TheRPGSite

The history of rpgnet's slide into irrelevance and complete tyranny. And the virtue of a free-speech alternative (therpgsite)!

The forum claims that "We will not permit witch-hunts, progressive loyalty-testing, or attempting to bait another into admitting support for President Trump in order to get them banned. The mod staff will deal harshly with attempts to weaponize this policy." Do you think they will actually do that evenly for all people? Or would they try to ban bait others into doing that against their own policy?

Quote from: Tag365 on February 12, 2025, 07:43:53 PMThe forum claims that "We will not permit witch-hunts, progressive loyalty-testing, or attempting to bait another into admitting support for President Trump in order to get them banned. The mod staff will deal harshly with attempts to weaponize this policy." Do you think they will actually do that evenly for all people? Or would they try to ban bait others into doing that against their own policy?

That's ass covering lip service.  What they will actually do is ban anyone that the progressive clique that runs the place dislikes on whatever pretense is convenient.

I really miss getting to read their infractions.  Not enough to create an account and go undercover there, but still.  My favorites were the ones where they would ban one of their fellow lefties for agreeing with them in the wrong way.

TBP has so much leadership respect sitting as sunk cost in the Woke bandwagon that they don't really have any choice in this.

I imagine that at least a few of them are bright enough to understand the culture war is about to leave them good and properly cooked, but even if their admin team were capable of having such a discussion behind closed doors --(HA!)-- there's no way they can break it to their members without loosing a lot of respect.

Sunk cost makes for sunk ships.

New ban? this has been policy on their site since October 2018? (https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/policy-do-not-post-in-support-of-trump-or-his-administration-posted-2018-in-effect-permanently.835849/page-13)

Not that it's a good policy, it's nakedly partisan and stupid, but this doesn't seem like news.

Unless they didn't remember they already had this policy and this is some new reban I'm not aware of? which does seem in-character for them.

They may have felt it needed reiteration given that Trump is now at the head of the formal administration again.

The only reason they are doing this is to reduce the number of reports and make their own jobs easier.  Someone says something the woke types don't like.  The woke types generate a ton of reports about how terrible it is and go one the attack which generates a ton more reports about their behavior.  TBP bans whatever set them off just to quiet down the shit storm.  The woke types see this and just do it any time that anyone posts anything they don't like.  I remember one guy who committed the cardinal sin of suggesting that the abortion debate be settled by logic, reason and science.  He was infracted for being inflammatory because one person saw that and flipped her shit at the idea that anything but her own subjective viewpoint, sorry "lived experience" should matter.  What he said wasn't inflammatory but one person made a fuss so they banned him.

Quote from: Socratic-DM on February 12, 2025, 09:21:50 PMNew ban? this has been policy on their site since October 2018? (https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/policy-do-not-post-in-support-of-trump-or-his-administration-posted-2018-in-effect-permanently.835849/page-13)

Not that it's a good policy, it's nakedly partisan and stupid, but this doesn't seem like news.

Unless they didn't remember they already had this policy and this is some new reban I'm not aware of? which does seem in-character for them.

Yeah, nothing new.  They just changed the battery on their virtue signal.   I stopped going there around that time specifically because of the three or four text balloon woke warnings they had on the top of their forums that would take up half the screen almost.  There were, if I recall correctly, text balloon popups propagandizing for trans, BLM, TDS, and illegal immigration. 

Quote from: yosemitemike on February 13, 2025, 02:13:40 AMWhat he said wasn't inflammatory but one person made a fuss so they banned him.

Well, that's the fundamental subjectivism of the philosophy. If one person claims to have been inflamed then it was, by definition, inflammatory.

(Though even that is fatally undermined by its inconsistency. Claims of being "inflamed" due to posts offensive to one's beliefs, identity or values are taken much less seriously for certain pre-selected beliefs, identities and values. Not 100% dismissively, it must be granted -- I have seen warnings given for posts that are group attacks against Christians, for example -- but the thumb is definitely on the scale.)

Quote from: I on February 12, 2025, 08:17:27 PMI really miss getting to read their infractions.  Not enough to create an account and go undercover there, but still.  My favorites were the ones where they would ban one of their fellow lefties for agreeing with them in the wrong way.

I know, right? Most of it was pure comedy gold.

That site can be deleted for all I care.  They once banned me for a week because I made a negative comment about my own religion.

I came here as this forum was the 2nd most popular RPG board in a Google search.  I've never looked back.

(https://i.imgur.com/reZsbqP.png)
Apparently, comparing real world people to fantasy species is against the rules.  Does anyone remember any of the "orcs are black people" crowd getting in trouble for this?

