#Dni lists | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

helicarrier · 1 year

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If someone asks me about my issues with DNIs, I think I’ll just refer them to this post from now on.

Tumblr, as a website, is designed for quick, casual content sharing. You can follow blogs, then immediately like and reblog posts from them. New posts are even recommended to you directly on your dash, so you don’t even need to look at their originating blogs to interact with them. DNIs put a wrench in this intuitive manner of using tumblr. They force someone to stop and detour and read a page before they touch any posts from a blog they don't know, and that contradicts how tumblr is intuitively meant to be used. If you see a post and you like it, and if there’s an icon right underneath it, your first reaction is to click the icon. I’m sure most of us have instinctively clicked “like” (or “reblog”) on a post we found interesting.

DNIs prevent this kind of “casual” interaction. Their existence means you have to stop yourself before you interact (in any way) with a cool post, find the DNI page of the person who reblogged the post and, if applicable, find the DNI of the person who made the original post as well (because they’ll also receive the notification, unless they deleted the post on their blog), read it, then return to the post. Nothing about DNIs are baked into the functionality of tumblr in an intuitive way; if anything, the only real “do not interact with me” function you will find here in tumblr’s infrastructure is the block function.

Because DNIs are so antithetical to how tumblr functions, they're an inherently futile way of preventing interaction with certain groups of people, too. Most people aren't going to read my rules or my pinned post before they interact with my content. I would not expect them to, because it doesn't occur to many people, and it's a lot of wasted time. Even people with certain kinds of users in their DNIs routinely interact with posts made by those very people, proving this point. It is so inconvenient and absurd to read a page every time someone so much as likes a post by a random blog. Those people you don't want interacting with you? They're probably reading your blog; liking your posts even if they don't expressly say they're x group from your DNI. They're doing the same to my posts, too. That's just the price we pay for being in a public space focused on content sharing. And I accept this. Other peoples' behaviour is completely out of my control. I just block people when needed, because it is my responsibility to curate my space.

And that is the crux of the matter: I refuse to pass the responsibility of curating my space onto strangers. I refuse to make it someone else's problem when they are using tumblr in the way it was meant to be used. Ideologically and functionally, it does not make sense to me.

Just think about it: tumblr is a public website. Unless your blog is password-protected, people can find it anytime, and if they really want to interact, they'll interact regardless of your DNI. It’s not like most people will say, "oh, drat, I'm a racist, I should leave!". Maybe they’ll just interact because the labels you dislike are not visible on their blog, so they'll fly under your radar. And at times where peoples' labels or behaviour are visible, the good ol' block button is the golden standard. It always has been.

If I become mutuals with someone, sure, we'll agree to scratch each others' backs, and tag whatever the other person needs tagged. But that's different from expecting every stranger who comes across my content, wherever it shows up, to follow demands that are all the way over here, on this blog. If someone reblogs one of my photosets way over in the Stranger Things fandom, and people see the reblogged post, they shouldn't need to come to my Marvel/Random Shit™ blog and read my pages before clicking the stupid little heart button. But imagine needing to do this with every single person, every single post of theirs. Sure, maybe you’re familiar with the DNIs of the people you follow. But what about all the posts they’ve reblogged? Those posts have OPs. Do the OPs of those posts have a DNI that’s favourable to you, too?

DNIs aren't even optional reads now, and everyone suffers because of that. The proliferation of DNIs has made a culture where if someone accidentally forgets to read a DNI, doesn't know that DNIs exist, or misinterprets the contents of a DNI, it’s considered acceptable to harass them for it. It's anxiety-inducing.

“...Shit, I forgot to like their DNI.”

It doesn't help that I never know what "basic DNI criteria" means, or what the "etcetera" means either, because it changes from person to person. Folks, I’ve seen homophobes with “basic DNI criteria” in their pages. That aside, you can say "bigots DNI", but a lot of transphobes don't believe they're bigots, so you could still get radfems liking your posts. You could say "bullies DNI", but many fanpols don't consider themselves bullies, because they believe if someone writes fanfiction from the perspective of Hannibal Lecter, of course their reaction to it isn’t “bullying”, it's just justified shaming!

