i've kinda avoided posting in this thread or the previous one up until now because i have severe anxiety and discourse tends to stress me out, but i'd really like to throw my two cents in about one big thing in particular. it was one of the reasons i left in 2022 and hadn’t really planned on coming back. hopefully it’s not too repetitive.
i really can’t emphasize enough how the staff favorites/event winners have ruined my experience of tbt events. this october will be my tenth year on tbt - i’m prone to taking a random hiatus now and then, but i’ve participated in a ton of events in that time. i did not win a single staff favorite, EVER, until this past valentine’s day. it literally took me ten years to win one single time. no one, including me, is entitled to a win, but everyone should be entitled to a
chance. when all the staff favs/contest winners are always the most beautiful, most professional looking art submitted, how is that an equal playing field? how can i compete with someone who’s been doing art/baking/whatever their entire life, or better yet does it as a career? there are members on this forum who have been here for less time than new horizons has even existed who have 5+ staff favorite prizes, but others who have been here as long as (or longer than) me who have zero. i don’t say this to shame anyone who wins a lot of events or who is talented in their craft - y’all do GORGEOUS work and i always love seeing it, i genuinely do, and you're not at fault for being talented. but the bottom line to me is that this isn’t an art forum, it’s an animal crossing forum. our events shouldn’t be based around art with a lil bit of animal crossing, it should be the other way around. there’s also a very odd thing i’ve noticed happen from time to time where the same person wins two different things in the same event, but instead of them only being allowed to win once, they’re allowed to win both but only get one prize. so now an entire spot that could’ve gone to someone else is taken up by someone who won’t even be winning a prize for it. why??? how does this make any sense? this whole issue is actually one of the reasons that i prefer the egg hunt over a lot of other events, because it’s centered entirely around the forum and doesn’t require any real skills other than brainpower.
the problem imo is less about the same specific people winning over and over again (though this is true) but more about the same style of art always overtaking every other entry, even the ones that are super creative and funny and unique but may not look visibly stunning. it was already a miserable feeling to see 3-4 art focused tasks in each event, knowing it’d be pointless for me to participate, but now after the “low effort” accusation during the valentine’s day event, i’m even more reluctant to participate ever again. the entry in question was visibly NOT low-effort and clearly had work put into it, so if they got accused of low-effort, does that mean every garbage thing i’ve created in the past decade was also written off as low-effort too?? is art only valuable if it’s conventionally attractive? this may sound dramatic or whatever, but things like this are very ostracizing, and many of us here already deal with feelings of isolation in real life. we don’t need it here, too. i know the staff members are all only human and i truly do empathize with you guys, but something needs to change regarding the way events are handled and the way these things are judged.
you genuinely hit the nail on the head with this, it’s like you yoinked the thoughts right out of my head. in the past 4-6 months or so i’ve noticed an influx of deeply concerning posts in WBY, like outright suicidal thoughts or ideation, and while they’re not always followed with the “don’t respond” disclaimer, it’s happened enough times to bother me. if you’re having dangerous thoughts, for the love of god PLEASE talk about them, whether it’s here or to a loved one or even if you wanna DM me privately, i don’t mind at all. but so many of you are so, so young, and you don’t understand the responsibility that comes with being an adult in a community full of very young people. for those who don’t know, tbt has already lost someone to suicide once, and i personally have lost someone very close to me to it as well - i DO NOT mess around with this stuff, and i will go out of my way to reach out to someone who is in crisis. it is not right or fair to post something clearly implying you’re in immediate, severe danger, and then demand that everyone just ignore it and go about their day. i know firsthand that being in this state of mind makes you inherently irrational, but if you’re rational enough to tell people not to reply to you, you’re rational enough to understand why someone would want to. if you’re just venting about your day and don’t want unsolicited advice or messages about it, i think it’s totally fine to ask for no responses, and i would (and do) always respect those requests. but if you’re posting something outright worrying and concerning, i’m gonna reach out whether you like it or not. as aerith said, the danger of not responding to something like this is far too great.
