TerranCraft is seven year old.

I usually talk about the changes I have made on the website for the year and what I plan to do in the future in an anniversary post. As per tradition, it has to be done in a humble brag way to give a delusion sense of self-importance =). But I had sort of done that at the end of last year already, so I’m just going to talk about random things. This is after all my personal blog, isn’t it?

Is it though? It dawned on me that TerranCraft is more than just my platform to say what I want. When I say something based on a hunch and I don’t give concise arguments with evidence, people lift their eyebrows. There are times I just wrongfully thought the reasoning behind certain arguments is obvious, but there are times I simply want to say random things like another average Starcraft fan. Some recent private and public conversations got me aware of the high standard some have for me when discussing Starcraft. I am getting aware that it is not merely random words from another blogger. Some use my words as justification for balance debate (e.g., “even Max say X”), so I learn to unwillingly accept the “unspoken responsibility”. I want to be clear that I never once say I am good in Starcraft or I should be taken as the authoritative voice. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

Some people are abusive toward me, because they disagree with things I wrote. Why do people get so obsessed with others they dislike? It would make sense if you pay attention to a politician you dislike, because s/he affects your life. But a blogger about Starcraft? I don’t get it. Well, thanks to them, at least my ability to differentiate good critical feedback from cynical comments grows with experience. Of course, these people are just minority, as there are many many of you build a positive rapport by bouncing ideas with me.

Oh, there is this peeve I want to talk about. I get agitated when people refer TerranCraft as they/them (i.e., plural). TerranCraft is a one-man effort. Everything is done by me, except for the obvious things such as Blizzard’s original artwork. In academia, it is a great deal to ensure you attribute credit correctly. Relationships are broken over who is the first author. When I see TerranCraft referred as they/them, the academic inside me sees it as credit shared with nonexistent others (academics are suckers in this). I know people don’t have a bad intention, but it just makes me twitch.

People also mistake those who share my articles on reddit as the original author. Don’t get me wrong; I am really happy that the articles get shared and I never once thought that anyone attempts to steal (keep sharing please!). So I thought it is a good idea to ask if I can get a verification tick on my username on r/starcraft. I messaged the mod more than a year ago, explaining my reason and clarifying that I understand their policy: the verification is to prevent impersonation and it is not a status symbol. They basically rejected me on the ground that people don’t directly claim to be me. Are they encouraging me to create other accounts to impersonate myself? I doubt others on the list met this criteria anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The fact that TerranCraft is on an independent site and not on mainstream platforms like YouTube and Twitch gives me a lot of freedom. There is no guideline as to what content I can’t put out. I also don’t aim to work in the esports industry, so i don’t have to live up to a certain image to ensure I am employable and likable. I really enjoy the independence to write what I want.

I want to thank all those who are with me since the early days. It is kind of sad when some of you want to meet up at Blizzcon, but I always cannot make the trip either because my schedule is packed or I don’t have a ticket. Blizzcon is still on my bucket list.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank those who contribute via PayPal multiple times. I always email those who have contributed to show my appreciation, but I am not sure if I should keep emailing these selective heroes each time they send aid via PayPal. I don’t want to spam them. So just to let you know, you are not unnoticed!

There are readers withdrawing support via Patreon because of the controversy regarding Patreon’s censorship. I totally understand and I won’t take it the wrong way. I definitely appreciate you taking the time to let me know the underlying reason. You should definitely make a stand for what you believe in.

Seven year is a long time for consistent original content creation. Let me know in the comment; who else have created original Starcraft content for at least seven years? I’m sure there are some unsung heroes I am not aware of. I want to drop them a thank you note.