One of these days being the head of a social media site is going to get to @jerry and he’s going to crack. We’re going to find him cackling like mad while creating sock accounts for every spy agency in NATO while the entire fediverse loses its collective mind.
I feel so soap-boxy lately, maybe because I’m teaching a class, but here’s another kernel of truth I’ll throw at y’all about communities:
If you are trying to get new people,especially diverse people and young people into your hobby, and your first reaction is to show off your really expensive kit and say how much it cost, you are gatekeeping mega mode, even if you’re just trying to share your interest. Nobody wants to hear there is a $1500 (or $5000) barrier to entry to their new hobby. It’s demoralizing, not educational, and they’re just gonna leave.
Happens in bicycles, drones, photography, astronomy, gaming, marksmanship… you name it, there’s a rich older white dude ready to show off his six grand investment in a hobby to a college student with a three digit bank account.
@hacks4pancakes this is 100% how I got into gunpla. A set was <$20, I already owned half the tools, and the rest cost me another $13. Low barrier to entry if I didn’t like it, or if I wrecked it being new.
Beach sunset - with the circular polarizer and without. Sadly, the circular polarizer got stuck on my UV filter and so I am learning what lens filter wrenches are