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A Potentially Unnecessarily-Long Holiday Letter From the Desk of Colin Moriarty
🕑 Added 2024-12-20 19:00:36 +0000 UTCHello!
It’s me, Colin. As usual, I wanted to write an end-of-year note to the audience and offer my gratitude to everyone for their support over the past year. I figured I’d also take this opportunity to provide a glimpse into what’s happening here at Last Stand, reflect on our previous work, and perhaps offer a word or two on what’s to come. The TLDR is this: We're doing great, I'm happy with everyone, 2024 was fun, and 2025 should be awesome, too.
For starters: Thank you. Your support has long been unreal, and it’s perhaps more unreal than ever. That’s because 2024 was our brand’s strongest year from both gross revenue and raw traffic points-of-view, and we end ‘24 as the biggest games coverage-related Patreon in the world (a title we both lost and recaptured over the past 365 days). I know we’re far from perfect, but we’ve definitely left it all out on the field in the shows we’ve produced. Everyone is executing at a high level, the content is incisive and fun, and it seems that our audience is generally vibing with our catalog. That’s really all I can ask for.
As usual, consistency is key, and it’s vital to me that we don’t miss episodes, ever. I’d like to think that if Sacred Symbols doesn’t publish, for instance, you should assume I’m dead. So for newcomers (or forgetful types), everything will roll-on uninterrupted throughout our holiday break. We’ll begin recording new episodes on January 6th; everything you hear and see between now and then is officially in the can and waiting to auto-publish. I want to tip my cap to the entire team for working so hard these last few weeks to make this a reality, as it’s far from convenient to record so much, so quickly. As I’ve often said, I think it’s really important that the content flow never stops particularly because people rely on us, even over the holidays. While most (if not all) of the rest of the content you enjoy will stop for a while, ours won’t. Enjoy!
So, with all of that said, how’s Last Stand doing? How did the last year actually go? And what does the near-future hold? For the interested, let’s get into the weeds a little bit.
As noted above, Last Stand grossed more revenue than ever this year, the lion’s share garnered from Patreon, but also from non-endemic ad sales, a strong in-house merch operation, and modest YouTube rev-share. But stopping there leaves the full story incomplete, because the company’s expenditures are also higher than ever. This isn’t necessarily a problem -- we’re in a very healthy position, and describing the situation otherwise would be wildly disingenuous -- but it leaves me in pursuit of new avenues of growth while trying to reinforce our core products, namely our podcast network. We have a wide array of paid hosts and co-hosts, and a few full-time employees to worry about as well, so it’s important we keep potential revenue streams lubricated. Doing so lets us fairly compensate everyone, and even give everyone lucrative bonuses. We must treat our team right. You allow us to do just that.
While we maintain a dominant position on Patreon (more on this in a minute), and while merch and YouTube revenue is moderately growing, other routes of potential revenue and profit have been less fruitful. We conducted two live events this year, a more successful show in New York City in the spring, and a less successful one in San Diego in the late summer. Cumulatively, we were barely in the black, but nowhere near enough to justify the time and outlays these shows require. I have a lot of thoughts on what went right and wrong with both, but I think we generally overshot people’s interest in doing more than a single live show a year, and I also think the shows we delivered (particularly in San Diego) weren’t up to the quality I would have preferred. I take full responsibility for this. The vision of the early live shows were tighter and more cohesive, and I will be far more hands-on when we return to a stage near you. But, as I’ve alluded to in the past, we’re gonna take ‘25 off, and come back strong in 2026. I’d love us to return for a Sacred Symbols Episode 400 celebration, and… well… you can do the math on when that might occur. We’ll see what happens when the time comes. For now, I’m not making any promises whatsoever. I hope you understand.
Ad sales are also softening, which seems to be a problem with many podcasts, but definitely for ours. The lore goes like this: For many years, companies were spending money on podcast ads without having any true insight into any specific ad’s efficacy. Discount codes and referral links only go so far, because the true value of advertising goes beyond instant action. Over the past couple of years, a series of updates have been rolled-out on podcast apps (and in the backends of those apps) that have allowed advertisers to better track the money they’re spending, who listens to and interacts with their ads and those products, and so on, and what many companies have realized is that podcast ads (and other forms of advertising) weren’t always worth the spend. This has left our operation with fewer advertisers than we had even when Sacred Symbols was a nascent podcast, and while we’d love to solve this problem, we’re not entirely sure what to do about it. Again, it’s not the end of all things -- a lot of our ad revenue comes from ads other people record and run on our programming -- but it’s something to keep an eye on. And because I refuse all endemic advertising (meaning I won’t take money from gaming companies, whether publishers, developers, or accessory outfits), we have fewer places to turn. That’s a decision I feel good about, though. I don’t want (nor need) money from the industry I (and we) cover.
This year, I’ve also tried to explore if any revenue can be made on social media, using shareable clips and the like, and honestly, the answer is a resounding “no.” The YouTube Short-style videos we’ve produced are actually quite funny, but they also show little in terms of material return. Social media posts as currently constructed don’t drive much traffic to our core content, either. And perhaps most tragically, I’ve been unable to make much use of my vaunted Twitter/X checkmark, which I randomly received back for free out of nowhere earlier this year. Following the virality of our Concord podcast and the clips that went along with it, I was given permission to monetize on X, and it’s a major reason why I’ve been posting so much. Honestly, it’s the only reason. I wanted to have good data on what worked and what didn’t, and I was optimistic we could make something work. Yet, it became clear after a while that videos weren’t doing the trick, even if a lot of people watched. Could random posts? Pictures? Witty Retweets? Observations? Responses to other people’s Tweets? The experiments go on-and-on (just look at my feed), but the answer is that -- no -- none of it worked. And that’s totally fine, by the way. I’m not upset about it. It merely narrows the lanes we have to explore for future revenue.
I promised I’d get back to our Patreon situation, and now’s the time. The short story is that our subscription business is doing great, and our company is completely dependent on it, which has always been the case. Now, I love Patreon -- I’ve been using it professionally for literally a decade, which is crazy -- but its analytics suite is nightmarish (though slowly clarifying into something more usable). I tell you this because we discovered something recently: The ‘paid subscriber’ number you guys see is inaccurate. That number is, in turn, scraped by the Graphtreon service, which we ourselves used to help us track our progress at-a-glance, as do many other companies like ours. But then we realized none of the numbers made any sense. The public number and Graphtreon would show us down month-over-month, but the analytics dashboard would show us up. In fact, this is happening to us this very month, and for the calendar year, in which we are up a couple hundred and several thousand paid subscribers respectively, but for which Graphtreon shows us down for both. Both can’t be true, and indeed, they aren’t.
In other words, we’ve been paying attention to the wrong number, but to be honest, we figured something was up for a while. That’s because our gross revenue would stay flat or grow very slowly while a decay in paid subscribers was erroneously reflected. The only way this could be true is if we were basically exclusively losing $1 and $2 subscribers and only gaining $5 and higher subs. We have no idea why this is happening, nor does Patreon, and I’m not sure if we’re the only group that’s experiencing a dissonance in our public data. Our suspicion is that we are a fairly elderly Patreon by the service’s standards, and eventually there are years-old, long-dormant subs that are purged, and this number is somehow trying (and seemingly failing) to properly account for the inflow and outflow. But that’s just a layman’s theory. So yeah, Patreon is great, but I’m not sure the full picture is being seen more publicly, not that it really matters. We’re rock solid with our subscription, and we have no plans to raise prices, remove programming, or make any other moves. You can count on the machinegun of content to continue in 2025 and -- with your continued support -- far beyond. (And yes, the $5 tier remains our most popular tier, with nearly 9,500 monthly subscribers at the time of writing.)
