Opinions on featured content and why it bothers me

That is just hilarious

Questionable content aside, the screenshots posted above were really awkward to read. Seeing that it's actually a barely-repurposed TV show script I can understand why it looks like it does, but I had been imagining the Tapisodes would be more like the later chapters of Best Friends Forever, a webcomic that transitioned into a text + sketch format (see: http://bffcomic.com/ch/CH15.html20), which actually works really well.

Hey everyone!

I'm interrupting the discussion here with just a quick little reminder to keep the discussion civil. I've been seeing some dirt getting thrown back and forth in between the debates and discussions, and I think we can all agree it's unnecessary. We know what we're discussing here so there's no need to be getting sidetracked by personal attacks or grudges. Most of us are creators, but all of us are Tapastic users and readers at the very least, so we all have very important points to make and we shouldn't be disregarding each other's opinions based on our own opinions of them.

That being said, you are not required to reply to this thread so if you're only contributing for the sake of agitating the fire rather than containing it and keeping it safe, then I'd advise you to step away from the keyboard for a bit and take a breather before you post; it's pretty easy to get wrapped up in these debates and take things one step too far.

Finally, while I agree with a lot of the points being made here on BOTH sides, we still don't know what's going to be happening with the Tapisodes. This was just one series that had unfortunate results due to its advertising. This one comic in particular does not and shouldn't represent Tapastic's intentions/goals for the program (though it's definitely a rough first impression for it, I'll admit), and I'd hate to see this one slip-up change everyone's mindsets about Tapastic in such a short instance. There's only so much we know while the rest is assumption/guesswork so let's please not get too wrapped up in the theories as if they're fact - because we just don't know. Maybe these guesses are true, maybe they're completely false - but we don't know. So long as we don't know these things, while we can theorize/wonder about what Tapastic is doing all we like, what their plans are for us, etc. even with something backing it up, let's not jump ship over a few people calling shark.

Please continue the discussion as normal and on-topic. If you have a dispute about this mod note, please consult me via PM. Thank you everyone - Uzuki

EDIT: I'd also like to remind peeps that the original topic was about the validity of featured content and what should/shouldn't be featured (with Learning Curves used as an example) not so much Tapastic's intentions with Tapisodes and other new features. I'll say it a final time - we just don't know. That includes the mod team as well - I know we're "staff" but we're not company staff, we don't help with the development of the app or website, we don't make any of the decisions Tapastic has made, we're simply peacekeepers for the forums - we know just as much as you guys do, which is very, very little.

It would be very comforting indeed, if staff could dement the compromising claims...

Hey guys, me again. It was my plan to only leave one note, but after seeing your following posts and consulting the rest of the mod team, we're going to go ahead and lock this thread - after everything that's been talked about so far, it's going to be very difficult for everyone to get back on topic (and I say this out of understanding).

This thread will be locked, HOWEVER it will remain listed and in the meantime, we will be seeing about getting an actual Tapastic staff member to step forward and address your concerns further. Afterwards, the thread will continue to be locked - any further unanswered questions or concerns can be brought up with the Tapastic staff or mod team (though if you bring up Tapastic-related issues specifically with us, we'll probably just forward them ahead to Tapastic lol if it's a forum related question though or if you just need someone to talk to, we're here to help.)

Thanks for your understanding, everybody. I hope everyone has their concerns and questions addressed so we can put this to rest once and for all. Y'all are the best <3 - Uzuki

I'll be responding to questions and comments later tomorrow.

I'll decided to unlist the topic because of its toxic nature and have decided to leave it closed for now. I'll be re-opening the topic and listing it again once I've issued a response.

If you have any other questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to e-mail me at michaelson@tapasmedia.co

While this is a good suggestion, I feel this is rather off topic for this particular issue. The issue wasn't that people didn't like the genre. It wasn't that the story was unexpectedly NSFW; though it does seem to have NSFW content, that's not what people were upset about. It's this:

The story centers around an extremely sensitive topic. A lot of people do not want to see this topic handled, unless done with the utmost care in every single way; even then it's like walking on eggshells for reasons that are completely understandable. I'm glad that Tapastic recognizes the issue, and hope this experience will help them avoid similar problems in the future.

@keii4ii Oh, I understand this completely, Keii. I'm actually highly discomforted by the comic it myself. The difference is that a warning or possibly some sort of barrier, might prevent this issue from happening again.

This comic would've never blown up like it did if it wasn't featured as a daily Snack. (Sure, Tapastic also featured it as a frontrunner for Tapisodes, but that's another kettle of fish.) The issue is that it was sent to everyone and possibly influenced young teens that didn't follow the Tapastic guidelines. This sensitive content was highly unwelcomed by the masses for good reason, so my suggestions were an attempt to address this problem.

If you know you might get comics that contain some unsafe material (such as a NSFW warning), then you are the one in control not an automated system. Not all NSFW content is this extreme but it is the easiest fix to the problem. So if you signed up to possibly get content that could contain mature content or sensitive themes, then the user would be held accountable for that decision. It's not a pretty fix, but it's worth addressing because it's certainly possible Tapastic's algorithm could spit out another sensitive subject comic as a feature yet again. D:

I do agree that such content should be put behind a barrier, and I do think that an actual update of the NSFW is very required for this. I honestly wish it would be possible to flag series that contain unhealthy content, including unhealthy romance, and any sort of glorified abuse, because it should be made clear that such content is unhealthy and should not inspire readers to think of it as anything but fantasy material of a sort that would be extremely unsafe to reproduce in real life.

