bye bye

[jester]

hi there, as the title says i am taking permanent leave from this site. i was never really active in the first place, so it'd probably be much easier for me to go without saying anything at all, so why bother making this post in the first place?

i wanted to address specific reasons why i'm leaving. honestly a lot of this is stuff other people agree with but are too afraid to say themselves, so i'm willing to take one for the team and put it out there because i have no emotional attachment to this site.

it's so incredibly difficult to feel included here if you don't have connections to staff or anyone rping a hp. after not rping for four years, i was finally ready to return and try again, so i made a character, joined the clan's discord, all those good things. and when i finally got my intro threat up? crickets. zero replies from anyone other than my character's sibling. this basically immediately killed my motivation after i tried so hard to return and start posting again. i've been dealing with really poor mental health for a while, so it took a lot of energy for me to make one post just to get completely ignored. my motivation also wasn't helped by the fact that nobody would ever respond to my discord channel either, which i did try to talk in semi-regularly. additionally, my application for my character to be a mentor was also ignored. the only time i ever got a real reply was when i had to be passive-aggressive about my character's intro thread being ignored and ask for my channel to be deleted. i basically feel like if you have zero connections, you're just a ghost on the site. i guess you could make the argument that i can't expect people to talk to me if i don't talk to them, but why would i even bother trying if nobody can be bothered to respond to my character's intro or really anything i said ever? i should not have to beg for people to include me. that just shows your site isn't naturally inclusive to begin with if i have to.

all that to say, i really hope the staff can read this, take this criticism, and do something with it, because empty apologies don't fix anything. goodbye.

 

[scar]

hey!! so, I am not staff at all, but I just wanna say I am sad to see you go and I am sorry we didn't get to interact more! ik how it feels to just feel left out and ignored in such an environment and I'm so sorry that tt ended up being that for you!! that being said, if you ever decide to come back or if we ever cross paths again, I would love to plot with you and get to know you!!! best of luck in all your endeavors <3

 

[Blitz Krieg]

I'm really sorry to hear that jester, sincerely :( it doesn't ever feel good when a thread you make doesn't get replies, and I want you to know this accidentally happens from time to time, and has definitely happened to me as well, despite being staff. It's not about being new or having no connections - I promise you we LOVE new members here and love to plot with them! I know I had fun replying to the sledding thread that involved your character! Genuinely I think sometimes threads just slip under the radar, which has led me to bump some of my own in the discord to get them more attention. I'm extremely sorry that was your first impression of the site. Wrt the mentor thing, as a past leader I can 100% attest that sometimes it's just a patience game with waiting for an apprentice that is a good fit to be paired to you! Sometimes it takes some time to be called upon to mentor especially when apprentice numbers are down in the clan at that time, and I know the ThunderClan HP team was not trying to ignore you, but rather most likely waiting for someone to come along who fit.

Anyway, you will always be welcome back here with open arms Jester. Please take care and don't hesitate to reach out to myself or another staff member if you'd like to talk about this <3 I am again so sorry for these negative feelings :(

 

[jester]

I'm really sorry to hear that jester, sincerely :( it doesn't ever feel good when a thread you make doesn't get replies, and I want you to know this accidentally happens from time to time, and has definitely happened to me as well, despite being staff. It's not about being new or having no connections - I promise you we LOVE new members here and love to plot with them! I know I had fun replying to the sledding thread that involved your character! Genuinely I think sometimes threads just slip under the radar, which has led me to bump some of my own in the discord to get them more attention. I'm extremely sorry that was your first impression of the site. Wrt the mentor thing, as a past leader I can 100% attest that sometimes it's just a patience game with waiting for an apprentice that is a good fit to be paired to you! Sometimes it takes some time to be called upon to mentor especially when apprentice numbers are down in the clan at that time, and I know the ThunderClan HP team was not trying to ignore you, but rather most likely waiting for someone to come along who fit.

Anyway, you will always be welcome back here with open arms Jester. Please take care and don't hesitate to reach out to myself or another staff member if you'd like to talk about this <3 I am again so sorry for these negative feelings :(

hey! i really appreciate your reply and that you took the time to read my feedback. i do want to add that my character's intro thread was bumped multiple times with my reply and my character's sibling. it was also advertised in the discord thread share and currently has 257 views. i remember it had around 100 not soon after i posted my piece, but still no replies. people were reading, just not answering. i do understand the mentor thing, but it's another additional thing that adds up after being ignored already on site and in the server. once again, i'm asking that you use my criticism as guidance to improve the site instead of apologizing

 

[TAYLOR]

I just want to say that I'm really sorry about everything you've experienced, and I understand the feeling. I personally don't make threads, but I do my best to reply to those that have low or no replies (sometimes my character doesn't fit the scene though, but if I can sneak them in, I do try).

