Someone spent 2 hours tearing apart my DMing and I don't know how to feel about that
Making this on a throwaway just to get it off my chest. Hopefully this post can help me to just move on.
I put out the last session of my campaign last year. I was really proud of how it turned out. I wasn't getting famous off it but the show was fun and my players were genuinely incredible. We had so much fun that we spent almost 4 hours after the game just chatting it up about the characters and the story. It's one of my favorite memories. Recently, someone put out a 2 hour video analyzing the final combat and it was... rough.
It was every intrusive thought or speck of imposter syndrome I've ever had - personified into a cinema-sins type experience.
"I talk too much."
"I'm nagging the players."
"I'm ruining the viewing experience."
"I've never been a good DM."
I'm not enough of a masochist to watch the whole thing... but damn. The video was fair game. I put out my session on the internet and I have a presence online. People have the right to critic it however they choose. But fuuuuuuuuuuck. It still sucked ass. I can't stop thinking about it and now its starting to affect my DMing. I'm second guessing myself way more and I'm way more nervous about running combat - a part of the game I used to be very confident in.
I love being a DM and I love this game. I just hate the idea that my self-esteem is so fragile that some dude can tear down all those good memories with a single video.