The thing is you don't actually need the wider world to explain the evolution of rpgnet. You can pretty much chart it all according to it's internal development.
Some forums have been infected by poltics - but at rpgnet the dynamics that led there never needed to be imported, they bred natively.
*SNIP*
You actually hit the nail on the head here. The thing about RPG.net is that the moderation staff have always been tribalist, gaslighting little petty tyrants. SocJus just gives them a convenient cover so they can feel righteous while just continuing to do what they were always going to do anyway.
Moderation on TBP has always been based on the In Group vs Out Group. If a user is part of the In Group, they can do whatever they want without fear. They can insult people, derail threads, "threadcrap," brigade and be total shitstains and the worst they will get is a performative slap on the wrist.
If a user is part of the Out Group, they have always had to walk on eggshells around the mods. Every word out of their mouths will be scrutinized for any evidence of impropriety or upsetting the In Group. Step one hair out of line and you got the Banhammer
The only thing that's changed are the post hoc justifications the mods give for being little petty tyrants.
Remember how Byron Hall, author of F.A.T.A.L., was treated? Remember Matthew Grau, the author of Cthulhutech? Remember what happened to Venger?
In all cases, the authors of each book were relentlessly dogpiled, insulted and basically prevented from communicating with their fans on TBP. If they complained to the mods about this behavior they were laughed off, or just banned to make them shut up and go away.