I've decided, after seeing other projects on NG that have existed long before mine and are doing some of my shticks way better, that I will focus most of my energy on this zine of simply writing about stuff. The curation of content and all that shit is going to be put on a very far-back secondary; just writing about things and getting into the real nitty-gritty details is what I've realized I'm truly passionate about, so that is what the main focus of this zine will be on from here on out.
My first order of business is to write an article about the massive Final Fantasy 7 Collab that Newgrounds has hosted and just released on the 9th. I'm going to be doing my best to get in contact with all the creators and organizers of the collab so I can get a true history lesson, if you will, on how the whole thing came to be and then some. So yeah, that's my next project now, essentially. Hopefully it actually goes somewhere.
But in general that's the kind of stuff that take up most of the zine now. Not much else really, because everything else I included last time is already being done much better. The Tank Tribune is a curation of all the major events and content on NG every week; Art Talks is a podcast about art on NG; Off the Wall is doing the same thing but with indie music; and The Interviewer has been doing interviews with notable Newgrounds people since 2009; but nobody has really tried doing an "article series" yet, so that I am going to be the man to do that. We shall see how this goes in the future.
Internet's been shit for the last couple days. But here is the zine:
Also is it just me or is the italics tag not working with this new layout? Probably a mistake I'm making somewhere, wouldn't be shocked.
Here's a bit of an update on my life happenings.
I'm going to be on a podcast! Not just any podcast but the Newgrounds Podcast. Back in July I started work on a fanzine for NG, titled Everything by Everyone after the site's motto. (Really considerate use of trademark I know. It's a title in progress.) I would go really in-depth about right this second, but I feel the "mission statement" I wrote for it sums it up good enough (this is obviously an abridged version):
For many people on the internet, Newgrounds.com was that one website you went to as a kid to play your favourite amateur flash games. Indeed, in the 2000s Newgrounds existed as perhaps the largest hotspot for all amateur video games online - made possible almost entirely with the Flash software - and that was by far it's top source of traffic. Many games and animations on the site from this time period reached many millions of hits, and most of them are still remembered with fondness and clarity across the web today. But ever since the "Flash exodus" of the early 2010s, the internet at large has mostly forgotten about Newgrounds; the majority of younger people today don't even know what it is. The closest thing Newgrounds has become re-known for in recent years is its being a safe haven for NSFW artists, after the Tumblr purge of 2018. But even this recognition has largely been drowned out by the overriding sentiment that Newgrounds was only ever a place for flash games and animations, a so-called "dead" era for the internet.
As global internet usage surged through the 2000s, Flash as a platform grew to be so popular and so widely used that the terms "flash game" and "flash animation" soon became synonymous with just any game or animation on the internet. This interchangeability still persists today, despite flash games themselves now having largely been obscured by vastly more popular forms of computer games, particularly massively-multiplayer online games (MMOs), online gaming stores like Steam, as well as mobile games.
Despite the change in landscape, Newgrounds has stood out as continuing to push forward at a strong pace. To expand its horizons, the site opened up an "audio" section in 2003, becoming one of the very few websites to showcase free independent music with no download required. In 2009 an art section was opened up as well, where users could submit their art pieces as images. Starting in 2012, the site also started allowing users to post animation and games using software other than Flash. Additionally, writing contests began being held regularly in the forums. This massive expansion of content allowed Newgrounds to become far more than just another flash game site; it has become a hub for artists and creators of all walks of life to get a foothold in their aspirations. The thing that made all of this stick was that Newgrounds was, and still is independent. Newgrounds, Inc. is a completely independent company ran by just four people, including Tom Fulp himself. Never once had the site been supported by a major corporation, nor are there any hyper-advanced algorithms that effectively dictate what you can and cannot see.
Thousands of users continue to use Newgrounds on a regular basis, though the site is now little-known outside its core base. This is despite millions of people on much larger websites begging for something different; begging for a place where censorship won't prevent them from doing basically anything. Admittedly, much of this could be chalked up to Newgrounds only really promoting its games and movies in its early years, and not much else. Consequently, most people who remember Newgrounds only remember it for these two mediums. Couple this with the general attitude that flash games/animations are dead, and you have a website that is silently continuing to thrive on its small but loyal community, but has almost no outside recognition. A fallen titan, except the titan is still alive and running in spite of its injuries.
