Mailvox: Ignoring is not passive-aggression

An emailer reveals a number of assumptions:

Emails. The gamma can’t help but type novels. So, help me understand this about the hierarchy: I’ve always thought that most people ignore emails out of passive-aggressiveness, to control conversations, and because they’re cowards.

Clearly though, there’s a time to ignore people. However, I hate to do it, because I don’t want to be the above mentioned things. I’m fine being an asshole, but a coward… no.

How do you choose when and who to ignore? You obviously engage annoying people privately at length. Why?

I’ll leave it to the readers here to point out the obvious ironies here, but I will correct a misapprehension and point out that I do not engage annoying people privately at length, ever. Most of my private replies are very short and I very seldom respond to a second email. The only place I provide longer responses is here on the blog.

And for any even modestly public figure, the correct time to ignore emails is every single freaking day. You know those people who say that although they don’t respond to every email, they do read all of them? Rest assured, most of them don’t even do that.


Mailvox: no market for a game channel

An industry veteran explains why it doesn’t make sense for us to create a game review site and channel:

Hey Vox – There is a hole in the community, but it’s not a hole in the market. Because there’s no market for games journalism.

Games journalism traditionally offered three things:

  1. New information about games that ordinary people couldn’t get
  2. Credible reviews of games that could guide purchase
  3. In-depth features, interviews, and editorial
#1 collapsed for AAA games because the game companies now all employ large community management teams to communicate directly with their fans. They don’t need or want game journalists as gatekeepers. #2 collapsed for AAA games, too. The rise of review aggregator sites meant that gamers just visited the review aggregator rather than any particular reviewer. The pressure on game journalists to have access and ads made reviews less credible, teaching people to ignore journalist reviews and just look at user reviews. And the rise of Let’s Plays on Twitch made reviews irrelevant because you don’t need to read about how a game plays, you can watch it be played in real time with live commentary.
The result of these trends was that game journalists who wanted to do #1 and #2 had to turn to indie games. That’s how you get Zoe Quinn’s Depression Quest being something worth talking about. But nobody really cares about indie games outside of that small niche. If they did care, they wouldn’t be indy. So the journalists all ended up cramming into category #3 and focusing on features, interviews, and editorial.
But here they ran into a problem, too. If you try to do Rolling Stone type content, you discover that game publishers simply don’t let their game developers be rockstar/celebrity/talent the way other creative industry does. You’re simply never going to get to talk to a game designer and get real truths anymore. And if you do manage to talk to them, it turns out gamers don’t really care anyway, because it’s a participatory medium and they’d rather be playing. The only thing that gets traffic is outrage, so you trigger outrage. But if you trigger outrage about anything meaningful, you lose your ad dollars and what little access you have left. So it becomes all faux outrage all the time. Meanwhile, fewer and fewer readers and more and more people just watching YouTube and Twitch. 
Meanwhile, even if you say “yes, we’ll ignore all that and focus on great personalities who don’t worry about ads and make money from subscriptions”, then you run into problem #4. Gamers don’t want to spend money on content. They get outraged if a mobile game costs more than $2.99. They are furious about having to pay $60 for a game that gives them 60 hours of joy. They angrily rant about DLC. And even so, such money as they have, they do spend it all on games. They don’t spend it on subscriptions. And to the extent they do, it’s clustered into a tiny number of top streamers like Pewdie Pie. Then it becomes a dry well. To put it into perspective, a gaming site doing 60 million page views per month, with multiple million-view streams per week, earning $1M in ad sales, might earn perhaps 1{de336c7190f620554615b98f51c6a13b1cc922a472176e2638084251692035b3} of its revenue from subscriptions. .
Jeremy Hambly of The Quartering has been trying to make it work, with a new site; as has One Angry Gamer and a bunch of others. No one is having any major financial success. There’s a community, there’s just no market.

Mailvox: how NOT to respect your deltas

One son of a Delta has some unpleasant childhood memories stemming from his attractive mother:

The part about alpha trying to hit on the very attractive wives of lower status men resonates with me. My mother was always a very attractive woman and she was married to my father, a delta. Alpha men were always hitting on her, including my father’s boss at a Christmas party that later devolved into a huge argument when we all returned home. 

It’s a difficult situation because it’s almost inevitable and is going to be hard on the Delta husband even if his attractive wife is entirely faithful to him. First, it’s always pleasant to know that people are drawn to you, and second, it’s actually the Delta’s lack of confidence in his ability to keep his attractive wife that tends to undermine the relationship.

