Sanssouci wrote:I'll often still look at or read their stuff if it's free. But I will usually try to avoid buying anything because I try not to line the pockets of people like that, you know?
I think this is a good point. If their content still brings you joy, there's nothing wrong with that. You don't have to support them to appreciate their content and their talents. I don't know who specifically you're talking about but I guess it just depends on how much you disagree with them and whether or not their positive traits justify or outweigh their negative ones, in your own personal opinion.
wulfilalice wrote:questions to that too: is it morally ok to consume content if you don't want to give back?
I would say that it's good to give back when you can, especially if you really like their content and want them to keep creating more of it. but its not a necessity if it's something like YouTube, for example. In this case, you don't have to pay to watch videos, however, if you would like to support the creator there are other options like donating through patreon or buying their merch, which you obviously don't have to do.
does the traffic you're creating on their platform count as payment?
I feel like I can only talk for YouTube, because that's pretty much all I use, but if their videos are monetised then, yes, watching their videos, or more specifically watching and clicking on ads, does count as payment as this is how they get paid. I'm not too sure about other platforms though.
is it again morally ok to get past the author by just not knowing what they are and not researching? is not knowing an excuse? are we responsible to check the personal views of creators before we consume what they make?
I don't think you should feel responsible for researching a person's opinions before consuming their content. If everyone felt the moral need to research a person's views before consuming content then no content would be consumed because we all have different views, and you won't find a creator who's opinions you would completely agree with. Let's say you absolutely hated someone as a person and disagreed with a lot of their opinions. I would think more highly of you as a person if you were able to still acknowledge the fact that you think they have good content or are good at what they do even though you don't like them. I think my point here is that even if you did know their views, you liking someone's content does not have to mean that you like them as a person? I'm not sure if i'm answering your question here properly..
Also another thing to keep in mind, even if you research their opinions and views, you may agree with everything they have said, but they could have an opinion that you very strongly disagree with, enough to not want to consume their content anymore, which they have not publicly talked about. You can really never know for sure, they could also lie about their unpopular opinions so that people like them more and consume their content more. This is quite a complicated subject, there's a lot that can be talked about with this but i think if you just support you creators you love in the present and consume the content you enjoy, then that's the best you can do.
(I just realised i've been formulating this response for over an hour, it's such a thought-provoking topic)
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