Journal of Other Forum Analysis (Volume II, Issue 1)

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/it-was-agatha-all-along.1206399/#post-140869362

Fat4ag

[benji]

I've read a lot of Nepenthe bullshit over the years, and i'm telling you, that is just straight up Nepenthe

Maybe it's Nepenthe defending herself with her friend's account.

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/marvel-studios-captain-america-brave-new-world-is-now-available-on-disney.1200285/page-3#post-140739750

I like the power set Sam has with the Wakandan wings and the drone thingy. It's a lot better than what we got with Evans' Cap.

Feels like this movie should've and could've done more with Isaiah though, no?

Sterns was almost Thanos level bad as an antagonist though. Completely one-note and predictable. Marvel really needs to refine how they do antagonists. Killmonger is the only one who has ever felt nuanced. Also please let the trope of heartfelt emotional talk solving all the problems die already. It is so annoying at this point.

There's something very funny about trying to say Sterns was bad, and while saying he was on the same level of Thanos, one of the most beloved and praised villains of the franchise.

Then again saying Killmonger is the only villain with nuance is also pretty laughable so eh.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/marvel-studios-captain-america-brave-new-world-is-now-available-on-disney.1200285/page-4#post-140742795

Thanos was an absolutely laughable antagonist. His motivation in Endgame was so intellectually reductive and binary it was almost offensive. One of the worst parts of the films and a large part of the reason why Infinity War is held in higher esteem. At least in that film they actually attempted to flesh his desire for universal balance out to a degree before ultimately having him slip into a typical power hungry villain trope.

Oh, wait. There's Loki. But Loki's an anti-hero, so not an antagonist.

I think it's funny how you just said so little, you really said practically nothing at all other than "I didn't like him in Endgame" while trying so hard to sound smart about it.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/marvel-studios-captain-america-brave-new-world-is-now-available-on-disney.1200285/page-4#post-140747511

Okay lol. Perhaps your comprehension and media literacy is the issue. Next time try and form an objective opinion by responding to the actual points I raised about the archetype Thanos becomes in Endgame.

No all.you said is you didn't like Thanos in Endgame, and for some reason you're trying to act smart and superior about it.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/marvel-studios-captain-america-brave-new-world-is-now-available-on-disney.1200285/page-5#post-140849217

 User Banned (Permanently): Troll Account

Okay, fine lol...What did you think of Captain America: Brave New World, Jewel Runner?

Jesus Christ you're really doing all this because you can't explain the dumb thing you said.

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/lindsey-stirling-would-be-perfect-for-the-zelda-movie-ost.1204122/#post-140758257

 User Banned (2 Weeks): Ableist Rhetoric

Eh, I don't need to hear a violin spazzing out for 2 hours.

[Potato]

I too would be mad if someone tried to compare their struggle of being bald to being black/a woman. That would make me incredibly mad actually. Unsurprising that i logon to this website and see white people want a black woman to placate their anger cause it makes them uncomfortable. Crazy how much that happens in real life and online. The rules lawyering to browbeat legitimate anger is also par for the course.

Was anyone actually comparing the plight of the small dicked to black women?

Nepenthe was the only one who brought up irrelevant groups like black women in the thread about balding small dicked men.

[Boredfrom]

Is PRopagandhim your alt, uncle?

I know you hate the AI and art stuff, and I know you did the art school thing, but really - you don't have any more authority over anyone else to say what the nature of art is and what people should be doing with it.

You are right, but at this point I don’t necessarily hate AI only for the art stuff.

