"OMG YOU'RE A FASCIST" and other adventures in modding SquidgeWorld

[squidgestatus]

Because this is going around Tumblr, I thought I would address the issue.

An assertion by an individual on Tumblr is going around calling me/Squidge/SquidgeWorld a fascist organization that deletes works with no cares or such. That we're power hungry, etc..

Is there truth in this? If you know BOTH sides and not just the individual that's accusing us of this, you'll understand. I've gotten half a dozen trouble-tickets asking me to clarify, and so that's the impetus of posting this. Please make YOUR OWN INFORMED DECISION.

I've taken down exactly 2 works (works, not comments. Comments get deleted if they are commission spammers.). And the reasons are:

1) Person imported a work into SqWA from AO3. They didn't bother to clean it up at all - they left in all of the icons, kudos from AO3, etc. The formatting was a complete mess, and I got a couple of trouble tickets on it. I hid the work and was in the process of contacting the author when they emailed me, cussing me out, etc. At that point, I deleted the work because they decided "YOU'RE A FASCIST" and other lovely comments about my personage.

2) Person created one fandom work, and then the next day left 4 comments in 38 seconds (the Tumblr post I made for SqWA spam) saying they really connected with the 4 works they read in under a second. They attempted to commission spam, and as a result, we deleted their account. Including the one story that they posted.

Two works. With compelling reasons to have said works deleted, or at least hidden - but that is my opinion. And if you agree, that's fine. If you don't agree and want to call our organization a fascist organization for being respectful of archive users, well that's something for you to decide.  All I know is, the "hair on fire" screamers out there are really making it hard to want to continue giving to the community.

EDIT: About 18 months back or so, we had a transphobe who shit on trans people and wanted to force christianity on everyone - including SqWA users - and took every chance they could to stir up shit for the sake of drama. After 3 warnings and approval from the Squidge Board, they were banned, and all of their works were deleted. So it's actually more than 2 works if you could this douchebag that was banned.

Questions? Comment on this post or log a ticket.

Comments

[luckyzukky]

so sorry you're dealing with this harassment, walter. steff and i are always here for you. 🫂🫂🫂

[yourlibrarian]

Everyone seems to want to jump on a bandwagon these days. So sorry this is happening. A lot of us do value Squidgeworld and all its options a great deal.

[toothpastepancake]

So sorry you have to deal with this:(

[javert]

I'm sorry people have been so rude (and worse!) to you :/ I for one am very grateful for the many services you provide to fandom for free. I think a lot of (especially young, perhaps) people don't realize how much time and labor is required on your part (and the part of those who help you, of course) for all that you do. Thank you so much for that.

[thefruitbat]

Holy crickets... Sorry you have to deal with this. :/ You're dedicating so much energy to Squidgeworld and make sure it's a good place for everyone and those people act worse than 2 year olds throwing a tantrum.

Thank you, for keeping Squidge up and running (and coprolite-free). :)

[linky]

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. I'm very grateful for the services you provide to us, thank you for all that you do!

[senmut]

I'm just sorry you have to put up with this crap.

[mific]

What a load of horseshit you have to put up with! Big hugs!! ❤️❤️❤️

[ride_4ever]

Terrible people being terrible. *facepalm*

But know that you are appreciated and loved.

[bookscorpion]

As one of the people on the receiving end of that spammer, I really appreciate you acting so quickly there and just in general! People need to go touch some grass and maybe read some history instead of insulting you about how you run things.

[nagi_schwarz]

:hugs: Sorry people are being awful when you’re just trying to help all the other archive users. You do so much for fandom, and fandom seems to be growing increasingly unkind.

[baronjanus]

I'm so sorry you have to deal with these assholes *hugs*

[hhimring]

Thank you for all you do!
I'm sorry not everyone appreciates it as they should.

[mistressofmuses]

I'm so sorry you have to deal with people pulling this shit.

And yeah, that sounds like a perfectly reasonable reason to remove the fic. And their response makes it perfectly reasonable to say "nah, I don't think we need or want you as part of this community."

Ugh.