I honestly think that yes, featuring Learning Curves was a big mistake, and that an equally big lesson should be learned from this. Tapastic has delayed the update of NSFW filter for far too long. Clearly, we need the matter to be taken into hands. I would very much like it if Tapastic (and Tapas) put extra effort in featuring healthy content and making the unhealthy content less easily accessible (or required a specific flagging of it). Just because the App is 17+ doesn't mean anything should be put in front of the nose of any user, nor that any responsibility toward the sneaky underage kids using the App should be discarded as "we have no control, there's nothing we can do" when, clearly, there are many things you can do to put extra safeties.

@michaelson I must say I'm a bit disappointed to see you only replied to @Roxanneh, the person who clearly made an account only to make this post, and is most probably not going to reply again here. It feels to me like you only wanted to fix the image of Tapas and Tapastic that was somewhat scratched by their post. I still feel like we creators don't matter so much anymore. My trust in Tapastic was severely damaged with Tapas, the issues it generated, the key system being unavailable to the existing series, etc. Yes, I derail a bit, and then not so much. All in all, I feel somewhat alienated by the new directions of the staff.
I no longer know if there is an actual future for comic artist in your plans. There is little transparency about them. It's no longer like it used to be. You changed. I know change is necessary, but there's something deeper, at the core, that no longer feels the same, and not in a good way.
It does sadden me. Maybe I had too much hope, too much eagerness, too much love and too much care for this platform. It's a sad thing to think of as well.

Welp, a lot of this seems to mostly be directed at Learning Curves, and while their is argument of freedom to create whatever we wish and 'why should it matter because the internet is full of this stuff'. It should be understood that good writing and entertainment can become quite personal whether we mean it or not. The argument of glorification, is a simple matter of how we represent things as creators. As a child I didn't see many characters who physically or mentally were similar to me. (At the time, I wanted to be tall, with flowing hair, feminine, smart, and my genes and circumstance were just not shown in media). The absence of this probably meant more to developing children and even affects us as adults. Perhaps we should be more aware of the content we create and how it affects others, and for this reason is why it did not seem like a good feature choice.

Good writing doesn't represent something for representation sake. Unwanted teen pregnancy and even wanted teen pregnancy are things that exist and things that can be written well. The content of the story does not necessarily have to be taboo, the flat execution is the problem and its a multitude of elements that fail to even make it appear humorous, just cringey. Even gag a days can have respectable character development. What makes Learning Curves so harmful is that the intro we are exposed to and what I've heard of how it continues, fails to create a story that affects its audience in a positive way. I think more care should have been given to the presentation of these characters, because right now its so far fetched, that yes it is uncomfortable.

Personally I appreciate compelling and well thought out writing, and yes I'd like to see this featured more but it doesn't feel as though Tapastic or Tapas favours these longform comics and is looking for featuring mediums that can be quickly digested. Hence, why 'daily snack' doesn't seem to work for comics with overarching plots.

In regards to relatability and content, Im not talking having a poc or being lgbt positive for no reason but to appeal to the politically correct. I'm talking about good writing, and relatable characters. I mean, have you read Saga? It's a space opera with a winged and horned protagonist, and robotic antagonists who in themselves generate empathy. These stories don't have to be particularly realistic. I believe readers would like to see characters that are more than 2 dimensional and suggest otherwise about their real life counterparts. Perhaps this is where 'writing what you know' comes in well, because its easier to develop something worthwhile. If I was, a young pregnant teen, who grew to write a story in retrospect. I feel as though it would turn out much differently. And if I was to read this as a young teen, knowing how impressionable I was at the time and how other teens are, it may be dangerous to depict a story that doesn't show the realities in a more honest way. Unless you're going to Florence Crittenton High School http://flocritco.org/programs/florence-crittenton-high-school1, you aren't going to get whisked away after a teen pregnancy with all your pregnant friends. You're going to experience a much more realistic world.

That being said, as a 2nd generation child growing up with a conservative family in a non conservative society, I find it easier to see both sides of the spectrum, and in my opinion - I cringe on both sides. There are a lot of issues in our society, that one should not be ignored, but also should be written with care. I don't mean to tip-toe around the topic, I mean actually caring for the contents and considering all aspects of the theme. For example, I didn't watch breaking bad when it came out since everyone i spoke to only made it seem like a glorification of drug use and dealing. Something I don't typically appreciate. At the time, I dated someone who seemed to glorify the drug use in it, and while drug use is very common place and has been in my relationships since, I have no particular interest in it. But the character development of Breaking Bad. All those characters were real, flawed and relatable and we could see a little of ourselves in more than one of them. Without this, breaking bad would of been a flat story with seemingly glorified drug use. Its the writing and how the story is delivered that greatly affects this. Cancer, drug addition and other things are all sensitive topics, but they were dealt in a way that quite frankly was not insulting to those who are affected, and eye-opening to those who aren't. The drugs could have been replaced with someone other addiction and methodological approach and it still would have been good.

Learning curves isn't a bad premise. It is just not well executed. The idea is that stories are featured that make you go 'hey, I really like this'. But many of us didn't feel that, and quite frankly it seems as though this featured content, unlike others didn't care for the audience that frequents tapastic. While the featured and daily snacks, are not currently tailored to individuals. I think the audience of tapastic was misunderstood and so it backfired greatly.