Kickstarter just killed its new mature content rules

Kickstarter 刚刚废除了其新的成人内容规则

‘Honestly? We botched it.’ “老实说？我们搞砸了。”

Last week, we noted Kickstarter’s new content guidelines, which had some pretty weird new additions, including a prohibition on “sexual wellness products that are not designed for insertion or penetration and are not marketed primarily for sexual gratification.” Those rules have now been eliminated and the company has restored an earlier version of its guidelines. 上周，我们关注了 Kickstarter 新的内容准则，其中包含了一些非常奇怪的新增条款，包括禁止“非设计用于插入或穿透，且主要并非以性满足为营销目的的性健康产品”。目前，这些规则已被废除，公司已恢复了之前版本的准则。

In an apology letter issued today from COO Sean Leow, Kickstarter confirmed that the new rules were influenced by the payment processor Stripe: 在首席运营官 Sean Leow 今天发布的一封道歉信中，Kickstarter 证实这些新规则受到了支付处理商 Stripe 的影响：

The updates to the rules were primarily driven by requirements from our payments processor, Stripe. Stripe operates under its own legal and compliance requirements separate from Kickstarter’s own rules. And even Stripe’s rules are dictated by a larger system shaped by financial institutions that govern how money moves globally. “规则的更新主要是由于我们的支付处理商 Stripe 的要求所驱动。Stripe 在其自身的法律和合规要求下运营，这与 Kickstarter 自身的规则是分开的。甚至 Stripe 的规则也受到一个更大的系统所支配，该系统由管理全球资金流动的金融机构所塑造。”

Kickstarter says that it’s seen “a growing number of campaigns” that it approved but then got “suspended by Stripe mid-funding.” The company also says it’s “advocated for those creators directly with Stripe,” because “we believe in the work and because creators deserve to see their campaigns through.” Kickstarter 表示，它发现“越来越多的众筹项目”在获得平台批准后，却在“众筹期间被 Stripe 暂停”。该公司还表示，它曾“直接向 Stripe 为这些创作者进行辩护”，因为“我们相信这些作品，而且创作者理应看到他们的项目顺利完成。”

After the new rules were issued a week ago, we immediately asked Kickstarter for comment, followed up to get an answer, and didn’t receive a full response until today — when the company pointed us toward its public post. We had asked how the company defined the distinction between “sexual wellness” and “sexual gratification,” and when I pushed Kickstarter today to address our original question after its revocation of the rules, here’s what we got, from KS director of comms Nikki Kria: 在一周前新规则发布后，我们立即向 Kickstarter 寻求置评，并跟进以获取答复，但直到今天才收到完整回应——当时公司指引我们查看其公开博文。我们曾询问该公司如何定义“性健康”与“性满足”之间的区别，而当我今天在 Kickstarter 撤销规则后再次追问我们最初的问题时，我们从 Kickstarter 通讯总监 Nikki Kria 那里得到了这样的答复：

Given that we’ve reverted to our previous guidelines, the specific rule you’re referencing is no longer in effect. I don’t want to parse language from guidelines we’ve already walked back. The blog post reflects our current position and is the most accurate representation of where we stand. “鉴于我们已经恢复了之前的准则，你所提到的具体规则已不再生效。我不想去剖析我们已经撤回的准则中的措辞。那篇博文反映了我们当前的立场，也是我们立场最准确的表达。”

“Mature” content has been strictly regulated by payment processors for years, so it’s no surprise that Kickstarter felt compelled to comply. In fact, it is Stripe that says businesses can’t sell “sexually explicit materials” that are designed for the purpose of “sexual gratification.” Kickstarter’s blog post points to those rules as an explanation for its own now-rescinded rules and insists that the recent update doesn’t represent its values — including the “f*ck the establishment spirit of Kickstarter.” (But perhaps the establishment is still too strong to say the word “fuck” uncensored.) 多年来，“成人”内容一直受到支付处理商的严格监管，因此 Kickstarter 感到被迫遵守也就不足为奇了。事实上，正是 Stripe 规定企业不得销售旨在实现“性满足”的“露骨性材料”。Kickstarter 的博文将这些规则作为其自身现已废除规则的解释，并坚称最近的更新并不代表其价值观——包括 Kickstarter 那种“去他妈的建制派精神”。（但也许建制派的力量依然强大到无法说出未经审查的“fuck”一词。）

Kickstarter says its community let it know “loud and clear” that the new rules were wrong and that it’s “going back to the drawing board.” It also says it’s “continuing to push Stripe for flexibility, clarity, and consistency.” We’ll have to wait and see whether a platform that’s helped fund creators with billions of dollars can stand tall against the ones moving the money. In the meantime, creators on the platform could still get burned from Stripe’s rules, even if Kickstarter stands against them. Kickstarter 表示，其社区“明确且响亮地”告知它这些新规则是错误的，公司目前正在“重新规划”。它还表示，正在“继续推动 Stripe 提高灵活性、透明度和一致性”。我们拭目以待，看看这个已经帮助创作者筹集了数十亿美元资金的平台，能否在资金流转方（支付商）面前挺直腰杆。与此同时，即使 Kickstarter 反对 Stripe 的规则，平台上的创作者仍有可能因此受到波及。