I guess I’d like to add, that I’ve known so many people in my life, some are more ‘traditional’ than others, many are gay and lesbian… I even have a transgender friend, although we’re sadly not much in touch any more. My point is that we all get along just fine. It’s all part of the rich pageant of life isn’t it? I think we should celebrate difference. To me, that’s what makes life interesting.
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Wait a second, don’t we have forum rules about religion and politics etc.? Similar to “Fight Club” rules - You do not talk about Religion and Politics on forum.
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Well to be honest, I don’t care if people are fine with it or not. I don’t even want to have business with such people as I think they don’t deserve it, the same way I don’t want to have business with people supporting slavery etc. Sure, they help pay our bills, but I guess the question is, what’s more important, my bills or rights of other people.
If there was a button that would issue a marketplace ban to everyone who discriminates against other people, I would gladly press it even if it would cut my team’s sales in half.
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Visualkicks. I’m curious whether you’d have a problem with this if it was a day to try and eradicate bullying of straight kids, rather than it being a day to try and eradicate bullying of LGBT kids? I’m pretty sure Envato have run campaigns to support charities before, which created nowhere near the controversy as this has, so I can only assume that the concern is less about Envato supporting this, that or the other… it’s more about them supporting something you disagree with. Would you still be here saying that they shouldn’t ruffle feathers, or disrupt their business practices if this was for Cancer Research or for the Red Cross?
I understand what you mean but I don’t think such people can be reasoned with. From my personal experience, they are not capable of listening and understanding, accepting opposing arguments. I fully understand why they have the opinion they have, I would have it as well if I took life instructions from a 2000 years old fairy tales book.
If you believe such people can be reasoned with, kudos, but I think you are very optimistic.
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Hi everyone, I’ve asked one of our Out Envato representatives to pop by to explain why Envato is supporting a cause like Spirit Day - expect to see a follow up reply from them soon. I’ve also flagged a couple of posts as inappropriate. There is quite simply no place for posts of an offensive and/or discriminatory nature - please keep the guidelines in mind going forward. Thanks!
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I will never understand how someone can be able to fight and speak up against someone else’s rights. Envato is on the right track, congratulations!
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I hope that the few posts from some dinosaurs on this thread don’t discourage Envato from being involved in these kinds of initiatives in the future. It’s always good to see corporations taking a stance on this kind of issue, even if it’s largely symbolic it’s at least a sign of the continuing progress towards equality and freedom in our societies around the world. Unfortunately we’re getting a little taste on this thread of why these kind of topics are usually banned from the forums.
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Hello everyone! I’m Cliff and I lead Out Envato, the LGBTI and Allies inclusion group for the Envato Team and community. It’s been incredibly heartwarming to read the support the majority of you have shown for Spirit Day in this thread, and see your beautiful photos on Instagram.
I wanted to take a moment to reinforce why Envato are supportive of LGBTI, are getting involved in important dates like Spirit Day, and why we’ll continue doing work in this space. One of our company values is ‘Diverse and Inclusive’:
We thrive when we champion diversity and inclusion. We make better decisions, we’re stronger and happier, and it’s the right thing to do. It is our responsibility and privilege to be somewhere talented, value-driven people thrive. We are welcoming, respectful and supportive at work, on our sites, and in our community.
With that in mind, this year we formed Out Envato, to help increase visibility and recognition of LGBTI in our team and community. We are proud to be diverse. Out Envato has a group vision which is aligned to our company values:
“At Envato, you can be yourself. Out promotes a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for all LGBTI staff and community members, empowering you to be productive and feel encouraged to share your talents. We strive to be a champion for LGBTI in the global tech community.”
Supporting Spirit Day is our first endeavour to engage our wonderfully creative community. The support you’ve shown has been amazing and we’re looking forward to giving you more opportunities like this in the future. For now though, keep sharing your Spirit Day photos on Instagram (remember to use both hashtags #envato #spiritday) and we’ll update you on the winning entries in the coming weeks!
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So you’re saying causes like this can be safely ignored because they’ll create a bit of work for the mods removing offensive posts on the forum? It’s only natural that Envato would make a point of supporting all parts of the community, as it’s a very community orientated company after all. Obviously there will be many LGBT people among the millions of Envato users. Also I think Envato can afford to lose the business of a handful of zealots. The bottom line will have been considered in this decision as with all decisions a corporation makes.
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Envato isn’t the only global business that advocates for what is when it comes down to, a pretty black and white issue. Don’t bully people based on their sexual orientation.
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I don’t see what’s hypocritical. I do understand the argument you’re making, but as others said I’m on the side of human rights above losing a few customers. Progress in the world doesn’t come easily, which is why any gesture that could in any way help educate people, no matter how small, can only be a good thing. So if anyone leaves Envato because of this, I won’t be crying a river.
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Until this thread, no one ever mentioned sexual orientation or discussed inequality regarding sexual orientation on the community forums. We don’t discuss these topics because it’s not relevant to what we do here in this digital realm and just creates unnecessary conflict if it is discussed.
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Well said! +1000
Everyone has an agenda, a belief, and position - that’s life. I am yet perplexed on Envato’s very grand and vocal decision and support for this event across multiple streams. While it does highlight the issue of bullying (and I think everyone agrees that bullying isn’t a great idea regardless of sexual orientation), the problem people really have here is obviously with the support of the LGBT world-view. This isn’t just about the support of an anti-bullying campaign, it’s also about the promotion and acceptance of a particular world-view.
Whether I agree with this or not is not the point of my comment however. The bottom line is that this topic is certainly one that will polarize a community, and in my opinion, is something a company like Envato should avoid. Keep the marketplaces just that - a place of business.
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I think the original post is not sufficiently explaining about what exactly means the word “support” (as usual hehe!)
Bullying anything is’t something good. However expectation of support towards out of context subjects on marketplace community is also unnecessary!
I want to see buyers not bullying the authors who do not support their item 
Lets support diversity of strategies first! 
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…“the problem people really have here is obviously with the support of the LGBT world-view.”
I am assuming if it was Christian Day ( a ‘day’ for preventing the persecution of Christians around the globe) you would have a different viewpoint Tim.
It is sad that you object to a corporation using its power to reinforce the message that persecution of the LGBT community is wrong. Clearly you do not support that communities’ lifestyle (born with, not made by the way) but the least you or any of us can do is reaffirm that persecution of LGBT people is wrong.
And by the way, from what I can see your statement does not speak for “people here” it speaks for certain weeded out individuals such as yourself.
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A great idea! I’m proud to work for a company that doesn’t shy away from tackling inequality.
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Purple is a color of many emotions as we can see 
Nice initiative Envato! Freedom for all 
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I would just like to point out to all those individuals who are against Envato promoting support for the LGBT community, that there are many other companies also doing just that.
Those of you who feel that it is inappropriate for large companies to do so, might want to reconsider their use of Apple products, Microsoft, consumption of Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream and Starbucks coffee, involvement on social media such as Instagram and Facebook and use of search engines such as Google.
All these companies and more, state their position on discrimination against LGBT people, and pledge their support for the LGBT community. If you feel so strongly that it is against your beliefs/values to use/work with Envato, then I am sure you will appreciate there are now many more companies for you to boycott on that basis.
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