#also cuz imo those people also tend to understand format better which is my vibe lol so there are other reasons but

[essektheylyss]

I know I joked about DVDs but in all seriousness, I'm really glad that there's an option for watching VODs that isn't on Twitch and YouTube. It's been mentioned a few times today, but both of the interfaces of these platforms have been increasingly enshittified. I simply do not use YouTube anymore because of how horrid the interface is. I caught up on campaign 2 entirely on YouTube (and sometimes via podcast) in 2019 with no issues, but it is straight up maddening trying to use it now, and I don't know that I would have made it through the campaign if I was trying to catch up today.

I absolutely understand being tired of additional streaming services and I am absolutely in the same boat, but I also don't know how many people really recognize how gutted media distribution has become in the last ten years in the name of convenience. We all kind of realize it, but it's hard to grasp just how extensive it is. We can talk about independent business choices separately, and we should, but when the only platforms on which you have the option to distribute your work are at best frustrating to use and at worst hostile to human life, when monetization services can censor anyone they please with little explanation and have been cracking down on any content they arbitrarily deem inappropriate, when it is not clear that centralized conglomerate social media sites will continue to exist in the next year let alone decade, it is genuinely crucial for independent creators to start building alternative avenues of distribution that they control now.

#this is not about discussing the independent business choices but just for the record #i do think the way this has been handled thus far is solid and extremely reasonable. #and also i do think people would've lost it if dropout had not started largely subscriber-only and made that decision later. #just saying. I 100% think dropout's model is reasonable but they are STILL more restrictive in subscriber-exclusive content than this is #frankly at this point I do tend to favor creators who actually exhibit some business savvy cuz like #I don't necessarily presume that others will be in the space long term and i just don't have that much time to get invested in things #also cuz imo those people also tend to understand format better which is my vibe lol so there are other reasons but #i did work at a digital media company for five years and felt like fucking cassandra over literally this issue exactly so like #I'm not here to claim that I'm an expert but I do get it #the current situation SUCKS and trying to get through it is like threading a needle during an earthquake. while you're on fire.