Compiling this data was not as hard as I expected, let's go through the data and the shiny graphs!
Age of Beeple
Most are above 24! Seems we got an older average age compared to a lot of social media. It would be interesting to see how many came here with experiences from independent forums before Reddit.
Where Beeple reside
This one's a big graph. Though we can notice most people are from the US. Would be nice to see more countries represented though a big part of it likely has to do with language. (You will need to open the big graph in another tab, it's too big to show properly.)
Gender identity of Beeple
So, as expected, mostly men. However, less than expected which is nice to see. There should be outreach to at least equalize this.
Sexual orientation of Beeple
This is kinda surprising. It seems we managed to get a lot more LGBTQ+ people than expected considering most of you all come from Reddit - so this is nice to see. This is most likely because of our focus on a safe space.
Whiteness of Beeple
As expected, mostly white which is unfortunate. I think there's outreach to be done in that regard as well.
Neurodivergence of Beeple
We seem to have a really surprising amount of neurodivergent people! Definitely nice to see.
Beeple with disabilities
I.. have no idea how to interpret this data so I'll just say, shiny graph.
Beeple's awareness of the Fediverse
Most knew about the fediverse but still a good 20% had not heard about it so glad to see you all managed to find your way here!
How Beeple have been dealing with Beehaw
It seems most people feel relatively confident in their ability to use Beehaw and most people seem to enjoy it. That makes me really happy to see. Feels rewarding, feels good.
Conclusion
I wanna thank everyone for the feedback about the survey and its questions - we'll do better next time! I'm glad we did this survey because it shows the areas to work on in terms of outreach! Thank you all for your participation!
My only feedback is the words choices here were, unfortunate. It comes across as the author found undesired demographics which felt not inclusive.
In my opinion this is not being nice.
I am a minority in some parts of the graph and a majority in others. Reading this left my feeling I wasn't welcome here which I have felt ever day before reading this post.
I think you should read the post again. To me it seems that a focus was put on being an inclusive and diverse space. That includes everyone and you of course too!
Which part specifically made you feel not welcome?
The part where he says it's "mostly white people which is unfortunate" was an odd thing to say.
Doesn't make white people feel very welcome I'd imagine.
I think the intention was “it’s unfortunate there’s not more diversity” and not “it’s unfortunate that there are a lot of white people on here,” but, yeah, that part could have been worded better. I don’t think it was meant to be unwelcoming.
The part where he says it's "mostly white people which is unfortunate" was an odd thing to say.
Doesn't make white people feel very welcome I'd imagine.
I'm as white as driven snow and I took that as "it's unfortunate we don't have more diversity in this area"
I understood the intent, but words mean things and phrasing matters. As written, it doesn't seem welcoming or inclusive. They phrased the other sections much better--(which almost makes it seem more targeted even though I sincerely doubt it is)
"We don't have as much diversity as we would like in this area, so in an effort to cultivate a richer community, we'll need to do more analysis and outreach. We are open to ideas!".
The reality is: you can't force diversity. You can only make an environment where its welcome and encouraged--and you should be welcoming to everyone. Obviously this rubbed some folks the wrong way.
As an aside: it's also a little short sighted to assume that bucketing people in a "white" group means they aren't diverse in their own right. I'd imagine there is quite a diverse makeup of "white people" on here-- people from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere who all have very different perspectives, cultures, and norms that they bring to the table.
this is the sort of sensitivity and white fragility--the idea that we as white people are diverse too, damnit!--that makes me think it genuinely is "unfortunate" our community is even as white as the survey suggests (and it's not that white, to be clear!). respectfully: the "diversity of opinion" between various white people in the world is not nearly as interesting as you think it is on a lot of issues, and i'm not super interested as a non-white person in getting the "diversity" of five opinions from five white people with the same privileges just because they alsoe happen to be from five different majority-white countries.
A couple of things: It sounds like you are assuming I am white.
This response doesn't seem all that nice or inclusive. Calling someone with an, ironically, slightly different opinion than you (read: diverse), fragile and sensitive seems to be counter to the community you are trying to build here. Right? Am I crazy?
