Nothing Makes My Guts Burn Like Spoiled Tapas

Summary

The author expresses frustration with Tapas.io's decision to ban AI-generated images, which affects many creators, including the author and their friends, who rely on these tools due to constraints in time, money, and ability.

Abstract

The author of the article, disgruntled by a recent decision made by the writing platform Tapas, shares a personal account of how this change has negatively impacted their community of fiction writers. After transitioning from Medium to Tapas in search of better opportunities for fiction writers, Tapas announced a ban on AI-generated images due to uncertain copyright issues. This policy shift has left the author and their peers in a difficult position, as many relied on AI imagery for their content due to financial limitations, lack of artistic skills, or disabilities. The author, while not a proponent of AI-generated art, acknowledges the practicality of using such tools given the constraints of time and money. The inability to afford artists for custom work, coupled with the lack of support from platforms like Tapas and Medium, has led the author to reject Tapas and return to Medium, despite its own shortcomings. The article concludes with a tongue-in-cheek plea for support from readers through platforms like Ko-fi and Patreon, and a reminder to join Medium through their referral link to access more fictional content.

Opinions

The author views Tapas's ban on AI-generated images as a detrimental move for creators who depend on these resources.
There is skepticism about Tapas being the "promised land" for fiction writers, hinting at the author's initial reservations about the platform.
The author equates the threat of AI-generated imagery to artists with the historical impact of photography on portrait painting, suggesting it's a natural evolution rather than a genuine threat.
The author expresses a desire to create their own illustrations but is

Tapas.io did a nasty thing that affected all of my friends

There are many firsts in life—the first time in love, first bang, or first time eating Spanish food.

Now, it is time for my first rant on Medium, because Tapas did a nasty thing that affected all my friends.

My fiction friends (not to be mixed up with my fictional friends) and I expanded to the writing platform Tapas after Medium started screwing around with the algorithm, and fiction writers were severely hit.

Many thought Tapas was a new hope, the promised land for fiction writers. I was a silent sceptic. There are always strings attached, aren’t there?

Tapas has a sleek design and offers two options to earn money from your content. One of them is an internal tipping tool with a gamification sugar-coating. The platform is tailored to web novels and comics.

There are many options for using images as covers, thumbnails, or title pictures of episodes. Most of us had to resort to AI-generated images for financial reasons, lack of talent or because of disabilities.

Yesterday, Tapas announced they would forbid AI-generated images on their platform due to the unclear copyright situation. My friends on Tapas and I used AI-generated images to some extent — as did many other creators.

Understandably, some artists feel threatened by AI-generated imagery, but it is as much a threat as photography was to portrait painting. Let us be honest. I am not much into AI-generated art myself.

I would love to illustrate covers myself, but although time itself is infinite, the time humans have is not. I am not able to hone my drawing and writing skills simultaneously. I could have 20 years ago, but not now, as I also have a family to care for.

Why don’t you and your friends pay an artist, Jay?

It would be great to pay an artist to create every cover and picture for my stories if I can’t manage it myself. Another resource is as finite as time — money. Neither Tapas nor Medium throws cash at writers that it would justify the down payment.

What does this sum up to? I will show Tapas the middle finger for now, and leave the platform. At least Medium is the devil I know. I’ll have some breakfast to settle my stomach upset by spoiled Tapas.

Maybe I should have listened when I was told never to write a rant before the first coffee.

Oh-boo-boo! Poor old grumpy man is ranting. Cheer him up with a tip! You can do so on Ko-fi and Patreon or by (re-)joining Medium with my referral link. It is only a small payment for you, but a big step for humanity. (Pinky promise!)

If you join Medium with my referral link, you can enjoy all my fictional tales and those of other writers. Subscribe to my email list and never miss another fantastic story!

RANT | WRITING | TAPAS

Nothing Makes My Guts Burn Like Spoiled Tapas

Tapas.io did a nasty thing that affected all of my friends