A large, devoted following cannot be satisfied, because its factions want contradictory things and any change angers some of them.
TV Tropes describes the catch: fix what one part of a fandom complains about, and another part complains about the fix. In very large followings different sections dislike different things, so every change, and sometimes the absence of change, will anger someone.
In practice
- A software company redesigns its interface after complaints and receives more complaints about the redesign, from different users.
- A party leader who moves to satisfy one wing of the membership is attacked by the other.
- Possible explanations
- One explanation is heterogeneity: a large enough following contains incompatible preferences, and no single product can match them all. Another is visibility: the dissatisfied are louder than the satisfied, as in the 90-9-1 rule.
- In its favour
- Consistent with social choice results on aggregating incompatible preferences, and with negativity bias in online reviews and comments.
- Against it
- A folk observation rather than a study, and calling a following unpleasable can excuse real declines in quality that its members are right to complain about.
- Standing
- Compare the 90-9-1 rule and negativity bias.
- Subject
- Communication & Media
- Essay
- The folk laws of argument and attention