Limiting Collections

In The Irony of Nazi Collectibles, Pop_Tart ponders on the ethics of limiting collectors & collections.

As a collector of items that are 'adult' in nature, I would have to concur.

Ebay has already thwarted collectors such as myself. It began with encroachment couched as protecting minors - persons who by all site policies are not allowed to legally participate in bidding at the site anyway - by keeping this area hidden & 'protected' by a 'click to ensure you are of legal age & not offended' screen for access. Thus removing search returns from the general site searches - which could have been livable, had they not such a bad system that it logged you out of your 'adult OK' status at its whimsy, leaving the searcher unaware that they were no longer getting a search of the area they wanted.

From there, they moved on with more & more limitations, no to categories, no to clear guidelines so auctions are pulled at whim, no PayPal payments (allowing the screwing sellers & buyers alike), & no to any means to communicate with eBay corporate to find out what to do, until it's just not a practical option for those of us who specialize in this sort of 'smut'.

No one really complained about all this at eBay, because after all, we were 'dirty' and not 'mainstream' and so therefore, not a concern. Which is exactly the sort of apathy which will allow for eBay and others to constrict many genres of collecting - such as military items.

While the beauty of female form on celluloid is deemed 'less' than 'true' Art, it is not to be encouraged as a collection. While the history of human sexuality is as much a part of History proper as the history of WWII or whatever it is that the generic mainstream 'they' collect, it is sadly discredited, and thus limited.

And that is something that ought to concern everyone.