I’ve thought about writing this for a while.

For a long time, I wondered whether saying anything was worth it. Eventually, though, I reached the point where staying quiet about something I genuinely believe is wrong felt worse than speaking openly about it.

YouNow Partnership isn’t just a badge beside somebody’s username.

It comes with recognition, visibility, monetisation and a certain amount of influence within the community. Because of that, I believe Partnership should represent more than numbers, popularity or how much revenue somebody generates.

It should represent conduct too.

Before anybody assumes this is simply a list of people I dislike, it isn’t.

People are allowed to dislike me. They’re allowed to criticise me, disagree with me, block me or decide they no longer want anything to do with me.

Likewise, Partners are human. They’ll argue with people, make mistakes and sometimes handle situations badly.

I don’t believe one disagreement should automatically cost somebody their Partnership.

What concerns me is when behaviour begins to feel like a pattern, particularly when that behaviour affects other people within the community.

That’s where I believe the conversation about Partnership becomes relevant.

I’m also not asking anybody reading this to harass, attack or mass-report anyone mentioned here.

Don’t.

This is about accountability, standards and my own experiences.

My Experience With MD

My concerns with MD aren’t based on one disagreement.

The biggest turning point for me was the way I felt Frey and our relationship were spoken about within the wider community.

From my perspective, Frey was portrayed negatively, including in ways that made her seem like a bad partner.

After that, I began noticing a very different atmosphere around us.

People blocked us. People who had previously been friendly or neutral suddenly appeared more distant, and it felt as though perceptions of us had changed without either of us having much opportunity to explain our side.

I want to be careful here.

I don’t know what every individual person was told.

I don’t know why every person decided to distance themselves from us.

I’m not going to pretend that I do.

What I can talk about is what I experienced.

From where I was standing, it felt like a negative narrative surrounding Frey had spread through parts of the community, and we were left dealing with the consequences of it.

That hurt.

This is where MD’s status as a Partner matters to me.

Partners naturally have influence. Their opinions carry weight with their audiences and with the people around them, even if they aren’t deliberately trying to wield that influence.

Because of that, I believe Partners should be especially conscious of how they discuss personal disputes involving other users.

My issue isn’t that MD disagreed with us.

He’s perfectly entitled to.

My issue is the way I believe the situation was handled, and the effect I felt it had on both Frey and me afterwards.

At that point, it stopped feeling like ordinary creator drama.

It became a question of whether this is the kind of behaviour I personally expect from somebody carrying an official Partner badge.

My Experience With RT

My experience with RT is different, but in some ways it hurt even more personally.

RT was one of the first people who welcomed me when I joined YouNow.

When you’re new somewhere, you remember the people who make an effort with you.

You remember the people who make you feel included.

RT was one of those people for me.

That’s why what happened later felt like such a metaphorical kick in the nuts.

During last year, I gradually started feeling as though RT and several people around her simply stopped acknowledging my existence.

There wasn’t necessarily one huge moment.

It was gradual.

Interactions became fewer.

Acknowledgement disappeared.

Eventually, I felt like I’d gone from being somebody who had once been welcomed into that space to somebody who might as well not have existed.

And honestly, I felt completely alone.

That was difficult because, from my perspective, I hadn’t done anything to deserve that kind of treatment.

I had supported RT.

I had treated her respectfully.

I didn’t expect friendship in return simply because I’d supported somebody, relationships don’t work like transactions.

But I also didn’t expect somebody I once respected to seemingly show that little regard for me.

What made the situation even more upsetting was feeling like that lack of regard extended to my partner as well.

You don’t have to like me.

You don’t have to be my friend forever.

People change, friendships fade and communities shift.

I understand that.

But emotionally, there is a difference between naturally drifting apart from somebody and feeling as though you’ve suddenly become invisible to an entire circle of people.

That’s how it felt to me.

I can’t tell you what RT was thinking.

I also can’t prove that there was ever some organised effort among her friends to exclude me, and I’m not claiming there was.

I can only explain my experience.

And my experience was that I felt increasingly isolated until eventually I no longer felt welcome at all.

That changed the way I looked at YouNow.

It also changed how I viewed certain social circles within the platform.

And this is where Partnership again becomes relevant.

Partners tend to become central figures within communities.

People gather around them, friendships form around them and their approval can carry a surprising amount of social weight.

That doesn’t mean a Partner owes everybody friendship.

Of course they don’t.

But I do believe somebody in that position should have some awareness of the culture being created around them.

There is a difference between deciding you don’t want to interact with somebody anymore and somebody ending up feeling completely pushed out of a community they once felt welcomed into.

What makes the RT situation hurt most is the contrast.

One of the people who initially made YouNow feel welcoming to me eventually became part of an experience that made me feel like I didn’t belong there anymore.

That’s something I haven’t forgotten.

What Does Partnership Actually Represent?

This isn’t about revenge.

I’m not arguing that everybody I’ve ever had a negative experience with should immediately lose their badge.

I’m asking something much simpler.

What is YouNow Partnership supposed to represent?

If it’s purely a business arrangement based on audience size, revenue and engagement, then perhaps personal conduct has very little to do with it.

But if Partnership is also supposed to represent trusted, established members of the YouNow community, then I believe behaviour toward other members of that community has to matter.

Partners don’t need to be perfect.

I certainly don’t expect them to be.

What I do expect is accountability.

Influence should come with some understanding that words and behaviour can carry consequences.

Popularity shouldn’t make somebody immune from criticism.

Connections shouldn’t mean people’s experiences get dismissed.

And having a badge shouldn’t automatically put somebody above the standards expected from everybody else.

People reading this may completely disagree with my conclusions.

That’s fine.

I’m not asking everybody to share my opinion.

I’m asking whether we’re willing to have an honest conversation about what Partnership actually means.

Because if that badge is meant to represent something more than numbers and revenue, then in my opinion, the standard attached to it should reflect that.

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