The purpose of this fanzine, is to draw to this titan the rightful attention it deserves. This publication will be focused on exploring the tight-knit community of Newgrounds, and how it is continuing to serve as a breeding ground for a new wave of liberated artists. We will also be giving attention to other spaces on the internet that follow the same moral code, and how they are facilitating it in their own ways. We aim to be totally unapologetic about our backing of communities that value free expression and creativity for all, and our opposition to the corporations and governments that would rather have us silenced.
I've finished the first issue of this fanzine - the July 2020 issue - though I haven't exactly "published" it yet. And that is because I am waiting for this Newgrounds Podcast, so that I can release it live on Discord for the chat to see! And then after that I'll just make it public on the forums and then some, including here. Pretty appropriately dramatic opening in my opinion. And it's just a good way to gouge the community's first thoughts on it before I go any further with the September 2020 issue. (Skipped August because I spent that entire month finishing the July issue.)
Before any non-existent readers ask to themselves, yes I am indeed HavryloThePigeon from Newgrounds; you would find that out anyway in about two days. This is the first ever podcast I'll be on, so it's both quite exciting and a tad daunting. But I'm pretty assured that it'll go well. I'm trying to write down notes of things I want to talk about, and hopefully it's good enough to carry the boat forward if we ever hit a tight spot in the middle of the show. Hopefully.
I've also gotten back into just writing short stories again today. Something I really should be doing more. Most of them don't go anywhere but it's good practice nonetheless.
To be honest, I am still not entirely sure where I am going with this website. I guess I shouldn't stress myself out too much just yet - nobody is actually reading this yet anyway - but it is indeed something I ought to keep going. I know I'll figure something out. Most of the times ideas just come to me incredibly suddenly and I need to get them out right then and there. That's probably how it for the vast majority of people, though, so enough said on that front.
I'm starting school pretty soon too, so obviously I'll be more busy and less able to be frequent in updates, but it's not like I am anyway at the moment. But I promise I will continue with this. I have to. I just, have to.
I'll talk about the fanzine in more depth after the podcast and when I publish it on here on Saturday. So stay tuned for that!
It's been five whole days since my last and first journal entry. Seems like a good time as any to talk about motivation.
Motivation is a funny thing. When it comes, you feel like you're on top of the world. If it comes in the morning, you feel ready to get out of bed and conquer the day. If it comes later in the day, you feel obligated to immediately stop wasting time on whatever you're "doing" at that moment and get right to work. But then when it goes away, you more often than not feel like you're back at square one.
When I first started this site just a week-and-a-half ago, I felt
But, I'm getting to the age where I seriously need to find things I'm interested in pursuing and stick with them, because once school is over they'll be all that I have. I'm actually starting the new school year in exactly a week now (online thankfully) so this fact has been particularly dawning on me today. There are many things in life I have given up on over the years - whether it's because I think they're pointless or stupid or whatever else - and now I'm at a point where this ought to stop. I
So, here I am, once again, back at it again. To the zero people reading this, I will using my still-limited knowledge of HTML to make this site look a bit less amateur over the following 24 hours or so, provided the CSS file Neocities gives me by default chooses to cooperate. (Then again I could just be doing something wrong that's making it not respond.) I'll think of adding some other things into this site as well, such as potentially posting some short stories I write from time to time on a separate page. Perhaps other pages as well for more specific topics. I honestly have a whole range of ideas for what to put on here, though improving my HTML skills is pretty much essential if I truly want to feel like I'm being productive. Maybe then I won't feel bad about people actually reading this!
It's late right now, but I promise these changes and improvements(?) will come within the next day, if I don't laze out and procrastinate like a motherfucker again. Oh yeah, and I'll add my email soon, don't worry. Right now I think I'll keep it private though; this site is too amateurish right now for fucking contact information.
I'll also try to make these daily entries something of a daily occurrence. Be warned a lot of them will just be pointless ramblings most likely, but hey, it's something to stick to, if nothing else.
Hello, this is my first entry, now let's get straight to it.
