Recently muted under the new Etsy forum policies:
FancyPantsAndMore, who I cited in the post below for being part of the group organizing efforts to help designedbylucinda. One of Fancy's mute-able posts was, "Yippee Diane!" She got a thirty day mute from the forums.
ArtmakersWorlds, for posting "Bite me" to no one in particular.
KarmaRox, who has been an Etsy seller since 2007, and has offered help and warmth to many in the forums.
All three spoke up against the changes currently occurring on Etsy, and were chastised for being "too vocal" in the forums. Too vocal? Interesting turn of phrase there. There is at least one seller who can no longer post in the forums who hasn't received a muting notice from Etsy yet.
The results of these mutings are twofold: There are those who see this as a challenge and want to ramp up the fight, even if it results in their own muting. And there are those who see this as both frightening and intimidating, and are now wary of speaking in public. In the past, Etsy has found loopholes for closing down shops when sellers have spoken out. What a great way to build a more social shopping site that's all about community. Micro-economies indeed.
Imagine trying to sign in to Etsy, and finding your shop gone. Hours and hours of work, customers waiting on shipments. Gone.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you.
And to the muted, this fight isn't over.
For more details, check out
this thread over on the UEF.
