After more than a decade, I’ve decided to step away from the board of Critical Distance. I love this organisation so much, and I’m proud of what we do to contribute to a culture of online writing about games. I haven’t been able to play an active role in this since my MS diagnosis, and it’s time for me to move on and make room for someone else who can put new energy into it.
Critical Distance’s work becomes more important with each passing year, as threats to online writing intensify. The issue forefront of mind of late is AI, but this is just an extension of the patterns of enshittification that have been hostile to grassroots online culture for a long time. Writing became content, content became data, and with each step writers were ever more devalued. We need online spaces that intentionally cultivate an interest in each other’s contributions, provide support and encouragement to creative people who have something to say, and archive it for longevity and searchability.
There’s a lot of room here for volunteer work to strengthen the project. I’ve been particularly interested in finding help with our archiving tools, which would be a great project for a student or someone building their open-source web development skills. Expanding Critical Distance’s reach across platforms and formats could also be valuable work, perhaps by creating a new podcast series or reviewing the weekly roundups in a Twitch stream.
Our community recently rallied to boost support for our Patreon, meeting our new funding target within a day. With more funding, Critical Distance could expand its archiving efforts and carry out upgrades to the website, including overcoming bot traffic issues that have rendered our RSS feeds unusable. Please consider becoming a Critical Distance supporter on Patreon, so that they can get bigger and stronger while I get some rest.