It seems that for the past few years, YouTube has been in a neverending stream of controversies, one after the other. Most of them, expectedly, revolve around the allegedly transgressive content that gets uploaded onto the site but manages to fly under the radar; this is despite said content either being objectionable in general, or even flat-out breaking YouTube's community guidelines. YouTube will typically deal with this controversies by blaming high-profile content creators - ones who often have their own critiques of the site - for somehow enabling the content to exist. The worst example of this taking place - besides the PewDiePie incident - was amid the rise of the YouTubeWakeUp community, in which individual content creators who had nothing to do with anything, were blamed for somehow benefiting from "exploitative" videos of children on the website. In reality, some angry leftist was most likely just trying to gain some Reddit clout, and was used as a posterchild by disgruntled advertising agencies.
But this most recent controversy of YouTube's has hit a brand new low. Recently several YouTubers, most notably Penguinz0 who has spearheaded this whole thing, have been discussing the various videos on the site in which people kill their pet animals for views. This is not a remote exaggeration. In Latin American countries, there has been a new sickening trend of young people posting videos of themselves abusing or even killing animals, often taunting viewers by threatening to abuse the animals harder in the following videos. This trend started way back in 2018, when a 15-year-old under the name of "Peluchin Entertainment" uploaded two videos of himself killing his pet cats. While he has since steered away from abusing animals, he has spearheaded a trend of animal killers on Spanish-speaking YouTube, with many of them specifically citing him as inspiration.
Despite this disgusting content not only being morally wrong in every way, but also violating YouTube's guidelines against animal abuse, most of these channels are STILL UP with absolutely NO action taken against them. So far, only ONE of these horrible people has had their account terminated. Peluchin's cat videos are down, but it was HIM who took them down; and he only did so because of backlash.
On top of ALL of this, there are also other YouTubers making fake animal rescue videos. What does this entail? Well, most of these such videos involve the despicable owners purposefully putting their animals in dangerous situations, to then "rescue" them for clout. Such stunts include running over the animals with a car just lightly enough to not kill them; throwing them in snake pits and then fishing them out; and other various psychopathic activities.
Fake Animal "Rescue" Channels...
YouTube has done almost nothing about ANY of these people; as said above, only one person has actually been deleted off the site for these kinds of videos. And even more infuriating is that these controversies have been up in the air for a very long time. In 2018 YouTube's Spanish-speaking community was covering Peluchin like no tomorrow, and many high-profile Latin American YouTubers were desperately calling for action. Many Spanish-language media outlets were covering it as well, even a few English-languages ones too. But despite all this attention, absolutely zero was done about it. It was only under community pressure that Peluchin deleted his cat-killing videos and moved on. (Although one could argue he still hasn't done that yet, as he just recently posted a video complaining about his Facebook account being terminated.)
Now that these repulsive human beings have once again been brought back to the surface, the one question on everyone's mind is the obvious: Why, in the name of the universal pantheon of gods, is YouTube refusing to take action here?
One would think this would yet again lead to another huge adpocalypse, in which advertisers would pull another mass exit from the site, and normal YouTubers with nothing to do with anything would once again be hit with the brunt of the blame. But evidently, not even advertisers are turning their heads yet.
You might be thinking that I'm calling it too soon; that it's been less than a week since this controversy came about and the next adpocalypse could be just a day or two away. And I might just be inclined to agree if the circumstances of how this expose occurred were radically different. What do I mean by this, you may ask? Let's look at how the previous two adpocalypses went down.
In 2017, a writer for Wall Street Journal published a poorly-written, highly accusatory article accusing PewDiePie of being antisemitic; this same writer then went on to Tweet a bunch about YouTube running ads on supposedly racist videos, and blamed YouTubers for contributing to a platform supposedly ruled by the far-right. As a result, tons of advertisers pulled out and YouTubers suffered greatly. In 2019, a mysterious individual known as Matt Watson uploaded a video "exposing" a "pedophile wormhole" on YouTube, citing how ads were played on suggestive videos of children, with comment sections full of predators. He then went on to blame everyday YouTubers for somehow enabling this all to happen, slandering them all as "greedy" and dismissive of "real" problems on the site... despite many high-profile YouTubers before him making videos on the exact same issue. As a result, tons of advertisers pulled out and YouTubers suffered greatly.
