AI and background images

I have only read the first few pages and skimmed over the posts of all the other pages, so maybe my post is missing some pieces. I don't want to get in on the AI discussion as I feel that it's getting very heated.

But I noticed some aspect that bothered me a little bit: some posts seem to generalise the opinions shared in this thread as the opinion of the whole community.
At least one post mentioned that the majority of the community is against gen AI. However, I see only a fraction of the over 7000 users put their opinion in this thread. Even considering that some of these users are NPCs or adult characters (second or even third characters of other users), I don't think that this thread is necessarily representative of the majority of the community. There might be many users who don't feel comfortable sharing any pro-AI or AI-neutral point of view after reading the discussion in this thread. There might be many users who just don't care. We won't know unless everyone shared their opinion, which won't happen in threads like these.

That being said, I am looking forward to the alternative solution that will be proposed and then voted for (hopefully with wider participation and thus a more representative result of the actual majority of the community) because I personally don't like the black background.

Many of those users are connected accounts or inactive, however I agree, this doesn't represent everyone. I'm sure the poll may bring some more clarity to what users want and receive more participants. I appreciate us being allowed that option and will wait patiently for it.

Solomon Lear wrote: 15 Jul 2026, 17:49 It is going to be a poll with a simple question.

It is going to be done on site, I am creating a unique temp forum area and I am granting the Hogwarts usergroups access and manually adding graduates that have not made a new student yet. I am excluding iNPC and adults so that people all have the same number of votes, 1.

Where will this forum be?

When I get clearance, there will be a mass message with a link as well as other indicators. I do not know specifically where it will be, but it will be very obvious. I am awaiting clearance for the poll as Zach is working on the coding so that people know exactly what they are voting for and can make an informed decision.

Ok thanks

I did not expect this thread to get up to 17 pages. Despite all the reasonable criticism and also heated tension, just here to say you guys (admins and Zach) are doing a wonderful job despite the challenges you're all facing. Thank you for doing what you can for the community, even if the decisions come out tough to make and are very likely unfavorable to the masses. Thank you for making this a public discussion (Zach) rather than something done by personal choice, even if it is absolutely in your right as the founder.

I just came across this thread, and let me be honest, I did not notice the backgrounds were gone until I saw this. While I did think that something was a little different, I did not notice that it was the background until I read this. That being said, now that I HAVE noticed, I would much prefer having backgrounds, though, not having them isn't something that would deter me from this site.
I have a suggestion that could potentially be used as a compromise. I'm not sure it'll work but would it be possible to toggle between the Gen AI images to real images instead of a blank page? These real images won't have to be as extensive as the AI ones, and only a couple can be used across multiple forums?
Also, I'm deeply looking forward to seeing the Gen AI option, Zach, since I do believe you'll have created something amazing, based on all the creativity you've poured into this site so far.

I am against the usage of AI. I currently struggle to type due to my fractured distal radius and will elaborate more once I am able to type normally, however, I wanted to put this out there in the meantime. Thank you for all of your time, Zach.

Hey guys this is my first post literally ever (I forgot about this site after I made a character im so sorry), but I thought I’d like to add some of my thoughts having read the entire 17 page forum. I understand I’m quite late to the discussion, but I still wanted to say something.

Firstly, thanks to all the moderators and staff (if that’s the correct term I’M SORRY GUYS) for all their hard work. Having not been on this site enough to even remember the backgrounds, I can say for certain that I would still have made an account on this site with the black backgrounds.

I go to an art school and I’m surrounded by artists, from writers, actors, dancers, musicians, and obviously visual artists. Almost every person I’ve met in my wonderful community is heavily against the use of AI. The PUSH of AI is what a lot of us heavily despise. Many people, myself included, go out of our way to find communities and apps that don’t use AI at all and try to avoid it as much as possible. Despite them not being on this site, I think it’s still important that opinions from actual artists matter.

