#so they tag it with rwde so you can filter it out if you don't wanna see it

[kitkatopinions]

Nitpick November is fast approaching! With it coming up, I'm going to post in the main rwby tag which I rarely do just to give a couple of reminders.

"Nitpick November" is something that some rwby critics do for fun where during the course of November, we air our small, inconsequential, or entirely subjective complaints about RWBY that aren't deal breakers. This is just to get things off our chest, talk to each other, poke a bit of good natured fun, and sometimes to take a break from bigger criticisms. If you don't want to see those little complaints, filtering out the usually used tag for any rwby criticism "rwde" is a way to avoid it, but you can also specifically filter out the "nitpick november" tag if you want to see average criticisms but don't want to see small complaints.

Please do not specifically come into the tag to see nitpick posts if you're the type of person that is against criticism of RWBY in general and hate rwde posters and rwby critics. We are literally just trying to have fun.

Also, this is a reminder that Nitpick November is specifically meant to be a time where people can complain about things that aren't big complaints or deal breakers. No one is hysterical, no one is throwing a fit, no one is saying RWBY is point blank period bad because we... think Penny's bow is too big or something. Rwde posters already know that the things we complain about during this period are not a big deal, we're not saying they are. That's why they're nitpicks.

Again, this whole event is for fun, so please remember that and if you dislike the concept, please just filter out the tags.

[hyperfixation-hideout]

FNDM PSA

if you tag your post with "anti rwde" as two words or "anti-rwde" it still shows up in the rwde tags. Use "antirwde" instead ✌

[whitleyschn33]

Is...is there anything you do not complain about?

I typed in rwde into tumblr search, and its like a little boy complaining about so many things, I do not know where to start.

RWDE should not stand for Rude, but for Whining.

Seriously, would you like some vintage cheese to go with that whine?

Alright, first of all -

I don't barge into your house complaining about your tagged content.

Second - aside from the Arizal post, I haven't posted in the rwde tag in a couple weeks, so odds are you haven't seen any of my posts (unless I got in the top listing, but I doubt it, this is a fairly small blog in terms of notes), so I have no idea why you're messaging me instead of literally anyone else that posts far more frequently. I probably shouldn't have tagged the Arizal post with rwde, but it was to keep people like you from finding my blog through the normal routes, because if you take this much offense at rwde content, I would have thought you would have blocked it.

Third - everyone is allowed to bitch about things, it's not a crime, and that's the reason the rwde tag exists. We acknowledged that some people don't want to see negative content about a show they like, so we use a separate tag so people can block and filter it out. Of course it's all going to be negative, that's what the tag is designed to do - collect all the negative or critical content so it can be easily filtered out. Personally, I wish someone had had some backbone and made crtq the go-to tag instead of rwde, because criticism is not the same as bitching and they shouldn't have to be lumped together, but here we are.

Fourth - There's an old saying in Fandom spaces - don't like, don't read. I'm sorry if me or anyone else criticizing a cartoon show gets you up in arms, but there is a lovely little feature called "filtering" that you can use to literally never see my content or anyone else's that has issues with RWBY. That's why rwde exists in the first place, so you can cater your content.

Fifth - actually, yeah, I'm running low on cheese, haven't been able to make a grocery run this week. Can I get some mozzarella or asiago?

[itsclydebitches]

Oh I also like how the anon was like "you all keep calling us the 'Anti-rwde' or whatever" as if we are not specifically referring to a specific subsection of the fndm that specifically has labeled themselves as Anti-RWDE and has specifically used that tag so that they can make it easier to turn harassing people over Fandom opinions into a groupwide party game

So not only is anon blowing smoke when they say that YOU of all people "never post anything positive" (a straight-up lie if I ever heard one lol, you are an incredibly positive and upbeat person who clearly loves rwby and are only getting hate because certain sections of the fndm have decided to punish all who stray from the groupthink) but they're also displaying their ignorance by talking as if "Anti-RWDE" is a term we made up to describe people who casually like rwby, rather than the fact that is a label a specific group of people chose for themselves upon deciding to intentionally cyberbully and abuse total strangers because they don't like our opinions about a web cartoon.

