Yahoo! is bracing itself for a spat after instigating a pornography crackdown on its website.
Sections of Yahoo!'s online community have grouped together to prepare petitions fighting for the survival of their online clubs, message boards and chatrooms.
They say that the company's extended ban on the sale of porn is tantamount to a complete purge and censorship.
The revolt comes less than a month after Yahoo! said it was banning the sale of pornography on its shopping section because public opinion was mounting against it.
Over the past few weeks, Yahoo! has quietly reconfigured its adult-themed online clubs, message boards and chat rooms, removing links and making them harder to find.
Many users say they feel betrayed, and fear the clubs will fail to attract new members and ultimately disappear altogether. The issue underscores the popularity of the porn on the internet.
Ken Bradman, a 23-year-old web developer who has organised a protest club, said: "If they completely eliminate adult material from the site, they're going to lose a lot of members. I can guarantee you it's going to be a huge chunk of Yahoo's user base."
Some also say Yahoo's action actually makes it easier for children to see adult content.
Yahoo spokesman Jackson Holtz confirmed the company has made several changes as "part of the evaluation of adult content across the network" .
But he said no decisions have been made on whether the changes will be permanent. "It's the internet, so lots of things are possible," he said.
The porn issue blew up in March following press reports criticising Yahoo! of profiting from the sale of hardcore videos and DVDs.
Yahoo had sold X-rated products for two years and had planned to expand this before it quickly back-peddled after a media frenzy.
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