How is Tapastic's community so...Nice?

[riverfur]

So, recently, I was experiencing a disturbing lack of comics to read. I'd gone through my bookmarks, updated my Tapastic reading list, exhausted the staff picks/trending/popular sections on the front page, etc etc. So, I decided to check out Tapastic's sister (rival?) website LINE Webtoon. I found some great comics there, but one thing that confused me was the ratings system. A lot of really, really great comics were rated really low! After a bit of investigation, I found out that because people are competing for top spots in comic contests, they purposefully rate good comics badly! What's more, I looked through some of the comment sections on my favorite comics and saw a scary similarity to Youtube comment sections--there were people arguing with each other, giving criticism when it wasn't asked for, saying that they just hated the comic and not giving a reason, making derogatory comments, and other negative things.
At first I was taken aback, but then I remembered that the Internet is a giant hate machine. Pretty much all websites that allow for interaction between users cause this kind of stuff. Tumblr, Youtube, Reddit, Facebook, they're all like this...

EXECPT FOR Tapastic?????
(Almost) everyone here is super nice and friendly! People here really try their best to give constructive criticism, and only when it's needed! I've gotten so used to people being courteous to authors and encouraging them that going to another website was jarring!

So here's my question: Why do you think is Tapastic so much friendlier than other websites???
Also, if you've hosted comics on other sites similar to Tapastic, was the community as good as it is here?

[eschaefges]

i think the lack of an 'upvote to get $$' incentive helps lessen the trolls GREATLY... also, the overall interface is just designed as a classy, professional place to hang out & have fun. it is well curated, designed, and maintained.

but yeah, i love it here and it's crazy how nice it is. it's the first artistic community i've been part of where i feel welcomed!

[zelkats]

The Tapastic community's friendliness is like a panda. It exists, it's rare, and it's precious <3

But there are times when I think it's so unusual and rare that it's more like a unicorn on the Internet. What's your secret, Tap staff? =3=

[dracoplato]

Yeah, I think it does relate to the upvoting/rating system since that's similar to how Youtube is with their likes vs. dislikes. When you introduce a system like that onto a website you've turned it into a competition which makes people act rather hostile towards one another.

[Doubtcent]

One reason I think is that Tapastic is still young. I've once in awhile come across a comic or a user that were a bit ready to jump at the first offense, but those kind of accounts are few and far between around here. So the site is pretty much hate-free. For now.

Also, through the forums and the comment section, we creators are what to thank for this almost hate-less site. We severely want this community to be accepting and open to all views, and despise openly offensive content or comments. We are willing to work hard at this, that way more people can be brought here without much worry of trolling or haters.

Another reason why I think this is possible is just the way the site is designed. The friendly looking mascot, the user-friendly interface, the easy-to-upload program, and the way the popularity works, (not based on up or down vote, just likes), all benefits the creator. You are urged to give love through this. If a comment is given, it benefits the creator. There is no negative side.

So for however long, this site is a diamond in the rough. It might find some new obstacles in the future, but we creators (and the staff as well) are here to make sure that doesn't happen.

[ratique]

We are quite blessed with this website and community, aren't we?

Is it because there are so many females in our community? Or are we just older on average? Or is it because the staff secretly sprinkles fairy dust into our cereal?

Probably all of it at once!

[PotooGryphon]

Hmm, perhaps, positivity attracts more positivity? Not sure why Tapastic is so nice, however, it's been that way ever since I joined almost 2 yrs ago. Maybe the little things like the Thank you wall posts help spread that kind of mentality. Perhaps it's also how the Tapastic staff handles the website that helps keep it positive. There are no money competitions here, no system to encourage downvoting or being mean, and the staff themselves are usually super nice and helpful. They also do a lot to be open to the community, like the townhall meeting livestreams, and listen to user feedback.

Creators on the site are also some of the nicest bunch I've seen. No one is openly criticizing each other, the whole community is out to help one another. The forums really helps encourage that. Here on the forums everyone is eager to help one another or do fun sketches for one another.

I think all that positive atmosphere is felt by people that visits the site making readers super chill and nice too.

I host my comic all over the place. Here and on my own personal site have been the best. I don't get much, if any, negativity else where, mainly just silent readers.

[James_Ulmen]

I've only been on Tapastic for a month and it is already my favorite place to host my work. The community is very supportive and friendly. I agree that the lack of down-voting naturally makes it a more friendly environment.

[WintreKitty]

Everyone else has already pointed out the fact that there is no competition for points on this site, which probably plays a big part on how a community interacts -doesn't hurt to voice this again.

Another thing is that Tapastic is still pretty small. This allows for a more intimate relationship between reader and creator which may be cause for the friendlier vibe, rather than those harsher interactions you see on bigger, more impersonal sites.

As for other sites, I've been located on Inkblazers as well (before it shutdown). The community was relatively friendly, but I couldn't say it was as outwardly friendly as Tapastic is -It had its ups and downs. I also follow comics on Smackjeeves. There really isn't any community at all on that site. You just hop around from comic to comic and then leave. I don't feel any commitments or see any reason to stick around any longer than necessary. For Tapastic, I tend to browse comics more, and I'm fairly active here on the forums since everyone is so interesting and has such lovely perspectives and opinions. Great crowd

[AnnaLandin]

Tapastic is kind of magical, isn't it? I mean, this is the only place on the internet that I can think of where we had a discussion on religion that didn't descend into a flame-war.