Everyone is the hero of their own story, and everyone thinks they're the exception. They will be the exception to your DNI, too. Again, this all goes back to the "you can't control who interacts with your content" thing. It's maddening to try and think of all the angles, all the ways to "catch" people, all the ways to plug up all the holes. You may not want to hear it, but you never will. You can get the broad strokes, but you’ll never get everyone, you won’t even get close. Even if you do somehow manage to fit all the exact terms into your DNI, and you end up with a DNI longer than a CVS receipt, you’re still going to run into all the people who... Simply don’t read it. Meanwhile, you look a little too preoccupied with who’s looking at your blog on a public website, and even if a well-intended person comes across your blog, they may just check out because they’re uncomfortable with the micromanaging.

...If they can read the DNI. Look, I’m all for creative formatting, but I see so many DNIs (and carrds in general) that have hot pink writing on a red background, or baby pink on baby blue, or yellow on lime green, and I can’t read any of it, not to mention it’s a migraine risk among other things. I’m not reading dozens of these pages every other day.

It doesn't help that many DNIs are rude, angry, hostile pages that tell people to kill themselves. That's not right. When someone volunteers to read an information page, they are doing that person a courtesy. It is shameful people need to read things like "kill yourself", "swallow a knife", and other verbal sewage. It doesn't matter if it's directed to them or not. Simply looking for people to follow and interact with, simply liking a post, should not be an exercise in mental fortitude. Needing to read awful threats over and over again should not be a requirement for engaging on this site. Imagine having depression, intrusive thoughts, and so on, where this stuff could land twice as hard. It's gotten to the point where my eyes immediately gloss over when I open a DNI, because my mind simply doesn't want to see any more shit and is trying to protect me. I'm at the point where I don't want to open DNIs at all.

But as you guessed, there's a problem with that. Because DNIs are almost compulsory on tumblr now, ignoring them has two possible outcomes: one, you annoy a ton of people, because maybe their DNIs say they don't want you around, but you're interacting with their stuff anyways. Maybe you get labelled as the person who ignores DNIs. Two, you stop your browsing in part, or as a whole, meaning almost nobody gets likes or reblogs from you anymore, because you’re trying to not waste your time, you’re trying to preserve your sanity, etc. And this hamstrings content creators.

One of the biggest flaws in DNIs is that nobody is obligated to reveal information on themselves. Minors can easily hide their age. Bigots can hide their bigotry. People can remove info from their description until they're clear of someone's initial "new follower vibe check", then put it back. Nobody knows you're a dog on the internet. It's naive to assume people will be honest about themselves, and adhere to a DNI.

DNIs are often so incredibly vague and their attitude so charged that people can't even ask for clarification, because the writer of the DNI could be radicalized and have very unhealthy views, and absolutely attack someone for reaching out. A DNI might say, "don't interact if you support incest", but it never clarifies in real life, or fiction. There has been an enormous uptick in moral panic over fiction lately, so lots of people might ask for clarification, but if they do, the person could say "in real life and fiction, duh!", flame them because they "didn't know something so obvious, it must mean they're sus!", then flame them again because they viewed the poor person's blog and saw lots of mature content they think people shouldn't write. It's absurd, but unfortunately, that kind of panic has spread. Many people use DNIs as extensions of their unhealthy interaction, media consumption, and browsing habits.

So I usually avoid DNIs.

All in all, I don't mind if someone politely asks other people to not interact, or if they say they block for certain stuff, if there’s a clear awareness that it's not a be-all, end-all solution, and that people will still interact. As long as they put the onus on themselves, rather than other people, to curate their space, it’s cool. For example, if someone is an 18+ blog, and they ask minors not to interact? Cool, if they don’t “punish” or otherwise attack minors who find posts of theirs on other blogs, and “like” them from there without going all the way over to the OG blog to see if they’re allowed to do like it. Because again, that’s a bit of an unfair requirement to impose on people. And whatever.

