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So apparently childish behavior still trumps professionalism
9 years ago
So back when I first joined FA I read a story I really enjoyed called The Other Side by 
whyteyote, whom I held high opinions of... Up until now.
Today he posted this story and included a nice cover with it, which includes an attractive male cougar. Being a cougar myself I decided to comment, playfully expressing my delight of the cougar on the cover.
I was met with this response:
I'm so glad all the hours I spent writing and polishing my story, submitting, editing and teasing it, don't compare to a cougar on the cover. That really makes the effort worth it.
Passive-agressive sarcasm, well done. It isn't like I don't understand the issue here, I am a writer myself, all my visual art has more views and responses than my written work. I've written a small few stories myself and had some written for me by other writers, I wholy understand, it does bother me too. Despite the trepedation I felt I decided to respond gracefully with the following:
Welcome to the club mate, though in all seriousness as a cougar I'm inclined to be personally biased toward other cougars. I do enjoy your writing though, I read and loved The Other Side back when I first joined the community and even commented on it. I don't get to read as much as I used to sadly, considering I'm spending a lot of time with friends and family lately (lost my favorite aunt to cancer back in February).
But much to my dismay upon trying to post my comment, I was met with this:
Apparently it bothered him enough to block me. This is where I take issue, instead of handling this with some degree of grace and professionalism, he chose instead to use the internet equivilent of a forced restraining order on me for something absolutely petty. Now were I to ever read another of his stories I could not compliment it or offer any constructive criticism, now could I comment on journals to wish him a happy birthday or express condolences for a loss. He burned an entire bridge over a simple comment, rather than simply confronting me on the matter he took it too personally.
As an entertainer, a writer or otherwise, your audience is paramount to what you do. The internet isn't some positive echochamber, no matter what you create you will be criticized for it, but if you turn your audience away, shut them out and so on and so forth, especially just for petty silliness such as this, it makes you look bad not only as a creator but as a person. Just look at how Phil Fish reacted to simple tweets, that isn't how a professional should conduct themselves, period.
I still have a high opinion of whyteyote's work, I think he's very good at what he does, but he's chosen to block me over a simple comment, which implies his overall opinion of me quite inherently. This experience has left a bad taste in my mouth to be sure, it just boggles my mind, but I do believe I'll simply move on and put it behind me. I'll likely still continue to enjoy whyteyote's work, but what respect I may have had for him has certainly waned.
whyteyote, whom I held high opinions of... Up until now.Today he posted this story and included a nice cover with it, which includes an attractive male cougar. Being a cougar myself I decided to comment, playfully expressing my delight of the cougar on the cover.
I was met with this response:
I'm so glad all the hours I spent writing and polishing my story, submitting, editing and teasing it, don't compare to a cougar on the cover. That really makes the effort worth it.
Passive-agressive sarcasm, well done. It isn't like I don't understand the issue here, I am a writer myself, all my visual art has more views and responses than my written work. I've written a small few stories myself and had some written for me by other writers, I wholy understand, it does bother me too. Despite the trepedation I felt I decided to respond gracefully with the following:
Welcome to the club mate, though in all seriousness as a cougar I'm inclined to be personally biased toward other cougars. I do enjoy your writing though, I read and loved The Other Side back when I first joined the community and even commented on it. I don't get to read as much as I used to sadly, considering I'm spending a lot of time with friends and family lately (lost my favorite aunt to cancer back in February).
But much to my dismay upon trying to post my comment, I was met with this:
You appear to be on whyteyote's block list.
Your reply was not added.Apparently it bothered him enough to block me. This is where I take issue, instead of handling this with some degree of grace and professionalism, he chose instead to use the internet equivilent of a forced restraining order on me for something absolutely petty. Now were I to ever read another of his stories I could not compliment it or offer any constructive criticism, now could I comment on journals to wish him a happy birthday or express condolences for a loss. He burned an entire bridge over a simple comment, rather than simply confronting me on the matter he took it too personally.
As an entertainer, a writer or otherwise, your audience is paramount to what you do. The internet isn't some positive echochamber, no matter what you create you will be criticized for it, but if you turn your audience away, shut them out and so on and so forth, especially just for petty silliness such as this, it makes you look bad not only as a creator but as a person. Just look at how Phil Fish reacted to simple tweets, that isn't how a professional should conduct themselves, period.
I still have a high opinion of whyteyote's work, I think he's very good at what he does, but he's chosen to block me over a simple comment, which implies his overall opinion of me quite inherently. This experience has left a bad taste in my mouth to be sure, it just boggles my mind, but I do believe I'll simply move on and put it behind me. I'll likely still continue to enjoy whyteyote's work, but what respect I may have had for him has certainly waned.
I have absolutely 0 respect for people who block others with out understanding a dam thing.
He is lame !!
You are cool OK ??
Either way outright blocking you over one comment is pretty damned excessive. Unfortunately though, stuff like this is pretty common in the fandom. I've certainly seen people blocked for pettier reasons...
Wow. I mean, I didn't think for a second that I was the only one, but damn, that's quite a story.
I mean, come on. There's much worse and more disturbing fetishes out there.
It's a shame that it's consistent behavior, but sadly it's not the first time I've come across an artist up their own ass, and it likely won't be the last.