The news I’m about to bring you is a couple days old, but oh well. We operate on Ralph Time around here. Most of the time the news is quite fresh, but if there’s an event that’s passed, and I still want to talk about it, then I will. This is one of those times. As it turns out, Mister Metokur has been going through a rougher time that we all had imagined. I know he would likely make fun of me for even writing this article, but I think his contributions warrant this sort of update on his life and work. He usually doesn’t tell us that much about his circumstances (true things, anyway), but on Facebook recently, he did:1

I can see why Jim quit GamerGate so readily now, although he probably would have quit anyway, to be honest. I don’t think him being at full health would have changed his mind too much, although maybe he would have put up with shit a little longer. I’m just saddened to know he had been going through some rough times. At the end of the day, this is something we all do for fun, at least I do (and he does). Unlike him, I do make money for my efforts, but I always want to have fun with what I do. That’s what the casual style is about, that why I like to make jokes, etc. But when you have heavy shit going on in the real world, it makes all this a lot less fun. It’s hard to get into things, and it makes it a lot more like a grind. So I get taking some time off, even if he had all the parts he needed.

Like some in the comments said, Jim (aka Internet Aristocrat, Mister Metokur, etc) could just start up a Patreon or whatever other crowdfunding thing he wanted and make the money he needs. I think it would be well-earned, since he’s an awesome performer. But that’s not his style. Hopefully he’ll change his mind, but I doubt he would. No matter what, I hope things start looking up for the guy. I wouldn’t be here writing to you without his inspiration and influence way back when. I’ll always be grateful for that. I’m even more grateful for all the laughs and good times he has provided me, though, even in dark times. Good luck, Jim. I know just about everyone else will join me in wishing you all the best.