Hello, everyone. I believe that NPCs should not be portrayed as smokers. It's an unhealthy image and can be triggering to some individuals, such as those who are trying to quit smoking/have quit smoking/simply don't like it, etc. Personally, a very young friend of mine recently died after a rather brief battle with lung cancer and seeing the character of Mr. Jobagen Cyboss ( the Job Agency owner ) every time I go to collect wages is just another reminder of his passing.

This is his artwork, featuring a cigar. Obvious trigger warning applied.

SPOILER (click to toggle)

So far, Mr. Cyboss is actually the only smoking-presenting character I've come across, but I faintly remember others. ( I think Esmerelda used to hold a fancy cigarette? ) What can be done about this, I honestly don't know, but it should be brought up.

What I am proposing: • new/altered/updated artwork for NPCs and any other official site artwork for characters that feature smoking

What I am not proposing: • deleting/banning wardrobe items that perpetuate smoking such as:

Everyone can agree that smoking is a detriment to the health of the smoker and those around them. This is not to encourage condemnation of those individuals, but to bring about awareness and responsibility regarding a very serious subject.

Of course, I would really like some feedback on this matter. I know it can get a bit touchy, but I believe we're progressive and mature enough to address this in a civil matter.

Respectfully yours, [IMG]http://i68.tinypic.com/2lsfzhc.png[/IMG]

Step 1: Adblock images of npcs that are smoking so you aren't triggered. Step 2: Drink

I hope this helps. And also maybe don't use the death of your friend to gain traction on a game forum. I think they would appreciate it more if you grieved them. I have asthma but I hate smoke, not smokers. It is their choice to smoke, not mine. That being said, I'm not getting mad or sad at every person or picture I see that smokes.

Then we take away the unhealthy, fatty foods, the drugs, and other such things that are bad for the body and kill people. The fetus pops and dead baby items. The references to murder, cannibalism, theft, and other crimes. The bloodred and graveyard pets. All the nasty maggot, disease, and parasite items... Everything that might potentially upset anyone and remind them of something bad that has happened.

No disrespect to your friend, but if we start down this road I have no idea where it ends. My uncle died from alcoholism-related diseases after a lifetime of drinking and smoking, but I'd never ask them to remove beer from the site.

No support. Smoking cigarettes is a legal activity that an adult can chose to do. This site also has tons of alcohol items, and alcohol is WAY more dangerous than something that doesn't even alter your behavior or impair driving, and could also 'trigger' someone, just as the food items could be triggering to people suffering from eating disorders, etc.

Also, just to remain objective, wouldn't changing the smoking NPCs but still allowing avatars to smoke cigarettes not really change the visibility of cigarettes? They would just be removed from maybe 1-2 pages but still plastered across the forums.

I would recommend using adblock to specifically block images that are disagreeable to you (not saying this to be shady or anything but this could truly be a useful tool to help you feel more comfortable while browsing Subeta). AdBlock is a free program that sits in your browser. ^_^

Adblock the offending image. That's it

Smoking is dangerous, but it's still very much legal. And, removing tobacco smokers out of sight will not solve the problem

I'm sorry for your loss, OP.

Smoking is definitely unhealthy and dangerous, not a single doubt about that. But I really have to wonder how much a picture of a smoking bird-man on a site mostly visited by college-age people and older is realistically going to entice people to smoke, or even make people relapse.

I have smokers in the family with health issues thanks to said smoking. I don't like cigarettes & I'm a non-smoker. Does the bird-man smoking his cig bother me? Nope. Would I be mad if he was revamped? Nope, he looks outdated and he could use a bit of TLC.

Personally I'm more worried about random chance boxes & vending machines feeding into a very real issue with gambling in videogames than I am about a static cartoony image of a mobster-looking birdman enticing people to smoke, or getting smokers that are trying to quit to relapse. If a simple image of a cartoon animal smoking is enough to break someone's resolve and get them to start smoking again, I think they might need to talk to a professional about getting help with kicking the habit.

I understand that you find the image triggering due to personal reasons, OP, but I definitely suggest blocking the offending image because I don't see this getting changed very quickly, if at all. And a fair warning: topics like this tend to be poorly received no matter how they're constructed. :/

If Adblock isn't an option for you (idk if you browse the site on mobile or not), paste this code into your customCSS. That should remove his image across all devices. img[src="//img.subeta.net/jobagencyboss.gif"] {display:none!important;}

I know CWs aren't NPCs or official site art, but these are approved so... I don't believe that would happen sorry!

