I have seen a lot of talk these days about what is wrong in the world. While there are a lot of terrible people out there, from terrorists to child molesters, it seems that many times adult Webmasters and those involved in the industry get lumped in with the rest of the "bad apples."
I guess what we do for a living makes us pretty easy targets, but I would really appreciate it if the 'finger pointers' would take a bit of time to actually look at and into the industry to see what we are all about, before the stone throwing starts.
It seems that whenever a child porn site is busted, everyone starts in with the whole porn business; as a whole, it is a terrible slant, which cannot be farther from the truth. Who is the frontline of defense against this horrible practice, but the adult Webmaster? Who is in some ways closer to it and more likely to discover it? And who is the first person to report it and make sure it gets shut down as fast as possible? Us, the adult Webmasters.
We are the guardians of the internet in many ways. We do our best to make it safe for everyone, since every single diddler makes it harder and harder for us. We are the ones who fight for freedom of speech, the ones who do our damndest to make sure that you can say and do what you want online, with obvious exceptions.
We have also pioneered almost every new web technology, from e-commerce to streaming media, we made purchasing online possible. And even in some way, we are the ones behind Napster and the like. If you like being able to listen to music, purchase CDs, watch movie trailers, etc., then you have the online adult industry to thank.
Who came up with the idea of AVS programs to keep porn away from your children? Again, the adult community. While it has now grown into a money making operation, that does not stop the fact that it began to protect both minors and the Webmasters who had adult material. Same with credit cards as proof of age. If you think this does not work, or have other issues with it, check the fine print on many a credit card — they explicitly state that while you must be 18 to have one of their cards, they will not stand behind them as proof of age. Who's pulling the fast one and protecting their ass here?
Who is behind a lot of the security — the password protection systems to keep unwanted and unverified eyes from seeing adult material? Who has worked long and hard to keep copyrighted material from being stolen and thus robbing businesses of their right to get paid for their work? Again, the same industry that gets slammed all the time. Secure member's areas prevent unverified people, such as your children, from viewing pornographic material. They also protect the material created by content producers from being stolen and redistributed, thus lowering the values of their work. What do they know about our industry, how can they know it any better than those of us who work in it every day?
And we are the first to go after someone we see using copyrighted works that they have no right to, shutting them down and reporting them to the right's holder. We are our own police, we do a much better job of protecting ourselves, you and your families, as well as the other business in this industry, than any set of governmental regulations.
Why is it that power hungry politicians feel the need to step in and make their presence known? What do they know about our industry, how can they know it any better than those of us who work in it every day? This is why we have to be ever more vigilant, on the watch for any sort of misuse, to show that we can regulate ourselves better than any set of legislated rules can.
So, hold your head high. You are not simply a purveyor of smut, you are a member of an elite and proud group, standing tall for the common man, his family and his rights. And your own.