Okay, that’s enough business. Before I go, though, allow me to also offer some words on the Last Stand Media crew.
I’m really proud of our team for the consistent, high quality, dynamic, and insightful content they produce. Across the board, I think we are truly doing exceptional work. I was also extremely gratified by how the entire team -- and our whole audience -- rallied around Dustin when he dealt with a really terrible situation earlier this year. Not only did we keep everything moving, but we did so without missing a beat, all the while giving him the time he desperately needed. That’s only possible if everyone buys in, and it gave me a glimpse into the best humanity has to offer. I mean that.
In 2024, we introduced a brand new show called Summon Sign. It’s turned into a hit, and has snuck into iTunes’ Top 50 Gaming Podcasts list, a huge deal for a brand new product in an incredibly saturated space. I am immensely proud of the work that Brad has done with the show, and honestly cannot believe our luck that we were able to extract him from his old haunts. Summon Sign is the exact show we needed; something to focus less on the business, the industry, and the culture of games, and more on the actual games themselves. You know, the reason we’re all here in the first place. Indeed, I believe in Brad so much that I’ve doubled-down with him. He’ll be on more content than ever in 2025, because not only will he continue to host Punching Up in addition to Summon Sign, but he’ll be bringing Punching Up to a weekly format beginning in January. Switch 2 is right around the corner, and it’s time to make Punching Up sing! Oh, and he’ll also be helping us roll The Sacred League back out to the masses. More on that soon.
But speaking of Punching Up, I want to tip my cap to both Gene and Micah for helping make the show a thing, for getting it off the ground and formulating exactly what it would be. I also want to thank both Dustin and Dagan for their one-time roster appearances, and fully understand their exit from the program. Dagan is busy and maxed-out, and Dustin is stretched thin between too many shows, including our flagship and myriad production tasks. I think what we did with Punching Up this year is a great example of personnel management, and I’m excited to see what the Brad-Gene-Micah trio will do with some actual, real content to talk about for the first time in the nascent show’s run. Good work, crew.
Defining Duke spent the year continuing to navigate the choppy and uncertain waters of the Xbox ecosystem, and I continue to be impressed by Matty’s and Cog’s dedication to the podcast they’ve worked so hard to create and maintain. I’ve always been somewhat confused by just how many Xbox podcasts and YouTube shows there have been and still are -- there simply doesn’t seem to be as many in the PlayStation space, for some reason -- and I know treading fresh ground there is difficult with so many voices. They’ve not only met my expectations, but have wildly exceeded them. The audience loves these guys, and frankly, so do I. They are reliable, good-natured, and hard-working. I notice the grind, and I appreciate it.
Constellation enjoyed a solid second year, though with a bit of upheaval in there, as well as some mixed feedback on some of what we’re trying to do with the show. Handing it off to Dagan (and sometimes Chris) to host has been a good move, particularly in light of the amount of work I had on my plate even before Constellation began: Remember: We originally launched Constellation as a two-ish hour show that would air every other week. Bringing it to a weekly format and then bloating its runtime has come with some downside, but I think the show has nonetheless become an essential pillar of Last Stand, and gives us a place to talk about the infinite world of off-topic whatever. I love that. Dagan has done a great job keeping Constellation alive and moving, and I’m grateful for his work, especially because I know how much he has going on in his ever-busy life.
Since we’re here, I know that some of you have been upset about Constellation in regard to two things in particular: The move to make the show three members instead of four, and my lack of appearances as time has gone on. I’m going to level with you and let you know that as ‘24 marched on, I began feeling more and more overwhelmed. Because we were producing three episodes of Sacred Symbols+ every two weeks, I was spending a lot of time in that world trying to get programming together on top of Sacred Symbols itself, and doing all that’s required to run Last Stand as well. That said, I also (reluctantly) understand that Last Stand runs through me, and that appearing on content is important to our success, and to your enjoyment of what we do. So I have good news: Because Punching Up is going weekly, this means Sacred+ will also be going fully weekly, freeing me up substantially. As such, I plan on appearing on Constellation two out of every three shows, and I’ll also be appearing on Summon Sign around one in every three shows. The goal is to try to be on one or the other virtually every week, and while I’m sure there will be exceptions, you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me on Constellation in particular, and Summon Sign, too. And while we’re going to stick with the three-person format, we will bend and have four people on from time-to-time, keeping in mind that we made this decision for two simple reasons: We were having a hard time getting people interested and willing to do the show enough to consistently have four hosts, and the shows were starting to go way too long. But I think we can make the best of the situation and try to give everyone what they want in ‘25.
And of course, I remain immensely proud of Sacred Symbols, the silly little PlayStation podcast that this whole operation revolves around. It remains a joy to record it each week, and I’m always eager to see what you guys think of everything we do. It’s crazy that we started doing it back in the Summer of 2018, and that we’ve literally never, ever missed a week since. We’ve been in your lives and your ears for so long, now. I hope we can keep it going for a hell of a while longer. To Chris and Dustin: Thank you for your spirit, your presence, and your commitment. I couldn’t do it alone.
To the rest of our constellation of hosts -- Lockmort, Jaffe, Hoeg, MLID, Jimmy, Jason, and others I’ve undoubtedly neglected but definitely didn’t mean to -- thank you, as well, for all you’ve done for Last Stand. I truly believe success runs through each of you, too, and I’m grateful for our respective collaborations. And though I've already thanked them for their respective programming, the behind-the-scenes toil from Dustin (Executive Producer) and Micah (Coordinator) to keep things flowing, shows scheduled, and problems dealt with is extraordinary. Thank you.
I also want to thank Ben, who (as was announced earlier this fall) will no longer be with us full-time beginning in ‘25, but will stay with us as a co-host on Constellation, Summon Sign, and so on. He’ll also remain with my developer Lillymo Games as our associate producer on future projects, as he does vital work for us there, too. Thank you for giving so much to Last Stand and Lillymo alike, and for being willing to try so much on our behalf. I truly wish the outcomes of our various experiments went differently.
As you can see, there are no surprises lined-up for 2025; Punching Up going weekly is probably our biggest move. That’s because I really want to resist the urge to do too much, instead of refining what has already made us so successful. I want our podcasts to be better than ever, make you think and laugh, and provide you the companionship, insight, and humor that makes your day easier, better, more productive, and more tolerable. But I won’t lie to you and tell you I don’t think about other things to do, because I do. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see the occasional episode of KnockBack in the calendar year to come, and I wouldn’t even be that shocked if you see Side Quest make a return, too. Who knows where my motivation (or lack thereof) will take me? That will all be supplemental, though, surprises if and when they happen at all. In the meantime, it’ll be all about the following: Sacred Symbols, Sacred Symbols+, Defining Duke, Punching Up, Summon Sign, and Constellation. Can we make this slate even better? I think we can.