I think we need to strive to have an environment where we can have open, honest, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations about all of this stuff. Being dismissive of it as "white fragility" isn't productive or helpful.
As I said in my initial comment, I understand the intent of that section of the report, and I think more diversity is better than homogeneity, but the way that information was conveyed, and almost specifically that information, seems unwelcoming. For what its worth, I very intentionally joined Beehaw vs any other instance because I truly appreciate what you are trying to do here. So hopefully you take this in the manner it is intended: (hopefully) constructive criticism and food for thought.
if you are not: you sound completely indistinguishable from every white poster on here who thinks the idea of not being the center of attention is some sort of attack on their identity. the fact that you immediately jump to "well, you're assuming" does not help you beat the allegations here either.
very bluntly: this is white fragility and you are again demonstrating to me that maybe the "unfortunate" phrasing is actually the correct one here despite all the ire it's drawn. if your "diversity" is when five white people in a room have opinions and those five white people happen to be from different countries and have distinct culture that's essentially just white people jerking themselves off. there are a million other spaces that cater to that online, so if you're interested in that i'd recommend going literally anywhere else.
Can you elaborate on that? Like, I honestly think an American, a Russian and an Albanian having different opinions would be considered diverse. Aren’t those vastly different cultures despite the fact that they’re white?
Same thing goes for other skin colors as well. What you’re saying in my opinion is akin to calling Japanese and Chinese people “the same”. Or Persian and Arabs.
And also,
Please, is this the language we’re using here? The person above is clearly not trying to be a white supremacist, neither were they indecent. You could have used a better phrasing.
we've had a pretty productive convo in the Discord about this so to quickly summarize for non-IronTwo people since i think my wording there captures better what i'm getting at:
the beliefs of europeans and english-speaking peoples are some of the most hegemonically represented opinions in the world. we recognize there are incredibly distinct cultural beliefs between even these groups--but for our purposes we're not interested in the granularity of those--overwhelmingly those are already represented everywhere else and in almost every conversation we have here just by virtue of the language we're using and constituency we serve. we don't need to go out of our way to find those opinions. we do for non-white opinions, voices, and community members, though; and on many issues there's opinion granularity among those non-white people that can't be found just by talking to europeans and english-speaking peoples.
I agree. I don't see the response of the mod (alyaza) as being productive. I feel even more alienated now. All i wanted to do was be in an environment that welcomes people and conversation and encourage productive kind conversation. This thread feels like none of that.
It was precisely white people that created the concept of whiteness, without taking into account any cultural differences (or, actively trying to hide them), in order to create a us vs them situation.
We don't get to complain about POC using a term that we created, the way we created it.
Couldn’t agree more. I can understand why people from the US may think that a graph showing mostly white people would mean a lack of diversity, but this is not a US-only website. There are so much diversity amongst white people. As a Turkish person, my skin is white yes, but I have grown up in a vastly different culture and environment than a white American, or a white Russian, or a white French. Or while my skin is white I’ve yet to have a “white privilege” because again, I’m not from the US.
I know, in a poll like this you can’t just make every ethnicity and background an option -there are just too many of them. But again in an international community like this, saying that a white majority means a lack of diversity is just wrong in my opinion.
The entire point of white supremacy has been to make an in class which unquestionably dominates in all spheres of life.
There is no place white people are not "welcome".
There is no space white people cannot go.
You can see in the response to (relatively weak) Covid restrictions of white people reacting violently to (likely for the first time in their lives) being told there was somewhere they could not go. And what did the signs they held say? "I Need A Haircut!". They felt the withdrawal of not being waited on—being able to feel superior to someone—like a drug.
Further, a main power of whiteness is its invisibility. To not only have the freedom to go anywhere but to have that freedom never acknowledged or commented on. To never have to hyphenate. American. Not Mexican-American. British. Not Black-British. A person, who never has to consider that they are indeed "a white person".
