Every time there's another one of these dumbass "Such and such is for eVeRyOnE" movements, my first thought is always, "Well, who the fuck said it wasn't?"
Exactly. All the claims these people made about long time fans being gatekeepers who wanted to keep everyone else out were bullshit. If anything, we were too lenient about who we let in because just like any other type of nerd, we love sharing and talking about our hobbies.
There's never been a majority of people who were already in these hobbies that tried to keep or force others out. That didn't happen until the people who claim "this is for eVeRyOnE!" started pointing at others and saying they didn't count as "everyone."
I'll be honest, I vaguely remember the post being made and even more vague is my recollection of the ensuing pissing contest over it.
While GW has had some particularly bad behavior alongside their even more questionable business practices, I really didn't get involved at the time because I didn't really get my first book or take a particular interest until this past year when I got into One Page Rules.
I don't think the mind virus has really taken off with GW and if it has, it's certainly not reflected in the lore itself as of yet that I can verify. The Female Space Marine argument seems to be a dead point as 10th Edition was just released and still no Female Space Marines have come about yet. The Space Marines are the only faction in Warhammer 40K that remains all male and the future is still very grim and very dark.
There were some attempts at working more of the route and the dull and the very much expected politics into some of the lore, but by and large the attempts to grab at GW with this have failed, and a big part of that was how loudly their customer base pushed back against this particular situation.
There's been little things that happened around the same time and since then. For example, I know that at least one or two of their novels featured characters that used those weird nonsense zhe zhir pronouns. (Never read them myself, but tons of the reviews about them rambled about that being the case.) The grim darkness of that grim dark future has also been reduced a decent amount to make it more palatable to a wider audience, much the the chagrin of some longer time fans. On the whole, though, it has been a while since GW picked up that cudgel to beat us over the head with it. I can't help but wonder if that's partly because many of the IP's fans have just come to accept that, much like the video games industry, the deeper problems of GW's apparent inability (I think it's more of a refusal) to produce enough stock of new items to fulfill the demand and their deeply litigious nature have just become accepted evils because people are used to eating that particular color of shit now.
Yeah I really haven't been in it as long as others but then again, I didn't come into this hobby to change anything that has been set and established. I either accept the game as is or I walk and I've chosen to accept it as it is and join rather than come in screaming about a lack of something I want to see because I honestly couldn't tell you if there's anything I think is lacking or not as of yet. Suspecting I might just enjoy it as is though.
I admire the strength and the grace with which brave folks like you take the stupid punches. Although I do laugh on the surface, somewhere deep inside me there’s still a hurt kid who sits in the corner crying. Referring to the lady who’s note you shared - yeah, I know writing isn’t for me. I can’t take the punches. I usually tell myself - I’ll finish this one story and then I’m done... until the next story comes.🙄
I don't know that I'd agree with your take on the end there. Taking the punches isn't the same thing as not being upset when a submission doesn't work out. You can still be upset and take the punch. The question is whether or not you get up and continue after being knocked down, and you've done that repeatedly.
I've been in the writing game for a lot longer than my Substack shows. From high school to now, it's been almost 25 years. In that time I've met more people than I can remember who tried to write something, got it rejected, and then gave up entirely. Either that, or they write in secret and never share it to anyone, insisting that they "can't let people see until it's perfect." My experience tells me that's code for the fact that no one is ever going to see it because they lack confidence in what they're working on. That doesn't describe you. You haven't given up.
Excellent points as always, definitely agree that online people can't possibly hurt you like rl folks can so why bother worrying over online obnoxiousness.
Like I said, mileage will vary for different people. Some of us are more easily able to let it roll off our backs than others, but even if it's tough it's still a skill that can be learned. The sooner we learn how little the clack of some angry nobody's keyboard really matters, the sooner we can laugh it off and keep going forward with our lives.
Besides, petty though it can be, there can be an element of enjoyment to watching someone get impotently mad about your successes. As Die Antwoord member Ninja once said in one of his raps, "May my enemies live long so they can see me progress."
Every time there's another one of these dumbass "Such and such is for eVeRyOnE" movements, my first thought is always, "Well, who the fuck said it wasn't?"
