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Compilation of Questions
11 years ago
Lately I've noticed a bunch of crap stirring about in the parts of the internet I frequent, and I'm not sure what to make of a lot of it. So I'm going to post my thoughts here as questions.
1) What exactly does one do with an adoptable? I bought exactly one of these, and the picture that was sent to me in return was rather low resolution and on a solid background, as if it had simply been cut out of the group of four that had been up for auction. I also didn't get the IC delivery I had hoped for. This confuses me. What exactly did I pay for?
2) Why are so many artists and watchers making a big deal out of Patreon? Personally, using it to crowd-source some type of ongoing project like a web-comic seems like a pretty great idea. However, I've also seen artists who are using it to try and get paid for things that they are doing solely for themselves, or as a way to 'double-charge' the community for their work. As an individual who writes code on commission, the latter seems rather appalling, and reminds me of certain artists who attempt to resell prints of other people's characters, which they were paid to draw already. But rather than rail at them about it, my suggestion for watchers is to simply refuse to fund them until they're willing to work on something of value for the community. They'll get the picture pretty quick.
3) What the fuck is GamerGate? Seriously, what is it? Because when I look at it, all I see is a gigantic ball of dung. There is no real discussion going on about -anything-, despite numerous claims I have seen to the contrary, and the whole 'controversy' feels sort of fabricated.. as if some people had nothing better to do with their time. I have a suggestion: Make and play whatever games you want, with whatever theme or formula you prefer. That is what I've always done and will continue to do. You may not like the same games as me. I don't care. Which leads me to...
4) The internets has apparently exploded with talk about fairness and 'equality' and race, sex, gender identity, and whatever else people with small minds like to use to judge total strangers. People keep insisting this talk is 'healthy', and ridicule anyone who doesn't agree with everything they say on the subject. Well, it isn't healthy. It's not even sane. People who have met me know that I am for the most part blind about what demographics they might fit into. Heck, I don't even remember a person's name until I've met them three or four times. So when an angry, self-proclaimed feminist comes up to me and declares that the male gender causes all the problems and shouldn't exist, and refuses to even acknowledge me as a human being, how is this NOT discrimination? Further, should I be denied job opportunities because my appearance is that of the stereotypical white male computer geek? Because apparently, some people out there think that this sort of behavior, and dare I say it, discrimination, is somehow acceptable if the people who stand to gain are 'minorities'. And those people are rather quick to label those who disagree with this rather warped view of equality as 'sexist', or 'racist', or whatever-the-fuck-else-ist. Is this really an argument about fairness and equality? Or is it merely a bunch of special interest groups chasing after special treatment? What happened to the idea of seeing WHO a person is rather than WHAT a person is?
5) Is it just me, or have people steadily gotten more callous and often downright cruel towards each other in general? It's like all anyone really cares about is how much money they can get and how much stuff they can buy. . to the point where I have actually witnessed a person simply not bother to brake to avoid a car accident, and judging by the fact they immediately started taking pictures, they did so because they were gunning for an insurance payout. And this example is by far not the only instance I could list, though it is one of the most obvious..
6) Meow? :P
1) What exactly does one do with an adoptable? I bought exactly one of these, and the picture that was sent to me in return was rather low resolution and on a solid background, as if it had simply been cut out of the group of four that had been up for auction. I also didn't get the IC delivery I had hoped for. This confuses me. What exactly did I pay for?
2) Why are so many artists and watchers making a big deal out of Patreon? Personally, using it to crowd-source some type of ongoing project like a web-comic seems like a pretty great idea. However, I've also seen artists who are using it to try and get paid for things that they are doing solely for themselves, or as a way to 'double-charge' the community for their work. As an individual who writes code on commission, the latter seems rather appalling, and reminds me of certain artists who attempt to resell prints of other people's characters, which they were paid to draw already. But rather than rail at them about it, my suggestion for watchers is to simply refuse to fund them until they're willing to work on something of value for the community. They'll get the picture pretty quick.