Notice a trend here? If so, close your eyes, because I'm about to drop a truth bomb: corporations and the media only give enough of a shit to act against YouTube, when there is a pretty-faced outsider coming on in to RAIL against the GREEDY non-advertiser-friendly YouTubers who are ENABLING this content to exist on the platform. Sure, they might criticize YouTube itself to, but it is
Seriously, just take a moment to think about this. Some WSJ guy and some ginger-haired stranger can get mass applause within just days of putting out their "exposes", while people like Penguinz0, as well as
There is a reason for this, as should already be clear by now: these are not exactly the "pretty faces" of the internet who are standing up and speaking out against something genuinely awful. And as long as this is the case, most people in charge, who can actually enforce change, will not do so, because what do these "bullies" know, right?
Now you might be thinking, "Wait, Havrylo, you forgot about Elsagate! Didn't that ALSO cause an adpocalypse, but instead of blaming some black sheep users YouTube ACTUALLY removed those videos en masse?" And yes, you are correct about that adpocalypse part; I specifically left it out until now! But even in this situation, there are some pretty vast differences. For one thing, it wasn't even YouTubers who originally brought it to the forefront; it was, in fact, outlets like The Guardian that first made news about it. From there, YouTubers did their own explorations of the topic - and when we say YouTubers, EVERYONE was talking about it. Case in point, there was no one specific "sect" of people related to YouTube that weren't highlighting it, and so the only thing YouTube
"Okay, well, they're also from the Spanish-speaking world. Obviously YouTube doesn't have nearly the same moderation scale in non-English-speaking countries, so it only makes sense that more guideline-breaking content can pass through there." If you think this then you are indeed quite correct; YouTube doesn't really seem to care at all what happens with their non-Western communities unless it's something that gives them a bad rep from the advertisers. But seeing as no major scandal yet involving non-English YouTube has arisen with advertisers yet, this is a relatively minor point to harp on in this whole predicament.
Now that we got all that out of the way, it should be 100% clear now why nobody except for not-so-advertiser-friendly YouTubers are taking these animal-abusing videos seriously. And this certainly isn't the first time such YouTubers have uncovered disturbing rabbit holes that have never gotten outside attention. The "best diamonds" videos that ended up being a rabbit hole of softcore Asian porn, never got media attention. Neither did the rabbit hole of
So, what does this all mean for the "not-so-advertiser-friendly" YouTube crowd? Well, it obviously their voices are not going to be any more heard or listened to than they were when all this "advertiser-friendly" nonsense first came about several years ago. The media sees these people - people who are using YouTube for its specific, purpose, to express themselves and their ideas - as bullies, bigots, losers, trolls, and whatever other buzzword people love to throw around at those whom they stridently disagree with. Because as long as these
So what's the alternative to all of this? What can we, as people who don't want this hyper-corporate nonsense seeping through everything we love, do at this point? It certainly is easy to get defeatist, but those who get defeatist are the ones who feel there is nothing left to do. And that is completely wrong.
I firmly believe that if we as independent content creators come together as a collective and stand up for ourselves, we can truly make a difference. We need to make our own websites; we need to make our own crowdfunding organizations; we need to make our own companies, magazines, etc., etc., etc. We need to do everything we can to make a brand new identity for ourselves, as people who WILL NOT stand by and let ourselves be sucked in by these corporate monopolies.
Let's face it: YouTube, and other all social media giants, they really are hopeless at this point. Not in the sense that they can't still be used for means of convincing people of our goals; but rather, they are pretty much beyond repair. Scratch that, they ARE beyond repair. These platforms have sunken so very low in the complete disregard they have for the actual well-being of their users, that trying even
So, I impede with you dear reader, do not get defeatist. Instead, take action. If you don't know how to take action, learn how to do it. We have come to a point where there is no room for moping. There is only room for action. And if we can all learn to take a little bit of action, I truly do believe we can at least begin the process of slowly breaking off our chains.
And, in addition, we can also finally bring these fucking animal abusers to justice.