I like cartoons, videogames and bad jokes Perpetually late to every party Main is @eat-the-ventrue Before you follow: -terfs fuck off -I will never shut up about Horizon
Corporate Glossary: every Friday, learn the secret meaning of common corporate words
“They’re trying to discharge her constructively. Do you know what Constructive Discharge means?” She asked.
As soon as I heard the term ‘Constructive Discharge,’ I knew I’d never seen it on a vocabulary quiz.
“No. What does it mean?” I asked.
She explained.
“Constructive discharge is a fancy way of saying “being forced out.” It’s not good. And if you’re not a lawyer or in human resources, you’ll probably learn what it means when it’s happening to you.”
“Oh my God. I’ve seen this my entire career and never knew it even had a name.” I thought.
You’ve seen constructive Discharge too. You may have experienced it. We’ve all made choices to avoid it.
Constructive discharge defined
“We can’t fire you, but we’ll make you so miserable you’ll quit, and then we won’t have to pay your unemployment.”
Then there’s the textbook definition:
“A constructive discharge occurs when your employer has made working conditions unbearable, forcing you to resign.”
Or as one person put it.
“I didn’t get handed a pink slip, but when you’re not wanted, people have a way of letting you know.”
HR isn’t always the secret police.
Employees aren’t always victims of evil-doers.
However, employers push employees out all the time to maintain and protect the, “We didn’t do anything wrong, YOU did,” power structure.
Constructive Discharge looks like this:
— Meeting invitations slow to a trickle, and you’re excluded from emails and generally looped out of what’s going on.
— People stop talking to you or stop talking when you walk in.
— Your emails don’t get answers, or they arrive too late to be of value.
— Suddenly, your work is not good enough, though nothing about your work has changed.
— Reviews, once good or even glowing, are now mediocre or bad.
— Instead of a bonus, you get a Performance Improvement Plan.
— Warnings and write-ups start so they can justify your eventual termination with documentation of your “poor performance”
— Your work, clients, assignments go away, or they overwhelm you with work.
— The words “Set up to fail” were practically invented to describe this scenario.
Constructive Discharge is illegal
It isn’t easy to prove you’re a target, and it’s even more challenging if you don’t even know constructive discharge is a real thing.
If you’ve ever experienced this and don’t fully understand what’s happening to you beyond knowing you’re in the process of being excommunicated, it can be hell. It’s not uncommon for the experience to leave long-lasting scars.
Talk to anyone who’s ever been through it. They’ll tell you.
Knowing constructive discharge exists and how it’s used gives you power to predict what’s coming and to protect yourself.
Seeing the endgame helps you in two ways.
You know what to expect. Having a sense of what’s coming next is enormously empowering.
You can go on the offensive and protect yourself. Constructive discharge works to crush your ego, making you feel you did something wrong and deserve this treatment.
Without strategy, you end up being a miserable pawn in your employer’s endgame.
Remember, they’re almost certainly building a case to fire you in the event the hellscape they create for you doesn’t persuade you to quit.
If you’re getting pushed out, and you know what to look for you can prove constructive discharge and you can get unemployment benefits, be released from payback obligations on a signing bonus, and protect your mental health.
You’re not crazy, incompetent, or a failure. This is real and it’s carefully executed to leave you holding the bag and feeling like you did something wrong.
If they force you out, in addition to feeling horrible, you lose your paycheck, benefits health insurance, and possibly owe them money.
Other people have said this in notes, but the Bulwer-Lytton contest involves writing the most absurd opener you can think of and submitting it to the contest. It's not a judgment like the Razzies or the bad sex in books award or something; it's a game. Diana Murtaugh of Baltimore is to be congratulated for this win.
many sharks are at least moderately social, and if a specific species of shark has the ability to breathe without actually swimming and tends to have a lot of sharks in a fairly small area, well.
they are just going to Pile. and there is simply nothing you can do about it.
also, fun fact! whitetip reef sharks in particular are SO damn cuddly with each other that they'll actively seek out a buddy or ten when they get sleepy!
it's pretty much slumber party or nothing for these guys. you won't find a whitetip sleeping alone except in the most dire and tragic of shark circumstances.
