I know I don’t speak for all the ‘Loungers, but I think I have a sense of their feelings. I saw you get a little frustrated tonight with some of the comments and I hope I can offer some perspective.
If other ‘Loungers could chime in and let me know if I’m wrong, but we love the “behind the scenes” Bill we get to see. We love the TWPSOTI moments. We love the tangents. We love watching you work out an idea in real time on the show, but, mostly, we love interacting with other ‘Loungers and YOU, live… albeit an 8 second delay with you. We also love the chance to get a question answered. I know I should shut my pie-hole here because I get more than my share, but each week there are some really good questions that sometimes don’t get answered. What I think the group wants is a balance.
I know Facebook has messed up the option for “most likes” and it seems your site no longer has that function, but scrolling quickly through the comments to find the 7’s, 8’s or higher is the easy way to manually sort the content. Dedicating a portion of the show to answering questions and leaving a portion for your own monologue seems like the balance that is needed.
I, personally, think you get a pass for tonight because of the brilliant work that is in process of publication, but it seemed to me like you were feeling a bit under-appreciated and I hope my perspective helps.
15 replies on “Open Letter to Bill RE:TSL”
I am not often able to watch TSL live, but I have watched every single one. I haven’t watched the episode this week, so my comments are based on what I infer about what happened, and what usually happens.
Bill, please don’t change a thing about TSL. You cycle through the subjects that interest you, and when something really interests you, you do a deep dive on it which lasts for months. There was r/k, there was the video game, there’s the moonshot. There have also been subjects you’ve come back to over and over again like Campbell’s Journey of the Hero, as applied to Star Wars, LoTR, etc., breakdowns of Star Trek, counters of conspiracy theories, and the like. I NEVER GET TIRED OF ANY OF THEM. The only time I ever get annoyed is when you say something like, “I know a lot of people are tired of hearing me say this, but. . . .” NO.
Longtime TSL fans know that this is how your mind works. New TSL fans will figure it out soon enough.
As for questions, there doesn’t seem to be an easy system like once upon a time on FB. I’m sure Scott will keep working on a better solution over here. But while I enjoy the questions that’s not why I tune into TSL. I tune into TSL for the first hour. I enjoy the second hour with questions, but unless it’s a themed show (e.g., “Star Trek Edition”), I don’t prefer the shows that are all questions with no “what’s up this week” intro. I really, really enjoy the intros, especially when they turn into explanations or rants, the longer the better.
TSL is variable. It depends on what’s going on. Sometimes there will be no time for questions. Sometimes there will be nothing but questions. Usually there’s a balance between the two. There is no right answer, only personal preferences. So, Bill, please don’t worry much about pleasing your TSL regulars. This one at least will be pleased whatever you do.
I wrote this post right after the show ended last night and it isn’t as artfully stated as I would like re-reading it. Your comment, on the other hand, is very well stated. Thank you for the input
I’m glad you found it helpful. Please note that while my response is a “reply” to your post, it was really a response to your post plus all of the other comments. And perhaps some of it is irrelevant because I still haven’t watched the episode. But Bill, if you’re reading this, don’t change a thing–AND when you’re just plain too tired because there’s so much going on, it’s okay to cancel every now and then. We’ve gotten spoiled with the weekly episodes but we won’t hold it against you when you need to cancel so that you can go spend a quiet evening at home.
TSL seems sometimes to be a therapy session for Bill to vent, with an audience of friends who’ll lend a sypathetic ear. The energy and emotion he puts into his repeated discussions of things such as moon landing deniers or the battle of Leyte Gulf suggests that he get those “issues” out of his system and that he devote that energy into doing those subjects full justice with video series. Once done, those things won’t touch such a nerve as they do now.
I do prefer a TSL when he does more questions as it brings in more variety, especially when the questions aren’t political. I tire of politics, and could never do work where I have to think about it, write about it, and talk about it every day, and Bill has said himself – how many more ways can he cover the issue, say, of race reparations – or any of the usual stuff that comes around over and over.
I really would like Bill to make TSL more culture-based, and I think his work on the Apollo 11 series shows that he can bring in more members and create at least the possibility of a “buzz” that will garner him a well-deserved, larger following. I hope Daily Wire gives him the opportunity and support to make as many series along those lines as he wants.
I’m with Steve on taking it easier on yourself. We love you, Bill, and a big part of what I love about TSL is getting to see you follow your interest wherever it goes and take a more relaxed break from the intense, relentless creative drive that powers everything else you do. Experiment and reinvent however you feel moved to, but please don’t take our irreverent banter as anything but appreciation and enjoyment. I think it was meant playfully. Your health and happiness are important, and I want you to get what you need out of these shows, too!
