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A Note on Respecting Each Other
6 years ago
Shop! · Tip the Artist · Tumblr · Weasyl A message from 
catmonkshiro and I -
We've been trying to work out how best to talk about a certain issue for a while now. It's tough to get into because Shiro and I always want people to feel welcome to talk to us and be friendly and to engage with our art, but sometimes we need to draw boundaries for our own health and well-being. While we were away, we decided to sit down and figure out how to open up about it; we hope you understand we say the following with appreciation and care for our audience in mind.
We want the streams and our general communities to be positive, supportive environments. Sometimes people have had a rough day or might need to vent a little; we welcome you to enjoy our art and each others' company to lighten the mood or take a moment away from your troubles. That being said, please remember the stream is our workplace, and we are trying to focus and create the art that ultimately keeps us fed and clothed – you are peeking into our offices, and we ask you to respect the space in that way. To address the issue directly: we are artists, not therapists, and the chat is not group therapy. We are not trained or qualified to assist with serious or in-depth long-term problems. Taking over the chat for extended periods with heavy complaints, derailing conversation regularly with blunt negativity, or sending us private notes with extensive detail on personal issues expects us and our audience to fulfill a role for you that we cannot safely fill. It is deeply uncomfortable and inappropriate, and it does not show respect for our boundaries or allow us to best maintain our own mental health. It essentially demands we drop what we are doing, take time away from working for our clients or from needed breaks, and try to come up with solutions for difficulties we are not professionally trained to address. We've had conversations as a fandom that hiring an artist does not automatically buy you their friendship, and this falls along similar lines.
We do want to be helpful, understanding, and supportive. Unfortunately, we are often powerless to offer any meaningful help in serious situations, which has only aggravated folks in the past who expected something of us we are not trained or equipped to provide and found our efforts to respond wanting. We decided to talk about this at the end of our vacation after we have had some time away from streaming so it is clear we are not targeting one person or referring to one incident. We absolutely don't mean to say that problems or negative things can never be discussed at all; we just ask that difficult topics are broached with discretion and respect for all involved in the conversation. Thank you.
Please reach out to a trusted friend or family member or a trained professional for serious issues. If you need some resources, here are a few links:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (USA): https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Crisis Services Canada: http://www.crisisservicescanada.ca
International Suicide Prevention: https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
International Crisis Hotlines: https://suicidestop.com/call_a_hotline.html
Mental Health America Resources: https://www.mentalhealthamerica.net.....inding-therapy
Therapy Resources in Canada: https://www.onlinetherapyuser.ca/resources
catmonkshiro and I -We've been trying to work out how best to talk about a certain issue for a while now. It's tough to get into because Shiro and I always want people to feel welcome to talk to us and be friendly and to engage with our art, but sometimes we need to draw boundaries for our own health and well-being. While we were away, we decided to sit down and figure out how to open up about it; we hope you understand we say the following with appreciation and care for our audience in mind.
We want the streams and our general communities to be positive, supportive environments. Sometimes people have had a rough day or might need to vent a little; we welcome you to enjoy our art and each others' company to lighten the mood or take a moment away from your troubles. That being said, please remember the stream is our workplace, and we are trying to focus and create the art that ultimately keeps us fed and clothed – you are peeking into our offices, and we ask you to respect the space in that way. To address the issue directly: we are artists, not therapists, and the chat is not group therapy. We are not trained or qualified to assist with serious or in-depth long-term problems. Taking over the chat for extended periods with heavy complaints, derailing conversation regularly with blunt negativity, or sending us private notes with extensive detail on personal issues expects us and our audience to fulfill a role for you that we cannot safely fill. It is deeply uncomfortable and inappropriate, and it does not show respect for our boundaries or allow us to best maintain our own mental health. It essentially demands we drop what we are doing, take time away from working for our clients or from needed breaks, and try to come up with solutions for difficulties we are not professionally trained to address. We've had conversations as a fandom that hiring an artist does not automatically buy you their friendship, and this falls along similar lines.
We do want to be helpful, understanding, and supportive. Unfortunately, we are often powerless to offer any meaningful help in serious situations, which has only aggravated folks in the past who expected something of us we are not trained or equipped to provide and found our efforts to respond wanting. We decided to talk about this at the end of our vacation after we have had some time away from streaming so it is clear we are not targeting one person or referring to one incident. We absolutely don't mean to say that problems or negative things can never be discussed at all; we just ask that difficult topics are broached with discretion and respect for all involved in the conversation. Thank you.
Please reach out to a trusted friend or family member or a trained professional for serious issues. If you need some resources, here are a few links:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (USA): https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Crisis Services Canada: http://www.crisisservicescanada.ca
International Suicide Prevention: https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
International Crisis Hotlines: https://suicidestop.com/call_a_hotline.html
Mental Health America Resources: https://www.mentalhealthamerica.net.....inding-therapy
Therapy Resources in Canada: https://www.onlinetherapyuser.ca/resources
Dominus tecum