Thread:BertH/@comment-9154802-20170614150344/@comment-5275700-20170617013320

Hi Alissa,

Thank you for your thoughtful appeal. I definitely understand that customization and community identity are closely tied together, and that any changes or restrictions around customization can feel painful.

Fandom is a business. The content created by editors attracts readers, and we sell space on the site to advertisers who are eager to get those readers’ attention. So we have to balance the needs of all of those groups — editors, readers, and advertisers — to make it work well. We also have to keep pace with modern technology, design trends, reader habits, advertising best practices and numerous other factors that sometimes change rapidly.

Put simply, change is the name of the game, and it’s our job to try and make sure we keep meeting the primary needs of all of the groups I mentioned. Not everyone is going to be happy with every change. For me, as a “people pleaser” type whose job is help keep users engaged, that’s always been a tough thing to accept. So I understand the frustration. People will almost always prefer the status quo when given a choice. So the choice is not always given, or else nothing would ever change.

But truly, you always have a choice. You are here because you’re getting something you want from the experience. If you find at some point that that’s changed, then you might choose to not be here anymore. It’s up to you. But I hope before making a decision like that, you’ll take a step back and think about all the things you enjoy about your time on FANDOM and weigh them against all the things you might find irritating or restrictive, and consider the whole picture. I suspect you'll find that you’re still getting quite a bit from your time here.