7 ms·

I don't know how to phrase this in an HN-approved positive way, but I think it needs to be said: the graphics are disturbingly infantilizing if this site is sup

I don't know how to phrase this in an HN-approved positive way, but I think it needs to be said: the graphics are disturbingly infantilizing if this site is supposed to be for anyone over the age of 9.

lolidaisuki 10y ago
Some people want to talk to interact with <10 year olds. This does interest us as well.
ben_jones 10y ago
I'll make the politically incorrect sacrifice for you: The internet was not built to be, or should it ever be, a safe place for every single human being on Earth. Contradictory and radical ideas are a necessary part of progressive discourse and they will make people feel uncomfortable and angry. Deal with it.
- beeboop 10y ago
  I disagree. I think the extreme stance of "safe places" we have today are rather stupid, but I would much rather these people make their own communities and exclude those who are deemed undesirables, than try to take over an existing platform.
- TorKlingberg 10y ago
  How is your comment relevant to the grandparent comment in any way? A_COMPUTER was talking about the graphic design?
SixSigma 10y ago
Agreed, looks like a loli site. Bring your waifu and we can talk brony.
return0 10y ago
... or for those who like humans below 9 years ...
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
morgante 10y ago
Everything about their homepage seems to signal that it is in fact a social network for 9 year olds (or people with the social maturity of 9-year-olds). * "Fun" graphics? Check. * Cartoon characters? Check. * Whimsical name? Check. * "Safe space" marketing? Check. * Close control of who can access it? Check. Literally the only thing they need to add to be a children's website is a note about parental controls.
- mc808 10y ago
  Adding to the creepiness factor, they think I'm 9 and want my location.
kwgardner 10y ago
We made something that makes us happy. Will it appeal to every single human being? No, of course not, nor should it. And that's okay! Nothing on the internet has that power. Not even cats. We chose to go in this direction because it made all of us happy to go to work every day, and whenever we showed people different versions of our site, whether it was family and friends or in more formal user testing, people tended to like it more with the dinosaurs than without. It's okay if you don't like it, or even if a lot of different people don't like it. Though, fwiw, once you got off that page it looks more like a regular site and there aren't as many dinos.
- morgante 10y ago
  Who is your target audience though? If this is the Reddit for 9-year-olds, spot on! I also think there are some other (older) demos who would be attracted to a space like this, but I'm interested in who you think it is. Also, I'm sorry for the negativity (some of it from me). While I largely agree with the commentary here (that the world doesn't necessarily need a safe space community), I know how hard it is to put anything new out there and commend you for trying to improve upon Reddit. I genuinely wish an HN for "other things" existed and hope you can succeed.
  - kwgardner 10y ago
    Thanks! It sounds like there's definitely some stuff we could be doing to improve our branding--we're new and we're learning, and the word "positive" seems to have been misconstrued by everyone from what we meant it to be to who we are as a company. One thing, just as a note, is that we're not trying to be a "safe space" community, and we're not trying to censor disagreement, remove negativity, or even get rid of all hate and mean comments. Those all have a purpose, and without them it becomes an empty echo chamber and there's no point in actually talking. Also, the fact that we're trying to take a stronger stance on harassment is just a tiny, tiny bit of what we're doing differently. We're not trying to be a safer Reddit, or even trying to be a direct Reddit competitor. What we've built is in response to issues we've seen in all different platforms--Reddit, sure, but also Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Patreon, and more. We've tried to build a really broad, flexible platform that makes it so communities can do all the things they want to in one place, with a developer platform to make sure that's possible. We've built in a payments system. We've designed it to be more user and mobile friendly instead of an outdated forum style. Those are honestly the things that I care most about, and the possibilities they open are what I think will have the biggest impact on hopefully making Imzy a really viable community platform that I want to work on, not the things that we're trying to prevent.
nxrabl 10y ago
“To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. ... When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” - C.S. Lewis
- gingerrr 10y ago
  "childish" != "infantilizing". Cute whimsical silly graphics are fun. Feeling like I've walked into a padded room/kindergarten when I hit their homepage due to the visual/copy combination is not fun.

