Signal boosts, and why I almost left · 1:34am Jul 4th, 2021
Pride Month was supposed to be great, and for a while, it was. It was so nice seeing all of the great stories people were writing, and I had a blast participating in the Pride-themed contests in the Quills and Sofas Speedwriting group with the amazing people there. I was planning on making my own mark, working on four stories of my own. They were great ideas, and I had a lot of fun developing them and trying out new things in my writing. I was so excited for when I would get to release them to the world, ending the month with a bang.
Then something happened. And suddenly I felt like I was in the Upside Down, where nobody was pointing out the thing that was really blindingly, screamingly, obviously wrong about the situation. And I discovered things about perfectly pleasant, normal-seeming pillars of the community, and all this just reminded me how deeply baked into the website and its group founders it all is, and it all really sharpened my moral lines.
Enough to make some decisions about group memberships and contest entries, and honestly, it should have been enough to push me off the website altogether. But seeing other people put parts of my thought processes about all this into words did reassure me that I wasn't alone on here, and that maybe things can change. Here they are, written far better than i could.
River Shy's A Goddamn Bucking Rant
Twilight Glimmer's The Current Fimfiction Situation
Lofty Withers's Censorship Redux
SweetBanana's It's not just harmless fiction
Not Enough Coffee's Pedophilia: A Growing Concern Over Artistic Expression And Lustful Perversion.
And this isn't an invitation to debate. If I'm going to stay here for now, the least I will do is not allow this little slice of the website that is mine to be a platform for what is driving me to leave.
I know the feeling of wanting to leave the site, though this was only one of many for me. Friends I have made along the way, plus the good stories that get filtered through, have kept me around. Still, I am dishearted by a lot that has gone on here, and I am glad I am not alone in that regard.
Yeah, I know that feeling. Hell, I've been distancing myself from the site at times for various reasons, sometimes due to other fandoms and sometimes not. But then, a wonderful story or maybe a friend draws me back. Still, I'm worried about this site at times and I'm glad I'm not alone.
Thanks for the links, and I wholeheartedly agree. This whole situation has been *very* depressing, to see just how deep some problems go in this fandom. I'm still on the site, mainly for the sake of some friends I know on here. But man, this does not make me feel at ease about my association with this fandom.
Thanks for sharing the full story from different perspectives, it cleared a lot of falsehood and hearsay.
It's sad that an important event had such an end, but as you said, most of the month has had a lot of good stories and speedwrites that even me, being from outside the community, found amazing and meaningful in a lot of ways.
I also believe things can change for the better, it has been shown that many won't stand for it.
Why link 41 second goddess
Yah. Foalcon should be banned from the site, period.
Also, please don't leave. If all the good folks leave, the people pushing the bad stuff win.
Thanks for this, Bicyclette. I've had a very hard time figuring out what happened with how quickly it all escalated and devolved, so these links and the thoughts you've shared have been immensely helpful.
Thank you for sharing these blogs, my friend. We are not alone, and that is important.
Take care
I hope you’re feeling better after these strange times.
I'm sorry your experience with this incident was that strongly negative; it does not sound like that was pleasant to go through.
...I take it I missed something?
Well, that sucks. Stay safe.
5548553
Probably because it's a really good story?
Maybe also because Bike might be yearning to see some responsible Galaxy Brain right now.
5550814
Makes sense