Am I the only one that feels extremely exhausted by the community?
Every day a new scandal comes out, our voices get dismissed and Episode just doesn’t care. I’m exhausted from explaining why I’m hurt by certain things, I’m exhausted from always watching my back from people around me. I’m exhausted from trying to get my voice out there when none hears it.
I just want to write stories and have fun yet I’m stuck in this continue circle of negativity and competition between the authors. This is not what I imagined writing on Episode would look like, I truly think I would’ve never started if I knew it would turn out like this.
It’s in my nature to get extremely obsessed over topics/situations, some people can just “move on” and forget about anything that happened yet I’m always replaying every single hurtful sentence I read on here.
I became extremely inactive for this exact reason. I wish we could all hear each other, acknowledge our emotions, cheer on each other’s success and just have fun.
Idk, maybe I’m just adding to the negativity but it’s just a thought 
I agree with you. At times it gets exhausting, but there’s also some silver linings in the community. I think things have gotten more tense over the course of the few days, and it’s hard to not jump on bandwagons or give into the tense energy.
We need to do better and hold ourselves accountable for our mistakes and indiscretions against others. If Episode doesn’t address things, then we have to instill a more positive and better community ourselves because they’re not going to do it for us. We, the users, dictate the climate of the community. If we don’t address things properly in an effective way that doesn’t hurt people, then the community will grow more toxic.
I agree that Episode is failing in acknowledging problematic stories/tropes in the platform and I agree as well that since they’re failing us we should work on ourselves to make the community a better place. But I still feel like it’s too much, I’m literally overwhelmed. The moment we fix something we find out about dozens similar problems
I do agree but I try to stay out of the drama where I can, however I do want to share a little positivity. Now coming for a 25 year old this may sound a little sad 
but I don’t have many friends… I’m the one who get’s ignored in a chat group, I’m the last one to be invited to places, I’m the last one people think about as to how I’m getting to said places…
Anyway, I actually feel like people talk to me on here, I can have my say on different topics or create my own topic and someone will actually reply or have a chat with someone via pm.
I’m not saying this forum is perfect but it does have some good sides
However as you have said there are some problems on here that do need addressing, I have noticed some bullying or arguments happening and these aren’t dealt with properly, making the flagging system useless as people flag something they just dislike without there being a real reason. Probably why flagging doesn’t actually do anything now.
It really is overwhelming. Half the time, it feels like I’m in a hamster wheel or a box just closing in. The community can get very toxic and unhealthy that it’s good to have a mental health check. It might be hard to take time out of the community, but honestly, I felt better at times not viewing the forums and taking a day’s break with not working on Episode or posting at all. Things feel repetitive, big author gets involved in drama where they’re doing questionable things, and the backlash happens. Then the backlash morphs into some people saying awful stuff and just outright nastiness starts. Once it’s over, people get burned, and some people reflect while others don’t change one bit.
Hey, we’re actually close in age! Drop me a PM if you want to talk!
And I 100% agree, there are definitely positive aspects about the forums which is why I’m still here. I met some amazing people in here and I’m extremely grateful for that.
Although lately I feel like the negative aspects surpass the positive ones. I just can’t see myself talking about positive things because my mind keeps going back to those negative situations
Preach.
Thank you!! I couldn’t have explained it better! It’s a never-ending circle
One of the best things though is the appreciation threads. I liked the one that was supposed to appreciate everyone, not just certain people or people’s friends, but actually just everyone. It was a great idea, but it got practically over run with trolls, and things just got out of hand. One good thing that came out of it was the spawning of more appreciation threads.
There’s some nice threads that spawn, and I really wish they got more attention since they’re trying to educate, give more information, or be fun places for people to relax in.
I like this thread because it’s actually being proactive and addressing problems by promoting people to discuss their cultures to help people better understand and represent it better in their writing. It’s such a good idea. You want to know what my problem is? It’s not getting noticed as much because of the overflow of topics, and the original poster has a small platform. Wouldn’t it be nice if people who actively don’t like and speak out about misrepresentation and have a bigger platform contribute in some way to getting this project to be noticed? It would have such a good impact on the community if it spread, but that’s up to others spreading the word.
I agree and understand you. This community is very toxic and discouraging towards authors. I feel like part of this community is filled with bullies who take joy in bringing down another person. That’s not okay. It makes authors not even want to write anymore 
I’m speaking from my personal experience.
I’m almost afraid to answer this but I too am exhausted by the community (particularly here which @Zey already knows about since we talk like every day). I’m going to rant but I’m really sick of the people here who feel the need to bash any opinions I have and reply to me with things that aren’t even relevant and who like to twist my words around so if you feel the need to do that, save your breath. I’m not dealing with the bs now.
I’m tired of feeling like I can’t have an opinion because certain people will go after me if I disagree, I’m tired of people going after others for little to no reason (if there is a reason I’m not talking about that so no one come after me and twist my words around for this sentence).
Speaking of word-twisting! I am real d*mn sick of that too. I’m sick of other people’s opinions mattering more, I’m sick of going on here or on instagram and seeing nothing but negativity. I’m sick of private messages (no matter the reason,) being shared publicly and people basing their opinions on stories on mere screenshots or what their friends say about it.