Because if he gets his panties in a bunch every time over the behavior of others that she can’t control, eventually she’s going to decide that she might as well do the crime if she’s going to do the time anyhow.

The father shouldn’t have argued with his wife after the Christmas party, he should have complained to the boss’s boss. The most effective weapon against an alpha is a bigger alpha.


Mailvox: the spirit of Reepicheep

The talking mouse always was my favorite character in The Chronicles of Narnia:

I am reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the first time and I am reading chapter 12, the Dark Island. It has made me love Reepicheep and he reminds me of you, the dread Ilk, VFM et al.

The scene is set when Caspian is deciding on whether to sail into the darkness and all advice is to the contrary:

But all at once the clear voice of Reepicheep. “And why not?” he said. “Will someone explain to me why not?”

No one was anxious to explain, so Reepicheep continued: “If I were addressing peasants or slaves,” he said, “I might suppose that this suggestion proceeded from cowardice. But I hope it will never be told in Narnia that a company of noble and royal persons in the flower of their age turned tail because they were afraid of the dark.”

“But what manner of use would it be ploughing through that blackness?” asked Drinian.

“Use?” replied Reepicheep. “Use, Captain? If by use you mean filling our bellies or our purses, I confess it will be no use at all. So far as I know we did not set sail to look for things useful but to seek honour and adventure. And here is as great an adventure as ever I heard of, and here, if we turn back, no little impeachment of all our honours.”

But this was the best reminding of your stout defense of friends such as Owen:

There came a cry, either of some inhuman voice or else a voice of one in such extremity of terror that he had almost lost his humanity. Caspian was still trying to speak his mouth was too dry-when the shrill voice of Reepicheep, which sounded louder than usual in that silence, was heard.

“Who calls?” it piped. “If you are a foe we do not fear you, and if you are a friend your enemies shall be taught the fear of us.”

Long live the spirit of Reepicheep! May we all aspire to it.

Reepicheep represents the indomitable spirit, the unconquerable spirit, of Man. He kneels only to the king and to Aslan, he fears no evil, and to say that he embraces conflict would be a serious understatement. In my opinion, it is he, not Caspian, Edmund, Lucy, or Eustace, who is the true hero of the tale.

My owns plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan’s country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise and Peepiceek will be head of the talking mice in Narnia.


Mailvox: the circle-back

A reader observes that Gammas never leave, they always linger about in the corners like a noxious fog:

I was reading the comments on your post yesterday on creating omegas. It struck me that last year I had someone I thought a friend who turned on me in a very public way for noticing uncomfortable facts. Then there was some cyber-stalking that struck me as rather creepy. Gamma behavior. You said Gammas will turn on you sooner or later.

Do they ever try to ingratiate themselves back into the good graces of the person they turned on to begin with? The faux-sincere apology or do they dig in that they were right? I was thinking that gammas are somewhat opportunistic and will try to get back into the circle if they think it is to their benefit.

Gammas will absolutely try to work their way back in, but they always do so in an indirect manner. They will try praising you or making positive, supportive comments, without ever admitting the fact that they were previously condemning you or apologizing for their past behavior. Of course, they will only take the ingratiation route until it becomes obvious that the tactic is not working, then they will revert to attacking you again.

Gammas are not “somewhat opportunistic”, they are EXTREMELY opportunistic, which means that even when they are silent, they are always lurking about, looking to either ingratiate themselves or seek revenge, depending upon which opportunity happens to present itself first. I have witnessed Gammas lurking silently for years before taking the opportunity to strike back; for example, one Gamma troll whose name would be familiar to the Dread Ilk recently surfaced for the first time since 2014 in an attempt to glom onto the /r/Owen anklebiters and their campaign against UATV.

This is why you should never forget a Gamma or fail to observe his inevitable reappearance. Because you can be absolutely certain that he will never forgive nor forget anyone who has rejected him or publicly bested him, not until the heat death of the universe.


Mailvox: a note from Ireland

An Irish reader writes about the current status of Ireland:

A note as to whats happening in Ireland, the western fringe of Europe. In 2016, the Irish wing of Pegida was routed from the streets of Dublin by Antifa, which was a black pill for the nationalists at that time. Things have grown, massively since then, possibly exponentially. There is a General Election for our Parliament here on the 8th of February 2020, and there are just shy of 40 nationalists from the three nationalist parties running for seats. This is obviously a tremendous rate of growth and is a clear sign of the shift away from globalism.

