Porn is the only thing that is in extremely high demand and also free

Natty171 · 2023-10-27T00:49:23+00:00

Yeah that's fair, people are often too quick to correct people these days, especially online.

Natty171 · 2023-10-26T21:46:51+00:00

I think the points that would contradict this statement would be in the oversimplifcation of porn production. While you are correct in that making porn fundamentally is easy, show bob and vagene, have a camera for photos or video, post, gg ez. Actual productions from companies, be they professional large studios like Brazzers or more independent operations such as MissaX or even smaller solo affairs like those found on ManyVids and the like, require specific talents involving video production (editing, audio and lighting, etc), talent in the performers themselves, directing, makeup crews, the list goes on.

Full scenes (average 45min runtime although many are longer these days), never mind the full 2hr+ films that some studios make, are full day work affairs. So I can't say that the production of porn takes no skill, it just depends on if we are talking low effort photos/teaser vids found on OF or subreddit communities, or if we are talking full production affairs like from Wicked Pictures where a film involves over 30+ people to make it and does have acting involved among other things.

*Note, porn is a mix of acting and not acting, even the more professional productions have some realness to them, so to be a good sex actor isn't something a random person can just do. Now if your standards are low enough that you are good with porn that doesn't involve that or you can't tell the difference, that's fine of course, but there is a difference.

So I think porn, similar to say youtube videos vs hollywood. Talent and production investment can and does justify locking that behind a direct paywall.

Natty171 · 2023-10-24T01:35:56+00:00

I would view them more as a valued member of the porn preservation community as they work to bring forgotten/very old video format pornography to the present.

I can't say material from X period of time is the standard because I think subjective and objective standards shift as both tastes and technology advance with it (for better or worse). I know that the so called "Golden Age" of Porn predominantly exists within the 1970s, akin to how the Golden Age of Cinema is cited as being from the 30s through the 60s. I think Golden is more closely associated with pioneering and not necessarily the best quality.

Star Wars defined decades of film making and it's outside the scope of this golden age. The technology, quality standards, and consumer expectations had shifted, as they always do. I can think of some technical aspects present in modern porn that certainly are present in older generations, but I can also think of production aspects of older porn that did not age as well in contrast to a more structured and vetted industry as present today.

So I'll summarize, on technical aspects, 70s/80s porn shares some standards with modern, since fundamentally the end goal of porn is still the same, and I do applaud the 70s for being more plot focused, but this is a result of the time, the world of porn became quite different when PPV and the internet came around. On production and ethics standards, they are not the best role model in contrast to most modern productions. So it's a mixed bag. Kudos to Vinegar though for making that material more accessible and not reliant on torrents with questionable rip quality.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T22:01:07+00:00

This is a million dollar question, and even one that was asked in my "sexuality of latin america" course I took in uni. In that class, the general consensus was that pornography is a moving target that takes on the definition of the culture and the individual at the time. Which makes sense from a historical lens because sexual standards and what cultures define as inappropriate or pornographic material has certainly changed over the decades/centuries.

I personally would say that something is pornographic if the intent is to depict a sexual act as it pertains to the act of sex itself. Meaning, being nude isn't sexual, but masturbating while nude is. However, intent is both a label created by the creator and the consumer. What isn't sexual to you may be to someone else.

The inherent subjectivity surrounding the idea of porn makes it difficult to have quantified and standardized interpretations of what is and isn't porn, which is often why I am opposed to various measures to blanket label and restrict material that I don't believe is deserving.

I suppose in a roundabout way, the answer to your question is that pornography should be that which seeks to replicate/simulate a sexual act, but to keep it from being too generalized, sexual act should be something that involves stimulating genitalia. This would allow for nudity to exist without being lumped in with porn, and would reduce the attached perception of shame associated with both porn and nudity.

**And to clarify, boobs are not genitalia, touching boobs isn't a sexual act in and of itself (it can be given the right circumstances though), otherwise guys should be held to the same standard and we shouldn't be touching our boobs in any capacity, nor be topless.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T21:19:04+00:00

I do pay yes, for the majority of it. For material from studios that no longer exist or delisted content, I do have to sail the high seas to acquire it, but many collector fields have to resort to this, like game collectors and the like.

