Ravelry

Let's focus on what ravelry is there for. Yarn arts! It has, since its inception, been THE site to find patterns, many free, to sell patterns of your own design, to research yarns, and to find literally any information you could ask for about yarn, knitting, and crochet. The site is as politically neutral as you will ever find. Been on it for about eight years and never bumped into anything political. Not one time. Enjoy Ravelry 100% and completely support their enforcement of their longstanding rules against hate.

I've been a member of Ravelry for a decade or so now, and I have not lost my love for it in the least. It is simply THE site for knit/crochet.

It is the most complete resource available, from patterns to yarns to forums to how to's and more. I love that I can look up a pattern I plan to make, and see the different ways other people have created it. Sometimes they have made and shared their modifications - so I may find instructions to change it to a shawl collar, or add pockets, or who knows. That alone is fantastic.

But I can also look at the yarn database and see what might be a good investment for my dream sweater. Or I can ask in the forums for some help to get started with these short rows that were confusing me. Or maybe I will participate in a knit-a-long of a pattern, so we can all help each other or be stuck together.

And the price of all this? Blissfully free. The haters must be stirring up s*** to think anything but positive thoughts because this site is amazing.

Ravelry is and always will be the best platform for managing your patterns, yarns and needles. Yes, they're are forums, but some people seem to be unaware that one can use Ravelry without using the forums at all! Though, if you need help or advice there are many places where you can ask for and receive assistance. There are many forums where you can just talk about knitting and politics isn't allowed. Sure, there are areas where you can, if you do choose, discuss politics or any number of things in an reasonable adult manner.

ALL THEY SAID IS NO HATE SPEECH. They did not ban Trump supporters. They disallowed hate speech. So why are all these people so mad? Is it because they are planning to do some hate speech? Because if all y'all really want is to knit/crochet then why is all this upsetting you all so much? Just close your mouths, avoid the forums, and knit ffs.

For people who find Ravelry after all this mess fades away, do give it a chance. I think you'll like it. It's so much more than all of this current drama, I promise.

Ravelry has incredible resources for materials, tools, and patterns. You can search several different ways to help find new projects. You can track your own supplies. Search for patterns using your yarn. Track your in-progress and complete projects. It's an organizer's dream.

There are also discussion fora. Many discuss fiber arts. You can get assistance from experienced knitters. Meet fellow enthusiasts of different techniques. The depth of expertise that the site can bring together is amazing.

Other fora are purely social. In some of those, there have been political discussions. As the fiber arts world has been discussing inclusion and (unintentional?) exclusion, the owners decided to make the space as welcoming for as many as possible. In their opinion, support of the Trump administration was support for its racist, nationalist, and sexist policies. They elected not to host support of the current administration on their site. They didn't ban anyone. They elected not to host language they determined was bigotry.

Use of fora is not mandatory to use Ravelry. I support their decision to exclude racism, sexism, etc. The 1-star reviews are not based on the site itself.

Hands-down, the best-designed website, built with its users in mind. Ads are minimal and targeted and don't slow down page loading. Navigation is obvious. Users are encouraged to record and track their handwork and fibre collection with clean, well-designed data entry pages and easy to use photo uploading.

Thousands of discussion forums on every topic imaginable. Knowledgeable people to answer questions about knitting, crocheting, spinning, yarn composition, pattern reading, techniques, colour choices. It's easy to reach pattern designers - they run their own forums.

Lots and lots of cat photos. The intertubes, after all, is a system of transporting cat memes.

And rav has gotten even more awesome in the past month, as the site owner has been wielding the ban-hammer. From the site rules:
" Spreading of harmful advice, hoaxes, or other disinformation is unacceptable.
Reviews and criticism that are genuine are always welcome. At the same time, if we suspect that you are trying to leverage the site for the purpose of harming a business or person, your posts will be deleted and your posting privileges may be affected." (source: https://www.ravelry.com/about/terms) It seems that advertising Russian porn, white supremacy, website hacking and being an all-around jerk of the first degree is acceptable on other sites? It certainly isn't at Ravelry, and the owners are proud of their classy, informative, userful website.

