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spit spat, time to chat / Defaults
« on: May 16, 2017, 02:26 AM »
Disclaimer to start with: I know there's legitimate reasons to be upset at some people for defaulting if you know the exact circumstances behind it and the reasoning is a bit crap ('procrastinated too much on games'). This is not about that.
After my last default was caused by intense depression & anxiety (like, I felt physically ill when I tried to draw), I've been thinking a lot about how we as a community treat defaults on here.
I know in the past Void has kept an approach of not babying artists. Like it's serious business here and you either show up or get shut down. However I think understanding towards mental health, financial situations (especially for 'Millennials' who face a tough economy) and other similar circumstances have come a long way. I think it's great to encourage people to submit SOMETHING - and to give them some sort of motivation to do so - however I also know a lot of the community on here go through a lot of shit, and the thought of them being shamed for having trouble managing to do a fun comic amidst that makes me somewhat uncomfortable. I know personally in some of my darker moments that kind of attitude makes me feel even more anxiety about doing comics on here - does that mean Void is just not for people with depression etc? It seems a bit sad when we also encourage art as an outlet (see these wonderful comics by Astro Sean and Fearn for top examples). We also don't generally know reasons behind defaulting and it's easy to jump to conclusions.
This is a point of contention I know for tournaments with limited spots, where a default can represent to some people a wasted spot they missed out on.
I know this discussion comes up from time to time, but just interested to hear people's thoughts on how defaults (to some extent, even incomplete comics) on here should be handled. What's the best way to motivate people? Void has sort of been moving towards a Welcoming Community vibe which personally I'm on board for because I like to enjoy making comics as a release, but I do occasionally see the attitude that Void should be brutal and unforgiving around - I dunno. What do people think?
After my last default was caused by intense depression & anxiety (like, I felt physically ill when I tried to draw), I've been thinking a lot about how we as a community treat defaults on here.
I know in the past Void has kept an approach of not babying artists. Like it's serious business here and you either show up or get shut down. However I think understanding towards mental health, financial situations (especially for 'Millennials' who face a tough economy) and other similar circumstances have come a long way. I think it's great to encourage people to submit SOMETHING - and to give them some sort of motivation to do so - however I also know a lot of the community on here go through a lot of shit, and the thought of them being shamed for having trouble managing to do a fun comic amidst that makes me somewhat uncomfortable. I know personally in some of my darker moments that kind of attitude makes me feel even more anxiety about doing comics on here - does that mean Void is just not for people with depression etc? It seems a bit sad when we also encourage art as an outlet (see these wonderful comics by Astro Sean and Fearn for top examples). We also don't generally know reasons behind defaulting and it's easy to jump to conclusions.
This is a point of contention I know for tournaments with limited spots, where a default can represent to some people a wasted spot they missed out on.
I know this discussion comes up from time to time, but just interested to hear people's thoughts on how defaults (to some extent, even incomplete comics) on here should be handled. What's the best way to motivate people? Void has sort of been moving towards a Welcoming Community vibe which personally I'm on board for because I like to enjoy making comics as a release, but I do occasionally see the attitude that Void should be brutal and unforgiving around - I dunno. What do people think?