Facebook tells Viz to f**k right off Facebook has "unpublished" the page pertaining to legendary Brit comic Viz, citing a breach of the social network's terms and community standards. Viz revealed the shock news on Twitter earlier today, prompting one fan to suggest: "Couldn't you disguise yourselves by posting child pornography or right wing nut job content?" …
The Facebook Files......
aka The Definitive Reference for Politically Incorrect and Potentially Offensive Material
And no breast-feeding moms here.... no siree bob. Just good clean, mindless postings about lolcat behavior and this morning's hangover. Apply antiseptic as needed....
With such a publication one can expand the knowledge of ones colleagues in a "learning at work" way. Simply email them a page, column and entry number, specifying an definition which they then have to read, comprehend and appreciate. They may express voluble surprise at what they have learned. They in turn can respond in a similar manner.
Thus all can improve their understanding of this rich language.
Asses like Zuckerbag and the whole miserable bunch of corporate foam whippers will dictate what's acceptable with some bullshit small print.
Hail the new overlards.
Their cleansing away of your free speech is just as distasteful as their plans to cleanse away Arabs, Muslims, Russians, Mexicans, Migrants (what a fantastic word to stigmatize someone who moved from somewhere to somewhere else) and of course the increasing amounts of newly poor Americans and Europeans who refuse to return to the peasant status of their forefathers.
"And therein lies the danger of Facebook, aka, just another walled garden."
Did anyone seriously believe otherwise? You can perhaps excuse naive teenagers for believing the whole hippie glorious new future without frontiers or rules schtick applied to the web & internet in general, but shame on any adult who was taken in. Companies website - companies rules. Simple.
I agree that it can be somewhat uneven, but it was always hit and miss. Some of the older strips were very thin and contrived - swearing vicar, swearing postman, not really comically developed :)
Many of the old favourites live on, and some of the slightly newer stuff like Drunken Bakers is splendid comic pathos. Profanisaurous has gone on too long, but still contains the occasional gem. Read some of the earlier comics (in the issue 30's ish range, maybe) and there wasn't really a golden age
'Black Bob' was Dandy. My 12 year old son loves the old Beano's and Dandy's - realises that new ones are a rip off and crap so we often have fun searchign charity shops for piles of old comics. The great thing is that he will 'understand' viz strips like 'Black Bag' when I eventually introduce Viz to him. I have a huge pile in the loft, ready for his enjoyment!
Hit and miss, yes very much so, but more or less very issue still contains some real quality.
This month there's a "Things you will see in the Gym" double page spread. I defy anyone to read down that with a straight face.
Likewise the day in the life of a fireman
http://viz.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/012_viz156_fireman.jpg
or Trainspotter Situations Vacant
http://viz.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/train-spotter.jpg
Didn't they once do a strip called something like 'DC Thompson, the miserable Scottish bastard' after being taken to court for ripping off dc Thompson characters from beano and dandy?
Mr Logic was a favourite of mine, possibly because it struck a little too close to home! El Reg should have him as an icon for excessive pedantry.
>Didn't they once do a strip called something like 'DC Thompson, the miserable Scottish bastard' after being taken to court for ripping off dc Thompson characters from beano and dandy?
I think it was DC McThompson, from memory. Ironically, they're now doing data centres and cloud computing, so there's another IT angle. Dennis the Menace, thanks to his lack of interest in paying attention at school, now spends his time putting cardboard boxes and polystyrene into the skips out the back, and occasionally keying Walter's Merc.
Occasional gems such as this and the ever reliable Top Tips keep me subscribing.
At the risk of sounding like a candidate for another magazine's "Pseuds' Corner", I've always thought that; as well as [on occasion still] being good crack, Viz as a whole is also a very good barometer of 'real' contemporary British society
I only wish I could persuade the Arts Council to fund my learnēd thesis on the subject.
I'd be quite interested in seeing some of the websites that radicalise people and turn them into religious zealots. From what the 'news' tell us they seem to be optical heroin; one look and you're hooked.
I can't though, because if I look for these websites I'll be investigated to the full extent of the law (and beyond!) and end up in a foul-smelling prison cell.
You're free to think what you like as long as it's been approved first.
