I originally was going to title this "This is BS!" but this blog has turned into much more of a tangent on multiple things.
Hopefully it doesn't ramble on too much. I am just trying to get my thoughts out there.
Please note I really hate calling people out and placing blame when I don't have all the facts. Everything I am about to say is from what I have seen happening on the site lately. If I accidentally place blame on the wrong person or am missing some facts I apologize. I haven't had time to read every comment on every blog and every thread, but I have noticed a pattern and I believe there are some people in the wrong here and something needs to be done to hold them accountable.
I don't exactly know what Missy's role is on SG, but I get that she is fairly high up and has a lot of pull on what goes on with the site. I do know that in everything I have read, there is one common person involved and that is @missy .
There also may be some untrue allegations being made against @missy because people are upset, and that is not right either.
I get that SG is a private business, who can do anything they want and don't have to listen to anybody telling them what to do.
However it is not good business practice to silence people who disagree with you or speak out because they believe they have been wronged.
**Archived accounts.
So apparently SG staff is archiving and disabling accounts of hopefuls who have been speaking out against SG.
@missy has (allegedly) archived the following accounts:
@eydis (SG)
@leemalee (SG)
@tigerlilly (SG)
@nancylynn (SG)
@sairyn (SG)
@hartt (Hopeful)
All these girls I have been following since their beginnings on this site. All girls who have multiple great sets that have done very well. All of which who have spoke out about being mistreated by SG, who have now been silenced.
Honestly I think this is complete bullshit.
**Locked threads
I also just noticed that @missy has locked the "SG Suggestion Box" thread in the "Everything SG" group. She claims it is to stop the thread from being overwhelmed by negative comments. That could be the case, but it looks really bad when you have multiple people speaking out saying they are unhappy with how they have been treated, then the person who has the ability to do something about it locks the thread so nobody can comment anymore.
**January 5th Update
Regarding the January 5th update. I feel like it was a way to say "we are listening to you, and we're going to make some changes, kinda, slowly, maybe?" The model council could be a good addition, but I noticed that the thread for that has also been locked.
The update on trans models is going in the right direction, but I feel like it is being done as a "let's just make this small change to get some people off our ass" measure.
I really do feel like this update is basically just SG saying "We're listening..... but only because we have to".
I feel like if they were really listening to people and wanted to do something, there wouldn't be any silencing going on.
**My thoughts on SOTD
I don't know how SG chooses SOTD. I don't think any SG or hopeful or member really knows either. It seems like there are a group of people at SG who somehow choose SOTD. There has been a thought that sets need to reach 2000 likes to become SOTD. I am certain that is not the only criteria. I don't know what the criteria is. But I do personally believe it has more to do with what SG staff wants, than how well a set does in member review.
As I mentioned before, there are hopefuls that I have followed for years that never get SOTD. They are active on the site, posting in groups as well as regularly posting on their pages (and not just spamming their OF links, like many girls do). I am pretty active on this site, being on it multiple times a day. When someone I follow has a set come out I check it out and (if I feel it deserves it, which they usually do) I give their set a like, usually within the day it comes out. I see these same girls posting blogs saying "please help me get my set to SOTD" or "So close to 2k likes, really want to get SOTD" and it just never happens for them.
Then I'll be scrolling through facebook, see a post from SG "check out [insert name of model here]'s brand new SOTD" so I go check it out, its a girl I have never heard of who had a set out for a week and is all of a sudden SOTD. Not that there is anything wrong with a new girl having her first set bought and becoming a SG. That's great. Wish it could happen more often. BUT when it is someone who has NEVER posted on their page, NEVER posted in any groups and is just plain not at all active on SG it really makes you wonder... Why has this person automatically become an SG, while others who have worked crazy hard, submitted lots of great sets, spent tons of money on photographers, are very active on the site and have tens of thousands of followers getting nowhere. It just doesn't make sense.
