. Rosenthal, EFF is working to establish that Section 230, a strong federal immunity for online publishers, applies to bloggers. With your support, EFF can continue to protect bloggers from liability for comments left by third parties.

    You Have the Right to Protect Your Server from Government Seizure.

    In In re Subpoena to Rackspace. EFF successfully fought to unveil a secret government subpoena that had resulted in more than 20 Independent Media Center (Indymedia) news websites and other Internet services being taken offline. With your support, EFF can hold the government accountable for investigations that cut off protected speech.

    You Have the Right to Freely Blog about Elections.

    EFF has advocated for the sensible application of Federal Election Commission rules to blogs that comment on political campaigns. With your support, EFF can continue to protect political blogs from onerous campaign regulations.

    You Have the Right to Blog about Your Workplace.

    EFF has educated bloggers on their rights to blog about their workplace and developed technologies to help anonymous whistle bloggers. With your support, EFF can help shape the law to protect workplace bloggers from unfair retaliation.

    You Have the Right to Access as Media.

    EFF has educated bloggers on their right to access public information, attend public events with the same rights as mainstream media, and how to blog from public events. With your support, EFF can fight for bloggers right to access as media.

    Know Your Rights and Prepare to Defend Them.

    EFF has created the Legal Guide for Bloggers to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues you may confront as a blogger and a guide on How to Blog Safely. With your support, EFF can expand and update these guides.

  • I think that it is ok.

  • i change my mind.  it is stupid.  i really dont care.  as long as i get to write what i want.

  • good. help keep xanga users safe. awesome

  • Nice work!

    It’s good to see sites developing ways to manage some of the new issues that have arisen with the new social paradigms, rather than waiting for things to spin out of control.

  • Cool.  Good ideas!

  • All great ideas but the “Too much information” is kinda vague….

  • kool

  • An additional observation about those who are concerned with free speech issues:

    Xanga is not obliged to provide a soap box for anyone. It is awesome that they provide this outlet for expression for all of us even though they had no obligation to do so. They have the right to exercise their own freedom of expression in the way they choose to manage their site. All of us Xanga users are free to create our own websites and even have our own domain names to go with them. I’m reasonably sure “thisisnotxanga.com” and “thisismypersonalsoapboxnotyours.com” are still available.

    With a new generation of children growing up online, we as a society have a right and an obligation to take steps to protect innocent children from harm. The same line of reasoning that allows us to limit a flasher’s “right to express themselves” by exposing themselves to children, also applies to a website creating user guidelines.

    -Jay

  • HEY I KNEW DO U HAVE ANY LAY OUTS

  • Definite support from me! ^-^

  • What will happen when someone is flagged?

  • i think it sounds soooo good!:) i would feel like i have alot more privacy so yea!!!

  • I think thats cool wut u r do n but sum times people go over the edge with security but i support wut u r try n 2 do.

  • yea maybe just don’t be strict most of my friend in life say xanga is strict*hah*

  • Great idea with the flags. I know you probably already thought of this, but so everyone stops asking and complaining about it. When a site if flagged, there will be an overseer to make sure that the person that has been flagged is trully going against those certain guidelines before they are deleted. I know for a fact that you have already thought of this. but once again I just had to point it out to those other bloggers who have not yet thought of that idea and hate the new flags.

  • if you take out the underage nudity itll be fine lol j/k

  • great idea. sum people r just too overrated

  • I find this completely ignorant.
    You’re allowing random people to have the power
    to flag someone else’s site??

    thats really unfair.
    think about people who dont agree with other’s lifestyles.
    What about those prudish/easily offended/bible thumpers
    that decide they dont like someone’s post
    just because it doesnt agree with them.

    not fair. not fair at all.

    -Mistress Nadienkah-

  • I like the idea but there is the constant thought of misuse and abuse.  When I say this I mean that if someone get’s mad enough at you or your site, even though you haven’t done anything wrong.  It could really mess things up.  I think the only way to remedy this is by assigning people, to look into each reported accusation.  Maybe even add moderators who do nothing but surf xanga and look for possible abuses.  I know this may seem a bit far but if you are serious about cleaning up xanga then this will be a necessary step eventually.  Other than that this is a great idea.

  • IM IN

  • It’s nice to see Xanga working to protect its users. =] Unlike certain unnamed sites…*coughMYSPACEcough*

  • too much personal info? Isn’t that what a weblog is for? An online journal where you post personal details about your life? Some of these seem to violate the first amendment…Anyone could find anything offensive. That’s a matter of opinion. And the only “safety” one that would work would be “breaking the law” because alot of people use Xanga to vent and they say they are going to break someone’s face or break their own face or something, but it never really happens.

    I think it’s crap.

    As for the fraud, I’m all for that. I had someone hijack my account and delete it. That’s a great idea.

    The rest, is crap.

  • I’m getting rude comments from a child who is 12 called “alwaysluckybeingablonde”.

  • Love it~

  • i totally support it

    -mariah

  • great idea

  • THIS IS REALLY NEAT

  • I am IN!

  • Sounds like a very good idea to me.

  • Hey man I love these. The underage nudity is the best one!

  • The flagging system is so wrong on so many levels.  Again, it’s so obvious that I’m not going to waste time pointing it out.  I’m sure you don’t need me to.

  • well in my opinion that sucks

  • I agree with LifeStar7, I have noticed the same things. But there are people out there who would abuse these sites for nefarious acts. If it works and dosent interfer with those who are not abusing the sites then I”m all for it. Also who would be in charge of of posting these flags on sites? If anyone on xanga can post them then you can be almost 100% sure that some on e will abuse them. It is not fair to agian those of us who do not abuse these privliges.

  • as i’ve said before, but it bears repeating (that is how strongly i feel about this subject)

    have you considered the fact that content based blanket restrictive violations of the first amendment could get you sued?  i for one will be the first to file suit if xanga has the audacity to restrict my art as a writer.  i love my xanga site- it’s my outlet for emotions, my platform for creativity, and my haven for discussing my own issues and opinions.  i’m not trying to be mean because up until now i have dearly loved xanga, but i’ll be damned if i let some corporation silence me and i’ll take legal action if necesscary.  so please please please- don’t do this flagging thing.  people may disagree with my thoughts on eating disorders, suicide, and drugs but that is their problem, and IT’S MY RIGHT!  so other people just need to suck it up and get over it.  if you don’t like my site, the words i write, or the concepts i advocate, THE DON’T READ IT!  simple as that.

  • Asome idea! xanga is getting better & better @ it`s job!!!

  • jes: good ideas eh

  • I think all of them are horrible…its a blog, if I wanted big brother looking over my personal thoughts, I would go elsewhere.

  • perfect!

  • John,

    Yahoo has an adults only area, can’t Xanga do that also, rather than the silly flagging?

  • What one would LABEL ‘pornographic,’ another might say it’s tame. Everyone has a different opinion. Is nude art pornographic? NO! This is 2006! Times have changed.

  • If you’re against flagging, don’t leave any eprops!

  • I think this is a pretty good idea!!

                                   

  • You can’t sue Xanga for this. The fact that you have an account shows that you already agreed to their user terms; there’s absolutely no viable lawsuit here.

  • I have to wonder if this comment will be read or not, as you are inundated with so many..but still I’ll give it a whirl. 

    First of all – the amount of children and those under the age of 18 aggravates me to no end.  It would be great to have a Xanga that is for adults only.  By this I mean one where you can not fool the system, and therefore when you are entering the area – you know you are going to be dealing with all sorts of adult content.  (If they still manage to fool you and get in, then let the buyer beware, so-to-speak; and don’t you think that the parents should be more aware of what their children are doing?  We should not be parenting others if we can’t even parent those we’ve pushed through our loins.

    Secondly, for adults, whether you navigate intentionally or unintentionally to a site posting porn; heated discussions regarding race, government, laws, etc; or other such heated viewpoints that not everyone is going to support…you were well aware of what you may encounter.  If you don’t like it..dont’ return.  If you’re offended, take the time to comment or just ignore it – whatever fits your personality.  If anyone has a problem with harassment, then allow us to determine that, we’ll contact you (Xanga) and then we will expect you to do something about it.  I don’t need, nor does anyone else need, someone policing what we think, feel and write.  This is freedom of speech, or at least it should be.  Perhaps you support the idea of Bush taping our cell phone conversations as well?  It’s just totally unAmerican and makes your site alot less attractive.  After shelling out money to use your site, I do NOT want others who disagree with me, don’t like my content, or don’t like me to harass me and cause my site to be shut down.  I speak my mind openly, sometimes very controversially and I talk about my personal life to some degree, but not overbearing; and should be allowed that right. 

    If this is something that is DEFINITELY going to be enforced, then perhaps you should split Xanga three ways.  Xanga AC (Adult Content and 18 + only, with a legal warning releasing you from any responsibility for what may follow on the content therein),  Xanga17 (17 and under only with more guarded guidelines and rules), Xanga Free (This would allow a forum as you now have it…all ages and subjects, however, this will contain your flagging system for those who wish to utilize it and feel it’s right).  If you can’t do that…then give us the option to block our site from your flagging system and opt out.  I won’t use it.  If someone upsets me, I’ll decide if I wish to comment or not.  If I don’t like it, I’ll decide if I wish to return or not.  If someone harasses me, I’ll block them.  If it gets worse..I’ll let you know.

    If you’re taking away the peace of mind that I have, which is I can speak my mind openly, I can express myself as I see fit..since this is a service I’m paying for…then where do I sign up to be refunded my money?  I would rather close my site, hook up with my own ISP server and begin my own private blogging system, or open my own blog site – where freedom of speech really rules.

    Be one of a kind as you have been from the beginning and uphold our freedom of speech.  Be willing to be different and bold like so many others have sold out on.  Be original.  Be American.  Be XANGA and not a new form of Nazi police…or should we all be given symbols next of our nationality so as not to offend those who don’t particularly like our race?!  There’s a great sign I saw today….”Give Satan an inch and he’ll be a ruler.”  Not saying you’re Satan, but if we give you the power to police an inch……we’re opening ourselves up to something possibly much more governed than what we may at first glance anticipate.

    Please rethink what you’re doing.  I truly believe it’s the wrong thing to do.

  • Rules are made to be broken Vixen! Sue everybody heheh.

    Can I flag a muslim chick if her head dress is uncovered?

  • I AM TOTALY AGAINST FLAGGING. And dragenflie is right. For Christ sake John, what the hell you think you’re doing? If I got a problem with someone then I’ll come to you myself. I don’t want some Xanga Gestopo running wild around here.

  • John, you said you believe in freedom of speech and expression? I’m starting to have my doubts. Get some guts and stand up for yourself will you? You’re going to turn Xanga into Big Brother’s Playground or something? Don’t we get enough of that everywhere else? Flagging = Labeling….Even Hitler knew that and he brought it in quietly to and “For good intentions”.

     Is that what you want?

  • You haven’t told us what happens after someone’s site is flagged…is it shut down?  hidden?  warned?  asked to make changes?  Seems like just a way for you guys to lay back and wash your hands of responsibility for your company.  (Wonder if you’ll flag me for that comment)

  • as you can see that it is a little safe but it could be safer.

  • i think its kinda funny. you know – “advocates self harm” – what happens to all the kids that cut themselves? do they all have to go? would that have negative effects on their mental health? hm…

    “too much personal info” – you all give too much personal info as defined by my standards! i barely give out any! just my name – anything more than a name is too much by my standards. of course, you all dont adhere to my standards. so this one is kind of a difficult one to judge.

    “hatred site” – hate speech is illegal in canada and europe but not in the united states. even though it’s against the xanga’s TOS i guess. cause really they can censor whatever they want – all this information is hosted on servers that they own – so you dont own your posts, they do. when i say “own” i mean have control over – they basically “lend” control of your xanga to you but in the end its really theirs.

    the issue with “hate site” is that it’s too ambiguous. a site talking about burning the american flag would certainly be flagged (no pun intended) as a “hatred site” by many even though BURNING THE AMERICAN FLAG IS NOT AGAINST THE LAW. what would happen with this “hatred speech” thing is that people would use it to silence unpopular views/voices, especially those they don’t like.

    i think its best to be conservative when shutting down sites – by conservative i mean minimalistic i guess – shut down as few as possible. like, scammers/spammers are obviously going to go – they dont contribute anything to anyone. child porn could go, “normal” porn could go as well since most people here are underage (its actually illegal to have porn here then unless you restrict xanga to people 18+). but things like hate sites arent directly harmful to people (dont give me any of that psychologically-harmful crap – anything can be twisted to seem psychologically harmful) are probably ok. remember – just cause no one likes nazis doesnt mean that they dont have the right to free speech.

    but in the end, this isnt really something to get upset over. im just adding my 2c.

  • I know I already commented on this once already, but I have one more thing.

    If you don’t like the flags, you can leave. Simple as that. You ( By ‘you’, I’m meaning anyone in general) didn’t make Xanga, you don’t make the rules. The End.

  • I think its great that you’re finally doing something about underage nudity.

    Keep up the good work.

  • I don’t think this is a good idea at all.
    Sure, there are kids on here, but if they don’t see it on xanga, they’ll find it somewhere else on the net.

  • I think all the flags are good EXCEPT for the “Advocates Self Harm” flag—there’s too much gray area there.  For example, there are a lot of helpful weight loss sites/blogrings here that some would say are harmful, and a lot of them would get flagged undeservingly (though there are a few extreme exceptions that qualify for a flag).

    Basically, I just think the “Advocates Self Harm” flag is unneccessary.  You have to be over the age of 13 to use the site, and if any 13+ year-old is swayed into harming him/herself by reading a blog, then the fault lies with that person, not the blog.

  • You aren’t gonna start shutting people’s sites down just because someone flagged them are you?  Because someone could just go to someone’s site that they don’t like, flag them and then their site get shut down for no reason.  I love xanga.  I’m very supportive of the new flags for all the above mentioned reasons, just hoping that it doesn’t go overboard.

  • These are a great idea. I support.

  • sweet

  • Hmm…I like some of the things like the hate sites and such, but this counts as censorship.and I’m not sure I like it. Hmm…

  • i think its pretty sad to assume that the people on here cant think for themselves and thus need to be protected by a stupid flagging system. if i come across a site of some user posting anything i dislike in any way, i go “oh, this is stupid” and leave that site. dont you think all users should be trusted of being able to do that? maybe xanga should just put some disclaimer on every site stating that xanga is not in any way responsible for what the user posts in his blog…

  • I like them!!

  • …generally, the flags look good. The ones that are too vague or overly binding should be revised… Other than that, all seems well. /nod

  • i think they r a really good idea. i like em.

        stacy

  • great idea, however, there’re going to be so many flags. … … how’s that going to work?

  • Wow, this is a great! I’ll support ever way I can! AWESOME!

  • i think it’s a good idea except that it’s a bit difficult to execute them accurately, and, that’s some extra bit of workload as well, well most importantly let’s hope it won’t made the server even more busier….

  • Understand the meaning of too much personal info. Stuff that will get your identity stolen, basically. Most of it sounds reasonable. Also, these are mostly liability issues, so if you do one, you probably should do them all, or not at all.

  • i think that that’s cool, but i have a suggestion: before one can be able to flag someone, they have to able show so some proof.

  • Quite honestly, I think it’s overkill, and I don’t see the point.