Unfortunately, that twisted logic regarding names has been going on since the start. Though I didn’t experience the beginning of all this first-hand (since I came into the fandom a little later), my understanding of the history is basically that:

Fans posted content that existed under the hugely broad category of “negative” opinions (as every fandom does). However, unlike other communities, RWBY defined “negative” content as anything from a horrific, anti-representation rant lacking all evidence and deliberately attacking others… to someone going, “I preferred A over B and here’s an analytical examination as to why.” Anything deemed negative was considered equal, regardless of what should be the very obvious problems with that approach.

Thus, “critics” quickly became “haters” and all attempts to explain the nuances of criticism fell flat.

Purity culture reared its head, emphasizing that haters weren’t just people posting opinions on a webseries others disagreed with, but morally heinous asshole who were actively harming other fans and the creators. They were rude.

Since this is a fandom built on canonical acronyms that function as other words, they’re RWDE.

(And because they've always been haters, it's also the HTDM.)

So, after a long time of trying to explain things—no, just because one asshole is sending RT mean tweets doesn’t mean the majority of us do that; no, that rant isn’t the same thing as posts trying to deconstruct the show; no, a desire for better queer rep doesn’t make us homophobic, etc.—fans basically threw up their hands and went, “Fine! If we’re so rude to you then we’ll embrace it. We’re RWDE now. Might as well adopt the name you all keep calling us since we can’t get you to stop.”

Tumblr’s RWBY community demanded loudly that all criticism be filterable. Or better yet, removed from the site entirely. So, critics started using the RWDE tag in part so others could easily circumvent it.

Then fans got mad that the RWDE tag existed. A space dedicated solely to criticizing the show? The horror! Did you all miss the part where we really just wanted you out of the community entirely?

A lot of critics were successfully harassed into giving up on posting about RWBY, which is ironic given how often we hear the accusation that we harass others. I’ve personally never come across a RWBY fan who left the community because of RWDE. (Or, to be more specific, people who left because of actual RWDE posters. Plenty of fans will claim they were harassed by RWDE, but really they're referring to a handful of specific, bigoted assholes with no association with the rest of the sub-community and using "RWDE" as an inaccurate umbrella term for everyone in the fandom they dislike. As you put it, anon, it's a group-wide party game. "RWDE" has become the catch-all name for anyone you hate and more often than not, people ignore the legit RWDE posters going, "We don't know this person? They've never interacted with us? And we don't approve of their actions either, so why are you lumping us in with them??"). Meanwhile, I know many people who have left the community because of other fans targeting them over posting their disappointment and grievances with the series. And many more have come forward to basically say, “I never posted in the first place because I know the shit that'll get me.”

Because RWDE continued to exist, anti-RWDE then became a popular tag to combat it. They VAST majority of RWDE posters have never even interacted with the crew, but the claim that they're harassers became so ubiquitous that harassing them in turn was seen as justified. You criticized this public, paid-for product of a major corporation and posted it somewhere the creators will never see? We'll send you death threats to your personal inbox. Yes, those are absolutely the same thing.

“But you started this term,” we’ve said. “You created RWDE and then we adopted it precisely because you wanted to filter out our content. We want you to block us if you don't like this stuff. Why would you create a new tag that is specifically all about engaging with opinions you know you disagree with?”

There’s never been an answer to that because it’s really just about feeling superior and enjoying targeting the “bad people” online.

Similar stuff happened over on Reddit. A RWBY sub was made, the community decided they didn’t want anything they deemed as negative, eventually in an effort to carve out their own space/avoid the instant down-voting/appease the fans who very clearly wanted a strict separation in content, the RWBY Critics sub was created.

