RavelryReviews 510

I was a very happy member of this site since about 2007. I had developed friendships with several people in the forums that I frequented, and even had a pen pal across the country. However, when I saw that all of the crazy and disrespectful things were encouraged (like Pu**y hats, F**k Trump, knitted female parts, etc, and anything positive and respectful, such as MAGA, TRUMP 2020, or anything like that was banned, I knew I couldn't take much more. Then someone posted "the list", and despite not airing my political views anywhere, just by being a member of a group called Deplorable Knitters, I found myself on the list. And I felt hunted. I had heard that people were being verbally attacked and harassed. People were being blocked and banned, just for having an opinion that differed from the newly stated No Trump policy. I was afraid. I'd done nothing, and I was afraid. So, I collected everything that I wanted to keep from my profile and projects, made sure I had downloaded all of my patterns, deleted everything I could, and then deleted my account. My heart was very heavy through all of this, and I still feel sadness. I'm ashamed of the founder of this site for promoting such hate and intolerance. He should remember, Karma is a $#*!.

I was a member of Ravelry for many years and used it frequently. The owners of the site decided to employ fascist tactics by banning any discussion or patterns that were pro-Trump and calling anyone that supported Trump a white supremacist yet continuing to let anti-Trump, -Christianity, -Semite patterns, posts, etc., to flourish. I want no part of that regardless of how I voted.
The good thing that has come out of their stupidity is a lot of new sites and pages that we can go to and do the exact same thing but with more contemporary design and technology.
Enjoy your hate-mongering and bullying bubble.

I will start with the positives. A huge library of both pay for patterns and free patterns. I place to store your project notes. Forums to communicate with groups of people who have the same interests.
I will now move on to the negatives. Over the years, Ravelry has practiced its free speech by posting very polarizing content. I believe this encouraged strife, though most (not all) stayed silent. Ravelry then decided that it could dish it out but could not take it. Ravelry updated their policy. It basically said that if you are not on their side then you either keep your mouth shut or be banned. Though many had kept their mouth shut, for the sake of peace, have decided that this was going too far. I deleted my account.

I was on Ravelry for many years, but didn't take part in the forums. Consequently, I was unaware of the political agenda being put into action by the owners. I'm very disappointed in Ravelry and the firestorm they've unleashed in the fiberverse. Their actions are reprehensible and will have a long term negative effect on designers, yarn companies and consumers. The bright spot is the opportunity for more up to date sites to profit from the Ravelry exodus.

Ravelry has been a place for me since 2007 where I can learn anything to do with fibercrafts with the added benefit of lifelong friendships. I have friends from Rav where we've seen each other through hardships and milestones in life. Any patterns/yarn/fiber I can think of I can find or brainstorm with other designers to create. I tell every fiber enthusiast I meet" If you're not on rav, get on there! It will change your world"

I started to see the writing on the wall several years ago and left all my forums (none of them were political). I stayed through the pink hats and knitted female body parts (although they made me cringe). I rarely discuss politics or religion and prefer to keep such things to myself. The day Ravelry made their statement calling anyone who supports the president a white supremacist I knew it was time to go. Cleared out many years of projects, left all my patterns and deleted my account. I will spend my $$$ where I feel comfortable and accepted. I believe there are many "quiet conservatives" out there doing the same.

I can not in all good conscience be a member of a community that will exclude so many while calling themselves "Inclusive" and state they are making it a "safe space". They exclude and hate anybody who does not agree with them. They do the same if you do not jump on the bandwagon with them right away. You have to walk in lockstep or be labeled a racist. I can not support the intolerance they are spouting.

I was a member for about 12 years. As the site has always had a vocal leftist agenda, I always kept my head down and concentrated on using the site as a place for all things yarn! I briefly joined a conservative knitters group, but left after a few weeks, as I didn't feel it was the place for politics. I am pretty politically active and loved that I had a place to get away from it all.
Fast forward to the comrade Casey's crack down on conservative talk, patterns and eventually posts, which culminated with his banning anything positive that was said or posted or in regards to POTUS. But left for all to see were the Fu@k Trump items, other hateful, and inappropriate items.
Then the purge began. People started to have their accounts closed, designers had patterns removed, and many business owners were hunted down on other social media platforms and bullied and attacked, forced to take a pro or con stance on this situation. Some people were so hounded that they closed businesses, had their followers harassed and some even experienced health problems because of it. I had my account closed by them, but luckily I had backed up all my purchased patterns sever months earlier.

Many people who oppose these fascist tactics have gone into hiding. Secret and closed groups are springing up. Groups are afraid that the most virulent of the pro-Rav groups will infiltrate and harass members, as they have done on Instagram and Twitter already.
Those who use force to silence, bully and harass those who don't agree with them need to be shown for the jerks they are. Once the dust settles I will be looking for alternative places to talk about yarn and knitting and leave politics out of it.

There is also new information that is looking like their payment platforms also post a security risk for anyone making purchases or selling through their site.
I have tried to reach out to them via email about refunds for purchases I made from them for add on usage, and why my account was shut down, but they refuse to answer.

If you're a designer, they don't care if your patterns are pirated, but heaven forbid you say something positive about the Trump administration, God, prayer, or anything positive, really. They say they're against hate speech, but there has always been lots of hate speech on that site, but it's the "right kind", meaning it complies with the owners' views, so that' okay. There are groups set up specifically to hunt down posts just to make fun of them. You can easily avoid anything you don't like, unless you're a liberal on that site. They search out things to be offended by and then report it so others can pile on. Even something as innocuous as a hat that says God Is Love, because they think that that is a "dog whistle" and is really a homophobic message. If you want a nice site to enjoy you love of fiber arts with like minded folk, Ravely is not it.

The site itself functions like a dream - combining databases for patterns, yarn, and tools, as well as one's own projects, along with a robust forum and group-creation feature. The community of more than 8 million Ravelers is rich, and is full of advice, guidance, and friendship.

As a bonus, Ravelry recently banned a particular kind of hate speech. The team who own Ravelry are strongly supportive of human rights and equality for all humans.

EDIT 7/23/19---Take a look at all the 5-star reviews to see example after example of what makes Ravelry such a dreadful place. The hate they spew on Ravelry.com isn't enough, they have to crap it all out over here, too. Thank you, Ravelry fans, for making it SO easy to see what is wrong with the forums over there. Our 1-star reviews aren't just our word against yours anymore. There is evidence of how messed up you all are. Enjoy your cesspool.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Deleted my account due to fascism, censorship, hate speech, anti-American values, promotion of intolerance and hate under the guise of inclusion and tolerance. Members are encouraged to report those who support America. I thought we got rid of Nazi tactics after WWII but they are alive and well at Ravelry. The owner of the site has allegedly doxxed members in the past. Site members have compiled a list of yarn and pattern vendors and labeled them white supremacists and racists (regardless of skin tone) if they refuse to take a side & try to remain neutral in this mess. It is a very toxic environment.

I thought this was a site dedicated to the Fiber Arts. It's not. They are selling vitriolic politics. Sure I saw that they promoted their political views. Personally, I was there for the art and didn't care about anyone's political view. I still don't. It's when they chose to silence everyone on their public forum who has a differing view that I left. It's when they started name calling those who differ with them that I left. It's when they continued to allow the most vitriolic hate in support of their view to be spewed, while banning even an American flag and calling it hate speech. We are well beyond 1984, but it's a Brave New World over on Ravelry and all the Animals on the Farm can have it to themselves. I've already seen how that story ends.

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