TCampbell wrote: ↑Sat Jun 23, 2018 2:48 pm
For a very long time now, I have felt a disconnect between what seems to be the general consensus in the forums and the views that I think Gisele, Dave, and I hold when it comes to the character of some of our characters, particularly Zii and DiDi.
and
TCampbell wrote: ↑Tue Jun 26, 2018 2:32 pm
I promised myself I'd make my last post when the next strip loaded, and here it is. So others can have the last word if they so choose. Being a forum regular is just more time-consuming than I can manage on more than a very occasional basis.
I know you're not posting anymore, but, on the off chance that you're still reading the forums, there are a few things I want to tell you.
You mentioned the "general consensus in the forums" being negative towards the main characters. You offered a different view. You got drowned in confrontational replies from people who seem to believe they understand this comic better than you -- even though you are part of the creative team, and your view is the canon view. You then realized that life is too short to waste it on unpleasant, unremitting forum arguments that never lead anywhere, and decided to stop posting. It was a smart, reasonable decision. Hundreds before you have made that same decision.
In a recent message, Mandy, one of the few readers still posting who share your views, recalled how for a long time...
Mandy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 20, 2018 4:47 pm
people came back week after week, month after month seemingly only to throw huge tantrums in the forums and drown out anyone who was still enjoying the story
... and how this made fans leave the forums in droves. After all:
Mandy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 20, 2018 2:02 pm
If I love bacon, I'm not going to read a whole book about how bacon is horrible and how I should feel bad for liking bacon.
Such an obvious truth, and yet it explains a lot.
At one point in time, there were, indeed, many hundreds of forum regulars. The great majority were devoted fans who loved these comics and felt that Zii and DiDi were funny, sweet and adorable characters. That's all in the past. The Pixie Trix Comix forums right now have about three, four dozen people who post regularly. Most are haters and trolls. They hate the comics, hate the characters, and most of all
hate the happy fans who like what they don't like. The "general consensus in the forums" is a consensus of hate. But -- and this is important -- you should always keep in mind that those who visit this website every month number in the hundreds of thousands. The haters in the forums are like a drop of water in the large sea of readers who love Ménage à 3, Dangerously Chloe, Sandra on the Rocks and SDB. You really needn't bother with their huffing and puffing. They aren't representative of squat.
If anything, when looking at the present state of the forums, one should wonder why the moderators allowed things to reach such a point. The Pixie Trix Comix forums are like a case study of failure in moderation: a once vibrant community turned into a ghost of its former self because of an unchecked inrush of hatedom. Even today, there are offensive posts, insults, trolling, slut-shaming... all under the tranquil gaze of whoever are in charge of moderation, who don't seem to find anything wrong with it.
There's this person, BioYugi, who is a serial slut-shamer. You know Abby, right? She's from DC, a 12-year-old girl in grade school; a very clever, adorable, precocious child who hasn't reached puberty yet but who already has an interest in hunky boys. This is what BioYugi had to say about her:
BioYuGi wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2018 3:49 am
This makes me think that Abby, all this time, was just destined to be a bimbo. She had no hopes in school, no real future, her goal in life was to be a stupid, slutty, big-tit whore who sucked dick for dimes.
Some time later, again about Abby, he wrote:
BioYuGi wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:21 am
She's a slut savant.
And, later yet, this time about Pandora, who is a very sexually active young woman, he stated:
BioYuGi wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:26 am
Pandora is a grade-A cunt and deserves every bad thing to happen to her.
Moderators didn't react. I don't know which moderators are active right now (besides moderator Alex) but, whoever they are, no one had anything to object. You'd think slut-shaming a child should be a big matter, never mind the rest...
There's Fluffy, a Christian fundie with an Anti-Sex Anti-Science agenda. Since most of the humor in stories by Giz or Dave is based on sex, she's always angry. You know how strippers, hookers and porn actresses are always portrayed in these comics as perfectly normal, nice, happy people? I see that as a very positive message. Fluffy sees it as outrageous and is always bashing sex industry and the people involved in it. I tried explaining to her that there's nothing wrong with sex and the sex industry, but it was as helpful and productive as explaining neurological development to anti-abortionists (I tried that before, too). At one time I posted a very long message about sexual and emotional development in children (I was trying to prove that Abby is a believable and realistic character) from the point of view of anthropology, psychology and sociology, with references to several authors and books. Fluffy's reply was this:
Fluffy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 07, 2018 10:25 am
No, seriously - what is wrong with you?
[...] You honestly come off sounding like someone advocating for pedophilia.
Science is not bad or wrong, it doesn't turn people evil. Understanding fetus development doesn't make me a babykiller, and understanding child sexuality doesn't make me a pedophile. So why am I being called a pedophile, or pedophilia supporter, only for explaining scientific facts? I really shouldn't have to put up with this sort of crap. It would appear that those in charge of moderation think otherwise, however, since they didn't have even a word of reprimand for the rude, abusive fundie.
There are others. There's Error of Logic, a Vyndicator-wannabe, who trolls people with mocking remarks and indirect insults. One time, comparing Giz and Dave to other authors, I mentioned Carl Barks and Stan Lee (both comic authors I like), and then Raymond Chandler. This is what he wrote:
Error of Logic wrote: ↑Sun Apr 01, 2018 10:01 pm
I'm surprised Vitocap actually read Chandler. Was it a homework assignment?
What's surprising? That I don't just read comics, that I also read books without pictures? And what's that about homework, a way to belittle me as only a little kid in school? This was pure fetid trolling, extremely offensive, and my first impulse was to tell him to go fuck himself... but that would have been falling for his trolling, like Zii fell for Vyndicator's. I decided to stop paying attention to him instead. Oh, and, of course, there never was one word from the moderators.
There's Valkog, dmra, Gotoh, Dragon Paladin... the list goes on and on. Moderation just ignores them, and, as time passes, the forums get more and more toxic. And it all comes to a point where I wonder why I'm wasting my time reading the writings of people who have a rabid hatred for the comics I like. Mandy said it very well:
"If I love bacon, I'm not going to read a whole book about how bacon is horrible and how I should feel bad for liking bacon." So what the hell am I doing here?
Following your example, I'm making this my last post. The best way to enjoy Ma3, DC and the other comics is reading the strips and avoiding the debates in these threads. Let haters and trolls have the forums, let them make this place their merry playground; I won't be coming here or reading them anymore.