Jul
19th
2020
Silence · 2:55am Jul 19th, 2020
With recent developments, I've been sitting down and thinking hard for the most of the day. Having my newest story silenced hurts a bunch. I write for enjoyment and never really cared for upvotes or downvotes in any regard. I spent my early days enjoying the spotlight via the feature box, and nowadays I just write for my own amusement. I like hearing people speak up and say what they want about it, yet when that is taken forcefully away from people, it makes you question things.
Makes me wonder if avoiding this site for a bit is a good idea.
... And the comment section is already devolving into "What about our Foalcon?! You're not gonna take that away from us are you?!" ... Which I honestly have to say... I find abhorrent. To a degree I can't even begin to voice properly. Nazis bad, but fucking what are essentially children? "A-OK!" Where's that fuckin' asteroid I was promised? I've got a few grid squares he can land on.
It is really amazing how many people on this site apparently missed the entire point of this song. It's funny that you posted this, because I just recommended in that thread, half in jest and half in earnest, that that song should be embedded in any deleted comments section.
Anyway, don't let this whole thing discourage you too much. You write good shit and your writing for a good cause. If it matters any, you've at least gained a follower in me over this past weekend.
Can always link a blog post in the description and use its comment section.
And you can use a strawpoll link as a jank replacement for upvotes and downvotes
Well, you did pick a very niche( and controversial) character. Me personally didn't read the story to avoid flame war around character than distaste towards character concept.
5314097
Yeah, ´cause mods LOVE when we find a way to overcome the restrictions they create.
Hm. Wonder if I can write a story about Unicorn Superiority like Mr. Numbers did.
Twilight Sparkle did not know she was a Unicorn Superiorist. Thankfully, she had friends to tell her.
It all started when she was on the Afternoon Reshelving, putting the History shelf back into proper order, when Sweetie Belle came galloping into the library with a stack of fliers.
"Hi, Twilight!" she called out. "Do you mind if I put one of these in the library window?"
"Is it some sort of official notice?" asked Twilight, still holding onto a heavy copy of All Things Found In Attics During The Fourth Reconstruction Period and trying to figure out if she should squeeze it into the end of the shelf, or start a new one.
"Sure is. It's condemning the mal... mal... ishnous running-down of Cart Blanche by the Unicorn Supremist yesterday," said Sweetie as she stuck it in the window. "Gotta go! Lots more shops to visit so we can stomp out Unicorn Supremicism all over town!"
"I thought Trixie ran over that drunk pony in the road, and that the police said he staggered in front of her? And what's Unicorn Supremicism? Is that even a word? Sweetie?" Twilight Sparkle climbed down from her ladder and went over to the window, where she gave a short glance to the flier, then shrugged. It seemed harmless enough, so she returned to her task.
She really should have read the whole thing.
Sorry to hear. Sucks to lack feedback on something you put hard work into, but nothing we can do besides express our discontent.
I took a break once from here and it did me wonders. If you feel you need to do the same, go for it. I don't blame you. All the same, I like having you around. You're good company.
5314118
Honestly with your talent? You could definitely do it. Be interesting to see what you'd come up with!
5314142
This, a thousand times over.
Yeah, I hope you stick around. A trash decision they made compared to the better alternative of not getting involved at all. The people upset by nazi pony would have forgotten about it in like, a couple months at best. Now we have this vague new thing that will affect everyone for some time.
I can at least be somewhat begrudgingly grateful that they haven't issued ridiculous bans of the content it self, so at least the readers are fine, but at the sake of the authors. And to think, this whole mess started because some fucking 'journalist' needed a piece for that week.
5314102
Then fuck them for making bullshit arbitrary rules. There's nothing in the "excessive controversy" rule that says you can't do exactly that. I posted that idea several times in Knighty's face in the announcement and he didn't say a word about it, so it's legit.
I hope you stay, Titty. This site is better for having you here. I look through all the threads going on right now seeing many familiar names standing up for freedom of expression, and I recognize a bunch of them from your blogs in the last three weeks; without having a common ground, I doubt people would have had the conviction to stand up to the mob. Christ this is getting heavy for pony stories, but it is what it is.
I'm leaving the fandom in general.
But your account is new
I had my old one deleted for reasons. But this, I can't do it anymore. Sure I watched derpi explode with some mixed trepidation and popcorn, but fimfic?
