Goblins XIV: Clerical Omission.

[TheStranger]

I'm not reading it unless I get bored at some point, but I'm glad he posted it. It seems like he had a lot of mental energy invested in getting it done, for whatever reason. I've got to think it was weighing on his mind that he hadn't posted it yet, so hopefully now that he has, he can put it behind him and move forward.

Or, this being the internet, he'll be attacked by rabid trolls, take all their criticisms to heart, and have another breakdown.

[Loreweaver15]

For clarity: Thunt was experiencing severe anxiety and panic as a result of continually failing to meet self-imposed public deadlines, so he's done with the self-imposed public deadlines and Goblins will officially update whenever he's got a page ready.

So, like OOTS! :)

[BannedInSchool]

Or, this being the internet, he'll be attacked by rabid trolls, take all their criticisms to heart, and have another breakdown.

Actually, part of it is that he's supposedly quitting reading angry emails like they come from his boss, and instead like they're just from some douchebag (my word) on the Internet, possibly just ignoring them entirely.

[Winterwind]

That was a pretty good post, honestly. Explained his situation rather well, I felt. A lot more lucid and coherent than I expected it to be, too.

[The Glyphstone]

At least it's off his shoulders now.

And I dunno, but Guilt Vader sounded a lot cooler than Thunt probably intended, between the adamantine Vader-suit armor and the omnipresent milk mustache. But then, I live alone and drink milk from the carton all the time, so maybe I've already fallen to the Dark Side.

[Silver Swift]

Well, that sounded a lot healthier than I expected. I'm glad he's giving up on the update schedule and just using oots's "it's done when it's done" schedule. The fixed public update schedule sounded like a good idea at the time, but it was clearly not helping.

Actually, part of it is that he's supposedly quitting reading angry emails like they come from his boss, and instead like they're just from some douchebag (my word) on the Internet, possibly just ignoring them entirely.

Unfortunately that sounds like one of those things that is way easier to say than it is to do. I really hope that he is able to actually take this approach to heart, and saying it out loud like this (posting it online, whatever) is a good place to start. But I know that if I were to make a statement like that, my more cynical self would be calling bull**** before the words had left my mouth.

[raymundo]

What.

That blog post is quite a beast, and I'm pretty sure I'll never get around reading it. This change of schedule is waaaaaay overdue. I hope he and the comic recuperate from this, after all these years I'm pretty invested in both. Hopefully he has learned something from of this..

[HuskySiberiano]

I'm glad that he finally put a rock over it.

And a very well polished rock, nice blog post.

Thunt is an awesome guy and deserves the best.

[Lissou]

For those who don't want to read the whole thing, but are still interested to know what the blog is about:

Thunt had a nervous breakdown, as we already know. Part of that was because he put too much pressure on himself. Part of that pressure was considering each and every fan like his boss, and feeling like a disappointment whenever he missed a deadline, which happened often as no matter what deadline he set, he wanted to make the page even better than he had time for and took too long.
His "I quit" refers to the fact that he no longer considers us his boss. From now on, he's working for himself, which should have been the case all along, really. Also, he's going to stop to pretend he can follow a regular schedule, and work on the comic as needs be. So, similar to OOTS, no clear update schedule, don't expect one, don't be upset if it takes longer than you would like, and if you're upset and send an email, he won't act like the email came from his boss anymore.

He also thanks Danielle for being supportive the whole time, apologies to his family for keeping them out and being unavailable, thanks people for helping him through it all, the readers for caring about his health while he was gone, and the Pinis for writing Elfquest, which he retreated into reading when he was feeling his worst and acted as a safe haven. He also recommends the books to everyone who hasn't read them saying they're "like Goblins, but better".


I'm relieved that he made those decisions, I think everybody wins when the author is in control of their work. I'd rather wait for a good page than get regular rushed pages, and while I don't expect Tarol to ever take it easy (he always works too much, IMO), maybe he will at least stop beating himself up over 18 hours a day "not being enough".

