#gillbox

[relatablepicturesofpatrickgill]

I’m sorry if this is cynical, but I’d really like your input on it (as an experience polygon vid/pat stream viewer): Do you think Pat is pushing the after hours streaming stuff because Polygon is ending? Or, at least, to try and maintain the ‘funny video/personality’ fans? I’ve noticed a lot of other polygon vid personalities are doing similar things, and main polygon video content keeps slowing down and changing, presumably in compliance w/ vox media strategy? Have you noticed too?

First of all real bold of you sending this to a Pat fanblog where all I do is make dumbass shitposts and post cat clips, as if I know a single goddamn thing about anything, but since you asked I’ll try to answer as many of your questions as possible. (I’m not mad about being asked btw I just really find it funny you’d send it here of all places lmao). Disclaimer time: I am not in any way affiliated with Polygon or Vox Media nor do I know how they operate behind the scenes.

Do I personally think Polygon is ending and that Pat streams because of that? Short answer, no. However, I believe Polygon’s necessary (yes, I said necessary) and inevitable (yes, INEVITABLE) change in content is due to a lot of deeper issues people might not know about, which I’ve gathered from research and being an idiot whomst has watched Youtube for 10+ years. Let me just say, the last year or so has pretty much been the “Everybody Knows Shits Fucked” song on repeat until we die so this is going to be a long ass post. Buckle up kiddos we’re warp speeding into this fuckfest together.

Youtube Advertiser Boycott And The Algorithms

Every social media website employs the use of algorithms to decide how content gets sorted, and Youtube isn’t any different. That’s why Youtubers constantly ask you to “like, comment and subscribe” because it helps their content get noticed through Youtube’s internal system – such as search priority, the trending section, your homepage and your recommended tab, as well as the recommended sidebar on individual videos. As for content, one of the more effective models was to find a niche and cater to it, something Polygon did by creating Monster Factory and similar humored series alongside their serious content.

And for a while, it worked. Except things change.

Before we get any further I highly suggest you read this article written by Julia Alexander about the complicated history of Youtube’s monetization system, but I’ll try to give a quick summary. Something controversial will happen on Youtube, causing brands to pull their business from the platform until they can get more security on what types of videos their ads play on, then Youtube refines the system to give brands more control. Rinse and repeat. The new system results in a massive amount of videos being demonetized, causing creators to lose revenue and viewer engagement and then request appeals to have their content reviewed by humans, which in turn improves the algorithm. Those most negatively affected by the system must diversify their payments either through Patreon, Twitch, merch, etc, or in worst case scenarios, give up on their dreams of being a Youtuber.

Youtube has a lot of incentive to keep creators updated on changes, so when users ask, “hey, can we know what’s going on with the website?” Youtube responds with an informative, “absolutely not. Die.” The userbase, as a result, is forced to run their own investigations. Nerd City published a video revealing another algorithm (one just as prone to mistakes) assigns all videos with an MPAA-style rating to make it easier for businesses to decide what sort of content they’re comfortable advertising on. This rating – hidden from both the uploader and their audience – Cannot. Be. Appealed. Good fucking system am I right!!! (Also, please watch the video if you get the chance, it brings up some points about machine learning and how the system negatively affects marginalized creators).

One more thing, do you remember what I said earlier about how a video gets popular on Youtube’s internal system? Well, creators have reason to believe a higher rating attributes to view suppression – meaning their videos might end up exempt from the things I listed. This makes it so much harder for a channel to grow their userbase outside of an already established audience. If you’re following along you might be able to tell where I’m going with this, but if not…

What Does This Have To Do With Video Games Polygon?

Once again, I do not know any of the behind the scenes Polygon lore and a lot of this is guesswork on my part. I’d imagine as a branch of Vox Media, Polygon would have a higher priority getting any potentially demonetized videos appealed than smaller, independent channels do. However, when your own website is reporting the system responsible for sorting and rating videos goes deeper than just demonetization, with a full MPAA-style ranking that’s been shown to suppress the growth of certain content not deemed advertiser friendly, such as excessive profanity and sexually suggestive content, which turns out is a subset of the niche your channel has developed – that’s a problem.

