I just watched a video by a woman who ranted about "big egos" in YouTube. She makes valid points. But interrupting a working YouTuber on a PVP server is not cool. They're there to work.

Unfortunately, in her rant that implies YouTubers are just lazy mooches who need "a real job," inexplicably, she mentioned -- of all people -- KurtJMac. I was dumbfounded.

I'd like you to watch her video. I'd ALSO like to BEG you not to flame, troll or harass her in any way. She's obviously ignorant about YouTube and Minecraft production & work. Abusing her won't help. But listen to what she says. I'm afraid a lot of people are just as uninformed as she is and make huge assumptions & judgments about video production. And I want you to hear her arguments, not just mine.

I'm not live linking to her video, to keep down trolling. You can copy & paste it into your browser, if you're interested enough to watch.

That said, this is my reply to her:

Why did you call out KurtJMac by name? In so doing, you've implied he was the one who was rude to you, who mocked a small donation, who as a big ego, etc.

In fact, Kurt started out just to learn how to speak to people. He's an introvert and has real issues interacting with people. YouTube has been medicine for him & he's a real role model of someone who confronted a personal deficit head on and owned it.

Kurt's popularity comes from Far Lands or Bust, which has raised more money for Child's Play Charities than any other single donor. We, the viewers, made that happen. As a result, he came to the attention of notch, MindCrack and the entire Minecraft community.

He did it without pay, at his own expense, buying equipment & software, learning the trade of videography, every day when he came home from his terrible, dead-end, exhausting job.

He had serious qualms about becoming a YouTube partner. He doesn't like ads. He doesn't like the messages of self-hatred those ads teach kids. He doesn't like the interruptions from the ads.

He did it because FLoB is very important to him. It means a lot to him to volunteer for a charity. He also did it because he loves science -- particularly science & space flight -- and knows sharing his passion educates young people & inspires them to see beyond the mundane, into the possibilities of humanity.

Recently, he decided to experiment with Patreon: where viewers can patron people's arts. And what he's doing IS ART. The Museum of Modern Art recently wrote an article about Kurt's FLoB, discussing why it's conceptual art and a very important example of digital expression.

His Patreon account has exceeded his expectations stunningly. As a result, he's removing ALL ADS from ALL of his videos for the past, four years.

As for this being an "easy" job: it's not just "pressing a button." Kurt studies & applies very sophisticated editing, audio, graphics and other technologies to his work.

He works a minimum of 8 hours a day -- and not just on YouTube.

In fact, I work inside the Minecraft industry. I won't mention names, but I played on 1 large YouTuber's server for seven months. I witnessed, first hand, this guy's work day. It was not uncommon for him to work 16 hrs. per day, several days per week. His content is exemplary. Again, this is another person who started out afraid to talk. He has a serious, neurological disability that he could have given in to & not taken the risks he has. In his 1st videos, he never spoke. And the 1st times he spoke -- and only because he had to, to explain what he was building -- he sounded afraid, depressed, shy and miserable. That guy is one of the sweetest-sounding voices on YouTube today.

Maybe all you do is press a button. But that's not video production.

I know because I do it. I have crappy equipment and freeware. My videos look and sound like crap. But I often put hours into a 4 minute video. There's research, scripting, editing, synching sound with video, producing graphics, documenting research sources, posting on various media.....it's HARD WORK.

And, for me, it's beginning -- after over a year in brutal poverty -- to pay off. People know who I am now -- even "big" people. They enjoy my company. They support my work. They're buying me a decent computer next month. They're setting up a Minecraft server for me. They listen to my feedback. They feel supported & respected on my channel.

Kurt is NOT an enemy. Kurt is a fine example of how to do ethical, responsible work online, impact society, make life better for others.

I recently commented to him to thank him for the example he as set. He gives me the courage to do honest, ethical, progressive work through gaming, where I can have a positive impact on the lives of children.

That's the BEST job there is! youtu.be/ssrI2oWbEyE