This is my first post, and hopefully first of many. I have used this forum for months searching for answers to my questions (Yes, some people know how to find their answers without asking the same questiona jillion times). I've been designing a new website for sometime now, where endusers can create their own shopping lists, and others can view it. It seems great for adsense placement, since the ads shown should be similar to the items the person has on their list, and the people viewing them are probably going to buy those things for the person (hopefully). A light bulb just popped on in my head, but it wasn't an eureka moment - more like a "oh sh**" moment. What if someone creates a list of DVD's or something similar which are pornographic, etc? Images will not be allowed on the list, only the item title and a link to the item on another shopping site, if available. Would this break the google Adsense TOS if ads are displayed on the same site where the movie "Jurassic Pork" is being listed? There would be no images, and I can't/won't filter anyones wish list. Do I have anything to worry about?
Yes, I think you do have a problem. Most porno movie titles aren't as discreet as Jurassic Pork! The people at AdSense Support can be prudish about the slightest little thing - not all of them, but you never can be sure which of the team will be reviewing your site. You could have problems.
You might want to state in your TOS and directly in your sign up form, that you do not allow adult products on shopping lists. Either that or scan for obscene words on shopping list pages, and if you find them, don't display ads. Honestly I think you'll be fine as long as your site isn't actually about adult content, and you aren't including pictures of the products.
Thanks for the tips. I'm sure I could write a script that would not display Adsense on the page if certain words are found on the page. Furthermore, I will definitely make sure my TOS mentions no adult content. Also, i'm designing the program so a person can only view the list if that person specifically gives the authorization to another user. So a google team member couldn't just accidentally stumble upon a list with the dirty words on them. They would need to be "invited" to see their list. I personally don't think I'll have a problem if I post it in my TOS, and have some filters. But I have heard of some crazy reasons why people were banned...
You heard right - people do get banned for some crazy reasons but when it is a content issue they normally get a warning beforehand. For all their stupid rules and petty Policing of the internet I'm sure the AdSense Googler's do have some commonsense and will recognise you're doing everything you can to keep within the TOS.