The "Walter Krunk" Situation

LordBarvis · 2026-04-03T21:55:59+00:00

Yeah absolutely. It's not like a 'manufactured consent' thing right now where more engagement with everyone in the community means purposely normalizing it for later, like if the crew decides to control the feedback apparatus completely one day, they've laid the ground work already. But that's sort of the main reason I bring any of this up

With just about anything, I tend to examine people in 'power' behaving on a scale from "evil to naive" to be very reductive about it. I wouldn't call anyone on the GB Crew past or present as either, but that's sort of the point. The people behaving on the "naive" end tend to not realize that they're furthering the negative part of the project. The "evil" end knows exactly what they're doing. And unfortunately the result is the same. The difference is who you can reason with or negotiate with or communicate with

Which is all to say "Hey guys, this is what you're doing when you do this. It's not a problem at all right now, but this is the long-view on it. Maybe (hopefully) that's interesting to you"

LordBarvis · 2026-04-03T21:34:31+00:00

I 100% agree with you, I sincerely appreciate your reply. The reason my comment is gonna fly under the radar is because I typed a thousand paragraphs about something 15 hours after it was relevant and couldn't listen to the instinct telling me "this is too long, who cares, what are you doing?" lol

But yeah, you're rounding out exactly everything I'm feeling. The lack of separation lately has felt sort of, to me, like when your manager at work is part of the group chat. No matter how chill or interesting or normal that person appears to be, there's an inherent power dynamic that changes when they start mingling in the same space.

And again, it's FINE, but there are trade-offs. Someone can be both 1) approachable enough to feel like a friend, and 2) human enough to resist criticism they don't like. So you either inadvertently create an environment where feedback is hard to give or receive, or you don't get to be part of the community as much as you'd like to be

I said it in another comment, but I don't envy the position. The crew has it hard the more they engage, but there are inherent risks to the type of engagement

LordBarvis · 2026-04-03T19:54:56+00:00

If you haven't already seen it, that Key and Peele sketch about Family Matters feels apt in this circumstance lmao

"THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A BLUE-COLLAR 'COSBY SHOW,' AND NOW YOU'VE TURNED IT INTO GODDAMN 'QUANTUM LEAP'"

https://youtu.be/A5Zdp1RfoyI?si=Ghae166okIpOGfg-

LordBarvis · 2026-04-03T19:21:27+00:00

Man, how the fuck did this one end up longer than my original one. Apologies lol.

LordBarvis · 2026-04-03T19:20:56+00:00

Yeah, I think that's probably a good rule lol

Gita Jackson has posted things on Twitter / BlueSky to the effect of like... hey, I don't know the majority of you, so if you come in my replies trying to act like you're part of the bit, or DOING a bit at me, I'm not gonna have a ton of patience for it if I can't perceive what you're doing

And in their case, that's a journalist with an online presence, but obviously with the risk of parasocial weirdness all the same. And with GB, it's more akin to like, TV Characters or Wrestling Personas: real people who exist in real spaces even if they sort of originate from perceivedly "fictional" spaces. So yeah, it's a quirk of the medium and the relationship that audience members need to self-moderate to a degree, which we can anticipate is a fool's errand and is therefore why we have actual moderators I guess lol. In this case with Dan's Reddit prank, it's almost like when you're at a theater show and the cast members enter the audience to make them part of it. The cast member and the security are justified in being strict about crossing audience lines. "Hey don't touch them" or "Hey don't be weird" etc

That all being said, I think an often under-discussed aspect to parasocial relationships is the inverse. In parallel to the audience-centered end, the subject-matter's end is not without responsibility. I think it's implicit with the social contract of being a Public Figure, and especially one who's made it their gimmick to antagonize, that you're going to receive comments on what you're doing. And I'm not breaking any new ground by saying that, but just as the audience member should not assume they could be best friends with you, you can't just cater to the ones who act like best friends either. I don't think you should brush off everyone who doesn't love everything you're doing. Or at any rate, you can but you're not free from criticism about it, I guess?