Exactly. All the claims these people made about long time fans being gatekeepers who wanted to keep everyone else out were bullshit. If anything, we were too lenient about who we let in because just like any other type of nerd, we love sharing and talking about our hobbies.
There's never been a majority of people who were already in these hobbies that tried to keep or force others out. That didn't happen until the people who claim "this is for eVeRyOnE!" started pointing at others and saying they didn't count as "everyone."
"They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom/for trying to change the system from within".
(Leonard Cohen, "First We Take Manhattan").
Applicable to everyone who tries to change an entertainment business without consulting its most fervent adherents first.
I'll be honest, I vaguely remember the post being made and even more vague is my recollection of the ensuing pissing contest over it.
While GW has had some particularly bad behavior alongside their even more questionable business practices, I really didn't get involved at the time because I didn't really get my first book or take a particular interest until this past year when I got into One Page Rules.
I don't think the mind virus has really taken off with GW and if it has, it's certainly not reflected in the lore itself as of yet that I can verify. The Female Space Marine argument seems to be a dead point as 10th Edition was just released and still no Female Space Marines have come about yet. The Space Marines are the only faction in Warhammer 40K that remains all male and the future is still very grim and very dark.
There were some attempts at working more of the route and the dull and the very much expected politics into some of the lore, but by and large the attempts to grab at GW with this have failed, and a big part of that was how loudly their customer base pushed back against this particular situation.
There's been little things that happened around the same time and since then. For example, I know that at least one or two of their novels featured characters that used those weird nonsense zhe zhir pronouns. (Never read them myself, but tons of the reviews about them rambled about that being the case.) The grim darkness of that grim dark future has also been reduced a decent amount to make it more palatable to a wider audience, much the the chagrin of some longer time fans. On the whole, though, it has been a while since GW picked up that cudgel to beat us over the head with it. I can't help but wonder if that's partly because many of the IP's fans have just come to accept that, much like the video games industry, the deeper problems of GW's apparent inability (I think it's more of a refusal) to produce enough stock of new items to fulfill the demand and their deeply litigious nature have just become accepted evils because people are used to eating that particular color of shit now.
Yeah I really haven't been in it as long as others but then again, I didn't come into this hobby to change anything that has been set and established. I either accept the game as is or I walk and I've chosen to accept it as it is and join rather than come in screaming about a lack of something I want to see because I honestly couldn't tell you if there's anything I think is lacking or not as of yet. Suspecting I might just enjoy it as is though.
Oh shit, you’re really tempting being cancelled by quoting Ninja, haha! But that is a line that I love and think of often.
I agree that it's best to ignore the haters, but I use a pseudonym for a reason. Just in case.
I admire the strength and the grace with which brave folks like you take the stupid punches. Although I do laugh on the surface, somewhere deep inside me there’s still a hurt kid who sits in the corner crying. Referring to the lady who’s note you shared - yeah, I know writing isn’t for me. I can’t take the punches. I usually tell myself - I’ll finish this one story and then I’m done... until the next story comes.🙄
I don't know that I'd agree with your take on the end there. Taking the punches isn't the same thing as not being upset when a submission doesn't work out. You can still be upset and take the punch. The question is whether or not you get up and continue after being knocked down, and you've done that repeatedly.
I've been in the writing game for a lot longer than my Substack shows. From high school to now, it's been almost 25 years. In that time I've met more people than I can remember who tried to write something, got it rejected, and then gave up entirely. Either that, or they write in secret and never share it to anyone, insisting that they "can't let people see until it's perfect." My experience tells me that's code for the fact that no one is ever going to see it because they lack confidence in what they're working on. That doesn't describe you. You haven't given up.
Excellent points as always, definitely agree that online people can't possibly hurt you like rl folks can so why bother worrying over online obnoxiousness.
Like I said, mileage will vary for different people. Some of us are more easily able to let it roll off our backs than others, but even if it's tough it's still a skill that can be learned. The sooner we learn how little the clack of some angry nobody's keyboard really matters, the sooner we can laugh it off and keep going forward with our lives.
Besides, petty though it can be, there can be an element of enjoyment to watching someone get impotently mad about your successes. As Die Antwoord member Ninja once said in one of his raps, "May my enemies live long so they can see me progress."
Someone call the Ordo Hereticus, quick!