autumnhearth wrote: Fri Sep 20, 2019 1:16 am
Katka wrote: Thu Sep 19, 2019 9:35 pm
Becky.rigby wrote: Thu Sep 19, 2019 7:51 pm
flarequake wrote: Thu Sep 19, 2019 7:01 pm
If we’re not the priority, they’re gambling that enough of us will still be here after 9 months now of waiting and wondering. They’re lucky bastards that us saps will be, enough came back after big and coty, though kpop has been a big draw away from them too.
Exactly, people will end up getting fed up even the most hardcore fans (maybe that is what they are hoping?) They are so lucky their fanbase is so understanding to be honest but I know at lot of people who used to watch them that don't anymore. I just think
it shows respect to people that are supporting you to keep them informed.
Basically. I'm glad they're happy and living their best lives in private. If that's what they want to do, cool. If they wanna leave Youtube, become sheepherders and knit wooly jumpers for the rest of eternity, cool. Just... tell us. This has been bothering me for a while now because
it feels like they just expect us to stick around no matter what... and we do, so it's working but I'm not happy with how there is never clear information from them.
Other than that, I'm pretty sure Phil will be back with something like a regular schedule (aka 1-3 videos a month) in a while. He still seems passionate about Youtube and his mini rebrand at the start of the year would make no sense if he planned to retire from Youtube. Also I feel like he wouldn't have come out to us if he intended to leave the platform. Dan, I'm not sure. He went on this hiatus for a reason and I don't think that reason was just BIG. He's talked about experiencing creative blocks and breakdowns and those are horrible and can last for years so we'll have to wait and see, I guess.
I’m curious about how different people define “sticking around”. Like what does that really mean/take? Keeping notifications on? Engaging in fandom spaces? Not finding another hyper-fixation? Just caring? I hear more frequently from Dan and Phil than from most friends and family members. Does that mean I feel hurt or resentful that regular communication was no longer a priority (obviously this goes two ways with other relations, not one way with creator-subscribers) and won’t want to have a nice catch up with them after months or years? No. I can be annoyed about lack of communication from my family when there is an event coming up, but there’s nothing I need to hear from D&P that actually affects the running of my life (except live events and yes tour date info communication was a valid complaint).
But what contract is there between creators and their audience besides paid memberships? I don’t expect them to do anything *for* us anymore. Let’s be honest, giving the people what they want was an uncomfortable and unhealthy albeit creative and lucrative way for Dan to passive aggressively vent his issues with phandom behavior, while also connecting with us and trying to understand who we are (whoops I didn’t intend to go there). Still I don’t make decisions on purchasing merchandise based on how much other content has been put out (says the girl who unsubscribed from their newsletters in a fit of rage after the merch drop immediately following Dan’s “still alive” selfie.) But rationally the item itself is a creation of theirs and thus it’s own content and I’ll only buy it if I love it and can afford it.
This isn’t specifically aimed at you Katka, I’ve heard things about Dan and Phil “expecting us to stick around” for years. Obviously everyone’s feelings are valid, but perhaps we all need to think about what we are expecting and why. Because in the end we get to decide what we invest our time and emotions in. Sure there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about them a dozen times, but I’ve stopped wish from the “to just breathe”. You can still enjoy a video, a tweet or picture when it is posted or at the end of the day without waiting with baited breath. I understand that for those who have been in this fandom longer and drew comfort from weekly liveshows that it would feel like falling out of touch with a friend and that sucks, but I don’t think liveshows are the best format for them anymore. Sure Phil did them as a way to cheer us up and Dan did them to express his thoughts and receive validation, but they were also making thousands of dollars while doing that. Clearly they no longer need that extra income, so why deal with any anxiety that came with it? Sometimes feeling like you have to keep in touch is exhausting. That’s why I’m just looking forward to that casual sit on the floor dinner where they catch up with us, like you would with an old friend.
Please note that I am a massive hypocrite and am writing this for myself as much as anyone else. Sorry it was all over the place.
All I meant was just... clear communication, I guess. Like I said, if they don't want to make new content ever, good for them, I just want to be told. With most creators, when they go on hiatus, they tell you for how long. If they don't know that, they say so. You can rely on just being informed when to expect them back, if ever. I really liked how Lilly Singh handled her hiatus for instance (which also included her coming out so I think it's a similar situation in a way, even if hers was more lowkey). We don't get that with Dan and Phil and it kind of makes it hard to support them for me. I feel taken for granted and that's probably on me, but having to wait around for any kind of information on what's going to happen next is exhausting.
It's not that I expect them to make content for us every two weeks or I'm out. I don't mean stay in touch and make live shows and videos and instagram stories all the time. Just... tweet. Like I said, they need to do what they want to do and if that doesn't include Youtube, great, I'll support that. But... tell us. All I want is a tweet now and then informing us what exactly is happening. Because we're all here speculating why they won't upload, what's happening behind the scenes etc. and we wouldn't have to do any of this if they'd just tweet that they need some private time or whatever the reason actually is. That's all I'm asking and I don't think that's too much to expect from a creator you support.
Anyways, this is super personal and I think it's fine to feel this way but it's also fine to be okay with the situation as it is. It's whatever in the end because they'll handle this how they wanna handle it and that's that. But I do feel strung along, you know, and maybe that's silly because in the end they're "just creators" and it's "just entertainment" and it's not that deep but anyways.
flarequake wrote:That’s a good point about what does it look like and also about album cycles and their new normal. If we’re not in the era of 2 videos a month from Phil or even one a month from either of them, they can just tell us, we’ll know not to be expecting and disappointed, still wondering and waiting on them. Otherwise, yes, can carry on amongst ourselves. I don’t like being left while they know, even if they’re just on a break still, they could say so. We’ve possibly all had people f- off, I didn’t expect them to go silent too, it’s a let down by someone I thought I could trust more than that.
I wrote all that and this is basically exactly what I meant, especially the bolded, so +1.
in twenty-bi-teen. Way to be off brand, guys.