I’m sick of people giving more and more attention to problematic (actually problematic) people in this community. I’m sick of the fact authors don’t feel comfortable coming on here because of the way certain people make them feel. There’s a long list of reasons but…
This. I started really seriously writing on here almost a year ago after my dad passed away. It’s so far been a decent escape and I have met incredible people but on the forums especially it’s starting to feel more and more like I and the people I care about in the community aren’t welcome.
For a place that’s supposed to be where the community can come together that’s a really sh*tty thing to be feeling.
If I could, I would give you a virtual hug for being honest and sharing your opinion. Nobody, and I mean nobody should ever have to feel like they’re being personally attacked, bashed, or feel uncomfortable in a place that’s supposed to be a place for discussion and an overall easy going mood.
Why do people feel the need to put people down? Insult them and twist their words? Practically shutting them down from the conversation all because it doesn’t fit with the status quo.
High School Musical might have said stick with the status quo, but this is not what I wanted or planned on seeing tbh. I’ve got mad respect for you, Baleigh. Even though I might not always agree with you, you have a right to an opinion and be able to speak just as much as the next person.
I honestly feel you. Unfortunately, the forums can be brutal at times. It does make you afraid to make comments because I’m a bit hesitant on making comments on certain threads. So I understand how you feel. Don’t even get me started on Instagram 
Now the episode community on Instagram has gotten brutal and worse too.
Thank you, that means a lot. 
And I agree Instagram lately has definitely gotten worse too. 
I would really like this too!!
I agree, I think they need a better grip on it in some forms. I have seen some problematic stories taken down which is good. But some that need to taken down are still sitting there.
Completely agree with every you said. People can deny it all they want but the forums are toxic. The amount of people who have left proves that fact. It’s gotten to the point where it’s mentally draining, and lately Instagram has been the exact same way. I find myself scared to reply because I might accidentally find myself in an argument. Even now I feel anxiety posting this. What happened to respecting opinions? To actually listening to other people? Why does simply stating your thoughts turn into a hostile argument? Arguing solves nothing. Conversation does. And until we can actually have one of those, nothing will be fixed in this app or the forums.
Just be kind, guys. Be willing to listen to the other person. And if you so strongly disagree or have to call someone out, educate and converse in a compassionate way. It’s really not that hard.
Edit to add : No, I’m not going to leave the forums because I feel this way. I want to be a part of this community. There is a lot of good from it too. Meeting new friends, helping each other out, and finding new stories. But something has to be done with the level of hostility the community has towards each other.
These types of threads definitely don’t get the attention they need. Recently my friends and I made a post on Instagram to talk about out religion. Something that I noticed is that the people who are interested are the ones who wanted to correctly represent it to begin with, not who needed the info
I feel you B. You’re strong and you show it everyday! You have every right to have an opinion and to be able to state it. I wish we could all have healthy discussions, none should ever feel unwanted.
Same. I’m actually surprised by the positivity on this thread, I was fully ready to be bashed 
I’m always scared to be the next target, I’m honestly terrified to speak my mind and not only for the negativity on the threads. The last time I tried to address a really hurtful assumption about my religion I got flagged and ignored while the hurtful comment is still up and visible. I truly think that Episode has failed us
I just joined so I’m not familiar with the problems you face but judging from what I see from all your comments, even Youtube has this problem. Where videos people post of criticisms or their own opinions and disagreements can just easily be flagged and taken down which is stupid. I don’t understand why we all can’t have a difference of opinions and respect them. Instead we take different opinions, disagreements, and criticisms as personal attacks and not a different perspective that we can learn from and perhaps change our own to have a wider knowledgeable perspective.
Since this is partly about sharing opinions, I will share mine too.
Before I start:
- I haven’t been that active lately so I might have missed some drama you are referring to
- I think you (@Zey) are a very nice person and a great author, so if you ever felt attacked by someone, I’m pretty sure it was bs, and I’m sorry that you feel this way
Now my general thoughts on the topic: I don’t think that the forums is toxic, it’s just disappointing to see that people are always more active in threads where they have a chance to complain about something.
Whenever I see a new thread, I can already tell from the OP that I don’t want to keep reading because I sense drama, and the last thing I want is to get involved with it.
So yes, I do feel sometimes that I’d rather keep my opinion to myself because I’m tired of seeing that people encourage controversial and I’m sorry but stupid opinions, and when someone points out that they are wrong, they get offended.
For example: I really don’t understand that why would anyone ask people’s opinion on a problematic story, if they don’t want to hear how problematic it is. What does someone expect when they start whining about how Episode don’t give a damn about smaller authors, when they do, and they prove this every single week when a new shelf comes out. Don’t get me wrong, Episode has done things and made several decisions that I disagree with or that makes me annoyed. But if you just keep bashing them and even the authors who deserved a place on a shelf, then I’ll think you don’t actually care about “small authors and hidden gems”, you’re just frustrated that they haven’t featured your story yet.
I agree with this part a lot. I would like to see more discussions in which people share different opinions and they still respect each other. More, because discussions like this exist. I’d like to see more people supporting each other instead of being jealous of their success. More, because many people in the community are like this. And most of all: I’d like to see that we don’t take everything so damn seriously, and we are having fun here. This is just an app where we read and write stories as a hobby. It’s not that deep. Stop fighting 