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Got another mastoscold yelling at me for "using the platform to promote" my photos.
For the record, I don't generally sell my photos, here or anywhere else. But even if I did, I fail to see why that would be a problem.
Preventing artists from making a living is a strange hill to want to die on.
@mattblaze I dont get how these clods dont see the difference between indies self promoting and giant corpos hocking their cheap shit.
Like when I say I hate advertising, it means I hate having some company force a post into my feed about whatever useless shit they happen to be peddling.
I WANT lovely people making games, and art, and hand made textile plushies on my feed that I could potentially buy one day as a gift for myself or a loved one
@mattblaze my honest reaction to people like that
@mattblaze My wife's grandmother would calmly advise with a polite smile, "Let them get glad in the pants they got mad in."
Send more photos!
@mattblaze well. I want to see photos.
Share away. 🙃
"Preventing artists from making a living is a strange hill to want to die on."
Anyone who complains about artists using this site to sell their creations needs to be blocked by everyone.
@mattblaze There is a ton of performative purity culture here, we could do without it. That being said I do draw the line at a few things - fascism, hate, racism, but sharing your art and photography... that's ethical y'all.
@mattblaze "mastoscold." I'll need to borrow that term now and then.
@mattblaze I like your photos, and the history you sometimes add about the subjects.
@mattblaze Ignore them. Mastodon is what you make it. Promote what matters to you. Those who don’t care can just move along
@mattblaze That sounds like a good excuse to promote them more, just to wind them up if nothing else.
@mattblaze just like that person on Lemmy who doesn’t want to see artist signatures on comics and cartoons because they assume any promotion is advertising and all advertising is bad…
LOL. These people can block me or block my instance.idc.
@mattblaze Don't let the scolds get you down. Focus on the people who enjoy looking at your pictures. (I hope I don't sound like I'm scolding.)
@mattblaze
Fuck 'em.
I occasionally post a referal link for my mobile phone provider because I genuinely rate them and it gets myself and any referal person a nice freebie.
@mattblaze I suggest you start selling now just to piss these people off hahaha
@mattblaze Strange , I see no issue with it
Props for 'mastoscold'
@mattblaze I often hesitate with posting a link to my store, although it directly supports this mastodon instance in its existence 🤔
@mattblaze
Matt, sorry that happened. Bill
If they want to prevent artists from earning a living, have they heard of AI?
That's what it does.
@mattblaze It's like they can't figure out that they're in charge of what they see on the platform...they're making you responsible for what they see 
Exactly backwards
@mattblaze What is this place for if not sharing your hobbies?
@mattblaze I love your photos! Keep posting them
@mattblaze Thank you for sharing your photos here for my enjoyment.
@mattblaze How are people seeing your toots, if not through recommendations from others? Like, shouldn't they be annoyed with (and stop following) the retooter if they don't like what they're seeing? Assuming they aren't following you of course, in which case their reaction is even more inexplicable.
@mattblaze I cannot understand the level of entitlement one must have to feel justified in telling anyone how to use their account. If you started posting GWAR fan fiction that is entirely your prerogative. Anyone who disagrees is welcome to mute/block/unfollow/launch themselves into low orbit.
@mattblaze
It's not for anyone else to say what you should be tooting so I'd say just ignore them. I really don't mind if artists, photographers, etc. use this as a space to show us and sell things they've made themselves. The reality is that people have to make a living somehow, and mastodon is one of the few places artisans have the potential to do that without supporting a fascist tech bro.
@mattblaze Just block and move on, man.
Whenever one of those crosses my feed (which isn't common, thank goodness) that's what I do. And I don't ever dignify them with aknowledging their existence, unless I feel like giving them a last goodbye that day.
Some people are just dumb. Nothing you can do about it. All you can do is protect yourself from their stupidity.
No need to justify posting your photos. Or whatever else you post. Just shrug and keep posting what you want.
@jorgecandeias being smugly advised to “just block and move on” gets old the thousandth or so time.
@mattblaze Never saw the other 999 times, but OK, then. I won't tell you anything the next times you complain about someone craving for attention that goes after you. It does happen a lot, I've noticed.
