To caaarlos on YouTube: Thank you for being so excited to tell me I helped you.
Cohost was a fantastic website. No algorithms, no shady advertisements, just raw social media at its best. The coolest thing about it is one attribute the Anti Software Software Club never really advertised: its powerful search engine optimization.
I have no idea how they did it, but a lot of posts were very easily discoverable with a quick google search. If there was some niche topic I posted about, people would find it through fucking Google of all things.
This evening, I received a comment from YouTube user "caaarlos" on my iRacing livery & specular map tutorial. It reads:
Hi, I just wanted to really thank you for that "How to Improve Race 07 FFB" post on Cohost because it really changed the game for me. I play tons of other stuff and for some reason Race 07 didn't feel quite right, idk how did [sic] you figure out so much but it worked out really well. I used to mess around a bit with AMS1 sometimes maybe I'll get around to it eventually if FFB improvements can be made. Amazing work that you did on Race 07 and consequentially most similar Simbin games can be improved in similar fashion. All the best!
It feels... weird. I wrote about Force Feedback tweaking in gMotor simulation racing games mostly for myself, so I could refer back to my own instructions later. I also shared it with a couple buddies of mine including Raycevik who was trying it out, trying to find something for the Shambles Championship off-season sportscar racing. A total stranger not only found that post, but found it so helpful they tried to find any way they could to tell me how much it helped. I don't know how to feel about it.
It's typical to hear compliments from people I know. It's atypical to hear compliments from complete strangers. It feels different. It feels genuine. My friends are supposed to tell me nice things in a sense, but a stranger has no reason to lie to me. If a stranger tells me they're thankful that my write-up about adjusting settings on an ancient racing game from 2007, then they're really thankful for it. If they go from one website where they read my write-up, then travel to a completely different website just to message me and tell me they appreciate my work, that's a whole other level of appreciation.
Later on this week I'll repost my Race 07 Wheel FFB settings guide to keep it from going completely dark when Cohost eventually shuts down. It's got some small explanations about what each setting does, a recommended range of numbers for each setting, and the numbers I use for each setting. It's a write-up that isn't really built to be read like a story or an essay, it's built almost like a simplistic Hayes Automotive Repair Manuals. But who knows, maybe some people like reading technical manuals. I know I do.
Thanks, caaarlos. I'm glad you found my writing helpful. I wish you well, and I appreciate your gratefulness.