#but i WILL reblog a bunch of old posts on this blog. you've seen them 20 times already but one more wont hurt | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

porcupine-girl · 1 year

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Tumblr: Myth vs Fact

People have been talking a lot about Tumblr on Twitter lately (for no reason whatsoever), but that also means a lot of misinformation is going around. So if you're coming from Twitter, I would like to clear up a few misconceptions, starting with:

Myth: Tumblr is dead. It died with the Dec 2017 porn ban and now it's a ghost town.

Fact

Well, okay, yes, it did die with the Dec 2017 porn ban. Mostly. But it got better! On November 5, 2020, Destielpocalypse happened and Tumblr rose from the grave. Since then it hasn't been as busy as in, say, 2015, but it's gotten over its death and has had a steady stream of traffic ever since.

See the rest below the cut!

Myth: Tumblr is where all the drama and discourse starts.

Fact

Again, this hasn't been true in quite a while. When Tumblr died in 2017, most of the people responsible for the discourse moved to Twitter. Since then, it's been pretty chill, even after Destielpocalypse resurrected it. People like to say that Twitter is just Tumblr five years ago, and... it's pretty true right now, at least in the drama department. We'd appreciate it if you didn't try to change that.

Myth: Porn is allowed again on Tumblr!

Fact

Sadly, this is not true. However, nudity is allowed now. Just no visual depictions of explicit sex acts. Here is a pretty detailed explanation from the CEO of Automattic (the company that owns Tumblr) on why they can't bring porn back right now, even though he would like to.

Note that this only applies to visual depictions. Explicit text (yes, that means smutty fanfic) has always been allowed.

Myth: You should never add anything to a post you reblog.

Fact

Actually, one of the really cool things about Tumblr is how a post can grow and develop with every new addition! Simple Tumblr posts have turned into repositories of useful information or complex scifi world-building thanks to users collectively adding cool stuff with each reblog, or sometimes just asking relevant questions for others to answer in their reblogs.

But you don't have to add anything in order to reblog! Most people don't! And if you have something to say that doesn't really add to the post (like "Cute!") or is just for your followers, it can go in the tags.

Which brings us to a related myth:

Myth: There is a complicated system of etiquette around reblogging and tagging and if you don't follow it everyone will point and laugh.

Fact

Okay, there are some general etiquette guidelines that have developed that most people follow. Like the above, about only adding onto a post if you have something substantive to say and putting other comments in the tags. I'm sure you've seen rules like this around.

But these are flexible and nobody is going to hate you for violating them now and then. If you reblog something and forget and add "Cute!" to the post instead of in a tag, nobody is going to dogpile you. Worst case, people will click back to the reblog before yours and reblog it from there instead of reblogging yours. Or they might just reblog yours because tbh it doesn't really detract from the post. Just don't be rude, and remember that the OP and everyone who sees the post can see your tags very easily now.

The main thing is please do reblog stuff! That is the #1 way posts get new viewers (see below, most people turn the algorithm off). You don't have to add anything or even tag it; reblogging it is just a way to say "hey followers, look at this neat thing I found!"

Don't let the idea that you're not reblogging "correctly" prevent you from reblogging at all.

Myth: It's cringe to reblog old stuff, or to go through and reblog/like lots of things from someone's blog.

Fact

Posts are made for reblogging. We are all here for the reblogging. We want you to reblog. There are posts from 2012 or even older still making the rounds. If someone stumbles on my blog and reblogs a bunch of old stuff in a row, I'm just happy that they enjoyed my blog.

If OP doesn't want a post to be reblogged anymore, they now have the ability to turn reblogging off. Otherwise, reblog away.

Myth: Tumblr is the golden land of no algorithms!

Fact

Tumblr is the golden land of allowing you to avoid the algorithm if you so choose.

Most Tumblr users changed these settings years ago and have been living algorithm-free for so long they forget that when you first sign up, it does have an algorithm unless you turn it off.

Here is how to customize your viewing experience (on the app):

From your blog (the little people in the bottom right corner), hit the Settings wheel in the top right corner.