this is another big concern of mine especially regarding the minors that are here. i’m 29 and grew up in the 2000s “internet stranger danger” era, so it was drilled in my head from day one that you never ever share personal info on the internet. but modern social media seems to have destroyed this line of thinking, and a lot of kids/teens/young adults have started to believe that there isn’t any risk and that they’re invincible. while i don’t see a lot of kids here sharing their full names or addresses, there are definitely times where a lot of intimate personal information is shared that could very easily make them a target for a predator. if you make friends online, whether it’s here or elsewhere, take the time to get to know someone and ensure they are who they say they are before you start trusting them with private information. and if you’re a minor, especially a teenage girl, please tread extremely carefully with any adult man who seems hellbent on being your friend. not all men are evil by any means, but any grown man who wants to be friends with a teenager is an enormous red flag. i’m not sure exactly what the solution is, but i would really like to see staff do something to emphasize the importance of being safe online and maybe even how to identify or respond to predatory behavior.
i absolutely agree with this, i think more precautions should be taken with WDYLL in general. i think it should only be viewable by members, you should have to be at least 16 to post, and the post or photo should auto-delete after a period of time. i have no idea if these are doable things, but even just one would make a difference even though i’d really like to see all three. yet again, there are so many minors or just very young people here who have no real understanding of how dangerous the internet can be.
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i know this post is so long LOL but there’s one other thing i wanna touch on and i’m kinda worried it’ll be an unpopular opinion. we all know the collectible market is in shambles. it’s impossible to buy or sell almost anything, it’s impossible to make bells, and all the wealth left on the forum belongs to like four or five members. literally my favorite thing to do here is surprise people with collectibles they want, or donate bells to people’s wishlists, stuff like that, but even THAT has become entirely impossible to do now. my inventory is wiped, my ABD is drained, i can’t even get ahold of the things i want for myself, let alone buy extras to give away. something has to change for the market to be revitalized, but here’s the thing:
i don’t think there is any one solution that’s going to make everyone happy. i think we all need to accept here and now that if we want the market to change, we need to make some sacrifices. at the end of the day, collectibles are just pictures!! they’re just pictures on a screen!! maybe restocks come back, and maybe you miss one; it sucks, but it happens! this forum is a very kind and generous place, more now than it ever was before, and i can guarantee you that if you were to miss a restock, you will eventually get ahold of the collectible you want. maybe someone will gift it to you for free, or sell it for a low price, or be willing to swap for something you have. there’s always been such an instant gratification/”i want it NOW” mindset with collectibles and i think we really need to try and get past that. i can understand (now more than ever) why we’d have that mindset, seeing as it’s so impossible to get ahold of anything at all, but remember: whether or not
you specifically were to catch a restock, it would at least mean more collectibles and bells are circulating, which would be a major improvement to our current state.
IF staff were to decide that restocks are the answer, it doesn’t need to be a hard black and white situation - collectibles don’t need to be ultra-limited like they used to be, but they also don’t need to be 100% unlimited. i’m no economist, but the writing is on the wall, folks; making all collectibles unlimited is a huge part of what tanked our economy. i know there’s a lot of people out there who hated restocks because they made them anxious, and i understand that feeling, but again, these are just little pictures on our screens! they mean nothing, they have no value other than sentimental, and at the end of the day, i think the pros outweigh the cons here. if more collectibles people want start circulating, it becomes easier to get the things you want in time. right now, there is essentially no hope of attaining anything no matter how good your offer is or how much time you wait.
the only other thing i can think of re: collectibles is that there are far, far too many and that new ones are released way too frequently. i regularly see collectibles in people’s lineups that i didn’t know even existed. it’s not that i don’t like or want new collectibles, and having lots of variety is great, but it isn’t sustainable and we’re seeing that firsthand. at this point i think people would be more excited about old collectibles returning as event prizes than they would be about new stuff, but maybe that’s just me. i would lose my mind if this year’s fair was like a throwback theme to 2016, and all the event prizes were the same as back then - feathers, og glow wands, etc. that was my all time favorite fair by a mile and i really do think forum morale would skyrocket if we were all given the chance to get ahold of glow wands without going insane.
would be a consideration? While at first seemingly redundant with the Love heart, this can convey support that doesn't involve physical contact for those who aren't comfortable with it. Did a quick look through the emotes and that's the only one that jumped out to me that gets the support idea across visually, but I could've missed something.
