Jump to content

The Cutting Room Floor: Difference between revisions

From Consumer Rights Wiki
Temurin (talk | contribs)
m Working bit by bit
Temurin (talk | contribs)
Added summary
 
(4 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{InfoboxProductLine
{{InfoboxProductLine
| Title = {{PAGENAME}}
| Title = {{PAGENAME}}
| Release Year =2002; 23 years ago (original form)
| Release Year =2002 (Blog) - 2010 (Wiki)  
2 February 2010; 15 years ago (current form)  
| Product Type =Website, Video Game Archiving  
| Product Type =Website, Video Game Archiving  
| In Production =Yes  
| In Production =Yes  
| Official Website =https://tcrf.net  
| Official Website =https://tcrf.net  
| Logo =QuestionMark.svg
| Logo =TCRFLogo.png
}}
}}'''''The Cutting Room Floor''''' ('''TCRF''') is a website dedicated to the cataloguing of unused content and leftover debugging material in video games.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 Dec 2013 |title=The Explorers: The gaming archaeologists digging through the code you were never meant to see |url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/the-explorers-inside-the-underground-world-of-the-archaeologists-who-dig-through-the-code-game-developers-never-wanted-you-to-see/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218131752/http://www.edge-online.com/features/the-explorers-inside-the-underground-world-of-the-archaeologists-who-dig-through-the-code-game-developers-never-wanted-you-to-see/ |archive-date=18 Feb 2014 |access-date=28 March 2018 |website=Edge}}</ref> Launched as a blog in 2002 then reworked as a wiki in 2010, it was and still is cited as a source of unused video game content.
{{Placeholder box|Add a 2-3 sentence introduction starting with "'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a ...<ref name":0">ref goes here</ref>". When writing the article, insert text in the space below this box, and then delete this tip box (and the other tip boxes below). In the visual editor, just click on a box and press backspace to delete it. In the source editor, simply delete the double curly brackets, and the text inside them.}}


'''''The Cutting Room Floor''''' ('''TCRF''') is a website dedicated to the cataloguing of unused content and leftover debugging material in video games. It is currently owned by Xkeeper (Rachel Mae, formely Alexander Todd Workman)
The site is owned and administrated by Xkeeper (Rachel Mae<ref>{{Cite web |title=User:Rachel Mae |url=https://tcrf.net/User:Rachel_Mae |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218035457/https://tcrf.net/User:Rachel_Mae |archive-date=18 December 2022 |access-date=17 December 2022 |website=The Cutting Room Floor}}</ref>, formerly known as Alexander Todd Workman)<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 Jun 2025 |title=Alexander Workman in Federal Way, WA (Washington) |url=https://www.fastpeoplesearch.com/alexander-workman_id_G4189579002804049410 |url-status=live |access-date=8 Jun 2025 |website=FastPeopleSearch.com}}</ref>.


Launched as a blog in 2002 then reworked as a wiki in 2010, it was and still is cited as a source of unused video game content.
==Consumer impact summary==
The main concern for consumers accessing this site stems from the fact that, since March 30<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=30 Mar 2025 |title=TCRF has been getting DDoSed |url=https://blog.xkeeper.net/uncategorized/tcrf-has-been-getting-ddosed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250531222753/https://blog.xkeeper.net/uncategorized/tcrf-has-been-getting-ddosed/ |archive-date=31 May 2025 |access-date=8 Jun 2025 |website=Xkeeper's blog}}</ref>, they are going out of their way to block users utilizing a VPN (Virtual Private Networks) to access the website.


== Consumer impact summary ==
On top of this, they are also blocking users from utilizing the Tor networks to access material on their site.
{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product (if applicable):
 
* User Freedom
Both of these actions together hamper the user's freedom to access the site in a way that makes them feel comfortable.
* User Privacy
 
* Business Model
User's would probably not feel the need to access this site with either a VPN or via Tor if there weren't also stringent privacy violations occurring on the site as well. Since it is all but confirmed that the administrators of the site are not just keeping IP addresses of visitors in ways that open it to security risks.
* Market Control}}
 
But the administrators are also going online to flaunt various threats such as their suggestion to send "gzip Bombs" to various offending users.
 
