Sean Patrick Fannon Sexual Harassment Scandal

I've read the news about allegations regarding Sean Patrick Fannon over at EnWorld.  And I've got something to say about it...

As most people know (or can guess), I'm not part of the woke, SJW, ctrl-left side of politics.  Nor am I a far-right wacko.  I'm in the middle, a moderate.

Similarly, I'm not handing out free passes to every jerk, creep, sleazoid, and sexual harasser that comes down the pike.  Yet, I'm not one to join any kind of mob, demand to see individuals burnt at the stake, or boycott certain products, companies, or whatever.  I call 'em as I see 'em on a case-by-case basis.

And in this particular case, I'm biased.  Like, super biased.  My bias hails from Krypton, is now hanging out on a planet orbiting a yellow sun, and it's on steroids.  Why, you ask?

I couldn't find these interactions myself, only recalled the incident because I mentioned it on Tenkar's Tavern over here.  But I had some help from an EnWorld forum member named [prefers to be anonymous]...

The post was generated in response to this post on your blog, via Google Plus. It was made on March 22, 2016.

I didn't notice it before, but there's some further back-and-forth between you and him there, if you read the comments (I can still see the post, and I don't have a G+ account, so it looks like it's still open for public view). This one is his responding to someone pointing out that Alpha Blue was behind the adult filter:

 Originally Posted by Sean Patrick Fannon

For some truly ridiculously offensive products, that isn't enough in my opinion. OBS is a private company that respects, you know, actual decent human beings. I completely support their policy to allow for truly over-the-line misogyny and related horrors to get a second look.

Considering this is only the second time this has come up since the Tournament of Rapists fiasco (that one being the first), I think all the outcry is completely uncalled for.

You don't sell horse manure in a donut shop. Why should a given company be coerced into selling rape fantasy on an RPG site that caters to a much broader audience? The Internet is full of porn - find a site that sells rape porn and have a ball.

Later on, he says this:

 Originally Posted by Sean Patrick Fannon

Considering I've been supportive of +James Raggi and his LotFP line in the past (including with the Pick of the Day), I'll admit to being a bit surprised to see he's lining up cast me as the villain of this piece. Guess that shows me.

At any rate, I recognize what I am dealing with here, and I am quite done with it.

More later on:

 Originally Posted by Sean Patrick Fannon

Create all the vile and offensive make-believe you want. Knock yourself out.

Just don't be surprised when folks are offended by offensive material. And, yes, it's a testament to your personal character when you think publishing such stuff is OK, as far as I am concerned. You may be comfortable with it, and you may have your fans, but when others see your efforts as perpetuating a harmful culture (and rightfully so), there is righteous blowback from that.

And when you openly put material out to the marketplace that triggers serious trauma for some, you deserve the kick to the special place you get.

This isn't just about my taking pleasure in a hater's misfortune (though, that's definitely a bonus).  Those statements are character witness testimony from Sean Patrick Fannon himself around the time of the alleged sexual harassment incidents.  Well, some of it is alleged.  He admitted to bits and pieces.

As I've mentioned in a couple forum posts, Alpha Blue is openly sleazy.  It doesn't hide what it is.  It's not a hypocritical piece of shit.  And it's a game - a fun RPG played between consenting adults.  The "make-believe" part of it allows one to fly his or her freak flag without making convention attendees or anyone in the gaming community feel uncomfortable, unwanted, or less than a human being.

I've read hearsay of other sexual harassment incidents in various forum threads talking about Sean Patrick Fannon.  What we could really use is more women who've been sexually harassed by Sean Patrick Fannon coming forward to tell their story.

Don't let the douche-bag bros deter you from speaking your truth.  You know, I hear the word "misogyny" thrown around these days as often as the word "the."  However, in this particular case, the apologists, abuse supporters, and armchair lawyers who don't think we should even discuss the issue until there's been a jury trial and guilty verdict do seem like they actually hate and/or fear women.  Fuck you guys! And fuck Sean Patrick Fannon for just being an all-around asshole!

Don't let the bastards wear you down,

Venger As'Nas Satanis
High Priest of Kort'thalis Publishing

p.s. I'm making the core Alpha Blue RPG 100% FREE from now until Sunday evening!!!  Get your sci-fi sleaze on... without ruining your life.  ;)

Should ENworld keep stroking itself?

The little picture at the top right was the icing on the cake... or perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back.

There's a small chance that Russ Morrissey was referring to +Kasimir Urbanski (RPGpundit) and this post.  However, it's far more likely that Russ Morrissey was talking about +Erik Tenkar of Tenkar's Tavern fame.  Last week, Tenkar posted this, this, and this.

If I'm right and Russ was referring to Erik as the "abusive personality" than things are even more dire than I feared.  Erik is a lot of things, but he is not abusive.  Oh, the thieves, scoundrels, malcontents, and idiots occasionally consider him abusive - that's because he pops the balloons of delusion those people cling to.

Here's what this is all about: ENworld posts a lot of RPG news on its front page, big splashy, colorful press releases - news and advertisements all rolled into one.  ENworld also has a few people on the payroll who either create or vet these puff pieces for gamers to look at and discuss in comments below.  They must not vet them very hard because I can't remember seeing any criticism or negative commentary anywhere on ENworld's front page.  Unless you count the user comments who are not being paid by RPG companies and/or ENworld.

I'm a little biased.  I'll admit that upfront.  +Sean Patrick Fannon had some shitty things to say about me and my sleazy space opera RPG Alpha Blue when it got temporarily removed from the virtual shelves of DriveThrRPG/RPGNow.  And I've exchanged words with Morrus on many occasions, and pretty much every time he's been either dismissive or condescending.

So, now that Russel Morrissey is expanding his RPG line with O.L.D., N.O.W., and the latest N.E.W. (Really?  And they sell even with those titles?), ENworld is suddenly inundated with in-depth analysis and several people chiming in about how awesome it is - including Russ Morrissey himself.

It's also been one of Sean's Picks of the Week.  Sean Patrick Fannon is a staff writer, reviewer, press release sifter for ENworld.  And even he admits that there's "...a fine, fuzzy line between news, promotion, and outright advertising."  Though, it looks like ENworld has crossed the line.

You might think that such false advertising (by that I mean - no disclaimer) has a negligible effect on sales; however, I just looked at DriveThruRPG and N.E.W. was uploaded on August 19th and is already a Best GOLD Seller.  Compare that to a fairly successful but small independent self-publisher like myself.  Alpha Blue was uploaded onto DriveThru on December 18th of 2015 and is currently sitting pretty (well, I think she's pretty) at Best ELECTRUM Seller.  For those of you who've never played AD&D, gold is better than electrum.

Basically, this blog post is boosting the signal for RPGpundit and Erik Tenkar, as well as, a chance to ask the gaming community some hard-hitting, philosophical questions.  Real big picture stuff.  Here goes nothing...

• Does this kind of thing (payola) bother you?
• How susceptible are you to hype, advertising, promotion, and the like?
• Do you prefer to only hear about games from big companies with lots of advertising dollars behind them? 
• Why are labels, brands, and officially authorized/licensed take-your-pick important to the average RPG consumer?
• Would you agree that creating a sense of immersion is a high priority in RPGs?
• Would you also agree that rules-light RPGs are more immersive because they present less obstacles, procedures, and time devoted to looking things up?
• Since crunchy and rules-heavy games are three times less likely to bring in new roleplaying blood than simple and rules-light games (yeah, I just made that statistic up - but it seems legit to me), why continue to support the former over the latter?
• Is authority more important or valuable than autonomy?  

Thanks for reading,

VS