[Uncle]

But it makes no sense because she also says people are content to just consume 'what's good enough.'
So, if AI tools become universally accessible (which they are), and compute gets cheaper (which it will), why wouldn't individuals be able to produce this 'good enough' art? What would then be the competitive advantage?  Why would corporations suddenly be able to eliminate human artists if those same artists can meet the 'good enough' threshold using the same tools, likely at a lower personal cost? Is she suggesting humans can't create 'good enough' art to compete, even with these advanced tools? Why can humans create 'good enough' art now, but somehow won't be able to in the future when the tools are even better and cheaper? To believe that, you'd have to argue the standard for 'good enough' constantly degrades, which is nonsense because we still revere old art and artists.
The fact is, the human aspect will never be taken out of art as long as art is meant to resonate with humans. The quality of art isn't just raw AI compute - everyone knows that's nonsense. And ironically, if capitalism itself makes these powerful 'good enough' AI tools accessible to everyone, it actually undermines any supposed corporate advantage based purely on outspending on compute. There'd be no overwhelming edge for corporations to completely eliminate the human artist if 'good enough' is widely achievable.

look at shit like One Punch Man, whose art began completely awful, and it only succeeded through persistence and a killer idea for a story

your art doesn't even need to be "good enough" if this is the level of quality that can resonate into rampant global success





sweet bro and hella jeff level art

this is the whole reason hollywood (and gaming) has been failing left and right, apparently you can't buy writing talent or interesting conceptualization talent, they just throw money at it and get the easiest aspects of creation out of the way - high quality visuals and effects - but are at a total loss for good ideas that resonate with people, and AI won't do that any better

[Snoopy]

Why do ree have a reputation for being unbearable cunts?

My dpd driver wasn't lol. He asked what was in the box as he's delivering loads, I said it was the switch 2 and he went is it out? Obviously if you're delivering them.

It's a mystery for sure

[Polident]

look at shit like One Punch Man, whose art began completely awful, and it only succeeded through persistence and a killer idea for a story

your art doesn't even need to be "good enough" if this is the level of quality that can resonate into rampant global success





sweet bro and hella jeff level art

this is the whole reason hollywood (and gaming) has been failing left and right, apparently you can't buy writing talent or interesting conceptualization talent, they just throw money at it and get the easiest aspects of creation out of the way - high quality visuals and effects - but are at a total loss for good ideas that resonate with people, and AI won't do that any better

One Punch Man is fun because the web comic is anything goes. But the manga with art* by Murata has frequent redraws in seeking perfection. The current storyline has been redone three or four times now. 

*lots of boys club wlw art.

[Straight Edge]

Thanks to that thread you can see their old username (jjreamPop), so enjoy some of their video games: https://jammethyst.itch.io/

edit: Yep, it's Nepenthe's real life friend:
https://www.furaffinity.net/user/jjreaming
https://fursuitreview.com/m/jjreambig/
https://www.deviantart.com/jjreaming
https://www.tumblr.com/jjreaming
here's where she's posting on Nepenthe's old Sonic forum in their furry thread: https://www.sonicstadium.org/forums/topic/18797-general-furry-fandom-thread/?do=findComment&comment=911545

Here's the two of them:

Since Nep ok’d making fun of people’s appearance, I’m just gonna say “yeeeeesh”

[FEUER FREI.]

no wonder they hide behind fursuits and overwatch characters

[Kyon1988]

If everyone on Era was allowed to talk like AmethystArcana is in that thread era would be a way more fun place.

Less moderation, more insults. B-dubs, mod them!

I'm wondering if she gets away with the things she's writing

[Snoopy]

Those teeth

[Cheers]

Thanks to that thread you can see their old username (jjreamPop), so enjoy some of their video games: https://jammethyst.itch.io/

edit: Yep, it's Nepenthe's real life friend:
https://www.furaffinity.net/user/jjreaming
https://fursuitreview.com/m/jjreambig/
https://www.deviantart.com/jjreaming
https://www.tumblr.com/jjreaming
here's where she's posting on Nepenthe's old Sonic forum in their furry thread: https://www.sonicstadium.org/forums/topic/18797-general-furry-fandom-thread/?do=findComment&comment=911545

Here's the two of them:

Fake ass Black Radical. Look at that white hair style!

[Cheers]

If my comment has caused any harm, I suggest they take Nepenthe’s advice and seek therapy. Genocides are going on and you’re harmed by white hair?

[DavidCroquet]

"Select your style*"

*Style means gender




Seriously, what's the point?

