It’s been quite a week for the staff and users of JanitorAI, filled with doom-posting, unnecessary drama, and a few genuine points of criticism.
But this is nothing new. As the platform keeps growing, it attracts users who don’t understand the meaning of “beta” or aren’t familiar with the technology behind their AI roleplay. They’re quick to jump to conclusions and raise their pitchforks.
JanitorAI Addresses Recent “Controversies” To Calm Its Users
The primary issue to address was the overreaction to rumors and misinformation about JanitorAI introducing censorship and filters to its platform. As we have already stated, JanitorAI was enforcing its Terms of Service, and a prompt that didn’t work as intended prevented the AI from producing any explicit content.
Also Read: JanitorAI Is Not Introducing Censorship Or Filters
Upon hearing the terms “censorship” and “filters,” users started to panic, and misinformation spread quickly. Many overlooked that the prompt was only meant to prevent content that violates JanitorAI’s Terms of Service, jumping to the conclusion that JanitorAI is introducing site-wide censorship and filters for all NSFW content.
Shep Reiterates, NSFW Is Here To Stay
JanitorAI addresses recent “controversies” in a blog post, where Shep explains why they need to stop JanitorAI’s in-house LLM (JLLM) from generating content that violates the platform’s Terms of Service.
the changes were targeted exclusively at three kinds of illegal content: underage characters, bestiality (excluding furry content), and incest content (excluding stepcest). these kinds of content have always been against our content guidelines and moderation policies, and we dont want that kind of content on the site.
The prompt that didn’t work as intended and affected users’ roleplays was quickly rolled back. However, due to technical issues, the rollback wasn’t effective for a few hours. NSFW is here to stay, but content that violates JanitorAI’s terms of service is not.
Why There Is A Need To Enforce Terms Of Service
It’s no secret that JanitorAI is working to partner with a payment processor to monetize its platform and ensure future sustainability.
During their risk assessment procedures, officials from the banking sector tried to “jailbreak” JLLM to produce illegal content. Although basic prompts were in place to stop JLLM from generating content that violates its Terms of Service, the officials easily bypassed those prompts.
Also Read: JanitorAI’s Hidden Gems Feature To Highlight Smaller Creators
Preventing JLLM from generating content that violates JanitorAI’s Terms of Service is crucial for maintaining moderation consistency, complying with U.S. laws and regulations, and ensuring the platform’s future stability.
Content Creators Banned Due To An Error
JanitorAI’s automated moderation system accidentally banned creators known for making characters based on the My Little Pony franchise.
The action was triggered by a change in how the platform classifies anthropomorphic and animal characters. JanitorAI’s Terms of Service allow anthropomorphic characters but prohibit characters that are simply animals.
Shep clarified that they are working on improving the automated moderation system and plan to hide characters that violate the Terms of Service rather than banning their creators.
also, some of you mlp creators got accidentally banned by our mod system. we reverted that too – sorry about that! were working on making the auto mod better so if you make a bot that breaks tos, you wont get banned. the bot will just be hidden from public and will tell you why. that way you can fix it without getting banned.
Users had a valid reason to criticize the automated moderation system’s actions, as any future changes to moderation policies or Terms of Service could result in immediate account suspensions. The developers acknowledged this feedback and are working on improving the automated system.
Moving Ahead
In the blog post where JanitorAI addresses recent controversies, Shep acknowledged that he doesn’t like working on the administrative side of JanitorAI. It takes away time he can dedicate to developing exciting new features.
Also Read: How The UK’s Online Safety Act Is Affecting AI Roleplay
But he also mentions that administrative activities are essential for the platform’s long-term survival, and he will try to navigate through them as best as possible. He admits that he pushes updates to their live servers without realizing it could impact millions of users, and he thanks the users for their patience and continued support.
Managing a service like JanitorAI, still in beta with millions of daily users, is challenging. But Shep and his team are doing their best to ensure the platform’s long-term sustainability. Minor inconveniences or sudden changes are expected from a beta service, and users should avoid jumping to conclusions or basing reactions on misinformation.
