On one hand, none of this kind of stuff was ever on the front page, and many users never went far beyond the front page. On the other hand, there was a substantial minority of users for whom that kind of content was the draw. And there was an uproar whenever any of this content was banned (which happened slowly, piece by piece, and continues into the present).

If you aren't aware of any of it, the Gawker story on violentacrez (still available online) is good picture of the nastiest side of the site. Its publication was (and remains) hugely controversial.