Goblins XIV: Clerical Omission.

[The Glyphstone]

I think we were only told no one was dying. It's perfectly possible to be very sick without being in danger of dying.

We were also told no one was in the hospital. Thunt and Danielle have seemed like sensible people, it'd have to be a very specific range of sick to incapacitate without needing hospitalization.

[Seerow]

We were also told no one was in the hospital. Thunt and Danielle have seemed like sensible people, it'd have to be a very specific range of sick to incapacitate without needing hospitalization.

At least for it to be going on for a month, yeah.

Like I can see not going to the hospital but not wanting to do any work after coming down with the flu. That'll typically clear up in a week or two. If after a month it still hasn't cleared up... probably time to get that checked into. (Also there would be no reason to not say what was up).

[Anteros]

To be fair. There is very little it could be that would prevent communication.

[satorian]

Just to be clear, hypotheses about a gag order are a little off. There is no gag order (in US/Canada, at least) that prevents a person from saying "Hi, can't talk about the thing, but we're trucking along! Thanks for your support and patience." There are computer seizures and orders not to use the internet, but that would be if a) a person had kiddie porn; or b) the person engaged in computer espionage. Those are very unlikely in this case.

[Ibrinar]

Computer espionage? An interesting theory, I believe it was thoroughly established that Thunt is an Alien, it would only make sense for aliens to hack a few computers to collect more information about us earthlings. I believe everything starts to fit together.

[TheStranger]

Even in the absence of a gag order (and I don't agree that there couldn't be one - if it's as broad as "do not discuss this case on your website" I could see not risking it by posting anything at all), if this is legal in nature, Thunt's lawyer may well have advised him to maintain radio silence for the time being. First because if the case is related to the website, any updates could just cause more problems. Also, things posted on the internet are a common source of evidence to be used against a person; you can be sure that anything Thunt posted would be seen by the opposing lawyer, which is more than enough reason to post nothing. It's also possible that there's some concern that Thunt's legions of fans could/did cause offline problems for somebody that Thunt had an online disagreement with.

Of course, we still don't know exactly what's going on with this. It may not be legal at all; there are any number of possibilities. Personally, I hope it's not legal; that could take months (or more) to resolve and cost him thousands of dollars even if he wins.

[Othniel Edden]

Well, that is because you can't really kill Schlock. He is the real creator (yes, the blob creature in the comic). Howard Tayler is his pen name.

I've met Howard. He doesn't look that sloppy.

[EvilRoeSlade]

I have this feeling that he just doesn't want to do it anymore.

[Seerow]

I have this feeling that he just doesn't want to do it anymore.

Odd place for him to decide to stop, shortly after telling us the next few strips were going to blow our minds. If that was what is causing it, I'd imagine he'd at least want to finish his climax first.

There's also the whole thing with Goblins being his full time job and primary source of income. Moving away from that isn't a light decision to make, and not something I can imagine him doing without so much as a "good bye"

[EvilRoeSlade]

Odd place for him to decide to stop, shortly after telling us the next few strips were going to blow our minds. If that was what is causing it, I'd imagine he'd at least want to finish his climax first.

There's also the whole thing with Goblins being his full time job and primary source of income. Moving away from that isn't a light decision to make, and not something I can imagine him doing without so much as a "good bye"

Yeah but I imagine if he felt this way it would be really hard for him to say it, especially knowing the negative backlash that would no doubt ensue.

[Daywalker1983]

After now almost a month I don't believe THunt and Danielle any more.

I'm not mad or anything, but even if someone had died, you just couldn't skip four weeks of work. In short, I don't believe it's a private matter, it's definitely about the strip.

There are many hooks to get him by, someone mentioned the use of protected trademarks, and I wonder how DnD rights holder react to his card game. Maybe it's tax issues. As for why the page is still up, I don't know. I don't believe in the theory about the gag order, but his silence is suspicious, so he might as well have taken it down.

If it were just a private matter, he should have been able to tweet at least. It'd just mean being sensible about protecting his business and income. Or Danielle could have written something. It's compounded by the fact how vocal THunt usually was. The current middleground is odd.

[Winterwind]

I'm still guessing either legal issues, or mental breakdown. If, for whatever reason, he felt so depressed he lacked the energy to make a post, then, while he might or might not be feeling better by now, the fact so much time has passed would make it all the more difficult for him to make a post with every passing day, simply out of shame.

[The Succubus]

After now almost a month I don't believe THunt and Danielle any more.

I'm not mad or anything, but even if someone had died, you just couldn't skip four weeks of work.

Well given that right now I've been signed off work for four weeks for medical reasons, it's not exactly a damn holiday for me.

[Daywalker1983]

Well given that right now I've been signed off work for four weeks for medical reasons, it's not exactly a damn holiday for me.

