I want an explanation

[DiegoPalacios]

I don't know, but these forums have always seemed a lot more oriented towards talking shop about comics and writing and publishing than about the social side of things

actually....Tapas itself has adressed social issues.

Hello All! We stand with our Black creators, our Black readers, and the entire Black community. As a storytelling platform, we strive to amplify voices that aren’t always heard in the mainstream media. It is our mission to provide a safe space for our entire inclusive community. We're planning to make a donation to a BLM-verified organization, and we're currently researching where we can make the biggest difference right now. We're also looking to elevate black voices by featuring black stor…

Hello there! Our community is full of creators and readers that are celebrating Pride Month in June, and we are celebrating with them! Many Pride parades may be cancelled this year, but that won’t stop us. During these times where we can’t be close to one another physically, we are getting the LGBTQ+ community together for a virtual pride parade instead! Here is what’s planned for our virtual parade: Pride Comic Contest (June 4th - 17th) We are holding a Pride Comic Contest where you wil…

And talking and adressing said issues is a good thing. Let's not pretend is a bad thing per se.

and topics that discuss sensitive issues can very often get tense and ruin the mood.

I agree that not everyone handle said topics in a constructive way, but trying to remove these is like banning nuts in a country because someone is allergic.

Gonna take the chance to insist in a category for sensitive topics. People who are not interested in these can block them and people interested can have a positive debate with less drama. It`s a win-win for moderators and users alike.

[foxnflames]

I read the original post and I’m honestly a little baffled at how you recognize the importance of giving POC creators a space but insinuating that these redrawing challenges are somehow excluding white creators. That sentiment contradicts the “point” you claim to understand.

I’ve been following along on twitter with the redrawing of anime characters and saw the black artist who drew Princess Peach, got harassed for it, and even had someone redraw her Peach. And whether it seems that way or not, black creators get excluded out of spaces all the time. Case in point, these redrawing challenges and how everyone is up in arms about “black washing” characters and thinking that it holds the same weight as “white washing” (spoiler alert, it doesn’t).

I think the issue comes in is, as other have said, if you had a genuine concern/comment/question, then an actual question would have gotten better reception than asking why it’s a problem then providing a biased assessment of the situation. While I’m sure you didn’t mean it, it came off dismissive to black creators and other POC creators who already fight twice as hard to get half the recognition oftentimes.

And if this is reminiscent of the food topic, this is my hot take: just because you don’t see an issue with something doesn’t mean that an issue isn’t there. Please take the time to listen to POC when they have a problem with something rather than saying, nah or well actually.

[IntoTheTempest]

I did read the entire post, and it's made no difference to me. It came off as baity, for lack of a better term and you prefacing it with the abovemetioned text didn't make it any better.

"...the funkiest stuff you've seen going on on Twitter."

Then you go on to describe something that is essentially a non-issue. White folk not being able to participate in something that PoC created and popularised. And to that point, I saw no consensus amongst black artists that white artists or any non-black PoC couldn't participate, just a lot of dissent towards characters being melinated. Receipts? Also calling the situation "funky" comes off as tone deaf.

Even if white folk were told to leave this space for PoC creators, i don't see how that would be such a big deal. They're free to start their own trends just like everyone else. Marginalised creators have had to deal with being excluded for decades but white creators can't sit out one trend? One event?

"It's a while since I've covered any borderline offensive subject matter...ah, those were the days~."

This sounds like you have a history of stirring the pot and seeing who's attracted to or put off by the smell. Which is again, quite baity and attention seeky. I avoid these kinds of posts because it comes off as OP trying to drill their PoV into everyone else and not actually trying to have a conversation.

[joannekwan]

Mod mode still off-

I totally agree with you! It was such a great time when you knew just about every avatar on the forums and know when someone was joking or not, or if they needed more time to articulate their point.

However as this forum has grown a lot in the past couple of years, that familiarity has waned. More new faces, fewer old ones. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just that everyone needs a bit of time to get to know each other and acclimate to personalities and posting styles.

And because of the growth, there is definitely a higher chance of trolls, so we have to be on the lookout for instigators as well as get to know new folks who might just be a little awkward.
The mods aren't alone in this, users are still free to flag things that are questionable and it will go to review.

[amortelito]

I agree we users can help the mods too. Asides of flagging, which is still imported to shut down the trolls, I think we can help the threads to stay on topic, don't be assholes with new people, and set the tone for a reasonable exchange instead of immediately turn things into a brawl.

[joannekwan]

Slaps on mod hat for a quick minute -

I'd like to thank everyone here for keeping things civil up to this point! This is a great meted discussion from all sides~

[TAMAnnoying]

Gonna take the chance to insist in a category for sensitive topics. People who are not interested in these can block them and people interested can have a positive debate with less drama. It`s a win-win for moderators and users alike.

