The People vs. Steven Berrebi
A Story of the First R Rated Auction in Lootverse History
By: AJ Amado
Blazing a path towards innovation, the major contributors to Lootverse have always held a common and unified view. Build it quietly, launch it quickly, and adjust for trajectory. While some may scoff at the idea that such a complicated platform can be successfully deployed and scaled this way, the proof is in the pudding. So far, we have crushed original timelines, successfully deployed unparalleled metaverse technologies, and in our humble opinion, changed the space forever. All of this without one dime raised nor outside influence from pesky investors. These development methodologies also dictate that every so often, platform shifting decisions must be made on the fly.
As the story of any high-growth company unfolds, there will always be flashpoints, both good and bad, big and small that shape the future of that organization. Internal struggles and policy changes with the power to transform the direction of the original vision for better or worse. We here at NFT Curation Partners and Lootverse are no different. The progress we have made as a unified tribe of passionate world builders has not been without its challenges and controversies. One of the more notable events to date involves an emergency meeting held between all partners, curators, and administrative staff to discuss and decide upon our policies regarding the listing of explicit or racy content in the Loot Arena.
What was the focus of those discussions? A collection of analog creations, digitized and converted into motion graphic videos, offered up by provocative artist Steven Berrebi from Miami Florida, featuring a collage of vintage newspaper clipping and hand drawings of magazine centerfold pin-up girls from the 1950s.
What was the decision that hung in the balance? How much to restrict what could be listed in the arena and whether the Lootverse community would find the collection obscene or pornographic.
So, in the spirit of transparency and community participation, we offer a first-hand account of “The People vs Steven Berrebi”. A Story of the first R Rated auction in Lootverse history, and what it took to get this truly historical creation listed.
Part 1
It was 12:31 AM EST on December 15th, 2021, and I had finally caught up on a massive backlog of artist submissions for listing in Lootverse. Another work marathon was finally at a close. Feeling good about the accomplishments of the last 16 hours, I checked the backend system one last time to see if there were any outstanding issues, only to find that one of my most recent submissions was rejected. As I read through the notes at the bottom of the page, I was shocked to find the reason. It stated, “NO PORNOGRAPHY” shall be listed in the Loot Arena.
“Pornography?” I said to myself. “This must be a simple misunderstanding of the policy. This must be one of those blurry lines that just needed a little bit of clarification. How could a cartoon sketched photo of a pin-up girl be misconstrued as lude or obscene?”
Immediately I reached out to the admin department in our slack channel.
AJ: “Let’s talk about The Sex Criminals piece. I understand that we have a basic guideline here that NO PORNOGRAPHY shall be listed in the Loot Arena. However, the judgment or opinion on what is pornography and what is art should be discussed. It should be obvious that these pieces are not meant for self-pleasuring. Further to that, where is the line? An oil-based painting of the female form with exposed nipples is ok but a collage featuring a 1950’s hand-drawn naked woman is not?
And who makes that decision. In a soon-to-be decentralized metaverse, where the community dictates the direction the platform heads in, should the voice of Lootitizens not be the final word?”
Admin: “Point to be noted. True.”
AJ: “This may become a problem in the future. It is my humble opinion that we as curators must use our judgment to offer quality work and let the community decide if they like it or not. I am sure that these kinds of policies do not dictate what kind of art would be shown in any gallery outside of the metaverse.”
Admin: “Understood. I completely agree.”
AJ: “I think these pieces will do very well. Steven created this collection as a rejection of the objectification of women that is meant to communicate a simple idea. The idea that what used to be tasteful pictorials of days gone by have been replaced with totally desensitized depictions of women, so graphic in nature that much of today’s society believes them to be outside the boundaries of acceptable.”
Admin: “Ok noted. I’ll bring it up today for the core meeting. These things will need to be addressed and handled with care. Please talk to James about this as well.”
AJ: “Will do.”
Unsure of how he would take the news, I called Steven to discuss the problem. His solution? Rework the images and offer a second version of the creation that strategically censored the areas in question. Then offer all of the variations in the NFT zip file. Done. Problem solved. Not to mention, this would be a value add for the winner of the auction as this would be the first time that multiple versions of the base NFT were offered to the community. He spent the next 2 hours making the changes and sent them over. Expecting that our logical explanation of the intention behind the work and the censoring of the images would soon rectify the situation organically, I resubmitted the piece and went to bed.
Part 2
The next morning I woke up and took a walk with my wife to have our morning coffee at one of our favorite spots in the Brickell Miami, Financial District. Sitting across from a sun-kissed Biscayne Bay, sipping a very strong Columbian blend, and giving my Doberman some way overdue attention, I got the message.