Pinky promise.
@mattblaze So weird. Of all the people posting "buy my shit" posts, you have never been one of them.
@mattblaze wtaf. seriously and if you are who cares if you do.
it also begs the question if this particular imbicile is so agrieved by this wholly made up outrage why does he follow or visit your profile?
@mattblaze Sorry for venting in your mentions, but it is just so embarrassing, and frustrating, that people like this, with poor social skills and a complete lack of self-awareness often end up representing the fediverse as a whole.
At least if you go by some of the comments on Bluesky.
Tried to look through your replies, unsuccessfully -- and I don't expect you to name and shame them, but short of reporting them to their admin to take care of their own community, or at least telling them off, I really can't think of much else that can be done to deal with this problem.
Real bummer.
@mattblaze Blockity block. Keep doing you.
@c_dan4th We really have to tackle this problem more proactively.
We've seen too many people driven away with this antisocial behavior already. Prominent creators. Black people. Women.
Yeah, you can block when it happens a few times, but eventually, you'll just get tired and move on to Bluesky, where this just doesn't seem to be as big of an issue.
Not sure to what degree this has to do with the lack of options for locking replies to followers-only, and how much of it is just the culture on here.
But if we want the fediverse to be a safe and welcoming place for everyone, it will require some work from all of us.
@stefan @c_dan4th yep. I personally know several prominent artists, authors, and entertainers who were driven away from here by people enforcing these made up rules. The thinking (to the extent there’s actual thinking happening here) is that anyone who had a large following on twitter was - by definition - part of the problem with twitter.
@mattblaze I know you know this better than me, but what a perfect example of "correlation does not imply causation." Xitter.
@mattblaze @stefan @c_dan4th SPAMming relentlessly is toxic: gently telling people what you are up to (even involving money) is generally not, IMHO. But distinguishing the two is nuanced and subjective, and to some extent in the eye of each beholder.
@mattblaze On one hand, I do sympathize with all the marginalized people who originally came to the fediverse to seek refuge from Twitter and other (mostly corporate) online spaces where they were not safe and welcome themselves.
But there has to be a way we can share the fediverse together.
@stefan
> sympathize with all the marginalized people
Yet who tried to annoy someone posting his art photos are not of the marginalized kind. Those are IMO paid trolls. Plenty of them, esp on Xwamp, from where they likely came.
@ohir Getting paid. In the fediverse?
Ha!
But on a more serious note, I really think it's just people who see themselves as the defenders of a small, vulnerable community. Fighting a righteous fight.
We have to actively call this stuff out and report it as harassment.
@stefan
> I really think it's just people who see themselves as the defenders of a small, vulnerable community.
Err... Vulnerable, small, offended by the architecture? What Matt Blaze reported fits into the operative playbook. Below analysis from 2020, and it didn't abated since.
https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/russian-disinformation-campaigns-on-twitter/
@ohir I tried to find the reply or replies Matt was referring to, so it's really hard to comment on this further.
Mostly just going by the type of interactions I have witnessed, largely in screenshots getting shared around. And those definitely were not "paid trolls".
@mattblaze Thanks for posting your photos. I enjoy the pics and the stories you tell about the subject
@mattblaze You can’t win with social media. If you started posting colour photos someone would be along to accuse you of selling out.
There’s nowt as strange as folk, as they say around here.
@mattblaze That’s ridiculous. The whole point of Mastodon is to do what you want with your feed. If people don’t like it, they don’t have to see it.
@mattblaze
Oh, gross. I hope you blocked them so your photos won't offend them any more.
I enjoy your photos! The blurb you add to each is cool, too, I learn a lot from those.
@mattblaze I find it amazing that you provide millions of pixels for free. With the additional benefit of the explanation how they were composed. Thanks, and please keep posting them!
@mattblaze I thoroughly enjoy your photography posts. I can tell that you really enjoy your work. Please ignore the negativity. You're provide the world with art, and you put your soul in each one. This is type of content that should be encouraged.
@mattblaze There are some people who have the misguided idea that any there is no difference between an ad by a corporation and a self-promotion post by an independent worker who sells the product of their labor directly to the public...
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