M3M wrote:I may not be as active as I should be, and I may be out of the loop for these recent events in question, but there is something that I would like to say to the community - the real community.
There are people out there that hate us. They have nothing better to do on the internet than create drama that shouldn't really exist. It's no surprise that there is an exaggerated hatred of furries. People feed off this as a way mock something they don't understand and/or to make themselves feel better. Schadenfreude, we are all guilty of it. Ever watch the show "Cops" and feel better about yourself? I do. However, while I may not be a fan, I'm not going to spam a furry blog because I don't like it. Everyone has their quirks and that's just fine. As long as what you enjoy doesn't directly or indirectly hurt someone else, then I say, "have at it!" However, the trolls are out there, and they do not share that mindset. They hate, they hurt. Their hobby is trouble and they are good at it. They WANT us to overreact. They want us to lose "the game" if you will. They will register for a site like this only to wreak havoc. Not everyone who is signed up for this site is a vore fan. They want to destroy us from the inside out. If you remember one thing it should be this; taking down artwork, leaving the forum and/or abandoning vore altogether is exactly what they want. If you play their game, they will win. Don't let the trolls win.
Also, changing gears for a moment, I ask the artists to answer this question: Why do you make and post your vore artwork? If you do it because you enjoy showing off your work, they why would you even be bothered by negative comments. If your goal is to improve your artwork, then listen well to anyone actually providing advice, but remember - you can't please everyone. Create the stuff that you like. If you post artwork only because you like positive comments, then you are stroking your ego and you're not a real artist nor will you improve. If I had gotten angry with every art teacher that told me I needed to improve something, I wouldn't have reached professional level skill. It took me a long time to find my style - my voice. The only thing that currently stops me from posting vore artwork is that I have to find an alternate style for vore. I do not wish for my normal style to be recognized. If you're the kind of person that can't accept that, then this whole thread may be directed at you, so listen up.
To those who want "moar!" or would "like to see this!" or find "her/his tits/penis are/is too small!" We are artists, not your own person "beat off" tool. Be grateful you have something to fap to or, better yet, go outside for once. Take this attitude back to xChan, because it is not welcome here. Artist will tell you if they take requests. If they don't, then don't even bother taking your hand off your dick to type. If you think that your going to get what you want, you're wrong. If you really like vore that much, stop with the pointless comments. You are only driving people away, and hurting yourself in the long run since you will have less to fap to. Your dick is an idiot. Think with your head.
That being said, I do support any artist that decides to remove their work. It does, after all, belong to them. I also support anyone who feels the need to leave the community. I myself have yet to post vore work for the reason mentioned previously. However, think about this - does it really make you happier, or does it make the trolls happier? If your life is better without the drama, that's fine. You have the right to be happy. But, does that drama really exist, or does it exist because you let it? Don't worry about that /b/tard that doesn't like you. You're better off than he is. Besides, I estimate that a good 89% of all /b/tards look like the attachment. Are you really going to let that guy get to you?
This may not be directly related to the matter in question, but I still think that what I said needed to be heard. This seemed like the right place and time to say it.
Well said, mate. If it was possible to agree more, I would gladly do so. The very thing that a number of people who
are Vorarephiles (I don't know what percentage of the community exactly) don't seem to get is the very thing you've described - that an artist has the right to take his or her art down or refuse to do requests/commissions whenever they please. I stand by you all the way when you tell that the works an artist produce belong solely to the artist. This is a world in which a majority of the populace outside communities like this will make irrational misconceptions since they're too ignorant and self-indulgent to know any better, which does not take long to spread around in most cases. You ever wondered why women are so sexualized in the media, why so many people are quick to latch onto the personality cults surrounding these so-called 'celebrities', or why a minority of women cry 'sexism' or why a minority, yet higher number of non-whites cry 'racism' at the slightest little thing (at least, in my country this is happening)? Exactly. These assumptions and misconceptions are why many people have repeatedly attacked the Vorarephilia, Furry and Bondage communities that exist all over the Internet - in fact, in my country this nearly resulted in BDSM being criminalized.
