selinathena

a little bit nerdy, a little bit quirky:) pfp made by @randomapplekey

[mcyt-researcher]

Research: Understanding MCYT Boundaries

SURVEY LINK

During my time in mcyt fandom, I've watched as the fandom's perception of creator boundaries has grown and shifted into a cornerstone of our fandom, and yet we don't actually have any good data on how the fandom as a whole perceives them outside of discourse posts.

The goal of this unofficial study NOT to make a value judgement on whether creator boundaries should be respected - it is to understand how the fandom currently perceives and interacts with them.* Is respecting creator boundaries important to you? Has your favorite creator made a boundary list or spoken about it on stream? Do you find some boundaries acceptable and others not? Have you ever been the target of hate for engaging with boundary-breaking content? Whether you think boundaries should always be respected or you think they're being used as tools of censorship, I want to hear from you. What are boundaries, and why do they matter so much to us?

—

This survey is a mix of multiple choice and optional long-response questions. It should take about 15 minutes if you’re only doing the required questions, and much longer if you choose to answer the optional questions.**

If you are able, please reblog and share this survey link around. Feel free to post it on any platform, as I am currently only on Tumblr, which is not representative of the fandom as a whole. In fact, I’d love it if it reached Twitter. The more responses, the more accurate the results will be for the whole of mcyt.*** Anyone in mcyt spaces, including creators, are welcome to take the survey to share their thoughts. However, I ask that for the comfort of content creators and the spirit of good fandom etiquete, please do not directly share the survey with any creator or post the link in any creators’ official communities. Thoughtful discussion is always valued over reactionary comments.

The survey is set to close at 11:59pm EST on August 1, 2026 - I may extend this date if there is still a high volume of responses coming in, or if there aren’t enough responses yet for meaningful data. I will aim to publish the results within a month of the survey’s close, and keep you updated on the timeline if that’s not feasible for any reason.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped beta this survey- you all gave such wonderful suggestions! I wish I could’ve kept every question, but in the end a lot needed to be cut to make this manageable. Please know that I appreciate every one of you, as this survey would not exist today without you.

—

* Why I think this data is important to collect: The idea for this survey came to me almost a year ago, and I started developing it around February of this year. I’ve spoken with dozens of people about this topic with diverse opinions, read and catalogued hundreds of tumblr posts, rewatched streams and videos by creators and fans, and watched as opinions have shifted across fandoms in real time. I feel extremely confident in saying that every person on every side cares deeply about respecting others and creating safe, welcoming communities in all mcyt spaces. Where they differ is on how to show that respect, which kinds of expectations they think are reasonable in different spaces, and beliefs on how those in power should be using their influence. I don’t expect this survey’s results to fundamentally change anything - this debate has been going on longer than mcyt has existed. But I think it’s still important to analyze the actual arguments people are making and how they affect our communities, instead of focusing on expected behavior from others based on our own values, so we can see the varying expressions of humanity in each other and work towards a better future for our fandom. I don’t think we’re as different as the discourse may have us believe.

** This survey is designed to encourage all participants to think critically about their position and the effects it has. I am aware that I have my own personal biases, so I have taken steps to ensure that the survey is as bipartisan as possible and also gives participants the opportunity to explain their answers for every question if they feel the need. Because of this, there may be questions that make some participants uncomfortable. While I would appreciate knowing why a question has made someone uncomfortable, participants are always free to skip such long-response questions.

*** I’m well aware that any recent discourse on this topic may skew results if arguments on one side are more successful than another in convincing fans of a particular position. I still think the data will be valuable even with a potential skew.

[esther---s]

glad he removed that halfling luck

[simplydm]

Letting xB say “son of a bitch” in a fic is like the equivalent of letting ur dog off the leash at the dog park

[lorefulgood]

dare I say that the concept of “boundaries” as it’s used in mcyt spaces is indicative of the poor understanding of consent many of these ccs have or are we going to keep pretending it’s acceptable to outright threaten your audience with targeted harassment if they don’t conform to your rules

[beansfrombeans]

transcript:

chatter: I'm choosing to read this as "don't @ me or send me content that makes me uncomfortable, and I won't go looking for it in spaces (like tumblr or w/e)."

pyro: um… if i hear about - i mean, i have - i have my little birds in all forests, and if i hear about, um, if i hear about repeated offenses, then, like, i will send my people after them. but, um… and i will, like, you know… deal with that, in the ways that i deem appropriate. but, um, there's obviously no way that i can fully stop it, but i really think that we as a community have a really good enough rapport to not have that happen.

[oshawottarchive]

Time to pull out the Cleo post

These newer(?) CCs need to learn what “don’t like don’t read” means I’m begging

[constellation-sapphic]

If I was a Minecraft YouTuber I would be so good at having a mcyt fandom. I'd be so hands off. Do whatever tf you want baby. I'd be silently gleefully watching with a lurk account that I'd never even allude to. Like Batman.

[going-to-the-sun]

[daylightglitch]

i love being a swiftie because wdym we all heard a singular line about friendship bracelets, ran with it, started exchanging them which then led to the love of her life shooting his shot with the same thing?

and now we are watching them get married?? getting to witness history and also it being what she has written about for years??? being so happy for her together???

[shalak-does-stuff]

Found this on pinterest and this is why Imp and Skizz are my fave hermits

[applestruda]

Homecoming

[ynde]

Oh. We're doing the cc boundaries thing again. Honestly not sure we ever stopped, but, yeah.

