Front-page Shop Items

We respectfully disagree. Every hentai item we have seen listed on the front page has been censored in an appropriate manner, i.e. - all female nipples and genitalia are covered. While this leaves little to the imagination, the items ARE up for sale and need to be shown in order to be sold. Just because the seller is listing hentai items, should they receive less exposure for their items? What if they were selling a nude henshin cel or a bank cel that happens to be missing the clothing layer? There has been a trend in anime shown on television in Japan in recent years to include more and more uncensored nudity in the shows. (We're talking about non-hentai shows that are aired during normal viewing hours here... and not just the ecchi stuff, either.) The Japanese culture is evolving and, since we're talking about a site dedicated to a part of that culture, shouldn't we be trying to evolve our sensibilities as well? Parental controls are always an option for those who would like to prevent their children from viewing any form of nudity. And let's not even get into the debate of whether one should be accessing RS at work or not.

I don't really think henshin cels or bank cels are that comparable to hentai cels. Let's make a distinction because those scenes henshin/bank are either not as detailed and/or "obstructed"... Censoring genitalia or erotic parts are good but there is also a difference in activity/purpose and unlike hentai cels they do not show copulation or act of (or even petting for that matter). I don't think it's as black and white. With regards to exposure, I dont' really think it's a form of discrimination if RS provides a space specifically for hentai material. In other websites that has adult material usually there is a disclaimer and those material is in a separate section (unless the entire site is about adult/hentai). In fact it would be easier for hentai collectors to find it in a different category than just browsing through all the "other" cels. I'm not sure but I do believe hentai collecting is a niche and those who collect them typically know where to look and what to look for, in the adult section or hentai section. If there was no section in RS then such cels would just be lost (like most other series) in the "others" category. So there is a bit of sense separating it.

As for evolving our sensibilities due to Japan's evolving culture, one must take into account other cultures as well. Since RS is a public site that caters to a wide range of collectors and visitors it should also take into consideration those visitors and not just the Japanese. Besides I don't think all Japanese are as "evolved", some may be conservative too. As for the children, unlike our televisions parents can't just turn on the v-chip for parental control a level of cooperation with the website/webmaster is needed. Plus a lot of children is interested in anime and it would be shame to deny those underage access to RS because a website cannot properly categorize it's content. I don't have kids but I love them and I love anime and I think those things are great together!

Whether or not one should be accessing RS at work isn't the question... The fact is many do for many reasons. I myself can't help look once in a while. It would be nice if RS was work safe but that would be a bonus (at work I mean).

These are just my thoughts I guess. Maybe I would be in the minority...

We have to agree with Miss Z on this one. While we acknowledge that perhaps folks should not be viewing Rubberslug from work, there is really no way for parents just viewing the site from home to censor JUST the hentai images displayed on the page. Parental control software merely blocks sites with known questionable content. By this rationale, anyone with children at home who hosts an RS gallery should be blocked from viewing their own gallery? This doesn't seem right. The statement that "Parental controls are always an option for those who would like to prevent their children from viewing any form of nudity" is simply incorrect and virtually impossible to implement. It makes more sense for RS to censor what is posted to the main page, not just for us, but also because I'm sure RS users would prefer that their galleries aren't labeled as "adult" or "pornographic" by these content-censoring applications. We would think that those selling hentai artwork would appreciate better exposure by having a designated hentai section in the RS shop. Let's face it, stuff in the RS shop generally sells not just from being exposed on the main RS page, but also by folks looking in the shop. What's easier: hunting through a monstrous "other" section, or going straight for a hentai section? We see nothing wrong with a designated section of the shop that isn't included in the featured shop items section on the main page. Lastly, hentai artwork collectors have long understood that what they collect is restricted to adults, and plastering it (censored or not) on a main site page for a site whose sole purpose is not to promote adult material is a bit in poor taste. Let's face it, there's a reason you are asked when you enter Mandarake's main site whether or not you wish to view adult materials. And finally, there's a big difference between the type of "nudity" depicted in transformation scenes of anime like Sailor Moon and hentai nudity as well. We'll put it this way, we don't mind seeing a nude transformation cel in that section, but seeing a cel of some random girl being f**d by a tentacle.... yeah. There's just a huge difference there -- cultural changes or not.

There have been many good points raised in this discussion. Hajimenokizu: We certainly can't disagree that a hentai-only section would be a great addition. That way, hentai items wouldn't be lost in a "monstrous "other" section". However, we honestly don't go into the RS "for sale" section unless an item that catches our eye is shown on the front page. If it isn't shown there, we likely won't see it. That being said, we are hentai collectors ourselves and we do know all the secret shady places that hentai gets hidden away in. It's not that hard to search these areas on a regular basis in order to find new items. Let's be clear, though, we are not saying we see hentai and henshin as the same thing, we were simply raising the question as collectors of both and as a potential seller. We also understand that we're dealing with a potential legal issue here, as anyone under 18 years of age probably should not be viewing, as betsuni put it, "a cel of some random girl being f**d by a tentacle...." Betsuni: We still feel that "parental control" software is an answer. While one simply cannot filter the whole internet, a parent can allow access only to certain areas of the internet that are deemed "safe" by that parent. Remember that it is still the parent's legal responsibility to monitor a minor's activities. Incidently, we do have "parental control" software installed on our own computer, and it is very customizable. We can block an entire site or a single portion of it. We can also allow access to selected sites only, effectively blocking the rest of the internet from prying eyes. Additionally, each user on the computer can have a different password-protected profile, which allows for adult users to access areas of the internet deemed unsafe for minors.

I just want to let everyone know that all of my hentai cels that are for sale were approved by a mod before I placed them for sale. I specifically asked where I should put them for sell and I merely did what I was told. On top of that, I paid for the right to sell my items in the RS shop and I think it would be completely unfair to limit my cels for sale exposure by placing them in a section that was not shown as the other items for sale are. Also, the thumbs are so small it is very difficult to see anything. And as far as the content goes I have seen several times when there is a cel of two men kissing have appeared in the RS shop. I didn't see any complaints to those sellers.

I greatly appreciate the fellow members that understand and have posted positive comments regarding this. Thank you!

And like my friend said if you buy them they won't be there anymore ^_^