avoiding going the way of the derpi

Looking forward to see this site grow, already rule #5 gives me a lot of hope!

I jumped ship to here once I learned about it after leaving Derpibooru. As what others have said, Rule 5 gives me hope for this site.

This site seems great, and I’m happy to be here. If it means getting out of the dumpster fires of bigotry on other sites…
 
I suppose I can forego the straight shota, etc. images I occasionally enjoyed elsewhere, for the greater good. I’ll miss it… But rule 5 gives me hope about the no-bigotry stance here, and I really like that we at least shouldn’t go the way of Derpibooru.

I will say something that I think needs to be said- don’t underestimate hatred, bigotry, and people stuck in the past. It can’t be allowed to creep in little bit by bit. We must have 0 tolerance for it whatsoever.
 
Too often, “the left” in society (which is usually mostly moderates in reality), cannot unite against the toxicity. We get too caught up in the details, trying to be as progressive as we can, worrying far too much about “freedom of speech” and trying to see our enemy’s side too much. There comes a point where we have to unite and say we have no tolerance for hate speech and bigotry of any sort, and that time was quite awhile ago.
 
I’m not saying don’t have nuance and evaluate things on a case-by-vase basis, because we definitely need lots of that thoughtfulness and care. We’re not here to be the thought police- shooting first and asking questions later. That’s not who we are as furries.
 
But after it is well-thought and investigated as to whether or not something posted here truly comes from a place of bigotry, we need to act swiftly and judiciously against it, and without pity or leniency.
 
Too often I’ve seen good places and good people destroyed in the end, because they allowed toxicity to creep and fester, and they did not nip it in the bud consistently from day 1. That is what we must do.

I just want everyone to be happy really.

Part of me is very tempted to go back over there and fight some people. I admittedly have a lot of deep pain and anger issues and some people over there as well as in the world at large have said and done a lot of very hurtful things lately. Part of me wants revenge so bad and wants to violently destroy as much of the bad in the world as I can… I must not give in to the hatred though. We must not… It’s a good thing I just took my pills… Sigh I’m surprised Interpol and the FBI aren’t on me after all the shit I’ve said over the years… I’m lucky it hasn’t caught up with me really… Mental health is a bitch…

@Anonymous #760A  
It’s important to give yourself time to heal. Take a break, meditate, practice an art, drink a refreshing beverage, listen to music, play a game.
 
Just remember, if you aren’t having fun, then it isn’t any fun. So try to have fun.

One thing to keep in mind is protecting this site from attacks once it gets more attention. One easy vector of attack I’ve noticed is that in the default filters, pictures with scores of -5 are hidden. If you have a couple guys watching the front page (or one guy with alts), they could downvote images before most people get a chance to vote. I don’t think there’s a good way to prevent this ahead of time, but there should be a mechanism for mods to act on users doing this.
 
Mods also need to be willing to respond to reports of images that show Nazi support in less obvious ways, like with 88 printed somewhere in the art.
 
And of course, a big reason why Derpibooru went the way it did was that the staff considered those who regularly posted in the forums to reflect the user base. They failed to consider that most users wouldn’t even notice there was a community, let alone regularly post in it. That’s why they got blindsided by so many artists deciding to leave the site. The Furbooru staff can avoid this by sticking to the current rules and adjusting it in a way consistent with their own values, regardless of how the community turns out.

@SigmasonicX  
The low score number was placeholder while the site was growing; we can change it to -20, though that may be changed again in the future.

@Anonymous #760A
 
I can agree that, in the past, people on the left didn’t really do much when it came to the MLP fandom, though I don’t know if that’s because of freedom of speech or other reasons.
 
However, if you look at how things were on Derpi recently, it looks as if the right, or alt-right, were the ones that started complaining about free speech and censorship when the left was demanding a ban on Nazis. It definitely should’ve happened sooner, but at least people are standing up now rather than continuing to stay silent about a serious issue.
 
 
@Teaspoon
 
Personally I feel the downvote system shouldn’t be used as a decider on what is seen and what isn’t.
 
For one, it’ll help us see if there’s someone that is potentially problematic and dangerous to the community and allow us to be wary of the person. Another thing is it might help the artists themselves to have their art be seen so they can try and get a better following, especially one that may have an interest in what that artist does.
 
Obviously some things should not be even on the site, like Nazis or child pornography, but as long as it’s acceptable within the rules, I don’t think downvotes should lead to hidden pieces. That’s just my personal opinion though

@Ciaran  
Thank you.

https://twitter.com/BanditoBexar/status/1281719396260618242
 
Well, now one of this site’s staff is on Derpibooru protecting Nazis, so it might already be too late for this place.

@SigmasonicX
 
If I remember correctly, they were one of the ones bullying people on DerpiBooru as well, including the other staff named “Derpy Hooves.” Derpy was very lenient, and she was insulted and berated and bullied for simply stating her own opinions against the Nazi content politely.
 
Correction, I was thinking of someone else. My apologies!
 
However, it is a mob mentality out there with the anti-censorship crowd, but some people, including several staff, are the ones leading these unkind, insulting, and oft-bigoted mobs.

I’ll be honest, I’m not happy that derpibooru is still allowing nazi material considering its owner doesn’t want it there. I thought once Raptorshy left the nazi content would go with her.
 