    What happens when a site is flagged? Does it trigger an alert in the Xanga Batcave, thereby initiating an investigation by Xanga authorities? If so, then why not just keep things as they are, where people email you with issues? (I know I’ve reported several sites in the past myself, but have received no response so I’ve no idea if they’ve been investigated or not.)

    Are these flags to be made public? If so, what’s to stop people flagging sites they simply don’t like? And if the aim is to dissuade people from visiting self harm sites and the like, who’s to say these flags won’t simply encourage higher numbers of hits on flagged sites? People already run their own versions of featured content, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before flags featured on their own list. If they’re not made public, then how do they differ from the emails you already receive of this nature?

    I’m afraid I think you really need to make clearer the aims and intentions of this process a little more.

  • THIS IS SO RIDICULOUS

  • “Weblogs let you publish your thoughts, stories, and photos instantly to the Web!”
    If you cared about address, why have ‘Metros’?
    “Meet people in your local area by surfing Xanga’s local Metros. Metros is a geographic area where members live.”

  • Haha!… it is funny how some people are so agitated over this issue… equating it to Nazis and such. The ones who protest the loudest are the ones who feel most guilty about what they say. They use vulgarities like a weapon. The reason we have freedom of speech is because we realize that words are not sticks and stones, yet people often try to make them do as much damamge as they can. They believe in freedom of speech because they believe they can actually get the upper hand with their vast knowledge of profanity and insult. The worst that might happen to anybody for posting anything on Xanga is that their site will be removed. There are hundreds of other places they can go and spew their foul rhetoric or display their puerile obscene images, yet they act like they are as oppressed as German Jews under Hitler because somebody else may actually be given the right to make use of their own free speech and rubuke them. That is so sad. It is pathetic that they feel such need for affirmation of their right to be disgusting. If these flags will get those people off of public display where random innocents won’t accidently stumble onto them, then for God’s sake, just do it.

  • go for it.

  • why should people hide what they do….its an online journal, the last time i checked you could write whatever you wanted in a regular journal. i dont know, it seems a little off….

  • I think the proposed flag idea is a good one, although I highly doubt xanga has any intentions of following through with any consequences. I have a friend who has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (brittle bones) and through her site she was repeatedly harassed, and her pictures stolen and she was impersonated as a midget call girl. How embarassing for her. She turned in the party, but nothing was done. Xanga get your act together or I’ll grab all my friends, and their premium memberships, and move on to myspace or friendster.

  • So people who

    “TyPe LyKe Dys”

    are going to be patrolling Xanga?

    Oh yeah – GREAT idea – that’ll work…

  • OH SO AWESUM!! lol

  • but i do agree w/ the person that left a comment above me. If SoMe1 wAnTs 2 tYpE LiKe tHiS ThEy sHoUlD Be aBlE 2.

  • they look cool to me. i think it’s a great idea, if it promotes internet safety.

  • wonderful. i love it!

  • .. Wat is this place cause im only a detective

  • can i be a moderator? pretty please?

    Cheers!

  • You know, the more I hear about this, the more it seems like a warped version of “Animal Farm”. I’ll be the FIRST to tell you that from time to time, I may say something lewd or obscene or…. ADULT. Because I AM an adult. I will not agree to change who I am or what I write because someone else thinks it inappropriate. I twist no one’s arm into reading my site. I am willing to put an adult content warning on my page… I am NOT willing to pull a Walmart and censor everything for the fear that some parent out there isn’t paying attention to what their children do online…. and that’s what this is really about, anyway.

    Who decides what is obscene? If I don’t want my teenager looking at porn on the computer, then I set up parental controls. Theres a society full of people looking to blame everyone else for their shortcomings. If I post something erotic, it is NOT degenerating America’s youth. I won’t give up the rights I’ve earned…. and by the way, paid for.

    “All men are created equal, but some are more equal than others.”  Sounds familair???

  • I support the child nudity ban, that kind of crap could get xanga shut down permately
    Also hijacking

    Hatred sites are to lose. What about people who are pro liberal? Will their sites be shut down becuase they rant and rave about Bush?

    Or people who support the enviroment? When they write a post aobut the oil companies will it be “hate sites”

  • omgsh…i kinda like it…but…i dont knw

  • i like

  • What about layout jockers? We should kick their buuuuuuuuutts!

  • this is the stupidist thing ive ever heard of! its so unfair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Support

  • I have mixed feelings about this. I’ve been coming to Xanga as my journal/log thing for about 3 years now and who is to decide what I write is too personal or not? Too hateful or what not? Some of the stuff I wrote was different than how I think now. Now, I’m going to have to change and delete stuff to fit your standards? I can’t even begin to know what I would need to change.

    Some of these flags I like and some of them I think infringe on my free speech. I don’t ask people to come to my journal and read. What I post and say should be my business and what they read/see there is their problem.

    If anything, I ask there to be a warning system so you don’t just delete a journal at a whim. So, you have a chance to change whatever you wrote. I have a lot of memories written down and I would hate to lose them by something stupid.

    -Ja

  • i think this is a very good idea!

    YOU HAVE MY FULL SUPPORT!!!

    LExi

  • yea i thank thats a good idea to keep people safe and other stuff!!!!!!!

  • I SUPPORT IT! 100%

  • these are great, I’m proud, lol

  • makes sense 2 me

  • I think it is a VERY good idea. The “too much info” flag will help against online predators!!!

  • This is a badly needed feature.  I hope you launch soon.

  • hey uhhh theres this girl who cmted and i aint for flagging and i aint against it sooooooooooooooooooooo

  • Well I would like some definitions o fwhat is too much. What qualifies as Adult Content. Details of my sex life? And if so, what if I have it protected? If we have made some infraction could there be a warning to change it or something before we are simply shut down. Honestly I just share stuff that some may considor adult. I usually post it protected, but if even that counts, I’d be shut down? That’d just suck. I’d like a warning system of some kind. SOme of us may make small infractions like posting something offensive with out realizing it. Could we get shut down just like that? Do cuss words count? Honestly could you guys e-mail me back with some info?

  • cows

  • wats good

  • I think a few seem to be missing and a few seem to be repeated, but otherwise, I like the idea.

  • This is a great idea.  Xanga is among the best online journals I know of and I really appreciate how you are always working to make it even better.  Thanks so much!

  • hey im looking for hot gothic guys someone message me ok im new on here, and i need someone to chat with

  • the idea sucks… what happened to the right of free speech. ppl are entitled to what they feel. if you use the flagging system you be taking that away because I personally write stuff that might be offensive to others but those are my feelings drawn from my personal experiences. I use xanga because it helps release my stress at the end of the day. If ppl don’t like what they’ve read then click on a different link and leave. So in my opinion, you should leave it the way it is. If people are writing about illegal activities, so what? save the page pick up the phone and have authorities deal with them. Which is another + because you’ll be helping get rid of another dumb idiot in the world. so thats what I have to say. buh bye now…

  • you don’t get it do you? … people use xanga to get out their emotions and vent. no one on here especially a lot of my friends are promoting ana/mia or cutter/burner … we give each other support and help each other through shit. i’m not an advocate to any kind of self harm at all. i am a recovered cutter and yes i am an anorexic but that shouldn’t matter whether or not i can use xanga. if you  decide to use these flags more than half of the users of xanga will disappear. you have to realize that tatletales are tatletales. they only care about themselves and what they like. i know you’re the creater or this site and that’s great, but please look over what you’re trying to prevent. i agree with most of the stuff that you’re wanting to prevent but seriously … why do you want to do away with ana/mia/cutter people. by no means do they advocate it….i’ll say it again, it’s a support system!! i will admit this, i had one xanga[before my current one] and people that hated me would report my stuff all the time. and there was nothing wrong with it! the people who find stuff offensive, when it’s about oh this is what i did last weekend … they are stupid! if they don’t like it then they shouldn’t read it and they shouldn’t try to get people’s sites shut down. there’s no logic behind it. and if it’s parents of kids who use xanga … i have one comment about that, if they’re so concerned about what their kids are reading and doing they can block out sites like this to prevent them from reading it. uhhh, hello .. parental blocks. duh! i am asking you to rethink this flag idea. i’m sure you have more comments than you thought you would have about how this is not a good idea. if you use these flags … then you will loose business by more than half of your users. including me. i will find a different blog site.

  • I support the flag system…it’s a good idea, especially if it’s properly used and people don’t abuse the system by giving flags to whomever they feel like…

  • I agree.  I’m not sure if this has been mentioned in the comments above (I only briefly scanned them) but a lot of girls have xangas about their eating disorders.  I know there’s almost always one of those on the featured content area.  I have mixed feelings about banninf them, but it does, techincaly, count as advocation of self harm.

  • works for me

  • John, that’s great. Keep it up.

    Safety concerns me on these kinds of sites.

  • looks good,

    pZZ

  • HI

  • good idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • i know i commented already but i didn’t notice that was on an old post.anyway,can you downgrade my profile?thanks

  • if there’s going to be a flag system, it’s definitely going to be abused by some people, but great job anyways

  • great idea!  i’m all for it  =]

  • yall are socialist a-holes.

  • Love it. That’s a pretty cool plan.

  • With the flags, are you just going to flag it, or flag it and remove the content, or flag it and remove the site, or what? Because if you flag something “Too much personal info” and then don’t do anything about it, isn’t that just like saying “Hey predators and identity theives! Look over here!”?

  • this is really freaking stupid

  • It’s a great idea. We don’t want xanga to turn into MySpace or anything.

    BTW, does underage mean 13 and younger?

  • great!!!!!

  • Xanga shaping up is teh love.

  • gReAt JoB!!!!

  • Great idea.

    Oh, and for the record: you have no guaranteed freedom of speech on a site you don’t own. The owners, or those that represent them, can make whatever rules they wish. Don’t like it, don’t use the site, simple as that.

  • yes, much needed!!!  hurry up and implement them please!!!!!!

    there’s a lot more than “nudity” being posted!!! you have users leaving comments with hardcore porn as their profile pic!

  • Brilliant idea!

  • I agree with these.
    Anything you guys can do to make the internet a safer place, the better.
    I assume you’ve all seen the bad press about MySpace
    (Which I hope gets shut down. Good riddance.)
    I’m glad Xanga is doing something mature and efficient to clean up the site.
    Major kudos, guys!!

  • Just read miss_lacy_lu’s comment.
    If people are going to leave, let them leave.
    Clean is clean. Safe is safe.

  • totally agree

  • i support it 100%!

  • Great idea!

  • I think it’s a great idea, and it’s going to keep a lot of people safe.

  • good idea.. I just wish there was a good way to enforce the flags.  That is the hard part.. it is easy to say we are going to do this.. but putting it into action can be difficult.  I am all for putting it into action.

  • looks good

  • just to get you ahead in time, alot of the users will stop using xanga if you set up that flag thingy

  • thanks, I glanced at most of the flags. looks great and a very good idea to do this. thanks.

  • !! are you going to let us search based on these Flag Types? — that would be great!

    and what happens when on makes a message as one Flag Type and another marks it as a different flag type? Does it get locked in to the first one?

  • Honestly, guys…I think it’s going to get out of hand on the flagging. Kids are going to flag one another’s sites whenever they get angry. It’s going ot be ridiculous.

    Kudos to the idea, but much more thought needs to be put into the idea.

  • Yeah, the Too Much Personal Info . . .someone’s doing that about me and I would like that flagged. I support this system, but who would flag sites?

  • Dude this is net… you do know that these are going to be hugely abused right ?

  • So this is my opinion on this whole thing…weather or not you like it…I’m giving it to you…Oh and so for the wording…

    Ok well this is shit…I mean I use my Xanga to get my thoughts and feelings and everything else out…some times everyone can’t talk to their friends or family about problems they have, so they write it down…Now for me its the ONLY way I can actually say what I’m feeling or what my thoughts are…if I can’t talk to someone about it. And these “Flags” that you are putting up are totally shity…now I realize that some are good…BUT its still stupid…I mean most people use these sites to say stuff that they can’t say anywhere else or can’t say/tell to their friends or family…some people just think its easier to type/write it up…and when you take away our right to have FREEDOM OF SPEECH then you have crossed the line…you can’t do that to a person…and for some people…like me and some of my friends…its the ONLY way to not try to kill ourselves because its the ONLY way we can actually get our feelings and thoughts out…and its none of your damn business what we do or don’t do over our weekends or weekdays…I mean if we want to tell our friends or family something that happend over the weekday or weekend and our friends or family may or may not be from around where ever we are…or if we cann’t get a hold of them and we know that your Xanga site is the ONLY way they can actually talk to us…then so be it…because we will just keep typing/writing away…so…we should have a right to say what we want on our Xanga site…and just because you are putting up these “Flags” doesn’t mean most people aren’t just going to stop putting all this stuff down…it just means that this site is going to lose a hell of a lot of users……..ITS JUST REALLY SHITY!!!!!!!!…Its just the way it is…and besides you can’t really do anything about it besides give us these flags and/or kick us off….and by doing that you are just going to lose a hell of a lot of users…and by that time you won’t have a site…

    Now I have commented on all the flags and I say the ones people commented well on…the ones that people actually agree with…keep and the one people don’t agree with…don’t keep them…Like I don’t like….all the SAFETY ones…I think they are all shity…But its just my opinion…I mean there are a lot of other people on here that might thing totally different…but that is what I think about them…So if you read all my comments on the flags you will know how I feel about all the flags individually…

  • You’ll lose a lot of members over this…Especialy the clones who say over and over again “you have no guaranteed freedom of speech on a site you don’t own. The owners, or those that represent them, can make whatever rules they wish. Don’t like it, don’t use the site, simple as that.” when they find out that idiots that spell Lik DiZ WaYz are flagging them for nothing and have suddenly become Xanga’s internet gestappo. There’s enough drama on Xanga, cut the crap.

  • Policing the web has never and will never work. The Net is simply a different beast.
    This marks the beginning of the end for Xanga.
    Oh, and nice job on keeping those flags purposely broad and vague.
    Real fine work guys.

  • the flags are ridiculous.  you guys are crazy if u think this system will work.

    >:-[

  • I think that this is a great idea and myhat is off to you for looking out for the saftey of us all. Thank you

  • me personally, i don’t like this one bit. i’m pretty happy i don’t post much on xanga anymore, my new blog site isn’t as censor-happy. i mean, that’s what this is, isn’t it? some of these flags are understandable… but others are downright unneeded and stupid, really. The underage bit- i joined this site when i was underage with my first blog ever. I’ve been a loyal member ever since, well, until I grew up and found a better place to post my thoughts. Back to my thought, though. If a kid is on this site underage, isn’t it really up to their parents, not another member, to keep them in line? Speaking of other members doing someone else’s work.. isn’t that what this entire thing is? If you want this flag thing to work, don’t open it up to the members of xanga. as has been said before, it’s just opening a giant can of worms. and not just any worms. These worms are man-eaters. Other members can carry out vendettas through flagging just as well as they could through comments and malicious rumors on people’s xangas.
    example:
    “hey! that’s suzy’s site! she turned me down for the prom! hmm.. what on here could be flagged? *intense search* AHA! She said “fuck” 99 times in this entry from two weeks ago! That’s adult content! *flag*

    As far as the safety section goes: a lot of these could be horribly misconstrued by users. Someone could, in jest, say something like “oh, just go kill yourself”. I do it a lot. Someone on a flag hunt could flag it as ‘advocating self harm’. I personally post pictures of myself and my friends breaking the law a lot (not here so much, but now i know never to do so.. don’t want to get flagged!!!). Pics of us smoking marijuana, drinking underage.. I take the risk upon myself that those could fall into the wrong hands and I could be arrested. Cool. I’ll get arrested. Whatever. I’ll leave it up to the authorities, not other Xangians.
    This ‘threat of physical harm’ bit… a lot of people do this in jest. once again, something my friends and i with our sick and twisted sense of humor do. i tell them i’m going to kill them, maul them, rape them, their mothers, and their pets… ect. But it’s in jest. just another thing that someone could go.. OOH! I CAN FLAG THAT! TAKE THAT MOTHERFUCKER!