[Lord_Gareth]

the Pinis for writing Elfquest, which he retreated into reading when he was feeling his worst and acted as a safe haven. He also recommends the books to everyone who hasn't read them saying they're "like Goblins, but better".

As an Elfquest fan, I have to say that I don't really see any similarities. Like, not trying to disparge Goblins, they're just nothing alike. The tone, themes, how they handle issues of death, loyalty, friendship, evil, and the search for identity, these things are all very different.

[Dragonus45]

As an Elfquest fan, I have to say that I don't really see any similarities. Like, not trying to disparge Goblins, they're just nothing alike. The tone, themes, how they handle issues of death, loyalty, friendship, evil, and the search for identity, these things are all very different.

I think it was more of a, its totally awesome, and goblins is totally awesome and I love this book and these people so read this book because they are cool.

[Lissou]

Well, at any rate, they influenced him as a child, are a big part of what made him create Goblins because they're a big part in making him and artist, and they helped him when he needed it. So similar or not, it still makes sense to give them a look.

[tomaO2]

Thank you Lissou for that summery.

*sigh* This guy... Sorry if this is a bit ranty and I hope I'm not starting some major argument but... Jesus. I just can't bring myself to respect his blog post.

Part of that pressure was considering each and every fan like his boss,

I wish I could talk to my boss the way he rips on his supposed bosses. He doesn't have enough cred with me that I can believe that. I've met authors that are polite even when being chewed a new one by reviewers, even though they really don't have to be. Thunt, is not one of those people. In fact, he enjoys skewering his critics. Nothing he likes better then feeling smarter then someone that is saying bad things about him and mocking them to boot.

The Giant, on the other hand, never mocks. When he deigns to reply to criticism, it's very much to the point and professional sounding.

and feeling like a disappointment whenever he missed a deadline,

Not unjustified, when a deadline isn't met, it's supposed to be disappointing. Even if the promise is broken a thousand times, it's still upsetting to have it happen again. Much like the kid with the busy parent that never shows up to the baseball game but maybe he will this time?

No. No, he does not. And even though this was expected, it still bothers the child.

Thunt is actually quite lucky. Normally, the consequences for not meeting deadlines in most jobs is pretty severe.

which happened often as no matter what deadline he set, he wanted to make the page even better than he had time for and took too long.

*Rolls eyes* What exactly does this even mean? Does he scrap entire pages because he didn't like how it looks? I've watched him work at times. I don't recall him doing that. He goes panel by panel, until it's done. He doesn't just scrap a page and call it crap, as far as I know.

If he's talking about the fact that his art has gotten consistently better over the years, then that isn't exactly special. Plenty of people can improve their art while still managing normal updates.

His "I quit" refers to the fact that he no longer considers us his boss. From now on, he's working for himself, which should have been the case all along, really.

Or he could have listened to the "bosses" that told him multiple, MULTIPLE, times that you shouldn't say you are going to update on a certain date only to not do so. The only person that insisted on those deadlines was THUNT. Don't blame the readers for that. He is the one that needed to post a deadline. He just didn't like how people got upset when he failed to meet his OWN, SELF-IMPOSED, deadline.

Edit: Oh, and then there is the hilarious incident where he was working with that "Looking for Group" website. Even then, when he had an ACTUAL boss, that was telling him he needed to update on time, he STILL failed and eventually left, in a manner that left hard feelings on both sides.

Somehow though, the fans, the FANS, are the ones that were the true bosses that caused all his stress, and now that we have been "fired" everything will be just fine. Riiiiight. *sarcasm*

I can't help but feel he's just trying to blame others for his own issues.

Also, he's going to stop to pretend he can follow a regular schedule, and work on the comic as needs be. So, similar to OOTS, no clear update schedule,

More like "Gone With The Blastwave", if this is indicative how things are going to be in the new "no deadline" regime, and he STILL hasn't updated yet.

don't expect one, don't be upset if it takes longer than you would like, and if you're upset and send an email, he won't act like the email came from his boss anymore.

