RavelryReviews 510

Then they decided that even though I had never posted on any forums, and had only 3 friends, I wasn't allowed to use their website anymore.
They promised that I would always have access to the patterns I had bought. I am not.
They won't let me download my patterns, or even try to get my photos and stash logs off the site.
The reason I am not allowed? I belong to a political party. Keep in mind that I have never posted to a forum. Ever.

Ravelry is a site for people to share their love of fiber arts. Pretty hard to do if some people are doxxing and harassing some of their members, and others are blowing up public boards with horrible slurs and gleefully posting "designs" promoting racism and intolerance.
I've been a member since the wild and crazy beta testing days, and I'll be with Ravelry until the day they pry my knitting needles from my cold, dead hands.
I'm not much of a political activist, but I support their policy decision and more to the point, the site is a lot nicer without those people there. Discussions of everything from pattern design to fiber content are so much lighter and peppier, now that we don't have people afraid to join the conversation.

Ravelry is and always will be the best platform for managing your patterns, yarns and needles. Yes, they're are forums, but some people seem to be unaware that one can use Ravelry without using the forums at all! Though, if you need help or advice there are many places where you can ask for and receive assistance. There are many forums where you can just talk about knitting and politics isn't allowed. Sure, there are areas where you can, if you do choose, discuss politics or any number of things in an reasonable adult manner.

ALL THEY SAID IS NO HATE SPEECH. They did not ban Trump supporters. They disallowed hate speech. So why are all these people so mad? Is it because they are planning to do some hate speech? Because if all y'all really want is to knit/crochet then why is all this upsetting you all so much? Just close your mouths, avoid the forums, and knit ffs.

For people who find Ravelry after all this mess fades away, do give it a chance. I think you'll like it. It's so much more than all of this current drama, I promise.

I've spent my life knitting and crocheting as way to be productive while my disability kept me down. I also find it to be a source of peace and joy when I need to relax. Ravelry went out of their way to make it political, to apply hateful labels to over half of our country, and try to turn a beautiful hobby often used for charity, into a place of judgement, hate, and personal agendas.
The perfect example of a company using their customers as pawns to fund their personal agendas.

Ravelry is an awesome site to connect with other fibre artists, search for and purchase patterns from amazing designers, and see how the design you like looks on other people. You can ask for help and get tips and techniques, find out about new trends in knitting/crocheting and follow up and coming designers, and generally just hang out in the best place on the web. Also a great way to organize your stash and store patterns. Highly recommend.

Ravelry combines the best of social media with an unparalleled database of knitting and crochet patterns.

Site owners are prompt to respond to issues, and frequently implement changes to improve functionality. The site is easy to navigate. If you want only patterns, the search function will allow you to find what you need without having to participate in the forums, and if you have questions about materials and techniques there is an enormous community of crafters who are happy to help.

Ravelry is by far the most comprehensive and user friendly database in existence. There are groups for every interest and the site owners are extraordinarily responsive to site issues/improvement suggestions. So many people are angry about the site not being what they want instead of appreciating it for what it is.