Regarding gender

[Sir Hugsalot 9,284]

Greetings, everypony! Sir Hugsalot here! 

Before we get to the specifics, allow me to give you all a bit of history. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the show that introduced a lot of people to concept of loving and tolerating each other no matter their identity. It doesn't matter what your gender is. What you believe in. So long as path you roam is paved with kindness and you're a sincere person to all those around you - you are worthwhile. It's a message that this community embodied ever since I joined it in year 2013. Back then topics, like LGBTQ, especially gender identity were not as widely discussed as they are today and were much more often a subject to unjust ridicule. MLP Forums was different. Here everyone was welcomed and encouraged to be who they really are. People made friends because of it. Were loved because of it. I, myself met my first transsexual friends in this community. This open approach is part of the reason why MLP Forums is such a wonderful community.

And that brings us to what I wish to announce here.

There's been increased amount of reports aimed at people openly expressing their identity. While I understand what people who make such reports aim at, I have to say this, loud and clear:

User's gender identity is not a political statement.

This means that any user stating their identity or using flag related to it (for example having LGBTQ flag on their profile page) is not a subject to moderation.

We all came here with one goal - to discuss the show that we all enjoy no matter who we are. To this day this community never ceases to amaze me with how welcoming it is to others and how it offers a safe haven to anyone who knocks at its door. Let's all make sure that it continues being such a shiny beacon of happiness on the Internet. 

Some of you may be wondering though, what about debate aspect of the matter? Gender related discussion is fresh and there's a lot to be said or discussed about its psychological, sociological, philosophical or biological aspect. Well, to that answer is simple - such discussion is permitted within Twilight's Soapbox, ran by our very own @Simon. Keep in mind however - while discussion is welcome, what's not welcome is hate speech and any other less than kind behavior towards others.