Go to General settings

Go to Dashboard preferences

The first four are all various algorithms. Best stuff first reorders your dash by algorithm - if you turn it off, it's all chronological all the time. 2-4 add extra stuff to your dash that the algorithm thinks you'll like. If you turn them off, you will ONLY see what's on the blogs you follow. (Note: if you turn off "Include followed tag posts" you can still view the tags you follow in the "Your Tags" tab at the top of your dash.)

4b - If you want to view mature stuff (nudes but also violence or anything drug/alcohol related) go to Content You See and turn it on. It's off by default. This is also where you can set tags or keywords you want hidden.

(These settings can all be found in similar places on desktop.)

Even after you do all this, if you really want to see what the algorithm has to say, just go to the For You tab. It will... probably convince you that you made the right choice in turning all of this off. Tumblr's algorithm really isn't that great, and we're fine with that.

Myth: Neil Gaiman is an active Tumblr user.

Fact

@neil-gaiman has no social media.

Myth: Supernatural is a television show that went off the air two years ago and is no longer relevant.

Fact

Welcome, you are now on the Supernatural website, where even if there wasn't a prequel series currently at this very moment airing, Supernatural will never die. Or will die and be resurrected repeatedly. It will probably creep into something on your dash eventually. Mute a few keywords if you don't want it, but brace for the occasional gif anyhow.

#tumblr #intro to tumblr #twitterpocalypse #notes

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clearwillow · 2 months

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So I just saw the post you reblogged about A.I on Tumblr and I'm not sure what to think. I want to get back into post my Inuyasha art but now I'm worried about this whole ordeal. On the one hand I don't want to give up making and sharing my art w/ others (esp. Since I haven't in a while), but now I'm scared about it being stolen and other artists I love giving up posting. This whole debate with A.I has me so confused and scared and I really don't know whats going on. I'm also curious about what you will do if this deal goes through. Do you plan on using Glaze or something similar?

Come sit with me, anon cause to be frank, I'm trying to take that particular post with a grain of salt. I hope it's wrong, because it wasn't long ago we were hit with "oh my god tumblr is closing where is everyone going" and we're still here. But I won't lie, it pisses me off greatly that it's even a possibility.

I completely understand, and I say - go ahead and post it. Don't give up on art because a bunch of fuck bois with no talent in their short hairs decide that generative technology is the way to go. I honestly hope that it crashes and burns in the next couple years, if not sooner. It had potential before fat old men in suits decided that they had to have more money than they know what to do with. I'm not quitting, because it's my income. It's my joy. I am also fueled by spite, because if I wasn't I wouldn't be here right now.

Art getting stolen is always going to be a thing to worry about, even before AI unfortunately. People will repost without credit and still take credit when that post gets more traction. Create a watermark and be a menace to the reposters, I say. There's Glaze, like you mentioned, and Nightshade. I've heard you have to do them in that order for it to be effective.

You can also search haveIbeentrained.com to see if your work has been picked up and request for it to be pulled from the databases. I've found three more of mine this evening. One was one of my mother's paintings.

I've already erased 15 years of work off the internet when I deleted my deviantart gallery at the end of 2022. Some of that work is so old it was never shared anywhere else. I may not even have that work anymore. If the deal were to go through, I'm not deleting my blog. It's been active since 2012; there's no way I could go through and find every art post and delete it to repost glazed/nightshade versions. It won't affect the reblogs. I haven't personally tried Glazing anything yet because I'm not sure if it'd even be effective with my style, but it's something to try when time allows.

I'm gonna say it again - don't give up on your art. Whether you're doing it as a career (I dare someone say art is a sidehustle, this is not MLM and I am not some 2-bit influencer) or because it is something you just enjoy doing for the hell of it, you should continue. I've seen people give up entirely on art in the last year, and it makes me mad. If art is something you want to do, you shouldn't let anyone make you feel like you can't.

And if you need someone to rally behind you and cheer you on, you've got me in your corner 💕 Hell, feel free to tag me in some of your art, if you'd like!