I don't know enough about either Thunt or you to effectively evaluate your respective situation, and most certainly I do not want to implay Thunt or you are having a great old time not working.

But I think his behaviour is at odds with what he says and his usual demeanor. So i don't believe him.

I wasn't talking about you and i guess you didn't read my complete post.

[Anteros]

After now almost a month I don't believe THunt and Danielle any more.

I'm not mad or anything, but even if someone had died, you just couldn't skip four weeks of work.

You could if you were self employed.

I'm not saying it's wise from a business standpoint...but there is no reason someone who is self employed cannot take a break for whatever reason.

[Starbuck_II]

I've met Howard. He doesn't look that sloppy.

He has a really good disguise check.

[TheStranger]

You could if you were self employed.

I'm not saying it's wise from a business standpoint...but there is no reason someone who is self employed cannot take a break for whatever reason.

As a self employed person, I can say that's far from true (though every situation is different, and it might be truer for Thunt than it is for me). While I do have a lot of freedom, I also have a lot of obligations, both moral and legal. If I took a month off with no preparation, people who depend on me would suffer real consequences, and I could find myself in a legal and financial mess that would take me years to get out of.

Whereas if I worked for somebody else, I would just get fired.

[PhantomFox]

Perhaps the problem involves something that he thinks would invite internet vigilantism? That is, if he told us, some of the more radical readers would lash out against whoever or whatever is causing him trouble?

[NihhusHuotAliro]

From a poster on the Goblins Forums:

I wrote that!! Aliroz the Confused is me, Nihhus Huot Aliro(z)!

I go quoted! Omigosh!

[Anteros]

As a self employed person, I can say that's far from true (though every situation is different, and it might be truer for Thunt than it is for me). While I do have a lot of freedom, I also have a lot of obligations, both moral and legal. If I took a month off with no preparation, people who depend on me would suffer real consequences, and I could find myself in a legal and financial mess that would take me years to get out of.

Whereas if I worked for somebody else, I would just get fired.

I never said it was a good idea...but a self employed webcomic artist is under no legal or moral obligations to not take time off. At most he has a moral obligation to meet his kickstarter goals...but even that isn't legally binding.

[North]

Thats my concern. Is he made a bunch of money of kickstarter and then slow updates, and then he bails...

[TheStranger]

I never said it was a good idea...but a self employed webcomic artist is under no legal or moral obligations to not take time off. At most he has a moral obligation to meet his kickstarter goals...but even that isn't legally binding.

Yeah, that wasn't a comment on Thunt's situation as much as an observation on being self-employed in general. Although, if Thunt is partnering with somebody on the kickstarter, he may have some legal obligations to them.

[Ibrinar]

Kickstarter means this one https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...nate-realities that sounds like something Evertide Games could finish without much input from Thunt though I might be wrong there.

[Anteros]

Thats my concern. Is he made a bunch of money of kickstarter and then slow updates, and then he bails...

For all the problems I have with Goblins at times, Thunt doesn't really seem like the type to do something like that. I could see him being unable to deliver on his kick starter due to poor planning and an inability to keep a schedule, but he doesn't seem the type that would simply take money and bail.

[Vizzerdrix]

We were also told no one was in the hospital. Thunt and Danielle have seemed like sensible people, it'd have to be a very specific range of sick to incapacitate without needing hospitalization.

At least no one is in the hospital. Thats good enough for me for now.

[raymundo]

I for one no longer care for the comic. If it ever returns, nice. But I guess Thunt is finally burned out and now is ashamed to admit it

[Aquillion]

You could if you were self employed.

I'm not saying it's wise from a business standpoint...but there is no reason someone who is self employed cannot take a break for whatever reason.

Sure, but if he needed a break, he could just say "hey, guys, I need a break." He's done it before, I think.

Plus, it just seems weird, since he was clearly really excited about the next few pages, and it seems likely that he'll hit a good place for a break right after them -- if he was going to take a voluntary break, I'd expect him to post those three pages, which probably end on either a climax or a cliffhanger, then break there.

(Of course, one possibility is that there was some emergency or event that forced him to stop; and then, when it ended, he found he didn't have the will to pick back up. That seems to have been what happened with Keychain of Creation, say.)

[nonamearisto]

Does anyone remember when Homestar Runner abruptly stopped? I'm getting the same feeling about this. Although we later found out why (the brothers Chaps got new jobs), they never posted anything on their site about it.

[F.H. Zebedee]

I've decided to revise my stance, and just pretend Thunt is working on a gigantic buffer of work that'll hold up for months after he resumes updating. Odds are low, but hey, it's a happy-optimistic idea to settle for. :)

[SaintRidley]

It's obvious that the next three pages were just so mindblowing that they blew Thunt's mind. Into tiny little chunks. And they're busy trying to put him together again.