Thread by @the_corvidae

Okay, we’ve started doing research on the whole “demo system” thing, because apparently we love tracking sysmed misinformation while we’re bored.

Content warning for discussing ableism against systems throughout the thread. 🧵

For those who don’t know what a “demo system” is, we didn’t either! When we first heard the term we wanted to go ask a demo system what it went. The problem is, we didn’t find any demo systems to ask. Almost certainly, they literally don’t exist.

Let us explain…

When you Google “demo system” you get brought almost instantly to Tiktok. I don’t know how many times a Google search has brought you to Tiktok, but it’s pretty damn rare. Most Tiktok content doesn’t exist in searchable text, just video. So, alarm bells ringing, that’s a hint.

In general, in our experience on Tiktoks, most sysmeds mention demo systems when they talk about endogenic systems, typically as a pair. There are very few “endos dni” bios, and most say “endos/demos dni” instead, which is almost unheard of on other platforms. Interesting.

If you scroll a Tiktok search for demo systems, you see pretty much every sysmed on the platform talking about how awful and ableist they are. When you look at the posts on Tiktok about demo systems, none are from self-identified demo systems. Not one. Genuinely.

We looked SO long and hard. Later we checked other social platforms and multiple search engines with many keyword combos. We found genuinely not a single system using the term for themselves. Not one. Only other systems taking about demo systems unfavorably.

Instead, these posts are all are from sysmeds who seem to have just learned about demo systems (though they don’t say from where) and are shocked, horrified, and/or outraged by the concept. Something like, “I HEARD PEOPLE JUST TRY ON BEING A SYSTEM FOR A DAY? GROSS!!! FUCK THEM!”

Once again, the people these folks are so aggressively railing against and “spreading awareness” about are nowhere to be seen. Very much getting the “made up a guy to be mad at” vibes. But then, how did they make up the guy? Where did the idea come from? That’s the true question.

Very few of the systems making these posts about “demo systems” were bodily adults. As in, almost none. The two, maybe three we found who weren’t minors were all 18. Minors tend to be more vulnerable to misinformation and radicalization against a group, especially on Tiktok.

Note, there were also many accounts that didn’t state their age. I think that not stating whether you’re a minor or adult is more common among minors, but ultimately that’s up for debate, take it how you will.

Tiktok has a horrible searching system, but from what we managed to find just looking, the oldest use of the term “demo system” on Tiktok was in October of 2021. We have reason to believe it is the actual first time the term is used in this way, as a plural/system term.

This post was in response to a seemingly inclusive mixed origin system (very much doesn’t seem to be a troll) on Tiktok asking “We’re pretty scared of joining system servers due to us being endo supporters… can we know your opinion on demo systems first?” to another system.

The system responds (in a rather ableist way, making all sorts of weird assumptions about trauma, big yikes) that no, they don’t support endogenic systems, and don’t know what “demo systems” are. The comments are full of similar confusion: no one knew what a “demo system” was.

Until finally, under a thread of comments asking what they are, someone replies, and quote, “Demo systems is basically someone ‘trying out’ being a ‘system’. Literally it’s all term for fakers :D”

This is when our theory first clicked. And boy, does it make sense.

The original commenter, that seemingly genuine and well-intentioned mixed origin system, asking if the other system supports endogenic systems, used the term “endo” as a shorthand. We don’t use that regularly. Guess what it autocorrects to on our phone.

So, that’s our theory. A system asking about endogenic systems accidentally autocorrected the term “endo” to “demo” and a sysmed, foaming at the mouth for a new way to demonize endogenic systems, came up with a definition that means “icky bad ableist faker” on the spot.

Is this theory 100% proven? Hell no, it is based on us trolling around and trying to figure out how to navigate Tiktok well enough to search for the earliest mention of a term on the platform. However, it makes a lot of sense to us, especially with how Tiktok works.

Tiktok is known to be amazing at spreading hate-based misinformation and radicalizing teens against groups of people seen as weird or unsavory but who are ultimately harmless and sometimes themselves marginalized. This is a documented pattern in its algorithm that concerns many.

We did check other platforms, everything on there is similar. Typically bodily younger sysmeds talking about how bad “demo systems” are, still no self-identified demo systems. Everything found on other platforms was posted after October 2021, so that much tracks.

So, there goes a few sporadic hours of our lives. It’s honestly fascinating. I think it represents a greater pattern of mob mentality and anger-motivated misinformation in sysmed communities. People LOOK for things to get angry at, as a pastime. It’s sought out or sometimes made.

Oh, also, to support our theory, most people use the phrase “trying out being a system” or “trying on being a system” when describing so-called “demo systems” which is the phrasing used in that comment we mentioned from October 2021. It’s almost exclusively described as that.

Also, that other mixed origin system who made the original question comment mentions “demo systems” nowhere else on their account, that question was the first and only instance they use the term. I’m definitely thinking it was autocorrect.