"You should create a group when demand is there and not the other way around." In other words, start from generalist communities, and create more specialized ones when there is a need. Do you agree?

Back with newsgroups the general rule was to go from general to specific. You start with a general discussion group and when discussions about video games get annoying you create a games group. If then there are too many Baldur’s Gate discussions you create BG. If they are dominated by Baldur’s Gate 3 you create a Baldur’s Gate 3 group. If everyone is fawning over Withers you create a Withers group which of course will be flooded with discussion about the Withers’ tits mod, which shall get its own group.

Meaning you should create a group when demand is there and not the other way around.

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In general, yes.
I went and made [email protected] instead of glomming into the existing visual novel communities half because someone else had started an otome community that died, so I felt okay making one (and then another when the instance died).
And half because 1) most of general gaming communities does not care about anime romance visual novels aimed at women and I did not really want to see a bunch of name-calling towards us, and 2) although the only currently-active visual novels community would be fine to post to, when I started there were more and the audience was very much dudes who like women. Although there is an overlap between people who play games aimed at horny straight men and people who play otome games (I know some!), it's much smaller, and most otome players I know are women who do not wanna see VNs where we're highly sexualized. I can understand the same for men not wanting to see VNs full of our romantic fantasies (although the dudes in ours are less-often sexualized). I am cool with games aimed at horny men existing, but that does not mean I want to step into a space posting them all the time, the same way I am happy to let other people eat lemons but I'm not putting one in my mouth.
The current [email protected] probably would not reject otome posts, but what it used to be probably would, and the old VN communities probably would too; and most though not all otome players would reject the greater surrounding VN community of the past (what it currently is on ani.social would probably be accepted) because of how often what was posted there would turn out to be galge and not more gender-neutral stuff anyone could like like Ace Attorney.
Finally, the way [email protected] and [email protected] reacted to a post for a game aimed at women, [email protected], with tons of downvotes, was either not very encouraging for anime content that was still gaming content getting put in general communities (especially because one commenter explained they mistook it for a game meant to titillate because the icon was an anime girl even though part of why I really like Infinity Nikki is because it is a nice open-world game where women aren't sexualized, but I can still have nice hair physics and clothing physics), or for content aimed at women getting received well in general spaces.
We're small but I'd rather have this than nothing, or posting in big communities and getting constantly questioned about why I play a game where you can date fictional men instead of putting myself on the market in real life (lots of otome gamers are in happy, healthy relationships in real life! Or are not interested in relationships but still find fictional romance fun, or have trauma and are in a stage in their recovery where fictional romance is okay but looking for dates in real life isn't. In my circumstances, a relationship would be nice but I know I could be happy without one too, and sticking my neck out on some dating app or going to a bar would inevitably get me horrid behavior I have never faced in real life yet. So I'll keep living my daily life, which involves interacting with other humans, sometimes men, but not disrupting it by going to a bar as a non-drinker and non-dancer or downloading a dating app).
- I don't want to be presumptive but I highly doubt the downvotes for the Infinity Nikki post was because it's a game aimed at women. It is a gacha game, and the general environment around the Fediverse is extremely hostile to that type of monetisation, or any type of microtransactions really (and I would argue it's justified). I bet you anything that is the primary reason for the downvotes.
  
  Hey, thanks for the explanation! The primary idea I had going on was mostly about people mistaking it for a titillation game aimed at men because that is the one someone explained in the comments there, anyways. The women idea is something I actually just thought of typing up this post, lol. I did say I got a progressive vibe from the Fediverse, not a sexist one.
  For what it is worth it is indeed gacha, but none of that is required for meaningful progression in-game. From what I have heard of other gacha games you have to have some rare units or whatever from the gacha to pass some actual game content. I can do all story and gameplay stuff F2P. I think most Style Challenges can be beaten more easily with gacha but were all able to be beaten F2P, and all Style Challenges gating story content can be beaten F2P. As far as gacha goes it's pretty good. If they start locking actual gameplay, and not just rewards, behind gacha then I'll get pissed and leave. I play because high-quality game aimed at women, which is really rare. I usually also avoid gacha games and also dislike microtransactions.
  
  There will always be exceptions - I doubt you can find any space, online or in person, that is completely free of prejudice and misogyny - but overall Lemmy is extremely left-leaning and progressive in my experience.
  From what I have heard of other gacha games you have to have some rare units or whatever from the gacha to pass some actual game content. I can do all story and gameplay stuff F2P.
  That is actually very common practice. You can beat the story in Genshin and Honkai as F2P too yet those games rake in billions every year from people playing the gacha. In fact, many games rely on the F2P promise to lure people in, to then later hope to snare them into paying. It's all about getting them through the door.
  I'm happy you are able to enjoy the game without falling prey to the monetisation, and I hope you'll be able to stay restrained and without reaching for your wallet. Gacha is an inherently problematic type of game that abuses the same psychological mechanisms that turn people into gambling addicts.
  