I wonder if the readers will actually be able to tell the difference. I really hope, at least, that Thunt is serious about not posting deadlines anymore.

He also thanks Danielle for being supportive the whole time,

Has she EVER. Perhaps too supportive?

apologies to his family for keeping them out and being unavailable, thanks people for helping him through it all, the readers for caring about his health while he was gone, and the Pinis for writing Elfquest,

One of these thank you recipients is not like the others, can you guess which one has nothing to do with a post detailing a person's mental breakdown?

which he retreated into reading when he was feeling his worst and acted as a safe haven.

Until he destroyed his copy of the book. If he did. I skimmed a lot but that bit caught my eye. Not sure if it's just some sort of fantasy sequence, or has a basis in reality, though.

He also recommends the books to everyone who hasn't read them saying they're "like Goblins, but better".

This really is such a self-defeating statement, especially considering that Thunt said in his post that he needs more confidence in his work.

I'm relieved that he made those decisions, I think everybody wins when the author is in control of their work. I'd rather wait for a good page than get regular rushed pages, and while I don't expect Tarol to ever take it easy (he always works too much, IMO), maybe he will at least stop beating himself up over 18 hours a day "not being enough".

I honestly don't know of any pages I can point to and say they were rushed. I really don't know what to say about this guy, I really don't.

I hate to be the one to break this to you *******, but you’ve been in complete control of your career, this WHOLE TIME!”~

Oh, yes, that works. I really hope he believes in that statement. Don't blame others for your own problems. Success or failure rides on your shoulders alone.

If he's finally worked out a few elementary things that should go with how to approach a webcomic, all power to him though.

Maybe he can get around to publishing Goblins book 3&4, instead of working on vanity projects like card games.

[Killer Angel]

For those who don't want to read the whole thing, but are still interested to know what the blog is about:
.

Thanks, I appreciate a lot your effort.


...but TomaO2 expressed some of my feelings about the matter.

[Zombimode]

As an Elfquest fan, I have to say that I don't really see any similarities. Like, not trying to disparge Goblins, they're just nothing alike. The tone, themes, how they handle issues of death, loyalty, friendship, evil, and the search for identity, these things are all very different.

Well, the similarity is that both stories are from a perspective outside an anthropocentric civilization.

But I agree, this is where the similarities end

[Neoriceisgood]

I decided to actually look up what ElfQuest was considering Thunt kept mentioning it.

Unnerving art style.

[Killer Angel]

I decided to actually look up what ElfQuest was considering Thunt kept mentioning it.

Unnerving art style.

Kinda vintage, I'd say...

[AdmiralCheez]

I decided to look it up to see if it would be worth reading. Then I saw that it's been published since 1978, and there's no way I could do that archive binge. I can appreciate that they've put every issue online for free, though. You know, if you do have time to read the whole thing.

[Traab]

I have to admit I am curious to see just what thunt can do without feeling rushed. When he can take as much time as he wants to nitpick and spit shine each panel till its exactly how he wants it. On the other hand, I worry this will create insane waits between comics simply because thunt strikes me as the type to never be happy with what he has done and always wanting to make it better. Makes me wonder if his next breakdown is because he has spent a month tweaking the latest update but ITS JUST NOT RIGHT!

[Lissou]

Thank you Lissou for that summery.

You're welcome.

I wish I could talk to my boss the way he rips on his supposed bosses. He doesn't have enough cred with me that I can believe that. I've met authors that are polite even when being chewed a new one by reviewers, even though they really don't have to be.

Actually... I wouldn't be surprised if the reason he reacted that way, while other artists do not, is because he took the criticism so personally instead of thinking "oh, well, it's just someone on the Internet", and felt the need to respond to every single person, and read every single piece of hate mail, etc, which I'm sure would drive everyone to snap every so often.