I must admit that I do have a goal for ‘25 that goes beyond programming, though. Truthfully, I’m not wild about the increased hostility, meanness, trolling, and so on I’m seeing in parts of our community, whether here on Patreon, or on YouTube, or Discord, or social media, or Reddit, or really anywhere. While I lament the inexorable march of gaming discourse towards the abyss, I don’t think we have to participate. And we won’t. In early 2025, I will deliver our first ever Code of Conduct for the Last Stand community. It will be brief, easy to read and understand, and in effect on any platform we control. We will bring respect and decency back to a scene that desperately needs it, and will try and set a template for how microcommunities like ours might not only exist in peace, but flourish. I’ve been saddened by some of what I’ve read and witnessed, and how it’s making an unwelcoming environment for others. I think my laissez-faire attitude to most everything in life actually betrayed me here, and I’m going to fix it. I’ll have more on this front in Q1.
My friends, I don’t think there’s that much more to say. It’s time for me to disappear for a few weeks, sleep a bunch, eat more than usual (uh-oh), play lots of games, and regain my wits about me. Because I’ll be honest: I’m totally fucking shot. Like, completely.
It’s on that note that I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a tranquil, restful, and enjoyable holiday season. Thank you for reading my missive.
With love and appreciation, -Colin
Comments
John
As someone who’s a patron almost solely for Constellations and the q&a, I’m so happy to hear about your plans for being on 2 of 3 episodes and having some 4 person episodes sprinkled in. Thank you trying to give your listeners what they want! All the best in the new year
Thirdshiftweirdo
Late to reading it, but what a wonderful, informative read. Thanks for keeping us up to date on what’s going on. Looking forward to what you all bring us this year.
Tyler
My hope is that the increased hostility (not only here but everywhere) was fueled by it being an election year, which seemingly brings out the worst in some people.
Christopher DiViaio
Great letter, looking forward to another year.
TheHOOfan1
Ben said that a lot of his job was coordinating live shows and Colin wants to take a long break from doing live shows, so Ben's main job is no longer needed.
Sergey
What happened with Ben? Can’t find the relevant post
HVAC guy
Merry Christmas, can I have this in audio form ? Lol
JoshM
Merry Christmas to everyone at LSM, hope you have a great Christmas and a happy new year!
Wayne Moss
Merry Christmas to everyone at LSM & to everyone in the LSM community i hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
Ben Bell
Merry Christmas to all LSM folks and those who listen! Glad to see Ben still floating around, I was very disheartened when I heard about the first LSM job loss. While I understand the reason, losing work is never good, so it's nice there's still some revenue for Ben to collect. I'm interested to see how the code of conduct goes. The open community feeling LSM brings is my favourite part of the community, but there is definitely such a thing as being too open. Hopefully we can reel in the crazies without harming discourse. Knowing the historically great work LSM does I'm sure they will continue to kill it!
Tristan Kimball
Merry Christmas 🎄it’s been a wonderful year. I greatly appreciate all you do and hope you have a fantastic well-deserved break!
Caleb Peacock
We need to put Christ back in last stand media
Mikeal Sutton
Merry Christmas to everyone
Jon D.
Merry Christmas to all! 🎅
Digital-Bath
Merry Christmas 🎄 and Happy New Year to all!
Ty Simmons
Merry Christmas 🎄
AngelOfCake
Merry Christmas everyone! Even my fellow reprobates in the community!
Aaron Barnes
Happy holidays to all! I'm glad to hear that Ben will still be on LSM shows in '25, after feeling like we were losing a family member when it was announced that Ben wasn't going to be an employee of LSM next year. Here's to a bigger and better year in 2025 with hopefully a more civil and thoughtful community
Kashif Mohamed
Happy and blessed holidays to all of you and your families 😊
Mr. Scott If You're Nasty
Read the whole thing. Glad you guys are thriving and love your dedication to the team. Even if you're a pony :-) enjoy your well deserved rest friend.
Tarik
Excellent letter as always. I’m glad to read that LSM is prospering, despite the challenges you presented. You’ll figure it out. Enjoy your break. Happy holidays everyone.
Rayden
Looking forward to more Last Stand in '25. You guys keep me sane at work and during my commute. Merry Christmas to you all
Alexandre Mercier
Thank you everyone for the work you do on a weekly basis for us. These shows are part of my life since April of 2023 i am appreciated for everyone of you. Have a wonderfull holiday everyone and a bless year for 2025.
Kyle Barreira
Thanks man. Enjoy the break.
Guybrush Threepwood
appreciate the inside baseball stuff Colin, thank you for being super transparent about the business. we didn't ask for any of this information but we find it interesting! Regarding a code of conduct - its sad that it has come to this, but yes, that's a great idea. Reasonable minds will agree with this concept.
Andrew Shearer
Merry Christmas everyone 🫶🎄
SirJoseph_iv
Merry Christmas King
DeadMail
Merry Christmas to everyone in the LSM community!
Noah Friscopp
Merry Christmas everybody!
Fonz
Merry Christmas to you all!
Darth Simon the Pieman
Thank you for your brief words Colin. I look forward to another year of support to LSM. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL.
Allan Sweeney
Enjoy the well-earned break Colin and LSM fam. I've been a supporter since day 1 and that $5 continues to be the best bang for my buck every month. Merry Christmas!
Jimmer
“Before I go, though, allow me to also offer some words on the Last Stand Media crew.” -Colin who proceeds to write 23 more paragraphs 😂 NEVER CHANGE! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Cody B.
I look forward to another great year in 2025 with Last Stand Media's content. Thank you to everyone who contributes to making our days a little bit better. Happy Holidays!
Adam Barnes
Let it go, cum.
Giovanni D'Amico
Thank you for this and Merry Christmas. Colin, you have your finger on the pulse of the community - keep doing what you think is best and we'll keep enjoying the shows! Best to everyone on staff! :)
Zack E
Colin I was a day 1 Patreon supporter. Took a bit of time off from it when it was just focused on political content up until introduction of sacred symbols. I’ve followed your work since before 2010. I’ll always be in your corner :) That’s just the way it’s going to be.
Ross Arbour
Thanks for the mini "State of the Union" and I'm sure it's helpful for you as well to gather your thoughts on the year that was. Merry Christmas.
Dillon Peters
So cool to get a transparent and candid update each year. I appreciate the outstanding year of work by the LSM team! Proud to be a Patreon contributor and frequent listener, cheers to a few weeks break for you (not the audience, thanks) and to a great 25’ for LSM.
Mike1core
To another year! Cheers 🍻
Patthebaker
I"ve really enjoyed Chris hosting Constellation too
Joshua Pierstorff
Merry Christmas to you. Have a great break and just know that I love everyone at Last Stand. You've been in my ear for over a decade and I am so happy for the success that you and the crew have. Thank you guys.
Electric Soup
I hope the whole LSM crew knows how much we appreciate you guys. I cannot truly express the appreciation, I'm not quite that much of a wordsmith, but perhaps saying I can't put it into words is evidence enough. I don't know where I would go if LSM didn't exist as the other options out there simply aren't up to snuff, regularly spoil things for their listeners, or in one way or another alienate them. The genuine nature you guys bring and foster is probably the best thing about LSM, and the lack thereof is why many other shows fall short. Thank you for being true to yourselves, genuine in your approach and care, and for understanding how much we really do rely on you to provide our minds respite on days good and bad. As I watch the snow fall outside my window and realize I'm going to have to re-shovel my driveway, I know I'll have you guys in my ear somehow making it enjoyable. For now though, I'll catch the first half of SS while trying again to complete the mission for treacherous lvl6 in Tribreaker. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and thank you so very much for all that you do for us.
