I’ve always been pretty open about my motivations: fun. And I have fun during spec season precisely because I don’t attend the event. September-October isn’t enjoyable for me, so I have fun the rest of the year. I don’t do much merch (which barely sells). I don’t create content I can monetize. Shoot, I only started tweeting HHN stuff in the last couple of years. If I’m an influencer, I’m absolutely awful at it.
I also have to be extremely cautious about how I share information because, if I’m not, I no longer get information to share (why that seems so incomprehensible to some people…). There are several people with similar (or more) name recognition than mine that actually know WAY more about the event than I do who say absolutely nothing. I can completely understand someone’s frustration in clues they can’t solve or vague posts that can have multiple interpretations, but that’s the internet. Just accept that everyone isn’t entitled to know everything and move on with your life.