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xiw posted:It must gnaw at him that he knows that sappelcline was him and yet he can't admit to it because it would wreck his selfimage and cover story. He'll be sitting there trying to figure out whether to concot a full second identity for the 'other person who was sitting with me sharing a laptop' or not and whether it'd work, or whether it'll be better to just ignore it and hope the evidence gets harder to find over time. He has to explain why sappelcline never posted again, why he immediately deleted and re-posted under zak (it was because he hoped nobody would notice at the time). He has to explain why both accounts have the same typing quirks. Funny enough he did attempt to explain this, and I think it was via a post on his Kickstarter but I’m not totally certain. I’m trying to find it right now but his explanation was “my friend made an SAppelcline account but it was named after him the way you’d name your dog after someone on TV” or something similarly dumb. I’m starting to think he deleted it.
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Dec 16, 2019 16:00
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I'm not familiar with Canadian law, but 1) will he have to testify and 2) will the transcript be a public document?
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Dec 16, 2019 17:13
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Nickoten posted:Funny enough he did attempt to explain this, and I think it was via a post on his Kickstarter but I’m not totally certain. I’m trying to find it right now but his explanation was “my friend made an SAppelcline account but it was named after him the way you’d name your dog after someone on TV” or something similarly dumb. I’m starting to think he deleted it. Yeah this is the 'sharing a laptop story' - here is it: quote:A fellow gamer in Los Angeles (who does not want to be harassed and so does not want their name mentioned) had a reddit account long before I did. I quote this because Zak hasn't posted this publicly anywhere as far as I can see. - he's just sent it to individuals so far who have reposted it in various places. I reckon he's building up to revealing that actually it was him all along and he had perfectly good reasons for using a sock and only the mentally ill would have realised it wasn't him - his current post on his D&Dwpornstars blog talks about the account extensively but carefully doesn't mention the "fellow gamer" at all, and argues that people should have realised that it's just an ironic alias. He just has to finish convincing himself that the righteous would do this kind of thing.
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Dec 16, 2019 21:56
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I completely forgot when he mentions people using screennames like Illary Clinton and Rihanna's Left Tiddie to defend him using a really specific name in a way that defaults to impersonating someone he was personally mad with at the moment.
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Dec 16, 2019 22:02
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"My friend"
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Dec 16, 2019 22:03
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The notion that it was Shannon of all people who masterminded the 'harassment' of Zak is hysterical.
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Dec 16, 2019 22:40
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zak probably posted:
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Dec 16, 2019 22:56
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I think the most likely scenario is of course the "Uncle Nintendo" lie, but even if he's telling the truth about that dumbass story it's still really pathetic and weird and not okay. It's not even a full step removed from him doing it himself. This kind of bizarre conundrum is common in Zak's bullshit, where even if he were not lying/technically correct about some horseshit people complain about him doing, his deflection still makes him look like a stalkery, harassing rear end in a top hat. That Old Tree fucked around with this message at 23:00 on Dec 16, 2019 |
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Dec 16, 2019 22:58
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Dawgstar posted:The notion that it was Shannon of all people who masterminded the 'harassment' of Zak is hysterical. Your Honor, my client is being gangstalked by the RPG.net mods.
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Dec 16, 2019 23:45
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Speaking of Zak, it looks like he's finally trying to tackle the issue of Mearls passing along info to him concerning his critics and, uh, well https://twitter.com/Ettin64/status/1206742901041950720
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Dec 17, 2019 03:35
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Literally just my previous post.
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Dec 17, 2019 03:55
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Also a lie, since Zak somehow got a hold of email addresses which had been used for nothing before or since.
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Dec 17, 2019 04:05
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Wow, and I thought I was being paranoid when I saw someone was trying to rehab his wiki page by adding in all of his self-fellating artist prose again. I guess he’s aiming to re-enter the RPG sphere in the dumbest Zakensian way possible via the launching of another “pretend the mountains of evidence of him being an abusive, narcissistic rear end in a top hat does not exist” campaign.
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Dec 17, 2019 04:13
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I'm absolutely amazed that Zak's self-professed excuse, flimsy and specious as it is, no matter what exposes his ride-or-die ally Mearls as being actively complicit, completely in the wrong, and breaking all sorts of company policy. It's like he can't lie without making it worse.
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Dec 17, 2019 04:31
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Hedningen posted:Wow, and I thought I was being paranoid when I saw someone was trying to rehab his wiki page by adding in all of his self-fellating artist prose again. I guess he’s aiming to re-enter the RPG sphere in the dumbest Zakensian way possible via the launching of another “pretend the mountains of evidence of him being an abusive, narcissistic rear end in a top hat does not exist” campaign. "I control the narrative! I control the narrative!" I yell, as I slowly shrink and transform into a corn cob.