[Taco Bell Tower]

I've read a lot of Nepenthe bullshit over the years, and i'm telling you, that is just straight up Nepenthe

Maybe it's Nepenthe defending herself with her friend's account.

Probably, the postings are very similar 

[Polident]

Since Nep ok’d making fun of people’s appearance, I’m just gonna say “yeeeeesh”

There’s that Roald Dahl quote about ugly thoughts warping a persons outward appearance to match.

The Welshman was spot on here.

[BIONIC]

Not a good look this discussion

weird

I get what you're saying and I appreciate it. In fact I proof-read and edited my initial post plenty to remove most of the fury I initially included because outside of my initial vent, I didn't want the entire post to descend into me just hissing and spitting. But I also retained what I did because I wasn't interested in completely biting back the frustration and anger I felt toward the situation just to comfort the same people who could not afford any charity to someone else. I shouldn't have to! There is a blaring hypocrisy in many participants in this topic who will balk at being called, of all things, a loser but won't self reflect and address their own insulting, marginalizing, or fully dehumanizing behavior just because they aren't name-calling or because they feel wronged. And they'll use (and are using) being insulted as a reason to never do so, period.

Nepenthe didn't actually insult or attack anyone. They didn't tell anyone to toughen up, they didn't say men's issue were invalid, they didn't victim-blame anybody or position therapy as some freely-accessible solution to the problem. Zero name calling! And still not only were their words hyperbolized and her angle warped but so was their very character. None of the people doing this could step out of their feelings long enough to question if their own antagonism was warranted or misplaced. Instead they came here to do call-outs and to ask for repercussions, statements, the ability to block. A Black, nonbinary femme brought up the insanity of comparing baldness and dick size to Blackness, to queerness, and to misogyny, and people took that as their cue, their latest example to revisit escaping mods via blocks and ignores or by limiting how they can participate as regular users**.

Imagine.

Imagine being expected to be calm. Imagine having to hmm and haww over calling them whatever I wanted. Imagine having to consider their feelings at the expense of my own or even Nepenthe's. Everything I said was constructive, especially since I backed up my statements with far more thoughtful takes. It's more than can be said of users dropping "this is embarrassing!" posts in here and dipping. Sometimes people act like losers, or assholes, or cowards, or Karens. Sometimes they're overly-sensitive snowflakes that are too busy being offended to reread and reconsider before reacting, and sometimes they succumb to the uniquely liberal urge to squash any recognition of intersectionality or differences in lived experiences in the Sisyphean effort of making sure everyone is comfortable.

I don't have to present that to them nicely, especially when they themselves are not interested in being nice. And if abrasively calling that out is enough to get a post skipped so be it. I don't apologize.

(But, again, I do appreciate your ping and I agree I was and maybe am still being abrasive)

----
**This isn't directed at you, Takes, but being able to block staff who aren't acting in an official capacity is good actually. Bringing up the topic of wanting to block staff because you don't want to read or consider or can't understand marginalized opinions that don't center you, however, is not.

Gee, I wonder who wrote this infantile diatribe.

It’s not being abrasive. Much like what happened in the thread in question, it’s being outright abusive.

You are, though. You are doing that in this very post. I'll respond to you doing it after this part.

First, though, to put my own feelings up front for the sake of making clear where I stand, small penis jokes and bald hair jokes don't hurt me personally. I have no emotions towards either. So my posts on this issue are not coming from any point of view where I'm personally invested in the subject matter. In fact, in my single post in that thread I used it to talk about how Era has a larger/general body shaming issue and I even point out that I accept the "small penis jokes" are more complicated than most instances of body shaming. I lack the eloquence of words to fully convey what I think sometimes but that dynamic I mentioned was in fact the stuff some people would later go on to talk about in that thread and here. That being the mockery of an oppressive status symbol, the toxic fragility of certain types of men, and so on. I think that's actually a very complicated subject. But even while recognizing that, and personally not being impacted by those jokes (for various reasons), I can acknowledge that in a group of 50 people, if 5 of them go "hey this actually really sucks and hurts me for various reasons", my instinct is not to tell them to grow up, toughen up, or deal with it.

