Sound like anyone you know?

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Cüréthañ

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« on: February 16, 2014, 09:10:18 am »
Found this reply on a frontpage reddit thread the other day.  Made me suspect it was Scott, which I posited in a jokey reply.  Naturally I got downvoted because all the other redditors wanted to believe it was GRRM (despite the fact that GRRM doesn't FB or twitter), lol.  Anyways, just reposting here for shits and giggles.

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[–]tthrowawayme 2616 points 3 days ago
Hi Totalbiscuit,
I don't know if you're going to be reading these replies, but I made an account just for this message, in case it helps.
I am a published author through a major publishing company. I have quite a few books out now, so I guess I've achieved something like your level of success, although it's hard to compare apples and oranges. But anyway, I've had enough to know where you're coming from.
I used to interact with my readers a great deal. I did Facebook and Twitter, had an extensive web page, ran tons of contests, etc. I also regularly read forum comments about my books, telling myself that it was part of the job. How could I please my readers if I didn't know what they wanted? If there was a consensus on something, and it didn't derail my main storyline, shouldn't I give it to them?
So I read. And read. And read. Until the day I woke up and realized: not only did I not want to read anymore, I didn't want to WRITE anymore, either.
Because you're right. There's only one of you or me, but there's thousands of them. And they all have opinions, which is absolutely their right, no question. But just as they have the right to their opinion, I also have rights--like not to have to listen to it. A person can only take the bombardment for so long without going quite, quite mad, and I'm close enough as it is.
They are anonymous; they are risking nothing. You, on the other hand, have your life, or at least your job, on the line. That is in no way an equal situation, and the worst of them, the ones who comment not to help or inform others, but just to destroy--they know this. And they use it to hammer at you, day after day after day. Until the joy you felt in what you do evaporates, buried by an avalanche of their disdain.
I won't go into the obvious--that most of the biggest critics are those who offer nothing themselves, who envy you for the success you've had, but are too lazy to try to make anything, to give anything, or to do anything themselves. You already know this. You've been here a while. Instead, I'll tell you the only thing I can that might make things better: you're doing the right thing by tuning out.
I did it, since it was either that or leave a profession I loved. I kept up my Facebook, Twitter, and web pages, but I severely curtailed my presence on them. And I stayed off of all forums. I thought it would be hard. But I found to my surprise that, after a short while, it really wasn't.
I didn't miss even the good comments, because I was tired of hearing all those voices in my head when what I needed to hear was my own. And I certainly didn't miss the bad! Take yourself away and you can regain the joy in what you do. I now live in blissful ignorance of my audience's reactions to anything. And you know what? My book sales didn't drop even slightly as a result. I doubt your subscribers will, either.
I've seen your show; it's good. You can hear the passion you have for the games you play in your voice. I hope you never lose that. I am sorry to hear that things have become so difficult for you, and hope that taking a breather will give you some much needed peace. If it does for you what it did for me, you may come to realize the same thing I did: that your real fans love what you do, value it and value you, and always will. Good luck.
Retracing his bloody footprints, the Wizard limped on.

Madness

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« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2014, 01:06:10 pm »
I wish I could read more of the posts but from what I could find Totalbiscuit is an SC2 "Commentator," so to speak?

It honesty does read like him but then we're talking about Bakker... if he wouldn't give up his time for us, he wouldn't know enough to watch SC2 videos, unless of course he's a closet SC fanatic. In which case, write damnit.

But a big giveaway. I don't remember Bakker ever having "contests."
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Meyna

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« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2014, 01:12:09 pm »
It does sound like Bakker, though Bakker would certainly choose a more pretentious throwaway account name than "tthrowawayme" ;D
witness

themerchant

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« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2014, 04:59:16 pm »
I don't think it reads like Bakker that much at all.

Totalbiscuit started off as a youtuber doing videos about games, like world of warcraft, he's much bigger now but i don't really follow him, i noticed he was commentating some hearthstone tournament at Blizz Con.

Srancy

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« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2014, 08:26:29 pm »
Definitely not Bakker

Cüréthañ

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« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2014, 10:41:32 pm »
I mentioned it in my OP, but the post that is being replied to (from TotalBiscuit) was on the front page of Reddit. (TB is not an internet identity I have any interest in either, generally.)
That means it is one of those things you can easily stumble across without being a member of his sub-reddit - the title (about the pitfalls of being internet famous) was intruiging. Which is how I got there, and I would assume, so did the author of the reply.
Not actually an unlikely event for a high priest of Procastidemus, such as Scott.
Further, I would expect Bakker to use an obvious thowaway account name after his westeros 'sock-puppet' debacle.
But yeh, just further explaining why I thought it was a possibility.   ;D
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« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2014, 07:00:16 pm »
I haven't had a chance to look yet so I don't know how much Bakker is actually participating versus what is just being synchronized with his blog but a poster at Westeros pointed out that Bakker has a handle on reddit and it is cujara_cinmoi.

[EDIT: Who knew... apparently Bakker is a closest redditor; cujara_cinmoi.]
« Last Edit: February 22, 2014, 07:47:41 pm by Madness »
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