I will accept that there are people out there who hate us and don't like what we do. There are still quite a number of people, particularly religious people with more devotion than common sense, who think that any sexual fetishism at all is wrong, and for those who have had painful experiences with the world of fetishism, I can imagine their pain and their reasons for their dislike. People are entitled to their own opinions about any fetish community or anything else for that matter, since the freedom of thought is the most basic human right. Without that, this world would be plunged into the awful, frightening world that is portrayed in George Orwell's
Nineteen Eighty-Four, which not many people know would have been named
The Last Man in Europe had the title not been changed at the last minute. But regardless of whether the said people are trolls or not, trying to destroy us, drive away contributors and trying to wreck the confidence of the people who they regard as their enemies is never called for. Because of the anonymity the Internet provides in a majority of websites, it's so, so easy for people to wreak their wrath and then get on with their lives without fear of a reprisal coming their way. It's times like this that I wish all people were forced to divulge their names and addresses like they have to in Egypt so that ISPs could strike off people found to be causing chaos online. But anonymity ensures that our identities, which many of us don't want to share, remain private, as well as act as a tool to improve one's confidence. But it's far too easy a thing to abuse and get away with doing, even though anonymity online is all too precious thing to lose for a great many people.
Let me point out something else. Simply ignoring the offending users
does not work, and I know that from experience when several people started harassing me on the game sites I used to play on. I know people hassling you on games sites is far from the same thing as people attacking you simply because they don't like what they see in your work (since it fails to adhere to their personal preferences), but I think you'll understand what I'm getting at. Some offenders will try to use the artist or writer's refusal to respond to their comments to assault them further. In Jidane's case, people even tried to get at her through her Messenger and AIM accounts, some of whom using multiple e-mail addresses. They never held back in the foul, unforgivable abuse they pelted her with, and it's no wonder she snapped and decided to take down her work. If people don't like something they see, then they should try to learn to do it themselves or find something that
does fall into their field of personal interest instead of insulting the artist or writer for something that warrants nothing of the sort.
And I will answer the question you presented, even though I write rather than draw. I write my poetry and stories because I wanted to share my fantasies, feelings and miscellaneous visions with others in the case of my poetry. I quite enjoy writing, and put a lot of time and effort into planning and writing my files so that they turn out just right and captivate and enthrall my audience - to the standard I want my files to have before I decide to put them online, that is. I am also looking to improve on my ability in writing stories, given that I made several major mistakes in my writing before joining the community (hence the reason why I like people to comment constructively and find errors and mistakes or things I may have done correctly in my work). Unless I am dealing with other people's characters or settings, I write entirely for myself, though folks are welcome to view and comment if they want to.
I also agree with Mirukani and Nerva. This site in its first form existed only as a gallery allocated specially for Vorarephilic content, and allowed visitors to freely comment on what was posted. While the lack of respect towards artists and writers (particularly the former) is a definite problem around here to name one place where this is happening, this, like they have said, does not grant any artist or writer the right to refuse to tolerate any negative criticism of any kind, forcibly demand that people post comments, plagiarize other people's work, belittle others simply because they've received more feedback or views, or otherwise abuse their viewers or other contributors without a damn good reason to do so. Even though I haven't encountered any of the sorts of problems Jidane has gone through, I feel that this is an issue that needs to be raised and paid more attention - and I will
not tolerate abuse like that when it comes my way, it's that simple. The fact is, criticism of one's work should be given respectfully and what is wrong with the image should not involve personal preference, just as most contributors prefer people who praise their work to say why they like it. It's alright to add a side note somewhere in your comment such as 'normally I don't go for this, but' or 'now even though that doesn't swing it for me' like a few have done (myself included) in their comments on certain pictures, but using them to directly insult the creator or those who like the said anomaly is wrong, pure and simple. It's like trying to shove your religious beliefs down everyone else's throats (pun not intended), and saying that all non-believers of your faith should be killed or forcibly converted. I don't like Yaoi or Scat, but what has to be focused on is
how the image or story has been written or drawn, if there are any obvious errors, and how it has turned out. I'm happy to let the people who enjoy Yaoi or Coprophilia do so any day, even though they are things I don't wish to have a part in.
Any contributors being driven out by people who don't lift a finger to do so let alone other artists or writers (which has happened a few times) is a sight that no community should ever have to see. I respect the fact that artists may have their own personal reasons for deciding to leave the community, since they are people who have feelings and emotions. Their lives, aside from their art, are, depending on how much time he or she spends on their work, not much different from that of somebody who is not a member of a community of this kind, and how many people stop to think that maybe an artist might not be in the mood to draw, or maybe an artist already has a large number of projects in progress? I will say this again like M3M has said and like I said in my most recent blog -
the files that artists/writers produce belongs to the creator(s) of those files, and if necessary, those who commissioned them. It is their right to do with the files as they please, and no member of the community, contributor or not, should ever have a direct influence on that decision.eatmeplease wrote:I feel a request section would be somewhat useful, actually. People could post requests, and artists could browse the request area and see if anything catches their fancy to draw/write/whatever. Is there a particular reason that this is a bad idea? If so, I'm curious to know why.
This site already has an area like that. The
Suggestions and Inspirations area has been on this forum since long before I even heard about this site.