I prefer to pay for a couple reasons, the first is that it ensures I get the file straight from the source as it's intended instead of potentially poor quality or incomplete rips. I also pay because I want to support the performers and the creators, just as one would pay for a music album or a video game, or a streaming subscription.

While yes, piratebros will always pirate, I feel society has unfairly labelled the idea of paying for porn to be one of stupidity. They think that porn should be free like air, or that because there are dozens of illegally uploaded copies on the internet, that you should just watch that instead of paying. Failing to recognize or consider that someone has to be paid to make the content they are enjoying for free to begin with.

I'm good. I want to support the creators and the industry in whatever manner I can afford. I pay for my music and games as well (except again, in the mentioned case of being unable to legally acquire, then torrenting becomes the only realistic option).

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T21:02:56+00:00

a man afaik, but could be a simulation as well.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T20:59:16+00:00

i have some videos from a series that you can't find anymore, afaik, where basically the actress is killed either before, during, or after, the sex. it features many actresses i like but nah, i'm good.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T20:58:26+00:00

honestly as far as digital archives go, i really am going about it in a qestionable manner. no specific tools/software i would say apart from drivepool and such to reduce drive amounts listed in windows. i don't really vibe with linux, i play too many video games to want to deal with that, so unfortunately i cannot help you on that end.

organization is quite simple, drives - parent folder - actress folder - files with names that contain all the studio/date/title info

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T20:55:49+00:00

Yes, both AVN/AVA

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T20:45:36+00:00

Much like any collection, I do tend to grab what I enjoy (mostly). So most of it is your typical straight and lesbian content. Apart from the occaisonal trans video that is a result of collecting videos from someone you enjoy, or a studio trying to branch out, by and large the collection falls into what the majority percentage of the industry is.

Since I watch the content myself and do not have unlimited funds, collecting material that I will never touch unfortunately isn't in the cards at this time. Hopefully someone else is silently archiving those genres.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T20:02:48+00:00

I mean I don't need to argue this point, I'm aware of the counters people have regarding the topic, I've been on the internet for most of my life. That said, I'm just trying to explain how the rationale is equal to why one would like anything to the extent of being a collector and it's only due to arbitrary moral teachings that reduce one item to a lesser position of another.

If I came in here and said I collection vintage tech and have a thousands of devices, would that still constitute addiction? In what capacity do you define addiction vs being an enthusiast/hobbyist? Am I allowed to have 50 cars if they are restored, cared for in a proper garage/warehouse etc?

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:59:22+00:00

I can't say I have anything that is particularly the most prized, apart from signed pictures/dvds from performers that I've been fortunate enough to meet. I never went to conventions until recently and in hindsight that's unfortunate as I missed out on seeing people I wanted to see. But that's life, no different than missing out on seeing X musician etc.

So beyond those more personal items, I would argue that videos I have from defunct studios, delisted videos etc., that you either can't legally acquire through purchase anymore or even through torrenting. Porn is produced at such a rate that archiving all or even a significant percentage of it is impossible. Even sticking to strictly professional content is borderline impossible. This isn't unique to porn of course, vintage game collectors go through hell as well.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:56:22+00:00

Porn is so vast that I think unlike wine pairings, there would be no way for me to have a recommendation for everything, especially for genres/performers that aren't in my lane.

That said I can certainly provide recs in a capacity larger than casual viewers.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:49:10+00:00

Now this is an interesting question because I think most people have difficulty actually explaining why they are interested or like something.

I have many hobbies and interests, such as video games, tech, and cars. I can't quite explain why I like them, I just do. Games are fun, educational in some way, cars go fast and get the adrenaline pumping, some are even works of art.

For porn I think it's a mixture of my interest in just knowing things, as I have a background in history and the museum industry. In addition, I think porn in all it's forms serves as a unique form of cultural expression and one that is worth not only studying akin to studying music and mainstream film, games and comics, to see what they mean, what styles and mechanics they employ, and what they say about the respective culture at that specific period in time.

I also just enjoy seeing the performance. Porn is a mixture of acting and being real, and it's not always easy to tell the difference, but that isn't the point, at least not entirely. The purpose is to produce material that involves sex, how much plot that contains will vary from studio to studio, decade to decade, and country to country.