The Rose Experience
Merry Christmas guys
Tyler Ritchot
Enjoy the well deserved rest, everyone. Happy Holidays!
Tanner Brant
Much love to you and the crew! Happy holidays!
Ed H
Enjoy your holidays, and the well deserved rest, Moriartys!
Lex
We love you guys! Colin you have been a part of my life for almost two decades. You guys do make my life better and I've grown to love everyone under your umbrella for different reasons. Happy Holidays to all at Last Stand and all my fellow listeners.
Julian Rodriguez
Merry Christmas to you, the fam, and LSM community!
kunsam
Good move on making some community guidelines, the Stuttering Craig thread on here last week on was an abomination. Merry Christmas!
SourdoughNorsk
There are three things I get super excited for every year around this time: 1) One of my favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson, releases a newsletter of plans for the next year called that State of the Sanderson 2) NimbleThor, a YouTuber that is based in mobile games releases a beat of games of the year video. 3) this letter you deliver to fans and patrons. I love that you do this every year. It's fun and insightful to read. I appreciate LSM immensely. I've "followed" Colin since Beyond days and it's been a fun and wild ride. Cheers to many more years. Merry Christmas to all!
Billy boob
You’re a top bloke Colin. Merry Christmas to you and the whole crew. ✌🏻
CUMSoftware
Shoot the shit with people that call you low-iq, catch-all terms like “weird”, “incel”, “terminally online”, “sexist bigots” etc in attempts to blanket discredit anything you have to say positive or negative while they defend and promote actual weird shit?
BettyAnn Moriarty
God, I love you so much, bud. Thank you for ALL the information. It’s appreciated. And you’re right- your team is outstanding as are your followers and patrons. And they’re amazing individuals…each of them. Congratulations on all you’ve achieved and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. Merry Christmas and a new year filled with abundant blessings.
Joeystick
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year Colin! Definitely get lots of sleep
JR
To all of LSM: Have a wonderful Holiday season/break and thanks for the awesome content you provided throughout the year.
Alex Weiss
Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Thank you again Colin for a more than stellar year of content and conversation! Cannot wait to see what 2025 brings!
Hugh Jalode
Great job guys. Colin, you’re great man. But part of the fun of Summon Sign and Constellation to me is I never know what I’m going to get. Maybe you’ll change your mind but just another data point. Thanks.
Guybrush Threepwood
"FAR CRY 6 IS BETTER THAN METAPHOR!" - Colin, December, 2024
Swenedog
Thank you to all of Last Stand for a wonderful year. It continually helps more than you know. This is my first and only patreon and i couldn’t be happier with where my money is going and supporting. Keep up the great work!
Taylor Martin
Merry Christmas to the team! I’ve never been happier with the pods y’all are delivering! Keep trucking
Ahlickaloo
Why can’t we be Kinda Funny best friends already?
Ahlickaloo
Does LSM run the Reddit or is it community run?
Adam Barnes
😂😂
Ulysses Motherfucker!
Yeah, I read the Reddit sometimes and posts there get locked every so often and it's usually for calling someone out on their hypocrisy or questioning why a certain guest was invited on the show. The posts, in context, never veer into hatred but are genuine criticism.
Ulysses Motherfucker!
I've had the exact same thought: 4 people/3 topics. Colin not being on Constellation or Summon Sign isn't a problem (although the Colin/Brad dynamic is fun) but having one less person to give their perspective on a topic on Constellation is what's missing in my view. P.S Chris is my favourite Constellation host!
Anthony
Thanks for all the content through the years and all the best wishes and good luck for next year. Just a little a sad about the length of the post. Was a bit of short read 😂
Gonçalo Ferreira
I’m beyond happy that you guys have decided to moderate discourse!
Seamndel
Guys, something's missing in the picture.
Adam Barnes
As one who most definitely dips his toe in the toxicities and hostilities of the comments section, I welcome the Code of Conduct. Its high fucking time we all got along and just shoot the shit about gaming ❤️❤️❤️ Most of us wouldn’t dare say the shit we anonymously type online to each other’s faces, so let’s remember that going forward - we’re all actual people. I love you all! Merry Christmas and a happy new year 🤘
Josef Barker
I appreciate everything everyone does. Thank you 😊
Otacon_Ocelot
Great fucking year guys and congratulations on the overwhelming success! But I have one request from a fan since Beyond days, give Gene a 45 min weekly show instead of sacred+ every week. Less stress on you to line up interviews so often and we hear more GeneLore!
Dante B
It’s not hard at all actually! Best of luck to you!
brendan p
I like to lurk, but just wanted to hop in to say I appreciate you and all the crew. Sending peace and well-wishes to you and the rest of the gang during this holiday season. Cheers to rest.
Kevin Garcia
Merry Crimmus to my boy Colin “Totally Shot” M and the rest of the crew.
Miguel A Zarate
As a long-time Patron and member of several LSM communities, I'm so happy to see a code of conduct coming. Colin and the crew are such respectable people who get enough hate for no reason, so it stinks when I see community members acting a fool and not getting checked because it's negatively affecting the perception of them.
Patthebaker
Really wish Constellation would remain with 4 people. Maybe just have 3 topics, so the episodes remain shorter. Whoever the host is can pick randomly out of the 4 topics brought to the table. I like 4 people because it creates varying, different groups of people that we don't normally get together. It keeps Stelly fresh.
Keenan
I hope that the code conduct doesn’t turn into censoring people’s opinions. Because on your discord, you get banned for saying the most minute things.
DextrousJOE
Much love to everyone at LSM. Everyone on the team brings so much to the table every week. Cannot wait to see what 2025 brings!
Lee Davies
Merry Christmas to all the LSM crew, and to anyone else who reads this comment. Have a good one! Here's to a great 2025!
Jack Reynolds
Merry Christmas guys! Enjoy your well earned break. You guys keep the pace like no other podcast, so well done. Only suggestion Colin is to come down-under and do a live show in 2026. Make a holiday out of it. London is too bloody cold.
Clay Layne
This year has been a blast to listen to. I'm currently in a tough season as my house has had a fire and my family is currently in a hotel for the holiday waiting on an Airbnb we like to open up. In saying that, LSM keeps my days fun for the time I'm able to listen. Merry Christmas everyone and can't wait for a better '25.
Dustin Dunlop
An extremely well written and thoughtful letter to your community. I truly appreciate everything you and the LSM crew do. The quality of content you provide is something I proudly support each month. You provide objective, thoughtful, mature discussion in the gaming space, which is something that is vitally important to this industry, and why you have garnered such a dedicated fanbase. The chemistry and banter on all of the shows I listen to throughout my weeks speaks to the quality of the people appearing on your shows. I look forward to another year of great content! Merry Christmas to the LSM team and community!
David
Hi Colin, the latest SS+ is still locked for members (the audio version is available, but not the video version). Is this normal?
Diddy’s Dong Quest
Thank you for all the hard work. I remember listening since the beginning, and my life has changed a lot since then. Ever since 2021, my social circle has become extremely small; so LSM has meant even more to me.
dallas reynolds
Yall have become an important part of my hobby time, whether it’s farming out dungeons in a video game, building civilizations in dwarf fortress, or painting warhammer figures, and even sometimes when I’m at work, it is almost always LSM that graces my ear holes while I do my thing. Happy holidays to you all, and see you in 2025
Jonathan Gould
Thank you Colin for creating a platform that has truthfully impacted nearly each and every one of my days since 2018. What you and your team does is that you all make my day less shitty. I rely on, and look forward to 10 AM when episodes drop. It’s an important piece of my day. I don’t care if it’s parasocial, I love and care about your team. I truly hope you all have a meaningful and well deserved break. I hope you were able to financially bless the team for the holidays, and I hope you will fucking play balatro.
