Yatsufusa 2024-05-26 00:57:51

@Skoops
(Sorry for the late reply. Other matters got in the way again and again.) As somebody who hands out advice on NG every now and then, I can confirm that there's a lot less follow-up on said advice than one would expect. I have pretty much given up writing game reviews for that reason. Nowadays I read the artist news and try to help those "in need" if I can. I think I'm slowly getting better at resisting the temptation to engage with users who give off the impression that they might be too lazy to even 'begin' to figure stuff out on their own, but nobody can be an expert in 'everything', so I still give people the benefit of the doubt from time to time.

But recently it has gotten to a point were I have been writing comments telling people to read the Help/FAQ. Or pointed them to the Audio Appeal Thread after hearing them whine about being banned from the Audio Portal for two years. There is a possibility that I have 'Newgrounds-brain' and am unable to see how certain things might be confusing to new users, but the FAQ...? Even a child should be able to figure that one out...
On one hand I genuinely feel sorry for those users, on the other hand I'm -worried-for-humanity- I mean: 'worried that they'll never learn to figure stuff out on their own'. I wish I could just take more of an Harlan Ellison-approach* but I'm afraid that's not who I am - and not every user would have the mental capacity to 'get' harsh advice.

In the light of this: What is 'your' decision making process to decide who gets your help and who doesn't? And how do you avoid getting frustrated to the point that you don't want to help 'anyone' anymore?

Also: Thank you so much for adding a link to that list of Tutorials and Learning Resources! I'm sure the artists who come across this interview will greatly appreciate it.

* Before he was successful, Joseph Michael Straczynski (who later went on to create 'Babylon 5') got in touch with American writer Harlan Ellison to ask for advice. Ellison's reply was: "Alright, I'll tell you what the deal is. I can tell you why your stuff isn't selling: It’s crap! Stop. Writing. Crap! If it weren't crap it would sell!"

Skoops 2024-05-26 09:58:35

@Yatsufusa It's mostly just passing a vibe check, but just about everyone gets one real attempt at help from me, and from that point on, the ball is in their court. I dunno if they'll try harder, work smarter or anything else, but if they don't, no biggie. They can only waste my time once.

So far nothing has made me want to give up entirely, though I often think I try too hard for free. Maybe I should do my own tutorials and then I can just link to them whenever those redundant questions crop up. ?

Yatsufusa 2024-05-26 17:51:35

@Skoops Thanks for making time for me. I can relate: At times, talking to artists feels like an unsalaried job... :|

(To avoid misunderstandings: I'm not asking for help with the next one, I just thought it might be interesting to you, since you brought it up.)
On the topic of tutorials/guides: Aside from the illustrated tutorials and videos, I've seen many users (mostly moderators) write up guides in the form of news posts. Since I don't have that much 'original insights' to offer, I have taken a different approach: Since the playlists have become more versatile, I've been collecting Guides, Tutorials & Other Help* in a group of playlists for a few months now - to the best of my ability and understanding. 'Compiling them' in that form has been going "okay", but since there are no measurements of "success" (view count, rating, favorites, display what other playlists added this one...) the creator remains in the dark about how helpful and visible they are for people.
I think it's an "okay" way to build a 'library' for people to explore on their own. But like with the NG wiki, you just put it out there and how for the best without knowing how many artists it really reaches. Or how many even look for guides in the first place. ("You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.")

* Shameless self-promotion of 'me promoting what is mostly the work of others': https://www.newgrounds.com/collection/330234/guides-tutorials-other-help
(Since animation and anatomy have a ton of overlap with everything else, I kept most of it bundled together for now; instead of splitting it into a bunch of tiny, specialized playlists users would have to navigate back and forth through.)