Very true.

I have been critical of the people that started the #engagetogrow initiative because I knew it would create a bunch of fake commenters that don't actually care about the videos. I stated this very explicitly in that popular video I made in the past. Even now, to be honest, I don't like #zap or #zapp either. I never use them. I find the use of #zap especially insulting. I have seen people write long comments that seem very thoughtful and then end it off with "#zap" which basically translates to "don't talk to me." I know people like Nathan are on here all day watching videos and reading comments and what not so I understand where he is coming from. It would be far too troublesome to have to have long conversations with everyone. #zap comments may be suitable for him but for the average user, I don't see why you would leave a genuine comment on a video and then put #zap to say that you don't want further engagement with this person.

But there is a positive side to these initiatives. Since this a small community, I do think that it is helpful to write more comments on here than you would write on YouTube or something. I am like you, I rarely ever comment on YouTube videos; heck I barely ever Like videos even if they are really good. I don't know why. Since this community is so small, having so many videos with barely any comments makes this place look like a ghost town. I never write fake comments here, but when I do write a comment, I make sure it isn't some lukewarm automated sounding comment. I do think people appreciate it and I write them because I want to.

We're still figuring things out and it is good that these issues are brought up.