smp-boundariesā Shipping Etiquette
This is a guide to shipping content creators respectfully (in the opinion of @b-creativ3/the smp-boundaries blog owner); if you plan to make shipping content this is recommended reading! This post only refers to SFW shipping, we have a different PSA post on NSFW content.
The first step is to find out if said creator is actually okay with shipping. Not to sound self-absorbed but as far as I know the only place that collects boundaries like that is our blog, so check the masterpost for a list of content creators and their boundaries (if youāre not here from that already). If you canāt find any information on how a creator feels about shipping, it is up to your discretion whether you choose to continue or not. Keep in mind though that if a creator states that they are uncomfortable with ships in the future, you should and will be expected to delete/private any ship content of them so as to avoid making them uncomfortable.
Many people ship because they like the dynamic and want to explore it in their own creative work, and thatās great when done respectfully! However some people hope or expect for content creators that are shipped to actually get together. This is bad because it puts pressure on the content creators, which can end up hurting their friendship and the relationship with their fans. If youāre not getting it, itās sort of like when you mention a friend thatās not the same gender as you and your family start teasing you about being in a relationship because āguys and girls canāt just be friends!ā. It sucks and you shouldnāt expect that of them, basically.
Additionally, many creators are fine with shipping but donāt seek out shipping content. When interacting with these creators please realise that since they donāt want to see ships, itās disrespectful to send them your content if it involves ships. You shouldnāt tag these creators in shipping content for the same reason (itās different if the content creator is actively seeking out shipping content). Related to this, donāt try to shove shipping in a creatorās face in other ways, e.g. donating to them with a message about a certain ship, or trying to get them to do something shippy (āsay āI love ___āā, āyou two should date!ā). The only time it is acceptable to ask about shipping is when you are asking about boundaries.
From ships with particularly āpassionateā fans, Iāve seen āproofā videos appearing on YouTube. This type of behaviour is NOT okay, and doesnāt work out well in any situation. Either A) theyāre not together and thereās a possibility they will change their behaviour towards each other or their opinion on shippers; or B) even if by a small chance they are dating, you are attempting to expose their relationship when they clearly arenāt ready for their fans to know! This also goes for sexuality exposing posts/videos; just have some human decency, guys. People are in the closet for a reason.
Lastly, this shouldnāt need to be said but donāt ship something if itās pedophilic. Look up creatorsā ages before you ship if you donāt know them already - most creators will have an age listed on some wiki. By the way aging them up is not an excuse here, these are real people even if youāre using their characters.