#anon ask

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hungry-skeleton · 7 months

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Different anon - just to offer a different perspective about tumblr etiquette. For context, I've been on the site since 2011.

(trying to remember the numbers without looking)

2. Adding a lot to a reblog - Honestly as long as it's not actively hostile/rude and it's not blatantly wrong / deceptive / scammy, it's generally fine. The length of the added information is mainly a factor once it gets into "okay I've been scrolling a while when is this ending", but even then, as long as it's not those things, still neutral.

3. Avoiding flames - again, don't be hostile, but also, be willing to accept criticism. So much of the Actual Flamed Content is bc someone doubles down on their initial hostility/wrongness when someone criticizes a comment on a reblog. If you actually take a minute to reflect when that happens, very often a You Right, My Bad-type response fixes it. Plus use te tools at your disposal: block people who consistently start shit, turn off anon, mute posts that are popping off. You could even change your inbox message to address that you've "learned your lesson" (you see this a lot if you click through popular posts. "What's the gender neutral term for spouse" might have as their entire Inbox message "If you're here to tell me a gender neutral word for spouse, don't worry I've got it").

4. Activity on people's pages: might sound harsh, but like, unless someone has it in their bio (which I've never seen, but, could happen), I don't think it matters. I usually do that and eventually end up following, but if they were to be upset with the activity I......just feel like I'd move on?? Like, if they don't declare "don't interact with my old posts" on the "interact with old posts" website", it's not really something you'd be doing wrong, and is in fact something they should decide if they want to put boundaries on. You're using the site properly; there are a bunch of posts celebrating that very interaction for a reason.

6 Following - In my experience (personal and watching things unfold for others), people who notice you've unfollowed and raise a stink about it are Drama You Don't Need. I've not seen the follow-for-follow thing really work out here except maybe in fandom creation circles (or like RP blogs), but even then, I see drama. IMO it's not worth worrying about, except for people you know irl who might start shit about it (honestly just mute them if so), or people you're friends with and chat with. Outside of that, fuck 'em it's your dashboard. Anyone who gets upset about it needs to work through why it matters so much to them - there's no algorithm, and if you're already not engaging with Their Content (as is usually the case), why does it matter that Follower Count Goes Down?

There's not really a Right Answer for these as far as Culture bc it depends on what corner of tumblr you're on. But hopefully more perspectives help!

More perspectives are always welcome ❗👍

#an ask

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longlivefeedback · 3 years

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It's lethargy. That's why people don't comment. They cant be bothered and won't be. The sooner we address this in fandom, and the entitlement people believe they have over fanworks and fan-creators, the sooner we can get rid of the problem. People need to be aware of the fact that fan-creators work hard on their creations and are looking for acknowledgement. Interaction. Validation.

I disagree.

There are many reasons on why people don't comment (link to post on AO3). Lethargy is also a valid reason. Just like Writers are not robots, churning out fic after fic on command, Readers are not robots either.

What are you really asking for here, Anon? I get that it is super frustrating to feel unseen, like your work and your effort is not enough, that you're being passed over or unacknowledged. My heart goes out to you and I want to give you a hug because that shit hurts and it is lonely. A fair chunk, if not all of us, already experience this in real life with our jobs and friends and families. I really really wouldn't recommend putting yourself through this with a hobby.

You seem to want acknowledgement, interaction, and validation. It sounds like you would be happier if you found a community instead of just receiving a bunch of comments.

I don't know how long you've been in fandom and what kind of fandom spaces you've experienced, but if we are speaking just about posting on AO3/FFN, I can tell you that "people not commenting enough" is not a new issue. This blog started because two writers acknowledged this as an issue and tried to do something about it. Heck. It's not even a phenomenon that is limited to writers. How many of us haven't seen those tumblr posts going around where artists point out how their likes-to-reblogs ratio are depressingly low? 500 likes, but only 50 reblogs. Can you imagine getting 500 kudos and 50 comments?

Yet it's still not enough. It's never going to be enough, is it? Be honest with yourself. We're all greedy bitches here and we're never going to be satisfied with 5 or 50 or 500 comments. Not really. Not if that's all you're getting out of writing and posting.

