So for an example, @Radmad that I listed in the OP: a creator who uses harassment as an advertising strategy could consider themselves to be personally successful (made the moneys), but the community may consider them to be a failure (because harassment is bad).
Is that along the lines of what you mean by success being personally defined being toxic?
Thatās a rather extreme case, but considering some recent controversies with a certain individual itās entirely in line with what Iām saying. DrivethruRPGās less than adequate handling of the situation is exactly the kind of response fostered by the current culture.
But the majority cases Iām talking about do not involve malice, for example in regards to the recent Trophy contest, one user expressed concern that another was excited and wanted to publish the incursions. It struck me as weird; I can understand where theyāre coming from of not wanting to slippery slope into churning out assembly line incursions, but when it manifests itself as actively discouraging people from pursuing success or larger recognition it doesnāt give me the impression of a community that supports and platforms one another.
Yeah, it was intentionally an extreme case to have one we could all agree on. This line in the sand where we can basically all say (especially here): āThis is a type of strategy that the community defines as failure, no matter what the individual says.ā
Which is to say: There are some types of personal success that are judged as failure by the community. Figuring out where that line meaningfully is is much harder, but now we have a fairly concrete (while attempting to not actually name names) of how the personal and community can differ on success.