The Etsy community forum is behaving like a fascist organisation and one of the moderators thinks he is Kim Jong-un

Now if you know anything about this blog, you know that my top priority is biodiversity. Followed by art and design. It’s not people’s feelings. This was never going to go well…

I recently found myself at the Etsy “community” forum after subconsciously clicking on one of their dashboard posts. Apparantly only 2% of Etsy users are active forum members. After a brief interaction with some of the members I can see why. I’d just like to say to the Etsy management that if you want to protect your little pro Etsy bubble, then you’d be better off not inviting the other 98% of people to that forum, because you’re going to get people disagreeing with other members and the Etsy moderators themselves.

My first ever post was promptly banned. Well okay. I was too blunt. I asked “Why is there so much craft on Etsy? Good art is now getting overlooked >> advertising“. I soon got my answer.

“Actually,  on Etsy together with vintage and supplies is HANDMADE.  Nowhere is art mentioned.  In fact for a long time,  there was not even a category for Art at the top of the page.  It was bundled in with home decor or something that I now forget.”

“My god what an arrogant post! And from someone who is selling something made out of a coffee packet and a rubber band! Do you consider that “art”???”

“There is room for a an oil painting and also a tulip drawn with crayons. Though why anyone would pay £45 for the crayon picture that looks like it was done by a 5 year old… is subjective.”

Keep in mind that mentioning specific listings in a negative context is apparantly strictly prohiobited on Etsy. Even so, this person got away with it.
Somewhere around this point, I realised that it was me who was in the wrong place. And so I promptly joined SaatchiArt.

It’s like these people have never even heard of the term #ZeroWasteEtsyShop. I tried again, this time with the environment in mind.

Strangely enough, the second post was also banned, mainly because members insisted on bringing up the first post and discriminating against me based on the content of that, hurling insults left right and centre. I was called ” annoying” and “horrible” and all sorts of things (which I can take). I would even be willing to accept overt levels of censorship.. if it were fair. What I don’t really like is biased censorship. And that’s what Etsy forums have become. A place where negative criticism of Etsy is not really allowed. If you go one step further and actually accuse a moderator of censorship, watch out!

Here are some of my comments that were deleted. Note that all of the other insults against me remain. How is that for neutral moderating NewScoresVintage?

Now I can take an insult, but it seems some people on the Etsy forums can’t. And so at least one moderator was called in, doing what he does best, moderating (another word for it is censoring). I kindly, plainly pointed it out to him, the blatant double standards and off-the-scale censorship levels. He proceeded to delete more of my posts. That’s when he sent me a message saying that I had a 7 day ban. Temporary 7 day Etsy community forum ban:

I replied with “Are you some kind of fascist?”, to which he could have replied “no”. Instead, the temporary 7 day Etsy “community” forum ban quickly became a permanent Etsy “community” forum ban. And that’s when I replied “Is your name Kim Jong-un?”. Clearly, this must have struck a nerve. Because I was already banned from posting anything on the forum. In fact can see less of that forum logged in than a non-user can. I certainly can’t send any private messages. That was one of the first privileges that I lost. So it’s like he was so miffed that he reported me afterwards. Either that or Etsy is just slow in responding.

Now apparantly replying to a ridiculous post ONCE now constitutes “hostility” and “targeted harassment” even though the very word “harassment” sort of implies you’d need to do this “harassment” repeatedly. Nope. Because that was followed by a politically correct letter from “Andréa” [possibly Andréa Moody] openly threatening to delete my entire shop if I didn’t shut up. Basically. If that isn’t the ultimate form of “discrimination” I don’t know what is. It certainly seems to be very hypocritcal.