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Dec 17, 2019 04:32
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Gerund posted:I'm absolutely amazed that Zak's self-professed excuse, flimsy and specious as it is, no matter what exposes his ride-or-die ally Mearls as being actively complicit, completely in the wrong, and breaking all sorts of company policy. Clearly this is his plan: Step 1: “Aha, I was lying about Mearls! By disproving me, you are forced to admit he did nothing wrong!” Step 2: “Because Mearls clearly did nothing, that means that all aspects of this situation were lies (by my enemies) and thus I am innocent by the transitive property.” I hope that the usual targets of his hate machine are okay: seems like he’s ramping up again.
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Dec 17, 2019 04:41
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Ramping up to poo poo himself in a Chik-fil-a near GenCon, since he's banned from attendance by name.
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Dec 17, 2019 05:35
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Hedningen posted:I hope that the usual targets of his hate machine are okay: seems like he’s ramping up again. Previous patterns usually indicated a book of his was about to be released. Is he about to put out another half-baked lovely product, by chance?
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Dec 17, 2019 05:40
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Relatedly, does anyone have a link to that, uh, "highly critical" review of Maze of the Blue Medusa? I remember it being highly entertaining.
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Dec 17, 2019 05:51
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Zurui posted:Relatedly, does anyone have a link to that, uh, "highly critical" review of Maze of the Blue Medusa? I remember it being highly entertaining. Here ya go.
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Dec 17, 2019 05:57
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Kai Tave posted:Speaking of Zak, it looks like he's finally trying to tackle the issue of Mearls passing along info to him concerning his critics and, uh, well There's a lot to unpack here but one great thing I didn't mention: I (and most people AFAIK) thought the consultants were basically playtesters, but Zak mentions that he just read PHB drafts and gave feedback. He never even playtested them. This whole thing was for a beta reader 
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Dec 17, 2019 09:12
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Ettin posted:There's a lot to unpack here but one great thing I didn't mention: I (and most people AFAIK) thought the consultants were basically playtesters, but Zak mentions that he just read PHB drafts and gave feedback. drat, imagine deciding to get in bed with an rear end in a top hat like Zak all just to go "here's my homebrew, PEACH, thanks"
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Dec 17, 2019 09:15
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xiw posted:I quote this because Zak hasn't posted this publicly anywhere as far as I can see. - he's just sent it to individuals so far who have reposted it in various places. I reckon he's building up to revealing that actually it was him all along and he had perfectly good reasons for using a sock and only the mentally ill would have realised it wasn't him - his current post on his D&Dwpornstars blog talks about the account extensively but carefully doesn't mention the "fellow gamer" at all, and argues that people should have realised that it's just an ironic alias. I believe that's from his defunct tumblr blog Arms In The Wrong Hands. Now, for proper context: Patrick Stuart, a colleague of Bad Hair Man who has since parted ways with him, wrote a lengthy blog post in 2017 called "A Timeline of the Zak Wars", which went to extensive lengths to defend Zak for pretty much everything Zak had done except impersonate Shannon Appelcline,:For that, Stuart says that basically there's no way around this being a really bad look for Zak. Zak copied this entire blog post to Arms In The Wrong Hands, and edited the part about impersonating Shannon Appelcline to be the above, while removing all the parts where Stuart said "I like Zak but man, there's just no way around this being really bad behaviour". Zak presented this as Stuart relaying and accepting Zak's testimony, and would link to the copy on Arms In The Wrong Hands as a shield against accusations he impersonated Shannon Appelcline. In short, Zak Smith copied an entire blog post defending him to his own blog just so he could edit out the least flattering part of it, and impersonated Patrick Stuart to say he hadn't impersonated Shannon Appelcline.
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Dec 17, 2019 10:07
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Patrick Stuart's contributions on this have been a real interesting character arc for him. First he was one of Zak's defenders. Then he did the timeline, and I think the process of doing it broke him a little; you can see how he's trying his damnedest with it to try and spin it positively for Zak, but the very process of setting the facts down in black and white seems to have made it impossible for him to continue to kid himself about Zak. Then he told Zak to gently caress off and said "People call you a dick because you act like a dick", summing up all of Zak's worst behaviours in convincing fashion. Then when Mandy gave her statement, Stuart joined the chorus of condemnation and gave us this:quote:Its the dual-vision of being friends with Zak. There's this person who's such a great guy, and so interested in you personally, so talented, intelligent, charming and funny, with rare good taste.
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Dec 17, 2019 14:11
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Ettin posted:There's a lot to unpack here but one great thing I didn't mention: I (and most people AFAIK) thought the consultants were basically playtesters, but Zak mentions that he just read PHB drafts and gave feedback.
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Dec 17, 2019 14:58
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It only took Patrick Stuart 3 years to figure out that an obviously terrible douchebag was an obviously terrible douchebag, because Zak is such a brilliant manipulator. Can someone put me in touch with Patrick Stuart? Things are really busy around the holidays and I need someone to lick my floors clean.
