very mixed feelings

[snickfic]

Soooo, the CBR forums, widely known as a dudebro cesspit wherein comics are sometimes discussed, have just been rebooted after years of accumulated posts. Per the article linked, this was prompted largely by the vitriolic response on the forums to someone critiquing a comics cover a couple of weeks ago. Specifically, a woman critiquing a comics

Comments

[thursdaysisters]

Yeah the only cover artist who I felt could get away with chesty superheroines was Alex Ross, cuz he actually imbued them with the sensational otherness that made them loved and feared.

[snickfic]

I'm not inherently opposed to well-endowed heroines. It takes all body types. But there's a huge difference between a female character who happens to be busty and a character who's drawn as a lust object first and foremost.

[de_nugis]

That horrifies my archival soul. I can see that it might be hard to make a major change in culture without a fresh start, but couldn't they save the old stuff, maybe put it frozen in cold storage for a while, but not destroy it?

[snickfic]

It horrifies me too. Two weeks is not sufficient time for interested parties to retrieve what they might want to retrieve.

[de_nugis]

And interested parties may include future generations! I have a kneejerk "Someone's dissertation will depend on this!" reaction.

[snickfic]

Yeah. It's one thing to say the internet is impermanent and another to watch its history being actively destroyed.

[sugar_fey]

Wow. I applaud CBR for taking a clear stand on this, CBR is a cesspool and it was getting worse.

But getting rid of the old forums entirely? I don't know. Maybe simply locking them would've been better. I'm also glad they have a new zero tolerance policy for bigotry, but I'll wait to see how the policies are enforced. In the past I've seen horribly sexist and racist statements go untouched by the mods, whereas comments calling out the bigotry have been deleted for being 'off topic.'

[snickfic]

I'd much rather they locked the old forums. And yeah, we'll have to see how things are enforced. Right now it looks like mods are freezing threads just to remind us they can.

[sugar_fey]

Honestly, my first thought upon seeing this was that the dudebro behaviour towards female fans is going to get even worse as a reaction to this. "You took away CBR!" Not that that should stop CBR from acting, and I hope they actually put their money where their mouth is and enforce the new policies. But I have very little faith in that regard.

[etrangere]

NOOOOOOOOOOO damnit i hate those forums but the magnus family thread with all the fanart and the posts by Rivka fuckfuckfuckfuckfcuck

[snickfic]

:(

If you want any of that stuff, now is the time to get it.

[etrangere]

although it's good they realised the place was a pit and needed some fixing. Woot :)

[transemacabre]

They should've had competent modding and enforcement from the get-go, rather than letting things blow out of proportion and then napalming the entire forum.

[snickfic]

Fair enough, but only one of those is an option ten+ years after the fact.

[transemacabre]

CBR could've taken responsibility at any time in the last ten years and started weeding out the assholes.

I'm hoping they just lock the old forum and leave it as read-only.