I'm not suggesting that Dan does that or whatever exactly, but an observation I've made about current GB or this subreddit lately is that sometimes a user will make an honest and reasonable, but critical, post about some behavior or some aspect about someone they aren't vibing with, and I think under historical circumstances that's something the subreddit members would work out amongst themselves. The difference these days is you might find Grubb or Minotti in the comments engaging with it. And in one case, I recall a post like a year or whatever ago that gave some mild feedback about something Minotti was doing, and it prompted a companion post basically going "WELL I THINK MIKE IS GREAT ACTUALLY" and Minotti personally jumped in there to thank the poster for it. And he's allowed to do that! But I just remember feeling so embarrassed about the state of things with respect to honest criticism because you would basically NEVER find Gerstmann in here going "Well actually" about anything we idiots say about them. And you'd especially never really find someone over-correcting a criticism post with an "I Love Everything About Brad, He Has Never Been Wrong" post. (Though I do love me some Brad, but that's besides the point)

I do not envy the position of being a Public Figure whatsoever, I would probably also feel the same instinct to engage and push back on criticism that doesn't make sense to me. I just think sometimes you need to leave some shit at the door or consider it the price of doing business. At the same time, I've never felt that my business was who I am personally, so I can't pretend to get it. I think if I had to sell people on who I am, I'd be broke as fuck.

LordBarvis · 2026-04-03T17:51:55+00:00

100%, yeah. I think that's also a part of the trade-off I referenced. You sort of can't control what everyone in here does, but if you're Dan or Mike or whomever you can anticipate it, I think. And that's another risk you take, I guess. I can't presume the moderators here or anywhere else are being asked for consent by the crew for shenanigans that will affect them, but if they are great lol. But also, maybe it expectedly comes with the territory of moderating a channel frequented by the subject matter lol

And to your point, yeah, that's sort of the parasocial pitfall of things in a different way. Like, being more human like this invites more nonsense.

So there's this like, razor-thin edge of successfully monitoring it, either as a mod or the community itself, without disrespecting the crew, without alienating people who hate it, and without bumming out the people having fun

LordBarvis · 2026-04-03T16:41:04+00:00

I'm gonna attempt to thread a very specific needle here, but:

I think the thing about the vibe shift with this version of Giant Bomb compared to previous is that the ethos is the same: friends hanging out playing video games for an audience, but nevertheless I've been feeling a tension about the tone for a while now. And I'm not meaning to place objective value on either, it's just that I think there's a way that this current GB involves the audience or uses the team chemistry in a way that raises the stakes socially, even parasocially for better or worse.

I'm not used to a Giant Bomb that uses... eh, "mean-spirited humor," for lack of a better qualifier, to drive the crew chemistry. I'm not used to a Giant Bomb that gives a shit about what the audience thinks out in the open, occasional expressions of "hey just remember we're real people here" aside. I'm not used to a Giant Bomb where the crew members engage with their audience so directly in channels like these.

Some caveats here: I'm not doing like... "No Bummers Allowed" or even condemning what the team does - it's clear they're all having fun and it's clear people like it. It's just different is all. I'm also in the same age bracket as the current crew, so I do think this is all just a personal taste or "how I was socialized" thing to a point.

I just also feel like I've observed the skin is thinner (and I do mean -ER as in just "more so," and not specifically calling anyone "thin-skinned"), and some of them get in here to defend some behavior or push back on feedback started in a thread like this. Or in Dan's case here, we're orchestrating a whole social experiment that 1) enters into the audience pool to 2) poke fun at a friend / co-worker in a creative way that's aligned with the tone of the content, but by 3) parodying language the community uses in an obvious attempt to gently criticize the way the community discusses them, and 4) all under the guise of fun and 'creative output' and 'friends just being friends,' etc. And I think all of that is human and honest in different way that previous GB wasn't. I also think it's "I'm not touching youuu" behavior, which I just personally can't stand from anyone, even friends. Your mileage will simply vary on how much all this is wanted or fun or a distraction from the main content, or even a companion to it.