    The fraud bit I understand, but once again.. I think that those who are already in charge of keeping all of that in check can continue to do their job. I may not use this site as much as I used to, but I have a lot of friends who do, and i want them to continue to be unafraid to express themselves here. so please, xanga.. rethink this. look at all the people who have concerns. take that to heart.

    that’s just my two cents.

    ~Julia

  • Umm… maybe I’m missing something… but what happens when a person is flagged? Are they immedeately kicked off? Is it a warning? Somebody please enlighten me.

  • good idea guys! don’t forget to make a big RED FLAG for xanga stalkers who create bogus accounts just to get access to everyone else’s xangas like “Host_Administrator” who doesn’t use xanga for anything except to stalk everyone’s pages and leave ridiculous comments that have pissed off a lot of people. (see his/her guestbook & the long list of other people complaining about this person)

  • good one!

  • thank you for the new system…..i hope it can keep xanga clean n peaceful :>

  • I support the measure, but I think someone must be able to review the flags so innocent sites aren’t shut down. Also, I think it should be defined what information is too personal so everybody knows the standards. And I’m not sure why underage nudity is separate from adult content…is this different so that people of age just have a warning on their sites, but those underage are deleted?

  • This sounds like a good idea. As long as flags are reviewed before dispensing punishment on the flagged blogger.

  • i myself think this is pretty not necassary.

    the fraud and offensive content ones are fine,
    but i think the safety ones are stupid.
    people are going to do it no matter what.

    and if they get in trouble for writing
    about it on here, they’re just going
    to go somewhere else.
    you’re going to lose A LOT of users
    this way.

    just a thought.

  • Stop bitching, it’s just training for the day you turn your parents in as liberal left wing sympathizers. Who needs grandpa anyhow, just a bunch of dead weight if you ask me.
     

    Since the 1950s the poor have been progressively stoned with slogans such as:
    ‘Wish You Could Hear’
    ‘Love Is All We Need’
    ‘Kick Out The Jams’
    ‘Kick Out Your Mother’
    ‘Cut Up Your Friend’
    ‘Screw Up Your Brother or He’ll Get You In the End’.
    Now you will begin to see why.
    Enlightenment

  • NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

    This is the first BIG step to making Xanga suck (the introduction of bigger advertisements having been a smaller step).

    Keep it to an “email to report abuse” system so we don’t have people everyone flagging everyone else. The “pissed but not pissed enough to make the effort to write an email” buffer is useful in preventing frivolous complaints.

    Through this system MY site could qualify as a “hatred site” in some people’s eyes for “advocating personal harm” (sometimes I say “kill yourself” to people who bother me but also take for granted that anyone who would take me seriously has issues beyond what I write on my dumb blog) and giving “too much personal info” (because I view nothing as off-limits… even though I give consideration to people who would rather not be mentioned).

    Personal blogs are VERY personal to some people and if throw up flags you’re eliminating the blog’s value is a venting mechanism, independent of the “real world”. You make it so pissed off teenager can’t even rant ONLINE without someone giving him a “threat of personal harm” flag (as if xanga could do anything about such a threat).

    Fix the “safety” problem when there actually IS one, in a significant percentage.

    Stay with the current emailing system. Drop this 3rd Reich-esque flag system. We know other sites do it. That’s part of why we like Xanga better. The “new profiles” were cool. This is crap.

  • Oh…. and you people do know that IS ALREADY a system for reporting abuse right? We aren’t being given more power, just more power to abuse it. If you have a problem, go HERE:

    http://help.xanga.com/contact/abuse.htm

    It’s always been there, people. You’ve ALWAYS been able to report child-molestors, underaged users (give me a break on that, btw), stalkers, fake celeb sites, whatever. This flagging system is no REAL help. Just an improved way to fuck up everyone’s “Xanga experience”.

    So if this flag system goes through, let me get the first “advocates self-harm” flag…. die.

  • May I add that this doesn’t make anyone safer?

  • I’d like to know exactly who (or what) will be flagging the sites.  Is it just going to be some ‘bot program that’s looking for keywords?  Or are you going to have live human beings trying to sift through each and every site and make sure we’re not breaking the rules.

    And whatever happened to personal responsibility?  If I put up “too much personal information” or nude pictures of myself, or talk about harming myself or any of the other “offenses” you’ve come up with isn’t that MY problem?  If I get phone calls from some weirdo because I posted my home phone number on my blog in a public post that’s my own damn fault now isn’t it?  Or if those risque photos end up all over the ‘net – well, I should have put a little thought in before I posted them now shouldn’t I?

    Xanga is providing a service – it is the responsibility of those using that service to use it in a sensible manner.  This involves using good judgement, and a bit of common sense.  Yes, there are people out there in Xanga land who lack both – but experience is a fine teacher.  Let them learn on their own. 

    I didn’t join Xanga (and pay for Premium for all these years) to have some kind of cyber-parent looking after me telling me what I can and can’t say.

    And as so many others have pointed out – no one is forced to look at any site on Xanga.  If you find someone’s nude photos or personal opinions or whathaveyou offensive then “click click” and you leave.  The freedom to post what you want on Xanga also goes hand in hand with the freedom to not read any blogs that you don’t like.

  • You’re going to have to better define “adult content.”

    Some filtering software blocked alternate religion sites, deeming them “adult material,” so more than porn or lewd content could be of a concern.  Some don’t want others to “teach” or expose their children to alternate religions, simply by existing, so their drive is to block out, hamper, or otherwise “get rid of such for all intents and purposes.”   You have to figure that since so many software filtering packages did this, it is no small concern or potential.

    Will some feel pressured to put their whole blog on protected private posts?

    If problems along these lines come up, how will the review system handle it?  What are its limitations and boundaries that help ensure that no -isms/-ists (prejudice) infringe and harm?

  • *Comment deleted by Xanga Administation*

    ….. just kidding, but you get the point. Just one more comment, I swear.

    It may be true that “there is no freedom of speech on a site you don’t own”…..

    but if you don’t believe in and are not willing to uphold freedom of speech, you shouldn’t be hosting personal blogs. Period.

  • Whats the flag for yanking the xanga site from a boy who is 11 yet has the intellect and i.q. of a senior in high school?

    We have him maintain a blog for extra credit in school. We also teach him not to lie. but Xanga seems to make the younger intellects lie about their age. but because my son did not lie, he is black listed, his site yanked by the xanga staff.

    All I am wanting is you to allow him to keep his blog, sure, get parental permission if you need to. As his parent, I gave him permission and even helped him start it up.

  • *Comment deleted by Xanga Administration*

    spelled “administration” right this time. No point in making points if I can’t even spell.

  • I think this system is fine. With everyone out there who is worried about its abuse, the likelyhood of it being abused is cut down. There are people who feel that this is in violation with their rights in some way, but it is important to remember that we are all part of a social contract (Hobbes’ idea that we all give up some personal freedoms for greater social good). It is an issue of, if you don’t like it then lump it, but it has been that way from the start.

    To me the truly distressing part of this melodrama is the high percentage of people making purely emtional arguements. That and the rampant grammer issues and misspellings. However, I think it is important to provide a measure of control before things become unruly. Not one of the people who read your site on a regular basis will flag you and almost no one else will happen upon your site.

    We just aren’t that interesting to the world outside.

  • Only concern I have is flag abuse, or flagging someone just for the fun of it. If that ever happened to me, I’d be pissed. And I’d be even more pissed for being flagged for saying “pissed.” So my next question is: how far is this going to go?

  • great acheivement

  • It sounds to me as though this is an attempt to enforce the terms of use to which we all agreed when we signed up. Nothing wrong with that.

  • “This is an attempt to enforce the terms of use”

    Wrong. It’s an attempt by Xanga to wash its hands of having to look after their own patch, by delegating the responsibility to its users. [Which will of course include the nutters, the vigilantes and the LOLROFL!!!111!!!kEwL types, and I just love the idea that they'll be deciding whether or not my content is suitable for my friends.]

  • But who’s going to enforce those Xanga Terms fibermom? Kids who SpELl LIkZ Diz? Be afraid, be very afraid.

  • Hi~
    I would like to ask the following situation

    When I click on some xanga, which contain background music(mainly), Window IE would appear a window that “Click OK to turn on the ActiveX”
    But when I click it, the IE have hanged………..

    I would like to ask is that any problem on the xanga ?
    or my laptop got problem ?

  • Once again, I want to say that I agree with this, but make sure that the flagging system doesn’t become abuse by petty people.  At least investigate the sites, first, to make sure it isn’t a false flagging.

  • Yeah, like they did with the “underage” blogs, shutting ones with the wrong date down even if they contained pictures of the person’s spouse and kids. Doesn’t particularly bode well for their discernment, does it?

  • I Think it is a very good Idea and should be brought out. (maybe not s it is now but that’s up to you guys…personaly right now i think it’s fine)

    It’s Not violateing Freedom os speech because it’s simply inforceing the RULES that WE all AGREED TO when we got a xanga!

    and it’s not messing up xanga as many of you think, You’re probobly just scared because you know that some of your posts could fit under some of those catagories. That’s your problem, not ours. and we have all the rights in the world to say we don’t want to read (or see) your garbage.

      Mr. Smell Like a Lobster, what’s wrong with delegation?  There’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with delegation, in fact lots of times it can be a very very smart thing, becuase you can get a lot more done with delegation than you can working something by yourself. True sometimes people do a bad job with what they’ve been given, but that’s why (as it’s been said here already) The administrative Xanga persons can’t pull themselfs out of this all together, they’ll have to be the “Supream Court” in a way…..this dosn’t mean that users will have all the power, it just means users will be helpping.

    Imweeks7- The fact is not many 11 year olds have the intelect of a senior in highschool……and besisdes that, this isn’t even about intelect, it’s about G rated vs. PG13 Rated….in case you havn’t noticed there’s a difference, a big difference, and it’s a justifiable difference. It’s away of keeping the young one’s in our comunaty a little cleaner for just a little longer so that they have a little time to get a grasp on SOME form of SOMETHING before bobmbarded with the disgusting “Pleasures” of the world.

     and chanthaboune, I think you made a very good observation that so many of the comments are based on emotional problems. And comments based on emotion in my opinion, are void, because they arn’t takeing into acount the whole, and they arn’t takeing into acount the truth. Notice that most of the “Emotional” comments are negative, because they feel like it’s a personal attack against them, and they’re rights….we’ll they’re wrong and they’re changeing what it really is, so in my opinion, they’re comments hold very little weight.

    Basicly, as far as what I think, Whatever it takes to Keep xanga from becomeing like myspace (which majorly is the rediculous adds that thy allow to permeate they’re system) I’ll go for, and I think this is a good way of doing it, because so maybe you WILL lose a lot of users, but those users are what make this place more like myspace anyways……so honestly, I’m not concerned….

    ..Keep on going guys, and God bless you. =)

  • its about time!

  • Great Idea but I would suggest fewer flags. Rating system like the movies and a spam and hijack would help also.

    Have each site owner rate themselves (Pick a flag) and categorize the spaces. Safe zones, red light district, back alley zones ect.

    State exactly what each flag represents. Everyone has their own idea and different cultures plays heavily into this.

    Three flags and your out of Space?

     I have no idea what too much info means….KEEP IT SIMPLE.

    The way these flags are labeled can be furtile ground for wars and headaches for admin. A mean spirited person or an angry person rejected could stick in all kinds of wiki bad flags. Each individual should be held responsible for the flag they stick into another’s space. No annonamous flag stickerUpers! This may lessen grief for Space owners and admin.

    There should be a rule of thumb. 1.Work out the problem among each other in peace.  If that is impossible. 2.Fill out a form reporting attemps to work out situation.  3. stick a flag in their space. and 4. Contact admin. Paper trails – etrails are important. It makes admin aware of abusers and troublemakers. It makes the accuser aware that their words and actions will be recorded and taken seriously. Good for the good guys/gals not so good for the bad ones. It is also perfect for lawyers to use when someone wants to cause trouble in real life and get a free lunch on the Space. Arm them layers with the trouble makers own Etrails. People will think twice, hopefully.

    It only takes a few to spoil it for the rest of us. Look at the world! Each person should be held responsible for false reports and flaming good reputations. A full and detailed yet simple clause stating UPFRONT what is expect when using your flags.

    Have “Are you sure” popups with every flag being used. State what the flag represents. (ie. nudity, foul language, violence…etc)

    That’s it folks. Hope it helped

    diggersstory

    http://www.diggersstory.com

  • Sorry I am new here I should have used the words xanga instead of Space. Please correct each Space to read xanga. Sheeeeesh I hate to see what flag would have been stuck in me for that. Soooooo sorry!

    diggersstory

  • SUPPORT!!!!!

  • the way I see it, this xanga is my journal and I should be able to put what I want in it.  granted, I don’t exactly put that kind of stuff in my site anyway, but that’s because of who I am.  if somebody wants to write something down, it’s not like xanga is the only way.  and really, if you have offense to what anybody has on their site, why are you reading/looking at it?  I do realize that this stuff is probably considered public.
    HEY!!! idea! how about if it’s flagged, it is just turned to like protected or whatever that thing is that lets only subscribers read it.  That way the bad stuff is kept from random people who might complain, but those who want can still read the person’s stuff….cause it’s not like an entry is all bad if it has something bad here and there.   hmmm….might need to think about this some more

  • fine mit me. like the others, i assume there will be come controls.

    (to jeeves777) about the first two ones under the Safety heading, it would obviously not be good legally for Xanga to appear to be providing svcs that promote breaking the law or inflicting self-harm–never mind the social/PR ramifications of such appearance.

    =)

    idea to consider: a Xanga Site has to be flagged by X users (where X is a number) before being considered for warnings/other action.

  • I really dont care to much for the flag Idea because what if someone that does not like you flags your site then it is shut down for no reason you would have a lot of unhappy people alwayz Chrystal

  • “a Xanga Site has to be flagged by X users (where X is a number) before being considered for warnings/other action.”

    Nice way to start a war “Oh, everyone in the anti-abortion blogring go flag Mr.Whoever’s site, that’ll teach him a lesson”.

  • hey peeps

  • lol yeah this would spark a fullscale xanga flag war if I ever seen one. Maybe the Xanga Team has a craving for blood and drama heheh.

  • ok, so looking and thinking a little more, I’m realizing that I didn’t even know that half this stuff was going on….and well I still don’t know what I think…but I’m wondering why I’ve never had problems with any of these…maybe because I’m NOT LOOKING FOR IT?

  • looks good to me.

  • Ok, honestly as far as I’m concerned. The jury’s still out on the FRAUD and SAFETY categories but the OFFENSIVE category? Ok. So a Muslim can go ape shit on flagging because most of the women on Xanga do not cover their heads. HEY! That’s offensive to them is it not?

