The coordinated push to eliminate weather websites

[Mike Smith]

I took my site permanently offline today after 30 years.

That is just a shame, Dan.

I have been major league throttled by X and I have no idea why. Section 230 is killing us.

 

[William Monfredo]

That is just a shame, Dan.

Ditto. I learned a lot by observing you fight the good fight on this, Dan. I do like the way you have a keen sense of the present/future of tech.

 

[Ken Perrin]

"It's all just too much. I took my site permanently offline today after 30 years.
stormhighway.com | icyroadsafety.com"

That's a Damn Shame!
My condolences sir. Another wrong I would right, if I were the Emperor of North America.

 

[Brett Roberts]

And much of the internet user base now are mafia-level thugs who sympathize with the thieves instead of the creators, going as far as threats and intimidation to further their goals.

It's all just too much. I took my site permanently offline today after 30 years.

I saw bits and pieces of the recent scuffle that likely precipitated this comment. It's the perfect microcosm of why virtually any kind of "genuine" content creation (meaning something like chasing or photography or gritty journalism, as opposed to being a charismatic or gimmicky presenter of stolen or farmed content) is doomed financially, and you're right to take your site down if the goal is turning a profit.

The gimmicky presenter (whose whole shtick is apparently filming reaction videos from his basement) had legions of followers millions strong ready to sic on the original content creator, including violent threats. That part wasn't surprising at all. The truly depressing angle for me was seeing plenty of fellow weather enthusiasts and meteorologists gleefully taking the reaction guy's side.

Genuine content creators really can't win, and seem to be the most unsympathetic figures on the entire social media landscape. On the one side, you have mega accounts like this reaction dude sociopathically optimizing every breath every day to win the algorithmic game and take all the marbles from anyone like us who dares produce specialized content out of passion or interest, rather than robotically seeking normie-attention-maximization ala Mr. Beast. On the other side, you have normal non-creators with 9-5 jobs they hate, so they resent the idea of us making even a modest side income doing something we love -- and therefore want to see marginally successful figures like Reed taken down a peg. I strongly suspect that's the basic psychology driving a lot of the schadenfreude I saw over the weekend from within the weather community.

Basically, the attitude from your typical wage slave when presented with any of the complaints in this thread is always going to be: "tough, get a real job!" They see the entire concept of monetizing a side hustle or independent passion project as illegitimate and silly, a sentiment that's often sharpened by resentment. Therefore, when some talentless 21-year-old reaction clown swoops in and takes 80% of your would-be revenue for a tornado video, the normal 9-5 person is primed to say: "oh well, YouTube monetization is all childish bullshit anyway; that clown deserves this ad revenue as much as anyone!"

Assuming I'm at least generally correct about public attitudes toward content monetization, it certainly doesn't bode well for any kind of legislation or regulation that moves us in the right direction. After all, as you've already explained @Dan Robinson, big tech has no incentive to remedy the situation in favor of smaller, more dispersed earners over a handful of huge (and more easily managed/controlled) ones. I'm just not seeing any external group with obvious sympathies or incentives in favor of small creators, so we're likely to continue getting steamrolled.

 

[Tony Laubach]

That's a big shame... I think there was a thread going elsewhere on the site regarding the loss of legacy chasing pages. Yours will be a big miss. But totally understandable. Sometimes the monster is just too big to fight off, and the wins won't outdo the losses. You said on your post on your site (I did read) about one of the sections saying 'that's just the way it is now'; I know it's not, but at the same time, it is. Reality dictates that as truth more than we'd care to admit, but til something changes the tide back in our favor, in a sad way, "it's just how it is now".

You hit the nail on the head with content creators, "the young ones" who are sacrificing a lot to make those ends meet. I think when you hear of a chaser sleeping in their car, it says all you need to know about how they're making their ends meet. It's no sustainable, they'll learn that the hard way, but to their credit, they've been able to adapt to what's making money, even if it's not going to be a long-term means to an end. But for them, maybe all they want to do is about ten years or so. I imagine the 30-plus year career chaser is long gone for many of the reasons you stated.

I had a 'personal experience' shpeel I was gonna share, but I reread it and it just didn't feel right to drop in here. So I will finish by saying, Dan, I have always appreciated and enjoyed your work. I am sorry that the bullshit 'way that it is' will take that away from us all.

 

[Sean Ramsey]

What bothers me more than anything these days is the callousness of the internet hoards, regardless of the topic. The passion you have for the same subject? Doesn't matter to them. All the hard work, time and effort (and miles!) logged after many years? Meh. Respect for someone who's been a part of the community for more than three months? Nah.

I don't miss social media at all because of this. I like this site, if only for the principle that it's not where the callous hordes call home. But, it's moving to the same place as the rest of history, which is ultimately in the rear view mirror for most. I've found that occupying my space on the internet, if only for me is enough. If someone else finds me and likes what I serve up, then great. If I had to depend on the hoards for a reason to chase the next storm, I'd rather watch my grass grow. It'd be a whole lot more fulfilling in the end.

I'm sorry you felt like you had to make this move, but it's understandable. I hope you are able to make your way forward with your passion on your own terms, because it's not supposed to feel this way.

 

[John Farley]

I only have one thing to add. I am very sorry to see your website go. It was one of the best.