Going back to the whole “I would never have made an account if the background was black” argument I saw a few times, while I completely understand the opinion, some of us, like me, would probably have never made an account if the site background was made using AI, and I think our opinions matter as well.

The suggestions for using “environmentally friendly” AI models is somewhat valid, but just because it’s better environmentally doesn’t invalidate all the other ethical issues with it. I understand that a lot of our profile pictures probably didn’t come from properly licensed sources (heck mine is probably not I will be changing it). One big ethical issue is the models underpaying workers to sort through awful things that nobody should see.

Another issue is the fact that AI is taking away jobs from fellow artists. I understand that there weren’t any paid artists here, but AI has definitely been used instead of graphic designers in lots of online spaces. As writers, I think we should support our other artist friends. We are all in the same battle against AI. I ultimately don’t agree with the take that the art is just “a background piece” and “not the main focus” in the website if so many people are this heavily debated about it. If a website so centered on creative writing uses generative AI for its “art”, it feels really disrespectful to the artists out there. For example, if a musician sings and publishes a song using AI generated lyrics on a site about creating music, I don’t think it would be fair to say that it was acceptable. I understand this isn’t the best comparison, but I had to think of something.

Like many people on the anti-AI side, I also don’t agree with the argument for the toggle button. Sure, we won’t see it, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t created. Using the song with generated lyrics as an example again, if someone were to just say “well listen to the instrumental then”, I don’t think it would be fair. The artist used AI and its effects were made, so just listening to the part without AI is still an issue for many of us.

Ultimately, there’s really nothing I can do to stop the use of AI, but I just don’t think it’s necessary. I truly don’t think that AI can be a substitute for human work, ever.

Sorry if my tone sounded rude This is a topic I’m very passionate about and it’s really important to me. I was honestly shocked that this website, that is clearly based around HUMAN creativity, would ever even consider the usage of generative AI. Overall, I would prefer literally anything human over AI, but I understand that it’s not my choice.

Thanks again Zach for building this and to all the other staff for keeping it so nice. I want to say that it was the humanity of it all that made me want to sign up to HiO in the first place. I understand how frustrating it is that a project is losing such a core part of it, but honestly, I think the real soul in this site was never in the background but in the community that comes together and creates.

sorry this was long i’m procastinating homework right now

I know it's been a minute since this post was made, but I feel as if I have finally collected my thoughts around this matter. I understand why using AI to generate images that exactly represent what you're looking for, and as a matter of convenience, is enticing. Still, to me it feels like an easy way out when taking the time could make so much of a difference. There are so many amazing creatives on this site who would be and have been more than willing to share their artwork. When we take shortcuts for the things that are meant to bring us immersion, we lose our connection to creativity that brought us all here to begin with. This site is special because of all of the choices we here have made. I guarantee that not a single person on this site is perfectly happy with everything they've written - we all understand that perfection isn't the point. It's the process and imagination and the joy that we get out of expressing ourselves. That's what I would find in incorporating art - whether it be photographs, digital art, or drawings - the emotion that AI desperately tries to recreate but will always fail to capture. That is the part of me that suffers when I think about AI as a representative of my creative community.

Now this doesn't even include all of the environmental risk factors in AI usage. Water and electricity consumption are being affected at a rate that our Earth will be unable to keep up with. I won't go into details because I know it's besides the point. Still, as a person who uses this site to escape the sufferings of the real world (AI being a prime example), it saddens me that I have to explain.

This isn't to make anyone feel bad. I have used AI. I loved using AI for a while. But that's because I didn't know any better. Normalizing it is the problem. I encourage everyone to push back on all forms of AI use when incorporated into daily life where it isn't essential. There are so many different types of people here on this site, and I can guarantee many of them have had struggles finding clean drinking water, or have loved ones who have experienced that. I find it a duty to continue to be sensitive on a site open and accessible to so many people from different backgrounds.

I hope that when the poll comes, we can find a way to avoid using AI for the sake of maintaining the heart of this site. Thanks for hearing me out, and Zach, thanks for everything you do!