  • So, it’s the hippest new media trend…lets save our children from objectionable content on the net. And so, all the major players in the blog scene say, “Oh yeah, yeah…we love children lets change everything so that we don’t get singled out by the media.” How about someone stand up and ask the parents to be accountable? If you don’t want your child viewing objectionable material, than ACT like a freakin parent and supervise. People are so lazy…”I want everyone to be held to rigorous moral standards…just as long as I don’t have to do any of the work to help accomplish this.” Ultimately, ALL responsibilities fall to the individual. I’m not sure what Xanga’s goal is…if they are just trying to make a few bucks, then the flagging system is probably the way to go. It will generate some good press, and Xanga isn’t violating the first amendment as various people have mentioned. Xanga owns it’s Xanga sites, and they get to say what appears on their sites. Our right to free speech comes in that we can go make our own website where we can post whatever we want. If xanga actually values free expression, though, I think the flagging system is a terrible idea. It will cause more problems than solutions. Bleh, I’m tired of ranting about this now.

  • Good idea!  I don’t want just anyone on my site

  • looks like good stuff to me.

  • Too many unanswered questions….

    What happens when your site is flagged?
    What happens when your site is flagged fairly?
    What happens when your site is flagged unfairly?
    What happens when you flag another site unfairly?
    What happens when your site is flagged by bullies?
    What happens when your site is flagged by illiterate people?
    What happens when your site is flagged for breaking the law (and you did)?
    What happens when your site is flagged for breaking the law (and you didn’t)?

    Until these are answered clearly, there’s no way I can support this.

    Consider—

    Scenario 1:
    My site is perfectly clean, but some jerk decides he doesn’t like me, so he flags my site 20 times for “underaged nudity”, which there’s nothing remotely like on my site. Would I be automatically shut down (which would be absurd)? If not, what happens to him for a penalty?

    Scenario 2:
    I post a legitimate but controversial religious or political statement (e.g. Abortion is Murder, or Jesus is the only way to Heaven, or Save the Whales, or something.) Somebody who disagrees with me takes offense, though I wasn’t intending to offend but merely stating my beliefs, and flags my site for “Hate Speech.” What happens?

    Scenario 3:
    The jerk from scenario 1 becomes smarter– he puts up a site masquerading as me and then flags my site for “Malicious Impersonation.” How do you figure out who’s who?

    Scenario 4:
    The jerk from scenarios 1 and 3 actually is clever; he knows the rule that a site has to be flagged by X number of users for it to be shut down, so he gets X number of dummy usernames and flags me with each of them. What happens to me and to him?

    Scenario 5:
    Somebody who can’t read finds my site, sees the name “Jesus Christ,” assumes I am being profane and flags me. It was actually a religious post. What happens?

    The flagging system must have safeguards to prevent these scenarios from becoming realities. Until it does, I’m against it.

  • i like the idea

  • COOL

  • It’s unfortunate that such flags even need to be in place. In my opinion, it’s each person’s choice to look at a site, they don’t have to, nor are they forced to. A lot of people probably fall victim to having offensive content on their site at one point or another. I don’t necessarily think it’s right to be able to report them for it. I can see if it’s anything regarding breaking laws….but otherwise, to each his own, freedom of speech, etc. Let people be themselves without making them censor themselves. I thought that’s what online journals are for, a chance to express yourself. And, if someone isn’t mature enough, or are abusing their xanga page, maybe they shouldn’t have one at all. To take the risk of pedefiles away, why not have xanga split into two categories? Have a xanga for users 13 – 17 which includes all these flags, and a xanga for users 18 and up, with limited flags (for more severe issues).

  • I see there is one for UNDER AGE Nudity why not nudity in general?

    Why is it ok for people to post naked pictures?? You talk about all of the eating disorder sites and how bad they are then why is ok for 13 yr olds to get on here and look at naked pictures?? How about you delete all of the rated R content on xanga? All the sexual blogrings??????

    That pisses me off

  • awsome

  • I personally prefer Xanga to Myspace because it doesn’t have any of those regulations. I agree with the Fraud stuff because it’s just annoying to other users, but I think pretty much everything else should be self-regulated. If these tags were to go live, I’m not sure that I would renew my premium subscription. I’m pretty sure that the content on my site would ever fall under any of these categories but at the same time, I don’t want to have to worry about censoring myself. Keep Xanga the way it is…it’s perfect.

  • woot woot u go!!!!! jk loser

  • woot woot u go!!!!! jk loserjk

  • Well, I agree that the flagging system is a good idea. But I don’t think that any over all content should be banned. Instead, I think that certian flagged xanga sites and users should be required to use the protected post feature for all of their blog posts and add users that wish to view said material to their subscription list.

  • Looks Great!

  • Looks Great!

  • ok

  • Hey You Need To Update

  • i really hate the idea of flagging. its the dumbest thing. we have the right to put what we want in our diarys and journals. Y cant we put it on our xangas???????? just concider this before you make a dum mistake

    thanks

  • I agree with some of them…nudity and stuff, sure.  That’s porn and that doesn’t make the Xanga community okay for anyone to browse.  But don’t go starting to infringe on our freedom of speech and expression.  If we can’t say our thoughts on Xanga, we’re just going to say them somewhere else, and if we can’t talk to other people suffering from the same issues, a lot of Xangans I know will probably fall FAR into depression, and some may even get suicidal.  Besides, having it so that anyone can flag a site is just asking for trouble.  Someone could just go on a flagging rampage, marking every site they didn’t like, and being really intolerant and narrow minded.  So yes I think it’s an okay idea to be looking out for each other, but NOT to the extent you’re talking about.

  • WWJD? He’d be against flags. That’s what he’d do.

  • i approve

  • i think it is awesome since i have people who are harrassing my friends and i as well as calling my 4 year old daugter and 3 year old step son bastards. now hopefully when i e-mail xanga about the harrassment maybe something WILL be done!!! Get the system going PLEASE!!!!

  • let’s start out with. this is america. what ever happened to freedom of speech? i think flags are an unneccessary precaution that some parents want but then the parents should really just put a leash on their own kids before bothering me about their naughty little children.

    a. alright, so the point is to keep kids from getting molested online. their personal information probably shouldn’t be fed all over the internet to put them in the hands of criminals, but that’s not xanga’s fault or my fault for that matter. if xanga wants, xanga can make a certain reminder for the younger members to remind them not to put themselves in the way of harm and not take away my freedom of speech.

    b. now nudity. xanga can flag these sites and then add a warning lable before entering the sites as to agree to still see the site or to not see it. if kiddies want to see porn, they can hit the yup, i’m 18 button on this site or other ones, so you might as well keep your customers. once again, someone can post their nuddie pics and keep their freedoms and you can do some protecting.

    c. now flagging sites with illegal drinking and smoking on them and law-breaking. are you gonna release that to the cops? because you better not.

    d. self-harm is one’s own choice that their friends can help them deal with. maybe provide a help-line for them, but dont take their xanga away.

    basically, i still believe in the constitution. i believe in privacy and freedom of speech. even if the nation is moving away from those policies, i think xanga can hold a peice of liberal ground for themselves and fight for america. to all the pre-pubescent people who commented on the site in favor of flags needs to realize that america stands for something and has stood for something long before they were alive. america is the land of the free and now these kids are permitting one more tiny freedom be taken from them. children are citizens just like any other american and they have rights too. someday someone will realize this injustice of age and treat children like the future.

  • skatelinsy: If you believe in the Constitution, you should know what it says. And what it says is that the government is not allowed to prohibit free speech; there is nothing about businesses like Xanga. You’ve already agreed to all these rules by simply having an account so this “freedom of speech” argument falls flat.

  • It seems to me from reading some of the “pro” comments that a lot of people already have certain sites they have “issues” with of one sort or another. I wonder how many of them have already ‘complained’ to Xanga and got absolutely no response?

    The problem is not *identification* of sites which break TOS – which is all ‘flagging’ is – but what happens afterwards – as far as I’ve experienced, absolutely nothing.

    Therefore ‘flagging’ is a distraction from the real issue, which is what will Xanga do to a site identified as breaking TOS? We’ve not yet heard anything about that, and my suspicion is that’s because this whole process is more to do with Xanga trying to present an image itself as “concerned about online safety” rather than putting forward actual concrete measures and spending some proper money on staff to investigate the sites identified.

    Until we know how this system will be policed – if at all – we are all still in the dark.

  • Total Support

  • Stop censoring my right to freedom of speech. I thought Xanga was ran from NYC, not the USSR.

  • i agree with that other person ya what if somone is mad at you?? they can just get you in trouble!! also that would give away 2 much info!!  and what do you mean by too much personal info other than that it is a good idea but  there are people that would just want to make you get your site shut down!! but ok

  • I think it’s a great idea. I’ve had someone hack into my email accounts and pose as me, so knowing that Xanga is taking steps to prevent it helps me feel comforted. Just please actually do something unlike my email providers.

  • Good! 

  • ^^b

  • Flagging is fun! lets all talk about whats bothering us eh?

  • I like the flags but is there one that deals with extreme profanity (such as the “f” word)?

  • i think this is a good idea….but the question is will ppl actually use them???

  • Woot Woot!

  • I likes the idea! Why do we need too much personal info though?

  • Reading back through these, eeyore17026 said it very well.

    Also, I would like to add that I would much rather be temorarily offended (by stumbling onto something offensive) than censored.

  • not a bad idea

  • Awzum i <3 it

  • I’m all for it

  • Looks fine to me!!

  • Sounds a pretty good idea. There are too many smart asses around trying to Hack the Interweb and such. So protecting our Xangas is a start. >.>

    And, oh yeah, Myspace sucks. Don’t ever turn Xanga into a Myspace replica by adding such craptastic ideas such as “Buddyz LOLZ”. Xanga is an alternative to the emo crapfest that we know as Myspace. And I don’t wanna use LiveJournal, either. >.<

  • looks like a good idea

  • i agree with some of it but not all of it just flaggin people isn’t going to stop them from doing w/e they are like advocates self harm or breaking the law and also you will lose many of your users. Oh yea and what happened to freedom of speech

  • WTF! Some of the best sites I read have some of this stuff! I hope u don’t shut them down, or I’ll be really sad.

  • The idea is pretty cool.

  • When you get the system up and running, how will you use it?

  • I’d say a stalking flag would be nice too.  If a person gets more than 2 flags from one particular user, the offender’s blog is deleted.

  • Oh, and I love the idea. Y’all rock.

  • Also what if you have one of those chatterboxes and someone puts stuf like that in it, whose site would be shut down if there is no way to trace it back to the person who typed it?( I forgot to add this in my previous post, sorry).

  • Great!

  • ummm…I think its great too….i have something to say too…do you think there is possible to make a little person and that says that the user is online?  then its blinking “online”

  • wow till now i didn’t realize there were this many issues with xanga’s

  • Hm, I’m not sure if I’m really for or against this. I could go either way. Let’s just say that I’ll be glad to say good riddance to all of those awful little girls’ anorexia sites when and if this flagging system takes place.

  • How about if a user gets a certain amount of flags the administration looks at it and has the final say?  That would be a good way to keep someone from flagging your site a million times just because they hate you and it is deleted automaticly.

  • Oh and I think some features that should be added soon should be as follows:

    As xxdeadlyxpoisonxx said before, I think an online/offline user image would be very helpful.

    A private messaging system would be nice, instead of ‘email it’ since I hardly even use my email anymore (too much spam)

    Easier usage of photoblogs and profiles?

  • I highly support this idea as there are many who abuse this priviledge with their sick perversions!

  • i don’t think “hatred site” or “too much personal info” should be put on the list but the rest r okay! R.I.P. PROOF

  • sounds great to me =]

  • I think this is an awesome idea, and I have a site that really needs to be private or off xanga too, its very offensive, graphic, sexual content and stuff. I was horrified when I read it! (where do I turn it in at?)

  • I meant to say that “I know of a site”…Gee, guess I should proof read better before clicking the send button. Sorry.

  • cool

  • I don’t know if I like some of this. I feel that it could very well be in violation of the right to freedom of speech and expression. I mean seriously, if you don’t want to read about extremist or any of the big “IST”‘s, don’t. Just change the page. If you don’t want to see naked people, change the page. If you have kids and don’t want them seeing all that stuff, watch them more closely. In all reality, they can see it on yahoo, google or any of the major search engines and probably hear and see worse in school everyday. Why try to prevent people from posting what they feel (the whole point of a blog) because it offends you? Just don’t look if you don’t like it.

  • I approve these flags. Good categories. Specific.

  • I have quite a bit to say, but first, a word from our sponsor.

    “There are TONS of censored communities out there. DeviantArt, Myspace, Blogspot, etc… If the internet is to be the last bastion of truly Free Speech then the only way this will happen is if we PRESERVE at least one blogging community in the name of unrestricted thought and freedom of expression.

    We have chosen xanga as our last frontier. Until recently, xanga was truly the only blog community that accurately represented an enlightened free unrepressed society.

    We are making a stand here and our goal is to KEEP XANGA FREE.

    If we lose xanga what else is left? And don’t say some fucking lame ass “xxx community” because that just isn’t cutting it. Xanga has the resources, the population, the software, the talented users, and the potential to truly become the last Free (unrestricted) blogging community on the internet.

    That’s what we are fighting for.

    !BXU!”
    ~ NFC

    Now for my own words eh?

    You, damn, people.

    Let’s get started shall we?

    I love xanga. I really do. I enjoy the site and what it allows me to do online. It provides a medium that allows people to express themselves creatively, artistically, maturely (or immaturely if they want to), or just write a journal and keep a blog and spam other sites for the satisfaction of getting on the featured list if they want to. That’s fine. That’s the best part of Xanga, it allows people to do what they wish with their sites as long as they stay within the rules and the law. People can do anything within those bounds. Anything. The internet is like this in almost every way, except that it doesn’t always follow the law. So Xanga provides control and stability, but the freedom is still there.

    Granted, there are some things that happen on this site that aren’t great things. There are some things here that shouldn’t be here, like child pornography and the like. I think it’s disgusting and wrong and it should be wiped from the face of Xanga. Great, we might be able to do that if we try really hard, and we’re making progress. But there are other things that you can’t quite control, due to the nature of this wonderful place. Things like the fact that the site is used by sexual predators. You cannot control that problem in the least, not with any measure of accuracy or success anyway. So we have to rely on the intelligence of the user to keep away from those types. Can’t do anything else about it. You can’t win every battle right?

    Right, so we move on to THIS issue. We’ve gotten through all of this and freedom is still intact. We’ve avoided the censorship issue masterfully at this point and it looks like we might be home free. But wait, oh no! There’s some suggestive content over there. Oh look there’s some erotica over there. There’s a poem about sex. There’s a guy who uses his site as a vent to say all the depraved things he can and he’s satirical and you know what? He’s funny! He’s damn funny. People flock to his site, and they’re loving it. Good for them. But look again, what about all those depraved things? Oh we cant have that. So what do we do about all this nasty, messy sexual material and language that has so many parents breathing down the back of our necks? Oh I know! We’ll let anyone with 2 fingers and a keyboard report it and have them probably flagged. Because it is adult content is it not? It is, much of it. But where do you draw the line in the sand? There’s an obvious difference between pornography and a suggestive poem true enough, but some poems are so blatantly explicit that they scream CENSOR ME in big flashing neon green letters. Doubtless you’ve gotten complaints about something as obvious as that. If concerned citizens can find the more obscure sections of Xanga where the pornography actually is, then I’m sure they can find the more obvious and visible sections where entries containing such poems are posted. So how many degrees of difference are there between that and an erotic story? From there to a metaphorical bit of poetry that vaguely implies a sexual meaning? How far from there to curse words? At what point does it stop? Will there not always be more concerned citizens and parents clamoring for more censorship and more restrictions? This is a floodgate, and I don’t think any of it should be censored anyway. Let me be one to state his opinion loudly and clearly:
    YOU CANNOT CENSOR THIS MATERIAL AND MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF XANGA. THAT WHICH MAKES XANGA SO GREAT WILL BE LOST IN A FLOOD OF BRIGHT ORANGE FLAGS AND FINGER POINTING. THERE IS NOTHING THAT WILL ALIENATE YOUR PAYING CUSTOMERS MORE THAN FLAGGING THOSE AMONG THEM (WHO ARE QUITE A FEW) THAT WRITE, POST, OR USE ADULT CONTENT.