The privacy and freedom issues are also amplified with the administrators banning users coming via URL's hosted on specific sites that do not align with their ideals. Users who wish to consume the information on the site have to be careful that their political views and ideology align with that of the team of administrators or otherwise end up banned and considered an "offensive user".<ref name=":0" />


==Incidents==
==Incidents==
This is a list of all consumer protection incidents related to this product. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{PAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
This is a list of all consumer protection incidents related to this website.
{{Placeholder box|Replace the placeholder text in the sections below with the incidents that affect this product and a short summary. Also replace the link so it point to the right product line or company article.}}
 
===Sabotage of the userbase===
===Harassment on their user base===
{{Main|link to the main article}}
On June 1st, the website administration celebrated Pride month with an assortment of LGBTQ+ logo variants.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=1 Jun 2025 |title=This Isn't Why I Came Here |url=https://tcrf.net/Talk:The_Cutting_Room_Floor#Happy_pride_month |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/69vhE |archive-date=6 Jun 2025 |access-date=8 Jun 2025 |website=The Cutting Room Floor}}</ref> A few long-time contributors voiced their concerns on this subject, one instance was from Jo Li on the main talk page of the site<ref name=":0" />. However, instead of civilly discussing over it, they received derogatory comments making fun of their opinions, finishing off with a permanent ban.<ref name=":0" />   
Short summary of the incident (could be the same as the summary preceding the article).
 
This is in contrast to their at least two of their rules of conduct:   
 
*Be polite.
*Assume good faith.
 
Other users have been permanently banned on Discord after voicing their concerns. They have since locked down any invites to their server.
 
The administrators have been actively monitoring incoming connections. As of June 8th, they have done the following:


On June 2,
====Ban of Tor and VPN users====
Users connecting from Tor or a VPN are greeted with a message asking to disable their VPN, with the pretext being for combating an ongoing DDoS attack.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 Jun 2025 |title=403 Forbidden |url=https://tcrf.net/ |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250607002303/https://tcrf.net/ |archive-date=7 Jun 2025 |access-date=8 Jun 2025 |website=The Cutting Room Floor}}</ref><ref name=":1" />


===Example incident two (''date'')===
====Ban of users with specific referral ID====
...
As of June 6th, users have also been  who have a referral ID coming from https://kiwifarms.st and https://www.4chan.org<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 Jun 2025 |title=Video Game Archival Autism / TCRF / Jul / Sonic Retro / And More |url=https://kiwifarms.st/threads/video-game-archival-autism-tcrf-jul-sonic-retro-and-more.124559/page-13#post-21628413 |url-status=live |access-date=9 Jun 2025 |website=Kiwi Farms}}</ref>. In addition, users banned from this also receives a cookie without their express consent. This is potentially in violation of the GDPR<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 Nov 2019 |title=Cookies, the GDPR, and the ePrivacy Directive |url=https://gdpr.eu/cookies/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250530151113/https://gdpr.eu/cookies/ |archive-date=30 May 2025 |access-date=8 Jun 2025 |website=gdpr.eu}}</ref>, stating:


Incidents affecting all of the product line/company's products can be found in the product line/company article: [[Product line title]]/[[Company article title]]
*Strictly necessary cookies — These cookies are essential for you to browse the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the site. Cookies that allow web shops to hold your items in your cart while you are shopping online are an example of strictly necessary cookies. These cookies will generally be first-party session cookies. While it is not required to obtain consent for these cookies, <u>what they do and why they are necessary should be explained to the user.</u>
*Statistics cookies — Also known as “performance cookies,” these cookies collect information about how you use a website, like which pages you visited and which links you clicked on. <u>None of this information can be used to identify you.</u> It is all aggregated and, therefore, anonymized. <u>Their sole purpose is to improve website functions</u>. This includes cookies from third-party analytics services as long as the cookies are for the exclusive use of the owner of the website visited.


====Openly sharing IP addresses====
The owner of the website posted on a now deleted Mastodon (that has been since archived on https://kiwifarms.st)  the idea of sending "gzip bombs" to offending users. However, he didn't hide any IP addresses from the logs. It is fair to assume that, considering the blocking of Tor and VPNs, the owner keeps logs of normal IPs and could potentially use these for unethical purposes.


==See also==
==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or products with similar incidents.}}


*[[Better Way Electronics]]<br />


==References==
==References==
Line 44: Line 58:


[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Website]]
__NOINDEX__

Latest revision as of 05:04, 9 June 2025

The Cutting Room Floor
Basic Information
Release Year 2002 (Blog) - 2010 (Wiki)
Product Type Website, Video Game Archiving
In Production Yes
Official Website https://tcrf.net

The Cutting Room Floor (TCRF) is a website dedicated to the cataloguing of unused content and leftover debugging material in video games.[1] Launched as a blog in 2002 then reworked as a wiki in 2010, it was and still is cited as a source of unused video game content.

