Oliver Armani wrote: Today, 17:44 you said that you don't like AI, and that you don't want AI in your message.

When I first entered this site, I used AI Generative Art for Siobhan, Genie(My INPC) and Desislava (My Staff Account) because I do not draw. I have no desire to learn how to draw mainly because it is not my creative medium. Originally, I could not differentiate the difference between my characters and actresses/models which is why I steered away from utilizing the likenesses of real people. I was upfront with people about my usage, and in our Discord there is a slew of AI art that I have posted of my characters which regrettably, I might not have chosen to make, had (at the time) I known the environmental impacts of the usage. I pride myself on trying to be an ethical and moral person and hearing both sides of the argument is the best way for any individual to make informed decisions.

Informed Decisions cannot be made without the position of at least two sides. Our three sides here are "It's fine let's use AI," "No we can't use it at all" and "I don't have an opinion either way." The difference between making an informed decision and the right decision is that the right decision is not always right for everyone. I'm in agreement with the consensus about the following:
1: The blank backgrounds make the Site feel incomplete.
2: We cannot put the site at legal risk for use of copyright infringement so the pictures need (and later the name potentially will need) to come down.
3: AI Writing of whole posts and every aspect of your time here is not acceptable on this site. We are a creative writing site, and you need to create from your own imagination.

What I am NOT in agreement with is how this conversation has evolved.
1: AI is unfortunately not going away. We can make conscious efforts not to use it, but we cannot stop it from being utilized every day. When you use "hey google" or "hey siri" you're using AI. Maps on phones are generative AI, ads on the computer are AI, using social media filters is AI.
2: Everyone is entitled to their opinion and should be free to express it. However, having read all 16 or so of these pages its clear some people are so vehemently against or for AI that it's perhaps best that for their own peace of mind and to be kind to others that someone becomes the bigger person and respectfully removes themselves before furthering an argument that is circling a drain.


I am someone whose specific degree and career path (English Literature/Creative Writing) is in extreme danger of AI pruning, and I am not here advocating for the usage of 400+ AI forums because it's convenient. It is not the only option, that is a true statement. Additionally, I'm not fully opposed to it as a suggestion because currently we cannot reasonably or feasibly ask one individual or even the entire site to contribute money/time/or even art without knowing for certain that the project will be completed in a timely manner. The functional part of the site, the Original Lesson plans took seven years to finalize. For aesthetics? I have a feeling this would start of strong, and crash and burn around a year in because of real world time/money/motivation constraints. I apologize if this seems pessimistic, but I implore you to read this with a mind of realism. If you choose to use AI art for your character's likeness or as parts of their banners (without claiming it is your art) that is one thing. You are in control of your character's appearance (within realistic reasoning.)

Ultimately, this is Zach's creation and respectfully he should have the final say. When the final decision is made, he will have done his due diligence and informed the community while having heard the responses. There is no possible way that he, as one individual, can please every single person who has accessed our website or WILL access our website in the future. Much like it is his decision to finalize what will be done aesthetics wise, it is also YOUR decision on whether you stay here and contribute to the site. At that point, it will not be fair to Zach or to your fellow writers here to dump your opinion on every aspect of change that is occurring.

Optimistically, I would hope that our community could reach a kindhearted consensus and contribute thoughtful remarks. But there have been defensive diversions on both sides which I think have changed the conversation from "How can we create a user-accepted aesthetic" to "I'm not attacking you but you're making the wrong decision."

@Zachary Winslow, I apologize for the ping. You are working to make our site better and this conversation should have remained a conversation- not become a soap box.

Again, 400 forums will take a lot of time. But how many of those 400 are used frequently? Creating art for the backgrounds that host the most traffic could go first, and you would see the most change the quickest, and then move on from there. Yes it may take somewhere up to a year to finish, but being transparent about it will help new users know what’s going on and may inspire them to help, and will eventually develop into a satisfying whole! And there’s always the option of placeholder plain backgrounds in the meantime.

Emma van Elst wrote: Today, 18:46

Again, 400 forums will take a lot of time. But how many of those 400 are used frequently? Creating art for the backgrounds that host the most traffic could go first, and you would see the most change the quickest, and then move on from there. Yes it may take somewhere up to a year to finish, but being transparent about it will help new users know what’s going on and may inspire them to help, and will eventually develop into a satisfying whole! And there’s always the option of placeholder plain backgrounds in the meantime.

Hi, absolutely amazing people! I will admit that I did not have the time to look over all 16 pages of this discussion, as I am currently sick and just fighting against my body to stay awake! But, I'd like to add just a bit of my opinion here, meant with zero hate or anything negative!

For quite a while, I used various pieces of AI art for my profile picture. Though, every single banner I used was made myself, occasionally featuring said AI profiles. This is simply because I lack any bit of artistic ability related to the visual/drawing arts(though I love writing, singing, and acting!). I would not lie about where said art came from, and it was rather obvious! Then, a very kind person contacted me with an offer of finding a faceclaim for Rosie, and editing things to make it match her better. I had tried to find a FC for Rosie previously, spending literally hours searching through Google to find someone I felt suited her, but with zero success. I, at the time, had no access to sites like Pinterest, which would have definitely helped out. At the moment, I am using something from Piccrew's Maddel_Art, which I absolutely love! Soon, I will be changing it to the edited image this very kind person worked hard on for me(after an rp explaining the short hair, excited for that).

Anyways, now that I'm done rambling about myself, on to the issue at hand, which I believe is the background images used on the site, which were previously AI(I think). I would say that with this issue, to be honest, Zachary Winslow, the amazing creator of the site, should have the final say in what happens to the site that he made. But, here is my opinion on the issue! The background(or, current lack of it) isn't a hugely noticeable thing. If it were up to me, though, I would probably attempt to find an image for free use(if I'm not mistaken, and I very well could be, Canva has some), such as a marbled background or something of the sort. But, that would probably not work for everything. Honestly, I don't have a huge opinion on the use of AI for art, but with the amazing community of artists we have on here, what if it were turned into some sort of a competition for those who want to participate? Offer up a few of the forums/locations at the time, such as the Great Hall, Small Hall, and Library! Allow people to enter in their own art of however many of those places they'd like, so that there are several options to pick from for whatever fits best with the site.

That's just my small idea for things, but honestly, it really isn't up to me, which is fine! I wish everybody all the best in figuring this out!

Rosie!