Episode's 2017 Diversity Standards

If the Mc is white, I won’t care as long as the story has diversity. But I have read constant amount of stories with white Mc’s and I want something different.

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Agreeable

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Anyone else wondering when this is going to get updated?

:woman_shrugging:t5:

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Its been a (few?) Year(s)…so…never x3

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Ghostbusters was horrible which was mostly a shitty script

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You’d need an updated version of the template

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I have quite a few questions, personally.

When is this going to happen? It says April 2017 (over a year ago), but I really don’t think Episode has delivered. The current Episode stories are all samey. Like, they might be about people with different skin colours (when they’re not just CC anyway), but realistically, most of the stories are set in the US about Americans from a middle-class upbringing. Even when a LI is not middle class (Juvie), the point of the story is some sort of Uptown Girl affair featuring a middle-class white girl as the MC (Juvie). Not only that, but they all view love in the same way and the MCs are practically the same person, regardless of their unique looks. What about people from other parts of the world? At this point, a story about a white European living in a country with a unique culture would provide more diversity than writing practically the same story but changing the MC’s skin colour.

And when is the Episode Forums community going to be included in this process? I come to the forums for all of my Episode news and advice. Why should I also have to check Instagram? Why should I have to be so lucky as to go on Instagram at the correct time to see the posts… or practically stalk the Instagram account to find out about the shelves? Is there a lack of communication between those who make the shelves and those who run the forums?

Apart from a few of the amazing regulars such as EarlGreyTea, how many of the most recent stories have been created by active and dedicated members of Episode? The last I heard, you bought the rights to In My Bed from a Wattpad story. Was that creator writing on Episode already?

This may be something you promised, but how true is it of the competitions? This one is a rhetorical question. The answer is it’s not true of the competitions at all. As I said, Episode is being extremely US-centric, which is sad because I know a lot of Americans would be happy to read stories about other cultures around the world. The college competition was clearly American. I mean, not many other places around the world call university “college”.

This is only improving slowly. There are a plethora of American skylines, but what about the major cities around the world? Cairo? London? Mumbai? What about the insides of places of worship? There has only been a mosque put in recently. What about a Catholic church? A Shinto shrine? The inside of a Buddhist temple? A Hindu temple? What about props and overlays that match features of other cultures? What about necklaces with religious symbols on them? Dancing from other cultures around the world?

This has been a little on and off. I mean, we are sincerely lacking when it comes to diverse assets. It’s been very inconsistent. When are we going to get more cities in other non-American countries? What about the genres part? Halloween is coming up and I’m sure people would love some horror-themed assets.

What does this mean, exactly? I’m sure that many of the people in the Episode community would be delighted to take part in interviews, etc, with the Episode team about their unique and distinct cultures. If you’re going to do some research, why not include us?

I sincerely hope Back and Forth isn’t the gender fluidity story.

We’re definitely trying to hold you accountable, but when are you going to reply to us with regards to our queries? I mean, the longer you leave us in the dark, the more frustrated it is going to make us as a community. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that a lot of people would really appreciate it if you had a proper dialogue with us instead of pretending you want us to hold us accountable. I’m really not trying to be rude, but it’s been over a year and I want to know what has changed over this time with regards to the diversity standards… and why we didn’t get everything we promised. It would be a lot better to be told that things are taking longer than they predicted, than being left in the dark. At the moment, it makes it look like you’re only pretending to care about diversity because you’ve been ignoring us about these standards for over a year.

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We got April fooled ha…

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Pretty much :unamused:

Jeeze, you guys seem to be taking things to an extreme? how realistic do you want them to be? its an app meant to be fun and for entertainment and for people to tell stories not depict real life. these kinds of updates take time regardless. tech team to create these things. if you don’t like it then don’t use episode and create your own app that has all the “diversity” you want and out beat episode, since it is so easy and since you seem to know what they need to do so much.

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There’s nothing wrong with holding a company accountable for its content. Episode encourages the community to make suggestions and share concerns. We all know that updates take time, but diversity shouldn’t fall through the cracks because Episode is busy creating similar content. Change happens when people speak up.

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its really not that serious, just go read user stories or something. or create your own or something. there is no need to be so dramatic about this. Im assuming the company creates stories and character based on the reads from previous stories and feedback. That is just my guess.

How much “Diversity” are you even asking for? because Episode provided their definition and everyone has their own idea of what it means as well. It isn’t something that will be able to please everyone. Someone will complain how they aren’t represented and then what? It will be a snowball effect. Everyone will be offended and everyone will complain because nothing will ever be diverse enough.

In my opinion they have done a pretty good job thus far. Could they make improvements? Sure. Will I be kicking down their door if it takes longer than I would want? No. Im not there in their office doing that work. I’m enjoying free good stories and have the free option to create my own if I don’t like what they have to offer. It is that simple.

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Omg we got a another one :roll_eyes:

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Well if diversity is a matter of perception then allow us, who feel that Episode isn’t doing enough, to ask for more diversity. It’s serious to us so…

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well I can because according to your standards of diversity I am under represented. It isn’t hateful to disagree with a position. I am not speaking for anyone. I have stated this is my opinion. You don’t have to agree with me. I am a frequent reader of Episode and I just don’t take it so seriously. It is an app meant to give an opportunity to people to bring their stories to life. In my opinion, if you don’t feel represented then try other apps like episode, or like I have stated before try going to the user stories, I am more than sure, you will find a story that has what you are looking for.

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Thank you for understanding. But remember, just because you don’t take it seriously do not shame or speak on others that do. We feel it is very important.

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No one HAS to represent anyone. The authors create their stories to their liking. They are stories, they aren’t real. You have the platform to express your creativity to create your own story with representation for groups you believe are being under represented.

I am not shaming anyone. If you feel that way, it isnt my intention. All I am trying to say is that, this is meant for entertainment and when people are creating stories they have characters in mind looking a certain way. You also have the option of customizing characters sometimes. As for me personally I read the user stories the most, they are more entertaining and interesting. Episodes stories sometimes are boring and weird. Seriously look into the user stories I have read some really amazing ones from there.

I’m sorry but that was very rude and disrespectful. Just because it a a game doesn’t mean anything. It is widely used by everyone and everyone should be represented. So you are saying POC shouldnt have to be represented? The LGBT+ community?

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