To all web-only series creators

[BlairFujin]

Tapas doesn't want us here

(not sure which category this would fit into)

Yesterday after updating, I noticed my comic Horny Hell

Read Horny Hell | Tapas Web Comics

is missing from fresh section on the website, something similair happened not so long to my other series

Read BDSM Boys | Tapas Web Comics

in February
https://forums.tapas.io/t/fighting-agains-tapas-episode-i-dont-know-at-this-point-series-hidden-again/74831
kinda tired of this but I wrote a support ticket as soon as I noticed it, had to wait 24 hours and here's the response I got

Later on I checked and BDSM Boys is also now hidden, only its butchered, app-safe version being left among bl comics
So, looks like if your series is web only, now its shadowbanned and (especially if you were dumb enough like me and chose a title that site let you but is filtered out by tapas secret mature words search filter) can only be reached by your readers and people you bring in yourself from outside of the site.

I'm so pissed and tired at this point...

UPDATE

[Fuzzyman818]

This makes me kind of worried about my new series because it's going to feature some mature themes but it's not going to be sexual. Does that mean that that would be shadow banned as well?

[BlairFujin]

If it's too mature for apple, then yes

[joannekwan]

Not necessarily. Mature themes are still allowed, but anything overtly sexual will have to be modified. The best you can do is post it, and if there are any issues, the Tapas moderation team will reach out to you and suggest edits to amend your series to be available on the app.

[Fuzzyman818]

So what exactly do you mean by overtly sexual? If it's a sex scene, then I can understand that but what if it's someone dressed up in reveling clothing?

[joannekwan]

That's fine.
So long as you aren't playing up the eroticism, it should be all right, especially if nipples and genitalia are covered by clothing or censor bars.

[joannekwan]

My series Heavy Horns is technically only available on the browser, but I found that if the series name is included as a tag, it can still show up in the app search. It won't appear under Comics/Novel or People, but it will show under Tags!

And when you click on it in app, it will show that it's a browser only series unless you've already subscribed to it.

[Fuzzyman818]

Is there a way to show the moderators your comic before you publish it so it can be reviewed?

[BoomerZ]

Not to rub salt into this wound, but what did you think was going to happen on a kids friendly webcomic app? The tapas team can be a little enthusiastic about censoring stuff, but your titles seem to rely on the fact that it's sexual. Just saying maybe other sites would more suit what you wanna post.

[joannekwan]

You could ask here on the forum! This place has lots of experienced creators, including myself, that can tell you if your work will likely be acceptable.

[BlairFujin]

Sorry for starting to post here years before this nonsensical apple's crusade against anything inappropriate for a preschooler started and for posting stuff like the comics that brought me to the platform in the first place
Both have been fine on the website for years

[Kelheor]

Tapas itself had a whole part of the side dedicated to purely sexual titles and they are also bringing it back?

[joannekwan]

The problem is that things change. I'm sure Tapas would love to have the freedom it did for its app years ago, but unfortunately Apple decided to crack down.

We as creators have little choice but to adapt or move on. And a lot of people have moved on from this site/app for various reasons. But do what's best for yourself and your work. Sad to say it, but there's little we can do to change things from the ground level.

[BlairFujin]

Well, mature section is still there

the one with only their premium series...

[BlairFujin]

Is it also apple that made them link all searchability on website to the mobile app?
I don't care about the app, I despise mobile apps (especially those that are just web browsers limited to a single site) and just wished I wouldn't be actively kicked out of a space that apple has nothing to do with
Or at least to be told straight to my face that I should just leave instead of getting stabbed in the back.

[BoomerZ]

You have to look at it this way: what rating would you give your comics as if it was a movie. Do you think pg (nope), pg-13 (would a teenager be ok seeing it ) or R (for mature audience or with parent approval) Obviously its not nc-17 or X as it wouldn't be here. Would you be ok if a 10 year old was reading your comics? How about 16? If there is any question that a 13 year old shouldn't read your comic, it shouldn't be here (on the app at least, but I would say the site as a whole). Just by your name of the comics, I would say it's a 18+ comics and that is who you are targeting it for. Otherwise why would you name it that? You are looking for a sexualized content. Don't act like this came out of the blue.

[IndigoShirtProd]

It seems like this is how the cookie will continue to crumble going forward on the internet. In a business sense, you want traffic to your site, but as it grows you need capital to keep it going. If you want maintain a platform, you need sponsors and advertisers and money from the user base. And if you want to maintain that, there are companies gate keeping access to a wide audience because they are also beholden to what advertisers are willing to pay for. So people making NSFW content are kind of shoved to the margins and forced to fend for themselves. Sorry there isn't much in the way of change available, unless every app in the app store picked up and moved to an all new platform, but the result may be the same.

[BlairFujin]

Then why allow mature content at all? I've already been censoring both comics to meet website's standards and each page containing sexual content is marked as mature with a big warning from tapas.
Why tapas can't be opaque about what is allowed and what is not, why wasn't there any announcement about it, no message from staff, just boom, series hidden. That's my problem.

[BoomerZ]

I completely understand, my comic has been hit twice for Mature content. My comic is in no was sexualized. I just got an email saying I had to change some stuff, mostly very minor that had no impact on the story. This while I have a pg-13 warning in the description of the story. It could have happen now as someone reported you finally, as I don't think Tapas has the staff to read anything themselves. My story was 35 episodes in before I got the first notice. Now I am no where as big as you in audience, but even at your sub level, you might still not warrant their attention until someone read and reported you.

[joannekwan]

I'm unsure why app search is directly linked to website search. I can ask about it but can't guarantee an answer.

As for this

Why tapas can't be opaque about what is allowed and what is not, why wasn't there any announcement about it, no message from staff, just boom, series hidden. That's my problem.

It's difficult for Tapas to be cut and dry about what exactly is allowed or isn't allowed since there can be so much nuance in art. A simple example would be comparing a nude greco-roman statue to a nude character in a hentai show: both are nude, but depicted in wildly different ways.

They also don't want to be clear cut because app stores can change their policies any time. Not too long ago, happy trails were allowed to be shown in comics (on site and in app), but then Apple decided they count as pubic hair and disallowed them.