But I do think that's an instinct we see a lot of people have, everywhere. If they are used to saying something or making certain types of jokes and to them it's always been fine. Then suddenly someone goes "hey could you stop that", there's a natural instinct to go "hey wait a minute, but I know I'm good and not trying to hurt people, why are they treating me like I'm an asshole for making jokes everyone else is fine with". I don't judge that instinct itself, just how people react to it. If to you are used to making fat jokes or bald jokes and suddenly are confronted with that being a bad thing you have two choices. You either consider what that person is saying or you tell them they are wrong to criticize you and they need to learn how to take a joke. At the absolute worst end of the extreme you call them "snowflake, pearl-clutching, liberal-brained loser". There's a reason a lot of people are latching onto that opening line of yours. It's not because they want an excuse to ignore the rest of your post (well, for some of them maybe, but not all of them). It's because it's a ridiculous and hostile thing to say that immediately showcases you would rather double down on insults than consider their pain to be valid.


This is the other part of the post I'm going to respond to because it's a pretty good showcase of the heart of the issue. Note, I don't think I'm going to convince you of anything, you seem pretty set in your perspective. But I do want to give you a proper answer here.

First of all, I think part of what you are doing in this post is pairing up very different things for the sake of making them appear equal. We're talking about body shaming, not Elon Musk ending up alone. The reason you'd say he's going to end up alone is because of his personality and his actions. I know what you're trying to say, you're saying "well it's all something someone might be hurt about". But that's obfuscating the issue. I'm pretty sure there's a word for this in debates but I'm not immediately familiar, maybe someone else knows. But I'm not going to fall into defending unrelated things when we're talking about body shaming.

So putting that aside, let's acknowledge the core of this issue. From my read of your posts, you think that there is more value in insulting a bad person with body shaming than there is harm caused to other good people who also share those traits. And if those other people are hurt or have trauma related to these issues, you think that it's not your responsibility to protect their feelings when you're going after bad people with those traits. I'm making an effort to cut through the bullshit here and get to the core of the issue. Am I incorrect in this analysis? I think this is most charitable read I can make of the issue but if I am mistaken in your perspective, feel free to correct me. Going on the notion that I am not mistaken, I will respond.

If there is a transphobe who is fat, what is the problem with that person? It's that they are a transphobe, not that they are fat, correct? This conversation requires us agreeing that being fat isn't their issue, so I will assume you agree. But there's a problem here. We want to insult this person, to make them feel bad the way they are making trans people feel bad. But they aren't going to be insulted just by calling them a transphobe. So we shift over, we pick the thing that WILL hurt them, we make fun of their body. I get it, the goal is to cause harm to the transphobe. But the problem is that you aren't using a sniper rifle with that insult, you're using a shotgun, and people ARE getting hurt in the crossfire. You are now signaling "being fat is bad", "being fat makes you worthy of mockery", "being fat is this person's problem". You are criticizing their transphobia, you aren't showcasing what makes them a bad person, you are showcasing that being fat is worth being mocked.

So let's now move over to the fat trans person that was standing next to you. And suddenly they see the person who was supposed to be defending them saying that their body is worthy of mockery. Suddenly they are hearing the same things their bullies say out of your mouth. How will that make them feel? Well, people are individuals. Maybe they will get it, maybe they won't care, maybe they'll join you. Or maybe they'll be really hurt. Maybe they'll be reminded that they don't belong anywhere, since they are mocked by everyone for something or other. Maybe they'll suddenly feel stupid for thinking they have allies. Maybe they are reminded of all the times people bullied and mocked them for their weight. This happens all the time. It happens irl, it happens here, and people are constantly saying that people need to be more considerate with the words they use. We don't need to be attacking bodies or using body shaming. You see the problem, right? People don't choose their trauma. All they can do is ask that those around them be considerate of it. And you are shouting at them "no" and calling them a loser for asking.

