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Sunday, August 16, 2015

Tenkar's Tavern - The Cosmopolitan Magazine of the OSR

There.

It's said.

Well, not initially by me, actually, but by a poster on Zak S's thread 2 weeks ago. Yep, the same thread where Stacy Dellorfano was nice enough to state that I was having as much fun as a rock at NTRPG Con. Yep, she's apparently biting at the bit to respond to my response, just as Zak S is racing to correct the injustice of blocking me for the last 4 years on G+.


But I digress.

One comment on the G+ thread was that Tenkar's Tavern was the Cosmo of the OSR. I assume they meant Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Now, if they were trying to insult me by comparing me to the most influential and most read women's magazine, they failed at a very high standard.

Millions of copies of Como are published each month. It actually had a monthly circulation of over 3 million in 2011. Assuming it's lost half of that in the last 4 years, it's still an engagement with readers I would kill for. Alright, perhaps merely maim.

Now, I DON'T ask my readers about the sexual positions enjoyed by elves or the best way to manipulate your DM using sexual innuendos or what combination of races have the best "half-races", but maybe I'm missing something. Is this something readers of The Tavern actually want or just those that follow Zak? Or is it, perhaps, something that they wish they had at The Tavern but don't, and wish The Tavern could provide?

Fuck if I know. But the comparison is accurate on one level - The Tavern IS the most read OSR blog. If the rest of you don't mind, I'm going to leave out the sex articles. If you need those, I'm sure you can find them on your own.

22 comments:

  1. Better than being the Cosmo Kramer I suppose

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  2. Better than being the Cosmo Kramer I suppose

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  3. It grieves me when two people I like are feuding.

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  4. Cosmo? I always figured on you being the "Booty Magazine" of the OSR...

    Mike B

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  5. I always though of the Tavern as the National Geographic of the OSR with occasional pictures of topless people from other cultures. The Tavern is the most read blog because come rain or shine, you consistently present the most material that is relevant to the OSR and gaming community. Speaking of Cosmo, how about a post on 5 exercises you can do while sitting on your ass and drinking beer?

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  6. But if you don't post the sex articles where can I possibly go to find that kind of stuff on the internet???

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  7. I thought they were obviously comparing you to a talking Russian space dog who lives in a glass box inside the head of a cosmic giant as part of an immortal collector's trophy room.....but hey, maybe some women's magazine as a point of comparison makes more sense or something. Freaks.

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  8. I thought Phil and Dixie were writing a guest column for you about sex and D&D, due next month?

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  9. Are we really back to the drama crap?

    REALLY?

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  10. It's the backbiting crap like this post they're referring to. Do you want to cover RPGs or just gossip?

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    Replies
    1. Backbiting? It might certainly be a crap post, but unlike the original G+ thread, the subjects can actually read my post.

      Besides, I can't ask Zak on G+ as I'm still blocked.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, posting on blogs or G+ is backbiting. If you have a problem with someone, talk to them directly. Email them or call them or walk over to them if you can. And if you can't, have you tried just ignoring them? We know you're a good man. But this kind of stuff drags you down to their level.

      Delete
  11. A "concrete accusation" sounds like an oxymoron.

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  12. RE: Pedro " how about a post on 5 exercises you can do while sitting on your ass and drinking beer?"

    Now that would be worthwhile for many of us....

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  13. My half-Orc still wants to know how to get his butt in shape for Christmas

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  14. I don't care about the fighting or the drama, but I think it would be funny to read an OSR Cosmopolitan. :)

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  15. I'd much rather read a blog post about gaming than a blog post about your blog, or what other people think about your blog, or screenshots of a comment thread from your blog.

    At least pay joesky tax!

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  16. So, no full support for F.A.T.A.L.? I'm disappointed. :D

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  17. I don't even understand what this is about. Guess it's a good thing I don't care.

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  18. Cosmopolitan may be successful and widely read, but it is awful in every way. I look down on women who read it in the same way I look down on anybody who eats at McDonald's. So yes, somebody insulted you and your response sounds like the blogging equivalent of Keith Stat.

    I would agree with Jon above, but while he makes a good point he fails to mention one thing that is crucially important with this weird feud between you and Zak: he doesn't post about your weird feud.
    I remember reading Zak S was asked on G+ why he has you blocked and his answer was that you don't answer questions. Which totally makes sense, if you read any conversation where Zak has been accused of trolling he will ask a question and if you fail to answer it he will simply not engage you until you have.

    It's worth noting, also, that the comments on your original blog post (Reaction From Outside the Blogosphere) seem to have a lot of missing/deleted comments, and I can't find the mentioned G+ thread at all.

    ReplyDelete

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