I'm certain they didn't, because that was claiming racism of the wicked heterociswhitemens, and was therefore protected content.  Also in most cases it wasn't quite so brazen as "black people are orcs", it was more "orcs are dogwhistles to the colonialist racist perspective of indigenous peoples, etc etc", so they stuck a little padding in to make it look less racist at first glance.

Quote from: yosemitemike on February 13, 2025, 07:20:19 PMDoes anyone remember any of the "orcs are black people" crowd getting in trouble for this?

I recall reading an admin post that said basically it's 100% true that races are analogous to real world ethnicities and denying that Orcs = Blacks is racist and will get you banned.

European stereotypes bleed into everything, but Tolkien never deliberately acknowledged anything racially analogous in a time period when it would have been relatively acceptable to do so.

So the self-appointed guardians of gaming have become the thought police as well. I'm beginning to think that these so-called progressive laid back tolerant hippie types aren't as chill as they would have us believe. In fact, I can see how one might accidentally mistake them for uptight control freaks
I wonder if their political websites ban people for playing the wrong Role PLaying Game.

Quote from: Socratic-DM on February 12, 2025, 09:21:50 PMNew ban? this has been policy on their site since October 2018? (https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/policy-do-not-post-in-support-of-trump-or-his-administration-posted-2018-in-effect-permanently.835849/page-13)

Not that it's a good policy, it's nakedly partisan and stupid, but this doesn't seem like news.

Unless they didn't remember they already had this policy and this is some new reban I'm not aware of? which does seem in-character for them.

We have always been at war with Eastasia.....

Quote from: Nobleshield on February 13, 2025, 08:41:16 PM

Quote from: yosemitemike on February 13, 2025, 07:20:19 PMDoes anyone remember any of the "orcs are black people" crowd getting in trouble for this?

I recall reading an admin post that said basically it's 100% true that races are analogous to real world ethnicities and denying that Orcs = Blacks is racist and will get you banned.

I think aren't comparing races and fantasy races so much as suggesting less-enlightened folks do that. Those less enlightened folks are racist monsters and those on the left are pure and woke for pointing it out. It doesn't occur to them that this idea was spawned by and maintained by the left and that they are because projecting their own racism.

Quote from: Nobleshield on February 13, 2025, 08:41:16 PM

Quote from: yosemitemike on February 13, 2025, 07:20:19 PMDoes anyone remember any of the "orcs are black people" crowd getting in trouble for this?

I recall reading an admin post that said basically it's 100% true that races are analogous to real world ethnicities and denying that Orcs = Blacks is racist and will get you banned.

So saying that fantasy races are equivalent to real world races gets you a week long ban unless you say that orcs are black people and then it doesn't.  Typical TBP.

At first I thought that I misread the thread title as:

"RPGnet's slide into idiot-level Tranny."

Then I realized that actually, no, no I didn't...

Quote from: Acres Wild on February 13, 2025, 09:45:08 PMSo the self-appointed guardians of gaming have become the thought police as well. I'm beginning to think that these so-called progressive laid back tolerant hippie types aren't as chill as they would have us believe. In fact, I can see how one might accidentally mistake them for uptight control freaks
I wonder if their political websites ban people for playing the wrong Role PLaying Game.

Its been that way with every iteration. They preach freedom, but they are 100% intolerant and oppressive. And about every time they will sooner or later start trying to tell whatever their current pet minority or handicap is that they cant do this and cant say that and huh... they weren't really our friends afterall were they?

Moral busybodies never accomplish anything other than spreading destruction and misery.

This all makes me want to support Trump just to piss them off and I'm not even American.

But they've always been crying about people with different political beliefs. How dare you not be a lemming and have your own political thoughts and ideology.

I wouldn't go near that forum with a virtual hazmat suit on.
 

For further evidence (as if any was needed), consider this: A poster who spoke approvingly of the July assassination attempt got the following ban --

QuoteRegardless of any feelings, we don't allow anyone to encourage illegal reactions, like assassinations for political reasons. Take three days off and do not post in this thread again.

So supporting a politician of opposed views is worth permanent expulsion but expressing sympathy with wanting that man murdered is only worth three days. I don't even know how I could explain the problem with that kind of priority distortion to someone suffering from it.

Quote from: I on February 12, 2025, 08:17:27 PMI really miss getting to read their infractions.  Not enough to create an account and go undercover there, but still.  My favorites were the ones where they would ban one of their fellow lefties for agreeing with them in the wrong way.

I still think the funniest ban I saw there was either Louis Cachet's (Varg) ban (if it was even him lol) after years of not being active, or the dipshit who was running a modern game and was talking about how to make improvised explosives.