This isn’t me being critical of their content or saying what they make is bad (considering I’m a fan of it as well), this is an objective look at the reality of a rapidly changing platform. Unfortunately, the biggest flags in my head for Polygon happen to be the Jackbox series and… Monster Factory. There’s absolutely no way some of those videos are getting a kid-friendly rating, and it’s possible the bot is slapping some of them with a mature rating – the worst one where enough of those could potentially affect the rating of the entire channel. Griffin, in one of the Spore MF videos, emphatically yells, “come fuck this” to the heavens; lo and behold, a few years later Youtube finally does.

Of course, this is just one of a few different problems Polygon is facing. The Mcelroys left to focus on their own businesses, taking some of their fans with them. Other fans who mainly want the video game news might end up unsubscribing if too many videos irrelevant to their interests are posted. Some series, while perfectly funny in their own right, have trouble breaking out and appealing to a wider audience.

Polygone But Not Forgotten?

I’ll try to put it as softly as I can: almost all creators on Youtube have to reevaluate the content they put out and how it fits into Youtube’s ad-friendly guidelines if they want to continue receiving ad revenue and viewer engagement from the site. This is not just a Polygon specific problem, and as a news channel they benefit a lot more by working within the new parameters. Polygon’s primary priority should be their video game website, where I go to read all the articles that aren’t about video games, as ad revenue is probably more stable and allows them more room for sillier content. As for their channel, the “horny niche” appeal doesn’t have as much of a place anymore. Well, on Youtube at least.

Twitch, however, seems like a better home for Polygon’s familiar borderline type of humor. On a stream Pat said, as the live video producer, he’s responsible for getting their channel partnered which will come with some very important benefits, such as the ability to subscribe. I’d assume creating content for Youtube takes priority over this, and there’s also the fact that Pat is just one person and needs to balance this with other things like “having a life” and “eating??? Perhaps???” (maybe even A Vegetable). By the way, to answer one of your other questions, it’s normal for creators to have projects outside of their work and build their own personal brand, like Pat’s Twitch channel, Brian’s Youtube channel, Simone’s author account and everyone’s countless podcasts. It’s not recommended to rely solely on Youtube for your income, even before the ad boycotts, so if you can diversify your content then do so.

Listen, I know this is disappointing and I know it’s not the answer people want. Youtube’s new system isn’t going away and the video team needs to accommodate for these changes or otherwise Perish. I believe in Polygon’s ability to deliver informative, humorous and accessible content, they just need the time to do it. As an audience, a way to offer support during this difficult time is to just be as understanding and patient as possible, and give the content they put out a chance if you can.

Now I am not an expert on any of this, but if you have any questions or comments you can send them to my main @malarcana and I’ll try to answer them. Thanks for reading!

[currycheesecakeold]

I’m halfway there guys!!!!!

@gillbox requested their oc and they look really cool!!!

The patterns are a bit challenging but they are fun to do!!!!

Tools used: Sai, Photoshop 

[sainboard]

This was a request for @gillbox when I opened my request slots last year! It’s very late indeed that’s why I now hesitate to do more of these requests. Please pretend I posted this before February ends.

[meisposterityarchive]

♣ your choice to your choice : 0

o shit ok i guess i’ll just play this by ear?

send ♣ for a text not meant for you

[To: Wakatsuki-san]

no im not asking for a complex mask hibiki-san i just want something thatll protect my face from the cold and snow and maybe not freezing my fucking face off? the only reason i just dont get goggles from like a sports store is because 

///

aw shit 

sorry wakatsuki-san i realized i wasnt in the right text box but i pressed enter by accident

ignore this thanks

[bytesizedshorts]

Doodle For Cheer - Kaede Akane, an OC by Gillbox. I really do love this design!

Thanks for the #DoodleForCheer request @gillbox and hope you have a happy new year!

Support my health needs and check out the links below, every little bit helps out! But more importantly enjoy!

My Links!

[relatablepicturesofpatrickgill]

Do you have the gif of Patrick shaking his head in disapproval?

I looked through my files and all I found was this:

So I madE SOME MORE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Hope this helped :3

[betamakinami]

dEST YOU WERENT showing up on my dash idk why but you are now anyways uh !? for ren to keita

!?- for an excited text

[to: KEIKEI] AHHHHH!!!