Simon Dixon
Be well all and thank you for the content.
SeenMachine
A thousand thanks to you and everyone at LSM. We're infinitely appreciative of all your hard work and the brilliant content we've enjoyed this year. Ride or die LSM all day. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas.
Tom Gentry
Colin: I’m totally fucking shot Also Colin: here’s a 10 page Christmas letter for no reason Rest up, King. We need you in good spirits come the new year
Travis Stockton
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone at LSM and in the community. Have a great 2025. 🤘
Russell Garrett
Been here since day 1. Never left. Firmly going down with the ship! Happy holidays Colin, all LSM crew and everyone here.
Anton Kaye
Col, youre the best. The squad you've assembled is amazing. Have a much needed break and maybe take a mid year break going forward too. Thank you.
Joey Finelli
Have a wonderful Christmas season!
Elliott Trout
Papa Jaffe is grandfathered in. i don't make the rules.
Elliott Trout
you da man, Colin. enjoy your holiday time off. i look forward to the next episode of Constellation with you and Jaffe on it together. i love it when it gets a little WILD! lol
Morgan
Glad to read about the new code of conduct. There has been a lot of incredibly rude and mean commentary from a select few individuals here, and it makes this place feel 4chan esque in nature. I appreciate your transparency and look forward to 25!
Sean Wilkin
Much love. Merry Christmas to you both, happy holidays to everyone celebrating. You’ve fostered such an amazing community. Get some rest!
Mark Davis
👊
Chaise
Thats a really good picture, happy holidays to LSM
Travis B
I never said anything of the sort. I asked a question.
Yo mamas so fat shes DEAD!!!!
So you want to censor LSM?
Kmarkada
Thank u for all u Col and LSM Crew gave us this yr and Very excited for 2025! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
ambient_jules
That's the most I've read in one sitting all year 🤣 Thanks for a fantastic year of content and look forward to supporting you guys for many more!
Jared Orr
Last Stand is just the fucking best! Huge thank you to Colin and crew for another amazing year.
Mark Corlson
Merry Christmas Last Stand crew. 🎄
Luke Douglas
Thank you for providing the bulk of entertainment/listening content I consume these days. It’s all top quality stuff. Hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas
Keith Mc Carthy
Merry Christmas lads. Enjoy the holidays 👍🏻
McTrizzle
Love this dude and the whole extended crew. Thank you right back, colin
LevelWiley
Thanks Colin Merry Christmas
Jake Nunley
LSM has been pretty much my only source of comradery for a while now, so I spend a portion of every day with all your voices in my ears. I greatly appreciate you all, and chris whom I've admired since I was a junior in 2015. You lads make my days, thank you for this community
Diego Cruz (Abims0)
Thank you! That is all.
Chris H
Great read. The length of the letter and all the transparency truly shows your dedication to the work you do and your fans. Wishing you and the entire LSM team (frequent collaborators included) a Merry Christmas. I also hope all of my fellow LSM patrons and community on here have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season.
Thomas
I absolutely love the whole last stand crew! Thanks all for everything you do!! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all the best to you in 2025.
Andy Miller
Merry Christmas Colin! Thank you for all you do, it was a great read. I listen to as much LSM as I can, and haven't missed an episode of Sacred Symbols (and hope I never will). Even when I go through phases of not playing as many games, the podcasts are a constant for me, and I'm looking forward to going to another live show when they eventually return. All the best to the whole team and looking forward to more LSM in 2025!
Travis B
It’s hard to parse out why the people funding lsm need to be restrained but not the ones who are being paid to be on lsm?
Deven Martin
Every year these get longer lol - and I’m here for it. Thank you Colin and thank you Last Stand for keeping me company in ‘24. Enjoy your well deserved rest. See you next year❤️✌️
Dante B
Really bizarre to not be able parse out why these two things are wildly different.
The Great Santini
Thanks for all that you do! Try to sneak Yakuza 0 in there over the holidays, Colin! lol Merry Christmas!
Jason H
Merry Christmas!!
The Great Santini
I believe the code of conduct is for you and I, not the hosts of the shows.
StewDog
Happy holidays to the Moriarty fam, thanks for the great letter Colin
Zack Fair
Happy Holidays to you and Micah, hope you both have a great one, and not forgetting the rest of the Sacred team!
Ken Beiser
Happy holidays to you, Micah, and your dogs. Thank you for the continued high level and entertaining content and keeping video games fun when so many other places try so hard to make them not fun. Wishing the entire LSM team some much needed rest.
nicheyfinger
Nothing short of good news and common sense coming down the pike. I'm all for enforced Code of Conduct. <3
nicheyfinger
Perhaps you can provide examples regarding their tasteless comments in the micro LSM communities?
Dimitris
I won't repeat much of what has already been stated by other members of the community. The Last Stand team is still thriving and I can't wait to keep listening for more years to come. Fingers crossed. What I would like to mention is that, if anything, this post makes me reminisce about the past, the years when I would read Colin's article's on IGN. Colin might be a great host, but he is also a great writer. This was a pleasure to read! Cheers for the New Year! To 2025!
Deemac
Commented earlier but mention of the Sacred League got me thinking - while that was a cool concept and no doubt will build into something more with Brad controlling, have you guys thought of doing a Fantasy Critic League for 2025? I know the Sacred boys do their simplified metacritic predictions, but the Fantasy Critic setup is really great, and if someone like Brad was organizing it then I think it could be a really great thing for LSM folk to take part in over the year. Also figured this draft format would appeal to Colin's love of sports, statistics etc. Anyway I'll hang up and listen now. Once again, enjoy the break and thanks for all the content
Ottochops
I knew someone at Last Stand new the definition of Bombastic! I kid, I kid.
RD_21
Happy holiday and thanks for the great content to all the team. As for Constellation I am not gonna lie I was now skipping it most of the time, in part because of the three hosts format, but mainly by lack of personal interest in some of the crew assembled. While also lacking time in the first place to consume everything, I felt that 4 hosts gave us more chance to land on at least one person we are passionate about. With that said I feel like your regular return on the show will make it more enjoyable, but please don't stretch yourself to thin for us. We've seen by the end of your tenure on KF how miserable you were and while we selfishly would want you on almost all show, more than everything we all want what's best for you. Thanks again and enjoy the break and holiday.
Dexter Wallingsford
You’re 75% there
TheUnchartedWolf
Joined the patreon this year and haven't regretted the 5 dollars a month even once, shoutouts to all of you at LSM and enjoy your holiday!
NecrumOddBoy
The transparency and integrity of LSM is just ridiculously endearing. Colin could go corporate and commercial, get filthy rich and move on but he is building such a powerful company that is making real impact in our nerdy world. I wish nothing for the best for you all in 2025!
Travis B
Will the code of conduct cover Jaffe’s and to a lesser extent, Chris’ tasteless comments?