Ravelry is the perfect social media site for knitters/crocheters/yarncrafters. I've been a member since the site launched in beta in 2007. I've made a lot of good friends, found incredible patterns, researched yarn and techniques. It's helpful as a resource and a fun place to participate. There are always improvements and developments being made to the site, and in the rare occurrence of a bug, it is taken care of swiftly. Easy links to other platforms make sharing fast and easy. Here's an example: if you link your IG account, post a photo with #ravelry on IG, you'll get a message in your ravelry inbox asking if you'd like to import this photo to one of your project pages!
There has been some recent controversy regarding the owners' choice to make this a safe space from hate speech and racism. Unfortunately, there have been members who are hateful and cling to that hate to the point that they feel the need to lash out and harass others both on the site and off. They continue to prove what led up to this and why taking this measure was necessary. They will tell you that this is about politics, but it is not. They'll have you caught up in the paradox of tolerance, try to convince you that their beliefs are sacred, while, unlike a person's race/ethnicity/sexuality/gender, their beliefs are a choice, and a terrible one for humanity.
If you're a knitter/crocheter/etc and haven't heard of ravelry, check it out-- it's a happy, yarny, creative, and fun space.

I joined Ravelry in 2008, a few years after I had taken up knitting. I found not only an excellent database to keep up with my yarn, needles, and projects, but also an amazing community. After years of finding it difficult to connect with people online, I finally found my people. I am part of a community of people who really "get" me, some of whom I've had the opportunity to meet in person.

Recently, Ravelry took a stance regarding Donald Trump and his promotion of white supremacy. Ravelry announced their new policy is that pro-Trump speech promotes white supremacy, which is hate speech, and would not be tolerated on the website. This is their right as a private business, and people who don't like it can take their business/participation elsewhere. Many of those people have joined a Facebook group with the purpose of badmouthing Rav everywhere they can; the 1-star reviews on sitejabber.com is an example of their resentment at not being able to wax poetic about Trump. They also like to bully and harass craft-related businesses who have expressed support of Ravelry on social media. Ironically, they do not allow pro-Rav people in their group; they only allow free speech for themselves. It's sad, really.

Anyway, if you are interested in fiber arts and want to connect with people with similar interests, Ravelry is a great place to be. So many free patterns are available, and if you have a problem, there's always someone willing to help. I highly recommend Ravely.

I used to be a big fan of Ravelry, but recently I had to say goodbye. It was a great platform for finding new patterns and keeping track of my finished projects, but things changed when they decided to ban support for Trump. They claimed it was hate speech and even equated it to white supremacy at one point. Now, I'm not one to get too political, but I have a problem with this decision. It's not fair to lump all Trump supporters into one category of "white supremacists" or promoters of hate speech. I know plenty of people who support Trump for a variety of reasons, and they are not all the same.

What's worse is that Ravelry still allows anti-Semitic patterns, which is true hate speech, but they ban Christian patterns as hate speech. This is a double standard that doesn't make sense. I understand that Ravelry is a private company and can make their own rules, but they just alienated half of their customer base with this decision. It would have been wiser to ban all political speech and promote true inclusivity. That way, people of all walks of life could celebrate each other's work and build a vibrant community based on civility and respect. If someone violated those principles, they could deal with them individually instead of lumping a large group of people into a stereotype.

True tolerance is about how you treat those who disagree with you. Ravelry missed the mark on this one, and I had to say goodbye. It's a shame because I loved using the platform, but I can't support a company that doesn't value all of its customers equally.

Ravelry is a website that puts people into categories, and I gotta say, I'm one of the weirdest ones out there. But you know what? I love it. My last name is Pena, which sounds pretty Hispanic, but my dad always says that we're American first and foremost. I've got blonde hair and blue eyes, and I look like I could be from Scandinavia, but I'm American through and through. On my mom's side, I've got a Jewish grandma and a Choctaw great-great-grandfather, but at the end of the day, I'm still American. Her family were sharecroppers, and they worked alongside people of color in the cotton fields, but they were all Americans. Last year, some of my family members did genetic testing and found out that we've got 9% Nigerian DNA, but that doesn't change the fact that we're American.

But here's the thing: Ravelry has classified me as a white supremacist. Can you believe that? I'm American, and they're trying to put me in some kind of box based on their own prejudices. It's a bigoted site, and they've done something truly unconscionable by marginalizing Americans just because they feel like it. They're practicing norms of bigotry, racism, and misogyny, and I refuse to be on any list or be denigrated in any way for who I am. They're their own worst enemies, doing exactly what they accuse others of doing.

When it comes to yarn, I say go to Hobby Lobby. And as for patterns, you can find anything they have on another site with a little research. You don't need Ravelry for that. You can find peace of mind, acceptance, and pride in yourself and your country somewhere else. Do your homework, or be as resistant as they are and join their club of mean bullies. It's up to you.

