It has been said time and time again, but I'll reiterate that time spent having fun is not time wasted. While many of the hackernews readers would like to think that we are machines, we aren't. I'm sure you've wasted lots of time on certain things over the years, so why the snide comment?

I’d replace “having fun” with “doing something fulfilling”.

It has the same subjectivity but hits closer to why we regret some things and not others. Surfing is fun and fulfilling to me where cocaine is only fun but unfulfilling.

That the author wasted their time is purely your opinion, and really adds nothing to the conversation here. Why insult someone for doing something you don’t find interesting?

A lot of line rider folks get this kind of reaction. I truly think there’s some kind of insecurity that gets triggered in people when they see someone doing something intricate and esoteric with obvious passion.

Is it a jealousy at not finding such a passion, or for being unable to dedicate sufficient time to make something of a similar scale? Is it that they see such passion as wasted because the subject in question doesn’t match their own interest? Do they not believe it is deserving of the eyes that are on it now?

You can speculate, but at the end of the day, making something, and showing it to the world like this, is an extreme vulnerability. The act of making something is often as valuable as the result itself.

I do believe it is to some degree jealousy. Everybody understands the scarcity and power of passion; what’s work for some is love for others. When you compound a lack of passion, insecurity and bad human character, it’s not surprising to have reactions similar to purplecats’ above.

« Should have done something more productive »

Why?

The capitalism machine demands that your free time be used for something monetizable. Since this project has no commercial value it must be worthless.

You can't monetize the video?

Line Rider can be a source of income. My Line Rider Review cohost Bevibel, the creator of the 50-minute full-album track This Will Destroy you (ref https://youtu.be/qasxqKScOfY), does commissions full time in addition to their personal projects. Sometimes it’s small clients, sometimes it’s Disney. Helped them out with a music video for Guster once after the band saw a track they had already made to one of their songs. It’s a fun niche market.