I’ve added a paywall to Sigma Game for those who are interested in what will be a very modest amount of subscriber-only content. One post per week will be at least partially-paywalled, as per the example of today’s post. I’m basically following the model of Simplicius here, who provides a substantial amount of free content with a dash of paywalled-content to essentially express appreciation for his backers.
Communication is an art, not a science. But we can nevertheless apply certain scientific principles to the practice of that art, which is to say that we can observe existing patterns, formulate hypotheses about the way those patterns reliably play out, and then test those hypotheses.
Being more a student of social interaction than a participant by nature and nurture alike, I have done this and I have determined that a considerable amount of social conflict is caused by the use of just two words.
The first conflict-inspiring word is “why”. While there is a school of thought that teaches a) there are no stupid questions, b) all curiosity is merited and must be assuaged, and c) all questions are innocent and posed in good faith, this is an objectively stupid school and all three of its assumptions are observably incorrect.
If you ever wonder why there isn’t just one single subscription to everything, it’s because I have learned the hard way over time that every project needs to be capable of standing alone on the basis of its own merits. Where one gets into trouble is misallocating resources from productive projects to an unproductive one, and keeping the streams separate is the best way to avoid the temptation to prop up something that really doesn’t have the support required to justify the time and effort required to keep it going.
But please note that there is absolutely no need for any VP reader to feel any pressure to back externalities like Sigma Game that are also offered for free. The community here is absolutely fantastic in its support for our various projects, and the paywall is primarily intended for those outside this community who are encountering the SSH and experiencing its utility for the first time to express their support for it.
“SSH awareness is an invaluable tool and what better place to come for the regular dose of it than straight to the source?”