Yesterday, I clicked on the profile link of someone who left a comment on one of my photos on Flickr. After arriving at his photos, I was presented with a warning that the photos may not be safe for my innocent eyes.
Feeling a bit risky - hey, I'm just back from Vegas, so how bad could they be? - I clicked the button that said I could handle whatever awaited me behind the wall.
What did I see? Coral. Lots of coral. It looks like this particular Flickr user really likes his saltwater aquarium and takes a lot of photos of the coral within it.
This isn't the first time I've found myself questioning Flickr's SafeSearch feature. It throws out way too many false positives.
Previously, I've tried to turn it off, figuring my eyes wouldn't melt if I happened upon something I found inappropriate. that's what the back button is for, right? However, at the time, I couldn't find a way to say I'm an adult.
It looks like that problem has been resolved with a new SafeSearch setting that allows Flickr users to decide for themselves whether potentially offensive photos should or should not be blocked by default.
Control is now in your hands. Have fun.
