Because shipping is just too terrifying a concept for halloween.
Fiction Alley Park set up a new banner to help celebrate halloween and get into the festive season.

The original banner can be seen, here.

In recognition of the banner, LadyEowyn starts a thread, located here giving praise to the art.

Friendly comments saying that the artist is Mudblood428, that the artwork is beautiful, pink doesn't suit Ginny, what is George upto etc.

*insert eeiry music here*

Of course it couldn't last long.

star22 comes in to make a complaint (Yes she is a H/Hr fan.)

I do love the idea of a Haloween banner, and it is well done, but it is rather ship specific. It really isn't fair to those who come here who don't ship those ships. Yes, they are canon, but still there are a lot of people here who don't like them. Her reasons are that FA should of chosen a more netural picture, since at least the part with Harry and Ginny seems pretty shippy to me. And that while Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione might be canon, that this is a fanon site though, not a canon-only one and home to people who ship a varity of things, that the banner is difficult to ignore depicting relationships that aren't all liked at FA and that the The banner really should be ship-neutral so it can accomidate all members.



Sandy points out

Its its specific of any ship its friendship. Its not like it shows Harry and Ginny in a clinch snogging, or Ron and Hermione fixin' to get their mutual freak on! Besides, its just a piece of art that'll be there for a couple of days, for pity's sake! Does everything have to be turned into a shipping issue? Can't you just enjoy the art for its own sake


Various other members wish to know why its so unfair to have mild ships in the banner when there are obvious shipping quotes located on the main page, and points out that its more about a group of friends in goofy custums and its all canon right? That the picture was picked for its fun nature, that the site wouldn't esist if there wasn't canon. With Star arguing back that all of the mods have been going on about inter-ship unity and thats all good, but doesn't mean canon only - that the picture doesn't promote neutrality.

Heidi one of the admins for the site, says

Star, here's my read on it: Harry is completely ignoring Ginny and Hermione looks like she's only tugging on Ron so the pumpkin doesn't drop on his head. I didn't ask for Mudblood428 to let us use it because of anything shippy in it, and given the fact that Draco is in it, I can't see it at *all* being a realistic representation of Halloween In Harry's Seventh Year, so I don't see it as trying to predict Book Seven halloween, especially as there's been no occasion where the characters have dressed up for the holiday. So no, the admins aren't trying to send any sort of a signal - we just thought it would make cute icons, and then when our original top of the park art was revealed to be damaged, we popped it up there for 48 hours or so, because it's cute

Effectively: Its only shippy if you make it shippy.

Smilie117 another H/Hr and co designer of the layout saying that it was only temporary and that there's a new banner up now. Which incidently looks like this

Many members are unhappy.

* I preferred the 'big banner' pic. Whole, the images makes sense and is pretty. Chopped up, it looks all chaotic and messy - and doesn't reveal the bigger image

* Every single joke that was in the picture has now been removed. Is this the sort of lameness we have to put up with to avoid hurting people's feelings? (Not true, another clearly blatant attack to the Harmonians Okay, there is one good thing about the new and improved politcally correct banner, you can see Ron's "My name is Emerson" sticker better. & Ron is wearing a mugglenet t-shirt.)

* Not everything is about shipping, and I wish it didn't get turned into it. We Aberforth/Goat, Grey Lady/Nearly-Headless Nick, and Dobby/Winky shippers are always slighted.

* And this, is yet again, another clear example how canon ships are strongly held back from any sort of recognition or "celebration" other than on the ONE thread in SCUSA dedicated to that ship. Forget the fact that the picture was just a picture and wasn't showing Sunlit Days worth of snogging or anything! But... Omgithastwocanoncouples! Aaaaarrrggghhh! I am being mocked! This is unfair! PLEASE!! SO, this is how things are handled? A few people whine about how they don't like it b/c canon couples just happen to be in the art, in addition to Draco, Neville, Luna, and the twins and *boom* it's removed??? Hmm, I can think of other offending things that took DAYS to get changed (and some things didn't even change).

* And for the record, I didn't think the picture was shippy at all. I thought she positioned the characters well -- everyone was IC and such, and it made me smile. Now, it just looks like a series of headshots. Good for icons, no good for a banner.

*I hate it when shippiness gets in the way of good art.

Currently still going

ETA: Old banner is back. o_O;

Also the reason why the banner was changed is explained here in a copy paste from Theregoesmygun.