Indeed. It sounds like the author just wanted to complain about their hobby becoming mainstream. I play 5e on and off and the community around it seems stronger

Indeed. It sounds like the author just wanted to complain about their hobby becoming mainstream. I play 5e on and off and the community around it seems stronger than ever. The fact that something like Critical Role can exist seems to speak very strongly against their points on its own. Sure CR has been commercialised but it's still just as creative as their first streams where they had zero expectations we just get a couple more ads and a much more polished presentation.