It doesn't matter that Trump is ugly. Trump being ugly isn't the problem that Trump has caused. It's very easy to just fall back on body shaming jokes because finding ways to tear someone down in other ways is a lot harder. But you're not next to Trump here. Trump isn't going to be hurt by you calling him ugly. But someone else with the same facial features as him that has been mocked for it before is going to hear you doing so. So, yeah, I think you should put some more effort into your insults. I get it's hard but there are ways to do it. You don't need to fall back on "the racist is bald and being bald is bad".

(Also no, cars aren't included in body shaming, but it is a bit classist, which is Era's OTHER big issue imo)

Ehh, he got a point. All your recent history is posting in this thread, shitting on B-dubs, and defending Nepenthe. I’m not saying you’re her alt but you’re obviously at least pretty tight. Maybe make that context known before dropping 10,000 word novellas shitting on the community carte blanche. Straight up embarrassing.

He didn't really have a point. Nobody is required to divulge who they are or other such personal context when making a post here. Not even people being spicy in calling out the liberalness of this forum.

[BIONIC]

I dunno bro I thought it was kinda sus. Their last what couple pages of posts are shitting on b-dubs, shitting on the community, name-calling, while defending their friend. Like what are we even doin here? We back in high school or what?

Yeah this

Their post history is worth questioning when you look at it

It’s also pretty normal behavior when you see someone you don’t recognize light up a thread with a spicy post and wonder what’s going on there. I do this fairly regularly with other people to get some kind of context into their background and where they’re coming from (especially if I’m thinking about replying to them)

All I'm gonna say is I've catched month long bans for saying stuff that's waaaaay milder than some of the shit that was posted last page.

[BIONIC]

I too would be mad if someone tried to compare their struggle of being bald to being black/a woman. That would make me incredibly mad actually. Unsurprising that i logon to this website and see white people want a black woman to placate their anger cause it makes them uncomfortable. Crazy how much that happens in real life and online. The rules lawyering to browbeat legitimate anger is also par for the course.

Was anyone actually comparing the plight of the small dicked to black women?

I’ve read the thread but may have missed that post. Who said that and were they actioned?

[DavidCroquet]

Was anyone actually comparing the plight of the small dicked to black women?

No.

Well, sort of. Team get-over-it started introducing other oppressed groups undergoing genocide as a method to dismantle the whole conversation. 

It's funny how they flipped it around in community constructive. The aggrieved side is cleaning it up and playing defense on these comparisons, but they definitely weren't the ones to introduce these groups to the discussion.

[BIONIC]

Then you have this brave warrior talking about the TRULY important issues

I think there were some points in what Nepenthe had to say on that topic, but some of it probably got lost in further attempts to explain themselves. I generally enjoy reading their posts on capitalism and oppression, and even they can probably make someone uncomfortable, depending on their privilege and degree of participation in those systems. What that topic really failed to address is that those jokes are an unfortunate component of so-called male socialization, which tends to be degrading, especially when you're a trans person who doesn't want to be subjected to it. For some reason, terfs appropriated male socialization as a weapon against trans women, but it's something that should probably be seriously discussed by cis men because we're witnessing the failure of male socialization in real time (Andrew Tate, men not reading enough/doing badly at school etc). Some topics are made to discuss this, but they always seem to hit the wall.