External validation.

Instant gratification.

Numbers that acknowledge your worth. As if your work only matters when you can point to numbers that show that you have a big enough audience, and some number of people telling you how well you did.

As for interaction? What if you got comments, but all the comments criticized your work, pointed out the flaws in your writing, nitpicked on plot holes? It's interaction. These readers are not lethargic. Would you prefer that kind of "validation"?

You talk about entitlement and ignorance, presumably on the part of readers, and people who don't themselves write. This, my friend, sounds like an issue with culture and etiquette. I'm going to sidestep the issue of today's social media and online etiquette norms. That's too big of an issue for one poor tumblr blog to tackle.

Instead, let's talk about what we can do about this.

1. Talk to the people in your community. Don't like how someone gushes over a fic to you but didn't leave a comment on the work? Encourage them to.

2. Pay it forward. How did you get into commenting? What did the "fandom olds" tell you to do to show appreciation for fanworks? Can you do the same to educate and influence younger fans?

3. Run a comment exchange or comment challenge among yourselves. Need help writing a comment? Check out our comment builder, @dawnfelagund's 101 Comment Starters, install the AO3 rekudos converter, or look at all the different ways you can comment (i.e. emojis, gifs, copy+pasting your favourite bits, copy+pasting a conversation you had with a friend about your favourite scene, etc.) and try them out!

4. Show them how to comment on mobile.

5. Go all out. Why stop at an exchange? Let's make it official! Reach out to the fandom! How about a comment bang? Comment secret santa? Comment...zine??? (🤔 This may require more thought...) But basically! The idea is that even if you're not a writer/artist, you can still participate in fan weeks and fan events but with...comments! Is it a week celebrating [shipname]? Read and comment on fics about [shipname]!

Anyone else have any more ideas to help fandom culture and fight Lethargy?

#llf asks #commenting culture #commenting and culture #fandom #fandom culture #feedback culture

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maryellencarter · 2 years

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Okay, so with all the reblogging recently, I have quite a few new followers from the Lupin III fandom. I'm too lazy to update my blog header but once every five years or so, so I figure an intro post is in order.

(It will almost certainly not be a pinned post. I haven't figured out how the hell you make one of those. Fucking Tumblr.)

So! About me. I'm in my thirties. I don't tag ns//fw posts on here because then Tumblr janks it all up, so if you're a minor you might want to be advised. Also I swear a lot, but if you're here you've already noticed that.

I'm a "fandom old", been in one fandom or another since 2008, and my online manners reflect that. I don't give out my exact age or much identifiable personal information, because I've been doxxed once already and once was enough. I do occasionally admit to being a Scorpio for tag meme purposes. (Not that I'm very Scorpio-like in the tag memes. Someone at work once called me "the least Scorpio Scorpio ever" and that's about accurate.)

I've got clinical depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The first two are pretty well treated with meds. I really need to get back into therapy for the third one, because there's a *lot* of it and I don't always handle it well, but I have to get a schedule change at work first and they're dragging their feet.

(You eventually pick up on a bunch of my PTSD triggers if you hang around me long enough. You will also find out that triggers and squicks are *extremely* different and I will die on that hill. For now, let's just say I had an extremely abusive family.)

I'm aromantic, specifically repulsed aromantic, with a side of aegoromantic. What this means in practice is that my visceral response to character/reader stuff is "ewwww no, I don't want him to be in love with *me*, I want him to be in love with that idiot over there". (See, that's a squick. Character/reader isn't Problematic to me, honestly I admire y'all for putting it out there, it just grosses me out, so I either don't read it or I imagine one of the canon characters in the role of "character's s/o".)

(I understand that we use "character x reader" around these here parts. Old habits die hard, and I learned to use / in pre-tumblr fandom, so it's still what I use in my head, but Tumblr being itself, I may start using "character x character" as a tag so I don't have to try to learn smush names.)