The site is owned and administrated by Xkeeper (Rachel Mae[2], formerly known as Alexander Todd Workman)[3].

Consumer impact summary[edit | edit source]

The main concern for consumers accessing this site stems from the fact that, since March 30[4], they are going out of their way to block users utilizing a VPN (Virtual Private Networks) to access the website.

On top of this, they are also blocking users from utilizing the Tor networks to access material on their site.

Both of these actions together hamper the user's freedom to access the site in a way that makes them feel comfortable.

User's would probably not feel the need to access this site with either a VPN or via Tor if there weren't also stringent privacy violations occurring on the site as well. Since it is all but confirmed that the administrators of the site are not just keeping IP addresses of visitors in ways that open it to security risks.

But the administrators are also going online to flaunt various threats such as their suggestion to send "gzip Bombs" to various offending users.

The privacy and freedom issues are also amplified with the administrators banning users coming via URL's hosted on specific sites that do not align with their ideals. Users who wish to consume the information on the site have to be careful that their political views and ideology align with that of the team of administrators or otherwise end up banned and considered an "offensive user".[5]

Incidents[edit | edit source]

This is a list of all consumer protection incidents related to this website.

Harassment on their user base[edit | edit source]

On June 1st, the website administration celebrated Pride month with an assortment of LGBTQ+ logo variants.[5] A few long-time contributors voiced their concerns on this subject, one instance was from Jo Li on the main talk page of the site[5]. However, instead of civilly discussing over it, they received derogatory comments making fun of their opinions, finishing off with a permanent ban.[5]

This is in contrast to their at least two of their rules of conduct:

  • Be polite.
  • Assume good faith.

Other users have been permanently banned on Discord after voicing their concerns. They have since locked down any invites to their server.

The administrators have been actively monitoring incoming connections. As of June 8th, they have done the following:

Ban of Tor and VPN users[edit | edit source]

Users connecting from Tor or a VPN are greeted with a message asking to disable their VPN, with the pretext being for combating an ongoing DDoS attack.[6][4]

Ban of users with specific referral ID[edit | edit source]

As of June 6th, users have also been who have a referral ID coming from https://kiwifarms.st and https://www.4chan.org[7]. In addition, users banned from this also receives a cookie without their express consent. This is potentially in violation of the GDPR[8], stating:

  • Strictly necessary cookies — These cookies are essential for you to browse the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the site. Cookies that allow web shops to hold your items in your cart while you are shopping online are an example of strictly necessary cookies. These cookies will generally be first-party session cookies. While it is not required to obtain consent for these cookies, what they do and why they are necessary should be explained to the user.
  • Statistics cookies — Also known as “performance cookies,” these cookies collect information about how you use a website, like which pages you visited and which links you clicked on. None of this information can be used to identify you. It is all aggregated and, therefore, anonymized. Their sole purpose is to improve website functions. This includes cookies from third-party analytics services as long as the cookies are for the exclusive use of the owner of the website visited.

Openly sharing IP addresses[edit | edit source]

The owner of the website posted on a now deleted Mastodon (that has been since archived on https://kiwifarms.st) the idea of sending "gzip bombs" to offending users. However, he didn't hide any IP addresses from the logs. It is fair to assume that, considering the blocking of Tor and VPNs, the owner keeps logs of normal IPs and could potentially use these for unethical purposes.

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "The Explorers: The gaming archaeologists digging through the code you were never meant to see". Edge. 16 Dec 2013. Archived from the original on 18 Feb 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  2. "User:Rachel Mae". The Cutting Room Floor. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  3. "Alexander Workman in Federal Way, WA (Washington)". FastPeopleSearch.com. 8 Jun 2025. Retrieved 8 Jun 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. 4.0 4.1 "TCRF has been getting DDoSed". Xkeeper's blog. 30 Mar 2025. Archived from the original on 31 May 2025. Retrieved 8 Jun 2025.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "This Isn't Why I Came Here". The Cutting Room Floor. 1 Jun 2025. Archived from the original on 6 Jun 2025. Retrieved 8 Jun 2025.
  6. "403 Forbidden". The Cutting Room Floor. 8 Jun 2025. Archived from the original on 7 Jun 2025. Retrieved 8 Jun 2025.
  7. "Video Game Archival Autism / TCRF / Jul / Sonic Retro / And More". Kiwi Farms. 6 Jun 2025. Retrieved 9 Jun 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "Cookies, the GDPR, and the ePrivacy Directive". gdpr.eu. 18 Nov 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2025. Retrieved 8 Jun 2025.