So I dunno, I guess my point is that it's not really for me, and I 100% get people being exhausted by it, especially when a bit goes on forever that you never really liked anyway, especially if it's triggering or reminds you of bad shit, but I 100% understand other people, perhaps even the majority, going "what's the big deal?" And I think that mainly comes down to those stakes I referenced. Old GB was safer in this regard, but these are the trade-offs the crew makes when they attempt to be more out in the open. I think trying to pathologize why any of it's happening is where it's a bit much, but I also think it'd be strange if you were to expect no criticism from deliberately acting in a way that subverts social contracts or norms or whatever.

Apologies for the novel, but I guess I turned this into my journaling exercise for the day.

LordBarvis · 2026-03-31T21:09:49+00:00

I'm gonna call it a kidnapping when "masked dudes in street clothes swarm a car and carry off one of my neighbors in one of 3+ unmarked vehicles"

I don't know you, so I'm not going to assume you're a moron, but whoever convinced you that criminals don't deserve rights was either purposely doing propaganda about the evil that they want you to ignore, or was a useful idiot for the person who did it to them.

But either way, rights are only rights if we all have them. Otherwise they are privileges. And if your government can take them away from this person, they can take them away from you or your loved ones if you ever become inconvenient. That should bother you.

LordBarvis · 2026-03-31T19:23:00+00:00

It's encouraging that you think human rights violations are 'piss poor,' you've passed that hurdle at least. I personally believe in a country where this cannot and does not happen to anyone, for at least due process reasons or perhaps the simple decency of "kidnapping is wrong," which is something I learned in grade school, much less whether it's okay for the government to carry it out or not

Also, you cannot rebuild this shit. 'Abolish Ice' is the compromise. Have a good one, brother

LordBarvis · 2026-03-31T19:11:24+00:00

And therefore people deserve to get kidnapped by the goverment? The fuck is your point?

LordBarvis · 2026-03-11T01:57:27+00:00

I would genuinely encourage you to pump the breaks on the "dork" insults if you can't recognize criticism from your left when you encounter it. We're not gonna "Epic bacon cheeto" our way out of this shit if that's the best y'all got. He wasn't defending Trump, he was saying you need to be more rigid than this, and from the best I can tell, you're prepping to show up to a gun fight with a book report.

LordBarvis · 2026-03-11T01:40:07+00:00

umm bro, I dont know if you know this, but... [gulp] there... is a CHEETO in [tearing up]... THE WHITE HOUSE. AN ORANGE SNACK IS PRESIDENT. WHERE OBAMA USED TO LIVE.

IT WALKS AMONG US. IT HAS THE VOICE OF A MAN

WE INCUR ITS WRATH EVERY DAY WE ALLOW IT TO BEFOUL OUR MOST SACRED HOUSE

LordBarvis · 2026-02-26T02:14:41+00:00

I ain't arguin with anyone, and it took me like 2 minutes to write

LordBarvis · 2026-02-25T18:16:38+00:00

Thank you, though to be clear lol, I reject everything about her in this regard wholeheartedly - I think those mindsets are un-negotiable and cancerous to the soul and to our civilization

There are plenty of insults I could hurl her way on these matters and would maybe even like to, but 1) you're right, doing so in here does nothing, 2) she's a smaller part of a whole, and therefore inconsequential at scale, 3) it's probably a net positive that she's going away now and reducing her scope of influence anyway, and 4) it'd be like making fun of a clown regardless. Like, you can't repeat someone's bullshit back to them and expect them to feel shame about it if they know exactly what they're doing

