SYSTEM ERROR LOG 002: Common Failure Modes After Realizing You’re the Product
Why Creators Spiral, Freeze, or Overcorrect After Platform Clarity
This log documents predictable failure states observed after exposure to the insight that creators aren’t platform customers, but inventory.
If any of the following patterns apply, the system isn’t malfunctioning… The insight’s being misapplied.
ERROR 201: Cynicism Substitution
Description:
The reader replaces false optimism with blanket dismissal.
Symptoms:
“Nothing works anyway” logic
Contempt for all platforms and audiences
Increased posting framed as disillusionment
Cause:
Mistaking awareness for exemption. Seeing the system doesn’t remove you from it. Cynicism’s still a reactive posture shaped by the same incentives.
Correction:
Don’t swap participation for contempt. Sovereignty requires clarity, not superiority.
