Following an announcement from imgur about a change in their terms of service that amounts to a ban on sexually explicit images effective May 15, RedGIFs has issued a statement to “reaffirm our commitment to the amazing NSFW communities, creators and users here on reddit.”
“The reality is that the landscape of the internet is changing, particularly with its relationship to amateur pornography – which in turn has seen more and more companies stepping away from this perceived liability,” RedGIFs said in the statement, noting that these decisions puts their communities’ “future at risk.”
“In order to overcome this risk, the foundation has to be commitment,” the statement continues. “Commitment to the industry, its creators, its community.”
In the statement, RedGIFs adds that the “common denominator among those who have stepped away so far, is a distinct lack of (commitment).”
“Adult is too often seen as a convenient money grab; valuable, but hidden in the shadows and waiting to be ousted as soon as future business plans deem it inconvenient,” RedGIFs added. “We’d therefore like to make it abundantly clear; RedGIFs is solely committed to serving NSFW content and the adult industry. There are no ulterior motives and no future pivot plans beyond that.”
In the statement, RedGIFs also concedes that their service “as it is currently, is a far cry from being a satisfactory replacement for many of you, for the other platforms gone by,” adding that the “good news is that nobody wants that reality to change more than us.”
The statement then encourages readers to provide RedGIFs feedback on that same thread, so it can become a “community driven collection of feedback, ideas and input on how RedGIFs can evolve in order to properly serve the reddit NSFW community going forward.”
RedGIFs said it will monitor the thread and “provide replies when appropriate,” adding that they “can’t promise a reply to all comments, as the main aim for us is to collate all feedback and inform future decision making.”
You can read the full RedGIFs statement here. RedGIFs has also started a thread on Twitter concerning the announcement.
