Welcome to The Appearance Guide! Whether you're here to just look around or you're interested in registering, we recommend you read this post before doing anything.
To better understand our goals for the site, you first have to understand the landscape we’re operating under. I'm sure a lot of people have heard about the core ideological concept of the "redpill"/"blackpill" with the explosion of looksmaxxing creators recently (Example being Clavicular). I'm sure a lot of people have related or agreed with a lot of aspects of this ideology - That your appearance plays a role in how people see you, that maybe you've been robbed of certain experiences or opportunities based solely off of how you look - and that there are some aspects of your appearance you'd be willing to do "anything" for to just change and to feel better about yourself.
We feel this a lot, and so that's why we made The Appearance Guide. To create a space to talk about these concepts and ideas without the baggage usually attached to them.
.Org's most recent survey conveyed this concept better than I could explain it, so if you want to see it you can here: Who Ends Up Posting 1,000+ Times? (Archive)
I could go into this more - but there's no need. You get the point. You either agree with every hateful aspect of the ideology, or you're ignorant to how the world works (bluepilled). Which isn't how we feel the world works. We believe there is a middle ground.
We're not a looksmaxxing site, because this us vs them mentality goes against everything we're trying to do.
As I explained previously, looksmaxxing culture is what we're trying to avoid at The Appearance Guide. To ensure this, we enforce a standard of conduct that prohibits the behaviors typically used to alienate others- such as slurs, unnecessary insulting, or sharing crude, shocking, and NSFW content. These rules aren't about restriction; they are about accessibility. We want outsiders to feel welcome to join the conversation and learn about these concepts without the barrier of a hostile environment. These concepts were allowed on other platforms to keep people out on other sites, not to let people in.
Which is fine - Not everyone from these spaces are going to like this "radical" change from what they're used to, and a lot of people from these spaces have struggled to adapt to this concept. We're not made for everyone - We're trying to reach a demographic that wants to focus on self improvement, not all of this other stuff involved. A lot of people are on these sites are for the other ideological concepts, not solely self improvement, and they would have more benefit being on those sites instead of this one. This community is built for those who want the results without the vitriol.
Unlike a lot of "normie" sites, I actually sympathize and participate in these cultures. All 3 owners participate in other looksmaxxing forums actively. We do NOT hate looksmaxxing sites; we love them for what they are. These spaces should exist and they need to exist to push the culture from certain concepts. While extreme and radical in nature, their existence is important to the internet's culture, and the removal of these sites would only be a negative loss for everyone.
So the owners are people who do not want to remove or even compete with these spaces - we're not the "new" looksmaxxing site. We're trying to stay in our own lane and doing our own thing, because we actively know the "benefit" these sites can provide to a lot of young men and sometimes young women (like .com for example), and we know that their concepts exist beyond what we're trying to do here. We aren't here to replace them; we're here to provide an alternative for those ready for a more professional environment.
In my opinion, .com has the best chance of breaking outside of this mold, but it doesn't change the fact looksmaxxing as a brand concept is hard to do stuff with. Most of the innovative stuff in the space has been brands that have loosely connected themselves to looksmaxxing without hardlocking themselves into that space, the most popular concepts being facial analysis sites Qoves and FaceIQ. They're not called "looksmaxxing sites", they're sites used by looksmaxxers.
We aim to take a similar path towards professionalization as these other sites have. We plan on doing stuff that's actually unique, interesting, and maybe even groundbreaking for these spaces - We want to work with experts and professionals, and we don't want the ideology associated with looksmaxxing to be the reason why we're forever trapped outside of business opportunities. By moving away from the exclusionary ideology that has historically kept this space from being taken seriously, we want to open doors to opportunities that simply aren't available to the traditional "looksmaxxing brand". We don't want to be another niche forum; we want to be a new standard.
What is The Appearance Guide?
The Appearance Guide, is in short, a self improvement forum with the focus being on appearance related improvement - but if you're not interested in the appearance side of things, you're still more than welcome to join us and participate in our other categories.To better understand our goals for the site, you first have to understand the landscape we’re operating under. I'm sure a lot of people have heard about the core ideological concept of the "redpill"/"blackpill" with the explosion of looksmaxxing creators recently (Example being Clavicular). I'm sure a lot of people have related or agreed with a lot of aspects of this ideology - That your appearance plays a role in how people see you, that maybe you've been robbed of certain experiences or opportunities based solely off of how you look - and that there are some aspects of your appearance you'd be willing to do "anything" for to just change and to feel better about yourself.
We feel this a lot, and so that's why we made The Appearance Guide. To create a space to talk about these concepts and ideas without the baggage usually attached to them.
So You're A Looksmaxxing Site?