Quote from: RNGm on February 13, 2025, 10:05:47 AMThere were, if I recall correctly, text balloon popups propagandizing for trans, BLM, TDS, and illegal immigration. 

I don't know about that, but I did recall that they had a policy that you were allowed to do group attacks on ICE. Like normally if you go "all teachers are bastards" or something, that's a "group attack" and a no-no. But they allowed the customs guys. Because they do evil things like expel migrants (debatably wrong?) and try to stop drugs and terrorists coming into the country (less debatably wrong). I wasn't sure so I went to look at their rules.

There are complete roleplaying games with fewer rules than this. The rules could be a lot shorter if they just said, "no politics, just games and nerdy media" and left it at that.

https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/rpgnet-rules-guidelines-updated-with-summary-january-21st-2025.835825/

But let's be honest, nowadays rpg.net is a play-by-post game where they roleplay gamers, it's the closest they get to the game table.

I got banned from RPG Net on my own terms.
https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/please-delete-my-account.900155

Same with DriveThruRPG: On my own terms.  I raised my prices 100x, then said, "Get 99% off when you buy from Big Geek Emporium".  Because it was only a matter of time I would be banned for posting material using "unacceptable" language.

While it's a poor substitute for Infractions, some fun can be had simply by reading down the list of thread titles.  In addition to the infamous "Anti-Fascist Games" one, there are threads on colorful hair dyes in RPGs and furry-friendly games.

Quote from: Cathode Ray on February 15, 2025, 08:31:54 AMI got banned from RPG Net on my own terms.
https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/please-delete-my-account.900155

Same with DriveThruRPG: On my own terms.  I raised my prices 100x, then said, "Get 99% off when you buy from Big Geek Emporium".  Because it was only a matter of time I would be banned for posting material using "unacceptable" language.

I didn't know about that website. Thanks.

I'm probably going to regret asking, but what's the issue with DriveThru? I don't really keep up on all the goings-on in the hobby, unless it pops up in my feed on youtube.

Quote from: Hague on February 15, 2025, 02:12:13 PM

Quote from: Cathode Ray on February 15, 2025, 08:31:54 AMI got banned from RPG Net on my own terms.
https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/please-delete-my-account.900155

Same with DriveThruRPG: On my own terms.  I raised my prices 100x, then said, "Get 99% off when you buy from Big Geek Emporium".  Because it was only a matter of time I would be banned for posting material using "unacceptable" language.

I didn't know about that website. Thanks.

I'm probably going to regret asking, but what's the issue with DriveThru? I don't really keep up on all the goings-on in the hobby, unless it pops up in my feed on youtube.

They caved to the idealogues and bigots a couple years back when they banned a product (an adventure? I can't recall) that was pro-life due to the leftist mob complaining yet had multiple products that were pro-abortion.   I don't know if there was more than that before or after but that's the one I remember making the news.   Either don't allow products to reference a contentious issue or allow them to.. but don't choose a "winner" in the debate by only allowing one side on a supposedly neutral market place.

Quote from: I on February 15, 2025, 11:14:32 AMthere are threads on colorful hair dyes in RPGs and furry-friendly games.

Actually as a month ago they were still banning "furries".

Quote from: Omega on February 15, 2025, 03:53:44 PM

Quote from: I on February 15, 2025, 11:14:32 AMthere are threads on colorful hair dyes in RPGs and furry-friendly games.

Actually as a month ago they were still banning "furries".

So there ARE limits to their degeneracy. I wonder who drew that particular line. Kek, can you imagine being part of the Meeting of the Minds on that?

Degen 1: So we're OK with everything trans, everything homo, everything communist/marxist/maoist. Right?
Degen 2: Yes. Also pedo, er, I mean MAPs are OK.
Degen 1: Yep, got it.
Degen 3: Furries?
Degen 1 & 2: GTFO you sick fuck.

Ironically, furry culture goes back to Albedo Anthropomorphics and contributed a great deal to tabletop gaming. 

Quote from: RNGm on February 15, 2025, 02:26:36 PM

Quote from: Hague on February 15, 2025, 02:12:13 PM

Quote from: Cathode Ray on February 15, 2025, 08:31:54 AMI got banned from RPG Net on my own terms.
https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/please-delete-my-account.900155

Same with DriveThruRPG: On my own terms.  I raised my prices 100x, then said, "Get 99% off when you buy from Big Geek Emporium".  Because it was only a matter of time I would be banned for posting material using "unacceptable" language.

I didn't know about that website. Thanks.

I'm probably going to regret asking, but what's the issue with DriveThru? I don't really keep up on all the goings-on in the hobby, unless it pops up in my feed on youtube.

