I don't think that's it. Most of the controversies are to do with post-Kickstarter stuff that happened well past the point of Hussie having that kind of relationship with the fandom. Hussie was very present in like, newsposts when I started reading the comic, but not in any kind of reachable way. When people managed to get some questions answered (and got trolled in the process with stuff like fat Vriska jokes) it was always a big deal, not something casual. There are creators who have used internet fan spaces to be always-at-reach in that way, but I don't think I'd count Hussie among them.