Sorry in advance, this is not 3D printing related. I’m only posting this so as to not appear hypocritical in past comments on my socials. I’ve decided to try something new and I’m going to be blocking users on my social platforms in the name of mental health.
What community means to me
I have a new found respect for digital communities. In the past, whenever I heard creators talk about their communities, I had always thought that it was a buzz-word that the creators were using; that they were actually talking about the people they sell to. While I suppose that could be the case for some, ever since working on the Mega Motorized Gearcube project, I’ve found my definition of community. I recieved ton’s of support and helpful feedback on way to complete the project. Up until that point, I feel I had mostly been making videos as entertainment to others. But content creation has now become more of a conversation with like-minded people, and I thoroughly enjoy that. I’m always open to constructive criticism and collaborative feedback. In fact, I welcome those interactions because I feel that it makes the projects better!
Not everything is bothersome
Unfortunately, when looking through the comments sections for those conversations that I enjoy so much I often come across comments that are clearly have no other purpose than to spoil the good times. I’ve never been one to shape the comments section, I’ve always wanted to let everyone be free to express themselves provided you’re not harming others or spamming or doing something illegal.
But having to read hundreds of hurtful comments really takes a toll on me mentally. It affects my drive and desire to work on my projects and share their progress. I don’t want to just ignore those comments and I no longer care enough to craft a thoughtful and tactful response. I’ve had people swear at me, call me names, tell me that my ideas are stupid, etc. Oddly enough, those aren’t the comments that bother me. I just assume those people don’t have a full understanding of what’s going on and would probably feel differently if they did.
Comments in the ‘Mega Motorize Gearcube’ Project
It’s the comments that take aim at how I release content that I really take issue with. I had so many people, for example, accuse me of “milking” the Mega Motorized Gearcube series for content. Far too many people were absolutely convinced that I had completed the project, and was spoonfeeding peices of irrelevant information just for the sake of likes. However, the fact of the matter is that large projects take time. I had been providing very close to real time updates because, for one thing, I (currently) don’t have the organizational skills or will-power to wait until a project has been completed before crafting an epic masterpeice of a video and, for another thing, people had been asking for those updates.
Final thoughts
Being genuine
I’m always going to do my best to be up-front and genuine in everything that I do and say. That’s not to say that won’t make mistakes and I’m certainly not saying that there isn’t a post or two that I don’t regret making. I view such things as “lessons-learned” as I expiriment to find bounds that I am comfortable with as I follow the side quest of making part-time content creation less taxing. My priorities in content creation, in order, will always be: connections, quality content, financial successes.
Moving forward
I want to create awesome projects and I want to share those projects with anyone who’s interested. I don’t want to have that experience, or the rest of my day, ruined by intentionally hurtful comments. So, if someone sees it fit to scathingly tell me that they’re leaving, I’ll ensure that it happens by blocking them from my socials.
Final final thought
I’ll probably come back and edit the Final Thoughts section. I don’t think that I properly recorded my thoughts. But the day is short and I have things to do 😀