As written by Vlado on 18th October 2008 in a board conversation with Surskit.
Surskit: The best summary I can think of is that you should try being less arrogant. That would make you a LOT more likable, and really, it's always nice to get more to people to read your work. I feel proud when people read and like what I do. I don't see why you should just draw a chalk circle around yourself and wait for people to step onto it, if you understand my analogy.
Vlado: Oh, I understand it and it is pretty cool. I guess that is just the way I am. I'd simply be too bland if I started writing in a softer manner.
Surskit: It works out for everybody else, though.
Vlado: Or does it? Which other writer here do you find especially memorable? Also, how much effort do they put into their work, compared to me?
Many write, quite a few write well, but only a few are actually memorable. And I like to get things done without making too much effort. I also like to have a unique style, to stand out in the crowd with my writing. I think I manage to achieve these things, even if it's at the cost of having only select people enjoy my work. I must point out that ALL my readers are intelligent people - the simplest proof is that you need a certain level of intelligence in order to not get offended when someone dislikes your favourite games/characters/whatever and openly states it.
I'm also capable of generating entertainment. Even the most innocent of my topics often spark controversy, and make people think. Character preferences aside (those are very unique to every individual user), most people actually agree with me very often, but rarely agree with the blunt way I present my opinions in. Some get so pissed at that that they even forget they agree with me in general and start bashing me practically for that very opinion that they actually share. All of that simply makes things more interesting around here.
Some write me off as some sort of a clown, simply labeling me as a "troll", but that's really such a shallow way to look at it. The so-called "trolls" I've seen are incredibly one-sided. I am very, very different. And even if many people would say they disliked me, I am one of the very best known users here. I still am, even after barely posting since last contest season.
Where would I be if I had decided to be fake for the sake of acceptance like many others have done here and didn't write the way I do? I'd most likely have been a moderately popular user that sometimes wins user contest matches... And so what? That would have been so boring, I'd have been having so much less fun compared to now. Both me and the board would have lost if things had gone that way. Luckily for us, I couldn't care less about e-popularity, so they didn't.
And despite all that, I still have friends here, people who genuinely like me, and not just for my provocative writing style. Most people who've talked to me on AIM in the past (I barely have time to sign on anymore) can attest to me actually being quite likable in one-on-one conversations. I'm nice to whoever I communicate with (unless I dislike them, and even then I can't be outright rude). Even here, on the board, I propagate wonderful things - such as acceptance of newbies and treating them with respect and people always speaking their honest mind without being fake or trying to fit in. Yet, many people manage to ignore all that and focus on stuff that's much less relevant, such as my arrogance, which really isn't even all that big.