Content Creators, Entitlement, and Patience (or lack thereof)

[Dangit2019]

For about a year now, I've been following everything released by Freddie Wong and his associates because to me at least, they represent one of the last hopes for high quality video creators on YouTube. Not to say they're the ONLY ones, but they have brought their content to the masses, so at least they're proving the model can work on such a scale.

Their biggest production, a webseries by the name of Video Game High School, was an immense success complimented by a great Kickstarter initiative. It was all given to the public, for free, on their YouTube channel and their own site, RocketJump.com, at no additional cost, with the only profits coming from their site advertisers and merchandise/DVD sales.

They've confirmed that they are working on a second "season" for this June, and indeed a THIRD season set for November. That's great. Fantastic. I can't wait.

Sadly, it seems that their fans' comments on their page and others on their websites show some of the worst the Internet has to offer in terms of patience.

Here's some quotes from the comments page on the article including the announcement of the new season's release date:

when is it coming out wot day

like if you guys want a 1 minunte preview

I understand you want to make it as good as possible, but could you rush production a little bit, im not saying hurry, but mabey have to people write and the other direct the show at the same time.

And, as an added bonus, this fine gentlemen:

Buy my shirts.

All of these quotes, with the exception of the shirt dude, show a disturbing trend in content creating communities: a fanbase spoiled by short releases not recognizing the difference between releasing a 3 minute short in 2 weeks and 2.5 hour movie-quality webseries.

I mean, there's just something wrong with us when a content creator plans to release sequels to a next-to-zero profit webseries filled with advanced VFX that cost $636,010.71 to make, for free, with a detailed plan for production, and a specific release date BEFORE IT'S EVEN SHOT and this is the way the fans react.

Not only that, but other shows under the Rocket Jump moniker are jumped on simply for being something that isn't VGHS season 2. Such shows as Brian Firenzi Reviews Movies.

gawd when will the next episode come out this is time better send on vghs something that almost every one who comes to this website wants

WHERE THE HECK IS 10
VGHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

omg, how lame ... pls concentrate on the thing that really matters to us: VGHS

and so on and so on. Mind you, these videos weren't even forcefully marketed or anything, people were just mad because they got something different than what they wanted. For, I repeat, free.

This isn't an isolated incident, free and/or independent content of all kinds is getting lambasted for not coming when people want it to. In my opinion, free and independent works should face the criticism that all art has to face, but should not suffer for failing to meet the expectations of horribly entitled "fans".

P.S. Happy New Year, dipshits.

 

[TimeLord]

This is interesting as I see this every week on YouTube. Every Friday, RoosterTeeth (or more specifically, the Achievement Hunter crew) release a Minecraft Let's Play video. Cool, they are making free content on a weekly basis for the sole purpose of entertaining the masses. But god help them if an episode is an hour or more late. Even their videos that have nothing to do with their Minecraft stuff get comments like "WHERE THE FUCK IS THE LETS PLAY??" and other such stupidity because god forbid they are a little late with their free content you aren't paying for.

The best comment I saw was a few weeks ago when the Let's Play episode was released a couple of hours late, there was one user who stated on the Let's Play;

Thank god this is up, I almost unsubscribed

No you didn't, if you cared that much about wanting to see the video in the first place then you wouldn't have unsubscribed for the crime of being slightly late.

A small but unfortunately vocal minority of people (more so people on the internet) are entitled idiots. It's a wonder free content creators put up with some of the nonsense they get thrown at them.

But then in the case of the AH guys, they usually just comment on it in their videos and show they really don't care what a minority of fools think. Which is always fun.

 

[aba1]

To be fair isn't youtube known for commentors being the scum of the earth with just slightly more balance than 4chan more than likely sharing loyal fans?

 

[Dangit2019]

To be fair isn't youtube known for commentors being the scum of the earth with just slightly more balance than 4chan more than likely sharing loyal fans?

All of these quotes were taken from their independent site RocketJump. They (RocketJump) responded to some of the lower 3 quotes in a polite and non-confrontational manner, even though they had every right to just tell them to shut the f&%$ up and wait for a few months.

 

[aba1]

To be fair isn't youtube known for commentors being the scum of the earth with just slightly more balance than 4chan more than likely sharing loyal fans?

All of these quotes were taken from their independent site RocketJump. They (RocketJump) responded to some of the lower 3 quotes in a polite and non-confrontational manner, even though they had every right to just tell them to shut the f&%$ up and wait for a few months.

Ohhh jeez that is brutal... I think the problem is that a lot of these people have no grasp as to how much work goes into making a tv show or web series etc. When ever you see someone working on web design or web shows etc in the media it is always near instant so nobody really seems to really understand the amount of work or time that goes into it and end up complaining because of that.

 

[Doclector]

It's something that's always puzzled me. I won't say it doesn't bother me when something that should be up by now isn't up, that's just simple disappointment, but I won't complain about it, let alone so harshly.

