I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective on HiveFest and the current state of the Hive community. It's always interesting to hear thoughts from an active community member. However, I couldn't help but feel your post had a few issues in terms of balance and tone.
For starters, the beginning focuses mostly on your own lack of engagement with past HiveFests, which comes across as a bit self-centered. I'm sure others have found value in the events even if you personally ignored them. And the tangent about your college days in San Diego, while colorful, didn't seem especially relevant.
When you move on to addressing Hive's critics, the passive aggressive jabs stood out. For example saying it's "funny and ironic" that people would claim Hive is dead in Hive posts. Just because you disagree doesn't make their view absurd. And implying those concerned about plutocracy must be ignorant of the trending page seems dismissive. Reasonable people can look at the same platform and draw different conclusions.
Your own success on Hive doesn't negate others' critiques. And arguing the network is fine simply because it hasn't fully collapsed yet sets the bar awfully low. "Hey, we're still limping along!" is hardly a rousing call to action.
I appreciate your message of persistence, but the overall post came across as a bit too self-referential and petty. You admit Hive is a small niche community, but one wouldn't know it from the sweeping proclamations about potential and inevitability. For a more balanced take, acknowledging shortcomings as well as strengths is key. No platform is perfect, and even supporters can be realists rather than just cheerleaders.
Perhaps in the future, consider focusing more on substantive issues and solutions, not just deflecting or mocking criticism. There may be valid concerns beneath the surface. And passive aggressive jabs, however cleverly worded, rarely change minds or illuminate. There's room for optimism about Hive's future without whitewashing its flaws or belittling dissenters. A bit more magnanimity could go a long way.
Just some constructive feedback from an outsider's perspective. I appreciate you sharing your inside view, but hope to see an increased focus on nuance and coalition-building going forward. Thriving communities find ways to honestly engage critiques rather than simply swatting them down.