    Which brings me to my next point. NOT ONLY IS IT WRONG TO DEGRADE THIS BASTION OF FREE SPEECH AND EXPRESSION, IT’S A STUPID BUSINESS MOVE. There are a great many users who pay for premium who have such content on their sites. In plain view, and they don’t want to post it all protected because they want to attract new people and how will one accomplish that if nothing is visible to whomsoever would happen upon their sites? In many cases, the premium users who post this ‘adult’ material use premium as a means of enhancing their posts. It’s just stupid to censor the content of the very people who pay you to let them showcase it.

    Nothing about this makes sense. I could go on for days, but I have things to do and places to be.

    That’s my 2 cents.

  • kool!!! i’d say those are good!

  • I just wonder what exactly would constitute a “hate” site. 

    Some things are obvious, but my First-Amendment free speech might be someone else’s “hate”, and vice-versa.

  • SUCKS!

  • good job Granny gives you 2 cookies…

  • I kind of like it; we just need to make sure that it’s not abused, like a lot of people have said…

  • Sounds like a very good idea to me. I’m less enthusiastic about the “saftey” flags, but I think that it’s a decent idea. It would only bother me if they system ended up being only a target for abuse.

  • AwSoMe IdEa!!!!!!!!!!!  <3 april

  • I feel silly. I, um, accidentally flagged a friend’s xanga site cuz I saw the “flag” link and I thought, “What’s this button do?” and pressed it … so would you be able to discount that?

  • what happen’s once a site is flagged? is it warned to deleted everything it was flagged for? or is it just automatically shutdown?

  • this is cool~

  • this looks good

  • its stupid dont like it

  • i love this idea… 

  • good job gues

    JUSTIN

  • yeah, this is a good idea because i keep coming across personal porn sites, and i really dont want to see that.

  • I SUPPOTY

  • I’m for all of these. Just be sure to check out the reports really well, do some investigation. Don’t delete a site just because somebody said to, take time and look.

    And I seriously would go on and debate such things, but my vocabulary is limited… *reads dictionary* Shut up! IM COOL!

    Hah… uhhh don’t mind me…

  • No. Stop censoring us.

  • Xanga just gets better and better. Thanks for protecting the public.

  • Is there any way to be sure the flags aren’t used maliciously? Aside from that possibility, I’m for it.

  • oh, one more thing:
    it helps to write about problems. it always helped me when i really needed help. i lost a classmate of 9 years to suicide about a year ago, and communicating my feelings to my friends from school on xanga always helped. they knew how i felt and i had an outlet.

  • definitely the underage stuff and the crazy pro-ana/mia people…”self harm” category covers this well…would users have to say what they found offensive about the site?

    if so, doesn’t that make it extremely hard to judge?

  • Why not ban users who openly talk about commiting crimes? THIS WOULD INCLUDE UNDERAGE DRINKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    –Matt
    http://www.dukerules.com
    http://www.liberalswhine.com

  • SUPPORT

  • good luck!!

  • All for it

  • good Idea looks good to me

  • For LifeStar7….the reason they are doing this is because there have been several abductions and even a couple murders that were linked back to myspace and the like (mostly myspace, I think) and they are trying to be proactive and not let that happen through Xanga.  There are too many sickos out there in the world that use the internet for harm instead of good….I’m all for the safety issues…but I do agree w/ the fact that there hopefully will be some monitoring of the flag use and possible shut-downs for people who flag sites out of anger or hatred.  Like if someone is mad at you and flags your site for fraud or something and it’s determined that it was a wrongful fraud, then their site should be shut down.

  • there are a few up there that i believe are fundamental first amendment rights.  like, “advocates self harm”and “hatred.”  obviously, “proof of underaged user” is a violation of the little thing a user checks to get an account.  i don’t believe it’s xanga’s responsibility if a user wants to put “too much personal info” on there.   “underaged nudity” is against the law anyway, so yea, that’s flaggable and “adult content” is also against xanga’s little policy thing too, i believe.  “threat of physical harm,” i’m straddling the fence for because on the one hand, the first amendment allows that stuff but on the other hand, i, personally, would wonder about it.  i don’t know if xanga would be considered public or private–sounds public to me, but i don’t think it’s up to xanga to moniter what is posted.  unless the actual posting of an entry is a violation of a law then i don’t think the content should be flagged.  xanga’s heart’s in the right place, i’ll give you that.

  • I think lots of the ‘safety’ precations limit alot of what people use this site for. People use it as an outlet. They’re still gonna do things even if they can’t post it… Why not just ask them to leave the entry protected? Just seems like freedom of speach is hinderd a little too far. I understand if you block sites with serious crimes, but when you pull a prank & enjoy the hell out of it, you’re gonna write it down, don’t you agree?

    ~Stix

  • These Are Amazing
    Thank you for making Xanga all that much better
    Take Care<333

  • big brother is watching…

  • Good job!

  • I completely agree with this.

    I’ve read information that supports the removal of pro-ana, pro-mia, pro-suicide sites.

    I don’t think this service makes Xanga like ‘everyone else’. I think people on the internet need to realise that free speech also has responsibilities. Sure, you may be anorexic or bulemic, but you can have a Xanga that isn’t all about supporting that. You need to find people who don’t support delusional behaviour, and get better. Web site providers should reinforce that fact- it’s not a lifestyle, it’s an illness.

    As for flagging, it could be abused, but how about having a restriction on blog rings and searches that prevent people for looking specifically for pro-ana etc sites? I mean, how else do they find each other? They search…

  • maybe there should also be a category of “harasser”

    at any rate, ya’ll need to know what’s going down on these sites. there are so many, and, as of now, there is no way to report anything now other than an email, which you probably get a zillion of a day.

    good luck developing the implementation of this. I think ya’ll have the skills to pull it off, with wisdom and forebearance.

  • I think it’s a good idea, but I also think that the second you discover someone in the fraud category, you should kill their account. permanently.

  • The one I don’t think is such a swell idea is the “Advocates Self-Harm” flag. I understand that you want to keep all members safe, but what if certain members only have their Xanga websites as a safe-haven for what they feel? If and when you decide to activate these flags, please would you send warnings to those who have been flagged so they can either remove the inappropriate information or make it private?

    Thanks,

    -April

  • hey just wanted to sat i like the idea good luck on it

    xo laura marie

  • Well you might as well pull the plug on xanga if you turn the flags on. I know you guys are getting a lot of bad press and this is a cya move.

    What is going to happen is the right is going to find out about the flags and start flagging everything. Then you’ll have the moral minority coming in and flagging all the gay sites, because they find them offensive. You’ll have sites flagged because of profanity (adult content, offensive) stop and think how broad your terms are. You already have a number of crazy on here that claim to be part of the xanga staff.

    Now keep in mind what maybe offensive in the U.S. may not offensive in another country.

    Lets look at AOC in the U.S. its 16 at it lowest depending on the state. Its 14 in canada. It was 12 in holand but moved to 16. There is currently a movement to take it back to 12. There was middle eastern country that had a aoc of 9 for many years. So you can see its all over the map. For those interested go to http://www.ageofconsent.com and what its like world wide and they list gay and str8 sex.

    What your trying to do is impose a U.S. standard on the world and it just won’t work.

    What you need to be worried about is first amendment rights and keep from running away from the media terrorist. I guess the one question you should ask is how much are you being set up by the media. How many gun ho journalist are posting stuff on your site, then reporting all the bad stuff they find. I really feel sorry for those who say they would never do that. Need I bring up wmd for those with short memories.

    Why don’t you place the resposibiliy where it belongs, the parents. I guess that would be to right and besides its a lot easier the let the government raise the kids.

    Xanga was a great site, shame it won’t be here this time next year.

  • why don’t we add good flags too? like “best of”? =]

  • this would be absolutely fantastic!

  • I agree wholly to this flagging system. It creates a safe environment to xanga. I believe the whole internet needs this. ^ ^

    Is there going to be a way to undo a wrongly stated flag? It might create a big hassle if people can freely run off flagging whoever they wish.

    and… John. Who are you?

  • where would these flags be displayed?

  • The only one that I’m not sure about is the “too much personal information”. I’m not certain that is really relevant. The one that I would fully support is the spam one… Would the spam one also apply for people that have pop-ups/spyware lurking on their site? It really should because that is just wrong.

  • Look’s good, and it’s needed for sure…

  • Fraud and Sfety is cool butwith the exception of underage nudity, the offesice content defeats the point of a person expressing him or herself to the public. What might be offensive to one person might be ok.

  • I think that this could prove to be a vital element in the success of the safety of Xangans. However, what used to be a place where one could write out their thoughts and feelings and tell everyone what’s going on in their lives now seems to becoming a monarchy monitored site. That is unless private and protected posts do not constitute the potential of being flagged.

  • I think its a great idea, but yeah is ‘too much personal info’ necessary?

  • These flags place an undue burden on Xanga personnel.  The rules need to be more specific so it is irrefutable when a rule is broken.

  • I just have a question (I bet like most people do) about the category “breaking the law”. I understand that this blog community is based in the United States, but the site is getting users from all over the world. How would the category be applied and monitored? Would “underaged drinkers” (according to US law) be flagged for displaying pictures of their drunken weekeds, or simply because their site has the word ‘vodka’ in it? I think by enforcing a few categories, your site will be kept user-friendly. But with many of the ones listed above not being applicable to everybody, you’re looking at a lot of sites being shut down.

  • YEY JOHN!  GET SOME OF THESE TARDOS OUT OF HERE!

    LONG LIVE JOHN !!!

  • NO FLAGS, PLEASE!!  What offends one person may be just fine for another, so it’s all a judgment call.  I, for one, don’t want to be judged in Xanga, which has thus far been my “safe place.”  If people don’t like what I write, they aren’t being forced to read it.

  • good job!!

  • Great job,you guys ^__^ .

  • It is most logical to have these flags.

  • hhmm..”too much personal info”? well, isn’t this a personal blog site?

    blogs are meant to express oneself. do we NEED a Big Brother watching over Xanga?

  • nice

  • While it’s disappointing that things have come to this, I can understand from a business standpoint why it might be nessecary.

  • i love it. maybe now i can convince my college not to brand all xanga sites as porn

  • need one for pedophile-type blogs.

  • Props!

  • i love it!

  • Ok, take someone like me that is on Featured content a lot and someone comes along that just doesn’t like me because I’m older, or they are jealous.. they “FLAG” me!
    I type the word – S,D,F, or A (cuss words) and I get flagged..
    are you going to delete my account??
    this is totally censorship.. and bogus bull crap!
    Yea, I think you should do something about the porn, and young kids that give out too much info, but censoring adults that pay for premium is crap!

  • I support this.

    Too much personal info can matter if they are under 18 and maintaining a site. Some girls will put their full names, bdays, addresses, phone numbers, etc on their sites. Don’t believe me? Go hit one of the blog rings for a junior high.

  • I think that this is great idea! Especially those that would help protect underage safety. Which one would stealing someone’s pictures and saying they are you/yours fall under?

  • wt!????

  • In being # 1254 I say….well good job.
    It’s nice to see some one taking an extra step in providing a safe social enviorment.
    We had this internet safety thing at our schol….it was awful!
    Being 16,17, and 18 years of age I think we know how not to get kidnapped.
    Anyway, I drifted in and out but I took away 3 things.
    1: They taught us how to find out where someone lives in under 20 minutes.
    2: They showed us a video of a girl who was rescued and “kinda thinks” she shouldn’t have ran away with a stranger….good one.(sarcaism)
    3: Teens are always putting crazy thing on these blog sites like “my parents are gay”
    It was funny at the time…it’s a little funny now.
    Oh well, Thanks for keeping Xanga from becoming a Myspace rape factory.

    N4E

  • Support!  I monitor my kids sites and constantly warn their friends about giving out too much info.  I’ve also read several HATRED sites that are not appropriate.  Thanks for making this a fun & safe place.

  • Looks like a great idea!

  • While I like the idea of the flags, there’s no way to properly run a system like that that is purely based on peer review. What’s to stop them from being misused? Nothing. If there was a system of moderators who did it (which can’t really be done on Xanga) then I would support it, but if it’s simply put into effect by average Xanga users then I certainly oppose it.

  • cool cool

  • Wonderful idea! I’ve been bugged by too many crazies…

  • yikes.  all i can say is, good luck finding enough personnel to keep up with all the “flags” submitted.

  • …….

    yes, well, lets prepare fot the most mistreated systme on xanga EVER!
    As long as you dont over rule freedonm.

  • I think this is a great idea.

  • And who, pray tell, is policing this system?!  Do you not realize that people will flag other people falsely out of spite?  Not only does this seem idiotic, it is a blatant disregard of free speech/choice.

  • I don’t know about this… It would be nice if you could provide more information about what happens after a person is “flagged”– Would Xanga have a system to review all the flags and judge?

    Would the “flagged” person be given time to delete the “flagged” content before the site is shut down? And what happens to malicious people going about flagging everyone? Hmm.

  • It’s a good idea. But I agree with that it would be hard to draw a line with “Too much personal info”. To some degree, that’s what blogging is about I think. Will there be any safeguards in place so that people are protected if someone just gets mad at them and decides to “flag” them?

  • I fail to see what this is going to do, seeing as no one really responds when people have these complaints already. I’ve known alot of people who have complained before and nothing has been done, for alot of these. How do you plan on enforcing them? Good idea though.

  • What exactly is too much personal info?

  • That would be a good thing.  I’m sure it’s not easy to sift through all the emails you guys must get from members complaining about hate sites.  I know I’ve submitted a few to y’all. -DaRai

  • I disagree with a few of these.

    Advocates Self Harm (<personal choice) Too Much Personal Info (<personal choice) Hatred Site (< people still have the right to their own opinions)

  • Pretty good idea

  • I think these flags are a pretty stupid idea, the only one worth using would be underage nudity. It is a blog! its where people go to vent, express themselves ect

  • what about author-assigned content flags, like on livejournal?

  • “what about author-assigned content flags, like on livejournal?”

    That’s the best idea I’ve heard yet.

  • I’ve just read thoroughly the rules of conduct and saw no mention whatsoever of any regulation against posting too much of one’s own personal information or against posting anything related to self-harm.  I would also stress that there is a fine line between venting and actually threatening to do harm.  If I, for example, am upset with my boss and post something like “I am going to kill Tom,” I am only venting and do not actually intend to cause physical harm.  However, someone who stumbles across my blog and reads such a post is now allowed to “flag” it and my ability to blog at Xanga is threatened, thereby actually doing more harm to me than I ever did or intended to do against my boss.  It is one simplistic example of how these flags are ineffective and a threat to our freedom of speech.