Because people shouldn’t feel like they’re playing minesweeper when they want to click a heart. Between the terfs, racists, and all the other issues, we have enough on our hands already.

#dni #dni lists #psa #essay #fandom #censorship #twitter #bullying #harassment #*deux ex machina voice* it is done.#death threat mention cw #graphic threat mention cw #racist mention cw #terf mention cw

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selkies-song · 5 months

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Seeing a lot of DNI list discourse in my feed today.

My two-cents:

There's nothing wrong with having a DNI list on your blog.

That said, most of us do not have the time or energy to vet blogs for every single post we interact with.

If someone interacts* with your post and you decide you don't want them to, for ANY reason, block them and move on.

Anything more than just blocking them (targeted harassment, callout posts, sending anon hate, whatever) makes you the asshole.

*if the interaction includes personal attacks, hateful additions/tags/etc, you can add a report to that block. This post was mostly in the context of surface level reblogs/likes/follows

Part of looking after your mental health is learning how to pick your battles. Spending a bunch of time investigating every internet stranger that crosses your path, and a whole lot of energy blasting the ones that you don't like, is the opposite of self-care.

#dni list #dni lists #dni discourse #shut up selk

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revolutionary-star-luma · 8 months

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It’s been bugging us since we’ve been aware of a blog dedicated to screenshoting DNI lists from various people. Yes I think some DNI lists can be really ridiculous, some of these people do need to grow up, and others should realize they are only promoting more queerphobia by being exclusionists. However it’s really creepy and messed up that there is a whole blog dedicated to screenshoting these lists, without these people knowing that their lists are most likely going to end up being the butt of the joke.

It really reminds me of cringe complications that would take others videos or art (usually people of minorities or in subcultures), without them knowing that their work or videos will be used for something to be laughed and ridiculed at. Which you guessed it, is bullying.

Everyone here likes to say cringe culture is dead, but are so ready to jump at the chance to humiliate people for having “weird” triggers, or being socially inept. Then try to thinly disguise their bullying by saying these people (usually people who have yet to learn, on how to put up boundaries in a healthier way) should have known better, and for that reason it makes it okay to mock these people. Humiliation shouldn’t be a way for people to grow and change into better people, and you know it.

I also don’t give a damn if it’s for “archival” purposes, don’t take pictures without these people knowing. That literally triggers people’s paranoia. I’m gonna be honest I fucking freaked out when I saw this blog, because I use to have a list of my own (one that I don’t completely stand by today.) I’m trying not to care anymore, because I rather be made fun of than be a bully.

#dni lists #anti dni archive #dni archive #anti harassment

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femboyhornyblogging · 5 months

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I don't get it when 18+ blogs have a DNI for not having age in your bio. Like, sure you can block me if you want, but why would I tell the internet personal info about me. The only thing random strangers need to know is that I'm an adult, that is one of the many things I would rather wait till I know someone at least a little to tell them. And a blog having an age in the bio means absolutely nothing for knowing if it is the truth or not. There will be some minors that end up looking at 18+ blogs, and that is just how it is on the internet.

#DNI lists are fairly dumb anyways #but people can wrote down whatever they want on their blogs #I might write a bio eventually to improve my blog #but I sure as hell ain't putting my age in there other than “adult”#DNI lists

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yardikins · 4 months

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People who get mad about what other people put on their dni lists are so funny like. I’m sorry people have boundaries i guess

#It doesn’t matter if you think they’re dumb #Boundaries are boundaries and they should be respected #Dni lists #yardi yells #This wasnt sparked by anything in particular it just came to me #I remember some drama about people putting “proship dni” in their bios which weirded me out #Like why do you care #If they don’t want those people interacting with them that’s perfectly fair #Respect people please #respect boundaries #Anyways rant over enjoy my post

