innocence by laura makabresku on Flickr.
Tumblr’s news caught me somewhat off-guard. I mean, it was always something I knew could happen, and still I wasn’t prepared. Mostly because I didn’t have an exit strategy.
Now it also has the added annoyance of catching me during my work-week when I don’t have much free time to address this situation. However I want you to know that I have managed to locate several platforms that might fit my requirements. I’m posting this so that you can know what I’m doing and where this blog might end up.
Also, I’m hoping to help spread what I’ve learned to anyone who is feeling a bit unsure what to do now, since tumblr has been offering us all a chance to express ourselves, share the things we enjoy, find out we’re not alone in our kinks, desires and fantasies. That in fact it is far from it, there are a LOT of people, undoubtedly the vast majority of users registered to tumblr who come here specifically because of these things. A lot of people have expressed their views that this move is hurting some specific groups of people who don’t have anywhere else to connect with other like-minded individuals and groups.
So to those people too, I hope this helps.
Important note: I will be talking of NSFW-safe platforms, because that is a major theme of my blog. That isn’t to say that OTHER content isn’t allowed on any of these platforms.
I know of the following, NSFW-allowing (encouraging, even) platforms. I will list them by order of similarity to tumblr’s interface:
1. Sharesome.com - this to me seems like the closest thing to tumblr. I was concerned that it might have to be bumped down to number two because as of now I can’t seem to understand exactly how to post GIFs, but then I saw that *other* people have uploaded GIFs, so it is possible, I just don’t know how. This place was created with a NSFW mindset and the interface is friendly. The bad news about this site is that it is in beta right now, but they are benefiting from the mass exodus from tumblr, and seems to be a stable platform with proper staff maintenance.
2. kinkyelephant.com - this is a Mastodon-based interface. You can learn about Mastodon here. I tried this place before I tried sharesome, and I admit to disliking the interface just a bit, but overall it is fine. This place runs on communities called instances. The kinkyelephant is a NSFW community I found that appeals to me, which is why I’m putting it up here and not the main mastodon community. Mastodon instances are independently run servers, so even if the company goes bust, it seems to me the community can still thrive. There is no central guideline from above, only the rules server admins decide to apply, and you can choose which server (or instance) you want to join. Even if you join one, you can follow and talk to people from another instance (server).
3. Newgrounds.com - I admit to not quite understanding how this place works just yet, but they seem to actively ENCOURAGE tumblr NSFW blogs to transfer over to them. I don’t have time tonight, but I will put in more work in checking this out.
4. Pillowfort.io - This platform seems to also be created with NSFW content in mind. However it is in CLOSED beta. You have to send them 5$ to join the line to receive a registration key, which doesn’t happen when you pay them but in the coming days. Because it is in closed beta, they are concerned with massive quantities of people flooding the gates, so they’ve chosen this strategy to apply for now, to make sure their systems aren’t overloaded. Now I know this seems like a bad thing, but I can also see the positive side of it: ALL the other platforms I mentioned with perhaps the exception of Mastodon are experiencing overwhelming surges of new registrations, making their services slower and not 100% reliable at all times (this isn’t to say you can’t trust them, just that you need patience). But this policy of pillowfort also means I can’t tell you what it’s like inside. It sounds promising.
5. Ghost - ghost have created a page specifically targeting tumblr users in response to the recent events. You can see that page right here. At first, I thought Ghost sounded like my way, but then I read more and more and decided that it isn’t. It simply isn’t the same sort of platform that tumblr is, nor do I think it is anything similar. More like running your own website. Also, it costs money. Now I’m keeping it on this list for two reasons: First, that it didn’t appeal to me doesn’t mean that it won’t appeal to someone else. Second, if you have been hearing about it and interested in it, now you have some info on it.
6. Kinkspace.net - This was the first thing I grabbed onto when the floodgates opened. I posted about it too. It’s friendly, but it’s UI is old and it seems to not have the resources to deal with the new arrivals. The site keeps getting overwhelmed and crashing. It is, however, still an option that lets you express things that you could express on tumblr until now.
Final note: I have created blogs on ALL of these except for ghost. You can find me if you want, but I’ve not yet properly set up shop. As I grow more familiar with them I’ll probably talk more about them, particularly when I have the time to - which isn’t now. But I wanted you informed and I wanted everyone to benefit from what little efforts I have been able to make. Bottom line? This sucks, but to my mind, sharesome is probably the preferable choice for me over the rest. We’ll see what happens over the coming days, but we’re all in this together.
Final, final note: Banning sex, representations of it, representations of the naked human form, of sexuality… that’s never a good idea. Tumblr is, unfortunately, headed to oblivion. Bad decisions made in order to try to appeal to Apple’s store. I regret that, but that is what I believe.