I was honestly considering going back to it (and staying here too, because I like it here), but as long as the current adminship allows nazis and swastikas and crap like that there, I want nothing to do with it.

@Anonymous #7CF6  

 
Yea, they’ve been flipping on the issue more than a bathroom light switch. I’m gonna wait for the dust to settle first and seeing what they eventually land on before making my final decision on if I want to return there or not.

Personally i still don’t get why it’s really a big deal making a fuss of something that’s been around for years. If it really was a big problem, there should be a big nazi movement going for us rn.
 
I drew Aryanne 3 years ago bcs of commission and it has nothing to do with promoting nazism. Do ppl convert to nazism just from looking at Aryanne pics even if it’s just a pony sitting on the ground doing nothing? I don’t like the oc and I don’t like nazism. My country was colonized for 305 years, and there’s communism problem going around here too but I’m not offended or converted to communism just by looking at USSR flag. That’s bcs I was educated that they are bad. Why not educate yourself instead of banning?
 
I was against censorship back then but note that I want freedom to walk together with responsibility. So in the end they made ponybooru. Yes they’re very free but everyone there abusing their freedom. They forget that being free also have rules. And by being free ppl trust you with your freedom that you know what to do.
 
And then we have Furbooru which I’m in love with bcs of it’s peaceful enough so far. I don’t even care anymore if nazism and foalcon is banned. Not even something I’m into anyway. I really just want peace. But get ready for waves of ppl asking for other things to be banned. There are other types of crimes that ppl can request to get banned. And so far it can go, it could wipe out everything in this place.
 
I’m conflicted and I don’t want to pick sides. I love it here bcs of the peace but I ngl worry a lot of ppl will join solely just ruin it again. They just can’t mind their own business.

@Anonymous #B802  

 
I have no status on Derpibooru.

@ChonkyCrunchy  
The problem is really the perception that marginalized groups have and how the brony fandom looks. I mean if you’re a Jewish person, POC, LGBTQ person, or just someone who’s passionate about progressive politics and you find out early on that one of the fandom’s most popular characters is a Nazi pony, you’d probably feel like the brony fandom isn’t a place that’d be good for you. And not only that but with the Guardian article, even some boomer liberals know about this problem.
 
Furries have managed to control their image so well that the only negative stereotypes about them is that they’re perverts, which will inevitably change with time. But if the stereotype of a fandom is that it’s full of whiny fascist edgelords who support Nazi rhetoric and harass progressives, that doesn’t go away so quickly and it’s not a stereotype that looks dumb in retrospect, unlike the pervert stereotype. I believe a big part of why bronies are lagging behind in semi-mainstream respectability is because bronies are more associated with the guy who attacked BLM protesters with a sword than with the guy who stored his cum in a jar with Rainbow Dash. That latter image gets forgotten more quickly than the former

@SynthRavu  
I still don’t understand how things don’t start earlier cuz this has been around for years. Why it has to start now. Is it bcs the media is slow? Is it bcs someone got caught being a nazi? What causes this sudden uproar? I also want to see actual proof that ppl are converting to nazism and actually intended to do harm. So far I only see “yeah i heard it from my friend” or “yes I saw it on the forum I had”, but I never receive a single preserved proof.

@ChonkyCrunchy  
Nazi recruitment is a lot more subtle than that. It kinda has to be, because if it’s centralized, it’s easy to police. No one is converted purely by Aryanne, but Aryanne does seek to make Nazi art and ideology in the fandom seem “normal” and that’s really the only way Nazi rhetoric can sound convincing. It’s when there’s a large presence of people trying to make it sound like it’s just a harmless political opinion.
 
Here’s a video going more into detail about how fandoms and its members are radicalized: https://youtu.be/P55t6eryY3g

@SynthRavu  
i want to say something real bizarre about this but I rather not, anyway the censorship is for a good cause. I’m gonna support it until the limit I think it’s ridiculous for example banning pics of alcohol bottles bcs alcohol and drugs are illegal, banning grafitti arts bcs it promotes vandalism, etc etc.

@ChonkyCrunchy  
Don’t worry. Most of the people who would want that are far right idiots anyway. That’s why the response article to the Guardian one focuses so much on how Pony porn should be banned if Nazi pics are

@SynthRavu  

What response article? I know only about the one in The Atlantic that started everything.

@CruFox  
The Quillette article https://quillette.com/2020/06/27/is-the-my-little-pony-fan-community-really-full-of-nazis/

Anyone who fights against progress and attacks people for their race, gender, or sexual orientation has already given up their humanity a long time ago. They are an infestation of roaches, crawling up into our communities one by one until they are overwhelming and destroying everything we have worked for. 0 tolerance for anyone remotely supporting Nazis is a must. My great-great grand-nonno killed those fuckers in World War II and almost died himself. He saw the evil he was fighting and he knew that you don’t fuck around with that kind of evil.
 
A lot of us wouldn’t be here today if our ancestors hadn’t killed Nazis. I’ll gladly follow in their footsteps and kill some Nazis if I get the chance, too. I got a Ruger, the recipe for some good molotovs, and a katana waiting for for em. Hell, you can probably get a lot of em at one of those rallies in one fell swoop with a good truck and an empty street.