And it's more than just youtube. Something as simple as joke pages on facebook gets just as much bile thrown at it all the time. If on picture isn't funny, or it's old, people start saying "THIS PAGE IS SHIT, UNLIKE". You're getting this shit for free, and likeliness is that the poster isn't getting anything, what does it really matter, why does it have to be serious business?

We have this wealth of free entertainment at our fingertips, and some people go around acting like they pay an arm and a leg for it. It just doesn't make much sense.

 

[Vhite]

Yes, I saw people ***** like this on Spoonys website. The guy doesnt have any regual show yet he works hard to come out with new videos, many of them hours long. There were periods were he was having psychological issues from how hard he was working yet people still ***** about how long some videos take to come out, especially now during the holidays when everyone wants to relax.

My message for such people is completely genuine, pure, from depths of my heart,FUCK YOU! and if I could be transported to you trough internet I would also kick you in stomach. If you dont like it, leave. If you donated it means you like what the guy is doing, you didnt buy a right to *****. I waited on Cinemassacre.com for new AVGN episode almost a year while he was working on his movie. Did I *****? NO. I respect that movies are the guys primal interest even if I dont care about them.

 

[Charli]

Y'know I once investigated this trend. Nearly every single one of the people I checked out commenting like this were around the 14-17 age group.

Uncanny huh?

It happens to nearly every semi popular thing on the internet, entitled little people with too much alotted internet time swarm around it and make their demands.
Ignore and proceed with complimenting/critiquing the entertainment in front of you.
No one should pay attention to those little shites other than trolls.

And woe betide the content creator if he/she engages them. I see cavalcades of comments like 'omg y so fukin hostile bro, i jus wan more of your stupid shit, fine fuk dis I dun care about this anywee, u just lost me as a subscriber!!!1'

...Like they're even worth the time. It's just something you accept and learn to deprive of attention. Otherwise it festers.

 

[Lieju]

when is it coming out wot day

like if you guys want a 1 minunte preview

I understand you want to make it as good as possible, but could you rush production a little bit, im not saying hurry, but mabey have to people write and the other direct the show at the same time.

I don't think those are that bad.
The first is a question about the schedule(showing poor comprehension skill more than anything), the second about how they are anticipating it a lot(I think?), and the last is a suggestion as to how they could speed up the production.

Considering the kind of crap people who create content for free get on a regular basis, if those are the worst you could find, the fanbase of those guys is pretty well-behaved.

I don't think it's wrong to show interest in the future work, or ask for more.
But being a dick about it? A different matter.

 

[Zeke17]

I've definitely seen this in regards to the red letter media guys. (The people who made those 90 minute long "Harry Plinkett" Star Wars prequel reviews) Some people just constantly badger the poor guys about when their next Plinkett review will be up. Granted, they only come out about once a year, but they're free to begin with.

 

[Dangit2019]

I've definitely seen this in regards to the red letter media guys. (The people who made those 90 minute long "Harry Plinkett" Star Wars prequel reviews) Some people just constantly badger the poor guys about when their next Plinkett review will be up. Granted, they only come out about once a year, but they're free to begin with.

My only response to your post is this:

 

[Twilight_guy]

I would be upset but people being jerks and making demands on something that is provided pro bono isn't something new. This also isn't the worst expression of it. People making demands of charities that provided free food, or toys during Christmas in a recent topical instance, tend to be far more odious in nature.

 

[Beryl77]

People do that for the same reasons that they behave like assholes on the internet. They just type some idiotic bullshit because there are no consequences. I'm not sure why this behavior surprises you. It's everywhere on the internet, not just on content creators and the examples you took aren't even that bad, there's far worse.
Also, in this case you have to consider that many are probably pretty young and inexperienced and just don't know how much effort they have to put into each video.

 

[Dangit2019]

when is it coming out wot day

like if you guys want a 1 minunte preview

I understand you want to make it as good as possible, but could you rush production a little bit, im not saying hurry, but mabey have to people write and the other direct the show at the same time.

I don't think those are that bad.
The first is a question about the schedule(showing poor comprehension skill more than anything), the second about how they are anticipating it a lot(I think?), and the last is a suggestion as to how they could speed up the production.

I used these because the first one showed someone who wasn't happy unless they got an exact date (again, the series just got out of writing stage), the second one wants to rally for a 1 minute preview (even though, again, THERE ISN'T EVEN ANY DAILEYS, LET ALONE EDITED FOOTAGE), and the third one asks them to rush production and have people write and direct at the same time (how? write on set?).

They aren't the rudest, but they illustrate that people just cannot comprehend actual, long-time work being put into the things they watch in minutes.

 

[Entitled]

All of these quotes were taken from their independent site RocketJump. They (RocketJump) responded to some of the lower 3 quotes in a polite and non-confrontational manner, even though they had every right to just tell them to shut the f&%$ up and wait for a few months.

Yeah, they certainly had a "right" to say "shut the f&%$ up" and ragequit for the lulz. As much as the fans had a "right" to tell them to eat dick and drown themselves in a cesspit. Everyone has a right to be an asshole.

But instead, the fans asked when the next episode is coming, and if there is any way to hurry up the process, and the creators politely replied to their questions.