Orientation being the complicated thing it is, I'm also partnered. @camshaft22 and I are co-authors; we'll have been writing together for four years this coming March. We've also been partners for three years and counting. We're both genderfluid, she's a lesbian, I'm probably about 90% transmasc and bisexual with maybe 75% masc-attracted, we make it work. Like I said: complicated.

I work in the cell phone industry for a large and well-known telecommunications provider. I don't talk much about work publicly, for deniability reasons, but I'm work at home, I recently got into a position where I'm no longer taking calls (after several years; I'm a fucking badass to have made it that long and I never want to go through that again), and I'm *really* good at my job.

Part of the reason I'm that good is, I have a near-photographic memory for words. It's functionally a superpower. I remember anything I've seen written down that I was interested enough to tuck into memory, and I remember the spelling of words perfectly, too. For the past several years I've been in a quiet corner of Star Wars fandom, writing fic for a set of four Rogue Squadron tie-in novels from the '90s, and granted it's about a dozen people and a bag of chips, but I've been *the* go-to person for abstruse questions you can't google, such as "hey, is X a lefty?"

My focal character there is a sharpshooter, too, but an extremely bubbly sharpshooter, which means I have a bunch of plotbunnies that haven't quite worked in tone for him and now I'm sort of trying them on Jigen like paper doll outfits to see if they fit.

(Sharpshooter, smartass, more intelligent than he lets on, and the reliable backup person who gets all the moving parts in order to make his leader's big ideas work in practice. I have a *type*.)

Uh. Does that about cover everything? Oh, I'm autistic. It mostly doesn't come up too much online, although I definitely appreciate tone indicators when someone's being sarcastic, and I really hate April Fool's jokes because I've been bullied too much for being "gullible". (I'm the reason one of my friends very kindly tags rickrolls.)

The big effect being autistic has on my media consumption is that I have pretty severe auditory processing disorder. In effect, you know how it feels when you're watching something subtitled with the audio in a language you kinda understand, where you can pick out a bunch of words but you'd definitely be lost and scrambling to keep up without the subtitles? That's me watching anything in English. It's my first language, but trying to go from hearing to understanding without being able to see the words written down is such an effort it's physically draining. I have to have captions whenever possible.

(Yes, being a call center worker for three years was utter hell. Background conversations are a special torture for me, too. I'm so glad I'm not in that job anymore. My new role involves typing amswers to customers, which fits my skills way better.)

On the sharpshooter-writing-reference-specific front (you can tell I'm a beta reader by trade and preference, we do like our stunt punctuation, although I don't do it much these days except for our cowritten fics), I never have managed to get into a gun safety class and learn about shooting specifically, but I have really good aim for throwing things and playing sports. It's been about ten years since my dominant eye switched, and I'm finally back up to the level I like to be at, where I can pick a spot and land the thing I'm throwing within a couple inches of it. (Depending on the aerodynamics of the thing, of course. Fluttery paper things like used kleenex and candy wrappers are still a pain in the ass.)

Hm. Maybe I'll take another poke at gun safety class options. It'd be really fun to actually know things about guns and gun use for writing purposes. Wasn't as big of a deal in Star Wars, but having a physical reference for how it feels to shoot and clean a proper 21st-century gun would be very useful for many of my fandoms.

Anyway, this thing is getting long enough. I've probably forgotten something major, but y'know, I'm around for questions as long as you have basic manners like not expecting an instant answer.

(Shit, I don't think I went over the Remodel of Doom. Uh. I mentioned my family was really abusive, right? About the age when other people are attending college, I was being starved, manipulated, isolated, overworked, and taught I was a psychopath whom the world needed protecting from. I think that about covers it. I've got a seriously complicated backstory, okay, and a lot of it is pretty distressing to go over in detail. Also I've been homeless multiple times so there's that. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.)

Edit: Fuck. I didn't even mention I'm disabled. Well, mobility impaired. I can usually walk, but it's fairly common for my hips or knees to crap out on me at inconvenient moments, and my feet are just a complete goddamn mess. Doesn't come up a lot online, obviously, but I wind up bitching about it every so often. I'm not looking for advice when I do.

#about me #god only knows if this makes any sense #or if anybody cares #got pretty rambly there

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