I blame myself for the lack of a Question thread post on this blog this week. I misunderstood what Bill told me about the TSL schedule. That said, you can still up-vote comments, although for some reason, the sorting feature suddenly stopped working so I temporarily hid it. This will force upon Bill the unconscionable burden of scrolling.
Praying for Bill’s scrolling finger. The struggle is real.
What Steve said!
I feel like TSL has never followed any schedule of questions answered per show. It was Bill talking what was on his mind the most. And he seems to be 100% involved with the Appollo related things. He worked hard on these amazing series and also being frustrated at the hoaxers like Benjamin. Lately Bill looks more sressed than usual and the pressure from the crowd is not helping. I agree with Steve’s message. And I will continue to post my questions in the right spot before the show. With hopes that one day it will come to it. If not I will not cry about it.
God bless you all amazing people!
The funniest thing about this, is that when I first discovered Bill (far too late), when he came on as a guest on covering the Daily Wire 2016 Election Night coverage, I knew he had the right approach. Being from South Carolina, I didn’t really understand why he came across the way he did. Now, planning with a very progressive cousin who’s now engaged to an up and coming Disney director, who is very progressive herself, to move to LA and into the entertainment business, I recognize the genius I couldn’t entirely understand until the last few months. Rephrasing his arguments, in context of my own historical knowledge of warfare over the last century, I suddenly get curious looks and genuine curiosity and interest from her and her mom and brother, who are LA liberals in Hollywood.
The only time I really became upset tonight was when Bill was selling himself short about the Atom Bomb video being his best work until now.
I look at it this way. Not every one of my lessons can go into the Teacher Hall of Fame. Some even fall flat. I don’t measure my success by the instruments I use. I measure my success on how those instruments successfully impact my students.
By those measurements, Bill has been extremely successful.. The lives he has impacted far outweigh the production value of any video.
Which is why I get frustrated when he denigrates his work like that. He has far more influence than he chooses to give himself credit for.
I get what he is saying, but I agree with you, too. I am in a creative field and I was lucky enough to have some of my best work come near the end of my career. Had I done something early in my career worthy of the praise I have received for recently completed projects, I can see where it would be hard to live up to that. The A-Bomb Afterburner is right at the top of Bill’s work. This Apollo series is right there with it. I hope Bill sees the common traits those works share, that is the FULLY researched history of the events, and pursues similar fair.
It very strongly reminds me of when my students tell me they aren’t smart. I just want to shake some sense into them because they are smart! Believe in yourself, dammit!
I guess that’s just the Strato Mama in me coming out.
That went right by me and I think I shrugged it off as a casual self-deprecating joke! I certainly hope Bill doesn’t feel seriously down about his work between the atomic bomb video and What We Saw. You are absolutely right that the reach or impact of something isn’t always evident in the same way. (And we know that YouTube has been working hard to suppress content they don’t like, which isn’t helping.) Bill’s relentless consistency and constant presence on issues is a key ingredient to reach and success, and over time I believe it’s making a tremendous difference. It certainly has in my life, and I’m continuing to pass the word along and refer those who will listen to Bill’s superb work.
I am so glad you posted this, Steve. I was toying with posting something myself, but I get the impression Bill gets a little tired of my input, at times. So–thank you!
Honestly? I felt criticism was too harsh tonight. Yes, we’ve heard the stories before, but that’s because we’re the hardcore fans…we’ve listened to every TSL for years. We are bound to hear some of the same stuff. It’s like your fave uncle regaling you with his stories of bygone days. You know what’s coming, but you enjoy hearing him tell them again.
As far as the questions? Those who have questions answered every week are going to have to put big boy pants on if he skips a week once in awhile. Give other people a chance to have their questions answered. That’s one of the reasons I stopped asking. I didn’t want to hear the lamenting and tearing of clothes if my question was asked above someone else’s. It gets damn annoying.
If you go in thinking your question might not get answered, instead of expecting it to be, you’ll be much better off.
I know I’m being uncharacteristically testy, but it seemed Bill was a bit bothered by the comments, and that hurt my own feelings. Judging by your open letter, there are others who felt the same way.
As far as what Bill talks about, the only time I had any problem was when he appeared to be devoting all his attention to the video game, and letting his members fall by the wayside. That has changed dramatically, and this website is a testament to Bill’s renewed dedication to the membership. In that regard, things have vastly improved.
Bill, I am sorry you feel badly. It makes no difference to me if you answer questions or not. You have so much content my inquiries are almost always answered by one of your other video series.
The podcasts are a great idea, but I am a visual learner. I need to see something to thoroughly process it. Just keep that in mind. 😉