The nature of the Kink Academy forum

[Ar****]

Could we please get some clarification about the purpose of the Kink Academy forum? 

 

As I understood the situation, the KA was a necessary introduction so that we as a community complied with app store rules and regulations. That's why it's the only forum requiring all comments to be moderator-approved, and to enable Fet to function as an app why the censoring of controversial words was introduced. Another key condition which allows Fetish to have an app and appear on these stores was that the Kink Academy - and therefore the app - function as an educational tool. 

 

I've never spoken to anybody who has ever really expressed a like for the KA, but over time it did appear to serve a purpose as true educational discussion about BDSM, kink, and the fetish world found a home there, and I appreciated that. 

 

Lately there has been a clear and definite shift in the tone and content of the Kink Academy. Comments get made and approved which are not only off-topic or irrelevant but often seemingly mock or disparage other members or their posts. The posts themselves are now very rarely educational. I see swathes of "topics" which are at best very poorly-hidden personal ads, multiple duplicate/revisited threads, some cheap attempts to generate wank-fodder, and many more which contain scant few lines and very little effort at starting an actual discussion; not exclusively by any means, and perhaps the non-educational or duplicate posts are more noticeable creating an unfair bias. Yet the description of the KA still clearly states that forum is "strictly educational". 

 

Strictly. Strictly? 

 

It's genuinely become tiresome and off-putting scrolling through so much - to be frank - poor quality dross on a daily basis. Having discussed it with other long-term community members I am not the only one to have noticed it, and people are concerned about these changes. 

 

My question therefore is, is the shift away from the Kink Academy's educational nature a purposeful one, meaning Fet is no longer bound by previous conditions and the KA is now a space where largely any comments and posts can be posted free-for-all so long as they are SFW? 

[CaraVirt]

Hi @Aranhis and thank you for raising this — your post reflects a concern we’ve also heard from other long-time members, and you’ve expressed it thoughtfully and respectfully.

To clarify: The Kink Academy forum was indeed introduced as a necessary part of making Fetish.com available as a mobile app. It’s currently the only forum section visible within the app version, and therefore must comply with strict store guidelines — this includes being SFW and, ideally, serving a clear educational purpose.

That said, you're absolutely right that the content posted there has become much broader in recent months. While the moderation team does its best to approve only posts that fit the intended tone, the growing volume and the fine line between discussion and disguised personal ads often pose a challenge. We aim to err on the side of allowing open expression — but we do understand that this may come at the cost of clarity and quality in some cases.

So no, there hasn’t been a formal shift in policy — but the way the KA is moderated and perceived is evolving. Your feedback is a helpful reminder of the importance of consistency, and we’ll be reviewing how we can better reflect the forum’s intended role without stifling participation.

Thanks again for speaking up — we really appreciate thoughtful posts like yours that come from a place of care for the community 💜

Greetings, Carmen - FET Team

[sardonicus87]

I definitely see a lot of posts that seem more appropriate for a "General [Off Topic] Discussion" forum more in KA, and a lot of posts that seem more like either "look at me" or like/comment fishing. Lot's of "terminally online" type behavior.
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More and more, people are spending all of their time online and only socializing online. It's not just here, it's everywhere with forums. Nobody wants to meet people in the real world anymore, with many even wearing as a badge of honor that they never leave their house except to go to work and get food, and many claiming they don't need friends. They're using the internet and forums as a substitute. Now they're increasingly turning to AI chat bots for friendship.
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So low quality posts is a byproduct of that general trend. It makes me want to participate less and less every day. The *** and regression of basic social skills and etiquette has gotten extreme and also created a feedback-loop where people less want to socialize in the real world like normal people and get more online, get addicted to the notification of likes, etc.
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There was a post not too long ago where someone was butthurt that they posted a story elsewhere and that it got no likes and wondering what they did wrong that nobody liked their story. On a different website, I saw a guy make a post crying about how nobody reached out to him (online) when his online activity stopped for 3 days.
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Too many are self-absorbed and "it's my life and you're all just side-characters in my story".

[CopperKnob]

I would echo the thoughts raised by Aranhis. There have been some odd posts within the Kink Academy forum, some of which I'd assumed had been posted by members of the Fet Team eg the conversation starters where members are asked to continue the narrative instigated within the OP one of which had a comment from a Fet Mod reminding those commenting that it was an educational forum. It was unclear however what educational purposes were served...

[ey****]

yeah, it does feel it's more and more "off topic" for the board these days.  

[Ar****]

7 hours ago, CaraVirt said:

Hi @Aranhis and thank you for raising this — your post reflects a concern we’ve also heard from other long-time members, and you’ve expressed it thoughtfully and respectfully.

