Solo devs burning themselves out on their hobby projects is basically how the entire Internet used to work, and we're currently living in the consequences of that.
this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2026
253 points (99.6% liked)
Gaming
5226 readers
151 users here now
The Lemmy.zip Gaming Community
For news, discussions and memes!
Community Rules
This community follows the Lemmy.zip Instance rules, with the inclusion of the following rule:
- No NSFW content
You can see Lemmy.zip's rules by going to our Code of Conduct.
What to Expect in Our Code of Conduct:
- Respectful Communication: We strive for positive, constructive dialogue and encourage all members to engage with one another in a courteous and understanding manner.
- Inclusivity: Embracing diversity is at the core of our community. We welcome members from all walks of life and expect interactions to be conducted without discrimination.
- Privacy: Your privacy is paramount. Please respect the privacy of others just as you expect yours to be treated. Personal information should never be shared without consent.
- Integrity: We believe in the integrity of speech and action. As such, honesty is expected, and deceptive practices are strictly prohibited.
- Collaboration: Whether you're here to learn, teach, or simply engage in discussion, collaboration is key. Support your fellow members and contribute positively to shared learning and growth.
If you enjoy reading legal stuff, you can check it all out at legal.lemmy.zip.
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
The "Buy them out and monetize their shit"-phase
We should have normalized sponsoring community projects we like, maybe?
Like, as in donating? Man, should we ever! Donate to you local instance, right now!
Ah yes, let's pump more money into everything. That will surely make things better.
I'm just amazed at the entitlement of people about this, or number of people treating this as some sort of betrayal because he sold out and didn't want to continue free solo work on it.
I've built a game mod that now has a couple thousand users, it's true about the entitlement. I'm grateful to those users who expressed their support and glee, but so many -- admittedly well-meaning! -- people come in asking for basic assistance that don't read the FAQ. And then there's the handful of people who really believe you're there solely to serve them.
Can't even imagine single handedly supporting a site the size of SteamDB.
Threadiverse would be the first to cite you Pareto distribution’s without proposing ways to inverse it. Damn leeches!
NexusMods has been enshittifying for a while now.
Useless website design that only serves the purpose of making you scroll past more unwanted content, annoying ads, a "We value your privacy" popup that doesn't value your privacy (1072 partners in the cookie popup) and the gall to ask for premium subscriptions after tracking and selling your data.
a "We value your privacy" popup that doesn't value your privacy (1072 partners in the cookie popup)
You misunderstand, they value your privacy monetarily, as in invading it makes them money.
They also can't build a mod manager to save their lives.
God help you if you think they understand anything about how to write any OS agnostic code.
In other news: ModDB still exists. Same with GameBanana.
don't worry, it's even worse than that:
they already built one, and then abandoned it!
the NexusModsApp (terrible name) WAS OS-agnostic and already in beta.
they killed it because it was "splitting their resources", and "confusing users"... bullshit, their new onwers forced them to cut costs.
they're effectively dead, just a matter of time until their new owners slaughter the golden goose because it isn't laying eggs fast enough...
I'm a fan of thunderstore, having been there when it was made for RoR2. Not sure how I feel about the UI redesign, but it's simple and as of yet unenshittified.
Please don't browse the web without ad blockers (which also block trackers and cookie banners). It's unsafe and not good for you.
Given Chrome's changes, this should also read: use Firefox or a non-chromium based browser, with an ad blocker.
This goes without saying, but yes. The ad blocker should also be uBlock Origin.
LibreWolf + uBlock Origin here. I only got ads on NexusMods once, when I opened the wrong browser on accident.
shit sucks, i remember endlessly browsing nexus mods back when i played fallout 3 and new vegas. I tried using it with fallout 4 a couple of years back and it straight up was unusable.
A kind reminder that the internet, the world wide web, and TCP/IP were all invented by a public-civic partnership, not the private sector.
[quote][i]“Now we stand outcast and starving 'midst the wonders we have made…”[/i][/quote]
Community built assets sold to venture capital by website admins.
