So Venger Satanis has had his latest book suspended because of "offensive" political content. But meanwhile, the other side's content on the exact same issue is allowed!
#ttrpg #dnd #osr
Good vid!
Okay, I'm not going to go down the political black hole again, and it's safe to say that everyone knows my pro-abortion stance within the 12-week time period.
That said, NO GAMING MATERIAL SHOULD BE BANNED (even temporarily) even if I or anyone else disagrees with the message. It's only an elf game for fucks sake.
Plus I want the product now I like Venger's stuff.
Thanks. Please share the video!
Thanks for making the video, Pundit. BTW, I'm not a pro-life absolutist, and happy to talk compromise and exceptions... rape, incest, life of the mother, etc.
The cover art is the only illustration in the PDF. It's 8 pages long (including the cover and credits at the end), so not a ton of content to go through. Unfortunately, everyone at DriveThruRPG has gone home for the weekend. They will review it this coming week and make a decision.
The Cha'alt adventure in question is called The Good Syma'arian. If anyone has additional questions, just ask!
VS
Quote from: RPGPundit on May 14, 2022, 03:35:10 AMSo Venger Satanis has had his latest book suspended because of "offensive" political content.
If you make an adventure where slavers are the bad guys, that is not political.
If you make an adventure where a lecherous nobleman is the bad guy, that is not political.
If you make an adventure where a greedy corporation is the bad guy, that is not political.
Yet if your bad guy is a baby-killing death cult, suddenly you are inserting politics into RPGs. These bannings are working because they force RPG creators to self-censor their products to avoid offending leftists, all under the guise of "avoiding politics in RPGs."
Quote from: hedgehobbit on May 14, 2022, 03:49:00 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit on May 14, 2022, 03:35:10 AMSo Venger Satanis has had his latest book suspended because of "offensive" political content.
If you make an adventure where slavers are the bad guys, that is not political.
If you make an adventure where a lecherous nobleman is the bad guy, that is not political.
If you make an adventure where a greedy corporation is the bad guy, that is not political.
Yet if your bad guy is a baby-killing death cult, suddenly you are inserting politics into RPGs. These bannings are working because they force RPG creators to self-censor their products to avoid offending leftists, all under the guise of "avoiding politics in RPGs."
You made some good points. Of course, I went out of my way to let customers know what they were getting... an unapologetic anti-abortion themed adventure.
Since I dont want to watch the video, can someone break the issue down into its fine points?
Bad Venger! Satire was outlawed years ago!
No surprise DriveThru censored his adventure. Surprised they haven't nuked Venger and RPGPundit completely years ago.
BTW, if anybody wants to support Venger AssNasty Satanis AND get a truly awesome book, buy this one ASAP:
https://www.amazon.com/Islands-Purple-Haunted-Putrescence-Venger-Satanis/dp/1500121592 (https://www.amazon.com/Islands-Purple-Haunted-Putrescence-Venger-Satanis/dp/1500121592)
Easily one of my favorite creations of the OSR age.
As for the "controversy", I'm pro-secession and pro-states rights, so my only Roe concern is that (a) the people of each state get to decide their own abortion laws, and (b) that the issue becomes even more divisive and Red vs. blue states segregate further culturally.
This surprises anyone at this point?
Venger. Have you tried contacting them and asking what specifically the charges were? It could be those false claims BGG was tossing around? Or any number of others. Could be easy to sort out. But if the site itself is gunning for you then well not much can do unless want to go the lawsuit route.
Too bad you're not in Texas. This might be covered by their new anti-censorship laws.
How is a baby-killing death cult political? Isn't that just the worship of Moloch?
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 14, 2022, 11:52:28 AM
Thanks for making the video, Pundit. BTW, I'm not a pro-life absolutist, and happy to talk compromise and exceptions... rape, incest, life of the mother, etc.
The cover art is the only illustration in the PDF. It's 8 pages long (including the cover and credits at the end), so not a ton of content to go through. Unfortunately, everyone at DriveThruRPG has gone home for the weekend. They will review it this coming week and make a decision.
The Cha'alt adventure in question is called The Good Syma'arian. If anyone has additional questions, just ask!
VS
Well, keep us updated.
Quote from: Omega on May 15, 2022, 01:03:14 AM
This surprises anyone at this point?
Venger. Have you tried contacting them and asking what specifically the charges were? It could be those false claims BGG was tossing around? Or any number of others. Could be easy to sort out. But if the site itself is gunning for you then well not much can do unless want to go the lawsuit route.
You can read the "suspension email" right here on this blog post: https://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-good-symaarian-suspended.html
Hope it gets reinstated, VS. Sorry to hear you've got to go through these hoops.
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 15, 2022, 08:57:18 PM
Quote from: Omega on May 15, 2022, 01:03:14 AM
This surprises anyone at this point?
Venger. Have you tried contacting them and asking what specifically the charges were? It could be those false claims BGG was tossing around? Or any number of others. Could be easy to sort out. But if the site itself is gunning for you then well not much can do unless want to go the lawsuit route.
You can read the "suspension email" right here on this blog post: https://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-good-symaarian-suspended.html
What would happen if you instead bundled some of your non-political titles and sold them as a pro-life bundle? Those titles were not objectionable enough to be blocked up until now, so if they then blocked that bundle it would be an interesting test to see how blatantly biased DTRPG is on this issue as the pro-choice bundle is a go.
Quote from: HappyDaze on May 16, 2022, 12:02:08 AM
What would happen if you instead bundled some of your non-political titles and sold them as a pro-life bundle? Those titles were not objectionable enough to be blocked up until now, so if they then blocked that bundle it would be an interesting test to see how blatantly biased DTRPG is on this issue as the pro-choice bundle is a go.
This is a hell of an idea, but I love it! The NPCs' CPU would just meltdown.
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 15, 2022, 08:57:18 PM
Quote from: Omega on May 15, 2022, 01:03:14 AM
This surprises anyone at this point?
Venger. Have you tried contacting them and asking what specifically the charges were? It could be those false claims BGG was tossing around? Or any number of others. Could be easy to sort out. But if the site itself is gunning for you then well not much can do unless want to go the lawsuit route.
You can read the "suspension email" right here on this blog post: https://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-good-symaarian-suspended.html
Probably the usual suspects false reporting you.
Protest art should always be part of our culture so to censor it is obnoxious. Even if you don't agree with the message.
What if someone did a fantasy scenario portraying the conservative anti-abortionists as religious zealot sorcerers who kept their women as breeding machines to keep the line pure. Then killed anyone who wanted to control their own reproductive rights? Would that be allowed?
Do we censor Charlie Hebdo? Because it offends Muslims? I think not...
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 16, 2022, 07:11:15 AM
Do we censor Charlie Hebdo? Because it offends Muslims? I think not...
Sigh. As a matter of fact, Charlie Hebdo got censored by direct violence.
Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 16, 2022, 10:21:26 AM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 16, 2022, 07:11:15 AM
Do we censor Charlie Hebdo? Because it offends Muslims? I think not...
Sigh. As a matter of fact, Charlie Hebdo got censored by direct violence.
"Charlie Hebdo Republishes Cartoons That Prompted Deadly 2015 Attack
The decision by the French satirical magazine to recirculate cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad and Islam coincides with the start of a long-awaited trial for the attack that killed 11 of its staff."
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 16, 2022, 07:11:15 AM
Protest art should always be part of our culture so to censor it is obnoxious. Even if you don't agree with the message.
What if someone did a fantasy scenario portraying the conservative anti-abortionists as religious zealot sorcerers who kept their women as breeding machines to keep the line pure. Then killed anyone who wanted to control their own reproductive rights? Would that be allowed?
Do we censor Charlie Hebdo? Because it offends Muslims? I think not...
That's a good thought. So it bundling some of my stuff as anti-abortion / pro-life. Might do that, but first I'd like to get the results of DriveThru's internal review.
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 16, 2022, 11:16:37 AM
Might do that, but first I'd like to get the results of DriveThru's internal review.
Yeah mate, you might as well wait to see what drivethru say.
But failing that on the off-chance, don't forget that you, Pundit and GJ have a decent online platform so you can easily give each other reviews and a shout-out. So you could always sell some of your stuff online directly to the customer (via Paypal). AKA - For any problematic content that those man-babies at Drivrthru might have.
Also, you can pop advertisements for 'problematic' content in all of your current books as well, so customers know they exist. Where possible always fuck the middleman who takes their pound of flesh.
Just my 2cents.
I don't have the book, so how is the cult actually portrayed? Do they believe in women's rights? Or do they keep women enslaved as breeding machines to produce babies for sacrifice?
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 16, 2022, 12:08:39 PM
I don't have the book, so how is the cult actually portrayed? Do they believe in women's rights? Or do they keep women enslaved as breeding machines to produce babies for sacrifice?
Here is a review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JaNtcZ5ce0
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 16, 2022, 12:10:28 PM
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 16, 2022, 12:08:39 PM
I don't have the book, so how is the cult actually portrayed? Do they believe in women's rights? Or do they keep women enslaved as breeding machines to produce babies for sacrifice?
Here is a review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JaNtcZ5ce0
Okay, so that doesn't strike me as any different from the child sacrifices to Moloch. How is this anti-abortion?
If the cult was devoted to women's rights, only killed unwanted babies, and was depicted as evil in the eyes of the good gods for doing so, then that would be one thing. But this doesn't sound remotely political or anti-abortion.
EDIT: Oh, he mentioned Roe v Wade in the intro. Okay, that's clearly political favoritism at work. Drivethrurpg is essentially saying that only left-wingers can advertise their politics.
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 16, 2022, 12:16:06 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 16, 2022, 12:10:28 PM
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 16, 2022, 12:08:39 PM
I don't have the book, so how is the cult actually portrayed? Do they believe in women's rights? Or do they keep women enslaved as breeding machines to produce babies for sacrifice?
Here is a review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JaNtcZ5ce0
Okay, so that doesn't strike me as any different from the child sacrifices to Moloch. How is this anti-abortion?
If the cult was devoted to women's rights, only killed unwanted babies, and was depicted as evil in the eyes of the good gods for doing so, then that would be one thing. But this doesn't sound remotely political or anti-abortion.
Eh? Venger mentions it at the beginning of the book apparently (not that I have read it yet). So Miguel and Silvia say in the review.
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 16, 2022, 12:18:48 PM
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 16, 2022, 12:16:06 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 16, 2022, 12:10:28 PM
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 16, 2022, 12:08:39 PM
I don't have the book, so how is the cult actually portrayed? Do they believe in women's rights? Or do they keep women enslaved as breeding machines to produce babies for sacrifice?
Here is a review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JaNtcZ5ce0
Okay, so that doesn't strike me as any different from the child sacrifices to Moloch. How is this anti-abortion?
If the cult was devoted to women's rights, only killed unwanted babies, and was depicted as evil in the eyes of the good gods for doing so, then that would be one thing. But this doesn't sound remotely political or anti-abortion.
Eh? Venger mentions it at the beginning of the book apparently (not that I have read it yet). So Miguel and Silvia say in the review.
Ok, so Venger mentions Roe v Wade at the beginning of the book but it otherwise has nothing to do with the adventure itself. This is blatant political favoritism by drivethru: they're saying you can only advertise left-wing politics.
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 16, 2022, 12:23:32 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 16, 2022, 12:18:48 PM
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 16, 2022, 12:16:06 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 16, 2022, 12:10:28 PM
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 16, 2022, 12:08:39 PM
I don't have the book, so how is the cult actually portrayed? Do they believe in women's rights? Or do they keep women enslaved as breeding machines to produce babies for sacrifice?
Here is a review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JaNtcZ5ce0
Okay, so that doesn't strike me as any different from the child sacrifices to Moloch. How is this anti-abortion?
If the cult was devoted to women's rights, only killed unwanted babies, and was depicted as evil in the eyes of the good gods for doing so, then that would be one thing. But this doesn't sound remotely political or anti-abortion.
Eh? Venger mentions it at the beginning of the book apparently (not that I have read it yet). So Miguel and Silvia say in the review.
Ok, so Venger mentions Roe v Wade at the beginning of the book but it otherwise has nothing to do with the adventure itself. This is blatant political favoritism by drivethru: they're saying you can only advertise left-wing politics.
It appears that way. Although, I can only speculate as I've not read the actual adventure. The review basically says that if V had not done the blurb at the beginning it would probably have gone under the radar.
Of course, Drivthru will just say they had received a complaint and therefore had to take it down and review it.
From the artist's perspective, this should always be the other way around imo.
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 16, 2022, 12:23:32 PMThis is blatant political favoritism by drivethru: they're saying you can only advertise left-wing politics.
Eh, it's their press/site, their rules. There are plenty of open source easy to use storefront softwares out there where someone can create their own storefront and sell their material, no matter how offensive on their own terms and without having to follow the other site's rules.
I have thought about creating a store for selling .pdfs that people are free to publish whatever the hell they want and would ignore the complainers. I may do it because of Drivethrus's crap.
Not to mention their "cut" of sales are a ripoff. I heard they are charging 50% now (I could be wrong).
The last time I checked...
DTRPG was 30% for exclusive and 40% for non-exclusive content.
DM Guild is 50% since you are creating/sharing licensed content.
Itch.io uses a slider from zero to 100% and it defaults to 10%.
Quote from: zircher on May 16, 2022, 03:24:11 PM
The last time I checked...
DTRPG was 30% for exclusive and 40% for non-exclusive content.
DM Guild is 50% since you are creating/sharing licensed content.
Itch.io uses a slider from zero to 100% and it defaults to 10%.
I guess DM guild is what I was thinking about, although I think 30 or 50% is too much considering they are simply posting it on their site, server hard drive space is cheap and they had nothing to do with the creation of the game.
Thanks for the information
DriveThruRPG like Kickstarter have defacto monopolies on their audiences - sure, other sites exist, but publishers will tell you that the monopoly is where 90% of the traffic exists.
I wonder if Venger's adventure would have set off the retard's alarm bells if he hadn't mentioned Roe v Wade and just leaped right into the satire.
"Never explain, never complain" is a good way for authors to move forward in clown world.
Quote from: Spinachcat on May 16, 2022, 06:37:40 PM
DriveThruRPG like Kickstarter have defacto monopolies on their audiences - sure, other sites exist, but publishers will tell you that the monopoly is where 90% of the traffic exists.
I wonder if Venger's adventure would have set off the retard's alarm bells if he hadn't mentioned Roe v Wade and just leaped right into the satire.
"Never explain, never complain" is a good way for authors to move forward in clown world.
What other sites exist? I only know of drivethrurpg
Quote from: GhostNinja on May 16, 2022, 07:14:26 PM
What other sites exist? I only know of drivethrurpg
IPR indie press revolution.
There are probably a few more.
Remind me again why someone deciding to get a offended results in content being pulled pending review instead of merely flagged if there is was ToS or legal violation?
Bullshit. This is why businesses need to be apolitical. Otherwise, interacting with a sensitive topic or a contemporary issue is only allowed on the prescribed side of the matter.
Venger mentioned Drivethru was out for the weekend so I have to wonder if anyone has mapped the timing of the complaints? Complain Friday and you could take a product down for 4 days.
Quote from: GhostNinja on May 16, 2022, 07:14:26 PM
Quote from: Spinachcat on May 16, 2022, 06:37:40 PM
DriveThruRPG like Kickstarter have defacto monopolies on their audiences - sure, other sites exist, but publishers will tell you that the monopoly is where 90% of the traffic exists.
I wonder if Venger's adventure would have set off the retard's alarm bells if he hadn't mentioned Roe v Wade and just leaped right into the satire.
"Never explain, never complain" is a good way for authors to move forward in clown world.
What other sites exist? I only know of drivethrurpg
Lulu, IPR, Itch.io, Warehouse 23, Paizo, Precis Intermedia, Exalted Funeral, a few more. It's pretty thin. There are a few storefronts for print or electronics that happen to carry RPGs, a few niche sites, a few by specific publishers that also carry third party products, and nothing that really competes with the OBS juggernaut. The few attempts, like the publisher cooperative Your Games Now, died.
Quote from: Spinachcat on May 16, 2022, 06:37:40 PM
DriveThruRPG like Kickstarter have defacto monopolies on their audiences - sure, other sites exist, but publishers will tell you that the monopoly is where 90% of the traffic exists.
I wonder if Venger's adventure would have set off the retard's alarm bells if he hadn't mentioned Roe v Wade and just leaped right into the satire.
"Never explain, never complain" is a good way for authors to move forward in clown world.
Indigogo has taken over from KS on comics and slowly doing the same for TTRPG products. Lot's of author's are using 1 or both to funnel $$$ to their products.
Also, did vengar get his product back on the market or not?
Is indiegogo still doing the disaster chasing ass-hat thing where they cold call people and try to suck a percentage off of any incoming charity? [They did that to me after a tornado hit by.]
Quote from: zircher on May 17, 2022, 02:47:41 PM
Is indiegogo still doing the disaster chasing ass-hat thing where they cold call people and try to suck a percentage off of any incoming charity? [They did that to me after a tornado hit by.]
i have not seen that type of behavior on the platform so I cannot confirm/deny that.
All my purchases for Necromancer Games, Frog God Games, and several OSR products (Scott Taylor) that are too spicey for KS I back on there without issue.
Quote from: Ruprecht on May 16, 2022, 08:55:52 PM
Venger mentioned Drivethru was out for the weekend so I have to wonder if anyone has mapped the timing of the complaints? Complain Friday and you could take a product down for 4 days.
I asked DriveThru for an update this morning. I was reminded that it could take up to "two business weeks" for their internal review. So, maybe next week?
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 18, 2022, 04:58:05 PM
Quote from: Ruprecht on May 16, 2022, 08:55:52 PM
Venger mentioned Drivethru was out for the weekend so I have to wonder if anyone has mapped the timing of the complaints? Complain Friday and you could take a product down for 4 days.
I asked DriveThru for an update this morning. I was reminded that it could take up to "two business weeks" for their internal review. So, maybe next week?
Would it be worth a few of us contacting Drivethru as well?
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 18, 2022, 05:05:45 PM
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 18, 2022, 04:58:05 PM
Quote from: Ruprecht on May 16, 2022, 08:55:52 PM
Venger mentioned Drivethru was out for the weekend so I have to wonder if anyone has mapped the timing of the complaints? Complain Friday and you could take a product down for 4 days.
I asked DriveThru for an update this morning. I was reminded that it could take up to "two business weeks" for their internal review. So, maybe next week?
Would it be worth a few of us contacting Drivethru as well?
If it's in a respectful manner, it might. I'd probably ask them to confirm that real world harm, such as murder, is worse than imaginary harm in a fantasy world. So, pro-abortion RPG products are objectively more offensive and destructive than an adventure like The Good Syma'arian which uses a fantasy world context to call out the real world harm happening in abortion clinics across the country.
If people are too squeamish to hear about children being sacrificed by demons, then how can they support abortion... unless they simply pretend that what's happening isn't actually happening?
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 19, 2022, 12:01:58 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 18, 2022, 05:05:45 PM
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 18, 2022, 04:58:05 PM
Quote from: Ruprecht on May 16, 2022, 08:55:52 PM
Venger mentioned Drivethru was out for the weekend so I have to wonder if anyone has mapped the timing of the complaints? Complain Friday and you could take a product down for 4 days.
I asked DriveThru for an update this morning. I was reminded that it could take up to "two business weeks" for their internal review. So, maybe next week?
Would it be worth a few of us contacting Drivethru as well?
If it's in a respectful manner, it might. I'd probably ask them to confirm that real world harm, such as murder, is worse than imaginary harm in a fantasy world. So, pro-abortion RPG products are objectively more offensive and destructive than an adventure like The Good Syma'arian which uses a fantasy world context to call out the real world harm happening in abortion clinics across the country.
If people are too squeamish to hear about children being sacrificed by demons, then how can they support abortion... unless they simply pretend that what's happening isn't actually happening?
Your last question there might be a bit specious, though (also, disingenuous, and suggests a lack of engagement with the real issue if you think your analogy applies in reality). And given your prior lines of products, I find your stance on this, well, kind of shocking....who knew!
Either way, I'm in the camp you have the right to publish this, absolutely. But I am also in favor of private businesses stating they have a standard on what they choose to publish. The problem DTRPG faces as I see it is not enforcing that standard consistently and up front. If they did, people could then decide whether or not they want to shop with them based on their clear policies on the matter. Right now their policy appears to be, "look the other way until someone complains and then panic."
Greetings!
Venger, I hope that DTRPG pulls their heads out of their ass and gets your book going right.
I hope that your efforts continue to make progress and meet with success.
As I recall, you do have 5 children correct? Or is it 6 by now? ;D I'm not surprised at all that you are staunchly Pro-Life. I am very glad that you are!
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Quote from: SHARK on May 19, 2022, 01:00:18 PM
I'm not surprised at all that you are staunchly Pro-Life. I am very glad that you are!
I may not agree with Venger on Abortion but I will fight in his corner so he has the right to produce his work. I don't believe in banning art and I see RPGs as a creative art form.
In fact, many people tried to ban 'Piss Christ'. But for the most part, they failed. :)
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 19, 2022, 12:01:58 PM
If people are too squeamish to hear about children being sacrificed by demons, then how can they support abortion... unless they simply pretend that what's happening isn't actually happening?
I just DMed RPGPundit's Lion & Dragon scenario, 'The Child Eaters', which available on DriveThru.
Not going to give spoilers but you can guess some from the title. ;-)
Quote from: SHARK on May 19, 2022, 01:00:18 PM
Greetings!
Venger, I hope that DTRPG pulls their heads out of their ass and gets your book going right.
I hope that your efforts continue to make progress and meet with success.
As I recall, you do have 5 children correct? Or is it 6 by now? ;D I'm not surprised at all that you are staunchly Pro-Life. I am very glad that you are!
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
We're still holding at 5. Thanks, hoss! This issue will only grow. You know how slavery and racism was a big issue not too long ago? The same is going to happen with the abortion issue in 10 years.
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 19, 2022, 01:04:40 PM
Quote from: SHARK on May 19, 2022, 01:00:18 PM
I'm not surprised at all that you are staunchly Pro-Life. I am very glad that you are!
I may not agree with Venger on Abortion but I will fight in his corner so he has the right to produce his work. I don't believe in banning art and I see RPGs as a creative art form.
In fact, many people tried to ban 'Piss Christ'. But for the most part, they failed. :)
I studied the Piss Christ work of art in college. I support the rights of artists to make whatever they want, especially offensive art! Thanks for fighting alongside me, hoss.
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 20, 2022, 02:29:17 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 19, 2022, 01:04:40 PM
Quote from: SHARK on May 19, 2022, 01:00:18 PM
I'm not surprised at all that you are staunchly Pro-Life. I am very glad that you are!
I may not agree with Venger on Abortion but I will fight in his corner so he has the right to produce his work. I don't believe in banning art and I see RPGs as a creative art form.
In fact, many people tried to ban 'Piss Christ'. But for the most part, they failed. :)
I studied the Piss Christ work of art in college. I support the rights of artists to make whatever they want, especially offensive art! Thanks for fighting alongside me, hoss.
Don't ask for my tax dollars, though.
Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 20, 2022, 03:27:18 PM
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 20, 2022, 02:29:17 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 19, 2022, 01:04:40 PM
Quote from: SHARK on May 19, 2022, 01:00:18 PM
I'm not surprised at all that you are staunchly Pro-Life. I am very glad that you are!
I may not agree with Venger on Abortion but I will fight in his corner so he has the right to produce his work. I don't believe in banning art and I see RPGs as a creative art form.
In fact, many people tried to ban 'Piss Christ'. But for the most part, they failed. :)
I studied the Piss Christ work of art in college. I support the rights of artists to make whatever they want, especially offensive art! Thanks for fighting alongside me, hoss.
Don't ask for my tax dollars, though.
Sure! As long as we can tell the Church to F off too. With all their tax exemption bullshit and government grants. :)
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 20, 2022, 02:29:17 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 19, 2022, 01:04:40 PM
Quote from: SHARK on May 19, 2022, 01:00:18 PM
I'm not surprised at all that you are staunchly Pro-Life. I am very glad that you are!
I may not agree with Venger on Abortion but I will fight in his corner so he has the right to produce his work. I don't believe in banning art and I see RPGs as a creative art form.
In fact, many people tried to ban 'Piss Christ'. But for the most part, they failed. :)
I studied the Piss Christ work of art in college. I support the rights of artists to make whatever they want, especially offensive art! Thanks for fighting alongside me, hoss.
Yeah me too... I think it was an obligatory art school thing at the time. Happy to help! We all have to stand up to bans and censorship.
Quote from: DocJones on May 19, 2022, 09:34:24 PM
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 19, 2022, 12:01:58 PM
If people are too squeamish to hear about children being sacrificed by demons, then how can they support abortion... unless they simply pretend that what's happening isn't actually happening?
I just DMed RPGPundit's Lion & Dragon scenario, 'The Child Eaters', which available on DriveThru.
Not going to give spoilers but you can guess some from the title. ;-)
I'll comment that this adventure is based on medieval witch legends, not any modern political issue.
Quote from: RPGPundit on May 21, 2022, 12:35:28 AM
Quote from: DocJones on May 19, 2022, 09:34:24 PM
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 19, 2022, 12:01:58 PM
If people are too squeamish to hear about children being sacrificed by demons, then how can they support abortion... unless they simply pretend that what's happening isn't actually happening?
I just DMed RPGPundit's Lion & Dragon scenario, 'The Child Eaters', which available on DriveThru.
Not going to give spoilers but you can guess some from the title. ;-)
I'll comment that this adventure is based on medieval witch legends, not any modern political issue.
That's true, medieval witch legends and biblical child sacrifices... also the sort of Aztec / Mayan sort of South American stuff that happened before the USA. Roe vs. Wade was just a good excuse to bring up those topics.
I won't make you read the entire blog post to tell you what happened. DriveThruRPG is effectively banning The Good Syma'arian unless I make certain changes, which I won't do.
If you want more details (and the PDF), click the link:
http://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-verdict.html
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 27, 2022, 01:58:27 PM
I won't make you read the entire blog post to tell you what happened. DriveThruRPG is effectively banning The Good Syma'arian unless I make certain changes, which I won't do.
If you want more details (and the PDF), click the link:
http://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-verdict.html
Despite the fact that I don't agree with your stance on abortion at all. I'm very disappointed with this result and it's a goal for censorship. However, I suppose it was inevitable, especially after the banning of wight power.
Sadly, you, Raggi, and GJ are on a woke scold hitlist. Pundit's stuff is safe (for now) because he doesn't have mature content. As you say, if this product didn't have the anti text in the beginning it would have flown under the radar (IMO).
However, I'm delighted that you've stuck to your guns and won't be editing the product. Respect...
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 27, 2022, 01:58:27 PM
I won't make you read the entire blog post to tell you what happened. DriveThruRPG is effectively banning The Good Syma'arian unless I make certain changes, which I won't do.
If you want more details (and the PDF), click the link:
http://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-verdict.html
Dope, thanks for making it available!
No one is stopping Vengar from publishing. He is free to create and publish what he wants. No business is obliged to sell his stuff, either. Make your decisions on whether this is important to you or not. Whether this means you stop buying stuff from Drive Thru or whatever, no one is stopping you from making this choice. But the comments that he is being prevented from publishing. That is just not true. Drive Thru doesn't want to do business with him. There are a shit-ton of products on Drivethru. You have to put some effort into being unreasonable to get yourselfed completly banned from a commerce site. I am assuming he is being completely banned. If he just can't sell the book they don't like then it is an even smaller deal.
Quote from: the crypt keeper on May 27, 2022, 02:36:55 PM
No one is stopping Vengar from publishing. He is free to create and publish what he wants. No business is obliged to sell his stuff, either. Make your decisions on whether this is important to you or not. Whether this means you stop buying stuff from Drive Thru or whatever, no one is stopping you from making this choice. But the comments that he is being prevented from publishing. That is just not true. Drive Thru doesn't want to do business with him. There are a shit-ton of products on Drivethru. You have to put some effort into being unreasonable to get yourselfed completly banned from a commerce site. I am assuming he is being completely banned. If he just can't sell the book they don't like then it is an even smaller deal.
What you are saying is true and you have no rights that would force a site to publish your work.
However, we are free to disagree with their policy and call them assholes for it
Quote from: GhostNinja on May 27, 2022, 02:47:21 PM
Quote from: the crypt keeper on May 27, 2022, 02:36:55 PM
No one is stopping Vengar from publishing. He is free to create and publish what he wants. No business is obliged to sell his stuff, either. Make your decisions on whether this is important to you or not. Whether this means you stop buying stuff from Drive Thru or whatever, no one is stopping you from making this choice. But the comments that he is being prevented from publishing. That is just not true. Drive Thru doesn't want to do business with him. There are a shit-ton of products on Drivethru. You have to put some effort into being unreasonable to get yourselfed completly banned from a commerce site. I am assuming he is being completely banned. If he just can't sell the book they don't like then it is an even smaller deal.
What you are saying is true and you have no rights that would force a site to publish your work.
However, we are free to disagree with their policy and call them assholes for it
Where's the next especialized store that competes with DTTRPG? That's not owned by OBS? They have a virtual monopoly. But it's always nice to see a leftoid scream: "Muh Private Company!"
Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 27, 2022, 03:12:17 PM
Where's the next specialized store that competes with DTTRPG? That's not owned by OBS? They have a virtual monopoly.
*Never Mind*
You aren't worth talking to. Moving on
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 27, 2022, 02:30:45 PM
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 27, 2022, 01:58:27 PM
I won't make you read the entire blog post to tell you what happened. DriveThruRPG is effectively banning The Good Syma'arian unless I make certain changes, which I won't do.
If you want more details (and the PDF), click the link:
http://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-verdict.html
Despite the fact that I don't agree with your stance on abortion at all. I'm very disappointed with this result and it's a goal for censorship. However, I suppose it was inevitable, especially after the banning of wight power.
Sadly, you, Raggi, and GJ are on a woke scold hitlist. Pundit's stuff is safe (for now) because he doesn't have mature content. As you say, if this product didn't have the anti text in the beginning it would have flown under the radar (IMO).
However, I'm delighted that you've stuck to your guns and won't be editing the product. Respect...
Thanks, hoss!
I didn't know Wight Power was banned... what happened? Because of the joke name, content, or something else?
Didn't Raggi say that if one of his products ever got blacklisted on DriveThru that he'd pull them all?
Quote from: the crypt keeper on May 27, 2022, 02:36:55 PM
No one is stopping Vengar from publishing. He is free to create and publish what he wants. No business is obliged to sell his stuff, either. Make your decisions on whether this is important to you or not. Whether this means you stop buying stuff from Drive Thru or whatever, no one is stopping you from making this choice. But the comments that he is being prevented from publishing. That is just not true. Drive Thru doesn't want to do business with him. There are a shit-ton of products on Drivethru. You have to put some effort into being unreasonable to get yourselfed completly banned from a commerce site. I am assuming he is being completely banned. If he just can't sell the book they don't like then it is an even smaller deal.
Wow, you're pontificating in this thread while admitting you don't even know what the fuck we're talking about? That takes balls...
Quote from: the crypt keeper on May 27, 2022, 02:36:55 PM
No one is stopping Vengar from publishing. He is free to create and publish what he wants. No business is obliged to sell his stuff, either. Make your decisions on whether this is important to you or not. Whether this means you stop buying stuff from Drive Thru or whatever, no one is stopping you from making this choice. But the comments that he is being prevented from publishing. That is just not true. Drive Thru doesn't want to do business with him. There are a shit-ton of products on Drivethru. You have to put some effort into being unreasonable to get yourselfed completly banned from a commerce site. I am assuming he is being completely banned. If he just can't sell the book they don't like then it is an even smaller deal.
Since when is it ok for private companies to discriminate against Trans people?
Drivethrurpg is banning a product for mentioning politics they don't agree with, while maintaining a monopoly on the market. That's a problem.
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 27, 2022, 04:29:17 PM
Quote from: the crypt keeper on May 27, 2022, 02:36:55 PM
No one is stopping Vengar from publishing. He is free to create and publish what he wants. No business is obliged to sell his stuff, either. Make your decisions on whether this is important to you or not. Whether this means you stop buying stuff from Drive Thru or whatever, no one is stopping you from making this choice. But the comments that he is being prevented from publishing. That is just not true. Drive Thru doesn't want to do business with him. There are a shit-ton of products on Drivethru. You have to put some effort into being unreasonable to get yourselfed completly banned from a commerce site. I am assuming he is being completely banned. If he just can't sell the book they don't like then it is an even smaller deal.
Wow, you're pontificating in this thread while admitting you don't even know what the fuck we're talking about? That takes balls...
Greetings!
Yes, Venger. That is because if you are a cock-sucking Leftist, it is fine to be a bigot and full of hatred. Leftist scum can freely discriminate, censor, and exclude anyone that they do not like.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Greetings!
If thousands of Conservatives flooded DTHRPG with screaming emails, threatening to stop working, marketing, or buying a damned thing ever again from DTHTPG, then you would see that fucking company change on a dime.
That won't happen though, unfortunately, because unlike the Leftists, the Conservatives are too lazy, uninvolved, disunited, and uncoordinated. That dynamic *might* change, but I am not overly optimistic about such a change happening.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 27, 2022, 04:27:45 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 27, 2022, 02:30:45 PM
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 27, 2022, 01:58:27 PM
I won't make you read the entire blog post to tell you what happened. DriveThruRPG is effectively banning The Good Syma'arian unless I make certain changes, which I won't do.
If you want more details (and the PDF), click the link:
http://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-verdict.html
Despite the fact that I don't agree with your stance on abortion at all. I'm very disappointed with this result and it's a goal for censorship. However, I suppose it was inevitable, especially after the banning of wight power.
Sadly, you, Raggi, and GJ are on a woke scold hitlist. Pundit's stuff is safe (for now) because he doesn't have mature content. As you say, if this product didn't have the anti text in the beginning it would have flown under the radar (IMO).
However, I'm delighted that you've stuck to your guns and won't be editing the product. Respect...
Thanks, hoss!
I didn't know Wight Power was banned... what happened? Because of the joke name, content, or something else?
Didn't Raggi say that if one of his products ever got blacklisted on DriveThru that he'd pull them all?
Sorry man... I was speaking a little bit metaphorically there, as opposed to being literal. I meant about the banning of the cover of wight power. Raggi had to change it for it to be allowed on drivthru with that 'redacted' cover (afaik).
And a woke scold hitlist is probably not anything official or even on drivethru per se. But more of a 'we better not upset the woke scolds' because we don't want to look bad.
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 27, 2022, 05:41:27 PM
Drivethrurpg is banning a product for mentioning politics they don't agree with, while maintaining a monopoly on the market. That's a problem.
Beat me to it... Exactly, When companies have a monopoly then it is a problem.
Also, why is Venger's stuff targeted? It's not the first time either (Alpha Blue). I've read plenty of stuff on there that is just as easily as edgy. Like, Black Dog Gaming Factory, Black Tokyo, Baali clanbook.
Would they target Venger if he was a huge publisher? IMO I think not.
I call it the free market.
What you are saying is true and you have no rights that would force a site to publish your work.
[/quote]
Where's the next especialized store that competes with DTTRPG? That's not owned by OBS? They have a virtual monopoly. But it's always nice to see a leftoid scream: "Muh Private Company!"
[/quote]
Are you whining life isn't fair? Drivethru doesn't want to print his stufff. Life moves on and the hysterics in the ttrpg community will continually, and fortunately, have zero impact in the real world.
Quote from: the crypt keeper on May 27, 2022, 08:57:56 PM
I call it the free market.
Like I said "Muh Private Company!"
Wonder if you would say the same if it was some leftard product getting banned because conservatives brigaded DTTRPG. Bet you'd be bleating like a lost kid searching for mama goat.
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 27, 2022, 04:29:17 PM
Quote from: the crypt keeper on May 27, 2022, 02:36:55 PM
Wow, you're pontificating in this thread while admitting you don't even know what the fuck we're talking about? That takes balls...
I do have a pair.
Quote from: the crypt keeper on May 27, 2022, 09:04:27 PM
What you are saying is true and you have no rights that would force a site to publish your work.
Where's the next especialized store that competes with DTTRPG? That's not owned by OBS? They have a virtual monopoly. But it's always nice to see a leftoid scream: "Muh Private Company!"
[/quote]
Are you whining life isn't fair? Drivethru doesn't want to print his stufff. Life moves on and the hysterics in the ttrpg community will continually, and fortunately, have zero impact in the real world.
[/quote]
I'm pointing out you're a raging leftard, therefore a hypocrite, you'd be bleating like a goat if it was some leftoid product getting banned.
The difference between us is that I would condemn the censorship even if I disagreed with the author's politics.
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 27, 2022, 05:41:27 PM
Drivethrurpg is banning a product for mentioning politics they don't agree with, while maintaining a monopoly on the market. That's a problem.
Agreed.
Quote from: the crypt keeper on May 27, 2022, 08:57:56 PM
I call it the free market.
I call it monopolistic practices, which is not the Free Market.
But I notice you don't have a real argument, and are just pushing this view for strictly tribal reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with principles, a company's sacred rights to screw people over, or WTF a "free market" actually is.
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 09:36:12 AM
I call it monopolistic practices, which is not the Free Market.
But I notice you don't have a real argument, and are just pushing this view for strictly tribal reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with principles, a company's sacred rights to screw people over, or WTF a "free market" actually is.
Anyone can register a domain and setup an eCommerce site to sell and distribute their stuff. This is the free market.
Getting other people to market and sell your stuff, means that you need to produce something that they will not find negatively impacts their business. In this case you are attempting to trade off of the marketing and goodwill established by another company instead of doing the work to generate your own. This is also the free market.
Quote from: Palleon on May 28, 2022, 10:23:03 AM
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 09:36:12 AM
I call it monopolistic practices, which is not the Free Market.
But I notice you don't have a real argument, and are just pushing this view for strictly tribal reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with principles, a company's sacred rights to screw people over, or WTF a "free market" actually is.
Anyone can register a domain and setup an eCommerce site to sell and distribute their stuff. This is the free market.
And no one's going to find your newly registered RPG store domain #678,298. When a single company controls like 90%+ of all commerce in a given industry that's a defacto monopoly. Everything else is hypothetical bullshit and abstract, pie in the sky possibilities, not the real world or concrete on the ground realities. This is being under the thumb of a monopolistic distributor.
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 10:45:33 AM
Quote from: Palleon on May 28, 2022, 10:23:03 AM
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 09:36:12 AM
I call it monopolistic practices, which is not the Free Market.
But I notice you don't have a real argument, and are just pushing this view for strictly tribal reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with principles, a company's sacred rights to screw people over, or WTF a "free market" actually is.
Anyone can register a domain and setup an eCommerce site to sell and distribute their stuff. This is the free market.
And no one's going to find your newly registered RPG store domain #678,298. When a single company controls like 90%+ of all commerce in a given industry that's a defacto monopoly. Everything else is hypothetical bullshit and abstract, pie in the sky possibilities, not the real world or concrete on the ground realities. This is being under the thumb of a monopolistic distributor.
So what? Quit bitching and take control of your own destiny using your own following. No one owes you anything.
If you made anything worth having you will get word of mouth and viral exposure. This is exactly what the free market is. Anything else is a distortion of market forces and by definition not free.
Quote from: SHARK on May 27, 2022, 06:02:58 PM
Greetings!
If thousands of Conservatives flooded DTHRPG with screaming emails, threatening to stop working, marketing, or buying a damned thing ever again from DTHTPG, then you would see that fucking company change on a dime.
That won't happen though, unfortunately, because unlike the Leftists, the Conservatives are too lazy, uninvolved, disunited, and uncoordinated. That dynamic *might* change, but I am not overly optimistic about such a change happening.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Conservatism is starting to grow again. If each of us (in this thread) convinced 10 people to email DTRPG about what we wanted to see and what we didn't on their platform, things might change.
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 27, 2022, 07:22:04 PM
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 27, 2022, 04:27:45 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 27, 2022, 02:30:45 PM
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 27, 2022, 01:58:27 PM
I won't make you read the entire blog post to tell you what happened. DriveThruRPG is effectively banning The Good Syma'arian unless I make certain changes, which I won't do.
If you want more details (and the PDF), click the link:
http://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-verdict.html
Despite the fact that I don't agree with your stance on abortion at all. I'm very disappointed with this result and it's a goal for censorship. However, I suppose it was inevitable, especially after the banning of wight power.
Sadly, you, Raggi, and GJ are on a woke scold hitlist. Pundit's stuff is safe (for now) because he doesn't have mature content. As you say, if this product didn't have the anti text in the beginning it would have flown under the radar (IMO).
However, I'm delighted that you've stuck to your guns and won't be editing the product. Respect...
Thanks, hoss!
I didn't know Wight Power was banned... what happened? Because of the joke name, content, or something else?
Didn't Raggi say that if one of his products ever got blacklisted on DriveThru that he'd pull them all?
Sorry man... I was speaking a little bit metaphorically there, as opposed to being literal. I meant about the banning of the cover of wight power. Raggi had to change it for it to be allowed on drivthru with that 'redacted' cover (afaik).
And a woke scold hitlist is probably not anything official or even on drivethru per se. But more of a 'we better not upset the woke scolds' because we don't want to look bad.
No prob. I was unaware of the cover change and controversy that entailed. Because of the name or something else?
Quote from: Palleon on May 28, 2022, 11:06:00 AM
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 10:45:33 AM
Quote from: Palleon on May 28, 2022, 10:23:03 AM
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 09:36:12 AM
I call it monopolistic practices, which is not the Free Market.
But I notice you don't have a real argument, and are just pushing this view for strictly tribal reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with principles, a company's sacred rights to screw people over, or WTF a "free market" actually is.
Anyone can register a domain and setup an eCommerce site to sell and distribute their stuff. This is the free market.
And no one's going to find your newly registered RPG store domain #678,298. When a single company controls like 90%+ of all commerce in a given industry that's a defacto monopoly. Everything else is hypothetical bullshit and abstract, pie in the sky possibilities, not the real world or concrete on the ground realities. This is being under the thumb of a monopolistic distributor.
So what? Quit bitching and take control of your own destiny using your own following. No one owes you anything.
If you made anything worth having you will get word of mouth and viral exposure. This is exactly what the free market is. Anything else is a distortion of market forces and by definition not free.
While there's something to be said for "the town square", such as kicking conservatives off Twitter even if they didn't break the rules, I agree with you. Since I do have a following, I may decide to create my own platform. I certainly have enough products to get things started.
But for now, I will stick with DriveThru while using them to increase my exposure, as I already have several irons in the fire.
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 09:36:12 AM
I call it monopolistic practices, which is not the Free Market.
But I notice you don't have a real argument, and are just pushing this view for strictly tribal reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with principles, a company's sacred rights to screw people over, or WTF a "free market" actually is.
Indeed this is why I'm against 'unrestrained' capitalism.
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 28, 2022, 11:25:27 AM
No prob. I was unaware of the cover change and controversy that entailed. Because of the name or something else?
Apparently, man, it was just the cover's title they were not happy with afaik. But I've not read the actual module. I did watch Pundit's vid on it. So that's how I got the skinny. :)
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 28, 2022, 12:03:53 PM
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 09:36:12 AM
I call it monopolistic practices, which is not the Free Market.
But I notice you don't have a real argument, and are just pushing this view for strictly tribal reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with principles, a company's sacred rights to screw people over, or WTF a "free market" actually is.
Indeed this is why I'm against 'unrestrained' capitalism.
Mhm.
Quote from: Palleon on May 28, 2022, 11:06:00 AM
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 10:45:33 AM
Quote from: Palleon on May 28, 2022, 10:23:03 AM
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 09:36:12 AM
I call it monopolistic practices, which is not the Free Market.
But I notice you don't have a real argument, and are just pushing this view for strictly tribal reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with principles, a company's sacred rights to screw people over, or WTF a "free market" actually is.
Anyone can register a domain and setup an eCommerce site to sell and distribute their stuff. This is the free market.
And no one's going to find your newly registered RPG store domain #678,298. When a single company controls like 90%+ of all commerce in a given industry that's a defacto monopoly. Everything else is hypothetical bullshit and abstract, pie in the sky possibilities, not the real world or concrete on the ground realities. This is being under the thumb of a monopolistic distributor.
So what? Quit bitching and take control of your own destiny using your own following. No one owes you anything.
If you made anything worth having you will get word of mouth and viral exposure. This is exactly what the free market is. Anything else is a distortion of market forces and by definition not free.
Obviously you should build your own following and website as a contingency plan, but that is besides the point. You will never (EVER, no matter how many bullshit platitudes people give you on the internet) be able to compete against DTRPG because that simply isn't how people shop. People don't scour the internet looking for every individual company that might possibly sell stuff they want--most of the time they won't even remember those company's names. They go to a centralized location because not only is that more convenient, but it's the only realistic way they can shop around if they don't have a specific item they're looking for in mind.
Your own personal shop may get you a sale here or there if you do email campaigns and people actually give you their emails, but that's it. Pundit, Venger and Grim Jim all have their stuff at DTRPG. Grim might have his own personal shop as a contingency, but he still sells through DTRPG. If having your own shop was such a sure thing why does EVERYBODY (even bigass companies) still sell their stuff primarily there?
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 12:50:05 PM
Pundit, Venger and Grim Jim all have their stuff at DTRPG. Grim might have his own personal shop as a contingency, but he still sells through DTRPG. If having your own shop was such a sure thing why does EVERYBODY (even bigass companies) still sell their stuff primarily there?
Ideally, you want to cut out the middle man but that's exceedingly hard to do in the case of drivthru. Especially if you want to be semi-professional...
Why did you make Dyleth a demon?
Quote from: VengerSatanis on May 28, 2022, 11:32:24 AM
Quote from: Palleon on May 28, 2022, 11:06:00 AM
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 10:45:33 AM
Quote from: Palleon on May 28, 2022, 10:23:03 AM
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 28, 2022, 09:36:12 AM
I call it monopolistic practices, which is not the Free Market.
But I notice you don't have a real argument, and are just pushing this view for strictly tribal reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with principles, a company's sacred rights to screw people over, or WTF a "free market" actually is.
Anyone can register a domain and setup an eCommerce site to sell and distribute their stuff. This is the free market.
And no one's going to find your newly registered RPG store domain #678,298. When a single company controls like 90%+ of all commerce in a given industry that's a defacto monopoly. Everything else is hypothetical bullshit and abstract, pie in the sky possibilities, not the real world or concrete on the ground realities. This is being under the thumb of a monopolistic distributor.
So what? Quit bitching and take control of your own destiny using your own following. No one owes you anything.
If you made anything worth having you will get word of mouth and viral exposure. This is exactly what the free market is. Anything else is a distortion of market forces and by definition not free.
While there's something to be said for "the town square", such as kicking conservatives off Twitter even if they didn't break the rules, I agree with you. Since I do have a following, I may decide to create my own platform. I certainly have enough products to get things started.
But for now, I will stick with DriveThru while using them to increase my exposure, as I already have several irons in the fire.
Did you think of trying to put up your book for sale on itch.io ?
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on May 27, 2022, 07:32:01 PM
Beat me to it... Exactly, When companies have a monopoly then it is a problem.
Also, why is Venger's stuff targeted? It's not the first time either (Alpha Blue). I've read plenty of stuff on there that is just as easily as edgy. Like, Black Dog Gaming Factory, Black Tokyo, Baali clanbook.
Would they target Venger if he was a huge publisher? IMO I think not.
You missed the blow-up here and on BGG over one of Black Tokyo's products some years ago when this current wave of woke disease was in its big "rape" phase. They pull this gag every iteration. BGG covertly shuttered at least one of the BT product and odds are they shuttered all of them. BGG and DTRPG are way to similar at times.
Quote from: Omega on June 02, 2022, 03:32:37 PM
You missed the blow-up here and on BGG over one of Black Tokyo's products some years ago when this current wave of woke disease was in its big "rape" phase.
Right, I presume that was one of their other products, and I assume it's banned over on drivethru? I'd not heard about it, to be honest.
There's another product that I'm surprised that the woke scolds are not protesting and that's 'Violence' released by Hogshead years back in 1999. You can still pick it up on Drivethru. It has that very English black sense of humor. I can imagine all the extreme evangelicals crying over it too.
Black Tokyo was garbage, though. Not just from a thematic standpoint (catgirl murder squads? Armor made from poop? REALLY?) but also mechanically. The 'big bad' radioactive tentacle-rape kaiju monster was very obviously never meant to face halfway competent, CR-appropriate PCs, because it had some VERY large holes in its defenses.
Quote from: Ghostmaker on June 03, 2022, 07:58:24 AM
Black Tokyo was garbage, though. Not just from a thematic standpoint (catgirl murder squads? Armor made from poop? REALLY?) but also mechanically. The 'big bad' radioactive tentacle-rape kaiju monster was very obviously never meant to face halfway competent, CR-appropriate PCs, because it had some VERY large holes in its defenses.
Armor made from shit??! Right... It sounds like a great game. LOL
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on June 03, 2022, 08:00:03 AM
Quote from: Ghostmaker on June 03, 2022, 07:58:24 AM
Black Tokyo was garbage, though. Not just from a thematic standpoint (catgirl murder squads? Armor made from poop? REALLY?) but also mechanically. The 'big bad' radioactive tentacle-rape kaiju monster was very obviously never meant to face halfway competent, CR-appropriate PCs, because it had some VERY large holes in its defenses.
Armor made from shit??! Right... It sounds like a great game. LOL
I mean, I don't object to grimdark, but BT honestly looked like some retard trying to show how 'edgy' he could be.
There were a couple of ideas that were interesting -- there's a spell that basically gives Shield Other to a villain, and his minions take the damage instead. But by and large, it was someone trying to out-edge Byron Hall. Sheesh.
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on June 02, 2022, 07:01:36 PM
There's another product that I'm surprised that the woke scolds are not protesting and that's 'Violence' released by Hogshead years back in 1999. You can still pick it up on Drivethru. It has that very English black sense of humor. I can imagine all the extreme evangelicals crying over it too.
Where can you get it? I can't find it in their store at all
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on June 03, 2022, 01:50:30 PM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on June 02, 2022, 07:01:36 PM
There's another product that I'm surprised that the woke scolds are not protesting and that's 'Violence' released by Hogshead years back in 1999. You can still pick it up on Drivethru. It has that very English black sense of humor. I can imagine all the extreme evangelicals crying over it too.
Where can you get it? I can't find it in their store at all
Sorry, my bad...
I thought I got it there, because I generally buy everything there. You're right it's not on DT.
I just realized that I got it for free on the chap's site (he's released the pdf).
http://costik.com/ludograf.html
Quote from: Ghostmaker on June 03, 2022, 10:08:38 AM
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on June 03, 2022, 08:00:03 AM
Quote from: Ghostmaker on June 03, 2022, 07:58:24 AM
Black Tokyo was garbage, though. Not just from a thematic standpoint (catgirl murder squads? Armor made from poop? REALLY?) but also mechanically. The 'big bad' radioactive tentacle-rape kaiju monster was very obviously never meant to face halfway competent, CR-appropriate PCs, because it had some VERY large holes in its defenses.
Armor made from shit??! Right... It sounds like a great game. LOL
I mean, I don't object to grimdark, but BT honestly looked like some retard trying to show how 'edgy' he could be.
There were a couple of ideas that were interesting -- there's a spell that basically gives Shield Other to a villain, and his minions take the damage instead. But by and large, it was someone trying to out-edge Byron Hall. Sheesh.
I'd be the same... Being 'edgy' for the sake of it is a bit juvenile. I love dark settings, but they have to have some substance there to make them worth playing in the first place.
Right. Its crass. But people were screeching to have it banned here and especially on BGG without even knowing what the hell the module was about. EG: FIGHTING rapists. And when told, multiple times no less, what the hell the module was about. They double triple and quadruple-downed. BGG shuttered a few other games too on the sly during this phase.
And thats where places like BGG, YouTube and DT, and before it was ended Yahoo-Groups have power. They just quietly shutter you and no one will know unless you knew the product or person is there before. Or just outright disappear your "offensive" product or your whole account.
Perhaps someone needs to tell that blacklisting is triggering racist cancel culture BS and that even Hollywood wouldn't stoop that low... oh, wait. :-)
Quote from: Omega on June 04, 2022, 05:02:47 AM
Right. Its crass. But people were screeching to have it banned here
Yeah, why have it banned? I mean you don't have to read it. Oh, and at the very least, know what you're attempting to have banned in the first place. LOL
That's why I always see the extreme evangelicals and the woke scolds as practically the same entity. They both love telling you what they want in their gaming sphere and condemn something that doesn't conform to 'their standards'. They demand freedom and yet try and stifle products they don't like. Hm..
Quote from: zircher on June 04, 2022, 08:41:31 AM
Perhaps someone needs to tell that blacklisting is triggering racist cancel culture BS and that even Hollywood wouldn't stoop that low... oh, wait. :-)
From the very first day of the current iteration of this plague on humanity... Its only wrong and racist and ist-ist if someone else is doing it. Allways preaching that they are here to help us, save us from the horrible oppression and discrimination we suffer under.
The minute one of us tries to say otherwise or refuses to be their pet animal. Well the mask falls off every fucking time. Or whey eventually just hallucinate you arent a good dog anymore and its off to the gassing chamber for you. All praise the Master Race. And die.
It didnt matter what Venger did. Sooner or later they would have gone after him. They just went after him sooner because he bucks the system and doesnt kowtow at their feet. The only reason they have not gone after Pundit as hard is that his product is hard to pin down anything to make accusations from. So they have to fabricate personal offenses. And Fox still got him removed from 5e credits as a consultant.
Quote from: Omega on June 05, 2022, 03:19:40 AM
It didnt matter what Venger did. Sooner or later they would have gone after him. They just went after him sooner because he bucks the system and doesnt kowtow at their feet.
Very true. It's about personality, if you're not liked and unapologetic they want you out of the system.
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on June 05, 2022, 07:05:47 AM
Quote from: Omega on June 05, 2022, 03:19:40 AM
It didnt matter what Venger did. Sooner or later they would have gone after him. They just went after him sooner because he bucks the system and doesnt kowtow at their feet.
Very true. It's about personality, if you're not liked and unapologetic they want you out of the system.
And if you are liked then they want you out of the system and dead. And even if you are a good little bootlicker they will sooner or later come after you. We've seen it time and again.
Its the same as how they treat minorities and the handicapped. We are oh so precious. Until its convenient for us to not be. We've seen it time and again as well. And remember, its bad to exploit us... Only as long as its convenient. The minute they come up with a way to profit off us. Then its perfectly ok.
And they try, and too often succeed, in imposing this on RPGs, board games, and everything else.
They even censor or modify the nostalgia merch. First is was the Efreet statue made from the AD&D DMs Guide. Now...the show.
(https://i.imgur.com/xDv6j3J.png)
If those are real, then looks like they have been aged up a fair bit as well. Are these marketed as the actual show characters? Or just nods to? Cause there are quite a few. A quick check shows that the minis seem to be based on characters in an upcomming new starter set. With characters based on or nods to those from the cartoon.
(https://assets.dicebreaker.com/ilse-gort-stormwreck-isle-starter-set-dungeons-dragons.png/BROK/resize/1200x1200%3E/format/jpg/quality/70/ilse-gort-stormwreck-isle-starter-set-dungeons-dragons.png)
Even a live action car commercial that is actually pretty good.
The car commercial that put an end to the myth that a good D&D movie could not be produced.
Kind of sad when a commercial gets it better than the movie.
Ugh those minis are the shits imo. Who made them little stinky during his recess break at high school.
I'd guess that cleric is Aleena? No headgear and different hair color, though.
Quote from: Omega on June 07, 2022, 12:48:21 AM
(https://assets.dicebreaker.com/ilse-gort-stormwreck-isle-starter-set-dungeons-dragons.png/BROK/resize/1200x1200%3E/format/jpg/quality/70/ilse-gort-stormwreck-isle-starter-set-dungeons-dragons.png)
If this is the situation you find yourself in, pole vaulting in front of a blue dragon, you're right fucked. Blondie's little glowing stick thing ain't gonna help. That's a TPK right there.
Quote from: palaeomerus on June 06, 2022, 07:06:52 PM
They even censor or modify the nostalgia merch. First is was the Efreet statue made from the AD&D DMs Guide. Now...the show.
(https://i.imgur.com/xDv6j3J.png)
My opinions:
Hank: Doesn't look too bad. Even as a kid I thought the 'energy arrows' thing was kinda silly, so having real arrows isn't a drawback.
Presto: As noted, Presto appears to be standing on stilts, or platform boots. I grant it's hard to sculpt 'pulling random stuff out of your hat', but c'mon, the height thing is silly.
Eric: I always thought it was silly Eric didn't have any weapon, just his shield. OK, granted, it was an amazing shield, but still.
Diana: Maybe she's a monk now, not an acrobat?
New Cleric Who Dis: No idea. That's not Aleena, which is kind of a shame.
Where the fuck are Sheila and Bobby? I liked Bobby, the whole 'my greatclub causes earthquakes' was pretty dope.
I'm going to guess that these were mocked up in HeroForge. So, they might not even exist and that would also explain the quirks.
Quote from: palaeomerus on June 06, 2022, 07:06:52 PM
They even censor or modify the nostalgia merch. First is was the Efreet statue made from the AD&D DMs Guide. Now...the show.
Regardless of the artistic quality of these, I don't think that this is censorship. Someone should be allowed to create minis that exactly match the original cartoon, but someone should also be allowed to publish whatever variants or reinterpretations they want.
I support exact retroclones, but I think it's also fine to have OSR or other stuff that takes from the original and changes it. It's censorship if someone wants to publish exact nostalgia and is blocked from release. But it would equally be censorship if someone wanted to publish a reinterpretation and that were blocked from release.
Quote from: zircher on June 07, 2022, 12:30:21 PM
I'm going to guess that these were mocked up in HeroForge. So, they might not even exist and that would also explain the quirks.
Nope. Not Heroforge. But do look alot like WizKids D&D minis style.
Quote from: jhkim on June 07, 2022, 01:14:54 PM
Quote from: palaeomerus on June 06, 2022, 07:06:52 PM
They even censor or modify the nostalgia merch. First is was the Efreet statue made from the AD&D DMs Guide. Now...the show.
Regardless of the artistic quality of these, I don't think that this is censorship. Someone should be allowed to create minis that exactly match the original cartoon, but someone should also be allowed to publish whatever variants or reinterpretations they want.
Very. And they were aged up and dropped into Forgotten Realms in a one-off comic way back, Got mine at GenCon. Good Lord what happened to Bobby? Eric looks like an elf, and they got Sheila's robe colour wrong? And Presto is taller than everyone but Bobby... (so at least this is some sort of common trend going here... weird...)
(https://miscrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/dungeons-and-dragons-cartoon-older.jpg)
Honestly a cavalier should have a spear or lance, oh and a horse, no?
Quote from: palaeomerus on June 06, 2022, 07:06:52 PM
They even censor or modify the nostalgia merch. First is was the Efreet statue made from the AD&D DMs Guide. Now...the show.
(https://i.imgur.com/xDv6j3J.png)
This is "Chris-Chan melting down because Sonic the Hedgehog now has blue arms" levels of autism.
Yeah I made one post with obvious comic intent that some people interacted with and it's autism. Good call. Very reasonable impressive logic in play on your part. Clearly. What great fuckin' input. Top shit. Oh how I wish I had some golden laurels for ya, to rest on your noble brow before all the tribes of Rome.