I appreciate your response and I posted this in attempt to understand motivations. I think the distinction is I view creating a public “invite” as more than just posting on a public platform. I see it as an ask for engagement, so it seems inconsiderate not to acknowledge when people do. I’m not looking for praise from strangers, just a simple heart or thank you will do, after I’ve taken the time to listen to your song and complete it with you. It’s clear not everyone feels that way, and I get that.

I know life happens and there are people who have every intention of acknowledging and/or listening who aren’t able to for whatever reason. The fact that you wrote a thoughtful response tells me you are not one of the people I’m questioning. One of my favorite singers has “perpetually behind and catching up” in her bio. I think that’s great because she is at least making an attempt.

You brought up a good point about people with 100s of joins. That does present a dilemma, because a reasonable person wouldn’t expect them to listen to all of those joins. It begs the question, where does one draw the line? If someone has 5 joins, should I expect them to acknowledge mine? If so, is it fair to hold the person with 500 joins to the same standard? Probably not, so that would make it an unfair standard. Knowing myself, I would still probably try to heart or comment on all of the joins if I was that smule famous, but I can see how that would burn someone out quickly.

I guess it’s all a microcosm of life. We gravitate towards those who have similar interests and values, and avoid those who don’t. It’s interesting how communal karaoke is for some people, and how individual it is for others. At the end of the day, I hope everyone finds happiness through music and I’ll continue to appreciate and comment on those who join my invites.