Tumblr's NSFW Content and bid for Freedom

Tumblr used to have a large amount of NSFW content on there, ranging from art to photos and even clips from porn if you knew where to look.

Among other things, it was a great place for artists to post and share their art, especially as other popular sites like deviantArt wouldn't allow it.

Tumblr hosted many blogs that focused on extremely specific fetish content too. Blogs were as broad as "just anal" all the way to as specific as "just Asian girl's left feet wearing toe rings." For people with less common fetishes these curated streams of content were highly appreciated, it wasn't just what you were interested in but a steady stream of it instead of having to comb through many different sites. Beyond that, content creators would be able to share their own OC in their curated stream, and individuals producing content could network and interact with others who shared their tastes. 

This mix of your own work as well as others was important because individuals are not able to be as prolific in making content when it is just a hobby or side gig. It was both the content being specific as well as the communities that were built that made Tumblr unique.

Late last year, Tumblr decided to remove all of the NSFW content, leading to a large number of creators leaving the site. The purge was done because the Apple store remove it as an option due to there being child porn on there. Additionally, the people who own Tumblr also wanted to make the site more ad friendly; something you can't do if there are lewd pinups of a woman, regardless of her age.

A few days ago, news broke that Verizon is looking to sell Tumblr, likely due to the loss it took once the NSFW content was removed. Thus PornHub offering to buy it and restore it to how it once was.