I guess I must have passed into irrelevance over there, since I still haven't been banned. There was a time people were reporting my posts in the hopes something would prove to be "problematic" enough that I could be perma-banned. Probably helps that I doubt anyone is following what I say on Facebook either.

I walked away a few years ago after a ridiculous ban was followed by an arbitrary and capricious extension, and never looked back.

Quote from: Kiero;1085104Do we need a subforum for introductions from exiles?

I never thought I'd say this, but it wouldn't hurt.

Quote from: S'mon;1085165With that guest list I CANNOT IMAGINE how you can resist attending! :eek:

What's sad is how many of those people I consider to be close friends. It honestly feels like they've joined a cult, and I'm not sure where I stand with them anymore.

Quote from: nDervish;1085266Given the rise of "silence is endorsement of the status quo"-type thinking in socjus circles lately,

Which is just a variation of "Silence is consent", which they hate.

Quote from: Dimitrios;1085291If they'd been remotely reasonable, like picking a moderate sized hotel for their venue, they might have been fine. Instead they decided that they could fill the Baltimore convention center in their first year.

They truly believe they represent a larger group than they actually do.

Quote from: nDervish;1085502Yeah, and the craziest part is that they don't see this as the site failing, they see it as a victory.  Somewhere in the mid-50s-pages of the "Steve Jackson refunds" thread, there's some talk about how great it is that all these long-term forum members are outing themselves as alt-right gamergaters, which allows the mods to finally purify the site by banning them.

There's not even a hint of a thought that, just maybe, the site might be on the wrong track when all these people who have track records of being reasonable are suddenly saying things have gone wrong.  (Of course, part of the reason for the absence of such suggestions is likely to be the knowledge that, if you admit to thinking such a thing, you'll be the next one on the chopping block.)

And they really are trying to redefine failure as success.

Quote from: Anon Adderlan;1085991What's sad is how many of those people I consider to be close friends. It honestly feels like they've joined a cult, and I'm not sure where I stand with them anymore.

I NEVER reply to your posts but god. This hit me in the heart. I miss my friends.

Quote from: Anon Adderlan;1085991What's sad is how many of those people I consider to be close friends. It honestly feels like they've joined a cult, and I'm not sure where I stand with them anymore.

Quote from: Azraele;1085995I NEVER reply to your posts but god. This hit me in the heart. I miss my friends.

This is so true.  The biggest casualty in this culture war has been the dozens of friends I've lost over stupid BS.  People I grew up with, people I went to school with, people I've gamed with, people I've LARPed with, online gaming friends, etc.  And it's all been on their end.  Not to one of them did I say "I'm done with you," rather it's all been them deciding that all of a sudden I'm the problem with world today and cutting me out of their lives.

I just want to play silly elf games with my friends again.

Quote from: rgalex;1086009This is so true.  The biggest casualty in this culture war has been the dozens of friends I've lost over stupid BS.  People I grew up with, people I went to school with, people I've gamed with, people I've LARPed with, online gaming friends, etc.  And it's all been on their end.  Not to one of them did I say "I'm done with you," rather it's all been them deciding that all of a sudden I'm the problem with world today and cutting me out of their lives.

For what it's worth, I admire you for holding on until the knife came down from the other side. I've taken the excuse of fatherhood and breadwinner responsibilities to let the friendships that I didn't think would survive an honest conversation about certain topics just fade out, which is the coward's way of dealing with such things.

Quote from: nDervish;1085502Yeah, and the craziest part is that they don't see this as the site failing, they see it as a victory.  Somewhere in the mid-50s-pages of the "Steve Jackson refunds" thread, there's some talk about how great it is that all these long-term forum members are outing themselves as alt-right gamergaters, which allows the mods to finally purify the site by banning them.

There's not even a hint of a thought that, just maybe, the site might be on the wrong track when all these people who have track records of being reasonable are suddenly saying things have gone wrong.  (Of course, part of the reason for the absence of such suggestions is likely to be the knowledge that, if you admit to thinking such a thing, you'll be the next one on the chopping block.)

