Is the negative attention really the point then, they're just doing it to make people wank at them? But then why do some of them put so much attention into secrecy? socktopus clearly wasn't chasing infamy, at least at first.
The difference between them and the neutral participant is that the neutral participant isn't putting a huge amount of time and effort in. It's an effort/reward thing. Putting in a total of maybe two hours to sign up and write a mediocre fic and then get a mediocre fic and then go on with your life - good ratio of effort to reward.
Putting in dozens of hours to manage multiple identities and get your timings and offers exactly right or whatever, just in order to get a mediocre fic - not good ratio of effort to reward, especially when the 'toss off a mediocre fic in an hour' strategy is also an option for the same reward.
I guess there are people for whom the scheming is its own reward, the same way obsessing over coal and my assignment for weeks is its own reward for me?
no subject
The difference between them and the neutral participant is that the neutral participant isn't putting a huge amount of time and effort in. It's an effort/reward thing. Putting in a total of maybe two hours to sign up and write a mediocre fic and then get a mediocre fic and then go on with your life - good ratio of effort to reward.
Putting in dozens of hours to manage multiple identities and get your timings and offers exactly right or whatever, just in order to get a mediocre fic - not good ratio of effort to reward, especially when the 'toss off a mediocre fic in an hour' strategy is also an option for the same reward.
I guess there are people for whom the scheming is its own reward, the same way obsessing over coal and my assignment for weeks is its own reward for me?