…and then that was used as evidence for how horrible those fans were. It's become go-to “evidence” presented to new fans as a way to deter them from going to the dark side, so to speak. “Look at how they created an entire space solely for hating on RWBY! RWBY Critics and RWDE are proof that they’re all horrible fake fans who only want to ruin others’ enjoyment.” Which, of course, misses the crucial context that from the start critics have always wanted to be a part of the main circles—I still post in “RWBY” because that’s what my posts are about—and we only created these niche, highly critical-focused spaces because others demanded that separation in the first place. However, I can't really blame new fans for buying into all that. If I came into a community and the majority immediately started warning me about this sub-group, painting them as every horrible thing under the sun (they're racist, transphobic, they hate the canonical queer rep, they're constantly harassing RT, they're the reason all these bad things have happened, etc.) ... I'd be pretty wary too. It speaks volumes that I've encountered a lot of people over the years who have gone, "I legit thought that RWDE was the devil until I was disappointed in something myself. Then I realized just how fast the rest of the community can turn on you if you criticize RWBY - even while still loving it! - and as a result I discovered that the vast majority of RWDE posters aren't like what the rest of the fandom paints them as." There are always exceptions on both sides, of course. You can find asshole RWDE posters and asshole non-RWDE posters, but on the whole RWDE is pretty extensively misrepresented and a lot of that stems from being able to push fans towards specific actions (a name, a new space, simply getting so frustrated that you explode in a private post that then breaks quarantine) and then being able to say, "See? They're so awful."

Though from what I've heard things have been better over there as of late, for a time this misrepresentation became so intense that the RWBY sub attempted a blanket ban on the critics sub, because guilt by association and all that. Luckily, the majority of the fandom realized that this was ridiculous, one step way too far, and it was revoked. But the fact that this happened at all is a good summary of how critics are often perceived in the community.

So yeah, this keeps happening. It's become a predictable cycle. Critics of all varieties are a part of the main community, they’re derided, they eventually get sick of that treatment, they carve out a space for themselves… and then that’s used as “proof” that they were always RWBY-hating assholes. You can’t win when either choice is automatically framed as wrong. The only correct choice, according to fans like that anon, is to stop engaging with RWBY entirely. Which, you know, is advice I personally don't plan to take lol.

[kitkatopinions]

I'm convinced that one of the reasons why people hate rwde-posters is because they have yet to figure out that not everything is for them.

Like, if someone posts a rwby critical post and some rwby fans get angry that we're 'trying to change people's minds' and 'trying to make people hate the show' and 'ruining their fun' and 'forcing them to see it' and 'making fun of people for liking rwby.' Even when the post has nothing to do with them, has no attack against people who like rwby, and is properly tagged so people who don't want to see criticism can filter it out.

As if everything we do has to be because of them or something, instead of us posting rwby critical posts for ourselves and for other people who are also critical of rwby. It's like they can't fathom that... Something someone else does has like, nothing to do with them. When I make a post that's like "damn I wish the world building in rwby was better" I really am not posting it to try to annoy someone who doesn't want to hear rwby criticism. I'm posting it 1) for me, because I want a place to get out all my thoughts on rwby and like talking through my thoughts and like analyzing media, and 2) for my mutuals in rwde because even when we disagree I like talking with other people who are also critical of the things I'm critical of and seeing different perspectives. And I properly tag my posts specifically because I'm trying to keep anti-rwdes away from me, and I block people all the time who won't leave rwde posters alone and I don't want them to see my posts. So it's just remarkable that there's even this 'you can't stand that people like rwby' thing that anti-rwdes sometimes say, because..... Nope. That's not the case.

Anti-rwdes just sometimes seem to think we exist specifically for them? And only do things for them? It's just not the case.

[kitkatopinions]

Hey guys, new RWBY season drops in like two days, so I just wanted to make a post because every time we get a new season, we also get A. An increase in people posting RWBY criticism. B. An increase in people complaining about seeing RWBY criticism. And C. An increase in people asking what RWDE is. So I thought I'd give some advice on how to avoid criticism (if you want to) and posting criticism (if you want to.)

This is one of the only times I'm using the main RWBY tag, I usually try to avoid it since I'm a RWBY critic. I'm using it now in an honest effort to help, please no one send me hate anons. :)

What is RWDE? RWDE is a tag used for any and all criticism of RWBY. The fact that it's a play on the word 'rude' doesn't actually mean the criticism must be mean spirited. Most people who post in the rwde tag were ordered to by other rwby fans who demanded we use the tag as a filterable (and not use the main rwby tag either,) so we didn't really choose the name, and use it as a courtesy to other fans. RWDE is used for anything from complaints saying the whole show is a wreck to the tiniest nitpick. Like any tag, people who use 'RWDE' range in opinions, there's no 'rwde hivemind,' I myself have been in fights with other RWDE posters in the past.