Positivity breeds positivity, and in the time I've been here (since March), there's only been one instance of another user who was actively hateful - and they either went away on their own or was banned by the staff. The general habit of being nice means that new users learn by example here in the forums, and experience it on the main site with the thank-you images and such.

I also think that the lack of an upvote/downvote system helps. When you don't have the ability to rank comics/people/comments by voting them up or down.... you don't. By which I mean you don't even think about it. And if you don't think about downvoting someone, you're generally going to be a nicer person towards them, even if you disagree with them. A downvote is an impersonal act - but when you can't, you have to deal with them actively. And so on.

[Aetherwing]

I haven't been on Tapastic for very long and it's already my favorite place on the internet. It has a community of supportive artists that all value original work and stories, I don't feel a lot of pressure, and I've manage to find an audience. It really is an amazing website.

I noticed people talking about Webtoon in a different thread so I decided to look into it, but wound up not signing up for it because the rating system really turned me off and seemed like it could be used in a very mean spirited way. And the way people seem to talk about it makes it seem like not the healthiest space.

There are a couple of good points here that I agree with. The fact that the site is newer helps, and I think that the whole setup is presented in a non-competitive way. Artists are encouraged to support rather than compete, which really makes a difference. And yeah, there is always going to be some level of competitiveness, but here it seems a lot more friendly.

[Aspie_Gamer]

Must be something in the water.

[Vikiro_Hop]

I've often described tapastic as sickeningly nice. (Endearingly trust me.) Jokes aside I think a big part of it is that people on here genuinely want a place to make friends and network. There aren't any obvious cliques to fall into so everyone just tries to be courteous in general. Professionals and those aspiring to be can easily rub elbows and noobies are free to make friends and do as they will. There is definitely a mentality of us all being in it together. Even the passing bit of contention is laughably modest compared to other communities. I think there is a good lead here, and if future growth causes friction among the community I think everyone will be able to handle it.

Honestly I think it's natural and healthy for communities to have a bit of a bite from time to time. Having said that I've been using this place as a safe haven from the pit of toxic waste m facebook feed has become.

I'm still not completely ruling out my theory that everyone is a part of some webcomic cult, hell bent on creating the perfect community no matter what cost.

[carloswebcomic]

I think it's because heaters are stopped in their tracks here. That crap is simply not tolerated.
I remember a post asking for people to list comics to hate. Boy, that did not go down well.

I also think it has to do with the fall of the "guerrilla" reviewer that would instigate hate on comics they personally didn't like and send their armies of trolls to bring that comic down.
I guess that people finally realised that hating things does not equate to being more clever or having better taste.

I'm a cynical bastard, but I must admit I'm rather impress with Tapastic. It's the first time I've come across a group of people that deserves the "community" title.

[Mharz]

I was actually scared of going to forum communities since I know that there are some people who likes to give hate comments but I have never encountered anything like that here in Tapastic. It's like a cafe where creators and readers just chill and talk about random stuffs webcomic related or not. Everyone here is so open-minded and helpful and everyone don't put each other down and yahh I think not having a competitive stuffs like upvoting really helps since it doesn't put the creators under pressure.

[Marvin]

There is a classement (like Gamercat having the most subscribers) but it's not the kind were you have to fight for first place. Technically, we could all share the first place (not that it would be better) so it makes us look at comics like Gamercat not with resentment and jealousy but in a "kuddos to you, watch me I'm gonna do as good as you one day !" way.

Also, I don't have the stats but as the community is still rather small, I wonder what part of it is a creator/wannabe creator/draws in general. People who know how much work there is behind each of our pages and don't treat them as just a product that we owe them or something.

I hope tapastic keeps growing but I also hope we'll all be ready to tell haters they have no place here if they ever manage to slither in.

[Dranif]

I'll be honest here. I've not seen a hint of negativity here on Tapastic ever since I came here like over a year ago.
I felt paranoid, nervous, and worried about what others thought of my work, but never actually received any harsh negativity.
Outside the place, yeah once indirectly by a friend of a friend who doesn't know what the heck he's saying/doing who got curious, but never actively on site.
Maybe its cuz people are afraid of causing a conflict, maybe its cuz the staff is super nice and niceness spreads like wildfires. Maybe its the age of the place, like others said. Or it could be the heart of the matter, that most of this community consists of an ecosystem of artists and writers who seek the help, care, and support needed to grow.

All I can really say is that I hope it stays this way.

[PotooGryphon]

I remember when you first joined Tapastic. You were very kind of quiet and shy. I've loved seeing you develop your artistic confidence and become active in the community, even braving it enough to enter comic communities on other sites like join the Twitter #webcomicchat events XD

With drive like that I think you'll just keep growing into a smashing comic artist.

I hope Tapastic keeps brings that out of more artists. <3

[AffectedMind]

Ah WEBtoons... bunch of people demanding updates and downvoting... Those who didn't experience that are lucky. Tapastic is the nicest place on the internet so far. I don't know how do they do that either, but it have this "home sweet home" vibe.

[webcomicguru]

It's an oasis of kindness and all-around groovy vibes in the ocean of anger and hostility that is the interwebs.