It's a tale as old as the Internet, and still incredibly shitty.
One Person built it and he asked for help several times
So the headline is wrong and it's not actually a community-run database?
The point is all of these sites, be it reddit or imbd or steamdb are only valuable because of the user content, and for some reason we've decided it's completely acceptable that the people that administrate the website can claim ownership of the data and sell it off to the highest bider.
That doesn't mean running a website isn't hard work, it is, but that we're making people rich on the basis of work other people did for free.
In search of hope - I guess there is a better certainty this project can be recreated as it had already been done.
Fuck they're going to break steamcharts and IsThereAnyDeal aren't they. They're going to put an API Paywall up
Steamcharts has been an absolute thorn in publisher's sides for years
oh, this is bad. I use SteamDB to check for new releases and get info about games... how am I going to find new games now?
I always wondered why those solo devs/admins don't ask the community for a help if they feel the pressure or transfer it to some other hobbyist that would have the time for the project, instead of making a decision that pretty much dooms the project?
Hey asked for help/ looked for so to take over several times.
He did? I have never noticed. My bad then.
However, it is surprising that noone came to help him.
Wait, you link three examples where Lemmy users point out that the Pareto principle explains data showing the way that engagement and revenue are distributed between games on Steam. I'm failing to see how that's relevant to whether people would be willing to assist or take over the steamdb project. Obviously we can see in hindsight that they didn't, but how do these links address whether that's surprising?
Because the masses that use Steamdb to make financial decisions on when to purchase games, the folk looking to save money, are the first to not pay for the research service they depended on. Take a look rn at the upvotes. If 229 people paid a dollar to crowdfund its independence, steamdb wouldn't have been a financial loss. Yet months of pleading went unanswered, until Black Tree Gaming Ltd. offered to monetize the site. 80~% of the users caused the site to operate at a cost, 20% offered to monetize it as an investment. Black Tree Gaming Ltd. won the bid. I don't blame steamdb for choosing to sell it, I blame users for not financing it above costs.
In piefed, you can see my reaction.
Alright yeah, I agree with all that, but what does that have to do with the users that responded to reports about how game revenues are distributed by accurately associating it with the Pareto principle?
Theoretically even if the donation needs were met, it would be a small percent of users providing the majority of donations. So I don't really see how acknowledging the existence of the principle changes whether it's surprising that no one helped out.
Ask them that. I am using them as examples of political inaction. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a little bit of your budget to support something.
Heck I read they are campaigning the politically incorrect way to stop killing games.
it would be a small percent of users providing the majority of donations
🤣 I am glad you're also applying the principle even now. But you can reapply it to amount people unaware steamdb even exists🤣. Just like you were unaware the pleading was made for months, 80% of the population didn't know either. We are the 20% knowledgeable base. I’m just part of the .001% that is too politically aware enough not recreate steamdb as a subscription crowdfund.
Plus, I hate capitalists.
Okay, now I'm extremely confused. How is being aware of the Pareto principle and mentioning it in situations where it applies "political inaction"? And more to the point, how does referencing it in response to reports about game revenue distribution in any way related to a person's willingness to donate to steamdb?
Because as of typing, both, !skg@lemmy.dbzer0.com & steamdb community have yet to accomplish their goals.
Political inactions in correct game conservations, inactions in financially stabilizing a community project.
I apologize if my language makes shortcuts in conclusions, I don't want to be writing essays on how politically ignorance is the prime cause of gamers losing the political battles they set out incorrectly to achieve. It just gives me much dramatic irony to see history repeat itself. I take inspiration from Buddhists, and cope laughing.
Yeah, sure, gamers are politically ignorant and fail to achieve their goals.
But what does any of this have to do with the Pareto principle?
I just said how:
But you can reapply it to amount people unaware steamdb even exists🤣. Just like you were unaware the pleading was made for months, 80% of the population didn’t know either. We are the 20% knowledgeable base.
Welp, let the enshittification begin. Nexus has degraded significantly these past few years.