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>For me it's any time I need to deal with a bank and have to do all that prove-your-identity / know-your-customer crap to prove that you aren't a terrorist
I always enjoy the sport of getting organisations to prove their identity to me when they ring. Their agents always claim to have no access to the information I request. It's a great sport.
"
For me it's any time I need to deal with a bank and have to do all that prove-your-identity / know-your-customer crap to prove that you aren't a terrorist
"
Banks could save a lot of time by simply providing the customer with a mirror. That way the customer can quickly check that it's really them and not a case of identity theft.
>Newflash - Facebook isn't a public service. Its a company that wants to turn a profit and it can set any rules it likes when you use its services. More fool you if you thought otherwise.
Absolutely. But if Facebook's existence is a de facto barrier to an alternative service (one that that just does what its users want, for a couple of quid a year), is there not grounds for banning it? I mean, can't we just be naive and ask our elected representatives to do what they are supposed to i.e act in our interests?
(Game theory: In some games, being the first to move gives a player an unassailable advantage. Take eBay as an example - once established, it will be the first choice of any self-interested buyer or seller)
"Sad but the Puritans rule the roost in the Politically Correct USofA."
Yeah, it does seem a little odd. Kids seem to be brought up on a regular diet of blood, gore and violence which, on TV, seems to be getting more and more extreme every year, but say "fuck" or flash a nipple and it's all righteous outrage.
Now, I do admit I formed this opinion by watching US TV shows and Hollywood fillums so I could be mistaken.
But that article on the Tandy 102... and running into 80s guy on the tube this morning (douche-bag moustache, red plastic glasses, random straight-edged shapes in day-glo pattern on his baseball cap, woollen trousers flecked with coloured disco threads, bomber jacket, red Coke t-shirt, leather satchel - has anyone else seen him?)
I'm coming over all wibbly-wobbly...
Or fnar fnar Finbarr. He who hears double entendres in everyday speech, yet can't understand the most obvious illusions to sex.
It must be Finbarr Saunders who moderates the comical, yet sees nothing out of sorts with be-headings.
I wonder if a dozen or so complainants could get religion banned in favour of a more kindly and agreeable world?
'cos when someone professes a profound hatred of comedic foreplay, yet offers up no opinion to chainsaw murder videos, you know you're dealing with a nut warped by religious indoctrination.
". Perhaps it was just that people complained?"
If only that was effective against homeopaths and the chemtrail loons, it might be worth losing Viz for.
Possibly having as it were gotten away with being a close to the knuckle up to now, they included something that got noticed as being a bit too strong.
meanwhile, the pages I report for spamming my timeline remain up as they aren't in violation nor are the pages/posts that;
1. {picture of sad or ill child} - don't scroll without typing Amen
2. {picture of something} - type WOW to see what happens...
3. Something random, incorrect fact about migration/homeless soldiers...
4. Something about not sharing and dying if not sharing a spammy post.
*sigh*
We have a growing problem at the UEA here in Norwich whereby a small group of students have taken upon themselves to become the thought police and ban anything that may offend (them) or have a differing opinion to theirs (cos at 19 you know oh so much). Anything controversial or thought provoking that could be up for worthy discussion is just banned or told not to turn up.
Kids really are getting more and more stupid.
funny enough there was a story on Radio 5 Live this morning about this. How the NUS are taking upon themselves to ban things they don't like from Campus, now who'd of thought that!
now the thing about the NUS is they claim to represent views of students (here's news for you NUS) you don't! The claim that you always bring out of having so many members so therefore so much support of your narrow minded views is only because students basically have to be a member to get in to the bar, they don't give a shit about the NUS.
Wasn't it for remarks about transgendered people, don't get me wrong I think she should not be banned, debates more productive. But the wrong kind of feminist, not what it was about it seems.
Her views on transgendered people are not as uncommon among feminists as you or I might like. More right-minded feminists use the acronym TERF to describe it. Transgender excluding radical feminist.
Kids are not getting more stupid, we are getting older and grumpier and choosing something to be pissed off about from a report in the news or because of a small amount of outspoken people. Bet you most students don't give a shit either way.
Anyway being young is the time you get to act like a fuckwit, growing up is for later.
