Agressive request in illustration

[magyarmelcsi]

Hi there!

I am an illustrator, I do get weird requests time to time. I did run into a possible client though, who is wanting to have something drawn that is rather aggressive towards a certain group of people, there is blood involved. Obviously I will not take on the job, but does reporting him would be a fair move? He is not being aggressive to me in any way, but I would not like to see a T-shirt anywhere with the design he is requesting, I do not find it ethically acceptable.

What are your thoughts on this?

[kometbeats]

Hi there!

I am an illustrator, I do get weird requests time to time. I did run into a possible client though, who is wanting to have something drawn that is rather aggressive towards a certain group of people, there is blood involved. Obviously I will not take on the job, but does reporting him would be a fair move? He is not being aggressive to me in any way, but I would not like to see a T-shirt anywhere with the design he is requesting, I do not find it ethically acceptable.

What are your thoughts on this?

I think most sellers have their own list of things they wouldn’t create and I completely understand that, you shouldn’t take on work you’re not comfortable with. That being said, this might be an unpopular opinion, I don’t think you get to decide whether something is created or not, it’s going to happen regardless and I think the only aspect of it you can control is whether you’re a part of that or not.

Of course this is all said without knowing what the imagery was, some things are banned in certain countries by law but I don’t know how those laws apply to Fiverr, nor do I know Fiverr’s policy on certain subjects.

does reporting him would be a fair move?

I’m curious as to what you’d be reporting him for? It wasn’t spam, you said they weren’t abusive and I’m assuming they didn’t try to get you to contact them outside of Fiverr.

[magyarmelcsi]

I think most sellers have their own list of things they wouldn’t create and I completely understand that, you shouldn’t take on work you’re not comfortable with. That being said, this might be an unpopular opinion, I don’t think you get to decide whether something is created or not, it’s going to happen regardless and I think the only aspect of it you can control is whether you’re a part of that or not.

Of course this is all said without knowing what the imagery was, some things are banned in certain countries by law but I don’t know how those laws apply to Fiverr, nor do I know Fiverr’s policy on certain subjects.

does reporting him would be a fair move?

I’m curious as to what you’d be reporting him for? It wasn’t spam, you said they weren’t abusive and I’m assuming they didn’t try to get you to contact them outside of Fiverr.

Thank you for your reply!

I do not think your opinion is unpopular, you are right, we do not get to decide what is going to be made or not, that is a fact. Although I do feel like staying silent in the matter sort of equals with agreeing with the ideology.

That is one thing if he finds an artist privately and asks for this kind of request, that is the artists choice to accept or decline. But Fiverr is a public platform, that I do not think would stand by having hate campaigns being created on.

Not everything is black and white of course, that is exactly why I asked this question, to get some opinions on the matter.

Other than the occasional spam messages, this is the first time I have considered using the report button. On any social media platform, you have the option to report someone for agression/hate speech, even if it is not aimed directly at you. There is also an “Other” option in here. Having someone killed in a comedy/fiction way is not the same as visualizing someone existing in real life dying because of their distinctive features. (And then advocating that this is how it should be.)

[imagination7413]

If what they are asking is against the Community Standards, then it’s also against the ToS. This sections here is probably what you need:

. https://www.fiverr.com/community/standards/objectionable-content

[anniejenkinson]

That is a very interesting question. I once refused to work for a buyer when the script he asked me to edit had a lot of illicit activity involving minors. I reported it, refused to do the job… and the buyer was not penalised or removed from Fiverr. I was also told by CS that all requests were acceptable as long as I agreed to do them.

It really annoyed me because in Fiverr TOS, explicit material is banned… and this was way more than explicit. It was very worrying…

[imagination7413]

I had an order like that too. Even if they didn’t ban the user (I checked), I got out of the order penalty-free. So there is that at least.

[magyarmelcsi]

If what they are asking is against the Community Standards, then it’s also against the ToS. This sections here is probably what you need:

. https://www.fiverr.com/community/standards/objectionable-content

Thank you for sending this!

[magyarmelcsi]

That is a very interesting question. I once refused to work for a buyer when the script he asked me to edit had a lot of illicit activity involving minors. I reported it, refused to do the job… and the buyer was not penalised or removed from Fiverr. I was also told by CS that all requests were acceptable as long as I agreed to do them.

It really annoyed me because in Fiverr TOS, explicit material is banned… and this was way more than explicit. It was very worrying…

Yeah, that is concerning! Money has a lot of power 😦