Anyway, I've been meaning to write this for a while, but the forum has an 'anime' problem. It's always been here, but a certain game (Expedition 33) probably exacerbated it. What I mean is that people, mostly on the gaming side, though I've seen it on Etcetera as well, use the word anime in a clearly deragatory manner and... expect other people to understand exactly what they mean. And yeah, I understand what they mean. But just because I understand it doesn't mean that I agree with it. I rarely watch anime these days, but when I do, it's mostly shojo, idol anime, BL anime, and those series don't have the issues the members imply they should have when they use that word. What they mean is - fanservice anime, moe anime, shonen anime (most of those tropes are found there). So why not be precise with your wording? Because otherwise you're implying that all of the animation coming from Japan is perverted, which isn't true in the slightest. Even the participants in the sexualized female character designs thread try to approach the topic with more care, and they're the ones who are directly affected by those tropes. Why can't the people who are mildly annoyed by that do the same? Don't even let me start on the fact that those tropes actually originate from manga, though it's not like using 'manga' in the same vein is better. Or ranobe, which are overwhelmingly tropey and may deserve to be spoken of in a deriding manner due to the way they're written. Well, my point is that, coming from someone who is deeply invested in Japanese mass culture and who is fluent in Japanese, people should be more considerate with their words and avoid generalizations. I immensely dislike the tropes in question, and I will be among the first to point them out and critisize them. I tend to analyze anime/manga/Japanese games from a feminist/queer perspective, and many works don't look good from that point of view. Since Japanese games tend to borrow heavily from shounen (sometimes seinen) manga and its tropes, they are rife with sexualization and other problematic elements. I'm fine with calling them out... in a more meaningful way. As I understand, many members of this forum are mainly exposed to shonen anime/manga, so they draw an equal sign between the anime they've consumed and games from Japan. I don't think that's fair or productive. I can see the allure of using one word to describe a lot of things at the same time, but anime is not monoloth, and using the word negatively is dispectful (towards the people involved in creating it, which are mistreated by the industry enough, and the people involved in creating 'healing' anime devoid of those tropes, for instance) and contagious. One person uses anime in such a way, then another person echoes it, and eventually anything anime becomes automatically bad. I can't get on board with that. You're free to dislike every single anime series out there, and if that's the case, then say it. If you're okay with anime in general, but dislike the tropes, then say what you dislike exactly about a given game, let's discuss the used tropes and where they came from. They might've come from your favorite childhoold anime that is seemingly beyond reproach, who knows. Let's just not make a disparaging adjective out of it.

[DavidCroquet]

[QUOTE="AuthenticM, post: 140970360, member: 1148"]
He didn't really have a point. Nobody is required to divulge who they are or other such personal context when making a post here. Not even people being spicy in calling out the liberalness of this forum.

This is somehow my favorite post of the saga so far.

"So what if it's Nepenthe's butt buddy IRL, and Nepenthe extends her hand into this person's anus to animate which keys they press on the keyboard?! Is there some kinda rule against that? Having your human ventriloquist dummy repeat your positions in your voice with almost exactly the same speech patterns? This is wrong now? 

SMH such liberals!"

Also, what does being bald with a tiny dick have to do with being liberal again? How did we get to this part of the conversation?

[DocWager]

They are all trying to come off as “Normal”, but it just comes off as Dollar Tree GoT, with all the tricks, and backstabbing. Also clearly using this thread to gather info from Benji. Like Embiid wouldn’t guess it was a “Friend” if he didn’t look here.

You ain’t slick Embiid! Reading all this “Alt-Right” info. You are a monster!

Nep really showing her facist tankie card the last few days.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

Remember that time dragona was letting a boyfriend use their mod account?

[DavidCroquet]

I think you're giving the Bore too much credit, doc.

The post history is hilariously indicative: literally almost no activity that isn't defending Nepenthe or criticizing B-Dubs, and posting in a style that is extremely familiar.

I'm guessing that Embiid actually thinks this is an alt, but calling someone an alt is (for some reason) super bannable, so he diverts to friend.

I mean, if he was actually on The Bore, I'm sure he'd certainly already be a member. (EMBIID COME JOIN US)

[DocWager]

Yeah, I get all that. But remember B-Dubs doesn’t like when people use Benji’s evidence to call them all out. So people like Embiid have to be careful what they type out while playing the Game of Forums.

[davepoobond]

You can’t call someone an alt because only the mods/admins ban it when it is an alt and they have tools to figure it out.  If they already knew it was “someone’s” alt (last time posting before this was in Oct 2024, so funny to wait 8 months before posting anything until this moment, btw) then they already approve of the tactic and most of the admin staff likely have alts they use that they use a vpn for etc and scrub data that possibly flags it so no one else is immediately suspicious until everyone else in the world points it out. And even then…

[BIONIC]

Pretty sure Embiatch mentioned finding his posts on a nefarious website before