David F. Nalle (March 19, 1959 – February 13, 2021) was an American political writer, game author and

type design Type design is the art and process of designing typefaces. This involves drawing each letterform using a consistent style. The basic concepts and design variables are described below. A typeface differs from other modes of graphic production su ...

er. He was active in the early history of the development of the internet. Nalle was at one time Chairman of the

Republican Liberty Caucus The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of Individual freedom, individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party (United States), Republi ...

, a group that promotes

libertarianism Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...

within the Republican Party, Senior Politics Editor at ''

Blogcritics Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen (writer), Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn. Blogcritics features more than 100 original articles every week, and maintains an archive of a ...

'' online magazine, and was the CEO of Scriptorium Fonts.

Biography

Dave Nalle's parents were American diplomat David Nalle and Margaret Shumaker Nalle. Due to his father's diplomatic postings, Dave Nalle spent his formative years overseas in Syria, Iran, Jordan, England and the Soviet Union and traveled in the Middle East and Central Asia. During this time, he received his primary and middle school education from British and American schools. During his teens, the family lived in Washington, D.C., where he attended high school at St. Albans School. After moving to Texas in 1982, Nalle earned two graduate degrees at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

and did a year of graduate study in England at the

City University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

. During this period he also ran a small game publishing company called Ragnarok Press. In 1989, Nalle founded Scriptorium Fonts to market his original font designs and digital recreations of antique type and hand lettering, initially for the Commodore 64 and eventually primarily for Macintosh and Windows users. Nalle ran for Texas State Representative in 2002, and served as Chairman of the

from 2009 to 2013. He was also ex-president of the Manor Lions Club and Chairman of the East Travis County Advisory Board which supervises a community center, a public library and charity programs in

Manor, Texas Manor ( ) is a city in Travis County, Texas, United States. Manor is located 12 miles northeast of Austin and is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. The population was 13,652 at the 2020 census. Manor is one of the faster-growing s ...

. He had two daughters and resided outside of

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

Writing and game design

Nalle was the author of articles published in ''Dragon'' and other gaming magazines, as well as game, media and book reviews, short fiction and poetry. He also had featured columns in '' Renaissance Magazine'' and '' Thrust: Science Fiction in Review''. His published game designs include the Ysgarth and '' To Challenge Tomorrow'' roleplaying games, game books and resources like Pantheon and Character Role Playing and the Arthurian collectible card game '' Quest for the Grail''. He was the editor and publisher of 51 issues of '' Abyss Magazine''. Nalle designed the ''Suburban Slasher'' strategy game (1992), which was one of the games that TSR banned from Gen Con in the 1990s due to content. In 2003, Nalle was brought in as a guest designer for a radical redesign of '' Whole Earth'' magazine under the guest editorship of Viridian guru

Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...

. Nalle was the inspiration of a major villain in the tabletop RPG '' Ars Magica'' named Dav'Nalleous.

Internet and blogging

Nalle began his involvement with the internet in 1979 working for Al Gore at the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future which sponsored the Congressional

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Cha ...

series that brought together legislators, academics and communications industry professionals and is credited as the starting point for the development of the public internet.
Report on Chautauqua proceedings Nalle operated the Infinite Incarnations Bulletin board system, BBS which ran on the Hermes BBS package and operated until 1994. He began writing a blog in 2002 during his campaign for State Representative in Texas House District 42. After the campaign he continued to write under a series of different blog names, eventually developing into the Republic of Dave weblog. In 2008, he started a second blog devoted to debunking conspiracy theories, political disinformation and urban legends at IdiotWars.com. It has a particular emphasis on countering the claims of radio talk show host

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American Far-right politics, far-right radio host, radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas. ''The Alex Jones Show'' is the lo ...

. He edited the

weblog and was a featured contributor to the Republican Leadership Council website.

Political activities

Nalle returned to political activism after his unsuccessful run for State Representative in 2002, becoming involved with the

and eventually serving as Vice Chairman from 2007 to 2009 and Chairman (2009–2013). He also worked as an adviser and consultant on a number of campaigns in the 2008, 2010 and 2012 elections, specializing in new media campaigns and message framing. In 2011, he was an adviser to Texas Senatorial Candidate Ted Cruz, and as Texas State Director for the

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

presidential campaign. Nalle appeared in TV ads for the Ted Cruz in the U.S. Senate race in 2012. Towards the end of the 2012 election, Nalle joined Liberty Torch Political Consulting. He was the policy and messaging adviser for the firm. In 2012, he also became a member of the advisory board of the Coalition to Reduce Spending. Nalle, as vice chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus, initially endorsed

Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.

Death

On February 11, 2021, Nalle's partner, Maggie Perkins, reported that Nalle had contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and was critically ill. On February 14, 2021, Perkins posted on her Facebook page that Nalle had died the previous day. American game designer Steve Jackson posted an obituary, remembering Nalle as "a game designer (''Ysgarth''), publisher (Ragnarok Press), font designer ..and libertarian gadfly."

Books and games

* '' Ysgarth'' (1979) * '' To Challenge Tomorrow'' (1983) * '' Triad'' (1984) * '' London by Night'' (1984) * ''Middle Passage'' (1985) * '' Challengers'' (1985) * ''Siege and Fortress'' (1987) * ''Ysgarth Adventure Anthology'' (1987) * '' By the Gods'' (1986) * ''EsperAgents'' (1988) * ''Complete Gamer's Pantheon'' (1988) * ''Ysgarth Bestiary'' (1989) * ''Character RolePlaying'' (1989) * '' Quest for the Grail'' (1995) * ''Oroborus'' (1998)