    I may also, in a fit of self-loathing or even simple embarrassment, threated to kill myself. “God, I’m so stupid!  I just want to kill myself!”  I am a healthy adult and have no such desire, but I may type it in my blog regardless.  The unknowing teenager is then able to stumble across my post and flag me for “advocating self harm.”

    I might one day, after listening to The Randi Rhodes Show, threaten to kill our president or any of this staff.  Though I have no intention of actually murdering even the worst of world leaders, I could be flagged for breaking the law.

    These are just a few of the most obvious examples of how this flagging system is flawed…  and I would like to suggest that you spend your time fighting for our rights under the Constitution than you do trying to pacify the conservative media.

  • i was gonna comment on the whole thing here, but it got too long. if you’re remotely interested apart from the thumbs up i give the concept, come look.

  • i think this a great idea!  some sites have some pretty scary content on them that people mainly younger users shouldn’t see.

  • booyah!

  • hey thats is a super good idea because i had some troubles with school with this xanga..lol and i think the flags will put an end to it all! Good idea XANGA!

  • Yep.. It all looks good to me.

  • It’s all kewl!

  • As long as there’s a way to insure responsibility…sounds delicious to me.

  • I saw the “flag” link and clicked it to see what would happen. I flagged myself. Now what’s going to happen to me?

  • thank goodness you aren’t going all myspace and just letting whatever go!  Yeah  i’m pro-flags!  Power-to the flagging!  All in favor of an anti-porn xanga say “I”!!!!!

  • I Like it!!

  • Support the theory, but I’m not sure how it will work in real life. You’ll always have the system abusers :-

  • go with it

  • How would the flags work?  Will there be little symbols or something?  I reported a site last year and it was shut down.  So, how is it that the flags will be different than merely reporting?

  • I think you have a lot of “feedback” here

  • DOooooooooo it, good idea man

  • good job xanga! i already have a victim! haha but seriously i do!

  • Here’s a question – will there be distinctions made between public posts and protected posts? On one hand, making posts protected adds security (for example, if someone posts their email address but only a few of their friends can see it, that’s not a big deal), but on the other hand, a lot of posters (pro-anas, scammers) could go protected to avoid detection. I think you guys will need to address this question carefully.

  • glad to see this. Definitely some sites I canthink of that need flagged!

  • sweet

  • i think they are GREAT!

  • ok. isnt there something out there called FREEDOM OF SPEECH!? xanga has been the ONLY blogging site that i have found that actually lets anyone and EVERYONE say what they want to say.
    yes, pornography shouldnt be allowed.
    maybe for the people under thirteen, they could have their parents give their consent to use the site?
    but i dont think the third category should be there.
    seriously.
    people talk the talk but 99% of the time, they dont walk the walk.
    there are idiots out there that would report someone who said something like this: “ohhh my day has been so bad i just want to DIE.”
    i KNOW someone would report that out there.
    if someone wants to share what they did with their boyfriend the night before, i think that should be thier choice.
    just put a mature content rating on it or something.
    for those of us old enough to make our own decisions, freedom of speech is important and i dont think xanga should become a facist dictator.
    thanks, keep up the good work.

  • Hey thanks. There is a lot of nudity 4 ppl’s profile pics and in there webblog entrys. Just tellin u. U should check it out.

  • I can understand the fraud column, but the rest is beyond me. If someone wants to display naked pictures of themselves or talk about something that may ‘offend’ someone, well that’s their business. Especially if it’s not harming someone else. If you don’t like something, then don’t go to the page. You’re going to lose a lot of users if you enact these.

  • hi my xanga site is cutiepielover12300@xanga can you please write to me thanks.

  • i don’t really like the idea, personally… and also, if someone wants to hurt themself, they have a right to do so.  I see it as unconstitutional to shut down a site because someone is excercising their rights as a human.

    you could really upset alot of people for shutting down their xangas for some of those reasons

  • SOUNDS LIKE COMMUNISM TO ME!

  • okay good we need this

  • this sounds like a good plan, but I have a comment about the “adocating self-harm” issue.

    what about the people who keep sites like this because they have a disorder and want to talk with other people about it?

    we didn’t come on here to “learn” how to lose weight or hurt ourselves.  we have had our eating issue set, and then found this place where we can talk about it.  we don’t promote it, we journal what it’s like living with these problems.

    but I do support shutting down “proana” sites.  these girls are usually very young and usually join xanga just because they can.  they don’t actually have problems.

  • no self harm, hm… xanga + antiharm flag = a LOT less users. just do a user search for suicide or suicidal… or cutter. and those are just the ones with it in their names… yeah. no flags, thanx.

  • It’s a great idea. Too many bad things are happening on these websites, but innocent people should still get to use the sites. Thank you for recognizing this issue!

  • Thats a better idea.

  • Welp…ahhh yeah. it sounds nice…real nice. How do I know yall jus aint pullin me laig. Argh. Wheres me dern parrot.

    Naa, I dont talk like at yall. who you think im is. Im black yall. An om back yall, om bak ba ba back yo im back yall. Aaaah yeah yalll know yall dig them skills right thurr. Yeah all you ladies can jus hit me up on my cell at 30…er, my site if yall want to talk but itll take sum work cuz Im already crushin on someone and tryin to get over sum lost luv naamsayin. Keep in mind I am only 14 ladies.

    I am definately black but I am also definately not like that either. you want to know who I am. juss lift ya lazy a.. ol finger and click on that nice blue hyperlink down there or purple if sumbody beat yo lazy behind to it. Be warned if you dont like humor or cars and a little skating and BMX…DONT GO!!! Trust me, you WONT like it. Oh By the way the whole flagging thing sounds like a plan. I aint tryin to be a freebie hunter or nuthin but um. I been thinkin and I thiught that free skins would be pretty tight. na I dont know ha yall run this thang er nothin but us poor folk need sum customization. Yeah thats almost my personality. Just a liiiitle exagurated though.

    SEE YAW LATAH!!!!

  • How are you going to protect people who get flagged by others who do it out of spite?

  • Flag this.

  • yeah its an okay idea

    kayla

  • X24R0C57 speaks:

    Hatred is a part of Xanga. Other than that, it’s fine.

    TRE

  • ??????????

  • I think its a grand idea! I think I have a few people I’d like to report…

  • I THINK IT IS A COOL IDEA U GUYS!!!!!!!!!

  • this idea sucks

  • too much personal info needs thrashed about greatly until it becomes no more.

    other than that, you did a great job, mr. xanga godfather.

    -jake p.

  • sounds like an excellent idea becuz i no my friends have had to shut down their sites cuz their parents are worried bout pedophiles. good idea!

  • if this is imposed on someone…it would seem unfair as labels are not often appropriate for many people…and yet again, for some a-holes who have a shove-crap blog..yeah..I feel that there should be maybe an underage thing going on but then again, only those who have openly admitted being underage would be blocked out…overall, it is a weak gesture at being a Polite Society wanker…little good will come of it and it overall will offend most people…fascism is a lover of flags..the more and the bigger, the happier the fascist is…

    jm

  • This Rock Thanks You Guys Rock

  • Support!

  • Outstanding idea. It’s about time xanga had a system like this. With that said however, great care should be taken with the last 5. Yes, there are those who truly advocate those, but there are others who are joking or exaggerating. We all have our bad days, and sometimes we need to vent.

    That’s all.

  • What? No PIRACY flag? (Copyright infringement) If there is one that you might want to consider adding is lucky number 13. I think, from personal expereince, that a copyright infringement flag would be VERY useful here on the backwaters of xanga.

    Just a thought from a pirate!

    Sail on… sail on!!

  • for!

  • thats a good idea.

  • that was a great idea

  • I agree with ERIN!!    The one that says For Babeloma!   I mean if someone posts 2 much info about themselfes thats their choice

  • As long as you’re clear to define “Malicious impersonation.” A lot of impersonation sites are just plain fun and should be allowed, imo.

  • I think it’ll help…maybe.  People usually find ways around stuff if they really want too, but its worth giving it a shot.  I like xanga so..whatever makes it better.

  • I know this isn’t exactly a flag, but is there anyway you can make it so that if someone “Googles” your name, they won’t see your Xanga site?

  • Good idea!

    but I don’t like the whole too much personal info. tag

  • I think this is a really good thing!!!

  • I have no problem with the flags but here are things:

    1. How can a person within the right range of their mind actually be so stupid as to actually post too much personal info especaily when the market now or days has been saturated by anti-identity theft laws ads and what not
    2. Concerning spam, does this include posting banners in a blog? Because if it did well then i’m dead man walking
    3. Hatred, I’ve dealt with this one by posting a disclaimer on my site on the bottom, because honestly I do some things that can be considered anti christian but i dont condone violence against anybody very seriously i dont

    But other than that I see no problems props for you

    Teh Shadow Walker

  • sounds nice~!!

  • I totally agree with these. Anything that makes the web a safer place is fine with me!

  • So basically, xanga is going to become a forum for self-righteous tattle-tales to censor anything that they might consider offensive in a fit of pique. What a great idea! What if you’re a premium member? Will you be less likely to have your site shut down then? I have a feeling that will be the case, since you’d be wantonly eliminating revenue otherwise…

  • This is a very good ground to safeguard each from harassment and vulgar/offensive comments etc. Congratulations!

  • Think it’s a great idea.

  • xanga asks for our personal info upon entering the site!!!! thats not a fair one, its our decision to write what we want.

    also the “advocates self harm”… thats not fair. YOU ARE EXCLUDING A HUGE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE FROM XANGA! me NOT being one of them… but still, its not fair at all. people have their own ways of dealing with their pain, not that that justifies it, but if you want a segregated xanga, go right ahead.

  • You could just block people that harass you or leave vulgar comments. No need to shut their site down, but, whatever. You are all fascists diametrically opposed to free expression.

  • Perhaps fewer, more general flags would be easier?

  • my only problem is once a site is shut down, all they’ll have to do is make another one. and i don’t think it’s fair for xanga to step in (especially the first few about safety) in places that should be a parent’s job, ya know? i mean, by shutting someone’s site down, it’s not going to stop them from advocating self harm or any of that.

  • i’m for it

  • hell yes i support! keep kids safe! keep me safe!

  • I’m all for flagging…I’ve seen some pretty nasty sites on here and I think about the little kids who stumble across them and just shudder. There should, however, be a good way to determine whether or not the site should actually be deleted before just deleting it. I’d do it for you! I need a job where I work from home and I’d love to check out the flagged sites for you. Seriously!

  • Great Idea.

  • looks good but I’d add copyright infringment and Bandwidth theft.

  • BullSh*t

  • wut upsssssssssssss

  • i like the idea COOL!

  • I’m pretty tired of seeing pro-anorexia and pro-cutting sites, so I like the one against advocating self harm

  • hi peeps what yall doin i am just sayin hi

  • why’s everyone so upset about underage users? as long as they’re responsible….

  • also, you should let people “recycle” old xanga names….

  • I support it! Half, the underage user thing is odd.
    but the underage nudity….I get that, you could be sued…etc.

  • thumbs up!

  • Keep up the good work!

    Ivy

  • Sure……

  • …

    what’s a flag????

  • good idea, i like it!

  • I do think still that you are going to have a case of ”they said” against ”we said” happenening. What is offensive to one person isn’t to another. Wouldn’t it be easier to re-write the Xanga guidelines and prohibit certain types of posting? Or barring that RATE the sites. G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17. That way the surfer knows what is going to be on that page before they *click* and view things they don’t want to.

  • does malicious impersonation include impersonation of puppets and animal personalities?

    $$$Joe Daddy$$$

  • support

  • some of these are ridiculous…the whole point of blogging is freedom of speech!

  • Looks good!

  • too much personal information?  what is that about?  xangas are all about personal information.  if you didn’t want personal information, then why the heck would you be reading?  i think that flag is a bit ridiculous.

    the whole concept of flags is dangerous — i understand how it could ideally be helpful, but I do think the potential for abuse is much too staggering for the flag system to really be helpful.

  • That’s a lot of Eprops

  • I like the ideas. I guarantee people have already found anything that might be wrong with your flag systems, but yeah. I like all the ideas…I, too, am curious how you’ll draw the line between faking about doing something illegal and actually having posted it, but after the MySpace school shooting mess, I can understand why you guys would want to institute a flag like this.

    Rock on. :)

  • so now we get to censor our free online diaries?! that sounds like an awesome idea.

  • Advocates Self Harm <- if that one was posted and stuff was done against it, 90% of xanga ns would be gone lol. sad but true… Anyway I personally like the relative freedom that we enjoy here at xanga compared to other sites… but thats my opinion.

  • Sounds good

  • I think some useful features would make the stupid ones you people have been adding much more palatable. Also, still’d like my refund on my lifetime so I can go to a site that gives a shit about it’s members. Thanks.

  • What are the flags for?  Will they be sent to admins, so that they can review each case?  Or do they mean that the site will be shut down if the problem is not fixed within a certain time period?  What if the site’s owner doesn’t respond to the flag?

    I just have a problem when you consider how many prank flags will probably be made.  Or, flags made using extremely strict guidelines.  No matter how the system is meant to be used, someone will abuse it.  Even if the punishment for repeated false flagging is to be shut down…the person will just create another site and begin to false flag again.

    It’s a good idea…but only certain people should be allowed to flag, in my opinion.  But that would make them more like a “Xanga Police” more than anything else.

  • I agree with most people here. Great idea but there needs to be a way to keep people from flagging maliciously.

  • I think the “flags” idea is a good one. Xanga has been for a long time unpoliced, and although it’s not as bad for internet predators as MySpace, it seems to be worse in the area of advocating things like self-harm and all that. There are several other things going on that I would like to see countered with effective policing, but I won’t go into details.

    What I would be concerned about though is what might be considered a “hatred site” … for example, as a Christian who accepts the Bible just as it’s written, I believe that all homosexual acts are sinful. If I quote scripture like Romans 1 or make any sort of denouncement of the homosexual lifestyle in some random post, would that get my profile flagged? Like the person before me said:

    “I am concerned about abuse, someone going around sprinkling peoples’ sites with unfair tags. I hope there’ll be some protection from that for those many of us to whom these tags could never apply.”

  • Sounds like a great idea,

  • this is a very wise idea, way to go man! we support you! 2 thumbs up :)

  • I support. Good move.

  • hey great idea!

  • I think it’s a great idea, as long as people don’t get flagged just because someone doesn’t like them. Also, the flags should probably be anonymous, or people will retaliate against those who flag them.

  • Looks good!  Someone on the Internet needs to step up and hold their own site accountable.  It’s nice knowing that someone cares enough.  Keep up the great job!

  • I am so glad xanga has decided to do this. It makes me feel safer about my daughter using the service.

  • Really good job. Im so glad you made this. Love it!

  • Unless people can be held accountable for the flags they set, it would seem like you are setting up the perfect vehicle for supporting anonymous false slander!

    1. Flags should not be anonymous!
    a. People should have to stand behind their flags,
    b. People should have the right to confront their acusers!
    2. Flags should be removable if found to be false!
    3. Abuser’s of the flag system who falsely flag people they don’t like should be accountable and lose their xanga rights.

    A flag system without accountability is worse than NO flag system at all, and whoever sets up such an anonymous flag system is going to find themselves participating in anonymous slander!