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Dec 17, 2019 15:13
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Ettin posted:There's a lot to unpack here but one great thing I didn't mention: I (and most people AFAIK) thought the consultants were basically playtesters, but Zak mentions that he just read PHB drafts and gave feedback. The whole thing was a marketing exercise - D&D Next is going back to basics and soliciting input from industry veterans and high-profile representatives of different factions of fandom to in order to make an edition of D&D that appeals to everyone in the broadest way possible. Which, like the "open playtest", was just a cover for Mearls to do what he was going to do anyway. It was pure PR.
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Dec 17, 2019 15:19
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So people got a shitload of harassment because Mearls decided to needlessly defend a guy that wasn't even important to the project? He's definitely pro-harassment, there is no other thing to hide behind, like you can't even pretend it's because he's just a dumbass.
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Dec 17, 2019 15:33
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Mike is a dumbass and fell for Zak's "BUT I AM THE VICTIM OF HARASSMENT" schtick. He likely initially believed he was sticking up for a victim, then quadrupled down on willful disbelief. The alternative makes him a complicit accomplice, and that feels bad. Z is really good at DARVO and fraud because those are the two pillars upon which his lovely little manipulative life are built. moths fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Dec 17, 2019 |
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Dec 17, 2019 15:39
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Hel posted:So people got a shitload of harassment because Mearls decided to needlessly defend a guy that wasn't even important to the project? He's definitely pro-harassment, there is no other thing to hide behind, like you can't even pretend it's because he's just a dumbass. It definitely makes it seem like the whole idea of getting two OSR authors as consultants and making a big deal about their contributions was Mike Mearls’s baby. It would explain why Mearls personally ran cover for Zak and why he was gagged after issuing a (false) statement about Zak’s involvement. It all sounds like a classic story of some dude in the office getting just enough freedom and authority to gently caress up colossally and then trying his best to hide it. It just doesn’t seem like Mearls should be doing anything like this for a contractor being courted via the normal channels by Wizards of the Coast.
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Dec 17, 2019 16:04
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It's amazing how Mearls was, at one time, the prophet of 4e and therefore the devil to these edition war people.
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Dec 17, 2019 16:17
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moths posted:Mike is a dumbass and fell for Zak's "BUT I AM THE VICTIM OF HARASSMENT" schtick.
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Dec 17, 2019 16:19
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Halloween Jack posted:It only took Patrick Stuart 3 years to figure out that an obviously terrible douchebag was an obviously terrible douchebag, because Zak is such a brilliant manipulator. I understand the appeal of being glib and patronizing but people like Stuart realizing that Zak is a shithead are the actual bulwark that will keep him from returning to the hobby. What Ser Badhair craves most is validation from his peers.
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Dec 17, 2019 16:36
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Speaking of Mearls and how he doesn't know shinola from the other stuff, if I squint I can get wanting to have the guy who plays D&D with porn stars do something with your book because it was a Thing for a while but deciding that Nisarg is also worth catering to is what really trips me up about his consultant choices. Hite? Sure. Laws? Okay. Tarnowski? Um.
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Dec 17, 2019 16:42
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Zurui posted:I understand the appeal of being glib and patronizing but people like Stuart realizing that Zak is a shithead are the actual bulwark that will keep him from returning to the hobby.
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Dec 17, 2019 16:56
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Dawgstar posted:Speaking of Mearls and how he doesn't know shinola from the other stuff, if I squint I can get wanting to have the guy who plays D&D with porn stars do something with your book because it was a Thing for a while but deciding that Nisarg is also worth catering to is what really trips me up about his consultant choices. Hite? Sure. Laws? Okay. Tarnowski? Um.
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Dec 17, 2019 16:57
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Halloween Jack posted:It's amazing how Mearls was, at one time, the prophet of 4e and therefore the devil to these edition war people. A lot of people who you would think of as OSR were actually just into 3e. Justin Alexander never hid this, he doesn’t really care about the OSR at all. He just wants his combat to be war, except without the ethical consequences. CC did basically hide it, writing almost solely system neutral diatribes. But then he wrote a sourcebook. And it was clearly intended for 3e. Zak also ran a version of 3e, although he doesn’t actually care which system he is running as long as daddy gets his likes and subscribes.
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Dec 17, 2019 17:25
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Is there a list of Zak's former collaborators, who still defend him? I want to make sure I'm not supporting these shitheads financially. I'd hate it if some of my xmas present budget went to them.
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Dec 17, 2019 17:34
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Combaticus posted:Is there a list of Zak's former collaborators, who still defend him? I want to make sure I'm not supporting these shitheads financially. I'd hate it if some of my xmas present budget went to them.
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Dec 17, 2019 17:39
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Halloween Jack posted:Nah, the bulwark is people not buying his poo poo, literally and figuratively. He only ever had a brand because he knows some attractive women (that he abused). I actually thought his art style was visually interesting and that he had a few clever ideas. That said, he's a poo poo person and I won't buy more of his stuff. It's just a shame that something like Blue Medusa, which does have some good stuff and a lot of hard work from Stuart, is also tainted by his association.
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Dec 17, 2019 17:39
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