The short answer is: not in the way you might think. While this concept is pretty universal - the sites that participate or relate to this ideology are usually not. They're very hostile to outsiders - every little disagreement gets you outcasted from the in group. Every terminology that is used, every concept that is enforced - is meant to keep "normies" outside and to only keep people who fully agree with every aspect of the concept(s) of the in group trapped inside. They don't use the term "newbie", they call them "greys". They don't say "lol", they say "JFL". Every aspect of the culture is meant to cause separation from the mainstream culture, sometimes at the expense of most people who are unaware of what's happening..Org's most recent survey conveyed this concept better than I could explain it, so if you want to see it you can here: Who Ends Up Posting 1,000+ Times? (Archive)
I could go into this more - but there's no need. You get the point. You either agree with every hateful aspect of the ideology, or you're ignorant to how the world works (bluepilled). Which isn't how we feel the world works. We believe there is a middle ground.
We're not a looksmaxxing site, because this us vs them mentality goes against everything we're trying to do.
So What Makes The Appearance Guide Different?
Well, what makes us different from websites like looksmax.org, looksmax.gg, looksmax.cc, looksmaxxing.com? Well, it should be pretty obvious from the domains alone - We do not brand ourselves as "another looksmaxxing site".As I explained previously, looksmaxxing culture is what we're trying to avoid at The Appearance Guide. To ensure this, we enforce a standard of conduct that prohibits the behaviors typically used to alienate others- such as slurs, unnecessary insulting, or sharing crude, shocking, and NSFW content. These rules aren't about restriction; they are about accessibility. We want outsiders to feel welcome to join the conversation and learn about these concepts without the barrier of a hostile environment. These concepts were allowed on other platforms to keep people out on other sites, not to let people in.
Which is fine - Not everyone from these spaces are going to like this "radical" change from what they're used to, and a lot of people from these spaces have struggled to adapt to this concept. We're not made for everyone - We're trying to reach a demographic that wants to focus on self improvement, not all of this other stuff involved. A lot of people are on these sites are for the other ideological concepts, not solely self improvement, and they would have more benefit being on those sites instead of this one. This community is built for those who want the results without the vitriol.
Who Owns The Appearance Guide?
I've been in the "blackpill" space for at least 7 years now, most likely longer. I've grown up with this ideology and I've been an admin and "head" moderator to the biggest looksmaxxing sites on the internet for a decent amount of time now.Unlike a lot of "normie" sites, I actually sympathize and participate in these cultures. All 3 owners participate in other looksmaxxing forums actively. We do NOT hate looksmaxxing sites; we love them for what they are. These spaces should exist and they need to exist to push the culture from certain concepts. While extreme and radical in nature, their existence is important to the internet's culture, and the removal of these sites would only be a negative loss for everyone.
So the owners are people who do not want to remove or even compete with these spaces - we're not the "new" looksmaxxing site. We're trying to stay in our own lane and doing our own thing, because we actively know the "benefit" these sites can provide to a lot of young men and sometimes young women (like .com for example), and we know that their concepts exist beyond what we're trying to do here. We aren't here to replace them; we're here to provide an alternative for those ready for a more professional environment.
What's The Future Plan?
On a personal level, I think the moderation standards for these sites can be quite healthy and good - and if anything, I think most sites should be less restrictive. But my personal belief does not always translate well into what's good for business, and there is a distinct difference between managing a community and scaling a professional brand. Many of these sites have inadvertently hardlocked themselves into niche markets, relying on business models like drop-shipping or supplements, because the looksmaxxing culture carries a stigma that often prevents companies from forming long-term, professional partnerships. While these sites serve their users well, the branding itself creates a "ceiling" that makes it difficult to introduce truly innovative services or reach a broader audience.In my opinion, .com has the best chance of breaking outside of this mold, but it doesn't change the fact looksmaxxing as a brand concept is hard to do stuff with. Most of the innovative stuff in the space has been brands that have loosely connected themselves to looksmaxxing without hardlocking themselves into that space, the most popular concepts being facial analysis sites Qoves and FaceIQ. They're not called "looksmaxxing sites", they're sites used by looksmaxxers.
We aim to take a similar path towards professionalization as these other sites have. We plan on doing stuff that's actually unique, interesting, and maybe even groundbreaking for these spaces - We want to work with experts and professionals, and we don't want the ideology associated with looksmaxxing to be the reason why we're forever trapped outside of business opportunities. By moving away from the exclusionary ideology that has historically kept this space from being taken seriously, we want to open doors to opportunities that simply aren't available to the traditional "looksmaxxing brand". We don't want to be another niche forum; we want to be a new standard.
TL;DR
- We're not a looksmaxxing site
- If you're a hardcore lover for BP spaces, .guide is probably not for you
- We plan to cook up some new stuff with .guide soon
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