What I mean is a site similar to BA, but for those of us with more conservative leanings. As you can see on this site, we are liked when we are silent, but will get viciously attacked if we ever decide to air our views or show our disapproval with certain content.
In other words, not all communities are destined to stay together in a centralized place forever, as our ideologies are too diverse. Perhaps a separation will make the overall environment healthier as far as advancing Blender goes?
If an entire community finds an idea that would affect that community greatly to be foolish or outlandish, then perhaps it’s just foolish and outlandish. As had been demonstrated countless times at this point, “an online community for X, but Conservative” has a 100% chance of actually turning into “an online community for X, but with bigots in plain sight”. If you want your name on that trainwreck for the 3D world, be our guest.
You made one bad thread with universal disapproval of your message and your solution to this is to segregate the community? Fantastic logic right there.
Talking less with people with different viewpoints is not going to help people find some common ground and at least come to an understanding, even if you end up disagreeing. I am honestly kind of baffled that you would make such a suggestion.
I wish I didn’t have the desire to start the ball rolling, and I understand that Bart is trying to be fair to those of us who do not have “modern European values”, but the overall trend across the internet is that fewer and fewer people even want to hear our views and will call us out if we ever speak up. This makes the possibility of alternative places more important.
Should this site start to trend in a disturbing direction (in response to pressure or otherwise), the escape hatch will be ready and we wtill still have a way to share Blender news and Blender work. To note, I do admit that I could’ve started that other thread in a more appropriate way, possibly because I didn’t have much time to process the story before starting it. When I talk about direction, I’m covering far more than just content.
In conclusion, this site has been a great resource for me in the last 15 years of visiting, I would hate to force myself into changing that up.
I seriously think you’re reading too much into things, making much ado over nothing. BA isn’t going to become some ultra-liberal echo chamber anytime soon.
The other thread was nothing compared to what I am used to on the internet . Nevertheless, I understand your backlash.
There have been several replies with honest intentions and an openness for discussion, including mine. It is unfortunately not in our nature to see and focus on those if they are surrounded by less pleasant ones.
I don’t think forcing yourself into an echo chamber is a good idea for you. So some people (including myself) disagreed with you in that other subject. So what? I don’t think anyone hates you for having an opinion. I certainly don’t, because I don’t see in black and white. I cherish the idea of all walks of life having and sharing their own views of the world. I might not always agree, but I think we all benefit from having our own little world view challenged now and again. It makes us better, more understanding people, and pulls us out from that little box we tend to think inside of.
The entire time I’ve used this site (not long)
I haven’t seen one single right or left wing opinion
This isn’t a political site it’s an art and design site
Why make it about that?
I wish “much ado about nothing” will always be the case, but websites are seldom static over the long term. I don’t think BA will change that much in 2020, but we can’t say for sure what things will be like in 2030.
I hope you have not taken what I have written in the other thread as an attack on you. Many of us simply have not agreed with you in that thread giving our opinions (I mean, I don’t think everyone attacked you there)
I posted the thread too quickly, I could’ve chosen a more intelligent way to start it (even though my opinion would probably have similarities).
Also, please note that I had thoughts about this idea before over the years, considering the trends I’ve seen with nearly every other community-driven site in existence (even in software forums). To say these trends won’t reach BA’s shores someday is not something I can say with certainty.
Given that we’re having this discussion on a site dedicated to a free, open source 3D art program, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to find that the demographic here leans a more liberal than conservative, but that doesn’t mean it’s destined to become a nesting place for fringe leftists or anything.
For one thing, there isn’t enough controversy here to draw that crowd. BA’s a little too niche for that, it’s focus too narrow and apolitical.
Agreed! While political topics can be interesting to me at times, I typically don’t care about all the intricacies. I’ll leave that to the politically adept. I’m just a simple monkey that gets paid to push pixels around until purdy pictures form, and Blender happens to be a great option for freelancing gigs.
It’s good that the fringe will be kept out for sure, but with the first point pretty much applying to every site I have seen that isn’t explicitly designed for religious discussion, I would be surprised if BA ever started leaning in the other direction.
Who knows though, BA’s lean is a bit less than some other sites, that could partly be due to anyone and their dog being able to get their hands on Blender.
Diversity is a key necessity for any ecosystem/biosphere to remain stable, flourish and withstand the vagaries of life on this planet. I for one, a dyed in the wool anarchist from the punk era, would miss you and your contributions to this forum…
I’m so sick of this trend on the modern net of everyone wanting everywhere to be this echo chamber for their own horrible ideologies, it’s even more annoying knowing what the internet used to be like before all this pseudo-woke bs.
I have some pretty “conservative” leanings myself (libertarian) but it’s blender artists though.
blender artists
It’s an art community, what are you going to do when you get your very own “conservative” forum, make some poorly disguised effigies for people your camp doesn’t like? Before it inevitably devolves into /3/pol 2.0 and everything becomes a thinly veiled propaganda piece, of course.
People don’t like what you have to say and you want to leave? Do you do this with your workplace? Like you don’t like the chick with the psychology degree, so you just quit?
Diversity of thought does not make the environment any less healthy, my favourite 3D discord server has regulars who are, conservatives,liberals,libertarians and syndicalists, and literal national socialists and we all get along because we put all that shit aside for our love of arguing about what’s the best vertex moving software.
Anyone afraid to offend their flock is a politician.
Or worse, you’re afraid to offend the other flock.
This is why I prefer the company of eccentrics.
. Nevertheless, I understand your backlash.