"Okay, this is too much" (The Reclusive Leftist re: Alas)

[bloom]

I haven't been reading Alas these days, either ( I got turned off when he was trying to insist that there was no vote stealing/manipulation) - but I have linked to his blog in the past - so I figured I would give you the update. I used to think it was a good feminist blog. Forget that.

From Violet Socks:

I stopped reading Alas months ago because the anti-feminist quotient there was just too high. So I’m just now discovering what some of you may already know: Barry sold his domain to a pornographer, so now his blog is hosted alongside hard-core porn reviews. The deal is that the huge traffic to Alas — feminist traffic, generated by people who have built up that readership over years — drives up the search engine rankings for the pornographer. (Heart has a fuller explanation of the deal.)

Barry didn’t bother to tell any of his readers about this until someone discovered the links and asked him what the fuck was going on. Even now I’m not sure most of his readers are aware of it, since Barry’s explanatory post didn’t allow comments and so rapidly sank to the bottom of the list.

I think this is absolutely vile.

Some people are drawing a connection between this and Playboy’s recent endorsement of Pandagon, which is understandable given the timing. It’s like the porn Borg ship has arrived and is assimilating the feminist blogworld. But Pandagon didn’t solicit the Playboy endorsement — that’s kind of an important point. And Amanda’s flippant response, while not exactly the anti-Playboy manifesto I might wish, is nevertheless in keeping with her stated opinions and longstanding persona.

This thing with Alas, though…this is sneaky. Back-door selling out to pornographers. All those feminist women posting to Alas, all engaging in heartfelt discussion…while unbeknownst to them, every bit of their traffic is driving up the business for exactly the kind of hard-core pornography that many of them have spent their lives opposing....

http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/?p=411

[mongo]

1. From the owner of the blog

I was assured by the buyer that he would never host porn sites on “amptoons.com.” And I wrote into the contract that his link on “Alas” could never be a direct link to a porn site. But beyond that, I have no ability to control what the buyer does with his pages - the deal is that he has absolutely no say in what’s on “Alas,” but we also agreed that I have no say over what he does with his own property. And - as a couple of “Alas” readers have noticed - some pages I don’t own include links to porn.

Edited to add: A couple of readers have speculated that I didn’t know that the new owner would link to porn on his pages. That’s not true; I kept the links off of “Alas,” but I knew that he would be putting links to porn on his own pages.

I’m essentially in the same position as someone with a blog on “blogspot.com” - I don’t own the domain, and although I control what’s on my own blog, I don’t have any say over what’s posted on the domain other than my little piece of it.

I realize that some “Alas” readers will feel that I’ve sold out, or that this puts me beyond the pale. I’m genuinely sorry for that. For the record, I don’t feel I’ve been victimized (as one person suggested in email), nor do I feel like I’m a total sell-out. What I feel is this: I’ve made a compromise, one that I probably wouldn’t have made in a perfect world.

http://amptoons.com/blog/

For the record I couldn't even FIND the link to the pages that actually link to porn sites on the blog. But even "Dr. Socks" admits the truth in the comments section of the entry the OP links to -- contradicting the Barry sold his domain to a pornographer, so now his blog is hosted alongside hard-core porn reviews. hyperbole that is quoted above:

Violet says:

Hugo, there aren’t actual ads on the blog. There’s a link to “review software,” which takes you to a page of porn links. This seems bizarre until you realize that amptoons is a very highly ranked domain, so links off of it go to the top of search engines. That’s why the pornographer bought the domain from Barry, so he could feed off of Alas’s traffic.

Of course, the delicious irony in all this is that Dr. Socks and all the other "feminist" blogs that have exposed this travesty, and by Bloom posting it here on DU, ONLY DRIVES UP TRAFFIC TO THE SITE, and therefore helps the bad, bad pornographer! :rofl:

[bloom]

2. It's all about whether you want to be part of problem...

or part of the solution.

And it's about honesty. If Alas gets traffic from porn-supporters - then at least those people are choosing that.

I'm not saying that nobody should go there - but there are feminists who don't want to support porn - and it's for them that I posted this.

Not for you. Nor do I expect you to care about women's rights. (Of course it would be nice if you did - I just don't EXPECT you too - people have to be realistic, after all.)

[mongo]

3. If it's about honesty

Then why are all the "feminist" blogs full of overblown, exagerated and untrue claims like:

Barry sold his domain to a pornographer, so now his blog is hosted alongside hard-core porn reviews.

http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/?p=411

Which is of course the part YOU posted -- I'll assume you read the whole thing. What was the impression you were trying to give?