Thank you all for your input, seriously. My mind is being opened a lot and honestly I have thought about the fetus pops and drinking, and I'm beginning to realise that if one item is starting to get nitpicked, it's a rolling stone effect from there. To be clear: I didn't think changing this image would change anything by way of getting people to smoke/not smoke. That would be a ludicrous expectation.

I staunchly stand by my inclusion of my friend because I believe that some people need a staunch example of my thought process, but perhaps my thinking would be different if I had given the matter more time. It has left me more sensitive, and with good reason. The Reverberating Pylonic. Even I have to admit that's pretty clever, haha.

I had no idea that you could adblock certain images. I didn't know you could use it specifically. Thank you to those who mentioned it! Needless to say, blocking images does make more sense than changing character art and I'll definitely look into that. In fact, I was able to figure it out pretty easily! Thanks again. c: On another note, I just have to mention how cool it is that so many people shared their opinion, whether I agree or not. Sounds cheesy, but think what you may! It's good to discuss so candidly.

In all honesty, Mr. Cyboss smoking also disturbs me, haha. Makes me think of those 1940s movies filled with bosses that smoke (probably the whole idea behind his image), and then made me think of how women (the bosses' secretaries) were shown as some sort of servants, in a very sexist kind of way (sorry, i can't find better description at this point) and I thought his art was infuriating. This is the only reason i would approve of his art being redone without a cigar - he would look less sexist in my eyes o.o - i know this sounds really strange. Over time, Mr. Cyboss'art started to grow on me, and i think i'll save his picture, just in case staff decides to revamp him and change him completely.

Smoking is a very bad and expensive habit. Fiancee also smokes, and it drives me crazy. I'm not a big fan of the smoking art/items around subeta, but there are far worse items. I think that if staff started to remove these because users feel insulted, attacked or triggered, we'd turn into neopets, and we don't want that.

omg jeez

I'm an extreme arachnophobic, I can literally pass out if a spider or scorpion touch me. You know what I do? AdBlock EVERY spider image. It's my problem, not the site's. Far more effective than making posts and using deaths as an argument.

If we start revamping things simply because one person is triggered by them, where do we stop?

I agree with using AdBlock. I use it on Cinthia because her little creature feet bother me. Made my questing much more enjoyable.

No.

You can block images with certain codes and browser extensions. Use those. I'm not going to stop using the random cigarette in my HA because I write the character to smoke because I might trigger someone.

No support at all. Even though I'm against smoking in every way, shape or form offline. This is IMAGINARY.

IMAGINARY.

Once again, for the people in the back, art and fiction does not undermine the moral fabric of social communities, or jeopardize the ability of people to make decisions. There is absolutely no problem with artistic renditions of fictional characters smoking, so long as people have the capacity to be critical of what they're seeing.

Education is the issue, not censorship. You have to allow people the freedom to make decisions about what they see, instead of making the decision for them.

The art is really old and could use a revamp at some point. If it gets redrawn without the cigar I won't be upset at all because I don't see it as a crucial part of this NPC's character. At the same time, I don't see a reason for the artists to go out of their way to remove the cigar for any reasons other than their artistic vision, for the same reasons others have already cited.

I'm more concerned with the fact that I only just learned the Job Agency boss is literally named Jobagen Cyboss. Is this canon? And how did I not know this before? D:

I have a pet that's an unhealthy alcoholic. I've seen many people with pets that have smoking/drinking connections. Alcohol and drunk driving kills a lot of people like smoking, so then should the Neugarden, Brewery, and Rathskeller Inn and all of the alchol/beer/ale/"bleer" items be removed too? No. That's dumb. You can't censor the internet.

As for the boss dude smoking, that's part of who he is. It's essential to his character, whether you like it or not. I know this is a controversial issue. If you feel like Subeta is a safe place and the boss guy smoking wrecks that, then like other people said, block that one image. Heck, I would be lying if some things on this site didn't trigger me. Not wanting to go into detail as it's personal.

The Job Agency boss didn't have a name before revamped the page and added it.

Just had a thought about this. Even though humans settled Subeta we don't have to assume that they brought tobacco plants with them. Subetans could have herbal cigars and cigarettes as well as using the herbal mixtures in pipes. There could also be nicotine free vaping on Atebus.

Earth hookahs are used for tobacco and sometimes cannabis or opium. The overlay for the shapely hookahs indicate that our HAs aren't smoking tobacco. :D There must be some native Subetan plants with interesting properties. :D

None of the herbal mixtures on Earth are healthier than tobacco but Laure of Spells Galore could use magic to produce harmless Subetan versions.