This is a screenshot I compiled that shows the ratio between likes and reblogs on my blog.
I know plenty of others have said it before me, but it bears repeating; Likes don't do anything on tumblr. I appreciate them of course, it's better than nothing, but tumblr only barely has an algorithm. It didn't used to have one at all. Even now, the only way posts can really spread is via reblogging.
All a like is is a private bookmark basically, and not even a very good one since your liked posts are just a list you have to manually scroll through every time, but reblogging with tags can allow you to search for those tags on your blog for every post you've used that tag on, making for better organization, and the archive function makes it easier to see all your posts even without tags, so a reblog is literally a better like.
I understand why people skip reblogging, especially in an age where people can harass you and ruin your life over reblogging the wrong thing, or using the wrong tags, but we need to find a way to fix this. Refusing to reblog is killing the site.
It's also just extremely disheartening when you join online writing and artist communities hoping for connections and new friendships, only for your art to not go anywhere because everyone just gave you a thumbs-up but didn't bother spreading it. One of these posts has fucking NINTY ONE likes on it, but only fourteen people who liked the post decided to reblog. Imagine if all those likes had turned into reblogs too! It could go so much farther! It could be seen by many more people! Communities on tumblr used to THRIVE through reblogs, and they still do! But choosing not to reblog basically means your post is dead in the water before it even got a fair shot.
Reblogs are also not reposts. Artists say not to repost, because a repost is when you save someone's art to your computer and then post it again in your own new post, whether here or on a different site. A reblog is when you put that person's post on your blog, so all the notes go back to them.
TLDR: Likes are just bookmarks. Reposting is frowned upon, but reblogs are not the same as reposts. Reblogs are necessary on tumblr because the algorithm doesn't boost posts without notes.
Some important points to end off:
Don't feel obligated to reblog. Reblog because you want to show people the cool thing you found, not because you feel guilty for not reblogging. This is absolutely not a guilt trip. In fact, I want people to have LESS shame! That's the whole point of this post!
I will NEVER start a harassment campaign against you for reblogging my art.
I do NOT have a DNI. Anyone can reblog my art.
I do NOT support cancel culture. I will NOT call you out for reblogging my art.
You can tag my art with anything; "kin" or "me," your f/o tags, whatever ship you want to tag it with even if I didn't mean it in a shippy way, even if it's a drawing of my own OCs, fucking go nuts. Tags are for organization on your own blog, I understand they're not a reflection of me or my art, and it's certainly not meant to be an insult.
You can compare my art to other people's art as a compliment. I seriously never understood the hatred for this practice. As long as you're not trying to be insulting, it's fine. I might even take it as a compliment if people correctly picked up on my inspiration.
I really want people to feel safer reblogging again, because artistic communities are going to die if we don't. They're already dying! And too many people approach this topic with hostility even when people have very legitimate reasons for being afraid to reblog.
This'll be my new pinned post, so here's my main @marshemillow Go there for a full introduction, and here's my webcomic @ahomeintheuniverse about a rare space girl looking for her home.