Well, the more frustrated angry people standing outside the velvet rope, the more exclusive and trendy the club right? :rolleyes:

Quote from: rgalex;1086009This is so true.  The biggest casualty in this culture war has been the dozens of friends I've lost over stupid BS.  People I grew up with, people I went to school with, people I've gamed with, people I've LARPed with, online gaming friends, etc.  And it's all been on their end.  Not to one of them did I say "I'm done with you," rather it's all been them deciding that all of a sudden I'm the problem with world today and cutting me out of their lives.

I just want to play silly elf games with my friends again.

Maybe it's a weird British thing, but I don't think I've lost a single friend over politics, never mind gaming politics. 80% of my friends are left-liberal and these days I'm right wing by UK standards, but I've never seen any "You're dead to me now" stuff from anyone I considered a friend.

Quote from: S'mon;1086020Maybe it's a weird British thing, but I don't think I've lost a single friend over politics, never mind gaming politics. 80% of my friends are left-liberal and these days I'm right wing by UK standards, but I've never seen any "You're dead to me now" stuff from anyone I considered a friend.

Same, barring a few rabidly left-wing outliers (and Corbyn loyalists), I haven't lost any friends either. Most people I know are left-of-centre, when I'm right wing.

Quote from: shoplifter;1085199It's rather incredible how traffic has dropped over the past few years.

Hmm... let's take a look at the alexa rankings.  It looks like all rpg forums are in decline.

rpg.net
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3353[/ATTACH]

therpgsite.com
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3354[/ATTACH]

enworld.org
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3355[/ATTACH]

dragonsfoot.org
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3356[/ATTACH]

Is it just me, or is the y-axis backwards on those graphs?  To me it looks like readership is going up, according to those charts.  From 25k to 40k on rpgnet, for instance.

Quote from: Chunkthulhu;1086034Is it just me, or is the y-axis backwards on those graphs?  To me it looks like readership is going up, according to those charts.  From 25k to 40k on rpgnet, for instance.

I think that is web site ranking so from 25,000th most popular down to 40,000th most popular.

Quote from: goblinslayer;1086027Hmm... let's take a look at the alexa rankings.  It looks like all rpg forums are in decline.

(...)

What about RPG Pub (rpgpub.com) and RPGGeek (rpggeek.com)?

Quote from: goblinslayer;1086027Hmm... let's take a look at the alexa rankings.  It looks like all rpg forums are in decline.

rpg.net
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3353[/ATTACH]

therpgsite.com
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3354[/ATTACH]

enworld.org
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3355[/ATTACH]

dragonsfoot.org
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3356[/ATTACH]

Forums are in decline, period.  Social media is too easy.

Bit of a tangent, can someone tell me what the fuck typing the word "vibes" over on TBP means? Is this the secular version of sending prayers via Facebook likes or some shit?

Edit: And what exactly is a "bad actor"?

Quote from: S'mon;1086020Maybe it's a weird British thing, but I don't think I've lost a single friend over politics, never mind gaming politics. 80% of my friends are left-liberal and these days I'm right wing by UK standards, but I've never seen any "You're dead to me now" stuff from anyone I considered a friend.

I haven't lost any friends, but lately I've avoided plenty of acquaintances that in an earlier time might have become at least somewhat "friendly" in a specific context, such as a gaming group.  I can't trust myself to not say something when "that guy" starts blathering, and I'm tired to being the one to diffuse the thing and get back to gaming (or whatever).  So the rest of them can game with him or me, but not both.  And usually the path of least resistance is the one chosen in such things.  Besides, I don't need them, when I've got people that don't do that to me that I can spend all my gaming time with instead.

TL,DR:  There are people and groups out there so self-unaware that it wouldn't take much before I'll be the one saying, "I'm done with you."  Sensing that, I'd rather skip the drama altogether.