lolidaisuki 10y ago

Some people want to talk to interact with <10 year olds. This does interest us as well.

ben_jones 10y ago

I'll make the politically incorrect sacrifice for you: The internet was not built to be, or should it ever be, a safe place for every single human being on Earth. Contradictory and radical ideas are a necessary part of progressive discourse and they will make people feel uncomfortable and angry. Deal with it.

beeboop 10y ago
I disagree. I think the extreme stance of "safe places" we have today are rather stupid, but I would much rather these people make their own communities and exclude those who are deemed undesirables, than try to take over an existing platform.
TorKlingberg 10y ago
How is your comment relevant to the grandparent comment in any way? A_COMPUTER was talking about the graphic design?

SixSigma 10y ago

Agreed, looks like a loli site. Bring your waifu and we can talk brony.

return0 10y ago

... or for those who like humans below 9 years ...

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

morgante 10y ago

Everything about their homepage seems to signal that it is in fact a social network for 9 year olds (or people with the social maturity of 9-year-olds). * "Fun" graphics? Check. * Cartoon characters? Check. * Whimsical name? Check. * "Safe space" marketing? Check. * Close control of who can access it? Check. Literally the only thing they need to add to be a children's website is a note about parental controls.

mc808 10y ago
Adding to the creepiness factor, they think I'm 9 and want my location.

kwgardner 10y ago

We made something that makes us happy. Will it appeal to every single human being? No, of course not, nor should it. And that's okay! Nothing on the internet has that power. Not even cats. We chose to go in this direction because it made all of us happy to go to work every day, and whenever we showed people different versions of our site, whether it was family and friends or in more formal user testing, people tended to like it more with the dinosaurs than without. It's okay if you don't like it, or even if a lot of different people don't like it. Though, fwiw, once you got off that page it looks more like a regular site and there aren't as many dinos.

morgante 10y ago
Who is your target audience though? If this is the Reddit for 9-year-olds, spot on! I also think there are some other (older) demos who would be attracted to a space like this, but I'm interested in who you think it is. Also, I'm sorry for the negativity (some of it from me). While I largely agree with the commentary here (that the world doesn't necessarily need a safe space community), I know how hard it is to put anything new out there and commend you for trying to improve upon Reddit. I genuinely wish an HN for "other things" existed and hope you can succeed.
- kwgardner 10y ago
  Thanks! It sounds like there's definitely some stuff we could be doing to improve our branding--we're new and we're learning, and the word "positive" seems to have been misconstrued by everyone from what we meant it to be to who we are as a company. One thing, just as a note, is that we're not trying to be a "safe space" community, and we're not trying to censor disagreement, remove negativity, or even get rid of all hate and mean comments. Those all have a purpose, and without them it becomes an empty echo chamber and there's no point in actually talking. Also, the fact that we're trying to take a stronger stance on harassment is just a tiny, tiny bit of what we're doing differently. We're not trying to be a safer Reddit, or even trying to be a direct Reddit competitor. What we've built is in response to issues we've seen in all different platforms--Reddit, sure, but also Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Patreon, and more. We've tried to build a really broad, flexible platform that makes it so communities can do all the things they want to in one place, with a developer platform to make sure that's possible. We've built in a payments system. We've designed it to be more user and mobile friendly instead of an outdated forum style. Those are honestly the things that I care most about, and the possibilities they open are what I think will have the biggest impact on hopefully making Imzy a really viable community platform that I want to work on, not the things that we're trying to prevent.

nxrabl 10y ago

“To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. ... When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” - C.S. Lewis

gingerrr 10y ago
"childish" != "infantilizing". Cute whimsical silly graphics are fun. Feeling like I've walked into a padded room/kindergarten when I hit their homepage due to the visual/copy combination is not fun.