Royalties have been causing a stir again recently, essentially: everyone wants creators to have a sustainable income, but the secondary market naturally prefers "less friction is better."

It seems to me like a narrative whirlpool: one side advocates supporting creators, while secretly turning off the royalty switch, ultimately turning into whoever runs fastest wins, leaving "ideals" gasping in place.

Social mining, fan tokens, and that set also seem a bit similar; they say attention is mining every day, but attention is too slippery—hot it’s like gold, cold it’s like air.
Anyway, I now prefer to think of royalties as a "voluntary tip with a delay," don’t expect it to automatically sustain the ecosystem; first assume human nature will be lazy, so it’s less likely to be the final baton.

You say "no royalties, no creation"… but look, people are still posting anyway, sigh.