This is my house, or how to post comments appropriately.
over 1 year ago
– Sun, Mar 23, 2025 at 08:31:44 AM
First of all, I want to say a thank you to the vast majority of backers who have been waiting patiently, who have been engaging positively with the updates when they come. You folks rule, and none of the following is for you.
I have been dealing with some extremely entitled and rude comments, because the book is later than originally estimated. Oddly, these are mostly from "superbackers" who presumably back a lot of projects, and still seem unaware that somewhere between 70% and 84% of Kickstarters are late. However, I'm not here to explain or excuse why the project is late; I wish it wasn't but here we are. We're still working on it, and even though according to the very big letters that state "Kickstarter is not a store" and "Rewards aren't guaranteed", the book will be finished and you will receive it.
However, this is my house. When you talk in the comments, you're not talking to a faceless corporate employee you can bully (you should also not do this). You're talking to one person who is the entirety of the game design and project management team. As such, you shouldn't talk to me in a way that you would not talk to me in my house. I would not come into your house and be rude. You should not come into mine and be rude.
When I have responded negatively to these comments, I've had people argue back and tone police me, telling me that while they see it must be difficult to deal with entitled people, I should rise above it. Again, no. This is my house. If you come into my house and are rude to me, you cannot cry "think of the children" if I am rude back. I will be. This is my house.
So, I will not be answering comments from people posting "news?" (just blank and unhelpful), "sad this project has been abandoned" (it hasn't been and I've not given any indication that is has), or "Shit I think by now Moses could have carved 20 commandments into stone before we get a book" (actually pretty funny but still rude).
If you ask good faith questions, or engage with the updates, I will answer in good faith and engage with you. Tellingly, none of the people who do post unhelpful comments ever engage with the project updates.
So, to reiterate, this is my house, be kind. If you are not kind do not expect me to take the high road because I will not, and "are we there yet? are we there yet?" is no more helpful in a Kickstarter project than it is on a long family drive.
Again, many thanks to all the people who do know how to act appropriately, and we look forward to getting the book to you, literally as soon as we can.
Best, Oli, Sinister Beard Games.
