Derpibooru is extremely important for all of my interactions within the fandom. I met a lot of my friends through Derpibooru, and I’ve found probably 90% of the artists I like through here. Also, it’s my primary resource for art reference. I can’t imagine living without it.
I’ve been pretty on the fence about the controversy, and I can understand and respect the opinions of each side of this. However, the DNPs and threats of further action from both sides deeply disturbed me, and when it began overwhelming the staff (some of whom are friends), I began to really fear for the site. While a boycott is the oldest trick in the book in terms of making your opinion heard, it’s clear that the tactics that have been used certainly aren’t doing the site as a whole any good. Frankly, while some might have accounts here, many involved artists’ home bases are Twitter, /mlp/, Discord, etc., and so they don’t really understand the site. Their prior impressions of the site are often stuff like “they stole my art!” or “the mods are cruel/biased”, which isn’t really what it’s all about. These people just hear that Derpibooru is acting in a way that they disapprove of (or are convinced to disapprove of) and hop on the bandwagon because it doesn’t mean much to them. They don’t understand the harm that can do to a community.
Kudos to the folks who have strong opinions but have stuck with the site, along with the staff who are doing their best to keep the site afloat. I hope something can be worked out, and while I now think that the site will survive to some degree, I fear and still believe that the Derpibooru we know and love will become a casualty of the polarized society we live in today.