This website, Ravelry, claims to be inclusive of all people, but it's really disappointing that their recent redesign has made it difficult for people with disabilities to use. This is a community website where many knitters find solace, but now people with and without medical conditions are experiencing migraines from the website. Some people with past epilepsy have even had seizures and had to give up their driving licenses. Ravelry's response to these issues has been dismissive, telling people to just deal with it. They are even deleting any negative feedback about the redesign, effectively sweeping the problems under the rug. This goes against W3C web guidelines, as there is no warning on the front page about the potential for migraines or seizures.

To make matters worse, if you say anything negative about the redesign, even if it's legally okay, the admins will delete your account. It's like a dictatorship where there is no consultation or discussion. They don't want to hear any constructive criticism, and they delete posts and accounts within five minutes to prevent others from seeing the issues. It's shocking to think that the owners of Ravelry are Democrats, yet they are behaving like Republicans by censoring everything. What has happened to this website?

In my opinion, all designers, sellers, and buyers should quit using Ravelry until they fix these issues. It's not fair to exclude people with disabilities and ignore their concerns. This website needs to be more inclusive and considerate of all its users.

I joined Ravelry back in the day when you needed an invite. I loved the forums and met so many friends there that I'm still tight with. But even then, there was a lot of junk on the site and it's only gotten worse as people have gotten more brazen. I knew people who wouldn't go on Ravelry if their kids were around because they didn't know what kind of nastiness they'd see. There's a group called Lazy, Stupid, and Godless that's just as gross as it sounds and they're proud of it. There's a Rubberneckers group where they make fun of conversations in other groups (and no groups were private). The libs would go into conservative groups and ask a "harmless" question, then their buddies would come in and pile on, then they'd flag our responses as offensive. Those flags were one reason we got shut down. Most of the group got banned soon after when we took our political discussions somewhere else. Nowadays, you can post a "$#*! Trump" hat pattern but "God is love" is hate speech. An avatar with Whatsherface holding Trump's severed head is okay, but Betsy Ross is offensive. I deleted my account a few months ago, but lots of people I know are deleting theirs now. Seems like most of us don't want to be lumped in with a group that covers half the country. They say that being a Trump supporter means you're automatically a white supremacist, but a lot of these folks aren't even white!

I been on Ravelry for a long time. I use it to find patterns and yarn, but I don't go on the forums or post any pictures of my projects. I was shocked when I found out on June 23, 2019 that they think I'm a white supremacist just because I support the President of the United States! They say that "hate speech" is not allowed, but they let people say bad things about Mr. Trump and that's okay. But if you have an American flag or a hat that says "God is Love," they call that hate speech. Even if you ask them about it, they say that's hate speech too. They said that people who are conservative can stay on the site, but they are kicking out people who support Mr. Trump. They are also bullying businesses and designers who don't agree with them on Instagram. The people who run Ravelry say that they want everyone to feel safe and included, but they are the ones who are being mean and hateful. Some of the people they call white supremacists are actually part of groups that they say they want to help. Some of them don't even like Mr. Trump, but they don't like the way Ravelry is treating people. I used to like Ravelry, but now I don't think anyone should use it.

I've been a part of Ravelry since way back in 2008. Let me tell you, it's been a wild ride. This year alone, there have been two purges of dissenting voices from the site. And this is actually the fourth time it's happened since I joined. It's become the norm for people to troll, stalk, and harass those who don't agree with the majority. And honestly, it seems like the Ravelry admin is okay with it.

Now, let's talk about the website itself. It's not exactly the most modern-looking thing out there. In fact, it looks like it's straight out of the early 90s. But that's because it is. Ravelry's architecture is based on a game site from the 1980s. And while they did finally add emoticons a couple of years ago, you still have to pay a fee or link off-site to embed a photo in a message board post.

But let's talk about the good stuff. The pattern database is absolutely massive. And you can keep track of your personal stash too, which is super helpful. However, there's a big problem with Ravelry. They seem to have a lot of disdain for a large portion of their members. It's the opposite of inclusion and tolerance. Some members have even made a list of people who support Ravelry's intolerance of dissenting views. And they've targeted those who don't agree with them. It's not a good look. And when I dared to point out the hypocrisy, my account was suspended for 120 days. So I said "screw it" and deleted my account.

Now, let's talk about this site. I've noticed that there seem to be fewer negative reviews than there were earlier today. It makes me wonder if someone's deleting them or undercounting them. It's not a good look, guys. Let's be honest and transparent here.