I'm not an expert, but I think part of the issue here is that people are confusing things like boundaries, internet etiquette, and courtesy.

Not sure I have the technical details right, but I would personally say boundaries are along the lines of "don't send me these specific things that make me uncomfortable or @ me in them. Don't put them in my discord or mention them in my streams or video comments. If you do I will block/ban you." This is clear. This is enforceable. This is something the person setting the boundaries has actual control over.

Internet etiquette is understanding the way the platforms you are using function and making it possible for other people to curate their experience. Things like tagging accurately, and maybe thinking about exactly where you put what type of content based on who the intended audience is. This is a skill that has to be learned, and everyone gets it wrong sometimes as they are learning, especially since the details of etiquette in online spaces can vary not only from one platform to another but from one community on those platforms to another.

Courtesy is more about the attitude you bring to your online actions. It's treating etiquette "rules" as tools to help everyone be kind, rather than clubs to beat people with. Courtesy is actively trying to avoid making creators uncomfortable. Courtesy is a creator making sure to phrase their desires and boundaries kindly, and being willing to offer warnings or second chances rather than hard bans when people make innocent mistakes. Courtesy is assuming other people mean well. It is fans and creators both trying give each other spaces where they feel comfortable and safe.

[mini-wrants]

Outdoor in sun perfec t place for president to do speech! Outdoor very warm very soft put old man on green lawn under sun. Put old man in warm sun. no problem ever in warm sun because good view and audience can see long speech. Nice podium outdoor sunny perfect place for old president can trust warm sun to give nice view to President good luck to President. friend sun.

[dissociatingdumbass]

[bi-polarbear]

[egberts]

also part of growing up is realizing that the embarrassing music you liked in your early teen years still goes hard as hell

[hugsohugs]

one genre of fanfiction that seems to have mostly disappeared since i became an adult is shenanigans-type fics. like not exactly crack but just "the gang goes to 7-11" type, extremely low-stakes plot stories. the beach episodes of fanfiction. i just feel like i don't see those around so much anymore. whered they go. i miss them :(

[theconcealedweapon]

Some women are conditioned to be fragile and weak, and to believe that it's a sin to outperform a man. Her feminism would involve allowing women to be strong.

Some women are expected to be strong at times when they can't. Her feminism would involve reassuring her that it's okay to not be strong.

Some neurodivergent people are raised to believe that they're too stupid to ever amount to anything. Their disability activism would involve reassuring them that they're capable.

Some neurodivergent people are raised to believe that they're smart and gifted, and are expected to live up to impossible standards. Their disability activism would involve allowing them to fail, make mistakes, be stupid, etc.

Some children are constantly reminded "you're the child, I'm the adult" in order to deny their autonomy. Their youth rights activism would involve treating them like an adult at times when they feel ready for it.

Some children are treated like adults in order to justify increased expectations or to downplay abuse against them. Their youth rights activism would involve allowing them to be a child.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to oppression. Each individual person's experience is different. Whatever trauma is caused by their oppression, the activism should focus on undoing it.

[2dadsfromaz]

Also I keep forgetting to mention that while I was on my trip I finally got to watch Project Hail Mary and let’s just say—

I can see why Impulse is obsessed with this story.

A story where a nerdy and deeply emotional man overcomes his anxiety and cowardice and self-sabotage in order to rise to the occasion and become the best version of himself??

A story where the hero has a weird and snarky best friend who picks on him constantly but also understands him on a level no one else does and they would both die for each other??

A story where the most important relationship in the whole thing—the one that the entire plot hinges on, the one that saves two worlds—is a completely platonic friendship that’s real and true and deep and meaningful and is clearly demonstrated to be no lesser than any of the other loves???

A story where the hero finds his calling in a place of minor public influence, sharing his knowledge and inspiring the next generation to make the world even better after he’s gone????

A story where the point of the whole thing is HARMONY and INGENUITY and HOPE?????

WOW. WHERE HAVE I HEARD THAT BEFORE.

[beggars-opera]

The old school lack of transparency on tumblr is amazing because you assume the people you follow must all be equivalent to you and then you see someone write “I brought my youngest to college today” and someone else write “my mom wouldn’t let me listen to Ariana Grande when I was a kid” and then your head explodes

[formerlyanon]

and we need that! keeps us humble. 

[dabouse]

Then I'm just like WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE AN ADULT

[tomboy014]

It goes the other way, too, because WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE A CHILD?!!

[dabouse]

I'm 16, that's like, barely a child

[tomboy014]

I'm in my 30s. You are baby

[digitaldiscipline]

I'm older than both of you in a trenchcoat.

[kabretoss]

honestly one of the best things we can do for ourselves is realize that people of different ages than us can still be the same kind of person as us. it's humbling and it gives everyone involved a sense of continuity, and it busts those stupid generational stereotypes media is so fond of.

[azaablue]

the best fanfiction you've ever read was written by a woman in her 40s before she made dinner for her kids. it was written by a teenager after school when they should've been studying for a history test. and a barista came up with the idea while they cleaned the espresso machine and busser fact-checked it on their break and the post-doc edited between writing grant proposals and the nurse apologized for typos in the notes after a long shift and behind every drabble and one-shot and multi-chapter fic there is a person with a wonderful and interesting and chaotic life and it is such a privilege that we get to be apart of it because they decided to do this thing we all share, for fun.

[breadsghost]

Session 6!

I’m so happy they’ve made it this far