The Ones Who Count the Coins

He doesn’t need the earnings.

He posts for the joy of it: the craft, the community, the rhythm of words meeting appreciation. Sometimes he gives away his rewards. Sometimes he forgets to check them. For him, it’s a hobby. A meaningful one, no doubt. But not one tangled with the weight of utility bills or grocery runs.

He speaks often about integrity. About how shortcuts ruin the soul of a space like this. About how some people care more about squeezing out every drop of value than about adding any. And he’s right. His frustration is valid.

Not against him. Not against the values he holds dear.
Just a little further down the lane, where the air smells different.

Because some of them don’t see these small earnings as "bonus."
Some of them have built tiny hopes on them.

Not grand dreams. Just little ones.
A pizza after a tough week. An unexpected tub of ice cream. A new dress for the child who never asks...

She doesn’t cheat. She doesn’t fake.
She just tries. And she hopes.

She reads the rules twice. Spends more time on edits than she’d ever admit. Tries to do things right, even when her hands shake pressing "publish," not because of the content, but because of what it might mean if it lands well.

There are black sheep, yes.
She doesn’t speak for them.
She speaks for those who still count coins. Not greedily, but carefully.

So when someone says, "Why care about the profit? Just enjoy the process,"
She smiles. Because she wishes she could.
But sometimes, that little bar growing, slowly and painfully, is the difference between a heavy heart and a lighter day.

Not all of them are here to win.
Some, like her, are just here to breathe.

So maybe, just maybe, there’s space in this little world for both.
The ones who float in, heart first.
And the ones who arrive carrying quiet burdens, hoping to set a few down.

---

To be clear, I'm not the she or even the he in the story. Maybe somewhere in between...

What am I trying to say? I don’t know. These days feel a little heavy on the heart. It’s like everything I hold dear is diminishing, just like that.

I want to feel the thrill of posting again — for the engagement, the connection. But the people I loved talking to are slowly detaching from here.

Who’s responsible?
Could it have been prevented?
Or maybe the course has just run its course.

Was it the burnout?
Or was it those super shallow people who sucked the life out of this platform?

Why?
Why would they do it?

I understand there are still so many people doing good things here. But the lines are blurred now. The areas overlap. And it feels like there are just two big blocks left: right versus wrong.

When, in truth, there were so many people in between.
People who could bring — and had brought — the variety, the kaleidoscope, the depth... in their own way.

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If you're reading this, I ask you. Not as a writer. Not as a stakeholder. But simply as someone who still cares. Please take a moment to reflect.

Don't let this platform be tainted like this. Not silently. Not passively.

Yes, there will always be fights. Yes, people will downvote, call out, push back. Especially when the black sheep, the opportunists, get out of hand. And maybe those actions feel justified in the moment. Maybe they are. But if that becomes the only rhythm here — attack, defend, isolate, repeat — what will be left in the end?

One day, there may be nothing left to mint.
No community to come home to.
No spark to reignite.

Because when all the energy goes into putting people down instead of lifting voices up, the heart of the platform fades.

This space was never meant to be perfect. It was meant to be alive. Diverse. Creative. Messy, maybe. But real.

So before we exhaust ourselves in trying to prove who is right and who is wrong, maybe we need to pause.
To ask, what are we even trying to protect?
And at what cost?

Because if the answer is “the platform,”
Then we must remember. A platform without its people is just empty code.

_{Pay attention: This picture is saying more than words can ever express. sr}

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#pay-attention
#before-you-lose-it-all
#stop-being-greedy