So I have two things to address here.

First being that I would really like it if avatar outfits didn't change when you switch the base body. Generally speaking, the content here, on the site is really good about being gender neutral, but I've recently found that a lot of avatar outfits turn into totally different ones when you switch bases.

Two examples being the Farmer's outfit and the Underworld Raiment...





And personally, in those two cases, I really like the dress versions, but don't really like the other ones, and I'd like if I could put the dresses on a "male" base, such as with the Maiden's Dress, which is literally exactly the same for both bases.



I'd really like it if future outfits could work more like the Maiden's Dress and be the same, or at least similar for both bases, and if possible, if we could have the outfits like the Underworld Raiment, become two separate items, that look similar on each base. I understand that this would be a fairly large task for the artist(s) and would probably take quite a bit of time, but I think it would be worth it to make the site a better, more welcoming place, especially for people like myself, that fall outside the binary genders. For us, having the ability to have avatars (which are often a projection of the player) be outside of binary genders and gender roles, is a really wonderful feeling, it helps us feel included and happy and encourages us to play more.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


And the second thing I would like to address, is the use of the word "derpy" while nurturing hatchlings. "Derp" or "Derpy" is a slur directed at people with disabilities and it is extremely offensive and hurtful. Since I myself am not directly affected by the term, here's a letter written by someone who is, please take a little time to read it.

An open letter to Lauren Faust: On the "Derpy Hooves" character

I would like to propose that we change the word to "Bored" or if you have other ideas, those should work too, but I thought bored would work nicely, since it would go with the action of reading them a book and is non-offensive.

Thank you for reading through this and considering the changes I have suggested, please let me know what you think.

As someone who detests that dress, i'm pretty sure some of us would have liked to wear the Armor version on the female base as well. ;)

Support for the gender and clothing idea. It isn't so much an issue for me most of the time, as I am female and fairly feminine, but I must admit I would find it rather annoying if I wanted a female base but did not want to wear a dress. If it were not too much hassle for anyone, I would love this change.

As for the language, I don't really agree. The word derpy, as used by most people, is not a slur for disability. I would say the way most people use it is closer in meaning to the word ditzy. As in ditzy blonde I suppose. I guess the general idea is that the pet has fairly low intelligence and so the best way to solve this is to read it a book, enabling it to learn. I guess if the use of the word derpy does upset people, then it could be changed to a word with a similar meaning but less association with ability discrimination.
However I do not think it should be changed to something unrelated like 'bored', because that is moving away from a very valid point that the reason for nurturing this pet is to raise it's intelligence
Do I see a problem with the wording? No. Do I want it changed? No, but if others are offended by it then it should be changed.
Sorry if it sounds in any way like I am saying you are wrong, because I completely see where this is coming from, especially since I have read about the 'Derpy hooves/ ditsy doo' problem. However I believe the problem is with the use of the word as an insult, not with the word itself.

We aren't always going to make the avatar clothing the same thing. We vary the outfits a lot...there are tons of outfits that have differences and tons that don't. It's a compromise that is going to stay.

As far as the word derpy goes, it was never intended as an insult. In fact until we put the word on the site I never knew that some people apparently took it as an insult. I have always just seen the word as another way to say ditzy...which is basically someone being silly/scatterbrained. We cannot help that other people feel offended by it, so we're sorry if that is how you take the word. However, we planned on changing it once we change the nurturing area of the site...so until then it'll stay.

I'm not a big fan of the whole base idea at all. Ideally there would be one base and you could choose your clothing and whatnot to make you look whatever way you like. (Why does the female base look like she needs a bathroom break??)

But since they're not going away, there should be something on the bases to symbolize that one makes the clothing generally more feminine and the other more masculine. When I first started playing around in the wardrobe I had no idea that the bases changed the clothing, i just didn't want my knee all twisty. During fall festival I kept thinking I was only getting the boy scarecrow outfits for whatever reason. Months later I figured it out.