This has been stirring in my mind for a while and I just wanted to put this out there. Recent goings on in comics are what brought this on but really it can apply to any medium. There's an old saying in entertainment that there's no such thing as bad publicity. I'd like you to keep that in mind as I take a moment to step up on my soap box.

It's been common practice in serialized media for there to occasionally be shocking events or twists to get people talking about the product in question. It's a tactic as old as dirt and yet one which still works pretty well. This in and of itself is not quite so terrible but, from my perspective, things as of late have become...uglier for lack of a better term. Perhaps because the ad revenue model spurring click-bait titles or social media in general bringing out the absolute worst in people, what used to be (sometimes tacky) twists or gimmicks seems to have become manufactured controversy to outright antagonism. The end goal is to get people talking and in this day and age it seems the easiest way to make people talk is to piss them off, whether that be denigrating fans or making moronic, pointless changes with minimal justification that will surely result in angry consumers. So angry they write a rant at length about this product which has them so mad, so furious that one wonders how it could be so bad and decided to buy it to see for themself. Word of mouth is good for raising brand awareness and nothing gets words out of mouths like stoking the fires of rage.

I personally have little energy or patience for rage anymore. I used to rage quite a bit so I understand the cathartic nature but eventually I learned it only made me more miserable. I'd rather talk about things I love than things I dislike and I'd urge others to try and do the same, not only for the sake of mental health and happiness, but also so you don't let yourself get used by assholes trying to capitalize on knee-jerk anger. These players give absolutely no shits about your frustrations. All they care about is the bottom line. Next time you get so mad about a stupid change you feel compelled to go on a twitter tirade, don't. If you do that, you're doing exactly what the swine want. Just pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and let go. You're words will do nothing but raise awareness and possibly sales of the thing you're mad at.

In the final analysis, companies just want money so if you're truly that displeased and want to demonstrate it in a quantifiable way, just don't financially support what frustrates you. If you wish to prevent others from spending money on the irritating product, I've found rather than dissuade the uninformed, it's just better not to inform them at all. Like Oscar Wilde said, "There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

I know sometimes it's hard to resist the temptation, but please, don't give in. Starve the nonsense of the attention it so desperately craves. If a product can't stand by it's own merits, let it fall. And above all else I thoroughly encourage you to instead share, at length, the wonderful, nerdy things that bring happiness to your life. Enthusiasm is infectious and I personally find it far more gratifying to share my love of geek stuff then indulge in the alternative.