What to do if you don't want to see RWBY criticism? Filter out the 'rwde' tag, as well as 'anti rwby' and 'rwby criticism.' This is pretty simple. Just go to your settings, scroll down to the 'content you see' section, go to filtered tags and click the little edit icon, you'll get the option to add a tag to filter. If you do this, then Tumblr will hide posts tagged with 'rwde' from you, and you'll have to make an active choice to seek it out. If there are certain characters you'd like to avoid seeing criticism of, rwde posters frequently use anti character tags as well. I personally have 'anti Blake Belladonna' filtered out because I don't like to see too many posts complaining about her. Another trick is looking up rwby with a hashtag # at the front like #rwby, which I've heard helps avoid the 'this post mentions rwby and therefore appears when you search 'rwby' even if it isn't tagged' feature (which I know is a headache to deal with.) Also please don't avoid blocking out of some belief that it makes you a coward or a bad person, the block function is for everyone's benefit, and if you continuously see someone posting things that annoy you or are just taking up space or you just don't really wanna see, blocking them is a good way to get them out of your life without any fighting.

What to do if you want to criticize or critique RWBY? First off, criticizing RWBY at all in any way is something that does come with a risk. This fandom can be really toxic towards critics and defensive of the show to the point where even minor objective nitpicks will be called hysterical fits of rage. It's unfortunate, but if you want to post criticism, it's best to be aware of what you're getting into. I suggest using the rwde tag when you criticize despite the venom against it, because that's the most well known criticism tag and is the one most likely to have been filtered out by people that don't like seeing criticism. Not using the rwde tag might result in you getting people in your comments or ask box angry at you for the fact that they saw your posts. If you want to critique without being associated with 'rwde' and don't want to use that tag there's only so much you can do (popular RWBYtubers have been labeled rwde just for criticizing RT,) but you can use tags like 'crtq' and 'rwby criticism' and 'rwby critique' that might get less of a venomous response. Also I would again suggest that you be free with the block button.

If you heard something about how horrible rwde and rwby critics are... Please actually look into actual rwde posters and read actual rwde posts (in their entirety, not just screencapped parts of posts) before you believe anything from other people. Just because someone says 'rwde posters think X, Y, Z' doesn't mean it's true, and again there's a wide range of opinions you'll see from rwde posters. I'm not saying you have to like us or seek us out or anything (again, you've got the filter and block option and I suggest people who don't like criticism do so and we'll leave each other alone,) but don't buy into the 'htdm' stuff without even looking to see what's true and what isn't please and thank you!

Anyway, whether you're looking forward to the new RWBY season or dreading it, good luck on Saturday!

[kitkatopinions]

I'm aware of the cross tagging from FNDM in rwde since sometimes I look in it at times, but I think what irks me is about Adam.

The guy is already dead and FNDM just can't let go that anyone that are fans of him just have to shove in there face "See? See? He's ALWAYS been emotional abusive since the beginning, you guys are abuse apologist!" He was charismatic in a degree because he had a lot of loyal followers, and if I remember correctly didn't he not give a shit Blake was in Beacon? Why is the FNDM so keen on people that don't agree with them? It's such a waste of time.

The Adam topic is honestly a... Hard one, with a lot of layers. I fully believe he was always meant to be Blake’s abuser and a plain straight villain. But he used to be a much more nuanced character, who let her go and focused on his own goals. He got coerced - yes, full on coerced - into joining Cinder’s plan, but seemed to lean into it and wanted to use it to his advantage. In season three, he delved into much worse territory, stabbing Blake, trying to cut off her head, and maiming Yang. This obviously ought to be considered evil. But he still let Blake run away and continued doing his job rather than chasing her down and killing her and Yang, clearly implying that he cared about a lot more than just Blake.

The treatment of the faunus/racism allegory really damages all of their Faunus characters in the first five season minus maybe Velvet. Adam was no exception to this. He should’ve been a very different character than what we got even in seasons 1-3 because he was a strong voice in their only pro-Faunus rights activist group, and seemingly a leader of one of the branches. CRWBY never should’ve made the only pro-Faunus rights activist group in their story a violent terrorist group that wanted to destroy peace and take out white people non faunus. And one of the leaders of that group being an abuser and a total monster? Not a cute look. That feels like straight up propaganda. Especially after revealing Adam’s brand mark, and dropping details about him being a slave in songs and outside content.