I would ask the imaginary white person referenced in your post if they are really being made to feel unwelcome by other white people asking if they're white, or if they are experiencing discomfort at having to confront the fact that they –are– white and not "default".
I would question how often they even consider "Am I welcome here?". I would ask them to examine if they ever ask themself "is this a space for me?" or if they conversely tend to move through anywhere and everywhere with no thought to the idea they might be stepping on someone's toes.
I'm white and I understood it as: "It's unfortunate that we don't have more diversity yet." In no way was it meant to sound like "oh great, look at all of the white people."
But what irks me is that whole "exclusion" of cis males thing. I'm being general here, but it seems more and more it happens under the guise of "creating safe spaces for people." It spoils and demeans the entire social experience even if maybe we don't see it from that perspective. I mean, I get it, not everyone is completely comfortable around others and sometimes there's underlying issues/trauma there, understandably. People are, and can be, just gross.
On here, and this applies to everyone, it's an open, shared space for ALL -- not just "make a special space for me." That's the thing about equality...it needs to be equally divided to ensure we can have specific spaces for men, for women and for alllllllllllllllllllll of those who fit in between or don't fit at all into these categories. It just astounds me how a group can be literally screaming to be noticed and loved, and yet there is so much hate a vitriol coming from that exact same group shot back when people take notice, reach out and try to do something about it.
Beehaw from what I have seen and experienced is indeed trying to proactive and advocate for all users, not just some.
All I'm saying is you can't have it both ways -- its either inclusive for everyone, or its not. Simple as. If you want a blinders on, customized, experience where there is absolutely no interaction with anyone outside of who/what you deem acceptable... check out Facebook or Twitter. Or even find a trans-run trans-only board/community.
Edit: punctuation
Completely agree with you! I'm also white and one of the harder things I've had to come to terms with is that I shouldn't be automatically comfortable in all spaces. Where I live in the US, the default space is white and we expect BIPOC people to integrate into our spaces but we never put effort into integrating into their spaces. I would rather this be a space where more people are comfortable even if that means I might have an adjustment period...
I'm glad we are 100% on the same wavelength on that, RiddleMeWhy.
Honestly, same here up in Canada; the expectation is "they" came to "us" and need to adjust to "our" ways. Scarcely do we take the time to put the effort into doing the same; whether that be in the form of actively trying to understand that culture, gender, or sexuality, etc.
The act of genuinely just acknowledging that there are other people in the room with different and valid viewpoints that, like or unlike, your own do in fact exist! Especially to try to consciously do this before you type your response, and be kind, speaks volumes to the room. It goes unspoken, though, the effort it takes to be civil, even when something upsets you. It just takes a moment to be kind.
I understand, I'm a white cis man and I used to feel this way sometimes when reading things like this, but my perspective has since changed.
The way I see it, Beehaw is actively trying to be an inclusive space, as opposed to a lot of other online spaces which really aren't so inclusive.
My expectation would be that, naturally, POC, women, and lgbtq+ people would hang out more in inclusive spaces than non-inclusive ones, while non-minorities may be evenly spread of even favor non-inclusive spaces. Therefore, I would expect demographics of inclusive spaces to have an overall significantly smaller percentage of non-minorities.
However, some of these numbers look relatively close to national demographics (at-least based on those I see on Wikipedia for the US), and may even have a smaller percentage of minorities than national average. I don't know much about statistics and I'm not a mathematician, there's probably all sorts of factors going into why those numbers are the way they are. Still, instinctively, those numbers look unfortunate to me, since they don't reflect my expectations of a successfully inclusive community.
I hope nobody feels left out.
Thing is, beehaw is pretty loud about being a safe space the neurodivergent and or folks with different gender identities and sexualities. That stuff is race agnostic and those people will likely fall in line with national percentages for race.
Given that most of folks are from the US, which is about 75% white, and another big chunk is from nations that are 80-90% white, I can’t say that I’m surprised buy the numbers. If anything, given the users from Canada, western Europe, and Australia, Beehaw is probably a hair more racially diverse than the general population.