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Lowtax is dead
- Thread starter RSLAEV
- Start date
TransTrender
Gold Member
Uh, holy shit.
I only remember him from running SA, but I guess shit got really weird a long time ago...and then he continued in some sort of downward spiral?
I only remember him from running SA, but I guess shit got really weird a long time ago...and then he continued in some sort of downward spiral?
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
Seriously? 
Spokker
Member
I was very active on SA back in the day and mostly posted in FYAD. I would consider Lowtax an early Internet comedy genius. He so captured the essence of that era. I idolized him in my late teens/early 20s and had the privilege of contributing to his site and him forgetting to pay me for it half the time. Had a huge drama-filled flameout and came back under a fake name (his idea), which resulted in another huge drama-filled flameout, then left for good (forgot the password to my parachute account).
Checked in on the drama from time to time which slowly morphed into a running documentation of his downfall. It's sad he could never get it together and regain some of that former glory. While he lived comfortably for a long time, he never attained that big payday and his fortune dwindled with each passing controversy, culminating in the sale of the web site he worked so hard to neglect.
Hard to know what's really true and what's false with regard to the more serious allegations, but it's clear something was wrong. He leaves behind an impressive list of possible causes of death. That's something I guess.
Checked in on the drama from time to time which slowly morphed into a running documentation of his downfall. It's sad he could never get it together and regain some of that former glory. While he lived comfortably for a long time, he never attained that big payday and his fortune dwindled with each passing controversy, culminating in the sale of the web site he worked so hard to neglect.
Hard to know what's really true and what's false with regard to the more serious allegations, but it's clear something was wrong. He leaves behind an impressive list of possible causes of death. That's something I guess.
BadBurger
Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
I was never an active member of SA. I occasionally viewed some of the gimmicky stuff, like Photoshop Phridays. Probably visited twice in the past seven or eight years. So all of this drama regarding his personal life and him selling his site is all new to me tonight.
I can say, regardless, that the vibrant, unique form of humor the internet is known for would not have developed as quickly as it did if not for SA. Lowtax was adjacent to so many things on the internet as they were taking off and developing a life of their own.
Wildebeest
Member
Kind of hard to believe, just because he and his community were 100% committed to the obnoxious prankster life. His comedy IRC logs were gold, back in the day.
Dream-Knife
Banned
RIP. I had actually forgotten about SA. Him and Maddox were at the forefront of satire websites.
captainraincoat
Banned
Rip
Was basically a cornerstone of the internet for many years…..unfortunately now taken over by crazy purple hair mods who took advantage of him and his mental and physical issues he had for many years
Was basically a cornerstone of the internet for many years…..unfortunately now taken over by crazy purple hair mods who took advantage of him and his mental and physical issues he had for many years
Aggelos
Member
Something Awful - Wikipedia
Something Awful (SA) is a comedy website housing a variety of content, including blog entries, forums, feature articles, digitally edited pictures, and humorous media reviews. It was created by Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka in 1999 as a largely personal website, but as it grew, so did its contributors and content. The website has helped to perpetuate various Internet phenomena, and it has been cited as an influence on Internet culture. In 2018, Gizmodo placed it as 89th on their list of "100 Websites That Shaped the Internet as We Know It".
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captainraincoat
Banned
Fuck that thread on sa turned into a dancing on his grave thread and people talking about gender transformation….and locked
this is what awaits reeeee
this is what awaits reeeee
BadBurger
Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
"A long time ago, if somebody said they really wanted to fuck a pillow with anime on it, if they went out in public and said that, they would be laughed at. There would be some element of shame. They would keep that inside and say, 'Well, I want to fuck a pillow with anime on it but I can't tell anybody.' But then the internet came along and they could get on a webring or whatever it was back in the day. Go to rec/all/fuckanimepillow or whatever. Then other people would say 'I want to fuck anime pillows, too.'
You had this community of people who were very intent on fucking anime pillows. The typical person does not want to fuck a pillow with anime on it. This, of course, was back when fucking anime pillows was fresh and new.
I found it to be very interesting that these subcommunities would sprout up and their numbers would grow and pretty soon it's Pillowfuckers United, Inc. And I found that whole process back then—it was even happening in the usegroup days—I found that whole process incredibly interesting, how the groupthink would manifest itself and increase exponentially over time. It was something that all the media outlets were ignoring at the time.".
- Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka, 2017, regarding the time of the birth of his site
The guy was pretty much there from the start and knew exactly the path in the woods the internet was doomed to take. I knew next to nothing about the guy prior to tonight, but after delving through so many of his quotes I think he really was a comedic genius for the internet back in the 2000's.
edit: accidentally left off the last paragraph of his quote
You had this community of people who were very intent on fucking anime pillows. The typical person does not want to fuck a pillow with anime on it. This, of course, was back when fucking anime pillows was fresh and new.
I found it to be very interesting that these subcommunities would sprout up and their numbers would grow and pretty soon it's Pillowfuckers United, Inc. And I found that whole process back then—it was even happening in the usegroup days—I found that whole process incredibly interesting, how the groupthink would manifest itself and increase exponentially over time. It was something that all the media outlets were ignoring at the time.".
- Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka, 2017, regarding the time of the birth of his site
The guy was pretty much there from the start and knew exactly the path in the woods the internet was doomed to take. I knew next to nothing about the guy prior to tonight, but after delving through so many of his quotes I think he really was a comedic genius for the internet back in the 2000's.
edit: accidentally left off the last paragraph of his quote
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D
Deleted member 1159
Unconfirmed Member
Damn, feels like an end of an era. I heard some interviews with him in recent years that made his domestic situation seem more complicated than some cut and dry “he’s abusive” narrative, but I never knew enough about the guy to know if it was bullshit or not. He just seemed sad and I felt bad for him.
Man if you want to talk about “don’t meet your heroes,” Maddox sure takes the cake. He should’ve stayed behind his anonymous persona
Man if you want to talk about “don’t meet your heroes,” Maddox sure takes the cake. He should’ve stayed behind his anonymous persona
Rest
All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
What's supposed to be wrong with Maddox?
NiiloPielinen
Member
Goddamn. I haven't visited SA in years and I just recently found out he sold it.
Sad to see yet another early internet personality going out in a downward spiral.
Sad to see yet another early internet personality going out in a downward spiral.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
RIP
D
Deleted member 1159
Unconfirmed Member
At best he’s a cringey has-been on the spectrum. At worst he:
-blew up a successful podcast because his cohost got with his ex of several years
-stole the RSS feed from that successful podcast and pointed it to his new cringe fest where the premise was he’d debate himself
-started his own “podcast network” called MadCast that had nothing worth listening to
-had his own currency call “Madbux” people could use to buy bonus content he never delivered
-sued his ex cohost, an ex guest host, Patreon, some kid who made fun of him online, the ex cohost’s company IRL, and the ex guest host’s company IRL for $20 million because people were making fun of him on the internet for acting like a deranged autistic psychopath. This was basically laughed out of court but cost everyone tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys fees. Also gave rise to mouth breather Nick Rekieta’s channel, because the lawsuit was so poorly written even he could pick it apart
-his new girlfriend had to have a restraining order placed against her because he put her up to calling the ex girlfriend’s work, an elementary school, and telling them she was dangerous to kids and needed to be fired
-nowadays this mid 40s has been still trying to make it in Hollywood spends his time streaming on twitch to like a dozen people with face filters that make him look like a banana (Bananadox) or a cowboy (OxMad) or a girl (Madilox) while he gets progressively drunker and incoherent in possibly the most cringe product imaginable
Don’t meet your heroes
Bullet Club
Banned
RIP Lowtax
I was reading stuff about SA & Lowtax last week, about the sale and how he was struggling with things. Sad it ended this way.
I was reading stuff about SA & Lowtax last week, about the sale and how he was struggling with things. Sad it ended this way.
cheststrongwell
my cake, fuck off
He might have had major issues, but SA gave me tons of entertainment back in the day. This grave dancing shit is fucked.
Bullet Club
Banned
nush
Gold Member
D
Deleted member 1159
Unconfirmed Member
Oh my god I forgot about the Uwe Boll fight.
captainraincoat
Banned
Cliff is the main thing I remember about SA. Current SA wouldn't have liked it.
Oh wow I forgot about cliff
And lowtax sure had a hatred for furries as well
Bullet Club
Banned
PuppetMaster
Member
Oh man RIP Rich!
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
Got to say I do not get the mentality of people who shit on people who've killed themselves.
Like, what are they hoping to achieve? Trying to tell the world that the person was right to feel bad about themselves? When clearly they were at such a low point in their own mind that they decided to end their life?
I sincerely hope these unforgiving sub-humans reap what they sow.
Like, what are they hoping to achieve? Trying to tell the world that the person was right to feel bad about themselves? When clearly they were at such a low point in their own mind that they decided to end their life?
I sincerely hope these unforgiving sub-humans reap what they sow.
