Lords of RPG

Before widespread use of computers and the internet, my gaming group existed in pencil and ink on a line piece of three-hole notebook paper.  I had a list of every player I knew and a land-line phone number written next to each name.  When I wanted to play, I chose a weekend, and then started down the list assembling a group of player with telephone calls on a rotary dial phone.

As soon as the internet became available, I was creating websites for my gaming group where I could share game information with them.  I would use an HTML editor to build my website, and then I would link to a commercially hosted message board I was paying to use.   In those early days, the idea of hosting your own message board on your own website just seemed an impossibility.

Eventually, self-hosting message boards became the thing, and many gaming groups had their very own message board.  Usually, they would open up the board to whomever was interested, and maintain private sections of the board for their gaming group.  But, the self-hosted message board was fairly quickly over-taken by Facebook groups and other social media solutions.

Back in the day, the message board was king.  But, social media deposed the king quiet easily.  Everyone was already on social media, and when people are on social media they tend to stay internal to that system, and sort of wince when forced to follow external links.  When someone has sat down for an evening of mindless social media, prying them away to a private site can be a challenge.

But, in our current age of Big-Tech monopolies, restrictions, de-platforming, and censorship, I am personally looking for ways to move away from social media.  The shine has definitely worn off of Facebook, and Twitter, and Google for me.  So, much like when we self-hosted message boards for the first time, this site is a self-hosted social media platform.  It is ours.  It is customizable.  It is a fantastic bubble away from constant notifications and distractions.  

Welcome to the new site for the Lords of RPG.

Mark Stinson
Lords of RPG