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pepsicandle · 3 months

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a lot of folks think DNI lists are useless but they just dont get their purpose

they're not here because i actually expect a homophobe to be like "aw shucks guess i cant interact" they're there as a show of my beliefs and values without looking like an oversharing wall of text. they're a symbol of what matters to me , what i want and dont want to see in my friend circles etc

its not meant to be a shield its meant to be a sign yk

#dni lists #internet #internet etiquette #what do i tag this

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anonymous-unpopular-opinions · 4 months

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DNI lists are useless and kinda cringy

#hot take #unpopular opinion #dni #dni lists

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takaraphoenix · 1 year

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I feel like the most brain-dead tumblr behavior is the “standard DNI criteria apply”.

There is no standard. That’s. That’s kind of the point. The whole point of declaring who you do not wish to interact with is that you are declaring what you stand for - and what you stand against.

If you stand against something, then there is someone who stands for that thing. Two opposing sides, you know. One person’s Do Not Interact is another person’s Please Interact.

Let me illustrate this more to maybe make it even clearer - TERFs tag their posts with tags like “TERFs please interact”, as a specific counter to trans-inclusive and trans-friendly spaces tagging their posts “TERFs DNI”.

You can not blanket DNI, because other people are not mind readers and the kind of people you don’t want to interact with are the kind of people other people want to interact with, while the people you want to interact with are the kind of people others do not want to interact with.

For example, I saw someone with a “standard DNI criteria apply” in their bio, listed right below “Harry Potter fan”. Funny thing here is, I’ve actually seen it a lot at this point that being a Harry Potter fan has become part of a standard DNI for many people, because many do not want to split hairs over “okay but you do support trans rights, despite that, right?” anymore. Your definition of what constitutes “standard” is not aligned with that of everybody else.

I saw a “standard DNI criteria apply” right above “Proshippers DNI” and, fun fact here, for virtually every single proshipper, ANTIS rank super high on their “standard” criteria of DNI. Super strange how the “standard DNI criteria” of an anti and that of a proshipper are virtually on opposing sides of the spectrum here.

Many people try to argue that the “standard DNI criteria” is supposed to boil down to “standard human decency”, but how exactly you draw the line there is a very, very personal thing. Every person sets their own personal boundaries with what they are comfortable with and some people’s standard is set differently than others. You’re not setting actual boundaries, you’re just trying to shorthand “I’m a good person!”, but honestly? You’re not conveying that at all, because it just comes off as lazy and performative.

And the two things that truly do bother me about it is that for one, nobody is forcing you to include any kind of DNI list at all. This comes off like it’s such a bother to write for you, like, you can’t even be bothered to write a full list? But? You don’t have to? And, secondly, you only have to do it once. If it’s so important to you to do this, then... do it right? Actually list it in a coherent, referential way that is understandable?

It’s not like it’s asked of you to spell it out repeatedly every single time someone clicks on your blog, conveniently they can just read the information you have typed out one (1) time right there!

#DNI Lists #Tumblr Life #something about seeing this absolutely OUT OF THIS WORLD DNI #just really rubbed me the wrong way #like this person really went #'please read my DNI first ^_^'#and it's a LINK to an external site and you think 'oh this is gonna be a Long Read'#and then it's literally just a fucking 'standard DNI criteria apply'#that genuinely just killed me ON SIGHT

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thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 1 year

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Genuinely unsure if you're referring to KL//ance as a ship between KL and Ance for the bit, or if this an actual pop culture blindspot, and I know it isn't even relevant to you to know the nature of the ship, but also my brain will not let this go and tumblr asks are easy to delete if irrelevant. It's an in*ff*ctive c*nsor*ng of Klance, the ship name for Keith and Lance from Voltron (specifically the 2016 version)

Ahhh, okay, I have heard about this drama a little bit. I think I remember hearing there was a guy or a ship called Klance that I thought was from either Glee or Voltron. But my halfassed attempt to Google KL//Ance didn't pop up any results, so I guess the censorship is working?