They caved to the idealogues and bigots a couple years back when they banned a product (an adventure? I can't recall) that was pro-life due to the leftist mob complaining yet had multiple products that were pro-abortion.   I don't know if there was more than that before or after but that's the one I remember making the news.   Either don't allow products to reference a contentious issue or allow them to.. but don't choose a "winner" in the debate by only allowing one side on a supposedly neutral market place.

There are all kinds of issues with bans of material that is opposed to woke values, but, and I mentioned this before, like your typical left-wing fascists, (RPG NET, BGG, etc.), Drive Thru
 ignore violations if it's left enough, and lucrative for them.  They never removed COMRADES, although they received multiple reports that the game promoted real life violence in the printed book/PDF, and on its crowdfunding site.  The author has a disclaimer that Comrades does not promote real-life violence, but it's a lie to protect him.

Quote from: Hague on February 15, 2025, 04:23:06 PM

Quote from: Omega on February 15, 2025, 03:53:44 PM

Quote from: I on February 15, 2025, 11:14:32 AMthere are threads on colorful hair dyes in RPGs and furry-friendly games.

Actually as a month ago they were still banning "furries".

So there ARE limits to their degeneracy. I wonder who drew that particular line. Kek, can you imagine being part of the Meeting of the Minds on that?

Degen 1: So we're OK with everything trans, everything homo, everything communist/marxist/maoist. Right?
Degen 2: Yes. Also pedo, er, I mean MAPs are OK.
Degen 1: Yep, got it.
Degen 3: Furries?
Degen 1 & 2: GTFO you sick fuck.

Oh look. Another skinhead outed itself.

Quote from: I on February 15, 2025, 11:14:32 AMWhile it's a poor substitute for Infractions, some fun can be had simply by reading down the list of thread titles.  In addition to the infamous "Anti-Fascist Games" one, there are threads on colorful hair dyes in RPGs and furry-friendly games.

  Or the "Fantasy Settings That Avoid the Monarchy Trap" one, which has reached the point of someone defending Stalin as maligned by the US ...

Quote from: Armchair Gamer on February 16, 2025, 10:19:13 AMOr the "Fantasy Settings That Avoid the Monarchy Trap" one, which has reached the point of someone defending Stalin as maligned by the US ...

Yeah, I had actually meant to highlight that topic too, but just forgot about it.  Maybe they want to model their fantasy societies on the Roman Republic or the Republic of Venice.  We know what shining beacons of justice they were....

Quote from: Armchair Gamer on February 16, 2025, 10:19:13 AMOr the "Fantasy Settings That Avoid the Monarchy Trap" one, which has reached the point of someone defending Stalin as maligned by the US ...

Mon = one
Arch = ruler

Do they even understand who Stalin was?

Seriously... the biggest fantasy of all, even more than WotC's gay gnome kings and wheelchair bound adventurers, is premodern society past about the band-level of organization functioning without something like monarchs (ie. the tribal chief is a monarch... though perhaps not an absolute one).

Quote from: Armchair Gamer on February 16, 2025, 10:19:13 AM

Quote from: I on February 15, 2025, 11:14:32 AMWhile it's a poor substitute for Infractions, some fun can be had simply by reading down the list of thread titles.  In addition to the infamous "Anti-Fascist Games" one, there are threads on colorful hair dyes in RPGs and furry-friendly games.

  Or the "Fantasy Settings That Avoid the Monarchy Trap" one, which has reached the point of someone defending Stalin as maligned by the US ...

There's insanity, and then there's that. Wow.

Quote from: D-ko on February 15, 2025, 05:32:48 PMIronically, furry culture goes back to Albedo Anthropomorphics and contributed a great deal to tabletop gaming. 

Don't tell that to Steve Gallacci. You'd be likely to get a broken nose. The man reportedly HATES furries.

That's the thing though-- it started off relatively normal yet Albedo is largely considered the beginning of furry culture. Odd to sell rights to Sanguine Productions if he really didn't want to be associated with furries. As two side notes, I've actually met Donna Barr and she's a super nice lady (though I could never get into the human-horse thing) and Albedo pioneered the way for the Standard Galactic Alphabet, used in the Commander Keen series and Minecraft. This was a significant part of gaming history no matter how you look at it.

Quote from: D-ko on February 16, 2025, 03:38:04 PMThat's the thing though-- it started off relatively normal yet Albedo is largely considered the beginning of furry culture. Odd to sell rights to Sanguine Productions if he really didn't want to be associated with furries. As two side notes, I've actually met Donna Barr and she's a super nice lady (though I could never get into the human-horse thing) and Albedo pioneered the way for the Standard Galactic Alphabet, used in the Commander Keen series and Minecraft. This was a significant part of gaming history no matter how you look at it.