The Irish still tend to love the EU, and view Brexit with disdain, but on the other hand we have a character of nationalism and have an immunity to white guilt.

We have deep connection to the swamp, the Clintons, Haiti, the (((Global Finance System))), and have had the best of the worst try to De-Christianise, abort,and replace us. Yet it seems that this trend has peaked, and is slowly rolling back.  Small countries like ours can be converged quickly, but we can fix ourselves quicker too. This little island is a microcosm of the wider struggle and if we can do it, so can anyone.  All we need is faith and a steady supply of white pills.

I have to admit, I have never understood how the Irish could fight so hard and so long for their independence from the British, only to immediately turn around and hand over their sovereignty to the European Union. It was one of the most ridiculous, most inexplicable things I’ve seen in my lifetime. Here is hoping that the Irish will soon learn from their disastrous mistake and will follow the lead of the British in exiting the EU and reestablishing their sovereignty.


Must. Preserve. Delusion. Bubble.

It’s always interesting to see how Gammas are able to stubbornly deny any facts that contradict their personal narrative. As always, few things cause them to burn with rage like the knowledge that others are considerably smarter than they are.

Hey Voxxy poo, quick question, how do you justify the fact in your head that you’re a 150 IQ supergenius but then know that a complete moron like Owen says hes within 3 IQ points of you? I mean, Owen is a legitimate flat earther at this point and has never been a smart guy, except to the dumbest of people that buy all flavors of bullshit. Doesnt it kinda hurt your brand as ‘high IQ guy’ to also have another self confessed high IQ guy next to you that’s very much obviously not high IQ? I’m not saying Owen is stupid, hes probably average give or take a bit. Just wondering your thoughts on that!

First, I don’t justify anything at all. My IQ was measured at a high level as a child in studies at Harvard. After taking the IOWA tests in elementary school I was placed into an elite state math program. In fifth grade I was excused from most of my classes and was permitted to spend most of the school day in the library since I already knew all the material. I was in the 99th percentile for both the PSAT and the SAT back when they were aptitude tests rather than achievement tests. And I was both a National Merit Finalist and a member of Mensa, and was offered free rides at many universities.

Second, a 150 IQ does not make one a supergenius. I have known three people with IQs in excess of 170 very well, and I would not consider any of them to be geniuses, let alone supergeniuses. My best friend also has a very slightly higher IQ than me and he is not a genius either. More importantly, IQ is only a proxy measure for cognitive capacity, whereas genius is a description of genuine intellectual accomplishment worthy of historical note. Martin van Creveld is a genius. Prince was a genius. I have not yet accomplished anything I would consider to be worthy of the term.

And third, Owen is obviously quite intelligent. No one who is that rhetorically quick and effective is not. His ability to distill a complex dialectic argument down to a two-word rhetorical nuke, and to do so instantly, is almost unmatched in my experience. The fact that he is quite willing to entertain even the most outlandish theories is a sign of intelligence and curiosity; absolutely no intelligence is required to blindly accept the mainstream narrative despite the various anomalies that can be observed.

Ihateowenbenjamin is also back. He can’t figure out why I never email him back, but that doesn’t hinder his ability to practice armchair psychiatry. Notice, again, the desperate gamma need to believe that someone is not considerably smarter than he is, as well as the projection of his obsession with his own perceived intelligence.

Hey loser,

I saw you posted some of my email on your blog. Funny that you NEVER respond to any points brought up by anyone. It is always just sarcastic remarks to your idiotic followers about how smart you are. Why do you never respond?

Try responding to this. You talk daily about your lawsuit against Patreon, yet have NEVER said what it is about. WHY are you suing Patreon? Because Owen got kicked off? Clearly that is not enough reason to sue them… Are you denying that Owen broke TOS? How would you know if Owen broke TOS or not since you claim to almost never watch videos anyways?

Also you frequently mention that you were a “National Merit Semifinalist” or something along those lines. Please direct me to some proof of this! A picture, a link, a list, etc.

Also, comment on if you have ever considered that you may have Narcissistic Personality Disorder? You fit all the criteria. I guarantee you have this disorder. Your IQ is nowhere near 150 by the way!

But yea. it is clear you are a fraud. You never respond to any legitimate criticism. You have been caught lying on multiple occasions. in your mind you will deny this because of your personality disorder, you find ways to justify your lies.

