If you can, please give my apologies to Bakuhatsu. I just wanted to make them cheer up. I heard this leaker had never been wrong before, I didn't want to spoil it, I just wanted to bring good news. I am very sorry.
I believe you're sorry, but I don't believe you understand what you should be sorry about.
There's a reason I'm not on Twitter anymore, and while I can't speak for bakuhatsu, my logic still applies to this situation. For some reason, people on Twitter have this attitude that Twitter defines the internet, that Twitter culture and behaviors are acceptable and normal. Twitter exists to spread communication quickly, and this spread of communication has no regard for veracity. It is the word-of-mouth grapevine on steroids. It is a misinformation machine, and it degrades people's thresholds for evidence.
Anonymous leakers accept money to give leaks to Twitter users who then publish those leaks for clout. It's stealing, and Twitter rewards this behavior. People flock to leakers like they're the official publishers. People mark anniversaries of manga events based on when they were leaked rather than when they were published. It's horrifying, disrespectful behavior. And some leakers aren't satisfied with just stealing; some go on to give their personal interpretations (NOT translations) of leaks as if they are the end-all-be-all interpreters, and Twitter accepts those interpretations without question. My blog and personal popularity were built on my attempts to stem the flow of such rampant misinformation and allow people to come to their own conclusions, so maybe you can imagine my opinion of people coming to me reciting what leakers say verbatim as if it must be unquestionable fact. It saddens me. These leakers are dishonest actors, even the ones who are providing real and correct information, because they aren't doing this out of the good of their hearts; they stand to gain from it. And speed, being first, is the most rewarded commodity.
So when anonymous leakers post leaks, even if they supposedly have a history of being accurate, even if it turns out in the end that they are accurate, I don't fucking care. They don't cite sources. They don't provide evidence. They subsist entirely on people's unwarranted credulity, not skepticism. The time to believe leaks is not when they are leaked but when they are confirmed by official sources or when the official publication of the leaked material occurs. There are plenty of clout-chasers who make up fake leaks after all, and in this age of generative AI we're likely to see more and more wild concoctions. I don't wish to know anything about the media I love so badly that I need the answers to my questions confirmed 48 hours before I would find out the answers officially anyways. I'm not so lost in the dopamine pit that I can't wait 48 hours for the people who actually deserve credit for their work to answer my questions.
Your offense is not merely that you sent spoilers to someone who never asked for them; it's that you assumed leaks are normal and credible and that anyone on the internet who doesn't participate in Twitter culture or leak culture would be grateful when you so carelessly disrespect the media they love. I lament every time someone spreads rumors in the way Twitter does, because to me it's a sign of societal rot. We should have higher standards for the information we choose to spread lest we unknowingly spread misinformation.
I get asks all the time about drama on Twitter with 0 explanations, questions about the text with 0 examples given, supposed news with 0 citations provided, and I'm sick of it. The implication is that I should already know what the asker is talking about because Twitter is talking about it and so that's enough reason it should be addressed. Twitter is not the internet. Many of us avoid Twitter because we hate it and hate the way it creeps into the places we go to avoid it. I chose Tumblr specifically because of how well it allows for long-form content. I want my askers to provide me the necessary information to actually understand them. I want them to use the space they're given to make their points properly. When they don't do this, I can't provide any sort of meaningful response. I wish people cared more about making sure they are correct and understandable and verifiable.
Those of us who refuse to go to Twitter are not poor, sad souls deprived of the font of information that Twitter supposedly provides. We reject it. We reject the rumor-mongering misinformation machine. Do I think you were actively malicious with your behavior? No. Do I think you're lost in the Twitter sauce? Absolutely. And until you understand that, your behavior isn't going to change, so your apology doesn't offer anything. You are far from the only person on the internet who acts like this, so take heart that you are not solely at-fault for the sadness this behavior inflicts on us. But now that you are aware of it, it's on you to figure out what to do about it.