    You have a potentially good idea here – but if the flag system is anonymous – it is worse than worthless. Such as system would be a determiment to xanga – and I could see you quickly losing quite a number of older paying customers. They will either be flagged off by young anonymous users and/or they will cancel their premium memberships.

  • THANKS

  • Yeah, go with it!

  • Ok, So I blogged about you today.. and I’m usually always on FC..
    I think people need to know about this..
    Especially since I was stalked and Xanga never did anything!!
    crazy crap.
    Is this why everyone is moving to MySpace??? Maybe they would appreciate my money more over there.

  • I think it is a good idea.  When the new flagging system comes out, how will u be able to use it??

  • good.

  • What do I do about a man who threatens me?

  • I’m not “Thrilled” with the idea of people wanting/putting red flags on these sites, Exceptions: Violent or Nude sites of course,In my personal opion these sites should be “Banned” of course.

    Getting back to other Xanga Sites that just have normal writting should not be touched or flagged!!

       I know that the site’s managerment mean well in trying to protect it’s customers who have sites, But please don’t get too picky/ bossy in people sites.

  • It’s Me Again. Like I said “I’M Not Thrilled” in putting red flags on xanga.

      This is just 1 of My reason why I won’t get a premium site because I feel that Xanga & Other sites are getting worried all of a sudden about other people’s writtings & What ever happened to being Allowed “Free Speech”??

    Why have these types of sites if we aren’t allowed to wrie our feeling down?

    While I understand that their should be montoring at a certain kind of writting…Exsamples… Sexual content, Hurtful comment & sucide writtings. I just don’t want this site to be out of control on what we write about.

  • Don’t we wanna be what this is supposed to be? GREAT IDEA…don’t wanna be a “myspace” joke. I concur with the enforcement comment tho….talk ain’t nuthin’ without the walk. I’ve been spammed and have only been a xangan for a short while. Clear, enforced rules…key to good rep. Thanks.

  • I agree with  Some one up there.

    The reason people have blogs (or the reason I have one) Is to post about my day.

    Not that I would post anything rediculously obscene, but if I wanted to, And I wanted people to read it (Which only like four of my friends actually read my xanga on a daily basis.) I think that I should be able to write about it.

    Anywho. Those are my thoughts.

    I give you props though. Great work!

  • awesome idea!

  • i think it’s a good idea, although the “too much personal information” needs to be clarified a little.

  • Bad idea.  People with agendas will go around flagging people with whom they  disagree, and malicious pranksters will do the same thing.  The flags for underage nudity, threats, and other obvious and specific cases are fine, but who defines “adult content” and “too much personal info”?  Way too general.  Don’t get on the Bush bus.  Freedom of the press, eh?  I really don’t want to move to Canada.

  • As a student of social work, I feel that this is wonderful…. “we” need to be able to help another if there is cause to think that they need help….for example; suicidal words and thoughts….

  • i think it is helpful too

  • hmmm.. i don’t know how I feel. I mean I think a little bit of sensoring is okay, but don’t over-do it.

  • well done. i like all of these.

  • Nix underage nudity, it stands the same with adult content.  Too much personal info has to go, it’s an individuals prerogative to display any info if they’re an adult.  Redeux: if something is “adult” does that mean maturity no longer stands in xanga?  And finally, blow the search for your friends, I do xanga for the anonymity.  If I wanted people to search me I’d have a myspace or a facebook or a friendster.

  • StopIgnoringTheProblem

    is really racist against mexicans and black people.I’ve made this comment before.
    Please shut her site down.

    Thanks.
    duur86

  • I like the idea….thanks

  • I dont get it

  • i think it’s a really cool idea so keep up the good work guys

  • And this is one of the many reasons everyone is moving to myspace. As long as you don’t post nudity or say “I am going to kill my self” they aren’t going to do anything. ‘Xanga The Online Journal’ HA!

  • wow i’m having a hecktick week but the goog thing is i’m out of school

  • I think this is a great idea

  • APPROVE

  • Will you even bother to read these comments?

    There are flag issues that don’t have to do with art at all, such as personal safety. Those I think will make xanga safer.

    That being said, I don’t support some of these flags. The ones about “offensive content” are going to be super over-abused, and are fairly open to interpretation. What the hell does “adult content” mean? Does mentioning sex mean adult content? I read a post the other day about a girl going into the slight details of how she was raped, because she was looking for some sort of comfort. Is that adult content because it deals with rape? She can’t afford premium, so she can’t have more than ten people on protected.

    And after all, if everyone went protected, then what would be the point? A community has open doors. There are some risks with that, but we stay friendly, and that’s why for the majority of the time it stays good. We take the good with the bad. But this flagging system makes us not a community but simply many houses side by side, doors all locked. This makes us scared to welcome new neighbors, for fear they are rapists, racists, radicals. We can’t live our lives in fear or anger. Without the openness that flagging will surely restrict, how will we grow?

  • In regards to all the controversy about online communication websites like this one… I read articles about “teens’ murder plot discovered on MySpace” and the articles make it out like the plot is aided by the website. No, these plots are foiled as a result of the websites. So, I don’t think that blogs showing illegal activity or threats necessarily should be reported to xanga, and deleted. They should be reported to government authorities and dealt with. Let people post their incriminating evidence. It will make the world a safer place.

  • hey, good ideas, but there definitel needs to be review to combat unfair flagging.

  • great idea!

  •                   MY MOST SARCASTIC ePROPS YET :

                     A wonderful idea – if your favourite book happens to be “Mein Kampf” – or perhaps if you get some weird fetishistic thrill from the idea of other people filtering your Internet content “for” you … the recent decision of Google in regards to its PRC site both frightens & sickens me, so I think you can guess where I stand on this one … I also find it intriguing that suddenly SEVERAL blogs’ve chosen to go this route; perhaps the tantalizing aroma of a certain market in a certain People’s Republic has led to a collective case of galloping Moral-Hygiene-Fever … censorship is something a rather disgustingly large number of very brave people have already DIED trying to prevent, but now none of that seems to count anymore … given the scale & growth-rate of this Magical Dragon that I’m now pontificating into, the very idea of trying to censor Internet content is inherently warped – love it or hate it, this is THE free culture-medium of the times … THINK ABOUT THIS: if I blaspheme your religion (or flame your cult) I am arguably producing “Hateful Content” just as my erotic expression is your “OFFENSIVE CONTENT” … you have things to deal with fraud already, & they’re not toothless “flags” but actual laws … your Strongest Link, the stalker/pedophile issue, is better addressed with a funny little thing called Parental Guidance although it sure SEEMS to justify censorship if you don’t won’t or can’t see the real context of the issue …  & I am merely scratching the surface in terms of the jumbo worm-can you’re sawing open …

                    Fighting an evil with another evil is not an optimal strategy for success … noone even seems to dare to whisper “Education” here … & THAT is deeply offensive …

                    Good intentions are the medium that paves the superhighway to a very bad place – if you want to be screened from disturbing input, folks, the ‘Net is NOT where you should be … I’d rather be disturbed, enraged, sickened & outright bloody traumatized by things that are provocative/accurate/meaningful/relevant than watch the most amazing public space I’ve yet seen become yet another TVoid hyperhappy corporatist platform … I am of the same opinion as Noam Chomsky, i.e., there’s bound to be a segment of cyber-dingbats who take great joy in posting things on here I really loathe – & I will ALWAYS defend their right to put them up, & to be as loathsome as they dare … otherwise I’ve no right to even use the phrase “freedom of expression” since my ACTION – limiting or condoning the limiting of said freedom – is hypocritcal …

                                            xo                                                           jim                                                                                                  MMVI 

  • im the 1st one <3

  • agree with the self harm. too many little kids talking about cutting on themselves! then they get to see all the other kids that do it and think it’s okay. you should also flag all the blogs that advocate starving. so many women and girls that blog about starving themselves. i guess that would be self harm (hopefully!)

  • I think it’s great!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Maybe it will keep the pedifiles away from naive bloggers.  Hope it works out for all of us!!!!!!!!!!!  THANKS JOHN!!!!!!!

  • If you dont like our site ur ggggaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

  • HERE’S A LITTLE STORY FOR YOU, JOHN. It’s clean, I swear.

  • dude, flags are such a fucking moronic idea, people will be flagging left and right just to fuck with xanga

  • not such a good idea

  • cool ilike it

    carol+matheny=love

  • well my son is 11 and he had a sight but it got deleted. he was very upset. i monitor my kids everytime they are online. i dont think it was right for you to do that. why can’t he have a sight???

  • I fully respect what you are trying to do. Thank you!

  • Sounds like a solid idea! People that are against it don’t realize that Xanga is not the only blog site on the whole internet. If they want to be perverse or violent, they can go do that somewhere else. I appreciate your efforts to keep Xanga a safe place in a world of corruption.

  • its ok i guess.

  • YES THIS IS LONG OVERDUE…. i’ve been a victim of racial hate messages from
    sites myself so please tighten security over these matters.

  • How bout instead of censoring EVERYONE, you just go after the porn sites?

    It’s pretty sad when I check out Featured only to find a bunch of potentially underage girls showing off. I mean, it’s not even difficult. Just type in a naughty word in “Blogrings” and you’ll find a wealth of porn sites. Just start there and shut em down.

    Or better yet… when people file a complaint, actually do something about it. I couldn’t tell you how many sites i’ve reported only to see them still active. I just gave up. You can deal with the police when they ask why you allowed child pornography.

    “Too much personal info” Where does this one end? It’s a pretty big Umbrella phrase. Does this mean I’m gonna get shut down if I talk too much about my cat? Who determines I’m giving out too much info? What’s too much?

    “Threat of physical harm” Does this mean I can no longer pray for a sniper to take out the president? Does this mean I can no longer discuss wanting to beat the crap out of jerks who don’t use their turn signal?

    “Hatred site” I have plenty of topics of my disgust of certain people, places, and things. If I repeatedly talk about the high number of morbidly obese in my area, does that make my site a Hate site? I hate people who insist on using their cell phones EVERY minute of the day. If I talk about it on a regular basis (which I do) does that mean i’ve broken this rule?

    Your flags are WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too broad, and instead of policing everyone, you should just focus on the heavy offenders.

    How many strikes does one get? Do I get any warnings should I break your rules? Too many questions are going unanswered and before you go alienating the true bloggers, you should lay it all out instead of just handing us the flags and saying “Here ya go.”

  • I won’t put any pictures up that expose myself, but at least allow me the freedom to post a few sexual situations.

  • First!!! yessss!

  • who gives a damn….jk i luv da idea i think its Kewl

  • mmm, sounds lovely

    <3

  • Finally! I’m getting sick of all the pornography on Xanga.

  • great idea… god knows that there are enough kids on this site. if you have bad stuff flagged and taken off it will be a good thing

  • I don’t think it is a good idea.  You will have people abusing it.  And for people like me who pay for their sites, I don’t need someone flagging me just because they don’t like me or something stupid like that.  If someone flags us and get us kicked off Xanga, do I get my money back????????????????????????

  • kool…bye

  • I like the HIjacked account one because that happens a lot after break ups…

  • “too much personal info” shouldn’t really be on here…..i mean xanga is basically like a journal or diary, except it’s public.  people can choose whether or not they want to read the “too much personal” stuff, so it really doesn’t matter. 

    if you’re referring to name, address, phone number, etc….well that’s up to that person to decide if they feel it’s safe enough to give out that info.  if something bad happens, well it’s their own fault. nobody is forcing them to share that info.  they just need to use common sense and good judgment.

  • NICE IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • umm.. i don’t think it’s such a good idea cuase what the other people were saying about people that dislike you flagging you. The rest is pretty good though

  • heyy john!
    i seriosusly think that what you are doing is great. the internet is just not a safe place anymore and most people are to stupid to be careful. thxx for trying to make xanga safer..it makes me feel safer.
    ♥ much..yall rock my soxx off!! ♥

     

  • I agree. Thanks for looking out for us!

  • The safety category looks very useful.  I agree with everyone else that it could be abused.  Maybe there should be another flag for someone who abuses the flags.

  • Hey jennifer its cheer chick alli ummmmmmmm how can I type to other peole because you never showed me how to that girl. So type me back and tell me how to do that please jennifer.

  • I love this idea.

    Genius!

    >X< Jetta >X<

  • i totally agree =]

  • Yeah It’s an awesome idea cuz I wont 2 b safe! If yall agree say meeeeeeeee!!! Lol

  • i like the idea of this!!

  • this is great..it will keep me and other people safe. and it will keep intruders out as well!! thanks!!

  • i think its a good idea

  • sup bitchaz i dont think its right let the little kids have thier fun

    they will learn

    danay

    ~*<3*~

  • Nice…

  • I think it is an okay idea. I think if someting is flagged it needs to be looked into before a site shutdown or concequences. People are immature and will misuse this function!!!!

  • i think its a good idea just needs to be enforced in the right way or it’ll be too strict or to loose like i talk bout my girlfriend and stuff and thast giving personal info and then again sum1 might be spreading bad rumors bout sum1

  • hope it work theres a lot of weird o’s out htere!! you helpout so much jonh!!!!!!! check out my site!@!!! GREAT IDEAA!!!

    sHAUNA<3

  • seems okay to me.

  • I think this is really cool! Im gonna get it asap!

  • What happened to xange being an online JOURNAL site?

    In journals you write what you want when you want and if you let peolple read it they don’t push on you to change it because it offends others.

    Xanga should not be allowed to control the sites it shows.

  • Who r u

  • A good idea… just wondering who’s going to check on the flagged pages?  I know alot of people’s pages that got dumped this last go ’round, that probably wouldn’t have been if someone had actually taken the time to read them.

    Such as TheBuddyLove.  Buddy is under 13 yrs, so I assume that’s why his page was yanked.  Of course, if someone had taken the time to actually look at the page, they’d have known that Buddy is, quite obviously, a DOG…

    Good idea.  Let’s just use some common sense when enforcing the rules, eh? 

  • I’m all for it ^_^

  • personally i think it is a very good idea.

  • i agree with the fraud collum, but seriously, these are our sites.. we should be allowed to post pictures of whatever we want and to write anything without worrying about getting flagged or having our sites shut down. its our personal freedom, if we went to talk about drinking or show pictures of ourselves baring nothing, it shouldn’t be a big deal. its our own freedom. anyone who disagrees with that and feel the need to snitch on people are stupid.

    i’m against flagging.

  • YES

  • I’m in favor of anything that makes our home safer

    VOTE YES FOR SAFETY!

  • god of xangatopia, divine creator of xanga,

    would you pleaseee command your minions to

    create the ability to-be-able-to-delete-regrettable-comments-you’ve-placed-earlier?

    amen.

    thanks.

    p.s.: come this christmas, i’ll leave out a glass of absinthe and a plate of e-props for you, should your fulfill this wish.

  • So what do Flags do?? ANd how do u get them etc… thanks for what u have done

    KAYLA

  • Gerat idea. One can never be too safe.

  • Sweetness…

  • Good idea, but i do sorta agree with lifestar7, If ever blog type sites begin to have the same style, people won’t really think any of them were….. There own thing…….. like i said, it’s a great idea, But any kind of site should be it’s own site and not like every site that’s like it.

    Chris

  • That’s a perfect idea!

  • I love it!!!!!

  • I support it.
    Except the “Too Much Information.”
    Does this mean address and such? Or in posts?

  • THis is a very good thing. PLEASE institute it.

