I’m just asking to what I should edit this part if it’s wrong, I’d like to make it right and not spread a wrong information or start rumors.
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Ah, I see. Just wanted to clarify that it is not a new rule and has always been there. There seems to be this misconception going around that this is a new rule, Episode is imposing because they are “against” the community. I’m sure you can find some way to edit this in!
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I don’t get it. If it isn’t new, why are people complaining about it just now (and respecting it just now)?
People are now complaining because there is an email circulating. I personally cannot say what exactly Episode’s reasonings are for the sudden need to impose this, but I can say that I do know for a fact that this was addressed several times in their TOS. Liz has also attached this in her thread. Would you like a link?
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Of course!
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I think the issue actually comes down to communication.
If that really has been the rule since the beginning, then why ignore it for so long? They knew that people were sharing edited background on drives and even followed some of these creators. I’d be extremely surprised if they didn’t know about episodelife.com where plenty of creators had their backgrounds on display.
Why only enforce this two years later? Why not nip it in the bud earlier on?
This isn’t just backgrounds. In general, I feel like Episode has some pretty poor communication skills. There have been several times where an issue has popped up that could easily be addressed (e.g how the contest winners are determined) and it either goes unanswered or it takes almost a year for some sort of reply.
As for the rankings issue, I’m still convinced that that was a glitch, and not a way to “cheat” people out of income lol.
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Episode is still a fairly new company and I think some of what we’re seeing is just growing pains as they adjust to having so many people using their platform. What they’re offering is unique and has never been done before. They’re basically pioneering the interactive storytelling community with no example of a successful company that’s done the same before them. So as hard as we are on them, I think we need to acknowledge that what they’re doing is complicated and not easy. They’ve grown immensely in the past 5 years and I think they’re just trying to figure out how to adjust their platform to meet the demands of being so popular.
Where they fall short, however, is their questionable business practice and their shameless chase for money. There is almost literally no boundary for them when it comes to making profit, and their shortsightedness I believe is what has caused us to see so many awkward and clumsy missteps.
So while I want to be understanding and am to a degree, I have to emphasize that they could have easily avoided some of these issues if they’d stop chasing the carrot long enough to pay attention to the road they ran down.
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Oops responded to myself by accident, my bad.
@EliseC
Oh yeah, of course. Episode is notorious for their terrible communication skills. I also refuse to believe they were not aware of this problem for a long time, I mean come on? They’ve followed several editors on IG who have been doing this for years. They’ve sat silent while people were doing this on the forum’s art resources section. So yes, they were aware of this from the beginning. But because it was in the TOS they have the right to shut it down with no further explanation 
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happy birthday 
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Thank you! cough cough I agree with your point (just so they’d think we’re on topic).
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Haha
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Agreed with all of this.
If it was enforced in the beginning and early on, no one would have an issue with it because … well, it wouldn’t be an issue lmao.
But they silently allowed it for two years and it was NEVER an issue. Even followed editors on IG, saw their stories and saw them sharing their drives - never an issue. To suddenly take it back and say it’s no longer allowed is of course within their TOS rights, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a crappy thing to do. That’s like a parent allowing you to do something they deemed “bad” for years, but never reprimanding you for it and suddenly they punish you terribly for doing it once when they never did it to begin with. It breaks trust.
I get that they have a small team, I get that they’re growing - but the miscommunication or complete lack thereof is why there is such a disconnect between the community and the app.
It’s their biggest issue and I hope it gets fixed someday soon because I would be sad to see such a fun, unique app be put to rest by its creators.
Also totally agreed with the rank thing, it was definitely a glitch.
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I only started this year but those who have been here for awhile, has this happened before with Episode with this type of drama or are we slowly seeing cracks form?
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I’ve gotten used to it, but it’s still relatively new (like a year or two)? Maybe I’m wrong though
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The cracks have always been there, but they’ve only really started to split since last year. This is my first year with my own account, but I have been keeping up with community through @ShanniiWrites since the only style was Classic 
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I wonder what is going on behind the scenes? Why is it when a company falters, they take it out on the little people and then start pulling back on things, leaving people deserted. A major platform for people to be creative but also for young people to find a way to express themselves in a positive way. I am happy to see teens on here doing creative writing rather than playing fortnite or some other heavy video game.
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I completely agree. If they’re a company, they should think of their consumers and know how to please them. Not the company itself.
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What I don’t understand about the background fiasco is how they expect people who aren’t good at photoshop to get backgrounds? It’s not like they update often!
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