Thread by @vorpaldicepress

This follow up is insulting, and lack lustre.

DISCLAIMER: I will be using "we" to refer to those like me, and "you" to refer to DMsGuild/OBS/WotC as an organization, not whichever individual reads this.

CW: foul language

A thread. (1/God only knows)

https://twitter.com/dms_guild/status/1278079618109468672

We don't want you to go through and covertly remove content.

We want -transparency-. No more of this covert bullshit that has been going on for years.

Every product that is removed as a result of this should come with an explanation of why, made public.

These explanations should then form the base of a formalized, transparent, and readily available collection of content policies. Which should be posthumously applied to every piece of content on DMsGuild - including official Wizards of the Coast content, and art packs.

The items in those art packs should then be **replaced** by Wizards of the Coast, if they have any decency, because we the creators should not suffer a loss of materials/service for this.

And NONE of this reporting/policing should be the responsibility of the creators and customers.

NONE.

Police your own damn website, and your own damn rules. If you aren't even going to TELL US WHAT THEY ARE. How are we going to police it for you?

Reports don't work.

There is no transparency in reports. A report is sent, and then it disappears into the aether and its up to us to check and see if anything happened, and we don't always know what happened if anything at all.

Tell us you are developing a report ticket system that is *transparent*. A database that is searchable, by product name/ID, that shows if any reports exist for that product. Build it right into the redesign if you have to.

Let us know what actions have been taken against a product, or what decisions have been made.

Why all this transparency? Because it's *not enough* to say you are resolving to do better. You need to actually do it, and prove it.

Why do you need to do better?

Because the oppression of queer representation, and subsequent celebration of hetero sensuality, has been a cornerstone in suppressing queer identity in North America for *decades*.

NOBODY should be made to feel dirty, or wrong, for what they find attractive.

Nobody should be told, by the media they have shoved down their throats, that women should be objectivified and queer sensuality is *obscene.*

This is actual, real damage.

You want to talk about kid/teen friendly? Start there.

Start with helping to educate kids/teens on LOVING WHO THEY ARE. and LOVING WHAT THEY FEEL. because this double standard makes us feel abnormal.

AND NO. I don't talk for all queer folk.

Everyone has a different story, but I do speak for myself and THOSE LIKE ME who spent the first half of their life afraid to not be masculine, to deviate from 'the norm', to be honest with themselves.

IN PART because of the way media represents queer as WRONG and hetero as RIGHT.

So, your anonymous statements mean NOTHING. Because they do nothing to undo the harm caused.

"But why now? Why is this a problem now?" you ask?

Because brave people like Oliver who want representation so bad they are willing to put their neck on the block were brave enough to PUSH YOU to show the true color of vague policy.

And I am speaking for myself, and only myself now.

I do not want overt sexualization.

I take no qualm with it, I don't care if it is on DMsGuild, I am a consenting adult. I have my [x] Adult Content checked on OneBookShelf.

But I get it. You want D&D to be accessible to everyone.

I don't see how *filters* don't enable accessible to everyone, or rules like "nothing overtly sexual on the cover, or in previews." That's a pretty good rule that allows for more sexual represenation.

BUT this is your product, you set the rules (here, yet not under OGL, so does WotC just not want our dirty gay money or something? I dunno. I'm losing focus here.)

FINE. You set the rules. THEN BLOODY WELL SET THEM.

For everyone, in CLEAR, TRANSPARENT TERMS, that EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND. So that people don't invest their time, and effort, and money, and soul, into creating content that doesn't fit your narrow band of acceptible.

That is all I want. TRANSPARENCY.

You set the rules, go for it. But fucking set them and OWN THEM.

Oh, and while I am at it - MAYBE TAKE SOME OWNERSHIP OVER THE DAMAGE DONE?

Maybe a fucking apology, or acknowledgement that ACTIVELY removing queer sensuality representation yet ACTIVELY promoting hetero sensuality and objectifying women has ACTUALLY hurt people, psychologically and emotionally.

And maybe Wizards of the Coast could chime in on this somewhere? Your email to Oliver clearly pointed to WotC having a potential problem with this content too, yet as we all know, they are COMMITED to DIVERSITY and REPRESENTATION.

So hey @wizards_dnd, own some of this yourselves.

I am rambling at this point.

BE GAY, DO CRIME, DONATE TO #RAINN and just.. fucking.. do.. better.. than.. whatever this is.