The LARP Channel, a Facebook aggregator with a following of over 800,000, has issued an apology and pledged to overhaul its content crediting practices following a public dispute with the popular creator Tank Tolman.
While the page describes itself as a “D&D Podcast”, it primarily functions as a content aggregator, frequently downloading and re-uploading videos from across the tabletop roleplaying community. The recent controversy was sparked not by the content sharing itself, but by an incident involving the alleged weaponisation of the page’s massive audience against a single individual.
The dispute began when The LARP Channel posted a screenshot of a negative comment from their section, effectively directing their 811,000 followers to target the specific user. Tank Tolman, a “wholesome Viking influencer” known for his TTRPG skits and advice, publicly criticised the move, describing it as bullying.
In a statement posted to his own page, Tolman revealed that The LARP Channel had blocked him after he called them out. He wrote, “When you have a massive platform and choose to tag a person on a post like this. You are putting them in danger to feed your ego.”
However, Tolman used the opportunity to highlight a broader issue plaguing the geek ecosystem: “freebooting,” or the practice of taking original content and re-hosting it without proper attribution or tagging the creator.
“I have been tagged in their content for years,” Tolman explained in the statement. “There’s a reason I don’t feature them, despite having similar style content. They choose not to tag/reference the original creator in the videos they download, react, and monetize to. This in my eyes is stealing.”
The incident highlights the often precarious relationship between content creators and large aggregator pages. While aggregators claim to offer “exposure,” the lack of direct links or tags often means the original artists, designers, and performers see little benefit.
Tolman contrasted The LARP Channel’s approach with his own philosophy, noting that his catchphrases “Send an invitation to the ship” or “Fetch the treasury” are code for directing his followers to support other creators. “My goal is to lift them up, not steal from them,” he said.
Following Tolman’s intervention, The LARP Channel deleted the controversial post and the content Tolman objected to. They subsequently issued an apology and promised to change their operational standards, specifically regarding how they credit the creators responsible for the content that fills their feed.
While the specific details of these new standards remain to be seen, the community will likely be watching closely to ensure “credit” means a tangible link back to the source, rather than a mere name-drop buried in the comments.