Anyways, if you ever decide to come back, please, please, please let me know. I'd love to pair up (maybe even with scar too, if they're interested) and maybe we can get a plot going or something.

Wishing you luck and lots of love!

 

[yeomna]

i know i haven't roleplayed with you on TT but i'm sorry you've felt unappreciated & ignored; i hope your next experience is better!!! maybe we'll meet outside TT and have fun together especially since you know em & are from FF ( if i remember correctly )!!! sometimes being in fast paced sites like TT especially in thunderclan which is one of the most fast paced places can cause you to get swept under the rug even with you constantly bumping it 3: sorry you had to deal with that & we love you!!

 

[Sloane]

It's a shame to see you go, man! An even bigger shame to hear you've felt excluded as well, it's not a fun feeling and I can confidently say we've all been there. However, I hope you're able to recognize that this experience is fairly normal on TT from time to time. Generally speaking, your threads will garner more views than replies. It's unrealistic to expect all 100-200 people (A good chunk of these views being bots, by the way) to drop a post on something that they may not feel as though their character would insert themselves into realistically. I understand it's a hard pill to swallow, however this doesn't mean nobody cares about your character, bur rather the scene provided for other's to engage with did not align with their character's values.

Please also understand this is not staff's fault. Nobody on the staff team can force people to reply to threads that they do not have an interest in. Personally, I'd prefer to have people skip over my thread if it's not one they'd enjoy writing for rather than feeling obligated to in favor of someone else's enjoyment and giving me a lackluster reply due to the fact it's not something they truly put their heart into- rather something that is more of a polite obligation- and trust me, you can tell when this is the case. TT is a welcoming place as I've experienced the vast amounts of hospitality myself, and I can safely say it is a group effort that needs to be made by both yourself and others. Your intro post didn't get the attention you wanted? Fine, go through other member's channels and ask them for personalized interactions. Throw your character into pafps or opens on their respective boards. If you want to make an open yourself, then by all means do so, but make sure the topic is something that other's can realistically get themselves involved in. Unfortunately, the post I'm assuming you're referring to (The pafp/rta with Addersnap) was left untouched by the public because it is unrealistic for others to involve themselves in what seems to be a fight heavily tied into interpersonal familial affairs. Opens should be inclusive to all, and this was not the best example of that.

With all that being said, I wish you well in wherever your journey takes you. If you ever decide to return we will welcome you back with open arms, and hopefully my response will be some food for thought. Take care.

 

[Jadefeather12]

I'm glad you were able to say your piece Jester, as you've stated you're definitely not the only one who has felt this way, and I'm really sorry for that </3 It should not feel like a struggle to be heard or included on a hobbysite. Take care, and best of luck out there!

 

[jester]

@scar @TAYLOR @yeomna @Jadefeather12 aww tysm you guys are so nice !! i really appreciate your kind messages and i'm really glad to hear that you all would've made the effort to make me feel included (and i'm assuming others as well) !! if i ever do decide to return, i would love to reach out and rp with you guys, take care !!

and @Sloane ... i'm going to be honest, your response is pretty rude. there's absolutely no way over 200 people read my thread and not a single person could think of a response even if some were bots. all the character had to say was "hey what're you fighting about?" or something along those lines. just because you've had a welcoming experience doesn't mean that everyone has! and like i said, my thread was also bumped multiple times and advertised in thread shares. i did not just post and expect people to respond. furthermore, i should not be begging people to reply to my posts in the first place. if tt truly was welcoming, i would just get replies. and i don't expect people to bend over backward for me either, just one response would've been all i needed to feel included! if you really want people to believe tabbytales is inclusive, as you describe, perhaps you should make an effort to do so yourself

 

[beatae]

jester, the feelings you have regarding your experiences are completely valid and deserved to be brought up for the improvement of ppl that feel similarly in your shoes. cherrypicking and comparing to other people's experiences should never negate that, as no one is the exact same and should be respected as such. im sorry your time on tabbytales didn't feel as valued, truly. and taking the time to be so transparent and honest about your time is always be helpful to shaping and improving an online community <3

 

[ABRI]

sorry to see you go, jester! i wasn't able to interact with your character, but i did enjoy seeing bearcloud pop up on the board! my activity in thc is unfortunately not the greatest, both ic and ooc, but i would've loved to rp with you had my activity been better on that side of things. i will say that i struggle with feeling left out of things too every so often. with how fast paced some areas of tt can be, my own drops in activity, and how many plots are going on, it's unfortunately fairly easy for things to slip through the cracks. i've had my own share of threads with 0 responses!

