This was my response to Martin Ralya’s concerns about the OSR scene:

Aaron’s comments kind of hit it for me: being defined by “old-school” brings this “remember the good old days?” vibe, which attracts not just people who think fondly of the “good old days” of games, but also folks who think fondly of not having their privilege challenged. This makes it (whether intentional or not) a fundamentally political statement, but also the kind of political statement that carries these “don’t be political” demands which seek to defend any remaining unequal power which they feel is being threatened. I think we’re seeing this play out more and more. To save this community, I think it would need to focus more on the tangibles of the games themselves (what system, design, or theme issues matter to the community?) and less on the nostalgic “member berries”. And it would need a new name that represents those things.