While I’m still not exactly keen on the idea of using social media again, I did end up making a channel on YouTube again. It’s really more of a concession, though, in that the bizarre world of video hosting, the music industry continues to lay down an iron fist, and Twitch has completely wussed out by telling everyone to not use any audio ever, because as you know, some random Latin-speaking asshole invented Mario, not Nintendo, and is also probably related to Bach’s lawyers, as Bach also invented crickets. On YouTube, it seems that exactly one third of the stream archive videos I’ve uploaded there have some kind of random claim to some random point in the video, but haven’t been taken down, they’ll just be bombarded with ads. Unlike Twitch, adblock actually works there if you’re so inclined, it’s not like I was looking to make 2 whole cents from YouTube anyway. The Sims 2 video seems to have the most on a single video so far, and yet it still seems to be up as well, but maybe not in Germany. I don’t have a German VPN set up right now so I can’t really see for myself.
Looking at this, if about a third of whatever I’ve done over time is going to have some random audio claim, if Twitch ever figures out an effectively worse system to just randomly delete videos, that’s why I have the mirrors set up. Anything that can’t exist on Twitch or YouTube, I’ll find yet another site, regardless of how pornographic or virus-filled the ads would inevitably be, or if the site userbase is mostly violent conspiracy theorists when I run low on options. I also have a collection of MIDIs and a loud player to use instead of regular music the next time I stream anything that might have music. I can also just make my own attempt at music, regardless of how intentionally terrible I might make an album depending on my mood, and I’ll let anyone use it for anything at no cost, aside from big budget productions using a significant chunk of it.
I don’t know that I’d actually return to a standard channel format on YouTube because I really didn’t want to deal with YouTube at all, but I also wanted to set up a host for my stream videos, so this is a compromise in the face of one megacorp doing worse than another. I don’t want to end up streaming there directly either. I’ll exhaust all reasonable options before I launch the crazy and expensive idea of my own stream host. I rarely stream anyway, but I would like to be ready to do so whenever I feel like it. I can cover all kinds of games, whether or not I’m actually able to use a microphone at that time. Of course, not being some complete asshole with a webcam taped to my face and treating viewers purely as disposable income, my odds at any kind of relevance are pretty minimal in the monetized scope of the online zone, not that I’m trying to be popular anyway. It’s more a statement of existence, whether it’s considered conformity or rebellion, and for any friendly sorts that wouldn’t mind having a discussion.
In the meantime, I’m trying to figure out how VR could be affordable outside of the PlayStation and without selling one’s soul to Facebook. At the very least, cutting out all those neon lights in those “gamer machines” would save some money. Money that could be put back toward something practical, like an optical drive. Yes, I will still insist on an optical drive for a modern gaming PC. At least the lasers in that actually do something.