I listen to it regularly, there are one or two occasions where I've been at a loss if I should laugh or cry at some of the idiocy spouted by the radical feminists they occasionally host but in general it's a pretty balanced and interesting program.
It's always crashingly middle class though, so perfect for the ultra socialist offpsring of middle class couples to rebel against.
"It's always crashingly middle class though, so perfect for the ultra socialist offpsring of middle class couples to rebel against."
Actually, recent research (based on MRIs of test subjects shown "offensive" imagery) has identified a link (which is c. 94% accurate in predicting voting decision/political bias) between how easily offended you are and your likelihood to vote Conservative/Republican/Right of Centre.
>>>I don't. I've listened to it, and its far from man-hate Millie Tant propaganda.
I have and it is. Not as brutal or obvious as Millie Tant but instead served up with lentil soup, herbal tea, yoga and a rolled up copy of the Grauniad.
More Cressida Wright-Pratt from Modern Parents than Millie Tant.
"We have a growing problem at the UEA here in Norwich whereby a small group of students have taken upon themselves to become the thought police"
At Lancaster in the 1970's we had an effective answer to people like that. We kicked shit out of them
Worth noting a lot of Student Unions have voted against the NUS especially on this No Platform thing. When I was a student the only reason we joined the NUS was for discounts, your local students union runs the bar so you do not even need it for that.
Back in the 80s at my university there was a push from some within the Student Association to join the NUS. Many students were sceptical (that the university leant heavily towards engineering and sciences may have meant that the students were mostly judgemental introverts on the Myers Brigg scale. That they were also 90% male may also have had something to do with it) that there were benefits to be had over the discounted beer we already had.
An attempt to "ban" News International's titles from the student-run shop because of whatever stupidity The Sun had done most recently didn't get far but I don't think the free copies of a redtop handed out by attractive young women actually swung it - the voters were just exhibiting the reactionary tendency of the young.
It was after my time when, the university having absorbed an arts college, that there was sufficient student mass with an inclination to pass a vote to join the NUS.
So....
Extremely violent videos and other abusive stuff = OK
A bit of boob, or slightly risque pictures and excerpts from a smutty comic = not OK.
Ah! The joys of American morality being foisted on the world.
Sorry to the silent majority of Americans who are as exasperated with this state of affairs.
I sat there once for 15 mins laughing my arse off after reading a Fruity Bun the Baker strip to the point where I had to lie down for 30 mins 'cos I had a headache and my middle hurt so much from laughing! Pure genius!
I have every single Viz annual right from the very first Summer annual they released back when I was at school in the late '80s. It's now a standard Xmas present, that I get the Viz annual every year. They're all in pristine condition on a shelf.
I seem to remember when I "closed" my FB account they helpfully told me they'd hang onto all the data in the account just in case I changed my mind. Well I haven't and won't.
If I'd known posting something humorous could get it wiped properly I'd have done that.
Yeah, no.
You deactivated your account, you need the difficult to find 'delete my account' page.
Helpful link:
https://en-gb.facebook.com/help/125338004213029
Aftyer 90 days they only retain log data and things that are held external to your account, all your personal pics, etc. are deleted.
They will delete it completely.... you can either "deactivate" or "delete" you are in current state of "deactivated" its invisible to all but FB computers; were you to decide to reactivate it you would find it exactly as you left it, if you see what I mean. If you delete it , its gone. Well that's what they say anyway.
"The page belonging to Viz is absolutely disgusting and should be taken down"
"Thank you for highlighting this. We'll take the appropriate action immediately"
"And what might that be?"
"Well, in this instance, we believe the best course of action is to block you from viewing the Viz page ever again."
"I'm sorry, you're not going to block them, but instead block me?"
"Well yes. Viz has had one hundred million hits, and only twelve people have made a complaint, so, we have come to the conclusion that it is best to censure the viewing options for the few, rather than spoil things for one hundred million people."
"That is totally outrageous. Your organisation is helping to peddle filth and should be shut down"
"Ahem, Yes, Thank you for highlighting this. We'll take the appropriate action immediately"
"Hello? ......Hello!........"
A brilliant concept. I would, however expand on it a little.
Some sites, most notably Reddit, have a practice called "shadowbanning." When a user is shadowbanned, they can still post, see all their own posts, and read and reply to others' posts - but nobody else can see their posts. So they continue posting away, blissfully unaware that they've been moderated out of existence and the rest of the community can no longer see their drivel.
