{{Short description|American internet personality (1976–2021)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Richard Kyanka | image = Dick Kyanka.png | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = Richard Charles Kyanka | birth_date = {{Birth date|1976|5|11}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|11|9|1976|5|11}} | death_place = Lee's Summit, Missouri, US | other_names = Lowtax | occupation = {{flatlist| * Internet personality * media commentator * YouTuber }} | years_active = | known_for = Creator of ''Something Awful'' | spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Megan Austin|February 13, 2005|2014|end=div}}|{{marriage|Ashli Kathleen|April 10, 2015|<!-- Omission per Template:Marriage instructions -->}}}} }} '''Richard Charles Kyanka''' ({{Birth date|1976|5|11}} – November 9, 2021), known by his username '''Lowtax''' (a reference to Byron (Low Tax) Looper),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fark.com forums post |url=https://www.fark.com/comments/446456/3053032#c3053032 |date=February 20, 2003 |accessdate=2024-01-05 |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408032814/https://www.fark.com/comments/446456/3053032#c3053032 |url-status=live }}{{Self-published source|date=January 2024|ABOUTSELF=y}}</ref> was an American internet personality who created the website ''Something Awful''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stanton |first=Rich |date=November 11, 2021 |title=Richard 'Lowtax' Kyanka, founder of Something Awful and onetime king of the internet goons, dead at 45 |website=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/richard-lowtax-kyanka-founder-of-something-awful-and-onetime-king-of-the-internet-goons-dead-at-45/ |via=www.pcgamer.com |access-date=November 14, 2021 |archive-date=November 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114142425/https://www.pcgamer.com/richard-lowtax-kyanka-founder-of-something-awful-and-onetime-king-of-the-internet-goons-dead-at-45/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He dropped out of college his junior year and was hired by GameSpy to run PlanetQuake, a news site for the ''Quake'' video game series.
==Other endeavors== In 2001, Kyanka was entered into the ''Entertainment Weekly'' (EW) Entertainer of the Year online poll, and went on to receive "thousands of votes", but was disqualified because ''EW'' judged they were the result of an email campaign.<ref>''Entertainment Weekly'', [http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,186514_7%7C6847%7C%7C0_0_,00.html "Fan Flare"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128053644/http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,186514_7%7C6847%7C%7C0_0_,00.html |date=November 28, 2006 }}</ref>
{{anchor|vs. Uwe Boll}}In 2006, Kyanka accepted Uwe Boll's challenge to a boxing match, which Boll had issued to all his online critics. The match took place on September 23 in Vancouver; Boll knocked Kyanka out in less than two minutes.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Raging Boll |magazine=Wired |url=http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/ragingboll.html |accessdate=2007-03-05|last1=Baker |first1=Chris }}</ref>
On October 9, 2020, following a backlash from the community in response to allegations that Kyanka was a domestic abuser, Kyanka sold Something Awful to a fifteen-year member and moderator known as Jeffrey of YOSPOS.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gault |first=Matthew |date=October 13, 2020 |title=Something Awful, a Cornerstone of Internet Culture, Is Under New Ownership |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/something-awful-under-new-ownership/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Vice |language=en |archive-date=May 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250518202646/https://www.vice.com/en/article/something-awful-under-new-ownership/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Kyanka was subsequently banned from the site.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Something Awful founder Richard Kyanka dies at 45 |url=https://www.engadget.com/something-awful-founder-lowtax-dead-170501155.html |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Engadget |date=November 11, 2021 |language=en-US |archive-date=June 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612085905/https://www.engadget.com/something-awful-founder-lowtax-dead-170501155.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Death== Kyanka died by suicide on November 9, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Richard 'Lowtax' Kyanka, Founder of Something Awful, Is Dead at 45 |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/richard-lowtax-kyanka-founder-of-something-awful-is-dead-at-45/ |website=Vice |date=November 11, 2021 |access-date=May 13, 2025 |archive-date=May 29, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529184500/https://www.vice.com/en/article/richard-lowtax-kyanka-founder-of-something-awful-is-dead-at-45/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.somethingawful.com/ Something Awful] * {{IMDb name|id=1857215|name=Richard Kyanka}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyanka, Richard}} Category:1976 births Category:American Internet celebrities Category:2021 deaths Category:2021 suicides Category:Suicides by firearm in Missouri