This website used to be really good. It's a place where you can store data about knitting and crocheting, but the best part is the people who use it. At least, it used to be that way. Then something happened with a person named Cassidy.

The website was started by Jessica and Casey Forbes in May of 2007. I joined not long after. It was great. The people who came in were nice, helpful, accepting, open, and tolerant of everyone. They were just good people.

About three years ago, things started to get weird. They started going after certain designers, then they banned all conservatives, and they put up a gay pride flag that's been there for over a year. They also keep pushing their political ideas on everyone. And now they're hurting people who have disabilities with their new website design. People are getting migraines, eye strain, and seizures from it. But when people complained, Cassidy called them liars.

Cassidy came out as transgender during all of this. That's fine, but Casey used to be polite, considerate, kind, and compassionate. Cassidy is acting like Regina George without any friends or power. She's mean, rude, and just not nice to the community.

They've lost their focus and the trust of the community. They're going to lose their power soon because they forgot the golden rule.

I gotta say, if I'm ever in the mood to knit and unwind, I used to head straight to Ravelry. But lately, I've been feeling like this site and its community have taken a turn for the worse. It seems like they're more interested in promoting their own agenda and suppressing free speech than they are in just sharing patterns and ideas.

I mean, I knit to relax, not to get caught up in someone else's political views. And it's not just Ravelry - it seems like everywhere you turn these days, people are so quick to hate and judge each other based on their beliefs. It's exhausting.

I used to watch TV to escape all of that, but now I feel like I can't even do that anymore. And now Ravelry is just another place where I have to worry about being bombarded with negativity and hate.

I don't understand why these people feel the need to bring their politics into everything, even something as innocent as knitting. I don't care who designed a pattern or what their beliefs are - if it's a good pattern, I'll use it. And if it's not to my liking, I'll just scroll past it. It's not that hard.

But I guess some people just can't handle the idea of others having different opinions than them. They need to censor everything and everyone to fit their own narrow worldview. It's sad, really.

Anyway, I think it's time for me to start looking for knitting ideas and patterns elsewhere. I don't want to be constantly bombarded with hate and discontent when all I want to do is relax and knit.

I gotta say, I have some serious issues with Ravelry. I mean, I get it, they wanna be inclusive and all that jazz, but when they start excluding people based on their political beliefs, that's just not cool. Like, if you're gonna say you're inclusive, then you gotta include everyone, even if you don't agree with them.

And don't even get me started on their whole Trump supporter thing. Like, just because someone supports Trump doesn't automatically make them a white supremacist. That's just ridiculous. And by saying that all Trump supporters are unambiguously white supremacists, they're just being hypocrites. Like, they're not being inclusive at all.

And the worst part is, they're hurting people's businesses by shutting down any possibility of promoting patterns that Trump supporters could have bought. That's just not right. It's like economic oppression or something.

I mean, I guess they could have just banned all political items, but instead they chose to limit the voices of those they don't agree with. That's just not fair. And I really wish people would have thought more about a total political ban instead of just jumping on board because of a few key words and phrases like BIPOC and LBGQT+. Like, come on, people, let's think this through.

I've been a part of Ravelry for a long time, like over ten years. Back when they were just starting out and needed some cash to get going, I donated some money to help them out. And you know what? They didn't ask me any questions about who I am or what I believe in. They just took my money and that was that. But now that Casey, the guy who runs the show, has made a bunch of money, he's decided that some people who use the site are hateful and shouldn't be allowed to express their opinions. I mean, sure, it's his company and all, but it would have been nice if he had been upfront about this stuff from the beginning. I've spent a lot of money on patterns and stuff over the years, and now it feels like my support was for nothing.

It's not just me, either. Lots of designers and advertisers are getting boycotted because of this new policy. But you know what? People are starting to make new websites to fill the void that Ravelry has left behind. They're still pretty new, but they're doing well so far. Tyson A. says that Ravelry is the best social media site in the world, but I always thought it was just a place for people who like to knit or crochet. I didn't realize it was supposed to be some exclusive club or anything.

Casey likes to brag about how many members Ravelry has, like eight million or something. But every time I log in to download my patterns (before I get banned, that is), there are only like 1,800 people online. Where are the other 7,800,000 people? Are they just bots or something? It doesn't make sense to me.

Anyway, I'm pretty disappointed in Ravelry right now. It used to be a great place to hang out and find cool patterns and stuff. But now it feels like they don't really care about their users anymore.