My proposed expansion to your concept is a kind of "inverse shadowban." When some moralising SJW complains about a Facebook page, Facebook responds by replacing that page, only for that user, with a "This page has been unpublished due to offensive content" message - conveying the impression that the page has been censored for everyone else as well, when in fact it hasn't been. Thereafter, whenever said sanctimonious SJW hand-wringer returns to check that their word has been carried out, they see the "page unpublished" message and can brush their hands in self-righteous smugness, secure in the knowledge that their orthodox morality has prevailed over the world. Meanwhile you and I and everyone else get to see the page unimpeded.
In anticipation of the problem that their SJW friends who have not yet complained might see the uncensored page and spill the beans, this is where Facebook's profiling analytics comes in. SJWs operate in gangs; when one complains about something offensive, all their friends climb on the bandwagon to add their rants as well. This makes their behaviour easily predictable by even a base-level AI. So when an SJW complains about a page, the AI maps all of their friends who have posted in support of them before, and inverse-shadowbans the page for all of them - giving them the false impression that their social-justice vigilanteism has had the desired effect!
@Steven Roper
What you describe is likely to act as a virulent viral cancer, as various features and mechanisms in place within Fb will operate so as to encourage others intent on blotting out reality to 'give it a try'. It could easily put every Fb user, or clusters of Fb users, in their own virtual, walled-unreality. And there would be no one the wiser. Good thinking, but the devil's in the details. How to get the ball rolling? Do you think you're up to being the Anti-Zuck? If not, ... anyone you can recommend?
A terrible decision. Viz is very informative. I remember one letter they printed sometime in the 1980s where a reader had determined that 'a watched kettle boils in exactly the same amount of time as one that isn't watched'. I note that more recently another researcher was able to extend the research further.
It's that kind of research and dedication to the truth that has made Britain what it is today :)
Oh, how true, AndrueC. I remember informing my First Aid class only a couple of years ago on how to deal with a stab/gun shot wound to the chest. Basically place the patient on the side with the wound. This way only one lung fills up with blood.
The teacher and the rest of my co-learners were very impressed, but I think I lost all kudos when I mentioned it was gleaned from the letters page of Viz, some ten years earlier.
I'm thinking of moving to New York to increase the chances of the headline:- Viz saved my life.
The comments here are weird. They're responding to this news as though Viz is closing down. But surely Viz stands for everything Facebook isn't, and arguably didn't need to be there in the first place.
This is more of 'Viz sends up facebook by making it block them'. It's on a par with 'rough weather in the channel - europe cut off'.
It's the Streisand effect - by blocking Viz, Faecesbook have given them more free publicity than they ever could have dreamed of. It's all over the papers and the online news sites.
Viz must be creaming in their pants right now. Either that, or they're in the pub celebrating. Or both.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect
I've not read Viz in a very, very long time... but from the late 80's through the 90's I or friends would often pick up a copy.
We even contributed slang words to them on more than one occasion... with many of them referring to a ladies front bum*. :)
*I used the term 'front bum' because I wasn't sure if El Reg would let me use the word 'cunt'
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It says something about Viz when there are 3 pages of comments, masses of up votes and only half a dozen or so have down votes ...
New strip based on the Keystone Cops perhaps? Ze Farce Book Polizi and zer Uncontrollable Truncheons? Commandant Zucker the Sucker? If not, I'm sure there will be a plethera of facist knob gags to be had over the next few episodes ...
Excuse me. You're not allowed to say that you're not allowed to say what you think. If you were allowed to say that you're not allowed to say what you think then people would know that you were thinking something that you aren't allowed to say, and we don't want people thinking that, do we?
When old Suctionburger feels a need to ban something, he could try banning all those sad, sad puppies who believe they have several hundred friends, from his site. Clearly delusional they should seek serious help, but I suspect Suctionpumpburger gets revenue from those SP's ( SP's means Sad puppies, I'm throwing it into the arena as the next 'On fire' abbrevo to get thrown around Twatter and Suckface - it is an open source abbrevo so please feel free to modify it but please make sure the source code is available for those who may want to re-code or modify it)
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