Read on Twitter
-G3 here
Our channel brands itself as “The Dive Bar of EDH”—this is somewhat contentious and something our hosts have touched upon for a few years now
Why I’m QTing this is b/c this branding shouldn’t be seen as a requirement to drink to interact w/ us, nor should it be seen 1/x https://twitter.com/themanasource/status/1274854459177304065
Our channel brands itself as “The Dive Bar of EDH”—this is somewhat contentious and something our hosts have touched upon for a few years now
Why I’m QTing this is b/c this branding shouldn’t be seen as a requirement to drink to interact w/ us, nor should it be seen 1/x https://twitter.com/themanasource/status/1274854459177304065
as an excuse to drink to excess. There’s been times in our 4.5 years where we’ve abused alcohol while streaming, and as a result done or said inappropriate things. Whenever this has happened, we’ve had host discussions to address and correct those actions.
2/
2/
Alcohol is an easily abusable drug and a dive bar is “a disreputable bar or pub where local residents gather to drink and socialize. Individual bars may be considered to be disreputable, sinister, of poor upkeep, or even a detriment to the community”
3/
3/
We don’t want to be a detriment to the community, especially by being perceived as condoning “sinister” behavior. Nor do we want to blame/normalize alcohol for shitty behavior.
Our channel started because we were friends who enjoyed playing kitchen table EDH while drinking
4/
Our channel started because we were friends who enjoyed playing kitchen table EDH while drinking
4/
We started streaming our games, combining unsatisfactory technical quality with dick jokes and other “dude” humor
“gee I wonder why we’re not more popular”
But we’ve improved over time. The stream looks & sounds great now and it seems like we somehow haven’t been blacklisted
5/
“gee I wonder why we’re not more popular”
But we’ve improved over time. The stream looks & sounds great now and it seems like we somehow haven’t been blacklisted
5/
All this to say, the dive bar branding will likely stay. At least for now
I see it as a way to differentiate ourselves from the more competitively-minded gameplay channels
We want to foster a place where the community can be themselves and not “put on” for the sake of content
6/
I see it as a way to differentiate ourselves from the more competitively-minded gameplay channels
We want to foster a place where the community can be themselves and not “put on” for the sake of content
6/
However, this isn’t an encouragement for toxic behavior. We’re the kind of dive bar that you can feel included and comfortable in the knowledge that our community won’t metaphorically slip something into your drink
We don’t stand racism, anti-lgbtq sentiment, or bigotry
7/
We don’t stand racism, anti-lgbtq sentiment, or bigotry
7/
Most of our crew stays off Twitter. It’s mostly me ( @g3_lexicon) and occasionally Johnny or Nick S.
We’re a plurality of ethnic and political backgrounds, so these last few weeks I’ve hesitated making any sort of direct statements about world events, opting to RT my sentiments 8/
We’re a plurality of ethnic and political backgrounds, so these last few weeks I’ve hesitated making any sort of direct statements about world events, opting to RT my sentiments 8/
// As a quick aside: Black lives matter
I admit, when BLM protests happened in 2014, I didn’t get it. I was like “don’t all lives matter? Why single out black people?”
I get it now. We have to provide dignity and opportunity to our disadvantaged communities.
//
I admit, when BLM protests happened in 2014, I didn’t get it. I was like “don’t all lives matter? Why single out black people?”
I get it now. We have to provide dignity and opportunity to our disadvantaged communities.
//
/ But I’m making this thread now to just put out in the public that I know we’ve fucked up in the past
And because we don’t edit our gameplay streams, we literally have 1000 hours of content that someone could sift through to find 100s of bad takes. But my hope is that they...
9/
And because we don’t edit our gameplay streams, we literally have 1000 hours of content that someone could sift through to find 100s of bad takes. But my hope is that they...
9/
wouldn’t find more than a handful of reprehensible things. And even then, the context is a “joke” made during a glorified kitchen table EDH game. That’s not me excusing any hurtful comments, rather it’s an invitation for us to be educated and informed about our transgressions
10/
10/
This game can be a creative outlet, allowing its players to express themselves through deck building and game play
But that is self-serving
This game can be an escapist fantasy, allowing its players to temporarily believe that the world isn’t fucked up
But the world is fucked
11/
But that is self-serving
This game can be an escapist fantasy, allowing its players to temporarily believe that the world isn’t fucked up
But the world is fucked
11/
This game can be a vehicle for representing identities other than cis gendered white males
But WotC seems to often land on the side of performative and tokenistic inclusion
In fact, the game seems to increasingly cater to people with large amounts of disposable income, which
12/
But WotC seems to often land on the side of performative and tokenistic inclusion
In fact, the game seems to increasingly cater to people with large amounts of disposable income, which
12/
—due to an economic and political system in the US that has a long history of racist and predatory practices—are often cishet white males
About 1/2 of our hosts fit this demographic
If we’re the target demo & have made many questionable comments while streaming...
13/
About 1/2 of our hosts fit this demographic
If we’re the target demo & have made many questionable comments while streaming...
13/
It scares me to think about what the average invested player does and says b/c they know only their friends can hear.
Obviously, fitting the target demo doesn’t make you a bad person. Rather, one’s actions and speech is a trend line indicating the direction of alignment
14/
Obviously, fitting the target demo doesn’t make you a bad person. Rather, one’s actions and speech is a trend line indicating the direction of alignment
14/
How one responds when the community informs them that they’ve made a mistake is a good indicator of their moral trend line
TN and NB demonstrated poor trend lines
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TN and NB demonstrated poor trend lines
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And that’s me hiding their actions by using “mistake” as a very generous euphemism to make a broader point
Let me speak more directly:
Sexual predation and identity invalidation is for fucked up human scum
If you’ve made it this far in the thread and disagree, fucking @ me
16/
Let me speak more directly:
Sexual predation and identity invalidation is for fucked up human scum
If you’ve made it this far in the thread and disagree, fucking @ me
16/
Okay, circling back and wrapping up:
“Dive Bar of EDH” = a fun, safe, low-stakes environment with a diverse community; alcohol isn’t required
“Dive Bar of EDH” isn’t a place where toxic behavior is tolerated. If anything to the contrary pops up, we will address it positively
17/
“Dive Bar of EDH” = a fun, safe, low-stakes environment with a diverse community; alcohol isn’t required
“Dive Bar of EDH” isn’t a place where toxic behavior is tolerated. If anything to the contrary pops up, we will address it positively
17/
Our tag line is “Filthy, drunken, casual, commander content”
But like, that just means NSFW humor and misplays
If that’s something you’re interested in, check our past streams: http://bit.ly/VODS2020 or join our community Discord: https://discord.gg/hGpEp4A
Love you
- @g3_lexicon
But like, that just means NSFW humor and misplays
If that’s something you’re interested in, check our past streams: http://bit.ly/VODS2020 or join our community Discord: https://discord.gg/hGpEp4A
Love you
- @g3_lexicon