I cried. Knighty thinks he's splitting hairs but the sharks taste blood. I can't take the stress anymore. What will happen next will be authors pulling stories quite like derpi and bad blood only getting worse.
Thanks lefties. I only wanted to grill and read horsewords.
You saw nazis under the bed and labeled everything to the right of Mao as one, then associated those that wouldn't actively fight them as enablers.
Someone here is the lunatic hatemonger and it ain't us.
If you feel the need, stepping away is of course an option. I just hope it wouldn't end up being permanent. No one will really be able to stop you. Then again, comments and opinions are exactly just that. They can sometimes be constructive, and uplifting, and they can also be negative. I personally hate it when people resort to flat-out name calling during debates about the show/story for example (And I realize this whole Aryanne thing is a bit deeper than this). I also realize that I might be pulling this up at the wrong place and the wrong time, but this kind of reminds me of Ralph Breaks the Internet. What I'm getting to is... it might also be an option for you to simply not read the comments if they begin to unsettle you.
5314146 Heck, I bet I can lose at least a hundred followers, and get two death threats. Wonder if I can find some poor sucker... I mean a brave volunteer who would run the story under their name. Or I could make an alt-account. Hm...
5314162
I 100% agree. The option to go elsewhere and find enjoyment in what you like is always an option.
5314154
They're pushing the pendulum farther and farther. When it swings back, it's really going to hurt everyone. We aren't going to see a return to "tits and beer liberalism" until after the left gets sick of the religious right (or whatever the 20xx version turns out to be) censoring them again. The anti-foalcon groups are just waiting for their turn, and then it'll be whatever the next moral panic is about.
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5314161
I mean, you don't have to leave quite yet. While agree this kind of garbage is annoying and ruins our community, we can still try and argue for common sense. It's an uphill battle, for sure, but it's possible. Maybe not though lol
Stepping away may be a good idea for almost everypony at this point.
I won't hide my displeasure at the stories you've posted recently, but I won't assume you're an actual Nazi based on them either. You've been clear about what you claim you are doing and why, at least.
Important note... I'm not going to link to it for obvious reasons, but even though they nuked the story, apparently the title image for that story can still be accessed and shared through the website by clicking on the thumbnail in the "also liked" section of your other story. So maybe they should fix that, but it seems some of this was done very quickly (even if it was well thought-out).
EDIT: Oh, wait. That other Panzer story that got banned is not yours.
Oh god it's come from Derpi to FIMFic. God damn it. Well, at least it's being handled better, I guess.
Personally I feel like you kind-of walked into it. Not to be harsh but, I feel like that's the truth. You wrote a story with Aryanne in it, and FIMFic are in their right to take actions to prevent things spiralling out of control.
If you want to take a break, go for it. It's up to you ultimately. But if you're feeling off, or down, then I'd recommend doing so.
I implore you to not leave, TS. You’re one of my all time favorites, and many others on here share the same sentiment, I’m sure. This whole bullshit will fade and once the overreacting crowd either find something else to pick apart or realize the futility of it all, we’ll see normalcy resume.
Or maybe it’ll get worse and worse. I truly hope it doesn’t come to that. This has been my main interaction with the fandom since I discovered it! The one safe haven that’s never steered me wrong. I’ve had countless good times here, read so many wonderful and fascinating tales of passion by so many wonderful people. I hope that we all come out of this okay. I would hate to see numbers drop over some stupid shit that shouldn’t even have happened.
I hope some time away will do you well, and whatever path you take leads you to what’ll make you most happy. Best wishes and stay safe through all this craziness!
Bad timing, really. Clopfic's fic devolved into an unholy shitposting blizzard in the comments I can't really blame Knighty for disabling them. We can still talk politics in our blogs and we can still write the stories to make our point, so I don't think it's really a big loss. Knighty's just trying to save those users who only want to grill instead of being disturbed by Derpi drama that's leaking over the border.
I'll see you when you're back.
Take the measures you feel you need to take for your own well-being.
Just know there are people here who will always welcome you.
For the record, I liked your story.
This is just for the trolls that take advantage of the situation. It's not like fimfiction is going to start treating all nazi stories already on the site like this. Or nazi stories in the future.
When Twitter-like behaviour becomes the norm on a website, the website inevitably becomes as toxic as Twitter.