I second this- I would love to have more discussions with people who disagree but want to understand each other, makes for a better community- I’ve convinced more homophonic people that homo is ok by treating them like people rather then yelling at them and shutting down conversations 🤷‍♀️ Go figure

[colorgoat]

I do agree with above statements that the original post sounded rather baity and didn't seem to take the subject seriously, even if it wasn't your intent. Conveying mood through text can certainly be difficult at times, but watching tone around others as to not instigate an argument or immature comments isn't a new concept online or...in life, really.

[KoreanTacos]

so how's the first day on the job?

[Cavechan]

I agree with @amortelito buuuut there were a couple of replies there that were already going down hill and missing the point of the thread. It definitely could have been worded better.

Maybe try and reformulate the question/points in a more succinct/neutral way and try again? I think it's a very interesting topic anyway.

[Iris-Grimoire]

I like to bring up the "hot topic rule" on Neopets as something that could work putting this into perspective.

Technically, discussing religion, politics, sexuality etc shouldn't be disallowed there. You can have trans pets (and select your gender as Other), you can imply some politics and whatnot... But the Hot Topic Rule means you can never be specific about them, for one reason: the next person doesn't know why you did it.
You come in with a discussion of minority-focused events. To you with the full context, it's a genuine discussion, other forum regulars know how your threads are, nobody minds.
Enter someone who's not a regular or doesn't pay attention; to them, your thread is about woe is me, I can't join these minority events. Or worse, a racist that thinks you're speaking their language.

You weren't breaking any rules by starting the discussion. But a few hours later, mods and other people are going to join in like the gif of the guy with pizza. Of course, this isn't as draconic as Neopets and shouldn't ever be, but I'd just like to bring up that wording is EXTREMELY important when handling certain topics, lest the thread turn into a storm that you weren't expecting. Typing a wall of text OP in the heat of the moment might be more harm than good.

[rajillustration]

Doki, I think it's just not the right time for a post about the Princess Peach meme. Art twitter has these really intense art fights (anyone remember cannibalism art fight? holy hell) and things that were never meant to be so insanely serious get twisted and contorted and they always go off the wall and right out the window. We come here to get away from that toxic environment so we can finally talk about anything else. But, people who just stepped off of twitter still have the steam of the twitter furnace rising off their backs. They're gonna be mad just seeing this topic--yet again--when it's been churned over and over on twitter for what feels like months.

It's probably been less than a week but it sure has felt like a month. Freakin art twitter.

And like...when a mod closes a thread or tells you to knock it off--you don't have to argue with them. You said straight up what you did wrong and then asked "so what did I do wrong?" It's right there. You've answered it yourself. It was too sensitive. It was worded poorly. It's OK. We've all bothered a mod at one time or another. It happens.

But these are things you can ask the mods in a PM instead of bringing it to threads like this where it's in front of god and everyone as if to shame these new mods or something. The rules of talking about race on these forums have barely changed since I was here a year ago. It was never "OK" to talk about overly-sensitive topics in a poor tone. If you may have gone under the radar before, it doesn't mean it was "OK" back then.

[beta1042]

Quote from original thread "It's a while since I've covered any borderline offensive subject matter..."

Thread gets closed
Doki:

[DiegoPalacios]

Doki, i really enjoy your topics and they often come to interesting discussions, also, i know it can be frustrating to feel like walking in eggshells due to misunderstandings.

That being said, i recommend re-reading before posting just to check for possible misinterpretations, specially for sensitive topics (i made it a little habit). I don`t mean a convoluted overthinking or anything like that, just an extra re-read just in case.

Just mentioning this to avoid unneccesary closing of cool topics

[thedude3445]

Oh, I guess you're right. I guess I'm just not really reading the threads with social issues that much so I'm not noticing them.

[DiegoPalacios]

I would love to have more discussions with people who disagree but want to understand each other, makes for a better community- I’ve convinced more homophonic people that homo is ok by treating them like people rather then yelling at them and shutting down conversations 🤷‍♀️ Go figure

set the tone for a reasonable exchange instead of immediately turn things into a brawl.

[amortelito]

omg The order of the stick.
Now I feel old which makes me offended.

*Flags Diego.

[DiegoPalacios]

Now I feel old which makes me offended.

*Flags Diego.

"(Gets offended over you feeling offended)

*Flags Amortelito back XD"

[joannekwan]

Not too bad! At least y'all can tell I'm not sleeping on the job.

[KRWright]

Without the mod hat: I think you've all raised some food for thought here about the threads, language, topic, tone and a variety of things that really should be taken into account when posting difficult topics. Thanks to everyone who took time to respond here!