Umm... The Horror?

 

[Entitled]

when is it coming out wot day

like if you guys want a 1 minunte preview

I understand you want to make it as good as possible, but could you rush production a little bit, im not saying hurry, but mabey have to people write and the other direct the show at the same time.

I don't think those are that bad.
The first is a question about the schedule(showing poor comprehension skill more than anything), the second about how they are anticipating it a lot(I think?), and the last is a suggestion as to how they could speed up the production.

I used these because the first one showed someone who wasn't happy unless they got an exact date (again, the series just got out of writing stage), the second one wants to rally for a 1 minute preview (even though, again, THERE ISN'T EVEN ANY DAILEYS, LET ALONE EDITED FOOTAGE), and the third one asks them to rush production and have people write and direct at the same time (how? write on set?).

They aren't the rudest, but they illustrate that people just cannot comprehend actual, long-time work being put into the things they watch in minutes.

This has nothing to do with entitlement or patience, it's a matter of how knowledgeable the public is about film-production procedures. Apparently, not a lot. Still, the worst thing you can blame them with would be ignorance, and I think it would be a very elitist thing to call ordinary people "ignorant" for not knowing exactly how movies are produced.

 

[Dangit2019]

All of these quotes were taken from their independent site RocketJump. They (RocketJump) responded to some of the lower 3 quotes in a polite and non-confrontational manner, even though they had every right to just tell them to shut the f&%$ up and wait for a few months.

Yeah, they certainly had a "right" to say "shut the f&%$ up" and ragequit for the lulz. As much as the fans had a "right" to tell them to eat dick and drown themselves in a cesspit. Everyone has a right to be an asshole.

But instead, the fans asked when the next episode is coming, and if there is any way to hurry up the process, and the creators politely replied to their questions.

Umm... The Horror?

Whatever. How can I trust your opinion when you're Entitled yourself! (c wut i did thar)

When I said they had the right to tell them to shut up, "them" meant the lovely people who insulted RocketJump's other shows because they weren't the shows that "they" wanted.

The first 3 quotes were misguided, but not sinister. The bottom 3 were the ones I believed deserved some mod wrath from the creators.

 

[MrPhyntch]

A key thing to keep in mind is the idea or the "vocal minority". Let's assume that 100,000 people have watched these videos. If there are 100 people on RocketHub saying these things, that represents a 0.1% total of his viewer base coplaining. Now let's assume that, like in all communities, only 1% of those who care say anything. Now we are at 10% of the original 100,000 lack patience for the new show. While 10,000 of 100,000 seems a lot, remember that 10% of anything will ALWAYS contradict the other 90%. Please note that regular polling in the United States shows that MORE than 10% of US citizens believe that the moon landings were faked, JFK was killed by a second shooter, the WTC bombings were staged by Dubya, and need I go on? Sure, several of these polls have skewed poll selection, but doesn't this?

After all, the people who post on these forums or the RocketHub comments or whatever are the people who are most passionate about whatever they signed up for. This passion tends to lead to an impatience as well, as if they are really passionate, they tend to crave and desire it. Ergo, the people who sign up for these forums and communities tend to be the ones who will be most likely to be impatient about it.

THEN, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that most polite people who WOULD sign up for these communities anyway will tend not to post as much, simply due to the fact that it's generally seen as more polite to not add to a discussion when you have nothing new to contribute. Impolite people, however, don't care about such trivialties, and so will say the exact same thing over an over again, oftentimes the exact same people posting the exact same thing, simply because they feel that THEY need to be heard MORE. So the majority of posts come from the same dozen or so people, even though they represent an even SMALLER percentage of the already paltry 0.1% of the original group.

I really wanted to blame entitlement society and raising kids to demand instant gratification and blah blah blah, but then I realized that this really is just a small portion of the wider audience, and while those things do apply, the problem is not as bad or as widespread as a cursory glance would suggest.

You're getting this shit for free, and likeliness is that the poster isn't getting anything, what does it really matter, why does it have to be serious business?

We have this wealth of free entertainment at our fingertips, and some people go around acting like they pay an arm and a leg for it. It just doesn't make much sense.

While my next point doesn't apply in this case (I love Freddie Wong very much), this is a very important point i feel I need to make, simply because other have touched on it in this topic as well (including the OP).

Things do not instantly become good just because they are free. Things do not get a free pass just because they are free. If I was offered something good for free and I don't get it, I AM entitled to complain (as long as I complain properly, again, doesn't apply to the freddiew thing) that the promiser was a liar. If I get something for free that causes damages, I AM allowed to copmlain and/or be compensated for said damages. If I go to a burger joint, they give me a free sandwich, and it's coated in dog shit, I'm not going to just shrug and say "well, I didn't pay for it...", I'm taking that to the FDA, get whoever did that fired and/or shut down.

Again, this doesn't apply in this case to these people, but PLEASE stop using bullshit arguments. There are plenty of things to point out about these jerks, saying "oh hoh, but it's free, you can't complain!" just makes you sound like an uptight asshole.