[to: KEIKEI] (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

[to: KEIKEI] JOB PROMOTION! JOB PROMOTION!

[to: KEIKEI] YAAAAAY!

[to: KEIKEI](ﾉ^∇^)ﾉﾟ

[to: KEIKEI] Oh no!

[to: KEIKEI] It’s midnight. Sleep please.

[zephyrocs]

✘ felix to izo

✘- for a text that was meant for someone else

TO: M. Omori

> I would like to get a surpise present for M. Omori but I do not know what!

> Mlle. Tengan this is of utmost importance!

> Oh!

> Please disregard this!!

[meisposterityarchive]

❤- for yui to nao

❤- for a heartfelt text

[To: Nyao!!! <3]

HEY HEY HEY!!!

What’s good, Nao-chan! It’s been aaaagessss since we last saw each other!

...Okay, so it’s only been like a week but! We only GET like 3 weeks off! That’s like...a third of our break already!

I mean we can’t help it since I got shit to do, you got shit to do, hell, everyone’s got shit to do...

GWAAAAUUGHHBFHDFBHDBGHDGFHLTLHT

OOPS SORRY CAPS LOCK

SHit not again--oh, there we go! Haha, sorry!

Anyhoo, I miss you and hopefully we can hang out sometimes later this week!!!

[relatablepicturesofpatrickgill]

thank u so much for this blog I was just scrolling down it for like at least half an hour and laughing. truly relatable pics and posts

Thank you…… this is genuinely so sweet and encouraging.

I cannot WAIT to immediately change your mind with the bad posts I’m about to make.

[marginal-effect]

do you take commissions? your art is really nice

not at the moment, but omg thank you!!!

[owsushicat]

@gillbox‘s OC, Ryo Yamazaki!

I was too excited to post this a while ago, I didn’t notice my mistake. Anyways, I got a little bit carried away with him hahaha

[cyberstorage]

✌ uto to iwane

✌- for a happy text

[To: otsuka-san] otsuka-san i saw you on the train...

[To: otsuka-san] you looked like you were working very hard... uhuhu...

[To: otsuka-san] i hope you have a good day...

[meisposterityarchive]

❤- for haruka and hiraku

❤- for a heartfelt text

[To: Wakatsuki-pyon]

Good evening, Wakatsuki-san! I’ve noticed you hopping on by my shop fairly often as of late. I’m curious-what do you hope to find here? The secret behind my skills? A companion? Perhaps even true love~?

I’m joking, of course, but I really am curious. 

Oh, but don’t take this as a critique of any kind-really, your presence is quite calming at times and I do appreciate it-I’m just making an observation.

Sneaking around, though..it doesn’t suit you! That’s for more catlike people, you strike me as more a bunny. Hopping around the place would suit you much more!

Well, in any case, I hope you’ll hop on by again soon~

Have a good evening Wakatsuki-san...or would it be Wakatsuki-pyon now? 

[betamakinami]

mika please, lease i beg of you

gilly why did you have to send me the worst girl to date........

a mika tsukiko route is actually pretty simple to begin with, if she was in a dating sim. shes pretty apathetic, it’s easy to get on her relatively good side if all you do is suck up to her. then again, shes kind of mean and has some weird as paranoia going on here so if you suck up to her Too much to start she might drop you like it’s hot later on.

Anyway.

it’s pretty simple to get her to go out with you, but, her route after is pretty hard. mika is overall a very difficult person to date, she’s pushy, she’s moody as hell, and she calls you a wimp if you dont kiss her or a brat if you do kiss her. its weird. shes wweird. why are you trying to date her.

i guess the only way to get a solid. a pretty solid good end is to.................... uh. break up with her im gonna be real. you cannot date this girl. all of her relationships are short bc man shes pretty attractive but shes also a massive asswad. shes better alone anyway. 

i also guess a bad end is for her to dump you, because she will do that within uh.. counts fingers , a week or two within the relationship. 

[relatablepicturesofpatrickgill]

Daddy Pat on today's Awful Squad tho 😍😍😍

I’m so fuckibg angry