SUBJECT: EMERGENCY MEETING
TIME: 9:30 AM
PLACE: ZOOM CALL
TOPIC: RESTRICTIONS ON EXPLICIT MATERIALS AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION ON THE LOOT PLATFORM.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, the submission of “A “Perfect” Wife”, previously titled “The Sex Criminals” was the first creation ever submitted that featured a naked woman depicted in a sexual nature. Anyone who knows me understands that I tend to push the envelope. I mean no harm. I am just built like that. No filter.
The meeting was scheduled to start in 10 minutes.
AJ: “Sorry babe, I have to take this call,” I nervously stated, knowing what would come next.
Wife: “Seriously? Right Now? Can it wait?.” My wife inquired.
AJ: “Yup. Right now. It would seem that the sexual nature of Steven’s piece has broken the platform,” I jokingly offer, trying to defuse the situation.
Wife: “Ok. Please try to make it fast. This dog is a lot to handle by myself,” she said.
AJ: “No Problem.”
Quickly I slinked off to log in to ZOOM and state my case before my colleagues.
James: “OK. Everyone on?”Great. Thank you to everyone who has joined today as I know you are all in different time zones, and for some of you, it is quite late where you live. We’ve asked you all to participate in this discussion so that as a community, we can address a topic that may have been overlooked previously, but nonetheless will probably come up again in the future. The topic at hand is the current policy stating that NO PORNOGRAPHY, or as AJ would frame it up, nudity, shall be listed in the Arena. And while the rule may seem simple, it is being argued that one person’s particular subjectivity on the matter can not or should not be the final word. That what one person would classify as art could be viewed by others as offensive.
Lootverse is evolving and growing at a much faster pace than we originally expected. I feel that it is best to address these kinds of issues early on and head first so that we can find a scalable solution before they become too difficult and require a reverse pivot. This being said I would like to hear from everyone here as you are all on the frontlines. These decisions are important and affect everyone down the chain and into the community. AJ, as it is your piece that triggered this meeting, I will let you take the floor first.”
Standing there by the bay, coffee in one hand, phone in the other, I offered the most heartfelt and passionate argument I could muster.
AJ: “What is pornography and what is not?” I questioned like a trial attorney showboating before the jury.
AJ: “And where do we draw the lines? Does the censoring of nipples and bush satisfy the requirements of NO PORN on Loot?”
James: Chuckling, “Well that escalated quickly. Leave it to AJ to bring up nipples and bush in a team meeting.”
The rest of the team gingerly snickered in the background.
AJ: “Sorry guys. Not trying to offend, but where is the line. Clearly, I am not the guy to answer that question, but I am just trying to make a point.” I offered jokingly.
I presented the same case I offered the night before on Slack with Admin. I argued that while everyone has a different view on what is acceptable and what is not, one person or organization should NOT be able to impose upon others their view as law. In the end, much like the real world, Lootizens will dictate to us, or rather show us, through increased or decreased participation if they are offended by the creations being offered in the Arena.
After close to an hour of discussion and everyone giving their varied opinions, some for and some adamantly against the “A “Perfect” Wife” auction, it dawned on me that this was indeed a momentous event. Much like the rich history of the United States of America, where freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and petition have been fought for and won, Lootverse freedoms were being fought for and established right then and there. History was being written in that moment. Our grand metaverse experiment was evolving in real-time. Changing at breakneck speeds. Shifting and transforming before our eyes.
All of the sudden, and I can not remember exactly who suggested it, the solution of adding an adult content disclaimer icon in the user interface section of the auction window was tabled.
AJ: “Hell, why don’t we just replicate the National Picture Associations’ existing guidelines? We could even mock up the black and white graphics they use. With our own language of course. I would be ok with that.”
James: “Guys, let’s do this. Why don’t we mandate that when a curator is offering creations that could be considered by some to be sexually offensive, it is up to them to self-regulate, but, they must use one of the four slides in the auction window to display an R-Rating graphic warning Lootizens to proceed at their own risk. This way, curators and creators are not overly restricted, those who do not wish to see such works are protected and the solution is scalable.”
In less than five minutes of discussion, we put it up for a vote. The motion passed, and with a resounding yes, the first civil rights battle was won and recorded in the Annuals of Loot History.
So why the need to tell the story? Why would the world need to know about internal meetings that were held to dictate policies regarding something as simple as listing a hand-drawn depiction of a naked woman in the Arena? Here’s why. As we continue to develop arguably the most complex metaverse experiment ever attempted, it is important to record the moments that shaped this project and offered historical firsts. So that one day, an immutable record of events can be looked back upon and appreciated for their valuable contribution to the longer-term vision. The first R Rated artist creation ever listed in Lootverse and the friction it caused was is one of those events. Welcome to Lootverse.