This may be a shock, but there was a comic book series that came first before it got a game labeled as the start of furry culture, a lot like Dungeons & Dragons was a great RPG before it got turned into woke Wasteland by a bunch of retards who thought that they would be owning the chuds by deconstructing a damn good system. Now before you post some more internet hot takes, give Erma Felna EDF a read - you'd be hard pressed to find any furry perversion there.

https://www.stevegallacci.com/archive/edf

Quote from: jeff37923 on February 16, 2025, 04:32:54 PM

Quote from: D-ko on February 16, 2025, 03:38:04 PMThat's the thing though-- it started off relatively normal yet Albedo is largely considered the beginning of furry culture. Odd to sell rights to Sanguine Productions if he really didn't want to be associated with furries. As two side notes, I've actually met Donna Barr and she's a super nice lady (though I could never get into the human-horse thing) and Albedo pioneered the way for the Standard Galactic Alphabet, used in the Commander Keen series and Minecraft. This was a significant part of gaming history no matter how you look at it.

This may be a shock, but there was a comic book series that came first before it got a game labeled as the start of furry culture, a lot like Dungeons & Dragons was a great RPG before it got turned into woke Wasteland by a bunch of retards who thought that they would be owning the chuds by deconstructing a damn good system. Now before you post some more internet hot takes, give Erma Felna EDF a read - you'd be hard pressed to find any furry perversion there.

https://www.stevegallacci.com/archive/edf

Interesting. There was indeed roughly a five year gap between EDF and the tabletop RPG (1983-1988).

Quote from: Jaeger on February 13, 2025, 11:05:42 PMAt first I thought that I misread the thread title as:

"RPGnet's slide into idiot-level Tranny."

Then I realized that actually, no, no I didn't...

That ship sailed long ago...

Quote from: jeff37923 on February 16, 2025, 03:22:56 PM

Quote from: D-ko on February 15, 2025, 05:32:48 PMIronically, furry culture goes back to Albedo Anthropomorphics and contributed a great deal to tabletop gaming. 

Don't tell that to Steve Gallacci. You'd be likely to get a broken nose. The man reportedly HATES furries.

I worked with Gallacci before Sanguine found out and yanked the agreement out from under me. Then proceeded to completely botch their Albedo RPG.

Nice guy. Quiet. But had a sense of humor that came out in some of his works. But much like Peter Cushing he took the death of his wife pretty hard.

Bemusingly at Gen Con I'd find him in a booth next to White Wolf's selling silver bullets.

Quote from: Omega on February 17, 2025, 01:38:41 PM

Quote from: jeff37923 on February 16, 2025, 03:22:56 PM

Quote from: D-ko on February 15, 2025, 05:32:48 PMIronically, furry culture goes back to Albedo Anthropomorphics and contributed a great deal to tabletop gaming. 

Don't tell that to Steve Gallacci. You'd be likely to get a broken nose. The man reportedly HATES furries.

I worked with Gallacci before Sanguine found out and yanked the agreement out from under me. Then proceeded to completely botch their Albedo RPG.

Nice guy. Quiet. But had a sense of humor that came out in some of his works. But much like Peter Cushing he took the death of his wife pretty hard.

Bemusingly at Gen Con I'd find him in a booth next to White Wolf's selling silver bullets.

Oof, death of a spouse will fuck anyone but a sociopath up. I followed Steve Gallacci because I love his art, I only know bits and pieces of his personal life.

There's a Galacci oil painting on the wall right beside me, he's a talented guy.  I've only briefly interacted with him at various cons, but he always seemed nice enough.  And yeah, his comic is military sci-fi that happens to have animal people in it rather than what is generally thought of as "furry" in more recent years.  At least I don't recollect anything particularly titillating in there.

Quote from: Valatar on February 18, 2025, 12:30:39 AMThere's a Galacci oil painting on the wall right beside me, he's a talented guy.  I've only briefly interacted with him at various cons, but he always seemed nice enough.  And yeah, his comic is military sci-fi that happens to have animal people in it rather than what is generally thought of as "furry" in more recent years.  At least I don't recollect anything particularly titillating in there.

His work with ink based watercolors is still amazing and the Albedo comic gave several now famous comic artists their first appearances as it was originally an anthology book.

The Erma Felna series is indeed pretty tame, aside from the war part.

He also worked with I believe Taral Wayne on the Beatrix Farmer superhero comic way back. So you get Waynes more funny animal style interspersed with Gallacci's more grounded style.

Not like TBP cares. They hate everything. Even themselves it seems.