WhatDarrenPlays
This is all great generally and I wish the best to the LSM family. My only request, for many years now is a gaming podcast for PC. Brad as host, Lockmort as co-host. I really feel the audience for this is much bigger than you think. 29 million people are online on steam as of writing. 18 million “in-game”. Many, many games come to steam before console. Pls LSM community, you’re my only hope. With that, every inch of gaming is covered by LSM. Mods, MMO’s, Early Access games. Driver Update: A PC Gaming Podcast
Aswad Charles
I got through 4 paragraphs and was like yeah I’ll comment now and read the rest later lol. I’ve been a Patreon subscriber I want to say since 2019??? I think. Regardless, I’ve been a supporter for a long time and watched the brand develop and grow overtime. So hearing your in-depth review is a nice personal touch (maybe you should write more Colin! 😅). Appreciate the great content as always, especially knowing it’s very hard to stay consistent and deliver. Have a great break and I look forward to hear more from you and the team in 2025.
Luke Aldersley
Beautifully written Colin, I'd like to specially thank Ben for his work in 2024 and wish him the best of luck with 2025, it sucks to see him go but he has truly left his mark on LSM
Alex Landry
Looking forward to how your code of conduct goes. People who post anonymously online can't help ourselves for some reason, so kudos to you.
Matt The Outlaw 🤠
📖
Josh Walker
You should write more. Thanks for the great year of content, and introducing me to a bunch of stuff. Really enjoy it.
Joey B
Looking forward to another great year of content. It's great having new stuff to listen to while you're on a break and then the first new content of 2025 will be awesome when it hits!
Jordan Falduto
We appreciate you outing yourself! Makes it easy. Happy trails!
Erik Chorn
Congrats to everyone at LSM on another strong year. I just wanted to say that Gene is a goddamned national treasure and I love hearing his life stories! Merry Christmas! Erik C
Shaun Sannerude
Congrats to the whole team for another amazing year of content. Enjoy your well earned break. Love to you all and your families. Merry Christmas and roll on 2025!
DaringOne
Colin, my best to you and the crew! This podcast network is literally 85% or more of my podcast listening, as the content is so amazing, and so are all the folks that produce it. I wish the whole crew continued success, and can't wait to see fresh content in 2025.
Nick Gagas
The letter is much appreciated. Merry Christmas to you and yours(pups included)! Wishing you happiness and continued success in the new year and beyond. ❤️✌️
Loom Doom
Thanks for the update Colin. I joined the Patreon this year and I’m so glad I did. LSM is amazing! I am looking forward to weekly punching-ups; the Switch 2 hype will be fun. Keep up the good work!
Faan
Hi Colin, thank you for the long letter. I enjoyed reading it. I've been following your work since your IGN days, and reading this letter reminded me of how good your writing is. I can't lie but express how I've missed reading your well-written articles from your journalism days. I've definitely made comments listing some critiques on the Patreon in the past couple of weeks, and I admit some have been aggressive instead of being more peaceful. I appreciate that you will institute a Code of Conduct in January '25, and I fully support that. As I said before, I definitely don't see with you eye to eye on everything, but please know I admire your candor (especially with mental health on the more serious episodes), insights into the gaming industry, and willingness to speak to people of different beliefs. It's why you are my favorite person in the games industry and my favorite podcast host. I also want to commend you for bringing on Brad - I was never familiar with his work before, but I love his hosting on Summon Sign. I also want to voice my appreciation for the political episodes on Constellation with Gene, Chris, and Jaffe, which were intriguing to listen to. I don't know if you'll actually read this, but it's been an honor following your work and being a Patron. I remember watching your video reviews and reading your articles on IGN when I was a middle schooler. Now, I'm in my mid-20s, excited to listen to the latest episodes of Sacred Symbols, Constellation, and Summon Sign. P.S. Please have Micah on more Constellation episodes! I like her humor and personality, and I think it fits well with the nature of the show. Beyond!
clos512
I’ve been a supporter since the early days of just you and Chris. The LSM content has ballooned far greater than I could have initially imagined. You all work so diligently on your craft and it can’t be understated or under appreciated. Enjoy the much deserved rest!
DoubleDave
Love to see all the success and investment into Brad. Also very happy to see you will be instituting a code of conduct for LSM Colin. Very nice moves and makes me happy to see as a long-time listener/supporter.
Alex Bolton
Merry Christmas to the whole crew! Thanks for all you do!
Bartevious
I’m doubtful that will be the direction it goes. I feel like Colin is pretty reasonable differentiating dissenting opinion from racist assholes. I just think there’s some oversight from Colin on how the conversation on shows around the network contributes to said toxicity.
James Soler
Congratulations on another strong year for LSM! I’m excited to hear that Sacred League will be coming back, I trust that Brad will do an excellent job. Merry Christmas to entire team, James S
Kyle Keiran
Be safe and enjoy the holidays, everyone!
Ed Hamilton
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours Colin! And to the whole LSM community!
Alec Davis
I’m skeptical of the code of conduct myself. Will people get put in the slammer for a simple difference of opinion or ribbing?
Austin Eller
Thank you for the update, Colin. Merry Christmas to you, Micah, and the rest of the LSM crew! Thanks as always for the excellent content.
Dom posa
I’m shot too. It’s ok though because we are 40 now it has nothing to do with drugs
Collin Sparling
Thanks as always for your candidness and warmth, Colin. The San Diego show was a huge highlight in this absolutely crazy year I've had. Looking forward to another year of LSM content! Happy holidays, and give that chicken a rest.
Mateusz Kuklinski
Excited to see The Code of Moriarty.
Marcos Aquino Pimentel
So happy to be part of this community!
Oakley Waldron
Merry Christmas to the Moriarty's. Love ya'll. ♥️
Ryan Champion
Thank Colin! Merry Christmas to you and the family!
Doug Abaire
Another amazing year, thanks for all LSMs hard work. Here's to 2025!!
IslanderButNotLong
Happy holidays to all at Last Stand Media and the community!!
Gabe Manuel
Love seeing that Knockback may make a comeback in an occasional and limited form.
Hashim Barakat
Thank you LSM family for the amazing content throughout the years. Wish you all a merry Christmas and happy new year.
Michael Welter
Glad to see you'll be tackling the toxicity around here. You've made it clear this is no place for it and I think that has missed some of the audience. You and the LSM crew made this a hell of a year. To every single one of the crew that runs this thing, thank you so much. I know it seems like I silly little podcast network but you truly make alot of our days better. Enjoy your time off. See you in the new year.
Mr Peter Banks
Thanks colin 👍 . Loved this message it means alot have a great break.
Matt H
As long as there isn't anything in the Code of Conduct dictating playing games with a walkthrough then I'm on board :)
Dio Lixzon
Merry Christmas, Colin
tejotl
thank you Team and Merry Christmas, enjoy your break! Eager to see that code of conduct and bringing people/guests from all different places for a discourse. Average age of gamers goes up each year so I hope micro communities like this one can nurture and contribute to a reasonable conversation and exchange of ideas.
Michael Mashpotato
Happy Holidays to everyone at Last Stand. I am proud supporter of this network and i look forward to an amazing 2025. Thank you for always being there and having great content so that i don’t have to “raw dog” my work days. Merry Christmas to all ✌️
Jared A.
Love it. And honestly love the idea of a code of conduct. I haven't seen much personally but we gotta be better as community
Benjamin Pope
Thanks for a great year of the Pod
Cami Black
❤️
Frank
Merry Christmas, thanks for the podcasts :)
Anthony Ragucci
Thanks for your time Colin. Love the messages every year as we end one and begin another and try to improve ourselves, our communities and the things and people we love and care for. Here's to 2025. Merry Christmas and God Bless the LSM hosts and community.