So while I agree with you different authors handle things quite differently, it seems to me it is because those people see their audience as their customers. Thunt saw his audience as a boss, and when you have an abusive boss, sometimes you'll snap. The difference being that when they're actually your boss, you get fired and don't have to deal with them anymore. In Thunt's case, even if that one person "fired him" (stopped reading) there were still going to be others insulting him repeatedly.
I don't think he necessarily snapped at the worst offenders, either. It looks to me like some people were much worse to him in emails and such, and that some people just happened to be the last straw. I think his decision to "quit" is actually likely to minimise this kind of response because, as he stated in the blog post, he will now feel free to ignore such people.

*Rolls eyes* What exactly does this even mean? Does he scrap entire pages because he didn't like how it looks? I've watched him work at times. I don't recall him doing that. He goes panel by panel, until it's done. He doesn't just scrap a page and call it crap, as far as I know.

No, but he does add more detail and so on. If he feels he's doing good time, he'll go "hey, I should add a cool detail here" and then it has to be there in every panel. I think he's just a perfectionist. That has nothing to do with starting over, just adding more stuff, when other people would consider it finished.
That doesn't mean he pencils the essential, then inks it, then pencils added details. He pencils more stuff, before the inking starts. It makes it less blatant what he's adding and what he isn't. The bottom line is, I don't think he would have allowed himself to finish a page before a deadline. He would have had that thought, that if he was done already, it must not be good enough. So if the pencils seemed fast, he'd add more stuff. If the inking seemed fast, he'd add more effects in post. And so on.

I can't help but feel he's just trying to blame others for his own issues.

I disagree. He makes it clear in the post that however he saw the readers is his issue, not ours, and that he's not blaming us, but himself, and that everything imposed on him was imposed by himself. I guess my summary didn't reflect that very well and that's a mistake on my part.

I wonder if the readers will actually be able to tell the difference. I really hope, at least, that Thunt is serious about not posting deadlines anymore.

Honestly, I don't think that's the point. The point is putting less pressure on himself so he doesn't snap again. Because all that pressure was internalised, the people who will notice are most likely those living with him or interacting with him on a daily basis. And even them wouldn't notice the difference as much as he will.

Has she EVER. Perhaps too supportive?

Danielle is amazing, but if you're trying to suggest she's been enabling him, I would respectfully disagree.

One of these thank you recipients is not like the others, can you guess which one has nothing to do with a post detailing a person's mental breakdown?

You mean ElfQuest? It was an important part of himself and played a big part in helping him through it. Just because he doesn't know the authors personally doesn't mean he can't be grateful to them.

Until he destroyed his copy of the book. If he did. I skimmed a lot but that bit caught my eye. Not sure if it's just some sort of fantasy sequence, or has a basis in reality, though.

He did. That was the lowest point, and it looks like he got better afterwards. I'm sure he still feels really bad about that, but I completely understands what happened, in a "been-there, wish I could explain" kind of way.
See, in his situation of a breakdown, people retreat into something familiar and comforting. Very often, that something is also destructive, because there is an urge to self-destruct. It could have been alcohol, or drugs. For Thunt, it was ElfQuest, and he's very grateful, because that was a much safer place to retreat to. Self-destruction can mean destroying the things that keep you sane, and so destroying one of the comics makes perfect sense (as is "pushing Danielle away", except their relationship was stronger than that and so was she).

There is no reason for him to stop being grateful because he damaged one of the comics. It was very much a snapping point and it looks like things got better afterwards. It was something important to him, but it was just that, a thing. He could have hurt another being, or himself (physically). Lots of people do in that situation. ElfQuest took the hit and that's a good thing, in the end.

This really is such a self-defeating statement, especially considering that Thunt said in his post that he needs more confidence in his work.

Oh, come on, who looks at their childhood idol and doesn't think "better than me"? It was would been super arrogant for him to say "What inspired Goblins, but hey, it's not as good". Plus, that sentence came from the personification of his Guilt/Self-doubt so it makes perfect sense. Here again, the lack of context is on me.

I honestly don't know of any pages I can point to and say they were rushed. I really don't know what to say about this guy, I really don't.

I can't either. I don't think he would let that happen. That's why he misses deadlines instead. Even something we'd consider perfectly fine, he would still find fault with.

