Thread:AustinDR/@comment-29644557-20180106034454/@comment-29644557-20180109003501

Additionally, the crimes are bad, but we've had other exploitative villains nominated (some even won) that inspired real-life crimes. Joker (Nolanverse inspired attacks and clown stalkers, and Light Yagami inspired an attempted Death Note-themed mass murder in Japan, both in the past ten years. Saying Slender Man is "too controversial and an inspiration for the crime" is hypocracy, as being controversial and exploitative is just the risks you take with any villainous character.

But that's not exactly what I'm talking about. It's totally fine to hate Slender Man: he is a bit overhyped and to some, not very scary. But to others he's an icon of horror and one of the mascots of the internet's rise to popularity and freedom of expression. So saying "he's an outdated meme" or "he's something only dweebs like" seem insulting and not very good arguments, as they are just "I don't like him" reasons. I think admins allow these menial reasons on characters like Slender Man because they "just don't like him" either, which seems a bit unfair.