"The Worst People You Have Never Met, or, What I Learned During A Four Year Academic Study of Online Harassment In The Dungeons & Dragons Community"

[GothmogIV]

I read this article this morning--it is long--and was shocked without being surprised. The unreal toxicity on places like Twitter (sorry...X) and Reddit always boggle my mind, but this woman's deep dive made just how awful it can be much more clear. Please be advised, there is some dark stuff in her analysis. I have been hemming and hawing over whether or not I should just get rid of Twitter, and I think this story puts the final nail in the coffin.

I have not participated in online forums or discussion boards for more than 15 years. When I listened to the ENWorld Podcast a few months ago about how Morrus runs this place (with help, naturally), I was intrigued. With the exception of a few (very few) Discord servers, I have found internet RPG spaces to be freaking vile. ENWorld is not like that, and I am grateful.

Final note: I do not have any in-depth knowledge of the issues and personalities this researches discusses in her (long!) article, so if she got something wrong, I don't know, but her observations match my experiences (albeit limited) in a few of these spaces.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee (or tea) and read about just how freaking awful things can be...and be thankful that here, at least, things are not even a little bit awful. Much gratitude to all who keep this corner of the Internet pleasant and fun.

http://tinyurl.com/5ymnxyyw

 

[Alzrius]

Skimming through this, I think the part that shocked me most was the long discourse about how, in the author's view, Zak Smith seems to have been unfairly maligned and the claims made by Smith's ex, Mandy Morbid, seem to be fabricated.

That was...not what I was expecting.

 

[SAVeira]

Skimming through this, I think the part that shocked me most was the long discourse about how, in the author's view, Zak Smith seems to have been unfairly maligned and the claims made by Smith's ex, Mandy Morbid, seem to be fabricated.

That was...not what I was expecting.

Same. Reading through the article, the author has a shocking number of people on the record admitting to having made up things against Smith.

 

[GMMichael]

I have been hemming and hawing over whether or not I should just get rid of Twitter, and I think this story puts the final nail in the coffin.

Social mania are no joke. Welcome to detox.

With the exception of a few (very few) Discord servers, I have found internet RPG spaces to be freaking vile. ENWorld is not like that, and I am grateful.

As are most of us. Grateful, that is. But I start to get a little vile each time a video ad pops up...

 

[calculusbear]

Did the article get deleted from medium? I can't listen to any of the audio excerpts.

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note:
This thread will not be used to re-litigate the issue of Zak S.