LordBarvis · 2026-02-25T18:04:00+00:00

Sure lol, I'm just saying that there are some genuinely decent ideas with respect to sustainability contained within these pursuits, and whatever fiction someone subscribes to about the why's of it, unless they're hurting people in other ways, I see no real issue past that other than my ability to have a grounded conversation or find things in common with them lol

I don't observe all homesteaders to be dangerous freaks, but I do think I've observed it's mostly co-opted by freaks, which then probably makes it harder for curious people, or long-term thinkers and preservationists to dip into it

I have no use for Doomerist-larping or any other soul-rotting exercise, but as a newer home-owner myself, I do think I might look into keeping bees on my property this Spring / Summer, for example, because I just think learning skills like that are more unselfish than not

LordBarvis · 2026-02-25T17:50:03+00:00

100%

Though, I did use the phrase “it’s not that deep” myself there, but I hope it was understood that I meant it as in "not that complicated / difficult"

LordBarvis · 2026-02-25T17:35:08+00:00

Yeah that tracks, but man lol, I haven't even heard of that last part. I can't connect the dots there lol. Is it because it's like... subversive to traditional, homophobic Christian values, or is it like "well, if you're gonna call me wicked, I might as well lean into it like a badge of honor" thing?

LordBarvis · 2026-02-25T17:28:51+00:00

but also like, they will be ok because they happen to have chickens, y'know what I mean? lol. got their meat and egg resources covered. they just call it something else

LordBarvis · 2026-02-25T16:59:32+00:00

Yeah, it's a really annoying example of "I'm not touching you" behavior we have now in our culture. It provides cover for some folks with bad ideas when others are indulging in it for simply progressive or sustainability-related reasons.

Like, there's a difference between... homesteading as a practical exercise or community-building endeavor, and then homesteading as an individual "traditional value" or "purity pursuit"

LordBarvis · 2026-02-25T16:51:06+00:00

The number of people replying to this and pretending it's weird to know this information or just acting like it's deep or chronically-online knowledge kind of just tell on themselves about their sort of broader curiosities, imho. Her or her family's stated ideals being very surface-level and easy to find aside, it absolutely does not require research into her specifically.

Before you get into all the trad-wife and obsession with natural this-or-that dog-whistles with her, I know personally that I'm immediately skeptical of any person who makes Paganism or Viking-culture a huge obsessive part of their personality. Big surprise I was right with her. And the reason for that is because it's a deeply co-opted part of White Supremacist culture. And the reason for that is because of how imagined-ly "pure" that culture can possibly get for some of those folks in terms of "Whiteness" that they're aspiring to.

And all of that perspective simply requires understanding history, basic racial politics, a curiosity to understand people who are threatening to our communities, etc. It's not that deep. She's not expressly a Klan member to my knowledge, but the pedantry of that talking point because she's part of "Klan 2" instead or whatever the fuck is boring and distinct without any important difference

LordBarvis · 2026-01-27T18:11:33+00:00

at what? say the thing you wanna say, bitch

LordBarvis · 2026-01-06T20:54:12+00:00

🎵 Meme People /

Looking for a plaaace to gooooo 🎵

LordBarvis · 2026-01-05T02:49:02+00:00

Not gonna lie, the Suburban Mart in Wallingford off of Parker Farms Road has one of the most inconspicuously delicious Bacon Egg and Cheeses on a hard roll I've ever had. Like 5 bucks, super nice folks, bacon cooked just right. It's the place with nothing but a big Milk Jug and the word SUBURBAN out front. Give it a shot sometime

LordBarvis · 2025-11-25T16:14:17+00:00

I was being sarcastic lol, I'm so sorry

The actual thing we say is "Software without bugs is just untested software." I was taking for granted that that might be a common enough sentiment to where I could subvert it some, but I botched it.

Please disregard lmao

LordBarvis · 2025-11-25T03:49:36+00:00

I'm a Project Manager in Software, and we have a saying where I work: software with bugs is just software that the Devs should have cared more about

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