Respond. Bet you can’t.

I have never said a single word about a “lawsuit” against Patreon, much less “my” lawsuit against them. I do not have any cause or standing to sue Patreon, since I have never been a user of their site. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, are there at present any lawsuits against Patreon; some of the recent changes to their terms of use were intended to impose lawsuits in the place of the previously selected alternative forms of dispute resolution. I am neither a lawyer nor a litigant, I am merely a humble philosopher and dark lord who occasionally finds some small amusement in reading corporate terms and policies and contemplating their vagaries.

Another certain Gamma tell is the inability to distinguish “can’t” from “won’t”.


Mailvox: how little they learn

Apparently it is very difficult for some to resist the sweet siren song of media attention:

I know you don’t care about internet personalities but this one seemed too on-point not to mention.

JF Gariepy has agreed to do an interview with Canadian media re: nationalism He has agreed to this despite numerous warnings from his fans who have pointed out the many smear jobs with which you are familiar.

Moreover, he believes he will use his great intellect and clever wording to prevent the possibility of negative framing — and thus will not be recording the interview himself because “it’s not what a man would do”.

Just thought you might be amused at how little people learn.

I am amused indeed, in part because I turned down no fewer than three separate requests for interviews and media appearances today. This interview should end about as well for JFG as his evolution debate with me.

And, just in case it still hasn’t registered with everyone here, I repeat: don’t talk to the media!


Mailvox: the utility of the framework

MS appreciates the perspective provided the Social-Sexual Hierarchy’s framework of behavioral patterns.

I’ve been doing a little historical reading and it seems to me that most of the very famous betrayals in history were by Gamma types. I know you’ve repeatedly made the point that Gammas can’t be trusted precisely because they’ll turn on others when they feel slighted, but being able to think of well-known examples of treachery and then comparing what is known of the traitor with the Gamma profile has been quite enlightening.

This is a useful observation. One common theme in betrayals is the way in which the betrayer acts because he feels that he has been insufficiently valued, respected, or rewarded. “I was a big fan of X, but then he went too far” is more than just an old rhetorical device used by the media and political fundraising organizations as long as I can remember, in a personal context it is a very clear sign that the turncoat is a gamma.

Which, of course, is why the same logic that dictates turncoats cannot be trusted tends to suggest that gammas should not be trusted. Envy is the great sin of the Gamma, so as long as there is someone in the organization of whom he may feel envious, the potential for betrayal will be there.

It can be difficult, particularly for those who can sincerely use the assistance, to turn down much-needed offers of support from enthusiastic supporters who only seem to want to help. But the costs of their assistance usually turns out to be several orders of magnitude larger than the benefits. This is why you should never volunteer to help any individual or organization if you suspect you would ever be unable to simply walk away from the situation in silence if things don’t happen to work out to your satisfaction.


Mailvox: the anklebiter’s perspective

ihateowenbenjamin writes:

Haha nothing has happened and never will. You bald idiot loser. You really think you are smart yet won’t go and have a legitimate test. You are a fool. Your dad was a fool. All your work is plagiarised, copied off of successful versions.

You are a literal nobody. You act smart to compensate for your zero accomplishments.

You really think that notifying a company about legitimate violations of users is interference? ahahhaha. You are really so dumb. Owen blatantly violated Patreon TOS you idiot. You talk nonstop about TI yet have zero understanding of how it works. Like your dad you try to take the law into your own hands and think you are smarter than you are.

A dumb old loser. We laugh so much so thank you. other than a few weird losers who watch your show, nobody cares. Nobody believes you. You are not a serious person.

Prove you are in Mensa. Prove a single aarticle of evidence of any of your fake lawsuits.

Patreon/Google etc just laugh at you. You really think they care hahaha. You are an “anklebiter” to them. They don’t care lol. They think you are a nerd loser. You work with Owen Benjamin who is a well known lolcow who does exactly the things you cry about daily. He is a serial defamer and liar.

We all laugh. You are such a bad liar. Total idiot. Good job teaming up with Owen Benjamin and losing any of the credibility you had( you had none anyways).

We’re dealing with some real rocket scientists here. They’re going to be dealing with some serious cases of cognitive dissonance once things start to go public. Of course, there is no point proving anything to a gamma, because the moment that you do, he will define the very conclusive proof he demanded as irrelevant and continue sniping as if he never placed any value on it in the first place.