Bryan Donnelly
Happy holidays to LMS and the community.
Chuck Rude
1. Thank you for all the wonderful content, you do an amazing job and have built a very strong team around you. It’s easy to forget that you’re just a group of people with microphones, you all seem like such pros. 2. I am a believer that fanbases follow the leader, not in behavior, but in their culture. When you first started CLS, you were very purposeful about always reminding the audience to be kind to one another in the comments. I truly think it is so simple as to say, they listened. And it set up a culture where people were very respectful to each other. I think having a show that can be very dark or brash or full of friendly squabble (all great things that help the show) will turn itself into those same vibes if, and only if, not directed otherwise. Maybe I’m wrong, but that is my theory and thoughts. 3. Enjoy your time off, you have my deep appreciation for your hard work. It’s my busiest time of the year right now, I struggle to get more than four hours of sleep other than my beautiful Sundays, and having such great shows to listen to nearly every day has been very helpful. Thank you, now rest, get some extra Zzz for me
Jack Weber
Lets go! Thank you Colin and merry Christmas!
McMinners
Thanks for a great 2024. Hope the whole crew has a good Christmas and well deserved break.
Gooch Gobbler
Colin, thank you for sincerely listening to your audience (including me) and developing this code of conduct. I love LSM and look forward to it being a more welcoming community. I know it has to be hard to balance everything and trust that we don't need much filtered out, just the worst of the worst. I don't think I've ever felt more passionate about a group of content creators and proud to call myself a fan. I know it's a little parasocial but just know we love y'all so dang much, can't help but express it Merry Christmas to all! - The Gooch Gobbler
Jordan Falduto
I just picked the far left Adam
Luke Knockton
All the best to everyone at LSM and everyone in the community over the holidays
the white wolf
Merry Christmas, Happy holidays, and happy New Year to all. I want to thank The Last Stand media crew always going beyond our expectations, and delivering amazing content for all of us to enjoy. I truly wish I had the funds to go to that San Diego show. I also wish I had more time every week to listen to Matty and Cog cuz I also enjoy their show amongst all the others. Now I know I don't have to listen to every show but this company stands out amongst all the others because there's no gimmicks here you truly put customers first and we love you for that. I'm glad that you guys will have a few weeks off of much needed rest. I'm glad to still be part of the community and can't wait to see what amazing things you will do in the future
Haru Discourse
So happy to hear that Punching Up will be going weekly! Brad has been awesome as the new host and Micah and Gene are great as always. Look forward to hearing more from that trio as 2025 looks to be an interesting year for Nintendo news.
Breno Bezerra Bluhm
Another banger year, happy holidays everyone!!! Can’t wait for 2025 and a term of conduct seems smart.
MattDanger87
You're the man Colin. The work you and everyone at LSM put in year in and year out is beyond impressive. This place continues to be a haven for both the video game side of our lives and simply a great place to hang out with people we respect. That being said, I also appreciate the commitment to improving the community. There are a lot of good people in it, but unfortunately, none of us have been immune to the overall negative tenor of this industry as of late. Hopefully this code of conduct will begin to bring about some positive change in this regard. I hope you and everyone at LSM, and the community, have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year. Take care
Tdot’s Finest82
Thank you so much to everyone that’s part of the LSM crew. Your content is second to none and I wish you all nothing but continued success. A big shout out to the better parts of this community that pulled Dustin and, to a lesser extent, Matty, through their hardships this year. Hopefully both felt the strength of this community during their respective tough times and though I never wish for anything bad to happen to anyone, if it does inflict others that are part of LSM, it must be a comforting thought to know so many people have your back. Merry Christmas all! Enjoy your well-deserved breaks.
Kyle
Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you.
Jose Martinez
As a new member here I was extremely thankful to discover these podcasts. I was searching for some podcast with substance and consistency. You guys gave that and more here. Thanks for everything in 2024 and looking forward to 2025.
Kristen Zwick
Thanks for another fantastic year of content! LSM podcasts help get me through my work days and I’m very grateful for all the hard work you all put into the episodes every week. Brad has been a fantastic addition to LSM and it’s been wonderful to have Dagan back on Constellation. Here’s to 2025 and whatever unhinged takes Micah comes up with next! :)
Andrew
Truly do enjoy and appreciate all the content you guys put out! Really makes my week go by more smoothly as I continue trying to figure out this “life” thing. Thank you for all the work y’all put in. And my God, I’m sorry about how the Jets’ season has gone down the shitter (again). But not really. Go Bills.
Scott LaFontaine
Happy holidays everyone
Devin Taylor
I love reading this post every year, it is genuinely something I look forward to. Happy Holidays, LSM
Nir Zigler
LSM is consisted of incredibly intelligent, sensitive and decent human beings. Colin chief among them. As long as that keeps being the case, you will always find success and have a very dedicated and loyal fan-base. Thanks for a year of excellent podcasts, here's hoping the next one is even better.
Dante B
Thanks for the update, patron for life!
Kasual7
which voice do you for?
Joe B
Appreciate the info and hard work from y'all. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to the crew! Honestly if Constellation is tough to get 4 people weekly, I would almost prefer it go back to biweekly releases.
Kasual7
using NaturalReader but agree!
Devin (the dude abides) Torres
A TOAST Written by me What was won't always be, I look for a new year dream, With hopes full and fears not, My life, my love, my trust can't be bought, Look ever forward and never back look to those you love the most And Raise your cup to this toast A new year, a new chance to grow Where this new takes us we'll never know, but a leap of faith is all it takes Fear not new paths or new mistakes Welcome this new chance with love and embrace Because remember what was won't always be.
Paul Waltz
What a year! Appreciate you all. Enjoy the break and thanks for the literal hundreds of hours of entertainment and news.
Steve
THANK YOU LSM. I WELCOME THE CODE OF CONDUCT
Michael Lepre
Love the idea of a code of conduct. As a fan of Colin’s since 2012 (jesus) i have noticed an ebb and flow to the communities that follow, and there seems to be a downward trend lately. Happy to be part of the community! Happy Holidays to all!
Devin (the dude abides) Torres
Cheers
Kasual7
Nice one! Brad has definitely been a win for LSM and Matty and Cog are just a joy to watch, their passion and energy is just too contagious. I don't even care about Xbox as it is I like watching them just for takes. As for new revenue streams and endeavours I really hope you guys consider live streaming, you underestimate how much people would love to either watch you guys react to a showcase, play a game in co-op. You definitely need to experiment with it Colin.
Sam Locker
Enjoy your break Last Stand crew. Thank you for all the content and hard work, you get me through work every single day. Wishing all of you and the community a happy holiday.
Jack Branch
Best money i spend a month and still will be! Keep it up guys!
Gamble
I’ve been a Patreon for the entire life of LSM, I think lol. And I have to say, it’s truly my favorite platform. Colin you created something special and I’m happy that your success continues to grow. The many hosts are great and I never find myself “hating” on any particular person. Gene seems to be the most interesting person in the world with an unlimited amount of stories, Micah seems to be the sweetest and greatest thing in your life. I can’t wait to continue to support you and your business. Happy holidays!
Sami Rocklynn
Merry christmas and a happy new year!