Maybe do log out, if you are experiencing things like the urge to sigh all the time or if you feel your heart rate going down, dry mouth and headaches. But, and this is important: get away from all of the social media at once, and set a timer to return. The underlying issue is quick gratification, the same thing behind social media addiction. People want to be validated, they want that power rush of feeling Right. The excuses they use to get this high, as well as the circumstances leading up to this dependence, are irrelevant.
Detox for a bit, and encourage others to do the same. Take a music bath every now and then, just crank up the tunes that make you feel better. Avoid or tone down caffeine consumption, too, just in case.
Take care of yourself. And no matter what happens: stay off the internet come November. Coz it's only gonna get worse.
A silent cry rang out through the night,
as the loudest howls were snuffed in their sleep.
...I foresee bad things in the future
That Kirin song fits so good with all this situation. And the fact that you have an Autumn Blaze icon in your profile since your last comeback it's almost prophetic
I'll be waiting you with open arms if you decide to take a rest from the site
Take care of you,TS and know that we are here for you.
I know I should not say it but, it could have been worse.
If Knightly did nothing he would have lost people from the other side. I know it sucks that Knightly finally gave in, and that the rules might be enforced inconsistently. From a practical standpoint however (not losing users), it was probably the least bad option.
5314704
Well, raving lunatic extremists feel emboldened enough to post calls for actual fascist actions openly, but it could have been worse right?
I had had close ad block for fimfiction.
It is time to use ad block for fimfiction' again.
Yeah, sad times we live in, where we silence parody... makes you wonder if they actually watched the show which preaches love and tolerance.
world
5314769
Yes, it could have been.
Walk away for now. Take a step back. There’s nothing wrong with this. Show’s been over for a while now. Take a step back, detox and actually question if its the right move to be here on this site (or derpi) anymore given what’s happening. Knighty seems conflicted about this but I think he’s getting pressured from other admins like that Present perfect guy to crack down on ‘undesirable’ fics.
For the creator, this does put some restrictions on what topics can be written about and chills author’s on their creative freedom even more, especially given the very opaque nature of the new rule doesn’t really give much guidance to authors here. If you feel like this, feel like you can’t really enjoy being here because you feel stifled, its okay to walk away. If you come back, most of us will still be here, if not, its been real.
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As an afterthought to this, I've come to the conclusion:
The loudest howl sleep not for the world, but only for himself
for when the cries of brothers still, may his last as long.
Foreseeing and knowing are two different things: I can foresee the end of the world, but so can everyone else. Knowing that this would be better in the long run is something you can only trust in. They didn't delete stories, only shut off comments and ratings. They silenced criticism, not the story.
5314955
Eh. They did both. They completely removed criticism on stories. Criticism isn’t just a way for readers to express approval or disapproval but also a way to give authors feedback on their work and what they can do to improve later down the road. This removes that ability for authors to gain feedback on specific fics.
The silencing aspect comes from the blanking of the story from the site. The story can’t be on trending, you can’t comment on it. The only real way to know it even existed would be to catch it on the front page before even newer stories drown it out or to already be following the author.
I would suggest staying. but you could always upload the story elsewhere with a link to it so people can always comment there. or heck go the old fashion early fandom way and upload a gdoc with comments enabled. there's ways to get input for your story.
that said we kinda need people like you to stay if for any reason to serve as a vigilant voice to ensure someone will say something should others try to move the goalpost further.
Love that song. Possibly the best in the show.
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I still listen to it years later
So when the ratings and stuff are disabled from a story does the view counter stop going up?
Or is the new story getting very little traffic from followers because we were all just following from the old days and people want to read blogs instead of stories.
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Funny thing, I posted my opinion and said something on that. He iisaw essentially called me a scum-sucking waste of breath then blocked me
lol I guess echo chambers really are toxic
5316315
I saw that. There wasn't even the pretense of conversation, just him shrieking wildly. Very disturbing.
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Just... I don't get how people can be brainwashed like that. I myself have tried being hypnotized, and it failed everytime
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People all around the world can fall prey to something that gives them an excuse to attack something else. "It's okay, you're the victim, they're the bad guy, you can do anything". I've looked at other posts of his, he makes a lot of them that aren't even responses to someone or talking about something, just loudly professing his hatred and desire for harm to befall "his enemies" over and over. That's a radicalized extremist getting a rush off of his own zealotry, and there's no limit to it.
I mean Jesus, this insanity:
He's not even in the same reality any more.
5316345
He's a cat who thinks it's a croc
5316400
Hah!