Richard ‘Lowtax’ Kyanka, founder of Something Awful, has died
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Re: Richard ‘Lowtax’ Kyanka, founder of Something Awful, has died
#2Advocates for unfettered "free speech" always seem to gloss over the fact that a lot of that shit is not healthy. I'm not trying to argue that such speech should be censored, but it's certainly nothing to be celebrated.
Re: Richard ‘Lowtax’ Kyanka, founder of Something Awful, has died
#3I took this news a little harder than I should have. It was like the kids from It found out Pennywise was dead except Pennywise wasn't real and was actually your cousin from another state. His death seems like a time to reflect on the internet of old and maybe even reconnect with old friends you pissed off in a flame war. So many mixed emotions and I'm still thinking about his death two days later.
Re: Richard ‘Lowtax’ Kyanka, founder of Something Awful, has died
#4Advocates for unfettered "free speech" always seem to gloss over the fact that a lot of that shit is not healthy. I'm not trying to argue that such speech should be censored, but it's certainly nothing to be celebrated.
Yeah great time for you to air your grievances about the bill of rights. Thanks.
Re: Richard ‘Lowtax’ Kyanka, founder of Something Awful, has died
#5There was a big thread about this already:
Richard “Lowtax” Kyanka, creator of Somethingawful, has died - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29184198 - Nov 2021 (304 comments)
But the current article goes more into the history and influence of SA, and perhaps that is worth talking about? The sordid personal stuff has already had a thorough treatment.
Re: Richard ‘Lowtax’ Kyanka, founder of Something Awful, has died
#6Advocates for unfettered "free speech" always seem to gloss over the fact that a lot of that shit is not healthy. I'm not trying to argue that such speech should be censored, but it's certainly nothing to be celebrated.
Advocates for always seem to gloss over the fact that a lot of that shit is not healthy. I doubt that is a conversation that can really be had online by people who aren't pseudo-anonymous - measuring a thing's healthiness by the adherent's propensity to kill themselves at elevated rates...
Re: Richard ‘Lowtax’ Kyanka, founder of Something Awful, has died
#7Advocates for unfettered "free speech" always seem to gloss over the fact that a lot of that shit is not healthy. I'm not trying to argue that such speech should be censored, but it's certainly nothing to be celebrated.
Lowtax wasn't an advocate for unfettered free speech lol. He encouraged and enabled arbitrary and capricious punishment for pretty much anything the forum moderators didn't personally like.
Re: Richard ‘Lowtax’ Kyanka, founder of Something Awful, has died
#8Advocates for unfettered "free speech" always seem to gloss over the fact that a lot of that shit is not healthy. I'm not trying to argue that such speech should be censored, but it's certainly nothing to be celebrated.
I'm not sure what you're referring to exactly, but Something Awfully famously censored certain types of porn-related posts leading to 4chan so unfettered free speech isn't something SA has ever really been known for.
Re: Richard ‘Lowtax’ Kyanka, founder of Something Awful, has died
#9Well that’s too bad. I had a lot of fun trolling D&D and participating in photoshop Fridays. I remember loading that up and watching 9/11 footage set to the Benny Hill theme practically the day it happened. The forums were just brutal, and hilarious for a certain kind of mind. And the impact on the internet is clear and widespread.
Re: Richard ‘Lowtax’ Kyanka, founder of Something Awful, has died
#10Advocates for unfettered "free speech" always seem to gloss over the fact that a lot of that shit is not healthy. I'm not trying to argue that such speech should be censored, but it's certainly nothing to be celebrated.
Lowtax wasn't an advocate for unfettered free speech lol. He encouraged and enabled arbitrary and capricious punishment for pretty much anything the forum moderators didn't personally like.
Moderation on a private forum is a form of (free) expression.