however, if it's any help, i think — if i peeked at the right thread — part of the reason why bearcloud's intro had low responses to it was because the thread was opened right around thanksgiving? the holidays tend to stall the site quite a bit, with people having more irl obligations with family, holiday hours at work, etc.

i don't think people were intentionally ignoring you, i'd hope not, anyway! but, i do have to agree with sloane in part — sometimes you just have to push past that thread with little responses and continue to post and interact with others. as someone who also struggles with mental health and finding the energy to post, i know it's easier said than done, especially with how you're feeling, but i think the more your character is seen around, the more people can see what they're like and how their own characters can interact with yours!

again, i'm sorry to see you go, and i'm sorry this was your experience with tabbytales. you're completely valid in your thoughts, and so is everyone else who's been feeling the same way! take care, and hopefully one day we'll get to rp together, whether here or some place else!

 

[SATURNID]

heya jester, im sad to see you go!! i wish we had gotten a chance to interact, i've been keeping up with bearcloud's posts even if i haven't been active enough in thunderclan to respond. i want you to know that your writing was still appreciated!! i completely understand having to muster up a lot of energy to write and then feeling discouraged by not getting responses

feeling ignored is awful and i'm really glad you're talking about your experiences. you're definitely right that you're not the only one who's felt this way and i really want to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. like others have said, i would always be happy to write with you here or anywhere else you go! please don't be afraid to reach out, i promise there are people here who understand how you're feeling and would love to make sure you're not left out <3

 

[vvinsoli]

Hey Jester, I absolutely agree with your sentiment! No one should have to push through and struggle to get plots, interactions, and responses to threads. You are absolutely valid to share your experience, and I appreciate you speaking up as not everyone has the courage to! Speaking up like this is important in online communities― every site, in my opinion, always has room for improvement, and every opinion/experience/criticism should be valued. <3

Please take care! <333​

 

[AVA]

I'm sorry your experience has been poor on Tabby Tales, Jester. We strive to make everyone feel welcomed here and I'm sorry we weren't able to do so for you. We'll be using your feedback to reflect on how to improve our community and we appreciate you taking the time to inform us why the site didn't work for you. If you ever do decide to give us another shot in the future, we will do our best to ensure a better roleplaying experience. I wish you the best and thank you again for sharing your experience!

On another note, I appreciate everyone else for providing their input here, too! However, please remember to stay kind both in writing and the way you use our site reactions to respond to messages. Let's work as a community to make Tabby Tales a better and welcoming place even when we have varying perspectives.

We care about our community and in an effort to improve Tabby Tales we will be releasing a survey sometime soon that will ask for further community feedback. We don't want any members of our community to feel unwelcome here and we will continue to strive to make improvements. More details will be announced later, I don't want to derail Jester's departure thread, I just want everyone to know their voices are not falling deaf on staff's ears.

Thank you everyone, and again to you Jester for your feedback!

 

[jester]

omg i did not expect this thread to get so many replies so i wanted to say thank you for the kind messages and feedback !!

i will say that my thread was posted around thanksgiving as abri pointed out, so site activity may have been slower around then. it does still frustrate me though because i felt like i made an effort to advertise this thread when it was posted. i also want to say that i don't think anyone was ignoring me on purpose or trying to be mean to me specifically! i just feel it's disheartening to not get a response on my character's intro thread since that also shapes my first impression of the clan and the site as a whole because it was the first character i ever posted with.

and last, i wanted to @AVA specifically because i agree with you completely. i wanted to share my thoughts about tt so staff could consider it and make improvements and i apologize if it's started some drama or issues because that was not my intention! if i came across as mean in any way i'm so sorry about that as well, i don't want this thread to get heated or aggressive. thank you everyone for listening to my concerns and adding your thoughts!

 

[BossTaurus]

Super sad to see you go, man and wanna apologize that you've felt excluded from the site/clan!! I want you to know that if there's ever an opportunity or chance that you ever return/we meet one another on a different site/etc... trust that I would be more than happy to plot/write with you, sadly, the thread must've slipped by me or I missed it on accident ): (+ working retail around that time is hectic/leaves little time for rp). I'm honestly glad that you spoke about this since SEVERAL individuals have felt this way before or now and it shows! As a site/community, it is always good to hear criticism/opinions/etc... to ensure that there isn't a repeat of this, I will work on doing better and making sure that no one feels this way if they're in the same group as me/onsite as a whole, I am just sorry that it had to get to this point where you felt excluded and needed to leave for your own mental health especially for a place that's supposed to be a hobby/etc... I wish the best for you and hope that we may run into one another in the future once more for potential plots, whether it's here or elsewhere, genuinely, take care /gen