In reaction to increasingly hostile vibes from within the online forum, Toledo took to Twitter to condemn the behaviour of some fans. He iterated that the only requirements to be a fan of Car Seat Headrest are to "listen to and enjoy the music," adding that those who wish to express their appreciation in more elaborate ways should consider "whether it would be a Good or Bad thing to do."
He noted that stuff like making fan art would fall under the "good thing" category, while "searching for defunct myspace pages to find pictures of me at age 13 to share with a network of strangers" would not.
Toledo also condemned the idea of impersonating him and posting music to Bandcamp, as well as the notion of impersonating him to threaten the person posting to Bandcamp.
He acknowledged that most Car Seat Headrest fans are probably "peaceful, reasonable people," but urged everyone to disengage from the "lunch table politics" of the subreddit's community.
Toledo offered a final bit of wisdom, ending his Twitter rant with: "My advice is to chill the fuck out, don't talk to strangers online, and make a minimal effort to be a decent human being."
Read the full string of tweets below.
Hi everyone. I make music. To "be a fan" of Car Seat Headrest, literally all you have to do is listen to and enjoy the music.
— car seat headrest (@carseatheadrest) February 27, 2018
If you feel compelled to show your fanship in additional ways, all I ask is that you ask yourself WHY and whether it would be a Good or Bad thing to do.
— car seat headrest (@carseatheadrest) February 27, 2018
e.g. making fan art? Good! searching for defunct myspace pages to find pictures of me at age 13 to share with a network of strangers? Not good.
— car seat headrest (@carseatheadrest) February 27, 2018
Pretending to be me to post my old private music on bandcamp? Not good. Pretending to be me to threaten the guy posting my music on bandcamp? Not good.
— car seat headrest (@carseatheadrest) February 27, 2018
I have faith that the majority of my fans are peaceful, reasonable people. Shame on those of you who would create a community based around high-school lunch table politics within this space, under my name.
— car seat headrest (@carseatheadrest) February 27, 2018
Like I said, I make music. I'm not your principal. Don't make me play that role, or I will deal with the situation in the harshest terms possible. It shouldn't be my business to determine how fans interact, so don't make it my business.
— car seat headrest (@carseatheadrest) February 27, 2018
My advice is to chill the fuck out, don't talk to strangers online, and make a minimal effort to be a decent human being.
— car seat headrest (@carseatheadrest) February 27, 2018
This is about the CSH subreddit, for those who weren't involved. I was ignoring it when the insult was only to me, but it recently escalated to open warfare between community members who hated each other. This is not a "good community". Take a break.
— car seat headrest (@carseatheadrest) February 27, 2018
The Car Seat Headrest subreddit remains down at the time of press. A message on the landing page reads: "Sorry, we're on an indefinite hiatus, as per request of Will."