Oh, yes, that works. I really hope he believes in that statement. Don't blame others for your own problems. Success or failure rides on your shoulders alone.

If he's finally worked out a few elementary things that should go with how to approach a webcomic, all power to him though.

I hope he believes it, too. It feels like he was thrown into the whole thing without realising the scope of it, and it was overwhelming. I can't imagine having so many people holding me accountable. Sometimes, having just one person is enough to make me fail. Sometimes, just giving myself a goal at all is enough to make me stop trying.
Anyway, he's obviously not me. Still, the idea of so many people waiting on me is kinda horrifying and even though he hasn't handled it that well, I still don't know how he does it.

Maybe he can get around to publishing Goblins book 3&4, instead of working on vanity projects like card games.

His involvement in the card game is pretty low, as far as I understand. He was involved during the kickstarter and provided drawings and stuff, and playtested it, but nowadays the people in charge of the project are, well, the ones taking care of it. It's not like he came up with the idea or anything, he just provided his approval and support.

In conclusion, I understand your comments and concerns, but in big part, I disagree with them.

[Starbuck_II]

Oh, come on, who looks at their childhood idol and doesn't think "better than me"? It was would been super arrogant for him to say "What inspired Goblins, but hey, it's not as good".

My Comedy Skit Group in College was how I described to others "Saturday Night Live, but better." But then it was, so you know.

[Lissou]

My Comedy Skit Group in College was how I described to others "Saturday Night Live, but better." But then it was, so you know.

Heh. Well there can be some humour in that, too. But usually, if you find something amazing and did ever since you were a kid, it ends up on a pedestal and you can't imagine beating it. Plus, a lot of people have higher standards for themselves than others. I was part of a writing group, and every single one of the writers (me included) was really proud of their own work, but would have admitted that the others produced better work. We can't possibly have all been right. None of us thought we sucked, we just thought the others were even better.

[Neoriceisgood]

So while I agree with you different authors handle things quite differently, it seems to me it is because those people see their audience as their customers. Thunt saw his audience as a boss, and when you have an abusive boss, sometimes you'll snap. The difference being that when they're actually your boss, you get fired and don't have to deal with them anymore. In Thunt's case, even if that one person "fired him" (stopped reading) there were still going to be others insulting him repeatedly.
I don't think he necessarily snapped at the worst offenders, either. It looks to me like some people were much worse to him in emails and such, and that some people just happened to be the last straw. I think his decision to "quit" is actually likely to minimise this kind of response because, as he stated in the blog post, he will now feel free to ignore such people.

A huge issue with seeing readers as a boss/customer who's always right type of situation is the different priorities readers can have; A good example is art quality/action contrasted to pacing/update rate.
Some readers quite openly insist on a webcomic's art being the most top notch quality it can be, while others just want a lot of pages fast. Treating readers as customers means you do take some time to listen to what they want, but also try to balance their demand with "well if I did that, it'd kill the update rate. you really don't want that."

In contrast, if your readers are bosses who are always right ... that means all these different bosses with different demands that usually contradict eachother are all right at the same time. I've barely interacted with Thunt at all but I know that personally I never paid attention to his self-imposed deadlines at all, the only criticism I would've given (if any) is that the anatomy in his art pisses me off. I'm sure he's probably had more open critics saying stuff like that alongside the people wanting faster/more consistent updates.


Obviously it's not smart to listen to all of it at once and mess up your own product in the process, but it does feel ... easy to fall for the trap? When you see a few people complain about x/y on your work it's easy to just go "well they're right, I probably should fix that."


Big issue with Thunt is that some of his underlying mental conditions outright make casually going along with fan demand the way he did put him in a very unfortunate position.

[Porthos]

Since it apparently didn't take the first time for some forum members, I'm going to post this link from Jeff Vogel once again about why some creators get a bit stressed out over negative feedback:

Why Indie Developers Go Insane.

Despite the intentionally provocative headline it is EXTREMELY insightful.