#fandom #dni lists #i mean i still don't know if i ship keith and lance or not #so oh well

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coulsonlives · 6 months

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From the looks of it, DNIs are worthless even to the people who use them 🙃

#what is the point fam #anyways one of my old posts exploded again and a buncha people interacted w it despite RAZING me in their dnis #one of em also thanked me because i wrote the post for a certain kind of illness lol i was like.. okay should i be happy or upset then?#like do you realize i'm literally in your dni and you say you hate me? so are you thankful? or do you want me to die? idgi pick one #dni lists #dni

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babyspacebatclone · 1 year

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Tumblr Life Hack:

Make a DNI list - for yourself.

See a post that angers you?

Person on your DNI list?

Block them and move on.

Step 4 is have less anxiety about being on Tumblr.

Remember, don’t respond, DNI!!!

#tumblr life hack #tumblr life #having less stress on tumblr #dni lists #making them work -for- you #by using them yourself

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roleplayerconfessions · 2 years

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🌴 i stay away from people who have dni lists that say "standard dni criteria." it's way, way too vague! i'm not taking my chances and walking into a hornet's nest full of antis and bigots. why do i say this? because:

antis think a "standard dni" should include people who write and let write and who don't bully others. because they think bullying IS okay.

bigots think a "standard dni" should include inclusionists and people who just want acceptance of everyone regardless of gender etc. because they think terfs and super straights and other transphobic, racist groups are okay.

what i'm saying is each group has their own version of what the standard should be for a dni, and some are a lot more valid than others, and you never know what the specifics are just from "standard dni criteria" because there are lots of every group on tumblr. it's too subjective!

i guess it's good to know who to avoid? people who think that vague things like this are acceptable ways to communicate don't seem self aware about what they're saying in other times either, i don't feel safe around people like that anyway.

#Submission #Muns #Self Care #DNI Lists #Bullying #Censorship #Communication #Manipulation #Homophobia #Racism #TERF Mention CW

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catknifetime · 1 year

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dni lists are so weird to me, because literally what are they supposed to do? They’ll often include various kinds of bigots, but do you really think that an aesthetic carrd linked in your bio will genuinely keep bigots away? Or sometimes they’ll include people who disagree with you on some hot topic internet discourse, I think the most common ones I see are for “transandphobia truthers”, “proshippers”, “transmasc lesbians/their supporters”, and whatever stance you don’t hold on AI art. But again, what is this actually supposed to do? Like maybe someone who disagrees with you will just not follow you or block you, but this is the internet. More likely they’ll see that and try to start a fight. And also, how many people do you think actually read every blog they follow/interact with’s dni list? Like even as someone making a post talking about this, I’ve read very few dni lists. I’ve also seen dni lists that just include really unrealistic and kinda silly things, I think the most common one I see in this category is men dni. It’s so weird because like oh yah, you sure got 49% of the planet’s population with that one. Not a single man will interact with this blog, not even by accident because he didn’t read your dni list. And it’s the same for others in the category, they’re usually such large groups (btw I mean groups not based on beliefs, but on fundamental things like gender/race/sexuality) that it’s a little ridiculous to try and put them all in the “I don’t want to see you” bin. Actually I just remembered maybe the only reasonable dni which is minors dni for adult content. Obviously minors will still interact with adult content no matter how hard we try to make them stop, but it’s always good to put a warning for adult content. Coincidentally minors dni is about the only dni I regularly see outside of a full dni list.

Really the whole idea seems more like a performative thing for other people who already share your beliefs than a way to keep away people who don’t. Part of the reason I think so is that most blogs that actually have a dni list (especially a carrd) I’ve seen, have very similar lists. The whole thing feels kinda immature, like it has the same energy as a “no girls allowed” sign on a 10 year old boy’s tree house.

#do not start a fight in the notes about the examples of hot topic internet discourse I gave #I used them because they are the ones I see most commonly nowadays not because of my particular thoughts on them #also if you want to know my thoughts on them you’ll have to guess or go through my blog. I’m not telling you #dni lists #my thoughts

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