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Okay here goes a calm explanation why I (and others) are upset about the dnp brand and Dan ceasing most activity if you’re pissed at the critics right now please hear me out and I don’t promise never to talk about this again:
Most of us have or have had friends. We go to coffee shops with them, play games, have inside jokes, maybe make some meals or desserts, and also discuss our lives with each other. Right?
Now after a decade or so of these fun and chill times, your friend just kinda stops calling you up. Suddenly you’re going weeks or months without hearing from them. They tell you nothing is changing! They’ll be back soon! They’re just busy! But they never really come back
And you don’t exactly know why. Are they tired of you? Did you cross some boundary? Are they struggling? You don’t know. All you know is they were a big part of your life and suddenly they’re gone. Sound familiar?
Now I can already hear the calls of “we’re not friends with dan or phil!!” And you’re right, we’re not! We’re not supposed to be. But we ARE in a relationship with them, as creators and community. And I can’t declare any one relationship type more important than another
For a lot of us, it was years, maybe even a DECADE of inside jokes, games, stories, arguments, coffee and anime in the morning, homemade desserts, sad moments, amazing moments, memories and nostalgia and community. It was amazing. It was the appeal of dan and phil
They had boundaries, like anyone, celebrity or not, should. People have crossed those boundaries sometimes which is shit. But they still treated us like friend on twitter or when meeting them at tours or in public. They respected us as long as we respected them
This wasn’t a friendship but it felt pretty fucking close. I started watching them while recovering from a horrific friend breakup and they, not to be cliche, restored my faith in relationships. They led to me making friends again once I healed
This wasn’t a friendship but it was a relationship. One they promised would remain. And then they closed the door, stopped showing us their lives, stopped being there in the same way. And again, they promised it wasn’t going to change, not permanently. That was 2 years ago
No one here wants them to overwork themselves like they did in the past. No one wants them to make videos that they don’t want to or post things under pressure. What I want, and others want, is closure one way or another.
Is dan done being a YouTuber? Cool, tell us. Gaming channel permanently closed? Okay, that’s their right, but tell us. Phil’s done live-streaming? That’s fair, please tell us. No plans to make content together in the foreseeable future? Most of us will understand, tell us!
Maybe I’ve just had enough of broken promises and failed relationships or some shit, but I guess the silver lining is that I’ve seen this shit a few times and it’s not good. Add in the amount of merch drops overpowering content, tweeting mostly about merch,
Having a membership subscription that is barely beneficial, and I think we can start to see a pattern of change. And it’s not a good one. It’s starting to feel way too one-sided to even come close to the genuine friendliness that we had for a decade
Now it feels like our friend only rings us up to share big news about a new product to buy. It feels like our friend shows up in random bursts that make us think that things are going back to normal, just to vanish and leave us disappointed
You can argue that if we’re unhappy, just leave. But just because you’re unhappy with something or someone doesn’t mean you give up! I want dan to come back if he wants. I want joint content if they want. More than that, I want to stop feeling like I’m just a paycheck
I think a lot of us know and believe that this could all be a lot better. That’s why we don’t leave! As you pick your battles, a few tough ones are worth the fight. I really hope this one is. I have dan’s book ordered and will pay good money if he tours. I’m still unhappy w/ him
Please understand that criticism and disappointment isn’t hate or disrespect. We’re not messaging dnp to accuse them of any of this. We’re not getting to trending cancelling them. We’re just a hurt section of this community. We have reason to be hurt. The end, thanks, bye 
