I'm Pissed
Hello, sorry for the double newsletter issue today. But it's urgent: this is more a personal "issue" than an actual newsletter article detailing some cool work.
As some people may know, I've been collaborating with the lovely video content creator Amelie Doree who goes by SpeedyNoelle on Twitter and elsewhere. I'm helping her out pro bono because I like her videos doing deep dives into visual novels; it's always fun to collaborate with her and tell her what's new and interesting in visual novels.
A few days ago, Noelle was given a shout-out by Super Eyepatch Wolf for those videos. It's an incredible honor to help Noelle finally get the credit she deserves. She's gained many subscribers on YouTube and went from 1.5k subscribers to 10k in a matter of days. The growth was very satisfying to watch as a collaborator. I was really happy for her.
Unfortunately, it seemed like this had also garnered some ahem unsavory attention from people who don't really like Noelle. Her video on Ayayo-san (now mirrored on Internet Archive) had been flagged by the community while she already got a strike for the crime of linking a SFW article to a website that's an immediate red flag for YouTube for some reason. Although the latter has been resolved, the former has not.
Calls for an appeal were made and the verdict from a YouTube is a resounding no.
We're Pissed
Anyone who's watched the Ayayo-san video would know that the sexual content is meant for educational and historical reasons. This video was unfairly flagged by brigaders who may have more transphobic and anti-sex aims. And as someone who actually helped translate and research for the video, I'm very offended that YouTube thinks all that effort is for "sexual gratification".
I know that YouTube doesn't care until there's a public outcry. I'm very aware about freak incidents like Brian van Norden, a philosopher specializing in the history of Chinese philosophies, waking up to his account being banned. I definitely acknowledge that only the bigwig content creators have actual customer service from YouTube against their algorithm and trolls.
None of this is consoling.
We're supposed to be celebrating Noelle reaching a YouTube milestone and even hitting new Patreon heights, but here we are: trying to re-appeal to a platform that doesn't care about content creators. Bigger content creators have gotten away with worse shit, even harmful content -- but that's okay, I guess, because they're bringing in the bucks for YouTube.
But educational content on the history of eroge? Now, that's some terrorist shit.
I'm pretty fucking mad. I hope you are too, especially since I know many of you follow my Twitter and subscribe to this newsletter to read more about eroge and other subculture media. It's a blight on our joy, on something that deserves a ton of respect.
I can't just say, "fuck YouTube", and be done with it. This hurts me, but it also hurts Noelle because that video was actually popular. This fucking sucks.
Let's Get Pissed Together
While making another ruckus is definitely on the table, I do think it's important to look ahead. I would recommend giving Noelle a follow on Twitter and on YouTube; I'm sure most people reading this newsletter would seriously dig her anyway. Her latest video on Possessioner is on Internet Archive too and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
But I also think we should be doing much more for Noelle. Spread the word. Get more people to watch her videos and talk about them. Perhaps, donate to her Ko-Fi.
Consider joining her Patreon.
Check her music out on Bandcamp and SoundCloud too.
Just do anything to make her name known because this is very important to me. I really do care for her.
Memories and Motivations
I remember the first time Noelle and I talked on Twitter: I was excited about the remake of Doukyuusei appearing in English and did my usual stealth marketing for the title. Noelle responded with excitement over the title and mentioned she'd like to make a video on it:
And I offered to help out, which resulted in this fascinating video essay on the title.
We ended up collaborating even more, especially with Ayayo-san. That specific video is a testament to our friendship and love for eroge; I had fun talking about the history and even pointing to sources she could read about.
Those were some fun memories and I still treasure them to this day.
It is of utmost importance that I must do my part and help her as much as possible as a good friend. I hope anyone reading this will understand why I'm heartbroken and why I'm hijacking this newsletter for this.
It's important to get this shit sorted out.