If one doesn't feel like cutting Thunt a break or five, I suggest reading the piece completely, and then reflecting on it a bit. It does start talking about the Flappy Bird fiasco, but then branches out into more general waters.

The upshot of the piece is: People are human. A radical statement, I know. But perhaps one that should be remembered. Yes, some creators can deal with criticism better than others. But that very statement means others won't. It's all apart of that spectrum that makes up humanity. And Jeff's advice turns out to be what Thunt has concluded: Ignore the critics.

Now how one differentiates between baseless criticism and people who actually have insightful commentary is that never ending question that has plagued artists ever since the first person put some paint on a cave wall countless millennia ago. And I ain't nearly smart enough to figure it out, either. But I hope for Thunt's sake that he really has figured out that he HAS to ignore a decent sized portion of his readership and/or look at them differently than he did before. And I really hope for his own mental health he sticks to this revelation.

Maybe posting that blog is the exact hurdle he needs to get over that mental hump. Time will tell, as they say.

[zimmerwald1915]

My Comedy Skit Group in College was how I described to others "Saturday Night Live, but better." But then it was, so you know.

Were you, by any chance, "The Ready for Prime Time Players"?

[iponly]

I noticed that while his blog post did mention that Thunt temporarily "lost the ability to make sense," and that there was a brief moment of "confusion about reality," which is not surprising after a long period of sleep deprivation and starvation, and also that he suffered some memory loss, which is pretty normal for serious mental issues of any type, there was no mention of getting professional help. Anywhere. In the whole blog. And you know, maybe that's because he thinks that seeing a shrink is more personal than just describing his mental state to the internet at large, but...

Well, if there really was nothing guiding his recovery beyond advice from the internet, I really hope Danielle is sensible enough on her own to lay down safeguards against anything like this happening in the future. Sleeping pills, making sure he doesn't go too long without eating, etc. Because when you break down for the second time, it's a lot worse.

And I don't want to have to try to follow Thunt's conversation with two imaginary grim reapers and no context the next time he misses a bunch of updates, okay?

[Swiftbow]

Thank you Lissou for that summery.

*sigh* This guy... Sorry if this is a bit ranty and I hope I'm not starting some major argument but... Jesus. I just can't bring myself to respect his blog post.

I wish I could talk to my boss the way he rips on his supposed bosses. He doesn't have enough cred with me that I can believe that. I've met authors that are polite even when being chewed a new one by reviewers, even though they really don't have to be. Thunt, is not one of those people. In fact, he enjoys skewering his critics. Nothing he likes better then feeling smarter then someone that is saying bad things about him and mocking them to boot.

The Giant, on the other hand, never mocks. When he deigns to reply to criticism, it's very much to the point and professional sounding.

Not unjustified, when a deadline isn't met, it's supposed to be disappointing. Even if the promise is broken a thousand times, it's still upsetting to have it happen again. Much like the kid with the busy parent that never shows up to the baseball game but maybe he will this time?

No. No, he does not. And even though this was expected, it still bothers the child.

Thunt is actually quite lucky. Normally, the consequences for not meeting deadlines in most jobs is pretty severe.

*Rolls eyes* What exactly does this even mean? Does he scrap entire pages because he didn't like how it looks? I've watched him work at times. I don't recall him doing that. He goes panel by panel, until it's done. He doesn't just scrap a page and call it crap, as far as I know.

If he's talking about the fact that his art has gotten consistently better over the years, then that isn't exactly special. Plenty of people can improve their art while still managing normal updates.

Or he could have listened to the "bosses" that told him multiple, MULTIPLE, times that you shouldn't say you are going to update on a certain date only to not do so. The only person that insisted on those deadlines was THUNT. Don't blame the readers for that. He is the one that needed to post a deadline. He just didn't like how people got upset when he failed to meet his OWN, SELF-IMPOSED, deadline.

Edit: Oh, and then there is the hilarious incident where he was working with that "Looking for Group" website. Even then, when he had an ACTUAL boss, that was telling him he needed to update on time, he STILL failed and eventually left, in a manner that left hard feelings on both sides.