3) What the fuck is GamerGate? Seriously, what is it? Because when I look at it, all I see is a gigantic ball of dung. There is no real discussion going on about -anything-, despite numerous claims I have seen to the contrary, and the whole 'controversy' feels sort of fabricated.. as if some people had nothing better to do with their time. I have a suggestion: Make and play whatever games you want, with whatever theme or formula you prefer. That is what I've always done and will continue to do. You may not like the same games as me. I don't care. Which leads me to...
4) The internets has apparently exploded with talk about fairness and 'equality' and race, sex, gender identity, and whatever else people with small minds like to use to judge total strangers. People keep insisting this talk is 'healthy', and ridicule anyone who doesn't agree with everything they say on the subject. Well, it isn't healthy. It's not even sane. People who have met me know that I am for the most part blind about what demographics they might fit into. Heck, I don't even remember a person's name until I've met them three or four times. So when an angry, self-proclaimed feminist comes up to me and declares that the male gender causes all the problems and shouldn't exist, and refuses to even acknowledge me as a human being, how is this NOT discrimination? Further, should I be denied job opportunities because my appearance is that of the stereotypical white male computer geek? Because apparently, some people out there think that this sort of behavior, and dare I say it, discrimination, is somehow acceptable if the people who stand to gain are 'minorities'. And those people are rather quick to label those who disagree with this rather warped view of equality as 'sexist', or 'racist', or whatever-the-fuck-else-ist. Is this really an argument about fairness and equality? Or is it merely a bunch of special interest groups chasing after special treatment? What happened to the idea of seeing WHO a person is rather than WHAT a person is?
5) Is it just me, or have people steadily gotten more callous and often downright cruel towards each other in general? It's like all anyone really cares about is how much money they can get and how much stuff they can buy. . to the point where I have actually witnessed a person simply not bother to brake to avoid a car accident, and judging by the fact they immediately started taking pictures, they did so because they were gunning for an insurance payout. And this example is by far not the only instance I could list, though it is one of the most obvious..
6) Meow? :P
2) Patreon's new, people are still figuring out what sort of monetization model works for them and their audience. If you want to support the artist's original work, Patreon's a great way to do that. I don't particularly mind that it isn't commission-based; sometimes I'd rather see an artist do their own thing rather than work on samey commissions all the time. And, as you noted, it's up to you whether you support their Patreon or not.
3) Hit the nail on the head, I'd say. The reason it blew up is because of the massive harassment campaign that occurred because of it.
4) Hmm... there's a lot to unpack here. First, inequality in its myriad forms is a real thing that exists (it's even measurable), so not talking about it and not raising awareness seems disingenuous. Movements are made of imperfect people, and sometimes those people are not good at representing their movement, and an angry, hateful 'feminist' is just as damaging in my opinion as an angry, hateful 'men's rights activist' (although I'd argue that it's easier to sympathize with the feminist to some degree). People feel threatened by equality because they see it as losing their privileged position. Which it kind of is, but when one's privilege is based on the luck of the genetic draw, then that's pretty unfair to begin with. The way I've had it explained that I think makes the most sense is that being part of a privileged class is like playing a game in easy mode; sure, the game isn't going to play itself, and we still have to work to get to the goal (e.g. an education, job, respect, what have you), but by virtue of that privilege it is generally easier for us to get those things than someone less privileged. We don't generally like recognizing our own privilege, since it means that maybe not all of our personal successes are completely of our own doing.
On the topic of being denied job opportunities, discrimination against whites seems just as unpalatable as discrimination against any other superficial trait, and I would agree that a perfect world would judge candidates solely by their merits--and everyone would have similar opportunities to gain the knowledge and skills required for a position. However, institutional and subconscious discrimination is still very much a thing, and I'd say that anyone who is hiring people who isn't aware of these factors and tries to take steps to combat them is part of the problem. This one hits perhaps closer to home, because I see so much unconscious or cloaked racism/sexism/ageism in the industry in Silicon Valley where diversity is sacrificed in the name of "cultural fit" and other terms people use to hide their uncomfortable prejudices. The point is, since it's a real thing that happens, we would be foolish to ignore it. There aren't easy answers to leveling the playing field, but ignoring it in the hopes that it will go away on its own feels naive at best.
5) I don't think it's just you, though I'm not sure how to explain it.
6) Squeak.