New RPG.net owner liked tweets from RFK Jr, Tucker Carlson, and more...
Just left RPG.net, that venerable old tabletop rpg forum, a forum that I've been a part of for 20+ years.
Recently (in March), it was bought by RPGMatch, a startup aiming to do matchmaking for TTRPGs. In the past couple of days, despite their many reassurances, I got it into my head to look up the new owner Joaquin Lippincott, and lucky for me he has a Twitter! (Or X, now, I guess.)
Yeah...the first warning bell is that his description calls him a 'Machine learning advocate', and his feed is full of generative AI shit. Oh, sure, he'll throw the fig leaf of 'AI shouldn't take creative jobs.' here and there, but all-in-all he is a full-throated supporter of genAI. Which means that RPGnet's multiple assurances that they will never scrape for AI...suspect at best.
Especially, when you check out his main company, https://www.metaltoad.com/, and find that his company, amongst other services, is all about advising corporations on how to make the best use of generative AI, LLMs, and machine learning. They're not the ones making them, but they sure are are helping corps decide what jobs to cut in favor of genAI. Sorry, they "Solve Business Problems."
This, alone, while leaving a massive bad taste in my mouth, wouldn't be enough, and apart from his clear love of genAI his feed is mostly business stuff and his love of RPGs. Barely talks politics or anything similar.
But then, I decided to check his Likes, the true bane of many a people who have tried to portray themselves as progressive, or at least neutral.
And wow. In lieu of links that can be taken down, I have made screenshots. If you want to check it yourself, just find his Twitter feed, this isn't hidden information. (Yet.)
Here's him liking a conspiracy theory that the War on Ukraine is actually NATO's fault, and it's all a plan by the US to grift and disable Russia!
Here's him liking Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praising Tucker Carlson interviewing Vladimir Putin!
Here's him liking a right wing influencer's tweet advancing a conspiracy theory about Hunter Biden!
Former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy talking about how he wants to tear down the Department of Education and the FDA (plus some COVID vaccine conspiracy theory thrown in)
Sure did like this Tucker Carlson video on Robert Kennedy Jr... (Gee, I wonder who this guy is voting for in October.)
Agreeing about a right-wing grifter's conspiracy theories... (that guy's Twitter account is full of awful, awful transphobia, always fun.)
Him liking a tweet about someone using their own fathers death to advance an anti-vaxx agenda! What the fuck! (This guy was pushing anti-vax before his father's death, I checked, if you're wondering.)
So, yes, to sum it up, RPG.net, that prides itself as an inclusive place, protective it's users who are part of vulnerable groups, and extremely supportive of creators, sold out to a techbro (probably)libertarian whose day job is helping companies make use of generative AI and likes tweets that advance conspiracy theories about the Ukraine war, Hunter Biden, vaccines, and others. Big fan of RFKjr, Carlson, and Putin, on the other hand.
And, like, shame on RPG.net, Christopher Allen for selling to this guy, and the various admins and mods who spent ages reassuring everything will be okay (including downplaying Lippincott's involvement in genAI). Like, was no research into this guy done at all? Or did y'all not care?
So I'm gone, and I'm betting while maybe not today or tomorrow, things are going to change for that website, and not for the best for anyone.
Ways Dobson is a Jackass to People #14: Literally Screaming and Cursing at a Non-American for Pointing Out Why Dobson is Wrong About Free Speech
So someone recently responded to Dobson’s morally grandstanding post about how much he supports a forums decision to ban any positive comments made about Donald Trump whatsoever, pointing out the flaws in not debating people and just immediately forbidding actual discussion about a topic.
Fairly solid advice, yeah? Not attacking him or anything, just pointing out exactly what the flaw is in not allowing people to speak their minds.
And Dobson, seeing that this person doesn’t live in America, absolutely blew his fucking shit and started screaming and cursing at the person, and actually comes off as kinda racist.
“Ugh, stupid non-Americans thinking they can have an opinion on things. How stupid are they trying to speak to us about morals?”
So now that my online personae are a bit more synced up, time for me to plug some stuff I did on rpgnet!
TABLETOP STUFF
Zeroes and Ones: Based on a rudimentary flick through Anima Prime, I sat down and built a setting heavily inspired by Mega Man X. Without playing Anima Prime and having not played more than a level of Mega Man X.
Action Academy: Giant Chuubo’s campaign with two sets of playable characters set in an academy for young superheroes. Unlike Zeroes and Ones, this one was done having played lots of Chuubo’s and watching tons of the classic Teen Titans cartoon.
The Brimstone Line: Originally designed for Dresden Files Accelerated, I don’t think I ever actually finished the custom mantles, but the setting is mostly workable if you like FMA-inspired dieselpunk neo-Westerns.
Star Wars: Dissolution: AU where after Ruusan the Republic disintegrated, leaving behind feuding factions of Jedi and Sith.
VIDEOGAME STUFF
Darkest Dungeon: Letters From Hell: I piled a bunch of mods onto Darkest Dungeon and wrote up the resultant campaign as a series of letters from the Heir to his sister. I also quoted basically every line of “The Prophet’s Song” because why not. I might do a sequel when DDII comes out.
SOTM: Time in a Bottle: Using FrivYeti’s Darkest Timeline rules, this one’s pretty much a standard Timeline run but I’m pretty happy with how it went.
SOTM: Pax Legatum: I ended up abandoning this one because life got in the way, but it was an AU based on the Iron Legacy timeline where a decent whack of the villains were tied to his regime and all the heroes were trying to stop him.
Dark Souls 3: Kings and Vagabonds: My current project! I play DS3 and write it up as the in-character journal of a knight named Wayfarer.
SOTM: Wash These Bloodstains From My Hands: My other current project! A team of reformed supervillains travels through time to fix their mistakes, and also everyone else’s, by saving superheroes from being defeated by their nemeses! And then I write up postgame narratives. Sometimes huge ones. Often containing baffling Letters Page deep cuts. I have a problem.
"En Eski Oyun Forumlarından RPGnet, Trump Destekçilerini Banlıyor" http://www.hasanzanbak.com/index.php/2018/10/30/en-eski-oyun-forumlarindan-rpgnet-trump-destekcilerini-banliyor/
