It’s interesting, interesting to observe the changes I’ve seen throughout my time here in the non-human community on Tumblr.
It went from stagnant discourse of the same arguments on repeat for years straight, which I still see about of course, yet it’s a new crowd of people here doing it. A new crowd trying to educate the stubborn fluff who steals our words and misuses them, a new crowd that yells at trolls and calls out their bullshit.
I mean, I’ve been on Tumblr for a long time, and I still see the people who have been around since then, but also so many new faces with new views on how to tackle the discourse here..
A year ago I stopped doing that, only recently picking back up on it here from time to time, though I largely only keep this blog for sentimental value. I used to be so much more involved with the otherkin and greater alterhuman community here, but in reality I’ve mostly moved on from this hell site. I learned that it was a waste of time, that we didn’t belong here to start.
Since well, it’s odd really. Odd and unfortunate that our community is here in the first place. There’s nothing good about being here in all honesty, despite thinking you may be able to educate others; because there will always be fluff and there will always be trolls. It’s been that way forever.
It was easier however, to manage this sort of behavior over forums. Forums with mods who know what being otherkin is, with members who are questioned on entry and told right then and there what our community is, and what it isn’t. Trolls were banned, fluff was educated on the spot.
So why are we still here? Why am I still here? Tumblr is not the place for our community, it never was; and for that reason its hard to see why anyone would expext more from Tumblr of all places. There’s too much to manage, too much misinformation, and no way of practically keeping what being Otherkin is in line with what our community has been for nearly 50 years.
I guess it’s just odd to me, as I said, that others like myself and others more experienced than myself still linger here. Especially those who complain about tumblr, complain about the lack of discussion and the overall lack of substance relevant to our community. Why? This is a social media site full of anything and everything, limitless. A place for literally anything and anyone, with little to no regulations.
There are still forums out there, forums with discussions, forums who question it’s new members on entry, who ban users that don’t follow the guidelines. I can say that my time spent on them has been the experience I and many others are really looking for in the community. Most who I know here are on them, yet I see these new faces who I don’t recognize here, new faces who are split from the rest of the community thriving on forums and instead are here in blue tumblr hell.
There is such a difference from how things are on Tumblr to how they are on forums. The right forums. I’ve been around to many of them, and since finding one that really suited myself with others who share the same values about Otherkinity, I’ve not really felt the need to post here I suppose. The truth is, Otherkin is not a tumblr thing, we all know that, so why are we still on Tumblr?
I know many of you have your reasons and personal obligations to being here. I know that I do, no matter how many times I think about leaving this place. But I guess what I’m saying is, I highly recommend joining a forum if you aren’t a part of one already. You will really feel a difference, and overall hope that our community hasn’t truly fallen to the distortion that tumblr has made it out to be.
That’s it. That is the problem here; because outside of tumblr, when you step off this site and onto one with those who follow traditional Otherkinity, you stop seeing so much of the appropriated crap that tumblrkin have accumulated on here.
When those kind of people, tumblrkin fluff, attempt to step onto a forum with proper staff and members who know Otherkinity.. they are EDUCATED. They are told what Otherkinity is and what it is not, no if ands or buts. Then they either scurry away all butthurt or stay to learn and discover themselves.
I know that Otherkin will always exist on Tumblr, I know that I’ll remain here seldomly to reblog things of personal interest and to comment on posts here and there. Just.. don’t be quick to think that our community is falling apart at the seems and that there’s no hope for our terminology being redeemed.
Join a forum. If you want recommendations, privately message me, no anon.
-Zaphaera
You know, there was a point in time where I’d write this kind of post. I even agree with you on forums being a better environment for a community, though for slightly different reasons, but I have something else to say that I think is something our community–especially those of us older–need to acknowledge:
The forums aren’t really that great, either.
Honestly, while I agree that Tumblr is a shitty platform for a community to engage in discussion and grow, the forums, as I know them now, are not much better. There’s a handful I can think of that are still active, and of those, I either hate the actual admins of the forums (and this comes from a place of having been staff for more than one of the forums I have in mind, in addition to knowledge of shit things those people have done) or the other people are obnoxious, elitist, reactionary fools. And don’t act like the forums are fluff-free either, because I have seen *plenty* of fluff on even the most popular of kin forums, lol. It’s there.
I’ve gone into forums saying I’ve been around 8 years (it’s 9 now) and been grilled and picked apart like some newbie who has no idea how self-questioning works and then had someone snidely ask how I could possibly be a polymorph and have actual kintypes. Like. I don’t owe people an explanation and shouldn’t have to be subject to that kind of nonsense when I’m clearly not new to any of this.
Beyond that, I think that kind of obnoxious, rude-ass grilling (and I mean genuine GRILLING, not just light questioning or encouragement of self-questioning) is entirely off-putting to a lot of people, newer and older kin both. Our community needs to cut that shit out if we want anyone new coming through. Especially when so many people have anxiety disorders and other things that ultimately would prevent the from handling situations like that well in the first place. There’s a difference between light newbie questioning and re-direction if needed and…whatever the fuck I received, even as a long-time member of the community.
And of course let’s not forget the hierarchy of respectability where therians>otherkin>fictionkin. I love being a therian and align myself with that community over otherkin, but I’m sick of elitist therians treating fictionkin like we’re ~so far out~ compared to otherkin, who they somehow accept in most cases, and being condescending and dismissive of us. If you’re in any sort of mixed environment, that’s going to come up.
Add to that the straight-up transphobia and ableism I’ve found that’s defended by staff owners and other forum-goers alike in some places and
To be honest, that’s the reason a lot of people, myself included, can’t deal with forums. I’m not the only older member around who feels this way, either.
I WANT to go back to some good forums. But as of now? There are none I enjoy.
This is basically why I’ve poured all my energy into the Alt+H community. It’s not a forum (yet, idk if it’ll ever go there), but it’s the only place I don’t feel totally out of place and spat upon in various ways.
The current forums are not a perfect haven of True and Knowledgeable Otherkin™.
But if you have suggestions for any, I’ll take them. I’ll be surprised if I find any I haven’t heard of, tried, and hated.
I can’t stand the therian>otherkin>fictionkin respectability hierarchy. Its nonsense.
