Don't mean to spam up the reddit. I apologize if folks think this doesn't belong here; just figured it might be some good catharsis for other long term fans who might be feeling the same way.

Edit: He actually replied, and at length (although the vast majority of it is copy-pasted stuff he's been using to reply to most folks' messages, evidently). Adding his reply onto the original post here, as well as in reply to Laurie's comment asking about it. Definitely more than I deserved with an angry email about this, even though I'm pretty sure he's not telling the truth on a lot of levels, and certainly not the whole truth.

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I was a fan of yours since before Youtube existed. Like, financially invested tier of fan--bought some shirts fresh out of high school in the 00's, subscribed on Twitch for most of last year, etc. Behind all the cleverly written, spiteful shenanigans, I knew it was always an act, and a good and entertaining one.

This utterly embarrassing fallout with Dick has proven what I noticed in the last six months or so--the spite isn't an act anymore. It's all you have left.

You've been watching your content numbers circle the drain. Video view counts dwindling unless you tie them to Biggest Problem debates or go for embarrassingly low hanging buzzword and clickbait-tier shit like the new Ghostbusters. Even your article counts less than 1/3 of what they used to be, back when, y'know, you updated them with any actual frequency.

You know you're incapable of presenting yourself in video format in any interesting way. It must suck editing every video you do; anyone with even a mildly critical eye can see how deadpan and bland your visual delivery is, and you've certainly got a critical eye. Audio and text work in your favor; video doesn't, and you know it, but you keep bitterly trying anyway since Youtube is where the money is.

You trying to piggyback off of the Biggest Problem feed with the uninteresting new podcast was the first time I really questioned why I followed you anymore on Youtube, Twitch, and even Twitter.

You deleting the Biggest Problem website was the last time I'll take a look at any of your content.

So long, Maddox. At least there were some good times.

PS: If you're losing a 30 year old guy as a fan who's enjoyed and supported your content since 2002, I can only imagine how many younger folks you're losing over this.

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Here's what you know about what happened: -Nothing

You sound emotional and are jumping to conclusions based on nothing but rumors and a bunch of gossipy house-wife bullshit on Reddit. Those people have nothing better to do than to sit around and speculate idiotic conspiracy theories about a defunct podcast like it's a soap opera. Except it's real people's lives. It's even worse than celebrity gossip because the target is an Internet writer. I wish things had ended differently, but there's a good reason things ended the way they did. I wish I could tell my side of the story, but sometimes being the bigger man means not talking. Trust me. The best thing I could do for Dick right now is to not say anything for his personal and professional reputation. People don't know what happened, but there's a reason it happened the way it did and could have a lot of fallout for a lot of people involved. All I ask is that you trust me because I've earned that trust. I made a promise 19 years ago to always keep my site ad-free and I've kept that promise. I've sacrificed hundreds of thousands of dollars for the sake of principle, and to bring you the most honest opinion possible free from any outside commercial or corporate influence. The fact that I'd keep a promise for that long based on nothing more than principle should tell you something about my character.

There are no moderate voices in that forum because all the loud, angry blowhards have chased them off. It's become an echo-chamber of hateful losers who circle-jerk each other for approval. It's pathetic man. There's so much blind rage and hatred based on literally nothing. Stop taking this shit personally. I'm not "deleting" the podcast. I didn't "hijack" anything either. If I wanted to do that, I could simply redirect the domain to my new show. I could also migrate the Facebook fan page over to my new show. That's not my goal. If you could stop your frothing-at-the-mouth hatred of me for two seconds, maybe you'd notice how much I'm doing for the fans during a difficult situation.

As for the feed, I got approval to migrate it over. Originally it was supposed to house the old podcast, but iTunes screwed up. So as a courtesy to the fans, I spent hours uploading the old podcast to SoundCloud so you could listen to it on your mobile device (the YouTube app doesn't work on lock screens unless you pay for YouTube Red). I also temporarily put up a landing page until I get a chance to convert the old site over to static. I'm even paying for the old podcast episodes out of my pocket. How long do you expect me to pay for this shit to bring you free entertainment? And I'm STILL paying for it, you ungrateful whiner. I do all this for the fans without so much as a thank you? Get some fucking perspective man. I don't owe you anything. Most of the content on the site is mine, I'm the last person who wants to see it go away. I wrote over 110 of the post descriptions, created most of the artwork, created the logo, edited the music, coordinated and created the transcript process and format, created the glossary section, created the glossary thumbnail, coordinated and pitched the live show, edited 124/125 episodes, edited the first draft of the live show, created the intro for the live show, did most of the social networking/promotion, replied personally to hundreds of comments and emails and it was my idea to create a fan-art section and bonus episodes in the first place. I even fixed broken code and formatting on the back-end when it would break down. I don't want to see the site go away because it's all my hard work. Just chill the fuck out for a minute and be a little more appreciative. I'm trying to get the site transferred over as quickly as possible.

As for my "dwindling" fan base, my YouTube subscribers are at an all-time high, my last video received 90,000 views in a 1-week period and people love my new show. If you like it, great. If you don't, that's fine too. But for the love of God, stop whining. I don't give a shit if you don't want to be my fan anymore. I don't want fickle fans who'd turn their backs on me based on nothing more than rumors without so much as hearing both sides of the story. Show me a fan who'd turn his back on 19-years of free content on a whim, and I'll show you a shitty fan. No thanks.

Look, shit probably could have been handled better, but if you knew what really happened, you'd completely understand why it happened the way it did. The final episode was recorded under a lot of duress, including the passing of a friend, and a lot of really personal and heavy shit. I probably would have been criticized no matter what I did or said. I don't ask for much, but I'm asking you to give me the benefit of doubt. Or don't. But either way, stop whining.

If you like my new podcast, great. Welcome to the winning team. If you don't, that's fine too. You're welcome not to listen anymore. But I want you to look at my track record, years of honesty and strict adherence to my principles before you jump to any conclusions. You don't know anything. If you're still mad, fine. Don't go away mad, just go away. Or stay and be a part of a kickass new network. I'll be here making awesome shit like usual, with or without you because I can't help being a badass.

Lots more to come,