So, someone brought up this ‘m x zero’ thing, and let me tell you, I’ve got a story that fits that perfectly. It’s not just some abstract idea, you know? It’s that gut punch when you’ve poured everything into a project, all your ‘m’ so to speak, and then bam! Something, or someone, just hits the delete button on all of it. Multiplied by zero, gone.
I was super invested in this online community I was building. Not gonna drop names, what’s the use now, eh? But I spent a good two, maybe three years, cultivating this space. It was for folks who collected and restored old mechanical keyboards – pretty niche, I know, but we had a passionate group. I was the main guy posting repair logs, sourcing rare parts, drawing up guides for mods. Honestly, countless hours. My partner even joked I was married to those clicky switches. We had a lively forum, people sharing their latest projects, helping each other out. It really felt like we were onto something special, a real haven for us enthusiasts. That was my ‘m’, you see? All that time, that energy, that connection.
Then, out of the blue one morning, there’s this short, cold announcement on the site. “Important Update: The platform will be sunsetting in 60 days.” Sunset. What a gentle word for pulling the plug, right? Barely any reason given, just some corporate speak about “evolving market strategies” or some other nonsense. Sixty days. Sounds like a lot, but try telling that to a community built over years. How do you even begin to archive years of shared knowledge, all those threads, the photos, the custom files people had uploaded? It was a disaster.
You just feel like a complete idiot, to be frank. Like, all that dedication, for what? You put your faith in these online places, you contribute, you build. And then they can just decide, on a whim it feels like, that it’s over. No real consultation, no offer to help migrate, nothing. It’s like they don’t even register that there are actual people, real communities, relying on them. We were just a line item that didn’t add up for them anymore. So, ‘m’ times zero. Simple as that for them.
I tried, man. Tried to get folks organized, to find a new home, to save what we could. But it’s like trying to catch water. The spirit was broken. A lot of good stuff, a lot of connections, just evaporated. It’s not just about the data; it’s about the collective effort, the shared passion. And to have that dismissed so easily… it’s a tough pill to swallow.
That whole mess really drove home the ‘m x zero’ lesson for me. You can pour your heart into something, but if you don’t own the ground it’s built on, someone else can always bulldoze it. Made me a lot more cautious, that’s for sure. A bit more jaded too, if I’m being honest. Still, you gotta keep building, right? Just maybe with your eyes a bit wider open next time, and with your own backups, on your own turf.
