Let me give you a positive take then.
I’m a nearly 20 year veteran of the video game industry, and have been doing 3d in general even longer. I don’t just design because it’s a weekend hobby. This has been a life long passion of mine. Especially having worked in the video game industry; I have a deep yearning to create tangible things.
I rather like the points system and the exclusive program, the boost. All of it. I realize it creates a somewhat tense dynamic sometimes, as people try and take advantage of the benefits of the platform; it’s something that’d be true of any monetized platform though. People will always try and cheat and steal and abuse the system.
There are those that say if I want to make money, I should go to cults or thangs, or start up a thing on printables.
I don’t want those platforms; I don’t want to monetize my work that way. One of the cornerstones of my belief in this field is accessibility. I love Makerworld because it gives me an avenue to capitalize off of my talents while still providing my work for free. And the work I do is time consuming and expensive, so having the mechanism to recoup some of that cost is essential in a lot of ways to keeping this party train of fun going.
3D printing isn’t just about designers and engineers anymore, it’s about everyone. Not everyone designs and creates themselves, so there’s a huge desire and want for models, for cool things to print. I love it and embrace it. Some of the people I’ve met and talked to while on my journey here have shaped and changed my views. They opened my world view to realize the extent of what 3d printing can be. It’s something for all of us.
I don’t know what the future of this platform will bring. A lot of stuff is still being worked on, tweaked, implemented; everything. I see a lot of great stuff here though that aligns with my own vision and passion in this world, in this field.
I honestly dream that Makerworld can do for designers what youtube has done for video creators. That brings it’s own challenges and problems compared to a more traditional model repository, but it opens up the world for folks like me.
I’m not just trying to make money. I’m trying to follow my passions. I’m trying to create exciting and cool things that everyone can enjoy. I want to be here and do this, and be able to give my all.
I’m not the only one. It’s easy to look at designers and just think, meh they just want money. Or you see some of the people we discuss, and it’s obvious those people don’t respect the community and only look at us as a way to make money. That isn’t the whole of the community though, and the designers that take this seriously, that are following their passions, and that respect this community. They should not be vilified, especially just because they’re looking to make money off their talents. Those people are still working hard to provide content for free to everyone here.
And it can be hard work. Especially as you get into more complex things, into crazier ideas, into pushing the limits.