Hey Friday is coming, thus another will ravage the TL with loads of people tagged as someone to follow but with no context as to WHY they would be a good follow on here. So I’m asking y’all a favor, a big one.

Instead of massive lists of folks who you think are neat and that other should follow; how about one or two suggestions of recommended follows and more importantly WHY you think others would enjoy following them. Like it’s cool you think (amount of twitter handles you can stuff in one tweet) are good to follow, but y’all leave out the why every-damn-week. Also, let’s be real, when y’all suggest marginalized people so others can “learn”? You’re setting folks up for one-sided emotional labor.

Cause without fail, these folks who follow in an effort to “learn” rarely do so. They follow, liking, sharing, nodding along but the second you tweet something they aren’t ready for? The but, but I’m an ALLY, HOW DARE! jumps out. (that is what is called conditional allyship)

So if you’re gonna share out people to follow? Make a short list (no more than 4 max) and drop their patreon/ko-fi/paypal/kickstarter/gumroad or what have you links to, cause doing the emotional labor is still labor. 🙏🏾☠️

Be mindful with adding folks onto lists, aka don’t lump in our non-binary pals with women you should follow lists. Don’t go by avatar or assumed presentation on whether someone is masc or femme. Take a few seconds to read their bio to avoid mis-gendering someone. Intent isn’t magic, and your impact can leave a bad impression.

 

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Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a non-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers attend the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make it better and more inclusive for everyone. She founded and was the EIC of Fresh Out of Tokens podcast where games culture was discussed and viewed through a lense of feminism, intersectionality and diversity. Now she’s a co-host on Spawn on Me Podcast. Along with all of that, she’s the Programming Coordinator for OrcaCon, she often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at multiple conventions throughout the year. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications.