Tabletop creators leave X for Bluesky in droves

[Guest 85555]

Right now I post so little on twitter or facebook I don't really have much interest in adding a new social media platform. Forums and discord are where I spend most of my social media time these days

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Correct, but note in this case the exact kind of and details of the sex-pest-ery is kind of precisely what a lot of his readers thought he was very much against, and what a lot of his work has implied his disapproves of!

Yeah, it's a real Louis CK situation: "Oh, all those crappy guys you were talking about all those years ... were you."

I do think a profession that he's in counseling and unpacking some sort of secret trauma, etc., would go a long way with his fans, many of whom have a heavy duty parasocial relationship with him and who would love to be on Team Gaiman again, if he gave them a reason to be.

Once his shows are out the door (there's no way Netflix is paying for Sandman season three after all of this), we'll see if he resurfaces and starts a rehabilitation tour. He doesn't want to wait until his fan base has gotten their Death, Morpheus or Coraline tattoos covered up with something else.

 

[Mannahnin]

Similar here - I was more appalled and surprised by Warren Ellis' revelations even though they were less bad, because I'd actually liked some of his work! American Gods, as well as just feeling somehow "annoyingly" written (can't put my finger on it), for me felt deeply tired and cliched to me when it came out, in part because virtually every idea in it seemed to have been done with more flair and originality by some 1990s TTRPG.

I like American Gods and a lot of his other work, but I agree that there's always been something a little bit hollow in much of his writing. Like I can see the prestidigitation a little too well and there's a lot of surface cleverness alluding to deeper meaning but that deeper meaning mostly isn't present.

Some of the biggest flaws in American Gods I think derived from hubris and insufficient familiarity with the subject matter. As an example, though the show was also flawed and went badly off the rails after season 1, the choice by the show creators to foreground race with Shadow was a smarter one than Gaiman's making him racially ambiguous, and more true to American cultural realities and history.

 

[Umbran]

then the moment they switch to wanting money from advertisers they become the enemy of some.

Its not as if this isnt a thing man.

Yes. It would be wonderful if everything in the world came for free, but we don't yet live in a post-scarcity society, so stuff has to be paid for.

Ads or paid subscription, take your pick.

 

[Ryujin]

I like American Gods and a lot of his other work, but I agree that there's always been something a little bit hollow in much of his writing. Like I can see the prestidigitation a little too well and there's a lot of surface cleverness alluding to deeper meaning but that deeper meaning mostly isn't present.

Some of the biggest flaws in American Gods I think derived from hubris and insufficient familiarity with the subject matter. As an example, though the show was also flawed and went badly off the rails after season 1, the choice by the show creators to foreground race with Shadow was a smarter one than Gaiman's making him racially ambiguous, and more true to American cultural realities and history.

I've never read the books but Orlando Jones' portrayal of Mr. Nancy was absolutely bloody brilliant.

 

[Mannahnin]

I've never read the books but Orlando Jones' portrayal of Mr. Nancy was absolutely bloody brilliant.

OH YES. Damn, thanks for that reminder.

 

[Daraniya]

In light of the tabletop exodus, I figured that the creation of an appropriate hashtag can help drive engagement and bring people together. I made a #dndreadingclub hashtag, covering various 5e/OSR (and possibly Pathfinder) products I've read over the course of 2024. I covered 4 such books today, and while I can talk about more I figured to give some breathing room for others to contribute.

I do realize that #rpgreadingclub would be broader, but I wanted to make one that reflected my specialized interests. And there's nothing preventing others from creating such a hashtag themselves!

just like on Mastodon, I've resisted 'following' people, because I feel hashtags are a superior way of sharing information. Do I want to hear about #TTRPG from @Morrus? yes, absolutely! Do I want to see every post or insta or non-rpg related content they might throw out there? nope.

ultimately, that's where people fail at tagging... "look, I bought coffee #ttrpg" (stop that...)

 

[nyvinter]

You could use things like SkyFeed to create your own feed that looks for things such as ttrpg, D&D, rpg, whatever. It has some limits but it's also free — I'm also sure there are other places that allows you to make even bigger feeds.

Because I've not seen much excessive tagging of words that don't belong, but rather less tag usage on a whole.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You could use things like SkyFeed to create your own feed that looks for things such as ttrpg, D&D, rpg, whatever. It has some limits but it's also free — I'm also sure there are other places that allows you to make even bigger feeds.

Because I've not seen much excessive tagging of words that don't belong, but rather less tag usage on a whole.

There are already a ton of good lists on every subject on Bluesky. I've personally made a really good RPG one, and I'm hardly alone. Those can then be pinned to the site as feeds and you can switch to reading those instead of who you're following at will. (So your main timeline can be calmer and more focused on family and friends, work stuff or whatever.)

Most of what Twitter had to offer in its heyday, Bluesky already has. After the Thanksgiving holiday, I'd expect more folks to flood in. So far, it's been a lot of Twitter super-users, so the content is already pretty good, but I'd expect their presence to bring in even more people.

 

[nyvinter]

Re: Feeds

True! But for a personally made feed — which also others can use because this is Bluesky — can also have "do not list this" as well, in case you really don't want so see anything with certain games.

What I miss right now is a bookmarking function, preferably one with some minor organisational features so it's easier to find in it.