Somehow though, the fans, the FANS, are the ones that were the true bosses that caused all his stress, and now that we have been "fired" everything will be just fine. Riiiiight. *sarcasm*

I can't help but feel he's just trying to blame others for his own issues.

More like "Gone With The Blastwave", if this is indicative how things are going to be in the new "no deadline" regime, and he STILL hasn't updated yet.

I wonder if the readers will actually be able to tell the difference. I really hope, at least, that Thunt is serious about not posting deadlines anymore.

As the creator of a chronically-late webcomic myself, I feel like I should be able to sympathize, or at least empathize, but instead I tend to rather agree on all points. Especially as someone who HAS scrapped entire panels. It's probably mostly the slight jealousy, as I rather think my comic (which was started a month or so before his) is better, but still mostly lingers in Internet Obscurity Land. But hey... I can't control the fickle whims of readers, plus, it's probably because I hate social media. But I haven't had a nervous breakdown yet, (or made a living off my comic) so there's that.

Oh well, speaking of updates, I should probably go finish mine, instead of writing a lengthier post.

One thing, though... I once had a commenter on my tagboard ask when the next update might be, and another more regular fan responded with the classic "You shouldn't ask that! He's putting out a free webcomic so you can't complain!" To which I responded, more or less "Hey, I like being reminded about updates... that means people are reading."

[sum1won]

Thanks to Lissou for posting that, and to Toma02 for an excellent response from the POV of many readers. The thing that is concerning me is that this seems to be the second (or third?) distinct "definite cause" of his breakdown given some of the earlier excerpts and posts. This one does seem to make the most sense so far, but I'm worried that his explanations are a bit post-hoc, and might not actually be identifying the root cause of the collapse, and instead casting blame in a similar fashion to some of his less sensical posts. So, I hope that Thunt chooses to pursue medical help, if he hasn't already, because while post hoc rationalizations (and the solutions arising from them) make a lot of sense, they are very prone to false positives and often don't address the issue at all.

[Winterwind]

Thanks to Lissou for posting that, and to Toma02 for an excellent response from the POV of many readers. The thing that is concerning me is that this seems to be the second (or third?) distinct "definite cause" of his breakdown given some of the earlier excerpts and posts. This one does seem to make the most sense so far, but I'm worried that his explanations are a bit post-hoc, and might not actually be identifying the root cause of the collapse, and instead casting blame in a similar fashion to some of his less sensical posts.

Actually, the blog does mention that there were two causes for the breakdown, the first one being what the blog talks about at length and what Lissou summarized. As for the other, the blog says that "after discussing it with some Goblins readers, I’ve decided to keep to myself". Presumably, that would be that whole feminists thing that we read about a while back. I'm not sure where you got that "distinct definite cause" thing from.

I would really suggest to people to actually read that blog. Lissou's summary was quite excellent, but nonetheless since then almost every single negative reaction to it in this thread was due to people making assumptions that are actually directly contradicted by what the blog actually says. It's getting kind of silly, really.
"The problem I have with this blog (that I've only read the summary of) is that it is trying to shift the blame to others!"
- "Uh, actually, the blog goes out of its way to explain than he is only blaming himself for everything."
"The problem I have with this blog (that I've only read the summary of) is that it states that there was just this one distinct cause for all of this, and this is it!"
- "Uh, actually, the blog says nonething of the sort, and actually explicitly mentions that there were multiple causes, though it elects not to talk about some of them due to various advice he received on the subject."

And so on. C'mon, people, I understand that some may not have the time or will to read the whole thing (even though it really is not that long), but before you come out with weird accusations based on the blog summary, maybe at least check first if the actual blog supports those in any fashion?

[Lissou]

Yes, I have to agree. I tried to provide a summary for those who wanted to know but were discouraged by the size of the post, but I would encourage people who want to criticize the content of the post to actually read it first, as the point of a summary is to leave some things out.