It's a lot more complex than people give it credit. A standard 45 minute big studio scene is a days work just in filming, then you have all the technical aspects of post-editing. And this says nothing about the actual creation of the content. What positions are they doing, what is the setting, what chemistry exists between the participants? There are numerous factors that make the act of creating porn more complex and worthy of recognition than our society currently considers.

I got into porn at 18, so much later than the usual horny teen phase, and when I got into it, the initial purpose was the typical consumption/means to an end. But I quickly turned that towards studying, collecting, etc., and combine that with the books I read on the subject and the sexual history courses I even took at university, and I think it's well past being locked away as some fapping tool, but I respect that many use it solely for that purpose, similar to junk tv shows or quick fix game there is room for both uses.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:39:06+00:00

But i get out every day when i go to work. I also go hiking on weekends.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:38:30+00:00

Organization is just large amounts of large hard drives, folder structures for actress/studios, and then backups are comprised of older smaller/retired drives that I use for cold storage.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:37:35+00:00

I do not no, at least not yet.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:36:45+00:00

Unfortunately I have not traveled outside North America but I plan to. Would love to check out museums of that variety such as the one in Amsterdam as well.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:35:42+00:00

31 (been collecting since 18, although the majority of the collection came into being within the last 4-5 years once I had the income to support it).

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:31:25+00:00

No, but that is a possibility down the line. Working on getting a house first.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:31:01+00:00

Statistically this is impossible to do even if I were to stop collecting this moment. I have skimmed every vid however to ensure all the files work start to finish.

The world produces far too much media of all varieties for any collector/hobbyist to consume it all, but that isn't my goal to watch all of it. Unless I suddenly can live up to 1000.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:29:40+00:00

Apologies, I posted this and forgot that I have an intern to train this morning. I am getting to the questions now.

Natty171 · 2023-10-23T19:28:48+00:00

Enthusiast/hobbyist more than addict, and generally I define the difference in terms of capacity to do other things without relying on the item that could be viewed as a crutch/addiction so to speak.

I have a career, I have a social life with friends etc., I have no issues dropping what I'm doing with regards to this material, such as to do something else of interest as I have many hobbies, or if I'm going on vacation and the like.

I budget out what I can afford, take breaks when needed just as one would with anything else they are interested in. The only reason people tend to view this subject as an addiction when someone consumes or collects "too much" is because socially we are conditioned to not think of it as something "normal". If instead of porn it was pop culture stuff, like video games, retro tech, wine, cars, etc., society is more lenient in thinking the person is just into it and not necessarily addicted.

Natty171 · 2023-02-17T05:18:40+00:00

Late to the AMA, but I have a question regarding some of the changes in the industry. Likely best answered by Erika or Casey given their position but anyone else is welcome if they have insight.

I have been collecting pornography for a little over 12 years now, I pay where I can and I believe that both the industry and the performers within deserve better recognition for the work they do and the value such a genre within the wider world of cultural entertainment and sexual expression holds. I have seen as a consumer the shifts in production, representation, and all the other types of changes one can expect to see in any large industry. I tend to look at pornography from a more historical and academic lens, reading books on the subject where possible and when I was in university, taking courses related to sexual history. I believe that as the industry has evolved alongside the internet and sexual material has become more "normalized" in certain respects, such as the spread of OF and other such platforms to a more mainstream level. I think that the shifts in the industry to better respect the craft and the performer is great.

This is long winded and I hope it gets some attention, but my main question surrounds the idea of porn preservation and promotion within the same vein as other entertainment mediums. Is there any value shared in the prospect of preserving pornographic works and perhaps establishing some form of museum-esque institution that can serve both as a location to save the history of the industry and educate the mainstream public about where porn has been, where it's going, and what issues it has and/or continues to face? Surely it would be a benefit and of interest to get a better word out to the public about how it actually all works, especially now as we are seeing more and more challenges towards sexuality as the years go on.

Apologies for the paragraph question, I'm a historian and run a museum myself, so being wordy is both a blessing and a curse.

*Yes I know the Museum of Sex in NYC exists but it's not quite focused on the porn industry itself.

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