JoCat and Indestructoboy in the same day. Damn.

Here’s what JoCat posted to his site earlier this week. https://www.jocat.net/ This accompanied a post on X (Twitter) that he would be taking an indefinite break from making content. Just… WTAF?!?

When I read what all he had been subjected to by these Internet morons, I was just flabbergasted. Since when do we treat people this badly in the #ttrpgcommunity? I have never heard of someone being set upon so badly outside of the UFO/ET phenomenon field. WTF is wrong with people?

Then there’s the Indestructoboy flub.

Then there was the deal with Taron “Indestructoboy” Pounds who I admire to no end. It all started with a video and a set of posts on X (Twitter) about what was possibly some AI art in the newest Wizards of the Coast teaser for the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook 2024. That stirred up an online hornet’s nest when the artist’s name was revealed.

The worst part of the Indestructoboy problem is it actually gave WotC an opportunity to fire back at the community for once. Just because this one particular piece of art didn’t turn out to be AI enhanced, doesn’t mean they won’t try to sneak it past us again. Since the incident, Pounds has gone onto apologize profusely to the artist and remove the offending video, take down the X posts, and make a retraction/apology video on his channel. People are still being asses toward him.

We’re all sick of WotC’s shit and some of us are more than happy to pounce on whatever dumb stuff they pull next. Pounds thought he was doing the right thing in calling out what very easily could have been AI art.

Okay, he was wrong. We get it. He apologized as much as he could. Please chill now. Thanks.

Both of these guys were heroes scarcely a year ago.

I’ve never seen or heard of people going from zero to toxic toward Content Creators so fast in my life. People are sending hate mail and mysterious packages to JoCat’s family. Pounds has people saying he should be sued. Can we all please chill and act like we’re humans? That’d be pretty cool.

I made my own serious faux pas this past year when Ginny Di inferred that I was calling her a WotC shill. She insinuated from comments in one of my articles that I was saying she could be bought off by WotC with a box of free toys and other D&D swag. What I was trying to say was if people were attending the Content Creator’s Summit, remember not to come back a shill, but that’s a whole different article.

I understand how fast the tide of public opinion can turn against someone even as small as myself. The #ttrpgcommunity doesn’t tend to slow down and consider multiple viewpoints in situations that are often rife with gray areas. It’s weird when gamers go off on each other. You’d imagine we’d have empathy for one another, but here we are.

JoCat made a great video for the 2023 D&D Beyond Showcase. I honestly thought it was one of the only redeemable parts of the whole show. JoCat is super talented as both an artist and a writer. It makes me sick to see someone treated that badly.

Pounds is a great guy and was instrumental in the D&D Open Game License Debacle of 2023. He broke the story early on and at great personal risk. Basically, all the naysayers said he was making things up and WotC couldn’t possibly be that evil or stupid. People were talking mad shit about Pounds right up until Roll for Combat and Lin Codega broke the story on their respective media. Pounds was eventually celebrated and revered by the community.

I don’t want to say people have turned ugly on him once again, but this is starting to look awfully familiar. What’s going to happen the next time someone catches WotC doing something sneaky? Are they going to be too scared of the backlash to speak up? Pounds has said he’s done making news content and is going back to strictly game design and reviews.

News flash: YouTubers aren’t subject to the same rules as mass mainstream media outlets.

They also don’t have the same legal and monetary protections afforded to mass media outlets. YouTube Content Creators are subject to the platform’s Terms of Service. That’s it. As long as they don’t say something to violate the ToS, they can do almost anything.

Yes, it is possible to be successfully sued over something said on YouTube, Tik Tok, Twitch, or other video platforms. Unfortunately, creators are on their own in such legal cases in whatever country they take place in. Of course, sometimes legal issues would be preferable to being fricasseed in the court of social media opinion. There’s really nothing to rescue anyone from being cancelled on social media.

Working for a big media outlet such as The New York Times or IO9 has its advantages. Sure, reporters often don’t get to choose their assignments. They have editors to report to and deadlines to meet. They also have access to legal counsel and can print retractions if need be. Unfortunately, professional journalists can also get raked over the coals on social media for official stories or public comments they make.

Where I would like to see this all headed.

Please show kindness, compassion, and understanding to these two YouTube Content Creators. JoCat especially has done nothing wrong to deserve all the 🦆🦆🦆 he’s gotten. No one deserves that kind of grief over an innocent animated video. He’s made dozens of high quality animated videos. He’s clever and funny.

Yes, Indestructoboy missed the mark on this story. A week from now our focus will have completely changed and Wizards of the Coast or someone else will grab all the social media attention. Please show some compassion and understanding for him, too. We all make mistakes. He’s apologized profusely and acted responsibly as a result. Please ease up on the guy.

This does not excuse bad Internet behavior. Please stop and think before you comment. We’re all going to stick our foot in our mouth at some point online. It happens. Please try to treat people the way you would like to be treated when it happens.

Thanks for being here with me today. Please be kind to everyone, especially this time of year. I appreciate you. Take care.