Wildebeest
Member
Lowtax was like Dante defining the circles of hell that is internet discussion.
First circle (Limbo): SA. Making fun of fat people, mentally ill people, anyone who is a bit different or odd but still manages to operate a blog.
Second circle (Lust): 4Chan. The horny anime community exiled from SA.
Third circle (Anger): Any political people who are too annoying for the above.
First circle (Limbo): SA. Making fun of fat people, mentally ill people, anyone who is a bit different or odd but still manages to operate a blog.
Second circle (Lust): 4Chan. The horny anime community exiled from SA.
Third circle (Anger): Any political people who are too annoying for the above.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
edit: misread the post!
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SoggyBiscuit
Banned
Damn man. SA sure was something back in the day.
Watching Doom House on repeat to respect his memory.
Watching Doom House on repeat to respect his memory.
ShadowNate
Member
I didn't really interact with him, but read a few of his posts back in the old days and those were funny.
No idea about his personal life and the allegations, but I can definitely say that the same week that I noticed SA moderation being overly woke (apparently this did not happen so suddenly, but I failed to notice the earlier signs) was the same week that the last allegations came up and they eventually pushed him off the admin post. It was the same time that the allegations on Avellone were posted on twitter, and unsurprisingly the dominant opinion was that he was guilt (...).
It didn't really seem like a coincidence. Rather an organized thing.
No idea about his personal life and the allegations, but I can definitely say that the same week that I noticed SA moderation being overly woke (apparently this did not happen so suddenly, but I failed to notice the earlier signs) was the same week that the last allegations came up and they eventually pushed him off the admin post. It was the same time that the allegations on Avellone were posted on twitter, and unsurprisingly the dominant opinion was that he was guilt (...).
It didn't really seem like a coincidence. Rather an organized thing.
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Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
I remember SA's EVE Online corporation being behind some crazy corporate espionage events in that game's history.
tl.net
www.tentonhammer.com
Metagaming in EVE
tl.net
EVE Online's GoonSwarm Sums Up BoB's Collapse
The sudden disbanding of one of EVE Online's largest and most storied alliances, Band of Brothers, sent shockwaves through the online gaming community earlier this month. Ten Ton Hammer's Cody Bye caught up with The Mittani, the GoonSwarm leader that in m
www.tentonhammer.com
a multicultural team of v
Member
There were a few years there where SA was very much one of if not the premier site for internet zeitgeist. Replace all of instances now of "someone on Reddit..." with "someone on Something Awful..." and that pretty much describes where SA was. The prime years were short though for the frontpage - the forums themselves went on for many more years as easily the best community (particularly in pockets on specific message boards), but they were one of the first big places to get taken over by heavy handed social justice moderating and it just ruined the whole thing.
Once it became impossible to even post In a gameday thread on the sports forum without having to worry you wouldn't piss someone off by saying that a woman you just saw on the broadcast is attractive I knew the days were numbered.
Once it became impossible to even post In a gameday thread on the sports forum without having to worry you wouldn't piss someone off by saying that a woman you just saw on the broadcast is attractive I knew the days were numbered.
poppabk
Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Sad to hear he has passed, sad to hear about his personal troubles, sad to hear that SA took such a turn.
The irreverent slightly unhinged humor that he popularized and gave a home to will live on though, he basically defined the 'internets' sense of humor.
The irreverent slightly unhinged humor that he popularized and gave a home to will live on though, he basically defined the 'internets' sense of humor.
a multicultural team of v
Member
Another big site was Anandtech, they had massive forums around that time too. I wonder what happened to that guy, I think the site is still around isn't it?
QuantumZebra
Member
Yeah Maddox went off the deep end. I loved his shitty html website back in the day.
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
He let someone else run it so he could work for Apple.
Reckheim
Member
i have got to watch this. Maddox always seems like an unhinged maniac, I didn't exactly expect him to become anything more then this.
D
Deleted member 1159
Unconfirmed Member
a multicultural team of v
Member
Damn, what a contrast in how things turned out.
strange headache
Banned
SA is a piece of internet history. So many good, bad and crazy things happened on there, it was truly the web's 9 circles of hell.
RIP Lowtax
RIP Lowtax
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
RIP and thanks for the laughs.
Early noughts I was going through a horrible period of my life due to massive RL issues and my road to recovery started with humor and laughing, and SA was one of my most visited pages.
Early noughts I was going through a horrible period of my life due to massive RL issues and my road to recovery started with humor and laughing, and SA was one of my most visited pages.