I've read these "Help my sets get to 2k" posts for a while, and I have thought to myself that if a set doesn't make 2k in the first few days, or weeks that it's out then it's probably not going to. which lots of these sets are great sets, so this makes me sad.
I have seen people calling out @penny as being part of the SOTD process since she is the model coordinator. I personally think this is unfair to her. Just wanted to mention that.
Also, from my understanding when a set is bought, SG pays $500 for it. If you take into consideration how much a model has to pay for a photographer, clothing, possibly renting a space, travel to get to the shoot, etc. I don't see how $500 is anywhere close to what that set is worth.
I also understand there are 2 SOTD's every day. So $1000/day that SG pays out just on sets. $365,000/year on sets. It takes a lot of memberships to pay for that.
But damn, a girl can pay out tens of thousands of dollars trying to become a SG, get one set bought and only get $500.
**Spamming by models
I would also like to touch on spamming. I know this doesn't go along with my original tangent, but would like to get this out as well.
Whether it is spamming a set or spamming links to other sites, it is super annoying and I feel it should be dealt with better by SG or group moderators. I see it more by newer models, but there are some that have been around for a while that still do it. It really drives me nuts when you are going through group threads, lets say the Big Boob Appreciation group for example, and the top 5 threads in the group are from one girl "check out my brand new set that just came out" usually using the same picture, same text, just copy and paste in every thread they can find trying to get seen. Trying to get exposure is fine, but there are threads specifically for "SPAM YOUR SET HERE"!!!
Now I'm all for a girl posting in multiple threads, with pictures that are relevant to the thread with a caption like "check out my latest set for more" or something like that. I'm perfectly fine with that. Get your name out there. Get people coming to your page. Once they are on your page they will check out any sets they have missed. Works for me all the time. But when I see girls constantly spamming links "check out my new set" in every freaking thread they can find that drives me nuts. I never follow those girls. If it's a girl I have been following and I see she is doing that I often unfollow her.
**Block feature
Also while I am at it, I would like to bring up blocking. Currently if you block someone on SG all that does is prevent them from interacting with you on the site. They can't message you or interact with your posts. However you can still see everything they post on the site, and they can still see everything you do. It would be nice if when you blocked someone it completely removed them from your experience from the site, you no longer see anything from them, and they no longer see anything from you.
Also, maybe just a mute feature which hides a users posts from what you see on the site.
Sometimes there are people who you really don't have any reason to block, as they really haven't done anything wrong, but you just don't want to see anything from them anymore. Maybe they just often post in groups you follow, and you just don't want to see their posts. But they haven't done anything wrong, so no need to flat out block that person.
**Some more random thoughts
@jasminemorte - I don't know how the hell you have not had a set bought! You are incredibly gorgeous and your sets are great. I have followed you since your beginning here and liked every set. Another example of a model with multiple sets over 2k who has tons of followers, and gets nowhere here.
@ladyfirefox - great girl, absolutely gorgeous, great sets, multiple over 2k, still hopeful.
@bluenicorn - gorgeous, great sets, also deserves to be a SG.
@amaryllis - gorgeous, sets over 2k, been on the site forever, deserves to be SG
I could go through the list of the hopefuls I follow and find many more deserving to be SG but I'd be here for ever. Just wanted to name a couple that came to mind that I truly feel should become SG.
Hopefully we see some more transparency from SG and some good changes.
Honestly I'm not sure what my future will be on this site. Hopefully I still have one after this. (crossing fingers)
In the past week there have been way too many "I can't go on with this site anymore" posts, which is saddening.
It really sucks when you watch a model try so hard to become a SG, they spend thousands on sets and they get nowhere. I can see why they get discouraged and want to quit. I probably would too.
I really do love SG. I love what it stands for. I love the girls. Like I mentioned, I am on the site multiple times a day. It's what I do in my spare time or when I just need a break for a minute.
Hoping for a brighter future with SG.