this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2025
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The example OP has giving isn't even NSFW though, so no tag is warranted.
Softcore porn is absolutely NSFW for many people.
Well since you obviously didn't open the link, it's a girl in a fully covered bikini. Literally not softcore anything, it's as racy as sports illustrated.
... where do you work that sports illustrated isn't considered NSFW? Seriously I'd get fired out of a cannon if I was caught browsing it at work, this seems kinda disingenuous to imply it's not NSFW just because it's not explicit.
I've seen worse images as people's office wallpaper/screensaver.
Okay, but you do understand that most people don't work in an environment where that would be considered at all acceptable right?
I'm not sure. Most people are in China and India and I know little about their office culture.
It's not much different from western cultures, though india does have a problem with sexism in (and outside of) the workplace. But are you really arguing demographic semantics to avoid the point at hand?
As I said, I regularly seen bikini picture and the like on office computers, so yes, I think it's acceptable in "western culture". Maybe not in some of the more puritan countries or large corporations, but in general, yes.
Also the term NSFW isn't defined by what is literally allowed at workplaces, so the entire argument is pointless. It's a tag for porn and gore. Bikini pictures aren't porn.
It's... literally "Not Safe For Work". There's no formal definition, let alone one beyond "not safe to have at work". It was a usenet appelation applied to content you don't want your boss seeing you browsing, it's never evern been explicitly about porn? It's not exactly hardline censorship to want tagging guidlines to be followed. At the moment, /all is the best way to find new communities to subscribe to. It's not unreasonable to ask people not to complain about the content they find there, but since this is the one single content filter common to lemmy, it's also not unreasonable to ask people to use it?
Despite what the letters literally stand for or where it's from, it doesn't actually mean that (anymore). If it did for most people almost any media would be "NSFW". Most people would get in trouble for watching a movie or playing video games at work, regardless of content. That's obviously a useless definition.
Since it was popularized on reddit and other social media the tag now defacto means porn/gore. That's how the vast majority of people uses it and that's how I think it should be used.
And of course people can complain. But well, sometimes the complain might just fall on deaf ears. And in the case if demanding bikini pictures be tagged as NSFW, I think rightfully so.
But it's never stopped meaning that, though? It's still extremely commonly used to tag that sort of content, and I don't know why you're starting to insist that words don't mean the things they say.
The situations in which you're watching any alternative media in a workplace setting are potentially fraught with reprimand, though. "You're there on work time being on your phone is literally theft" and all that hyperbolic corpo BS. But during times you can be on your phone, it's still broadly less acceptable to be watching "haurhi jiggles up and down [nightcore] [bigtits]" videos than it would be watching generic videogame content.
The literal meaning of the phrase is useless, since what is safe at a workplace varies drastically with the workplace. It's also relevant in a lot of other settings that aren't work, like browsing your phone on public transport or at school. It's also very common for phrases to have a different meaning from the literal meaning of the individual words. I'd say that's even the case for most phrases. When you say it's raining cats and dogs there aren't actually cats and dogs falling from the sky. In this case the actual "work" aspect isn't relevant.
What the tag does signify is that the following content might be disturbing or inappropriate in certain situations so you can be aware before opening it. And bikini pictures don't warrant that warning, even if some workplaces have a policy against it.
Dude, maybe take a few steps away from the computer for a little while.
... What?
Never mind China and India — there's much more cultural diversity in the world than you'd have us imagine even within any one "western" country.
Mmk. So?
It's legally sold to minors, available in grocery stores, hell I've seen them sitting on a rack in doctor's offices.
NSFW is the terminology we use for actual explicit material, that's the point. It's a shorthand. Getting overly literal about how 'work' should be applied to the context is like arguing that all FPS games are actually RPGs because you're 'playing the role' of some character.
No, NSFW is terminology we use for content that might get you in trouble for browsing at work. Just because you use it differently doesn't change the definition.
And nobody is going to get in trouble for scrolling past a woman with a bikini on at work. If your workplace is that strict, you're going to be in more trouble for scrolling social media on the clock.
More graphic content is visible in ads on any major website. The idea that a clothed woman should be censored as if it's vulgar is excessive in my opinion. Where do we draw the line? Shoulders? Knees? Ankles? I had assumed as a society we had decided it was the actual genitals, but apparently not.
Why does your work have cannons
Why are they human-sized barrels
and finally
How do i get a job there
It wasn't in my building, but the maintenance building was on the same campus and they were for triggering avalanches. I think you'd probably have to be chopped up pretty fine to fit in them though (I think we can all agree that would be NSFW content...) but you could probably manage it. And man, IDK. The DOT howitzers teams are never hiring, believe me I check regularly.
Just because there's no nudity doesn't mean it's safe-for-work. This would absolutely make my female colleagues uncomfortable and that falls under the spirit of NSFW. Getting pedantic about what is or isn't pornographic or nudity to justify having gross pictures up on your screen is entirely beside the point -- if there's any reason it could contribute to a less equitable workplace, it should be labeled NSFW. If there's any debate about it at all, it's the considerate thing to do.
NSFW is cultural shorthand for porn or graphic content. It's not a literal guideline for what's acceptable in every single workplace. Should ACAB posts be labeled NSFW because saying that at my workplace in the US south would make a hell of a lot of people uncomfortable?
And why are you browsing Lemmy at work in full view of passing coworkers? Is it that lax that you can just openly fuck around and your only concern is someone might see a girl in a bikini?
If the ACAB post is just words, then no. If it's imagery of people being beaten by cops, then yes. There's no need to argue extremes to make the point seem ridiculous -- just use judgment and be kind.
It's about being considerate; that's where the conversation starts and ends, so don't get sidetracked or focus on semantics. It does not matter why someone is browsing any website at their place of work, so let's not even bring that into the conversation. NFSW is meant to help people view content at work/in public by making it avoidable. It's a communication from the author/community to the audience that the content may or may not be inappropriate -- that's it. If it's debatable and isn't tagged, that's inconsiderate and a request to tag it should be treated with consideration and kindness (barring trolls, which OP clearly isn't).
But that's just my opinion, and I acknowledge yours is different.
I agree with this. This is the fundamental point of the tag. I don't want anyone to lose their job, or suffer undue consequences for happening across something particularly graphic, upsetting, or unlawful.
This is what I don't agree with. Everything is debatable. I live in the US south, if my coworkers had their way, any image of a drag queen or a pride parade would have to be marked NSFW. And while thankfully this isn't a problem on Lemmy (yet), that means a sizable portion of the population would be unable to see that content at all without uploading their ID and giving up any semblance of anonymity.
There's nothing dangerous, illegal, or upsetting about a woman in a bikini. It's something any person might see in public at literally any time if you live somewhere warm. And yes, I'm sure there are people who would feel harassed if you waved an image like that in their faces, but I cannot imagine a scenario where someone suffers any professional setback because someone saw them scroll past some clothed tits.
Thanks for taking the time to explain :)
Most employers would be pretty unhappy with you publicly reading the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.
And they would be fine with you publicly browsing Lemmy on the clock?
Yes, lots of jobs have expected down time.
They better not go outside then.
Lota of people dress lightly in public, not to mention public art and adverts show quite a lot.
We have several statues of nude men and women in my city!
Requiring that social media be more "sanitized" than normal public life is ridiculous.
If you really wouldn't want a coworker seeing it, it's NSFW I would say. Personally I think someone even seeing a forum that looks like Reddit open on your work computer is a bit NSFW, but that's what the tag is for.
That image is 100% NSFW