Not annoyed at all. (Well, with you, a little.)
There's a fundamental difference that doesn't seem to be obvious or apparent to anyone, so no one will agree. I didn't think I needed to explain, but I guess I will.
Pulp fiction and LitRPG (as practiced on Web Novel venues) are both serial in nature, it is true. But even that isn't much of a similarity, because the serialization is executed on different scales.
Pulp fiction novels did repeat serially, but each volume adhered to the novel form. We don't have to get all pedantic about what that means. One attribute matters most: every installment finished. Each volume had a satisfying ending. That is what kept readers coming back.
Some pulp serials were effectively never-ending, just like Web novels. How many pulp westerns did Louis L'Amour publish? Hundreds! I won't look it up, someone else feel free. But each volume caught the bad guys, saved the maiden, jailed the cowpokes, and so on.
Editorial boards made sure that every volume ended. Editors also enforced a loose system of peer review. Even serials were accepted or rejected. Loose standards were enforced, before trees were committed to the enterprise.
Web novels? In contrast? And LitRPG in particular? Back in the day, the first precursors to the genre were novels. Subject to editorial review. They developed, climaxed, ended. But no more. That's gone. The Patreon system is antithetical to the novel form. Now these "web novels," almost universally and with rare exceptions, are never-ending stories. They are not serial in terms of stories. They are serial in terms of chapters. Never-ending chapters that develop toward nothing and lead nowhere. Most of them do not finish until the drip feed runs dry or until the writer loses interest.
They are not peer reviewed, so there is no counterbalancing force to check them. Anyone can "publish" anything.
Pulp fiction? Not the same. There were hundreds of Nancy Drew Mysteries. Maybe even thousands. And yet, each and every one solved its case. Each one finished. Each one had an editor who made damn sure of it.