Jordan Falduto
Holy FUCK at the Patreon books being cooked. They should owe you monies. You could have made (and perhaps have) major business-altering decisions based on those numbers. @Hoeg, can we sue these MFs? :D
Will Hahn
Thank you Colin and everyone else in the LSM roster! Your consent has and continues to bring me great joy every day. Happy holidays and happy new year!
Carter
These end of year posts are the only ones I constantly read. It feels like an investor meeting. Thanks to everyone involved with LSM for the levity they all bring to us. Merry Christmas everyone!
Daddy T
Everyone get your slurs and racial remarks in now! Joking obviously, thank god for this
Deemac
The Bradley Ellis takeover of LSM continues... Punching Up going weekly makes a ton of sense with what should be a huge 2025 for those brick fisters at Nintendo. Hope everyone at LSM enjoys their break, you all deserve it for the top quality content put out every week
Yo mamas so fat shes DEAD!!!!
Enjoy your holidays off man. And as far as endemic advertising goes it would be cool to see Sacred Symbols orange on some gaming gear. The ads could be funny and it would give Chris something to do. Anyways it seems the audience here would completely understand and even enjoy some SS gear.
Adam Belgharbi
Much love to yall, enjoy the holidays ❤️
Grant Davidenko
Thank you Colin and Co. for the best value proposition for entertainment. My first full year as a paid sub and it's worth every single penny. Get some well-deserved rest and try to not gain too much weight this holiday season - I know that struggle all too well!
GenesisPoint
Happy holidays to LSM. Thank you for another wonderful year of content.
SpectreBull
Rush looks like he's thinking about eating Treble.
Watch Ergo Proxy
Merry Christmas to the team :) rest up
Gr8S
I started listening loyally in early 2024, and you can count on one hand how many episodes I missed since then—and this is coming from a a guy who games on everything (except PC, I ain't no nerd!) but plays his PS5 the least. Thanks for the insightful, entertaining content! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the team.
Vinny Pepperoni
Thank you to the entire LSM staff for all they do. Enjoy the time off! It is well deserved.
The Gibbon
Happy Christmas to all of the crew - you guys made 2024 bearable, and can't wait for more of the same in 2025 😊
Boots!
Speechify App needs The Southern Gentleman voice option so it can read me this letter. I can then have it read to me at 1.5x speed. LOL! Happy Holidays to the team and the Last Standers!
Jordan Falduto
unironically make sure you put it to 2x because normal reading speed goes over the 5 minute free limit LOL Edit: you can continue with a non-human robot voice. even the 2x 360WPM speed is not enough to cover it in 5 mins.
Dakota Brown
A code of conduct sounds needed. Though I hope that means we can still make respectful criticisms. I may disagree with a lot of the political takes of Colin and some audience members, but I stay apart of this community for two major reasons. The content is good and the space is welcoming. As long as that remains, so will I. Thank you for everything and Merry Christmas to the LSM crew!
Shawn Kelvey Jr
Love ya guys. Best $10 I spend every month. Happy holidays
AstroParrotKing
To be honest, it seems too late to try and control the “.. increased hostility, meanness, trolling…” especially in the steaming pile of crap that is Discord. I hope the code of conduct does well, as I would like to see better discussion everywhere.
Daniel Walendzik
Thank you for this detailed, potentially unnecessarily-long holiday letter! As always, we appreciate the honesty and transparency. This is why we come to LSM. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and happy holidays to the Moriarty Family, and everyone in the Last Stand Media community! #seeyouonline
Connor Reese
Merry Christmas, Colin and crew! Thankful for all you guys (and gal) do for this community. Your voice has kept me going for over 10 years now which is hard to believe and I’m immensely thankful for all the content day in and day out. Best wishes in the New Year and I hope you have a relaxing holiday!
Antony
Merry Christmas Colin and Micah and all at last stand. Take the well earned rest, thank you for the many hours of talking I’ve listened to. All the best. Antony
Jordan Falduto
For those of us who have ADD Text to speech reader that you can crank to 5x https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/ --- Edit: Goddamn I love all this transparent reflection and details. I'm thankful you take the time to let us know all this stuff, it really means a lot. You do so much for us already. Colin, I hope you can uncrumple yourself over the next few weeks. I hope you take a vacation this year, too. Chris has proven himself a high quality host - he's not just a silly billy. I also wish there was some equivalent of us being able to give back to you in some way too. Colin doesn't have his boss handing him the phat Xmas bonus or a note on how much he's integral to the operation. Maybe, just maybe, we as a community could collectively agree that this appreciation could be enacted by tagging the mayor of Richmond (ish) to instate a "Colin must go on a two week vacation in June" period so that you'd have to do this twice a year instead of just one. Because of the implication. The crushing boulder cut in half from 350 days to 175. Anyway. Cheers to you. Please decompress (Jeb Bush).
Jamie Hexum
Merry Christmas, to everyone at LSM and the LSM community. Colin, don’t kill yourself. It’s crazy the amount of work you put into organizing everything; it shocks me that you have time to game at all. We appreciate all the hard work. Wishing you and yours a wonderful 2025. And about that occasional episode of Knockback… PLEAAAAAASSEEEE PLEASE PLEASE 🙏 Peace. 😉
Brandon Garvin
Really appreciate you and the hard work everyone does. I appreciate you posting this, almost as an internal memo of thanks to the team, but publicly. Also, shout out to Dustin, who, despite everything that's happened this year, still continues to produce content for LSM and do everything he does. Thank you! And I'm glad to see someone taking a stand against the toxicity and meanness going on. I don't participate in the online discourse, but seeing it is so dumb. Need we remember what Kevin Butler said all those years ago - "Deep down inside we serve one master, one king - and his name is gaming! Forever may he reign!"
Bartevious
Great write up. I’m all for this code of conducts as conversation has definitely devolved many times in comment sections. However, it needs to apply to hosts as well, namely Jaffe. A lot of this “people being mean to Jaffe” comes from “Jaffe being mean to people”. Sure, a portion of the audience gets out of line as he’s a polarizing figure, but so does he at times too. It would be hard to give money to a company that bans subscribers for using the same language used against them from someone in/paid by the company, good news is I don’t expect this to happen. Anyways that’s my unnecessary opinion. Great year, loved all the shows, some of the most valuable $60 I’ve spent in a calendar year.
Armando
Happy Holidays for all the team! And thanks for everything
Jake Whitaker
Merry Christmas to all of the LSM family! Good call on the live shows… I haven’t personally attended any in person but I have watched them all via the recording. The first few were great and lots of fun. The newer ones based mainly on jeopardy and other games were so chaotic and unorganized. I would love to see more buttoned up, presentation-style shows make a return, which is what it sounds like may happen.
Mr. Plow
You the man Colin! Happy holidays brother
CUMSoftware
Jaffe, Chris, Gene, and Colin don’t, in any capacity… contribute towards any of the community hostility involving any subject. Only the audience…
Mitch Orobko
Jesus fuck dude. You should've just had this in podcast form and read it to us lol. In all serious, Merry Christmas to the whole fam and doggos.
Andrew Cuschieri (YerBoyDrew313)
I appreciate you, more than you think, broski. Have a Merry Christmas. - Drew 🖤🎮🏆💯
ajwhite
I read this at 20x speed. It was beautiful, truly
Nimbus-san!
Happy holidays to all of you. Lots of love 🫶 💚 🧡 💙 ❤️. You all provide me with so much throughout my year, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! Thanks LSM team!