  • I think it will help

  • I like hte first 2 categories… but “safety” is a little harsh. Really, I come to my Xanga to vent about life and to admit the stupid mistakes I’ve made. If I know I’m going to get teh cops called on me for admitting that I was considering doing something stupid, am I really going to tell anyone? I think not. I’d keep it to myself and do it rather than tell people on my Xanga and get support… Thats all I’m sayin, guys.

  • ok

  • all’s good but the too much personal info…it’s their site! 

  • definately

  • This is an excellent idea. I have some younger stepsiblings who tend to abuse xanga and take self-harm sites way too seriously, so the flagging system would help their family a lot. I would say go for it.

  • I think it’s a really good idea.
    I cannot explain to you how many times i’ve wanted to do something about somone’s site for anyone of the above subjects and topics.  This is something I think will really make the xanga site a lot better in terms of saftey and fun for everyone.

  • cool

  • A gold star for trying…the idea needs work though. Is a flagged site immediately place on the chopping block before it is properly reviewed and defended? What happen to the Xanga citizen idea? I would like a “trial” before I get sent off to Cybernetic Oblivion.

  • Wow that’s awesome! Thx 4 making xanga better!

  • These look good, nicely done!

  • This is a good idea.

  • yea well its all good but i do think people have a right to show them selves and do wat they belief.  But it should be a good thing

  • look i’m cool i’m cool!

  • Just so long as you review them BEFORE you shut down. It’s only going to take a few people targetting people on FC for this to turn into a war lol

  • This has the potential to be wildly abused. I think it needs more thinking about before anything is rushed into…

  • I approve of flagging underage nudity, as it is illegal and puts people at risk from predators.  And of course flagging incidents of fraud is good.  I’m concerned about many of these other flags though because they seem to hinder free expression.  For example, advocates self-harm?  Sure, pro ana and pro cutting sites are disturbing to many but banning them?  These sites may be an important outlet for the user, one that may even eventually lead to them getting help.  Not to mention that defining ‘advocates self-harm’ is tricky and very subjective.  If I am frustrated and type ‘I”m going to go jump out a window now” will my site be flagged?  It’s a slippery slope.  As far as adult content…could the new ‘xanga lock’ somehow be used to allow sites to designate viewing only by xangans over the age of 18?  This way underage users would still be able to use the site but adult users could still post more risque information.  I’m deeply concerned about this.  I treasure this outlet as a way to express myself and do not want to feel limited because other users may designate my content as disturbing.

  • i think u shouldn’t do that b/c everybody has their own rights to put  what they want on THEIR site and if people don’t want to see it or read it then they don’t have to look at it or read it…

  • How will people know if they want to read it untill after they’ve read it?

    Just a question.

  • Those who sacrifice liberty over safety deserve neither. NO TO FLAGS!

  • Why isn’t the existing system for reporting abuse adequate? If the reason for this flag proposal is that the existing system is overwhelmed, the flag system will likely generate an even greater level of responses, a good proportion of which will likely be malicious or frivolous, especially if there are going to be handy ‘flag this?’ links everywhere. And you would be investigating whether or not it was reasonable for someone to be flagged, wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t be shutting someone down *just* because they got flagged?

    Don’t implement a tool that gives people license to be Thought Police.

    Instead, create tools that give users control over their blog and who accesses it, should they wish. Get on with enabling users to block particular users from reading them at all. Remind users about privacy features and educate about general safety – e.g. in the banner space that you already use for site messages when we’re logged into our own pages. New users of whatever age can be naive about the internet, or simply forget that they’re writing something public. “Did you know you can block users? Click here … ” Rolling reminders about features , don’t make people go delving into the help files to find out the full range of preferences that they can set. Have stricter settings by default for young users and maybe have a separate space for them while they are underage and make it so they can only browse sites of other young users perhaps. There’s only so much that Xanga can do to replace education and responsible parenting.

    Don’t make any privacy features dependent on Premium. I’m not saying you do, just stating what should be obvious from safety point of view.

    Implement a voluntary ratings system or some other way for us to flag *ourselves* – for example, an ‘I sometimes swear’ flag. Then other users can have the option when they are logged in and browsing “don’t show me blogs that swear”. The other obvious implementation of this would be for someone to be able to flag (again, *themselves*) their blog as ‘sexual content’, so other users have the choice to filter them out and so that under-age users might automatically have them filtered. (And you could probably have different levels of sexual content – ‘sometimes writes frankly about sex’… ‘often writes about sex’ … ‘blatant exhibitionism’ – so we could all select our own reading comfort-zone). Users could then express themselves freely, all the happier for knowing that they are less likely to inadvertently upset someone.

    Hate speech – sad, but you can’t police how people think and what they say. Write your own free-thinking, loving speech instead – maybe the bigots will stumble across your site and open their minds.

    Self-harm & similar – it’s not your job nor xanga’s to ‘social work’ someone. A person’s online journal is their own space – you are a visitor. Read and offer comments respectfully with that in mind. You may disagree with how someone is living their life or the effectiveness of their coping strategies, but passing judgement won’t change their minds or the circumstances of their lives. Their journal and their friends on Xanga are more probably than not a source of support.

    Anything illegal, well, it’s illegal – report it to Xanga and to the authorities too if you wish, they should take action if they think there is a case to pursue.

    The proposed flags offer no improvement on the existing system, and a lot of potential pitfalls.

  • Nice ! : )

  • that looks cool, im glad our security is being taken seriously (unlike on myspace -_-)

    on a totally unrelated note, id really like it if a batch protected posting were made. it took me days to switch my whole journal to protected posting, and a few weeks after i did the people on my list werent able to see the posts anymore, so i deleted the list and started it over. in doing this, every single entry i had made protected was switched to private. it will take me another few days to get all my entries back to protected the way it is now. batch protected posting would make everything a whole lot easier.

  • i’m eager to see what that’s all about because i have about 10 blocked accounts from my page that contain nudity and pornography…leaving crazy comments on others’ pages. so nasty nasty…anyways, i haven’t recieved any feedback on my complaints so hopefully when this is up and running, you guys will be able to shut them down for good. i’ve noticed plenty of xanga accounts that contain hate crime as well…

    anyways, thanks a bunches!

  • I;d say..aside from the Fraud category…none of that is really necessary. The rest is what we have a block and ignore feature for.

    Besides, if you tick someone off, what is to stop them from flagging you for a Hatred site simply because they disagree with your views on religion, politics..etc. Its your Xanga, you’re supposed to have some sort of freedom to express your views..otherwise..what is the point in there *being* a Xanga?

    This is a journal/board..not a police academy. For the people, not running them ragged. I have no problem with 13 year olds posting..just make them fill out a parental consent thingy like is the norm. Real easy fix..without squelching on anyone else and un-necessarily wasting alot of time, money, and effort. :p

  • i understand what you’re trying to do, and some of these are very good and useful flags… but come on… “too much personal info”… what is that shit? what happens if i post something on my site saying that i want to go take a dump in my hand. is this now a bad thing to do? to declare bodily function in front of others means that i should be silenced? this makes no sense to me. uh oh, i have intense BO and i smell like sweat after a hardcore workout. i’m feeling pretty funky! better shut me up so i can’t mentally ruin anyone by saying these harmful and excessively personal things!
    things like hate sites… i understand these can be very nasty and the people on them are usually incredibly closed-minded, but isn’t it their right to be so? i do not condone nor support attitudes such as that, but to censor them is just as closed-minded as for them to post their opinions as well. also, i’m pretty sure that according to federal law, as long as you’re not enciting rioting or harm to others or their property, you’re allowed to protest peacefully and voice your opinions in those manners. … do you mean to say that you’re above federal law by making up these rules?
    anyway, keep it up xanga! censor these socially unacceptable words, because isnt that what we should all do? silence those who aren’t just like everyone else in every way? kudos xanga, for making personal expression in cyberspace a more single-minded past time for us all.

  • This whole thing is getting rediculous. Why don’t you just shut the whole thing down

  • add

  • flags suck!

  • Is there going to be a category for language abuse?

    I think we should flag & shut down everyone who misspells “definitely”.

    Ever heard of ‘flashmobs’? Aren’t you afraid that Flagmobbing will be the new trend here?…

    (Remember that phrase – you’ll be hearing it more often!)

  • You know…it’s a funny thing about these “flags” and “censorship”.

    Too many people seem to think that the world web web is owned by the United States of America, and, I’m very happy to report, that it is not. The United States’ constitutional amendments hold absolutely no athourity over what Xanga permits on their website, so complaining and ranting about your “constitutional rights” holds no purpose in this arguement.

  • Good then censorship has no authority on the internet. Glad you made that clear to us.

  • waiting to see what more will be said about this…

    all of xanga is in an uproar! we feel this threatens our freedom of speech and expression and feel it will be terribly misused…

  • So how exactly is this flagging going to work? All that is here is what types of flags there will be but no mention of any sort of penalties, how many flags one can get before something happens, that sort of thing. And how are you going to prevent “false flagging” of a site – i.e. where someone had a vendetta against another user and gets a few buddies to put flags on the site. Who will review the flags and make the call?

    And who will decide about how one site is advocating breaking the law or posting too much personal info, and really narrowing down the really vauge and braod-scoped flags? I’d like to see these questions answered before this system is put into place.

  • My friend (id kenma1234) was block the xanga account…but MARY said that they can’t restore ken’s account…

    but ken has sent a email to you and mary…he just want to have his id:kenma1234 and tell you please delete his account,let him can open a new account and use kenma1234 this id name…

    however ,he has waited about one mounth…CAN YOU HELP HIM?! HE just want to have the id:kenma1234…if you don’t delete his old account,how can he use the new account(id:kenma1234)???

    PLEASE HELP THANKS YOU!!!

  • i dont agree with the flagging i think you will olsse alot of your customers and every1 has a right of freedom of speech it hoes against the 1st amendment

  • thats awesome!!!!

  • thanks

  • thanks

  • nice

  • worst idea ever dont use flags!

  • worst idea ever dont use flags!

  • its actually a really good idea, because sadly most people cant protect themselves from things online and its great that xanga is stepping up :)

  • p.s. if you want “freedom of speech” buy your own website.

  • What if you get falsely flagged!?

    I just thought of that today.

  • considering all the implications (like the revealing of the attack on the high school through myspace), i applaud this effort in the attempt of trying to keep things safer. nevertheless, it potentially maintains only the cleanliness of the site.. if you think about the psychological benefits of having an “outlet” of sorts, then by deleting posts or shutting down xangas of people with “issues” you might create a situation where the person might be more inclined to do harm (to either themselves or others) because they have no outlet. i agree with the flags for fraud and offensive content, but i hope that we don’t delete/block those who violate “safety”. honestly, without the “lack” of security on myspace, law enforcement wouldn’t have been alerted to the threat to that high school, which would have resulted in another columbine incident. maybe a “behind the doors” watch by xanga on these people would be better, in case something potentially dangerous pops up, and then we can do something about it.

    a good effort to make the internet a safer and more responsible forum. i’m way too young to have kids, but considering the direction this is moving, when (if) i do, i will feel better knowing that there are people watching out for them, especially at the times when i can’t monitor them directly.

  • great idea

  • what are the flags for? i read but im still lost! maybe bc im tired, but could you explain a little bit more?! please and much thanks.

    maxine

  • I think the flags are going to alienate a large portion of the Xanga population who simply wants an outlet to speak freely. Uptight, close-minded people WILL use this as a way to target things that aren’t necessarily bad or wrong, but that they disapprove of. And since the definitions of adult content are so loose, there’s even more room for finger-pointing and misinterpretation.

    Xanga comes up with some really great ideas and additions, but this is not one of them. I’ve been with you guys for over 5 years and I’m sick at the thought of leaving, but if (or should I say when) the flag-nazis start getting out of control, I’ll have to close my premium account and go somewhere else where I’m still free to speak my mind.

  • What happens if someone does get flagged? Does their account get closed immediately? Do they get warned? I don’t want some uptight jerk to flag me without me having an opportunity to respond and/or fix my site.

  • I think you’ve cut off your own nose to save your face. I can’t see how in the long run this flagging won’t become abused and overused. Flagging to report impersonation or malicious content? What about when these petty childish games (activities popular with members who are far too young to be using this site in the first place and should have their parents controlling their internet usage, to the web service) move from simply putting up bogus sites about someone you hate to simply flagging someone you don’t like?

    I and my other friends are constantly attacked by religious blog members who disagree with our blog rings and ideas. They often comment to us, quarrel, etc. It is their right. What happens when that someone now has the power to flag and censor my site? Should I flag them in return simply because they chose to comment (though annoying) on my site against my views? At what point do you (or anyone) have the right to say what correct content is and what isn’t? Of course you shouldn’t allow child molesting pigs on here, but have you been failing miserably in your pursuit and handling of these situations before? I have never seen impersonating pages last longer then a few days.

    I know this is your site to run as you see fit, but please. I fear you are cowering to some outside pressure of concerned parents and politics. Concerned parents should be monitoring their children’s internet usage, not you. They can block this service with parental controls and allow their kids to meddle in something tepid like the repugnant MySpace.

    Please assure those of us who are multi-year members, those of us who pay for premium membership and have enjoyed and promoted this site with countless friends and family that our journals and personal freedoms will be upheld. Xanga is very dear to us, and like you, we don’t want to see it crumble to pieces.

    Thank you

  • i’ve been a member for over four years, and a premium member for more than half of that. i came to Xanga originally because i liked the layout and the ability to tweak the appearance to my liking. it allowed me many freedoms that are now being taken away. one of two things is happening:

    a) the Xanga team has decided that 13-year-olds are their target audience, or

    b) they’ve been pressured by some outside source (which would explain this growing trend amongst blogging sites to “clean them up”)

    freedom of speech, freedom of expression, creativity and the desire to be seen are four of the most fundamental traits of any blogger. Xanga needs to begin to realize that there are mature adults on this site who just want to experience those four things without some ridiculous “police” force shutting their sites down because one person with no sense of humor doesn’t like it.

    i, for one, have cancelled the rebilling of my premium site and no longer plan to be an active Xanga member.

    congrats, Xanga. one down.

    *xors

  • this is the worst idea ever.

  • Terrible. You should maybe censor the people with naked pics up and what not… but to censor people’s everyday online diaries is insulting.

  • The whole flagging idea is ABSOLUTLY HORRIBLE. Unconstitutional to say the least and just extremely dissapointing to see coming from XANGA. For many people these journals are very private and personal and will make them feel completel violated to be told they cant write exactly what they are thinking.
    Horrible idea… whoever came up with it should be reprimanded and possibly fired. Actually you all should reprimand yourselves for being talked into it.

  • I actually flagged the flagging blog as a “Hatred Site” because of the section on ‘self harm’ i feel it is showing hatred towards people with psychological disorders that causes them to do these things

  • I find this intresting.I think it is good to try to protect xangas from abuse. However, I would worry more about not putting pornagraphic or other questionable material on featured content, where more people are likely to view it. I have seen this many times. It is slightly hypocritical that you are cracking down on certain materials while featuring similar one.

    I do accept though that is was my choice to make a xanga, and that if I don’t like I can leave.

  • its realy a grate move

  • I’m all for the flags. My nieces account was just Hijacked by a boy named Danny. Xanga.com/xelectronicspeedx. He hijacked all of her accounts. Email,myspace…. etc..

    When you have had something for a couple of yrs. There should be some way to protect it when that occurs.

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