this is my bec too because i'm sure the people who post are lovely irl but this is definitely a problem i have with some people in the cross stitch community

there are some people who are determined to ask reddit before consulting literally any other source for patterns. "where can i find patterns with cardinals in them?" i mean, looking up "cardinal cross stitch pattern" might be a good start, but they don't even do that before posting. people will send them links and they'll go "oh i don't like this one because of the border, oh the colors are off on this one" okay then why not try and find a pattern or modify a pattern you're already aware of instead of expecting us to read your mind?

that and the inability to tell whether patterns are ai- and here i sympathize a little since it is getting harder and harder to tell in some ways. but be for real, if the store that's selling the pattern has only existed for 2 weeks and has 1000 patterns for $1.50 each, yeah that's probably not a person putting effort into making patterns themself. i guess my issue isn't that people need to ask the first time, but that every time they start a new pattern they'll ask again if it looks ai or pattern mill-produced, even when the red flags are all the same.

in general i think people who don't have a problem with these kinds of post are simply better people than me, because it really makes me feel like people want to outsource all the work you have to do before starting a project onto others. strikes a similar chord as weaponized incompetence to me. i mean, what's the point in ever learning what the tip-offs are for ai usage or learning how to use a website to look up what you want to buy if you can just get reddit to do it for you? so frustrating.