🙄 you build ONE funerary complex with 8000 life-sized statues of soldiers, horses and generals and suddenly you’re “the terracotta army guy.” 🙄 execution.
Stumbling across this makes me feel like a dad whos walked into their kids room beer in hand and seeing them roleplay starwars fights i do not belong here but god its entertaining
So, we need to talk about what webtoons(the company) has done to webcomics
Over the past 7 or so years, we've seen this absolute shift in expectation, migration, and stagnation in the webcomics sphere which applies to style, sustainability, and the platforms grip on readers and creators
I'll be the first one to say that webcomics are not an easy way to make money and a majority of folks who make them rarely see profit. This has always been the case!
But when virality, siphoning audiences from all over, and opportunity to 'get printed' presented itself, that expectation shifted.
So let's talk about what those expectations are now:
🔴Demand for Higher quality- less readers will check out beginner looking works or comics that feel too 'faulty' in style meaning less excitement to see webcomics grow over the years. Polish is expected and commented on consistently by readers
There is also an expectation for specific visual and narrative styles. This applies to other social media platforms too- in that works that take less investing in are often promoted and prioritised. That means less risks on narratives, less nuances, and shorter series running.
🔴All on one site/app- That may seem pretty fantastic for getting new readers (and is the absolute main sticking point for so many artists) but when algorithms and specific series are wanted, your works have a harder chance getting to the people they need to. The search function is trash for a reason
I'm not one to toot the competition flute, but there's a level of that at play when the spotlight for that platform is actually pretty small. What you get is a lot of readers checking out the same comics, and not spreading it all out to find yours (their subs have a cap for this reason)
🔴Sustainability (and lack thereof)- The creator of these comics are often burnt out and given little support- all while fighting to see what is allowed on the platform with its excitable censoring. I won't speak for originals (there's many testimonies you can find) but their experiences of burn out are harrowing
With the high production expectation for a person who is rarely given help (often has to hire out of pocket for that) and the readers who want Updates Now, it's a frustrating place to post your comics with no rest. It's 2026, we shouldn't be treating cartoonists this way still.
Webtoons (the company) is always going to be interested in making a profit. That's sort of where it all starts and stops here. They'll embrace the slop machines (more slop sources) for investors, they'll mistreat creators, cancel 'unprofitable' comics, censor work, and protect that bottom line. That's their MO, always!
So when I see these conversations that inevitably float around about Webtoons and how the only response is 'stop using it', I think we also need to deconstruct what it's done to creators and readers and how they engage with/create works too- because it doesn't seem that simple of a solution
Webtoons has solidified itself in webcomics as the Place to start and stop with comics. They want you to use their app of course, but they've conditioned folks to think it's the only way to share your stuff. How do we break this? How do we get people to stop using it?
We share resources 😎
Alternative Comic Platform: comicfury.com
Comic Resource List: cartoonist.coop/resources/
Screen Tones Webcomic Website: screentonescast.com
Webcomic Website Template: rarebit.neocities.org
How to make a webcomic: thestarfishface.com/products/how...
And feel free to reply with even MORE!
Thank you for making this post! For any webcomic creators interested in making their own webcomic website with a hosting service and wordpress, I have made a complete step by step video on how to do that, feel free to check it out!
Also, for webcomic creators who either make their own website or use a comic platform like Comicfury, consider using a peer-to-peer ad network like Comicad.net to advertise your webcomic and create ad space on your own website.
I'm always a huge advocate for webcomic creators making their own websites so they can be in greater control of their own work. There's more options out there, so don't let Webtoons be the end all be all for your comics existence!
People know that the whole "don't portray [harmful action] because viewers might recreate it" thing is a rule for children's shows right? It's supposed to be shit like "don't show peppa pig playing with fire so we don't get sued if a kid watches it and burns their house down." Not like, fanfiction for adults.
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