To clarify: The Kink Academy forum was indeed introduced as a necessary part of making Fetish.com available as a mobile app. It’s currently the only forum section visible within the app version, and therefore must comply with strict store guidelines — this includes being SFW and, ideally, serving a clear educational purpose.

That said, you're absolutely right that the content posted there has become much broader in recent months. While the moderation team does its best to approve only posts that fit the intended tone, the growing volume and the fine line between discussion and disguised personal ads often pose a challenge. We aim to err on the side of allowing open expression — but we do understand that this may come at the cost of clarity and quality in some cases.

So no, there hasn’t been a formal shift in policy — but the way the KA is moderated and perceived is evolving. Your feedback is a helpful reminder of the importance of consistency, and we’ll be reviewing how we can better reflect the forum’s intended role without stifling participation.

Thanks again for speaking up — we really appreciate thoughtful posts like yours that come from a place of care for the community 💜

Greetings, Carmen - FET Team

Thank you Carmen. I truly appreciate this clear and thoughtful response 💜

[FETMod-HG]

It's a really good point, which Carmen has given a great response to.  We are still rejecting the vast majority, maybe 75-80% of new posts because they are personal ads or have no basis for discussion.  These are the remaining few, and your comments about quality and location of topics are noted.  How do we encourage more educational content?  Better topics for discussion? Less personal ads and statements? Ideas would be very welcome......

[Ar****]

16 minutes ago, FETMod-HG said:

How do we encourage more educational content?  Better topics for discussion? Less personal ads and statements? Ideas would be very welcome......

I love these questions!

 

Hopefully there'll be some great ideas and contributions 🤞 I'll try to give it some thought over the next few days too.

 

As an initial reflex thought though... might it be worth looking at introducing some manner of welcome pack/document/statement to supplement the greets (or perhaps be incorporated into opening greet messages) with a few extra pointers - a roadmap if you like - for members so they know they can place an actual personal ad in that area of the site, or use their status update feature where appropriate?

 

I'm sure many of the people who most need to read something like that might not, but once it has been set up the maintenance should be near-zero, and long-term it could at least redirect much of the chaff to more appropriate spaces on the site with the added benefit of giving the Mod team more time to deal with other issues 🤔

[Ar****]

4 hours ago, Aranhis said:

As an initial reflex thought though... might it be worth looking at introducing some manner of welcome pack/document/statement to supplement the greets (or perhaps be incorporated into opening greet messages) with a few extra pointers - a roadmap if you like - for members so they know they can place an actual personal ad in that area of the site, or use their status update feature where appropriate?

*follow-on thought*

The new groups could also feature in such a "mailshot" and provide an excellent arena for some of the content once they gain traction.

[Ar****]

Regarding promoting more educational content and better topics for discussion, I think that the real question should be why are they an issue now when they never used to be? Yes, questionable threads have always been around but they were in a tiny minority and I don't believe/imagine FETMods have ever before had to reject as many topics as they do now.

 

So I would suggest that the matter is being looked at the wrong way around. The problem (if that is what we want to call it) is not so much that there is an issue with creating stimulating, refreshing, educational, topics for the people who want them. It is my opinion that the majority of current Fet members do not nor will ever want the healthy kind of content a positive community will thrive off. They actively seek the quick fix, the casual hook-up, the wank-fodder story, the rush of no accountability, effort or commitment. 

 

How would Fet fix this? It would need to rethink and overhaul it's marketing and business strategy - which I can't imagine ever happening at this point so I appreciate this is not a workable point but that doesn't mean it oughtn't be highlighted - and take a more authentic and ethical community-based approach. Right now the people who are turning the site into a quagmire are here because they think they've found an amazing sex site where they can get their rocks off so long as they don't mind things feeling transactional. And truly, why would they not think that when you read some of the marketing and promotional slogans? I cannot blame them for thinking what they think or then acting how they act, and perhaps the long-term intent of Fet is to evolve into that kind of site? But if the site puts such amounts of m0ney and energy out specifically into attracting people with shallow drives (which I say without judgement, I've been prone to shallow moments myself) and zero to minimal interest in actual kink/BDSM, I don't think there can be any legitimate complaint about them polluting and diluting the quality of content here.

 

In short: The people who don't want to make an effort and only want to get something out of the site will not be changed, and while Fet is marketed as it is and with the priorities it has it will continue to attract them while pushing other members away and making it harder for authentic new interested parties to see potential here.

 

Even with the best of will, if you tried to poll or learn from members what content would better engage them, the ones who most needed to participate - the greater portion, I'd wager - would not. Which doesn't mean one oughtn't try...

Edited 23 hours ago by Aranhis