  I do not play that much gacha and only hear stuff, so thanks for telling me that that is actually normal and not revolutionary—the way I hear it told is you have to have that five star SSR unit to clear some gameplay content or whatever.
  I know myself. I'm very good at getting my time sucked from me, but my actual money? I'm extremely stingy with that when it comes to media given my very picky tastes (I'll express interest in lots but in the end I only bother to actually pop for a few things) and the huge amount of media out there, even moreso when it involves paying for MTX. I think I've spent maybe $20.00 over 15 years on any game with MTX total. Paying for microtransactions, especially in-game currency that gets used to roll the virtual dice (instead of to make a 100% guaranteed purchase of something), makes me feel filthy in a way buying a whole new game or buying a guaranteed thing does not, especially because I learned about the gambling thing at a very young age. (I did spend $5.00 on in-game currency once, do not regret it but will never do it again.) And because I had the privilege of education about tactics used both in lootboxes and regular gambling at a young age, I always looked down on it before I ever tried it. I never will try real gambling, although I did eventually try games with lootbox mechanics. I still have my distaste for that monetization model, I'll generally avoid most games with it, but because those two deliver me specific things I want in a way where I do not feel any pressure to spend money, I continue to play. Thank you for your concern, though. I understand being opposed to that monetization model. It's not where I draw my line in the sand but I do understand others drawing it there.
  I also played a ton of F2P with premium currency as a little kid just because they hadn't all implemented a way to defeat just shifting forward timers. I did have to put in extra effort but in return I earned premium currency or progressed through the game faster than I was "supposed to" without paying real money to get that faster advancement. So that probably informs my willingness to go near the gross transactions with video games but not in real life gambling.
  
  Could be, but let's be honest too, the comments made during the "would you rather encounter a bear or a man in the woods" also showed some bias on the platform
  
  oh god when was this posted and when did this drama fire happen ;-; with no context that sounds so much more like ragebait aimed to get women with traumatic experiences to say "bear", then pissing off non-rapist men who do not want to be feared as much as a dangerous wild animal that guns often do not put down quickly, than a legit question
  
  I personally saw it more as a sign that as a society men should still work to make sure than women feel safe.
  I follow French news, and the bear thing happened at the same time as two large trials
  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd75v8eqz44o
  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d1z4lpqpno
  So 50 men in a random small town in France ("Not monsters, ordinary people"), and the venerable figure of one of the most beloved French person, have been convicted of rape.
  Not to say that there isn't ragebait in the initial question, but the societal issue is still very present.
- Finally, the way [email protected] and [email protected] reacted to a post for a game aimed at women, [email protected], with tons of downvotes, was either not very encouraging for anime content that was still gaming content getting put in general communities (especially because one commenter explained they mistook it for a game meant to titillate because the icon was an anime girl even though part of why I really like Infinity Nikki is because it is a nice open-world game where women aren’t sexualized, but I can still have nice hair physics and clothing physics), or for content aimed at women getting received well in general spaces.
  Yeah, it was definitely sad to see. Feels like the Threadiverse as a whole seems to mostly share one single opinion, which is indeed not even really justified
  
  Just want to clarify it could be both reasons or just one of them. I do get a nice progressive vibe from the Fediverse, not a sexist one. People were good and nice about the WomensStuff community. I am hardly the person to turn to sexism as my first explanation for things—in other words I'm no stereotypical angry feminist and my hair has never been dyed, thank you very much. But individual assholes who break that norm do exist, hence me still wanting to be cautious about sexist behavior in my OP
  
  That seems in line with your previous posts and comments, so no surprises here!
  By the way, have you heard of [email protected] ?
  
  check my edit lol
  I am not going there specifically because most women-only communities I have been in have complaining about sexist men and the patriarchy, and this one will allow it. I come to internet communities to have fun, not to doom about other people facing oppression and how some day my bubble will pop and I'll face it too (yay for being a counter example to "every woman has a [sexual assault] story" because I do not and god I hope it stays that way). I understand the value of a support community, I have just repeatedly found that most support communities end up being unhealthy places for me specifically.
  Especially because they almost always "punch up" at the majority, and I understand why it happens but holy hell do I really not want to see it, makes me all kinds of uncomfortable and angry even though I am usually part of the minority demographic punching and not the majority getting punched at. My energy is far better used fighting for minority rights in real life than getting pissed at them online (and tbh I'll probably never stop getting mad when I see that kind of language, yes I know their explanations and justifications for it which is why I stay out of their communities so I don't see the upsetting talk instead of lecturing them on why they should not vent frustrations in a safe space for them cordoned off from the general public, where venting that does not make "obviously this is venting" and "this doesn't apply to everyone in the majority ever" disclaimers can be expected).
  I wish them luck, and in their first days I did send a list of communities other women might like.
  
  Makes sense, thanks!

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