Some more examples:

What kind of pages do you think you might be directed to if you click on that link on the front page of the blog?

http://witchywoo.wordpress.com/2006/10/10/fuckery-and-betrayal/

I am completely fired up over Amp having sold his website, Amptoons, long identified as a feminist website, for cash. The ultimate purchaser of the site has now created a page featuring links to reviews of hardcore misogynist, racist, and teen pornography, including photos.

http://womensspace.wordpress.com/2006/10/08/the-revolution-will-be-commodified-alternatives-to-selling-feminist-websites-and-blogs-to-the-man/

NO. On the blog itself -- there was a link entitled "software reviews" -- and that pages listed a handful of rather innocent keywords (for porn, anyway) like Teen, Amateur, etc - which linked to the new owners adult sites.

And Bloom -- can YOU EVEN FIND THE LINK? I couldn't.

Not for you. Nor do I expect you to care about women's rights. (Of course it would be nice if you did - I just don't EXPECT you too - people have to be realistic, after all.)

I care a lot about women's rights and the women in my life -- what I don't care for is the handful of DU'ers who have a litmus test for "feminism" that includes loathing porn. And the lies and deceit that is spread by this same handful in their quest for a porn-free world.

[bloom]

4. Men who make their money from women having sex are pimps

That includes you. That includes "Ampersand". That includes a lot of people.


As far as you and "Women's Rights" - I don't see you arguing for Women's Rights in the Women's Rights section. Quite the contrary.


And I have no intention of looking for the stupid links on Alas.


I did think that there were some interesting comments at the womensspace link, however.

http://womensspace.wordpress.com/2006/10/08/the-revolution-will-be-commodified-alternatives-to-selling-feminist-websites-and-blogs-to-the-man

A blog to recommend.

http://womensspace.wordpress.com/

A post on the site today:

Amp-Gate Epilogue
October 13th, 2006 by womensspace
So, I just typed the words “Amptoons Sale” into Google. The Amptoons Review page, “Honest Reviews of Movies, Retailers, Products, and Websites, where all the misogynist, racist, lesbophobic hardcore BangBros, XXX, porn reviews are, came up as result number 11.

No matter which way anyone spins it, and the spin-meistering on the part of some is danged impressive, that is a sellout par excellence. Search for Amptoons, learn about “MILF” and teen porn and hot ethnic babes getting down and dirty. Go to Alas, see feminists defending this. Nice.

In the desperate scramble to redeem this act, some came up with the idea that this might actually be a good thing, because people who end up on this Reviews page clicking on porn links may actually end up reading about feminism. It doesn’t work that way; if you’ll take a look, there is no link to Alas on the Reviews page (although, of course, there is a link to the Reviews page from Alas.)

[mongo]

5. Well, the FIRST link that shows up in that Google search

is for the Alas blog itself. Nevermind that the amptoons review page doesn't even come up on the first page of google results.

Search for Amptoons, learn about “MILF” and teen porn and hot ethnic babes getting down and dirty.

Nevermind that if you just search for Amptoons the first link is amptoons.com, and that review page doesn't come up in the first 6 pages -- I don't even know where it would rank because that is as far as I searched. But any lie is a good lie if it supports your position.

Men who make their money from women having sex are pimps
That includes you. That includes "Ampersand". That includes a lot of people.

Well, if I have helped Jenna Jameson, Asia Carrera, Nina Hartley and others have a better lifestyle than I will ever have, so be it. Especially Nina. She's a great writer and advocate for sex worker's rights and for sex workers to unionize.

And if I'm a pimp -- what do you call people that advocate for women to NOT have the right to be employed in the career of their choice? Not exactly an advocate for women's RIGHTS in my book.

[Orrex]

6. Out of curiosity

Is it only pimping if the service performed by the worker is sex-based?

Why, for example, is it acceptable that a janitorial firm make money from services performed by its janitors? What if a person sells handicrafts manufactured by someone else? Is that pimping, too?

It can readily be argued that women are routinely victimized in the sex industry, and I don't dispute that point, even though it is also the case that noteworthy exceptions exist, too. But what if this victimization were eliminated? Would it still be pimping to profit from the industry if all employees therein were there by their own free and informed choice? Would it still be wrong?

Before I get flamed, let me state outright that this is simply a question for purposes of clarification. I accept that there may indeed be a difference, but I would like to see that difference articulated, because I think that it would clarify the discussion.