And then the writing staff decided to take a character who seemed to care for his cause and care for his people (he rejected Cinder’s offer for him to join them because it would do nothing for the Faunus, and then only agreed when she threatened his people,) and they stripped him of those two good traits and made him act as though he’d only ever been using the White Fang for power and to get at Blake. He stalked her for days (when he’d willingly let her get away without following two times before,) and he turned into nothing more than an abusive ex. I got tripped up enough on RT’s terrible to choice to make him such a monster in the first place, but stripping him of the few good points he did have just to... Make Blake sadder, maybe? Make him seem less sympathetic? That sucked. And if they were going for trying to make Adam less sympathetic, they shouldn’t have freaking showed us the SDC logo burned into his face! There’s nothing satisfying about watching an oppressed former child slave and allegory to people of color, with a company logo branded onto his face, get murdered due to no real fault from the heroes and die alone after having his character reduced to ‘abusive ex’ by careless white writers who just last season had been shoving ‘people of color should stop hurting themselves and just prove they’ll defend white people from other people of color and then they’ll earn respect’ into their narrative. 

Honestly, I’m not an Adam stan. His character didn’t get a lot (and his voice acting wasn’t the best tbh,) and the character he did have was largely unlikable to me personally. The reason for that is the writers’ miserable failure of an allegory that came across as very propaganda-ish and white comfort driven, but I’ve just never really... Liked him all that much. However, a lot of people saw potential in Adam, and liked who he could’ve been a lot. And there were other people who liked Adam as a villain. Both of those things are perfectly valid. I don’t know much about the Adam stan community, but I personally have never once seen anyone in the RWDE tags excusing Adam’s actions in the show or trying to say they were alright. What I have seen is people acknowledging that Adam’s character was severely mishandled, or writing their own, new versions of Adam’s character where they try to handle him well or treat the topics at hand with more respect than the writers did. Other people literally just acknowledge Adam’s pain, and that’s totally valid too.

I’ve dealt with crosstagging in other fandoms and pro tags getting lots of anti people invading and trying to pick fights. And even main character tags, people should realize are going to be used by people who enjoy the character, and attacking them for it or commenting on their posts to try and get a reaction is mad annoying. Antis should use filterable tags. RWBY megafans are always getting mad at RWDE posters if they so much as use the main tag even if they have a drove of filterables, but they refuse to use any proper tags themselves. It can be so frustrating when you’re just trying to share content about a character you like with other people who like that character, and you get people coming into your comments going ‘you know they did A right?’ ‘you know they’re a bad person, right?’ ‘Oh so you love (insert immoral thing here)?!?!’

It’s honestly toxic. Adam - the character - did horrible things no one should excuse. But A. He did those things because he was written to do them, and people ought to be able to look at that writing and see how it’s harmful. And B. Liking a character is not approval of all of their actions. People can stan villains. There are Joker stans and Tom Riddle stans and freaking Moriarty from Sherlock lovers, I think RWBY fans should be able to get past Adam stans. And C. Softening characters for your own personal headcanons is a-okay, and shouldn’t be something you get attacked for. This is especially important to remember in characters that you look at and say ‘this should’ve been done differently because the character they did give us is insulting or a bad portrayal.’ It’s easy to become attached to characters you think were done dirty by their clearly biased writers. I have a long string of characters I just write different in fan fiction, because I got mad at how they were handled, for all sorts of fandoms. People need to understand that not everyone is going to see RWBY and the RWBY characters exactly how they see them. People have different favorites and different interpretations, and even if that interpretation isn’t one hundred percent right in canon, well guess what? Canon isn’t king, people have every right to headcanon whatever they want.

You got me ranting. XD But yeah, I personally think RWBY fans should leave Adam fans alone, so long as they aren’t hurting anyone. Obviously, I don’t know all the details, but yeah. I’m a firm believer in the benefits of ‘pro’ and ‘anti’ tags for character content. I’ve been trying to use ‘pro Ironwood’ for instance in mine. I know it wouldn’t get rid of all the antis, but it’s worth a shot.

And the amount of RWBY megafans who literally go to the RWDE tag and look at posts specifically tagged and marked as anti rwby eight ways to sunday just to pick fights... Astronomical. People who don’t like to see it should filter it out and make their (and our!) experiences much better.

So... Those are my thoughts on that.